Battle of Brunanburh

Part of: Conquest of parts of England by the Vikings

date	937
place	Unsure; The most promising candidate since 2004 is the area of today's Brackenwood golf course between Bromborough and Bebington, Merseyside; other possible locations: Brunswark, Annandale, or Tinsley, Yorkshire.
output	Victory of the English

Parties to the conflict
Kingdom of England	Kingdom of Dublin, Kingdom of Strathclyde, Kingdom of Alba
Commander
Æthelstan of England, Edmund of England	Olaf Guthfrithsson, Constantine II of Alba, Owen I of Strathclyde
Troop strength
approx.15,000 men	approx.15,000 men
losses
unknown	unknown, several Jarle, five minor kings, Cellach, son of Constantine

In the Battle of Brunanburh in 937, the army of the Kingdom of England, led by King Æthelstan and his brother Edmund , triumphed over the combined armies of Olaf Guthfrithsson , the Nordic Gaelic King of Dublin , Constantine II , King of Alba , and Owen I. , King of Strathclyde . Although relatively unknown today, it is considered to be "the greatest single battle in Anglo-Saxon history before the Battle of Hastings ". Michael Livingston claims that Brunanburh "marks the coming of age of English identity". The location of the battle is unknown, but modern research suggests that it likely took place somewhere in the Wirral Peninsula.

The battle is mentioned in dozens of sources, in Old English , Latin , Irish , Welsh , Icelandic, and Middle English , and there are many later descriptions and reflections, including those of Alfred Lord Tennyson and Jorge Luis Borges . A contemporary description of the battle can be found in the Old English poem Battle of Brunanburh , preserved in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle .

The sources

Livingston identified at least 53 medieval sources that contain references to the battle, including important descriptions in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , the writings of the Anglo-Norman historian William of Malmesbury , the annals of Clonmacnoise and Snorri Sturluson's Egils saga , its antihero , mercenary and skald Egill Skallagrímsson Æthelstan served as a faithful warrior.

The backgrounds

In the 870s a Viking army, the so-called Great Pagan Army , conquered all Anglo-Saxon kingdoms except Wessex . Alfred the Great , King of Wessex, and his descendants succeeded in recapturing these areas little by little , among other things by building fortified castles, the burhs . However, the former empires did not become independent again, but instead became counties within the new Kingdom of England, which thereby grew to become the most powerful factor on the British Isles. The most important opponents of England were the Scottish Kingdom of Alba in the north of the island, the Gaelic Kingdom of Strathclyde in the north-west of England, which was dynastically linked to Scotland, and the Kingdom of Jórvík in the north-east, which was still in the hands of the Northmen. In 921 Sitric Cáech , the Norse Gaelic ruler of Dublin, also conquered the kingdom of Jorvik. In a political move, Æthelstan married his sister to Sitric Cáech in 926 and claimed his throne when Cáech died the following year. To do this, however, he had to drive out Cáech's relatives and successors Guthfrith and defeat the Vikings near York in 927 . After Æthelstan's victory, King Constantine of Scotland, King Hywel Dda of Deheubarth , Ealdorman Ealdred of Northumbria and King Owen of Strathclyde (or Morgan from Owain of Gwent ) recognized Æthelstan's sovereignty in Eamont near Penrith . He was proclaimed King of the English, and a relatively peaceful period ensued.

John of Worcester suspects Æthelstan's successful invasion of Scotland in 934 because King Constantine broke his treaty. Though they were enemies throughout their lives, the threat from Æthelstan must have been great enough to forge an alliance between the King of Dublin Olaf Guthfrithsson , the King of Scotland Constantine II, and the King of Strathclyde Owen I. Livingston notes "that for this one common goal they had to set aside all political, cultural, historical and even religious differences, and their goal was the annihilation of ansthelstan."

After defeating a rival Nordic king at Limerick in August 937 , whose name is recorded in Old Irish documents as Amlaíb Cenncairech , Olaf Guthfrithsson crossed the Irish Sea with his army to join the forces of Constantine and Owen, which it implies suggests that the Battle of Brunanburh probably took place in early October of that year.

