Battle of Winwaed

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Britain in the 7th century

The Battle of Winwaed took place on November 15, 655 between the armies of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and its allies, led by Penda , and Northumbria , led by Oswiu . The battle ended in the total defeat of Mercia, with Penda being killed.

Place of battle

The Winwaed is still not exactly identified, which means that the exact location of the battle is impossible. In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , the site of the battle is given with Winwidfelda , the field near the Winwid . According to Beda , the Uinuaed is said to have been in the region of Loidis , i.e. Leeds , possibly on what is now the River Went , or in what is now South Yorkshire near Doncaster . However, it is also possible that the Winwaed was a tributary of the Humber . In the Historia Brittonum the site of the battle is referred to as in campo Gai , Gaius' field.

Prehistory and course of the battle

Since the Northumbrian defeat in the Battle of Maserfield in 642, Penda tried to cement his supremacy over Northumbria, which led to several campaigns against Northumbria. In the second half of the 1940s he was even able to advance into Bamburgh , which is located far north , and after 651 again penetrate deep into Northumbrian territory. The aim of these military operations was the annihilation and complete integration of the Northumbrian kingdom in Mercia. The campaign that ended with the Battle of the Winwaed must also be seen in this context, as its aim was to prevent the reunification of Northumbria under Oswiu, which explains the presence of Æthelwald , king of Deira , among Penda's allies. Penda invaded Bernicia with an army that is said to have consisted of 30 legiones led by 30 noble leaders ( duces regii ) . Among his allies, several British kings, for example Cadafael ap Cynfeddw of were Gwynedd and Æthelhere , King of East Anglia . He was also supported by Æthelwald, king of Deira, whose predecessor Oswine was murdered on behalf of Oswius in 651. Penda's army was successful enough to push back the army of Northumbria far into what is now Scotland, to enclose it and to besiege it in Iudeu , what is now Stirling . It appears that Oswiu then offered tribute payments, which Penda distributed among his allies. The army, led by Penda, then began to withdraw. Some of the allied rulers left the force. Cadafael ap Cynfeddw ​​of Gwynedd rose at night together with his army and escaped, whereupon he was nicknamed Cadomedd (who avoids the battle). King Æthelwald of Deira also withdrew and waited for the outcome of the battle from a safe distance. It is possible that with the army on the way home, the allies were unwilling to fight, and that those leaving the Penda were dissatisfied with what had been achieved at Iudeu . Oswiu was able to catch up with the retreating Penda. Penda's army was strategically poorly positioned, which enabled Oswiu to attack. The battle broke out between Penda and his allies with the army of Northumbria. Penda lost battle and life. King Æthelhere was also among the dead in the battle, as were nearly all of the 30 duces regii who had followed him, with a greater number of those fleeing drowning in the flooding river than were killed by the sword.

consequences

As a result of the outcome of this battle, the supremacy of Mercias over the surrounding empires collapsed. The sphere of influence of the kings of Northumbria now extended to the southern Midlands . Mercia came under the rule of Oswius of Northumbria and was divided into a northern and southern half. Penda's son Peada , who was married to a daughter of Oswius, Alhflaed , was assigned the part of Mercias that was south of the Trent . However, Peada was murdered as early as 656, after which Mercia came under the direct rule of Northumbria until the end of the 60s of the 7th century, from which it could only slowly break away.

Another aspect of Penda's defeat is the spread of Christianity in the Midlands. Penda was the last pagan ruler of Mercia. As a result and under the influence of Northumbrian rule, Christianity was able to establish itself in Mercia. Penda did not prohibit the preaching of Christianity in Mercia, but neither did it promote it. So Penda agreed that his son Peada converted to Christianity on the occasion of his marriage to Alhflaed, the daughter of Oswius of Northumbria. Christianization could only be forced after Penda's death.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ ASC , s. a. 655; Beda, HE , III, 24; According to other theories and sources, the Battle of Winwaed could have taken place in 654, 656, or 657.
  2. ↑ ASC , see 655
  3. ↑ Beda, HE , III, 24
  4. ^ S. Keynes, "Penda," p. 362
  5. ↑ Nennius, HB , 64
  6. ↑ Beda, HE , III, 16
  7. ↑ Beda, HE , III, 17
  8. ↑ Beda, HE , III, 24
  9. ^ N. Brooks, "The Formation of the Mercian Kingdom," p. 168
  10. ↑ N. Higham, The Convert Kings , p. 240
  11. ↑ Beda, HE , III, 24
  12. ↑ Nennius, HB , 65
  13. ↑ Nennius, HB , 65
  14. ↑ D. Kirby, The Earliest English Kings, p. 80
  15. ^ F. Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England , p. 84
  16. ↑ Nennius, HB, 65
  17. ↑ Beda, HE , III, 24
  18. ^ P. Kirby, The Earliest English Kings, p. 81
  19. ^ A. Breeze, "The Battle of the Uinued and the River Went, Yorkshire," p. 379
  20. ↑ Beda, HE , III, 24
  21. ↑ Beda, HE , III, 21
  22. ↑ M. Gallyon, The Early Church in Wessex and Mercia , p. 83ff

literature

swell

  • The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: MS A v. 3 , Janet Bately (Ed.), Brewer, Rochester (NY) 1986, ISBN 0-85991-103-9 .
  • Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People , B. Colgrave & RAB Mynors (Eds.), Clarendon, Oxford 1969, ISBN 0-19-822202-5 .
  • Nennius, Historia Brittonum, David Dumville (Eds.), Brewer, Cambridge 1985, ISBN 0-85991-203-5 .

Secondary literature

  • Steven Basset (Ed.): The Origins of Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms, Leicester University Press, Leicester 1989, ISBN 0-7185-1317-7 .
  • Andrew Breeze, "The Battle of the Uinued and the River Went, Yorkshire" in Northern History , Vol. 41, Issue 2, September 2004, pages 377-83.
  • Nicholas Brooks : "The Formation of the Mercian Kingdom" in Steven Basset (ed.): The Origins of Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms, Leicester University Press, Leicester 1989, ISBN 0-7185-1317-7 .
  • James Campbell (Ed.): The Anglo-Saxons, Phaidon, London 1982, ISBN 0-7148-2149-7 .
  • Wendy Davies: "Annals and the Origins of Mercia" in Ann Dornier: Mercian Studies, Leicester University Press, Leicester 1977, ISBN 0-7185-1148-4 .
  • David Dumville: "Essex, Middle Anglia and the Expansion of Mercia in the South East" in Steven Basset (ed.): The Origins of Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms, Leicester University Press, Leicester 1989, ISBN 0-7185-1317-7 .
  • Margaret Gallyon: The Early Church in Wessex and Mercia, Terence Dalton, Lavenham 1980, ISBN 0-900963-58-1
  • Nicholas J. Higham: The Convert Kings: Power and Religious Affiliation in Early Anglo-Saxon England, Manchester University Press, Manchester 1997, ISBN 0-7190-4827-3 .
  • Simon Keynes: "Penda" in Michael Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England, Blackwell, Oxford 2001, ISBN 0-631-22492-0 .
  • DP Kirby: The Earliest English Kings, Unwin Hyman, London 1991, ISBN 0-04-445691-3 .
  • Frank M. Stenton: Anglo-Saxon England, 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford 1971, ISBN 0-19-280139-2 .
  • Ian W. Walker: Mercia and the Making of England, Sutton, Stroud 2000 ISBN 0-7509-2131-5
  • Barbara Yorke : Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England . Routledge, London-New York 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 . PDF (6.2 MB)

See also