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Battle of Brunanburh
Date	937
Location	near Bromborough, UK (?; see text)
Result	English victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of England	Kingdom of Dublin; Kingdom of Scotland; Kingdom of Strathclyde
Commanders and leaders
Athelstan of England; Edmund I of England	Olaf III Guthfrithson; Constantine II of Scotland; Owen I of Strathclyde

The Battle of Brunanburh was an English victory in 937 by the army of Æthelstan, King of England, and his brother, Edmund, over the combined armies of Olaf III Guthfrithson, the Norse-Gael King of Dublin, Constantine II, King of Scots, and Owen I, King of Strathclyde. Though relatively little known today, Alfred Smyth has called it "the greatest single battle in Anglo-Saxon history before Hastings."^[1]

Mention of the battle is made in dozens of sources, in Old English, Latin, Irish, Welsh, Anglo-Norman, and Middle English, and there are many later accounts or responses to the battle, including those by Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Jorge Luis Borges.

Sources[edit]

The most recent major study of the battle identified at least 53 medieval sources containing references to the battle, including important accounts from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the writings of Anglo-Norman historian William of Malmesbury, the Annals of Clonmacnoise, and Snorri Sturluson's Egils saga, whose antihero, mercenary berserker and skald Egill Skallagrimsson, served as a trusted warrior for Athelstan.^[2]

Background[edit]

After Athelstan's defeat of the Vikings at York in 927, his campaigns against the Welsh kings (who were forced to submit to him at Hereford in 927), and his subsequent successful invasion of Alba in 934, the power of Wessex was clearly on the ascent and forming a considerable threat to neighboring kingdoms.^[3] Though they had all been enemies in living memory, the threat of Athelstan was enough to bring together an alliance between the king of Dublin Olaf Guthfrithsson, the Scottish King Constantine II, and Owen of Strathclyde. This alliance was apparently formed for the single purpose of destroying the Anglo-Saxons.

After defeating the rival Norse king Amlaíb Cenncairech at Limerick in August of 937, Olaf Guthfrithsson crossed the Irish Sea with his army to join the forces of Constantine and Owen, suggesting that the Battle of Brunanburh probably occurred in early October of that year.^[4]

Battle[edit]

The medieval records of the battle are too elusive to trace the course of the battle with any surety, but the sources are consistent in describing it as a massive engagement that was shockingly bloody even within the context of warfare in the Middle Ages.

The famous poem in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the deaths of five kings and seven earls among Athelstan's enemies, and Æthelweard's Chronicle notes that the battle was still called "the great war" by people in his day. Henry of Huntingdon describes the aftermath of carrion:

Then the dark raven with horned beak,

and the livid toad, the eagle and kite,

the hound and wolf in mottled hue,

were long refreshed by these delicacies.

In this land no greater war was ever waged,

nor did such a slaughter ever surpass that one.

The Annals of Ulster describes the battle similarly:

A huge war, lamentable and horrible, was cruelly waged between the Saxons and Norsemen. Many thousands of Norsemen beyond number died although King Anlaf escaped with a few men. While a great number of the Saxons also fell on the other side, Athelstan, king of the Saxons, was enriched by the great victory.

The largest list of those killed at the battle comes from the Annals of Clonmacnoise and names several kings and princes.^[5]

Battle site[edit]

The location of the battle appears in various forms in the sources: Brunanburh (in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle or the chronicle of John of Worcester, or in accounts derived from them), Brunandune (Aethelweard), Brunnanwerc or Bruneford or Weondune (Symeon of Durham and accounts derived from him), Brunefeld or Bruneford (William of Malmesbury and accounts derived from him), Duinbrunde (Scottish traditions), Brun (Welsh traditions), plaines of othlynn (Annals of Clonmacnoise), and Vinheithr (Egil's Saga), among others.