Livingston suspects that the invading armies reached England in two waves: Constantine and Owen came from the north, possibly involved in some early skirmishes with forces loyal to thelstan, while following the Roman road through Lancashire's plains between Carlisle and Manchester , on the Olaf's forces met them on the way. It is possible, Livingston speculates further, that the future battlefield at Brunanburh was chosen by silent agreement with Æthelstan: "A confrontation was inevitable and the victor was won by England."

The battle

Medieval accounts of the battle are too uncertain to trace with certainty, but the sources consistently describe it as a violent and bloody encounter, even considering the warfare of the Middle Ages.

The famous poem about the battle in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , recorded in Old English , the language of the Anglo-Saxon inhabitants of England, praises the two English heroes at the beginning and names the place of the battle: Brunanburh.

Her Æþelstan cyning, eorla dryhten,
beorna beaggifa, and his broþor eac,
Eadmund æþeling, ealdorlangne tir
geslogon æt sæcce sweorda ecgum
ymbe Brunanburh. Bordweal clufan,
heowan heaþolinde hamora lafan,
afaran Eadweardes, ...

Once upon a time King anthelstan, lord of the counts,
ring giver of men, and also his brother
Prince Edmund, achieved eternal fame;
fought in battle with the edge of the sword
at Brunanburh. They shattered the shield wall,
smashed the wooden shields with axes,
the sons of Edward, ...

The poem then tells of the victory of the heroes and the defeat of the invaders. A few lines suggest that the battle lasted a full day.
In the end there was the death of five kings and seven of Olaf's counts, plus (or below) Constantine's son Cellach:

… Fife lægun
on þam campstede cyningas geonge,
sweordum aswefede, swelce seofene eac
eorlas Anlafes, unrim herges,
flotan and Sceotta. Þær geflemed wearð
Norðmanna bregu, nede gebeded,
to lides stefne litle weorode;
cread cnear on flot, cyning ut gewat
on fealene flod, feorh generede.
Swelce þær eac se froda mid fleame com
on his cyþþe norð, Constantinus,
har hilderinc, hreman ne þorfte
mæca gemanan; he wæs his mæga sceard,
freonda gefylled on folcstede,
beslagen æt sæcce, and his sunu forlet
on wælstowe Wundun forgrunden,
geongne æt guðe. ...

... Five lay (dead)
on the battlefield, young kings,
skillfully sleeping by the sword, plus seven
of Anlaf's counts, countless of the army,
shipmen and Scots. Then
the ruler of the Northmen was driven out
to the bow of the ship, obeying the need ; with little crew he
pushed the ship out to sea, the king went out
into the gloomy waters to save his life.
The old man also turned to flee
to his home in the north. Constantine,
the gray-haired champion, could not celebrate
the big meeting; he was robbed of his relatives,
his friends
slain on the battlefield, killed in battle, and his son he left behind
in the field of wounds,
(too) young in battle. ...

Æthelweard's Chronicle , completed in 975 or later, mentions that the battle was still called "the great war" by the people of that time.
In the end, this poem also confirms the uniqueness of the battle. Before that, the victorious heroes return home and the invaders practically die a second time, as their unburied bodies serve the wild animals as food:

wilce þa gebroþer begen ætsamne,
cyning and æþeling, cyþþe sohton,
Wesseaxena land, wiges hremige.
Letan him behindan hræw bryttian
saluwigpadan, þone sweartan hræfn,
hyrnednebban, and þone hasupadan,
earn æftan hwit, æses brucan,
grædigne guðhafoc and þæt græge deor,
wulf on wealde. Ne wearð wæl mare
on þis eiglande æfre gieta
folces gefylled beforan þissum
sweordes ecgum, þæs þe us secgað bec,
ealde uðwitan, siþþan eastan hider
Engle and Seaxe up becoman,
ofer brad brimu Brytene sohtan,
e of arþashan wlance wlance wlance,
wlance wlance .

