Q&A: Searching for Britain's 'Great' battlefield
Professor Michael Livingston of The Citadel, Military College of South Carolina, reveals the lost 10th century battlefield that sealed the foundation of England
In 937, four armies met at a place called Brunanburh. Three of them were an alliance led by Anlaf Guthfrithson, Viking King of Dublin; Constantine II, King of Alba (Scotland); and Owain, King of Strathclyde. These allies came together against Athelstan, the first king of England and grandson of Alfred the Great. Then known as the Great Battle, this huge engagement shocked a violent age and resulted in a decisive victory for Athelstan.
Professor Michael Livingston has written a new book called Never Greater Slaughter about Brunanburh, with a forward by bestselling author Bernard Cornwell. Livingston discusses why the battle was fought, its importance to English history and why the Wirral Peninsula may hold the key to its location.
HOW IMPORTANT IS ATHELSTAN TO ENGLISH HISTORY?
He is extremely important and particularly for this battle because Brunanburh largely established what we think of as England. It secured its survival at a time when that was tenuous. Athelstan was the force that made it happen and he bound together disparate peoples against a disparate force. Brunanburh saw him face off against an alliance that was effectively ‘everybody else’ from the British Isles attempting to destroy him. It is an extraordinary testament to Athelstan’s political and military capabilities that he was able to win.
WHAT WAS THE CONDITION OF ENGLAND BEFORE 937?
Athelstan and his family had been pushing back the English borders to the north and west before Brunanburh. He had made a punitive expedition to Scotland after they crossed his border. We think Athelstan had naval forces that made it all the way to Caithness. The Scots’ response was to show rebellion and this is what Athelstan got from a lot of other leaders. Before Brunanburh he probably felt that much of England was under control and that he was a king above kings. He just had no idea that his enemies would set aside their differences to [try to] destroy him.
WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES LED TO BRUNANBURH?
We don’t know who had the idea to confront Athelstan first. The only thing we have that is close to a smoking gun would be a Welsh poem that calls for exactly what happened. This poem effectively says, “Let’s set aside our differences: Welsh, Scots, and Irish etc. Let’s just kill the English.” However, the Welsh don’t appear to have fought at Brunanburh so how this poem was written advocating a Viking-celtic alliance without Welsh participation is a mystery. We’re also missing what the agreements were to prevent the Vikings and Celts fighting among themselves. We just don’t have the sources we would like from their side to explain it. Of course, the English also had no idea and therefore don’t have an explanation either. It’s really frustrating not to have that answer.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE BATTLE ITSELF?
A lot of what we know comes from an English poem in the Anglo-saxon Chronicle. It says that Brunanburh was an unusual all-day engagement that was fought from mid-morning until “the setting of the sun”. It was also a “shield-wall” battle but the specific details of which kings commanded which flanks are unknown. The allied wall finally broke and it became a rout, which was often the way with medieval battles. There was a running battle back to the ships that had brought the alliance to England.
Two of the main allied kings got away, although Owain probably died. Constantine
II’S son was also killed along with many lesser kings and lords. A huge part of the political class died and the bloodshed was extraordinary. All of the sources agree on this and referred to it as the Great Battle for generations. This was a time of battles but everybody would have known what the Great Battle meant. This demonstrates just how calamitous Brunanburh was.
THERE HAVE BEEN MANY SUGGESTED LOCATIONS FOR THE BATTLEFIELD. WHY DO YOU THINK BRUNANBURH WAS FOUGHT ON THE WIRRAL PENINSULA?
When you collate all the information about where it might have been fought you start zeroing in pretty quickly on the Wirral Peninsula. This is because it is the only place in England where you have a modern place name that could have been Brunanburh, which is Bromborough. That doesn’t mean that it is ‘the’ Brunanburh but ‘a’ Brunanburh. However, it fits all our expectations. The Wirral is geographically closer to Ireland than Yorkshire (for example) and there was a pre-existing Norse colony with a large harbour.
Lots of people disagree but archaeologists have found artefacts relatively recently. The preliminary stuff includes artefacts that look like field-smithy work. This means things that could be melted down in the field so my guess is we’ve got field work at an English encampment during post-battle recycling. To have recycling on this scale means that you’d have to have a very large army. Among the things that have also been found in and around this area are 10th century arrowheads that are associated with Vikings from Dublin. Therefore, on the Venn diagram of things,
I think Bromborough is Brunanburh.
WHY DO YOU THINK THE BATTLE HAS BEEN FORGOTTEN DESPITE ITS IMPORTANCE?
It’s the events of 1066 that largely makes Brunanburh almost disappear. It’s a huge reset button because it changes the English language and social structure. 1066 couldn’t have happened without Brunanburh because there would have been no England to conquer but it nevertheless takes on a life of its own. This is rightly so because the Battle of Hastings was incredible and justly remembered. Nevertheless, it does mean that what happened before basically gets erased, with a few exceptions like Alfred the Great.
TO WHAT EXTENT DID BRUNANBURH SEAL THE CREATION OF ENGLAND?
A lot of people talk about Brunanburh as the place where England was born. This doesn’t really compute with me but the rationale is that this was the point where the kingdom was here to stay. It was like the ‘coming of age’ for England as a mature nation. For at least that moment, Brunanburh set the boundaries that are essentially today’s English counties. It’s true that when Athelstan died those boundaries were pushed back a little. However, this is the moment where you get what people would recognise as England today. Simply on an objective historical level, this is a fascinating event.