Linguistic study study of these place-names has concluded that Brunanburh (meaning 'Brun's fort') was the original form, and that the only place-name that can be directly identifiable with this location is Bromborough, in the Wirral. Additional onomastic study has connected Dingesmere (a location associated with the battle in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) with Thingwall on Merseyside, further underscoring a Brunanburh-Bromborough connection.^[6] The BBC documentary series A History of Scotland, in episode one ("The Last of the Free"), states that the Battle of Brunanburh took place where "the Mersey Estuary enters the sea", likewise suggesting that Bromborough on the Wirral was the site of the battle.

While the location will likely never be known with 100% certainty, additional evidence associating Brunanburh with Bromborough has been found in history, folklore studies, literature, and even genetics, much of it presented in The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook, now the standard reference for study of the battle. As scholar Michael Livingston states in his introduction to this book: "It is currently the standard against which all other theories must be measured, and to date all other options have fallen short of its high mark. Put simply, the case for Bromborough is currently so firm that many scholars are engaged not with the question of whether Brunanburh occurred on the Wirral, but where on the peninsula it took place."^[7] Because the earliest sources in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle locate the battle as taking place "ymbe Brunanburh" ("around Brunanburh"), numerous locations on the Wirral near Bromborough have been put forward as the actual site of the ballte, including a golf course in Bebington, Wirral^[8].

Though the majority of scholars today appear to have accepted a "near Bromborough" location, dozens of sites for the battle have been suggested in the past. Paul Hill has identified over thirty possibilities, some of which still defended by local interest groups (see discussion of Shelfield Hill, below) or minority critics.^[9]

These alternatives include:

Additional sites in Merseyside:
- Newton-le-Willows, St Helens
Sites in Northumberland
Burnswark in Dumfries and Galloway in southwest Scotland
Tinsley Wood in South Yorkshire
Near the Humber in Yorkshire/Lincolnshire
Axminster in Devon.^[10]^[11]
Sites close to Burnley:
- Cuerdale in Lancashire (claim sometimes associated with the Cuerdale Hoard)
- Livesay in Lancashire. The Livesay Historical Society says that the names Livesay and Livesey came from the common Anglo-Saxon personal name Lēofsige (which means "beloved victory" or "he whose victory is beloved"), and that that name refers to the Battle of Brunaburh;^[12] but see Livesey#Etymology.
- Hill of Shelfield (north of Burnley in Lancashire), stated in one traditional story to be the site of a battle in Saxon times. Walton Spire, built in Victorian times, is rumoured to be erected on an ancient battle stone dating back to the Battle of Brunanburh. It is thought that the battle stone is a gravestone marking a mass burial site for those that died in the battle. Some experts believe that this battle took place on the Hurstwood and Worsthorne moorlands above Burnley in Lancashire where the River Brun has its source. After the battle, Burnley belonged to the King of England. On the outskirts of Burnley, possible battle sites have been suggested. Local folklore tells of a great battle which was fought in ancient times in the hills above Burnley with tales of the River Brun flowing red with blood. There has also been tales of farmers ploughing up various pieces of weaponry said to date from this great battle. Nearby is a large mound which is either a glacial deposit or according to the story, it is the Knaves Hill or mound beneath which the warriors killed in the battle were buried. One account states that Shelfield Hill was once the site of an ancient camp. The site is now known as Walton Spire which was erected in Victorian times on top of a stone marker of unknown date.

These are not the only sites suggested, but they are those the most commonly put forth.

Aftermath[edit]

This poorly recalled battle is one of the most important in British history, in large part because Athelstan's defeat of the combined Norse-Celtic force facing him confirmed England as a fully unified kingdom. However, he was militarily weakened and the battle effectively forced all the kingdoms of the British Isles to consolidate in the positions they occupy today.^[13]

The Battle of Brunanburh still has a great deal of influence in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, 200 miles south of any probable site. 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.^[14] When Athelstan died, his body was transported from Gloucester to Malmesbury for burial.