The brothers, both together,
king and prince, also returned to their homeland,
to the West Saxon region, praising the battle.
Behind them they left the corpses, left to
the dark-clad, the black raven,
the pointed-beaked and ash-colored,
the white-tailed eagle that devours the carrion,
the hungry, fighting hawk and the gray animal,
the wolf from the forest. Never was there a greater carnage
on this island, never again
(and) never before many people have been killed
by the edge of the sword, so tell us about the books
and the old ways, since from the east here
came Angles and Saxons across,
about the To seek broad seas of Britain,
splendid slaughterhouses who conquered the Celts,
proud masters who took possession of the land.

The Ulster Annals describe the battle in a similar way:

A great war, deplorable and terrible, was cruelly waged between the Saxons and the Northmen. Many thousands of no-numbered Northmen died while King Anlaf escaped with a few men. Although a large number of Saxons also fell on the other side, Aethelstan, King of the Saxons, won a great victory.

The most extensive list of those killed in battle is contained in the Annals of Clonmacnoise . It names a number of kings and princes.

The place of the battle

The Brackenwood Golf Course at Bebington

The place of the battle appears in the sources in various forms: Brunanburh (in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , in the Chronicle of John of Worcester or in descriptions based on it), Brunandune (in Aethelweard's Chronicle ), Brunnanwerc or Bruneford or Weondune (in Symeon von Durham and descriptions based on it), Brunefeld or Bruneford (in William of Malmesbury and descriptions based on it), Duinbrunde (in Scottish traditions), Brun (in Welsh traditions), plaines of othlynn (in the annals of Clonmacnoise ) and Vinheithr (in Egils Saga ) and various others.

The name Bromborough , a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral , could be derived from the Old English Brunanburh (which means something like "Bruns Castle"). Since the site may never be found with certainty, further evidence of the connection between Brunanburh and Bromborough was examined, based on historical, folkloric and literary evidence. According to Michael Livingston, the thesis that speaks for a place on the Wirral Peninsula finds great support among today's historians. Additional onomastic arguments were used to establish a relationship between Dingesmere (a place name mentioned in connection with the battle in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle ) and Thingwall on the Wirral, which is also intended to corroborate the Brunanburh-Bromborough thesis. Because the earliest sources in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle report that the battle "ymbe Brunanburh" ("near Brunanburh") should have taken place, numerous locations on the Wirral near Bromborough were called up as possible battlefields, including the Brackenwood golf course in Bebington / Wirral.

Although many scientists seem to approve of a "near Bromborough" location today, dozens of other conceivable locations have been suggested in the past. Paul Hill has identified over thirty possibilities, some of which are still defended by local stakeholders (see discussion on Shelfield Hill below) or by individuals. The assumption that the opponents of Bromborough are representatives of a marginal opinion is misleading, however. Michael Wood, a well-respected historian who recently published an article in the Yorkshire Archaeological Journal , criticizes the case for Bromborough and suggests a location near the River Went in South Yorkshire. Andrew Breeze is a leading philologist who, in a forthcoming article, advocates Lanchester and claims that the etymological arguments for Bromborough are flawed. Kevin Halloran published several articles on the period in leading academic journals, advocating a location in the south of Scotland, and highlighting a number of detailed criticisms of Bromborough. Tim Clarkson has published a number of highly regarded books on Strathclyde and has noted that the logistical capacities of the northern kingdoms of Alba and Strathclyde would not have been sufficient for a campaign that far south (to the Wirral). The other alternatives are:

Laughton-en-le-Morthen or Laughton Common - South Yorkshire
Other locations in Merseyside :
- Newton-le-Willows , St Helens
Places in Northumberland
Burnswark in Dumfries and Galloway in South West Scotland
Tinsley in South Yorkshire
Near the Humber in Yorkshire / Lincolnshire
Axminster in Devon .
Locations in Lancashire :
- Livesay . The Livesay Historical Society says that the names Livesay and Livesey are derived from the common Anglo-Saxon surname Lēofsige (meaning "beloved victory" or "he whose victory is loved") and that the name is associated with the Battle of Brunanburh. However, there are also opposing opinions on the etymological derivation.
- Burnley . In 1856, Burnley High School principal and antiquarian Thomas T. Wilkinson published a treatise proposing the marshes above Burnley as the site of the battle and pointing out that the town was on the River Brun. Local tradition tells of a great battle at Saxifield during the Heptarchy , supported by the occasional discovery of apparently human bones and iron arrowheads. In the village of Worsthorne there is a legend according to which the Danes built defenses when a battle was taking place in the bog of the same name and that five kings were buried under burial mounds in the area.

