Battle of Brunanburh |
from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
937 |
The Anglo-Saxons Athelstan, King of Wessex, ruled over most of southern and central England known as Wessex and Mercia with the aid of his half-brother Eadmund. | The Celts Constantine, King of Alba, ruled over roughly what is today the area of Scotland.
Eogan (Owein), King of Strathclyde, ruled over lands in South-West Scotland, Cumbria and parts of Wales. The Norse (Viking) The Earls of Northumbria ruled what is now Northumberland and northern Yorkshire.
Olaf (Anlaf), Danish King of Dublin, ruled over large areas of Ireland. |
There has long been talk of a great battle happening on Bourne Hill in Thornton which lasted for a whole day, so could this to be the elusive Battle of Brunanburh? Brunanburh literally translates to ‘Bruna’s Fort’ and in the Domesday Book of 1086 Burn, later Bourne, is known as 'Brune'.
Although in an Icelandic account of the battle, written in Egil's Saga, it states that the battle took place at ' Vínheiðar' translating to 'Vin-heath' which was by Vin-wood. The battle field is described as a level heath, with a river flowing on one side, a large wood on the other and with a town to the north.
The size of Bourne Hill itself would make it an unlikely site of such a large battle but it would provide a central meeting place for the danes, scots and welsh. They would have most definitely gathered near a tidal river to provide easy access to their fleet of ships and in an area just north of the then border. The River Wyre with its now lost harbour, the area being named Bergerode on earlier maps, would be a good candidate. The existence of the earlier Roman road known locally as the 'Danes Pad' would also suggest this was an area already known to be used.
The
most widely accepted location for the Battle of Brunanburh is now
Bromborough in Merseyside although it cannot be definately proved.
Perhaps Bruna's Fort, Vin-heath and Dingesmere are indeed lost place
names from around Thornton. One day legend might be proved right and
Thornton may indeed have been the location of one of the most
significant battles ever fought.
Additional Reading |