The Old English poem[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

^ Alfred Smyth, Scandinavian York and Dublin (Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 1987), 2.62.
^ The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook, ed. Michael Livingston (University of Exeter Press, 2011).
^ BBC Battle of Brunanburh
^ Michael Livingston, "The Roads to Brunanburh," in The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook, p. 14.
^ Michael Livingston, "The Roads to Brunanburh," pp. 20-23.
^ Paul Cavill, "The Place-Name Debate," in The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook.
^ Michael Livingston, "The Roads to Brunanburh," in The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook, p. 19.
^ Birthplace of Englishness 'found'. BBC News Online (URL accessed 27 August 2006).
^ Paul Hill, The Age of Athelstan: Britain's Forgotten History (Stroud: Tempus, 2004), pp. 141-42.
^ Anglo-Saxon warfare
^ Lawrence Snell. The Suppression of the Religious Foundations of Devon and Cornwall. 1966
^ http://www.lhsociety.org/LivesayName.html Livesay Historical Society
^ Michael Livingston, "The Roads to Brunanburh."
^ http://www.athelstanmuseum.org.uk/warden_freemen.html

Sources[edit]

The 53 primary sources for study of the battle are available in new original-language editions with facing-page English translations and explanatory notes in The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook, ed. Michael Livingston (University of Exeter Press, 2011). This book also features the most up-to-date scholarship on the battle, including 11 secondary source essays. In addition to this sourcebook, the following are common references:

Primary sources[edit]

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, ed. D. Dumville and S. Keynes, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. A Collaborative Edition. 8 vols. Cambridge, 1983; tr. Michael J. Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. 2nd ed. London, 2000.
The Battle of Brunanburh (Old English poem), ed. Alistair Campbell, The Battle of Brunanburh. London: Heinemann, 1938.
Æthelweard, Chronicon, ed. and tr. Alistair Campbell, The Chronicle of Æthelweard. London, 1961.
William of Malmesbury, Gesta regum Anglorum, ed. and tr. R.A.B. Mynors, R. M. Thomson and M. Winterbottom, William of Malmesbury. Gesta Regum Anglorum. The History of the English Kings. OMT. 2 vols: vol 1. Oxford, 1998.
Henry of Huntingdon, Historia Anglorum, ed. and tr. D.E. Greenway, Henry Archdeacon of Huntingdon. Historia Anglorum. The History of the English People. OMT. Oxford, 1996.
Annals of Ulster, ed. and tr. Seán Mac Airt and Gearóid Mac Niocaill, The Annals of Ulster (to AD 1131). Dublin, 1983.
Annals of the Four Masters, ed. and tr. John O’Donovan. Annála Rioghachta Éireann. Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters. 7 vols. Royal Irish Academy. Dublin, 1848-51.
Egils saga, ed. Finnur Jónsson, Egils saga Skallagrímssonar. Halle, 1894; tr. Herman Pálsson and Paul Edwards, Egil's Saga. Harmondsworth, 1976.

Secondary sources[edit]

An Oxford History of England. Volume 2: Anglo Saxon England.
Hardwick, Charles. Ancient Battle-fields in Lancashire. London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., Stationers' Hall Court, 1882.
Marren, Peter. Battles of the Dark Ages. Bamsley: Pen and Sword, 2006.

External links[edit]

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

[2] The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook, ed. Michael Livingston (University of Exeter Press, 2011).

[3] BBC Battle of Brunanburh

[4] Michael Livingston, "The Roads to Brunanburh," in The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook, p. 14.

[5] Michael Livingston, "The Roads to Brunanburh," pp. 20-23.

[6] Paul Cavill, "The Place-Name Debate," in The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook.

[7] Michael Livingston, "The Roads to Brunanburh," in The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook, p. 19.

[8] Birthplace of Englishness 'found'. BBC News Online (URL accessed 27 August 2006).

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

[10] Anglo-Saxon warfare

[11] Lawrence Snell. The Suppression of the Religious Foundations of Devon and Cornwall. 1966

[12] ttp://www.lhsociety.org/LivesayName.html Livesay Historical Society

[13] Michael Livingston, "The Roads to Brunanburh."

[14] ttp://www.athelstanmuseum.org.uk/warden_freemen.html

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Sources[edit]

Background[edit]

Battle[edit]

Battle site[edit]

Aftermath[edit]

The Old English poem[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

Sources[edit]

Primary sources[edit]

Secondary sources[edit]

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]