Although he could not unequivocally identify any burh at the brun , he referred to the work of Thomas Whitaker Dunham, who had listed what he thought were a large number of earthworks. Some like Castercliff, Twist Burg and Ringstones Camp were believed to be of Roman origin, but this made clear the historical significance of the area. Others, such as redoubts on Broad Bank Hill at Burwain's Farm, and Bonfire Hill, a possible camp on Shelfield Hill near the Victorian Walton Tower, and levees at Saxifield, Thieveley, Ree Lees, and Broadclough near Bacup, testified to his opinion after of military activity in the period in question. He also showed that the district of Heasandford was named after a ford through the River Brun, which lies on a historic trans-pennine route popularly known as "the long dam", sometimes also as the "road of the Danes". He established a variety of connections between old names and today's place and field names, such as the fact that Cuerdale Hoard (= hoard) was named after a Danish war chest that was lost during the battle. His work was subsequently expanded by a number of local writers and new information was added. Although most of the locations mentioned have now been classified as much older, the story still piques interest.

Symeon of Durham called Brunanburh 'Wendune', and this Wen element has been preserved in the name of the village of Winwall, which is near the battlefield (near Colne), and is also related to 'Vinheath' in the Egils saga. Both '-heath' (heather) and '-dune' (dune) refer to the wide, upscale land on which the field lies, as does the word “dun” (dune) ´ consistently for a flat hill with a wide knoll is used, which represents a good settlement site in the open area.´ (Margaret Gelling). A name for the battlefield on the "plains of Othlynn" ( Annals of Clonmacnoise ) was related to the place Othlei from the Domesday Book , an old name for Otley .

These aren't the only places mentioned, but the ones that are most commonly spoken of.

The effects

The sarcophagus of King Ethelstan in Malmesbury Abbey

Æthelstan's victory over the united Norse Gaelic army secured him England as a fully united kingdom. However, he was weakened militarily, and the battle forced all the parties in the British Isles to consolidate their positions.

The Battle of Brunanburh still has a large presence in Malmesbury , Wiltshire , 200 miles south of all the proposed locations. The people of Malmesbury fought for King Æthelstan and he granted them five hides of land and made them all free men. An organization was founded that still exists today: the Warden and Freemen of Malmesbury , and Æthelstan is remembered in their ceremonies. When Æthelstan died, his body was transferred from Gloucester to Malmesbury and buried there.

swell

D. Dumville, S. Keynes (Eds.): The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle . A collaborative edition. 8 vols. Cambridge 1983; tr. Michael J. Swanton: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. 2nd ed., London 2000.
Alistair Campbell (Ed.): The Battle of Brunanburh. (old english poem) Heinemann, London 1938.
Alistair Campbell: The Chronicle of Æthelweard . London 1961.
RAB Mynors, RM Thomson, M. Winterbottom: William of Malmesbury . Gesta Regum Anglorum. The History of the English Kings. OMT, 2 vols: vol 1., Oxford 1998.
DE Greenway: Henry Archdeacon of Huntingdon. Historia Anglorum. The History of the English People. OMT, Oxford 1996.
Seán Mac Airt, Gearóid Mac Niocaill: The Annals of Ulster (to AD 1131). Dublin, 1983.
John O'Donovan: Annals of the Four Masters - Annála Rioghachta Éireann. Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters. 7 vols. Royal Irish Academy, Dublin 1848–51.
Finnur Jónsson (Ed.): Egils saga - Egils saga Skallagrímssonar. Hall 1894; Herman Pálsson, Paul Edwards: Egil's Saga. Harmondsworth, 1976.
JA Giles, Henry G. Bohn: Roger of Wendover . Flowers of History. Volume 1. 1849.

