| Battle of Brunanburh | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| West Saxons | Dublin Vikings Scots Strathclyde |
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| Commanders | |||||||
| Athelstan Edmund |
Olaf III Guthfrithson Constantine Owain |
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The Battle of Brunanburh was a West Saxon victory in 937 by the army of King Athelstan and his brother Edmund over the combined armies of Olaf III Guthfrithson, Viking king of Dublin, Causantín mac Áeda II, King of Scotland and King Owain of Strathclyde (mention is also made in some sources of Irish and even Welsh mercenaries). West Saxon redirects here For other meanings of Wessex or West Saxon see Wessex (disambiguation. Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Strathclyde ( Gaelic: Srath Chluaidh) (lit "Valley of the Clyde" originally Brythonic Ystrad Clud, was one of the kingdoms Edmund I (or Eadmund) 922 &ndash May 26 946) called the Elder, the Deed-Doer, the Just or the Magnificent Olaf III Guthfrithson ( Óláfr Guðrøðarson; OIr Amlaíb mac Gofraidh) (died 941 a member of the Norse-Gael Uí Ímair dynasty Constantine son of Áed ( Mediaeval Gaelic: Constantín mac Áeda; Modern Gaelic: Còiseam mac Aoidh) known in most modern regnal lists Owen I, Ywain I or Eógan I ( Latin Eugenius; Modern Gaelic Eòghann; Mod West Saxon redirects here For other meanings of Wessex or West Saxon see Wessex (disambiguation. Edmund I (or Eadmund) 922 &ndash May 26 946) called the Elder, the Deed-Doer, the Just or the Magnificent Olaf III Guthfrithson ( Óláfr Guðrøðarson; OIr Amlaíb mac Gofraidh) (died 941 a member of the Norse-Gael Uí Ímair dynasty A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. Constantine son of Áed ( Mediaeval Gaelic: Constantín mac Áeda; Modern Gaelic: Còiseam mac Aoidh) known in most modern regnal lists Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Owen I, Ywain I or Eógan I ( Latin Eugenius; Modern Gaelic Eòghann; Mod Strathclyde ( Gaelic: Srath Chluaidh) (lit "Valley of the Clyde" originally Brythonic Ystrad Clud, was one of the kingdoms
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Background
King Athelstan had invaded the Kingdom of Strathclyde a few years earlier (933-934 being the most likely years for such an invasion according to contemporary sources). This provoked much anger amongst other rulers across the British Isles (no doubt fearing for their own positions).
Battle
Primary sources regarding details of the battle come from the Anglo-Saxon poem of the same name that is in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the writings of Anglo-Norman historian William of Malmesbury, the Annals of Tigernach, the Brut y Tywysogion and Icelandic sagas such as the Saga of Egill Skallagrimsson, who fought for Athelstan. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of Annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. Biography The education William received at Malmesbury Abbey included a smattering of Logic and Physics; Moral philosophy and History, Brut y Tywysogion ( English: Chronicle of the Princes) is one of the most important Primary sources for Welsh history. The Sagas of Icelanders ( Icelandic: Íslendingasögur)&mdashmany of which are also known as family sagas &mdashare prose histories describing Egils saga is an epic Icelandic saga possibly by Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241 AD who may have written the account between the years 1220 and
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the event as follows:
- 937:
- Here, King Athelstan, leader of warriors,
- ring-giver of men, and also his brother,
- the aetheling Edmund, struck life-long glory
- in strife around 'Brunanburh'
The battle is considered one of the bloodiest of the period. The battle was the demise of five English (other sources say Irish) kings and seven earls on the Celtic side and numerous Saxon casualties including two of Athelstan's cousins, Alfric and Athelwin, and a prominent Saxon bishop. Some have claimed that at one point the West Saxons deployed a cavalry charge, contradicting popular belief that the early English fought in infantry-based armies. Cavalry were still a relatively insignificant part of the Saxon force and may well have been mercenaries from any number of other kingdoms. However, the Anglo-Saxon text of the chronicle makes no such mention: Burton Raffel's translation of the poem, for instance, is misleading. Burton Raffel (born 1928 is a Translator, a poet and a teacher His rendering "All the battle / Became the Wessex cavalry endlessly / Hunting a broken enemy" mistranslates the Anglo-Saxon 'eorodcistum,' which means 'troop' or 'company. '[1]
Aftermath
This poorly recalled battle is actually one of the most important in British history since Athelstan's crushing defeat of the combined Norse-Celtic force facing him irrevocably confirmed England as an Anglo-Saxon kingdom, forcing the Celtic kingdoms to consolidate in the positions they occupy today.
The Battle of Brunanburh still has a great deal of influence in the Wiltshire town of Malmesbury, 200 miles south of any probable site. Etymology The county formerly 'Wiltonshire' or 'Wiltunscir' (9th century is named after the former county town of Wilton (itself named after the River Wylye Malmesbury is a south Cotswold town and Civil parish in south west England in the county of Wiltshire. The townsfolk of Malmesbury fought for King Athelstan, and he granted them 600 hides of land and gave them all freemen status. This status and the organisation formed then exists today, as the Warden and Freemen of Malmesbury, and Athelstan is remembered in their ceremonies. When Athelstan died, his body was transported from Gloucester to Malmesbury for burial. Gloucester (ˈɡlɒstɚ) is a city, district and County town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England.
Literature and art
English poet Alfred Lord Tennyson translated the poem from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 1880, publishing it as part of his Ballads and Other Poems. A poet is a person who writes Poetry. Etymology From the Ancient greek: ποιέω, poieō: "I make or compose" Alfred Tennyson 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892 was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom and remains one of the most popular English poets Tennyson's son Hallam Tennyson published a prose translation of the poem. Hallam Tennyson 2nd Baron Tennyson, GCMG, PC ( 11 August 1852 - 2 December 1928) second Governor-General of American composer Derek Strykowski used the battle as a basis for The Brunanburh Suite in 2005. The Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges wrote various poems about or mentioning the Saxons and their victory at Brunanburh.
Battle site
The location of Brunanburh has not been definitively identified though possible sites in Northumberland have been suggested as well as Bromborough on the Wirral Peninsula[2], Burnswark in southwest Scotland, and Tinsley Wood near Sheffield[3], Yorkshire. Northumberland is a county in the North East of England. The non-metropolitan county of Northumberland borders Cumbria to the west Bromborough is a small town on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. Wirral or the Wirral (ˈwɪrəl is a Peninsula in the north west of England. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Sheffield ( is a city and Metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England Yorkshire is a historic county of Northern England and the largest in Great Britain. These are not the only sites suggested, but they are the most commonly accepted. Alistair Campbell analysed all the sources, contemporary and later, and found it impossible to locate the battle.
External links
References
- ^ Burton Raffel, Poems and Prose from the Old English (New Haven: Yale UP, 1998): 41; J. R. Clark Hall, A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1960): 106
- ^ Birthplace of Englishness 'found'. BBC News Online (URL accessed 27 August 2006). Events 479 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Persian forces led by Mardonius are routed by Pausanias, the Spartan Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ Wood, Michael (2001). Michael David Wood (born 23 July 1948 in Moston, Manchester) is a popular English Historian and broadcaster Tinsley Wood. In In Search of England: Journeys into the English past, pp203–221. Penguin Books Ltd (University of California Press in the United States). ISBN 0-520-23218-6
- An Oxford History of England-Volume 2- Anglo Saxon England