literature

Charles Hardwick: Ancient Battle-fields in Lancashire . Simpkin, Marshall & Co. Stationers' Hall Court, London 1882.
Peter Marren: Battles of the Dark Ages. Pen and Sword, Barnsley 2006.
Michael Livingston (Ed.): The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook. University of Exeter Press, 2011.
NJ Higham: The Kingdom of Northumbria: AD 350-1100 . Alan Sutton, 1993, ISBN 0-86299-730-5 .
Sarah Foot: Æthelstan: the first king of England . Yale University Press, 2011, ISBN 978-0-300-12535-1 .
Alex Woolf : From Pictland to Alba: 789-1070 . Edinburgh University Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7486-1233-8 .
TM Charles-Edwards: Wales and the Britons 350-1064 . Oxford University Press, 2013, ISBN 978-0-19-821731-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

^ Alfred Smyth: Scandinavian York and Dublin. Irish Academic Press, Dublin 1987, 2.62.
↑ Michael Livingston: 'The Roads to Brunanburh' in The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook. ed. Livingston (University of Exeter Press, 2011), p. 1.
↑ Note: Peninsula in the north-west of England between the mouths of the Dee and Mersey rivers in the Irish Sea .
↑ For a review of this and many other retellings, see Joanne Parker, 'Brunanburh and the Victorian Imagination,' in The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook , ed. Livingston, 2011, pp. 385-407.
↑ Livingston, 2011, 'Preface', pp. Xi – xii.
^ Note: According to William of Malmsbury, Owain of Strathclyde was present at Eamont; however, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says it was Owain of Gwent. Maybe both were there.
↑ Foot, 2011, p. 162, n.15; Woolf, 2007, p. 151; Charles-Edwards, pp. 511-512.
^ Higham, p. 190; Foot, 2011, p. 20.
↑ Foot, p. 20.
↑ Foot, 2011, pp. 164-165; Woolf, 2007, pp. 158-165
↑ h2g2 - The Battle of Brunanburh, 937 AD . Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
↑ Livingston (2011), p. 11.
^ Livingston (2011), pp. 15-16
↑ Note: The place of the battle is also called Vin Moor or Vin Heath in the Egils saga .
^ Livingston (2011), p. 18.
↑ Wendover. Flowers of History . P. 249
^ Huntingdon: Historia Anglorum. Tr. Greenway. Pp. 313-315
↑ Mac Airt, Seán and Gearóid Mac Niocaill (eds and trs.): The Annals of Ulster. Pp. 386-387.
↑ thelweard, Chronicle , trans. Scott Thompson Smith, cited in Livingston, 2011, p. 49.
↑ Note: analogous translation
↑ Annals of Ulster. trans. Scott Thompson Smith, in The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook. ed. Livingston, 2011, p. 145.
↑ Livingston (2011), pp. 20-23.
↑ A summary of these terms can be found in Paul Cavill: 'The Place-Name Debate', in Livingston, 2011, pp. 329-30.
↑ See e.g. B. Stephen Harding , 'Wirral: Folklore and Locations', and Richard Coates, 'The Sociolinguistic Context for Brunanburh', in Livingston, 2011, pp. 351-64 and 365-84.
^ Livingston, 2011, p. 19.
^ Cavill, in Livingston, 2011, pp. 327-49.
^ Birthplace of Englishness 'found'. BBC News Online (URL accessed August 18, 2014).
^ Paul Hill: The Age of Athelstan: Britain's Forgotten History (Stroud: Tempus, 2004), pp. 141-42.
^ Battle of Brunanburh . UK Battlefields Trust. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
↑ Michael Wood, In Search of England (London: Viking, 1999) pp. 203-21.
↑ Lawrence Snell. The Suppression of the Religious Foundations of Devon and Cornwall. (1966).
^ Thomas T. Wilkinson: Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire . Volume 9, p. 21-41 ( online [accessed August 21, 2014]).
^ SW Partington: The Danes in Lancashire and Yorkshire . Pp. 28-43. 1909. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
^ Thomas Newbigging: History of the Forest of Rossendale . Pp. 9-21. 1893. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
↑ What epic Anglo-Saxon battle fought in Burnley? . In: Burnley Express , August 9, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
↑ Livingston (2011), pp. 24-26
^ Warden and Freemen of Malmesbury . Athelstan Museum. Retrieved August 21, 2014

[1] Alfred Smyth: Scandinavian York and Dublin. Irish Academic Press, Dublin 1987, 2.62.

[2] Michael Livingston: 'The Roads to Brunanburh' in The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook. ed. Livingston (University of Exeter Press, 2011), p. 1.

[3] Note: Peninsula in the north-west of England between the mouths of the Dee and Mersey rivers in the Irish Sea .

[4] For a review of this and many other retellings, see Joanne Parker, 'Brunanburh and the Victorian Imagination,' in The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook , ed. Livingston, 2011, pp. 385-407.

[5] Livingston, 2011, 'Preface', pp. Xi – xii.

[6] Note: According to William of Malmsbury, Owain of Strathclyde was present at Eamont; however, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says it was Owain of Gwent. Maybe both were there.

[7] Foot, 2011, p. 162, n.15; Woolf, 2007, p. 151; Charles-Edwards, pp. 511-512.

[8] Higham, p. 190; Foot, 2011, p. 20.

[9] Foot, p. 20.

[10] Foot, 2011, pp. 164-165; Woolf, 2007, pp. 158-165

[11] 2g2 - The Battle of Brunanburh, 937 AD . Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved November 12, 2012.

[12] Livingston (2011), p. 11.

[13] Livingston (2011), pp. 15-16

[14] Note: The place of the battle is also called Vin Moor or Vin Heath in the Egils saga .

[15] Livingston (2011), p. 18.

[wendover249-16] Wendover. Flowers of History . P. 249

[huntingdon313-17] Huntingdon: Historia Anglorum. Tr. Greenway. Pp. 313-315

[ulster386-18] Mac Airt, Seán and Gearóid Mac Niocaill (eds and trs.): The Annals of Ulster. Pp. 386-387.

[19] thelweard, Chronicle , trans. Scott Thompson Smith, cited in Livingston, 2011, p. 49.

[20] Note: analogous translation

[21] Annals of Ulster. trans. Scott Thompson Smith, in The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook. ed. Livingston, 2011, p. 145.

[22] Livingston (2011), pp. 20-23.

[23] A summary of these terms can be found in Paul Cavill: 'The Place-Name Debate', in Livingston, 2011, pp. 329-30.

[24] See e.g. B. Stephen Harding , 'Wirral: Folklore and Locations', and Richard Coates, 'The Sociolinguistic Context for Brunanburh', in Livingston, 2011, pp. 351-64 and 365-84.

[25] Livingston, 2011, p. 19.

[26] Cavill, in Livingston, 2011, pp. 327-49.

[27] Birthplace of Englishness 'found'. BBC News Online (URL accessed August 18, 2014).

[28] Paul Hill: The Age of Athelstan: Britain's Forgotten History (Stroud: Tempus, 2004), pp. 141-42.

[29] Battle of Brunanburh . UK Battlefields Trust. Retrieved August 21, 2014.

[30] Michael Wood, In Search of England (London: Viking, 1999) pp. 203-21.

[31] Lawrence Snell. The Suppression of the Religious Foundations of Devon and Cornwall. (1966).

[32] Thomas T. Wilkinson: Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire . Volume 9, p. 21-41 ( online [accessed August 21, 2014]).

[33] SW Partington: The Danes in Lancashire and Yorkshire . Pp. 28-43. 1909. Retrieved May 15, 2012.

[34] Thomas Newbigging: History of the Forest of Rossendale . Pp. 9-21. 1893. Retrieved May 15, 2012.

[35] What epic Anglo-Saxon battle fought in Burnley? . In: Burnley Express , August 9, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2012.

[36] Livingston (2011), pp. 24-26

[37] Warden and Freemen of Malmesbury . Athelstan Museum. Retrieved August 21, 2014