# Batalla de Brunanburgh

La batalla de Brunanburgh va tenir lloc el 937 i va enfrontar les forces del Regne de Wessex, dirigides pel rei Etelstan i el seu germà Edmund i una triple aliança entre el rei viking Olaf Guthfrithsson del Regne de Dublín, Constantí II d'Escòcia i Owen I del Regne de Strathclyde. La batalla va acabar amb una decisiva victòria anglosaxona.
Diverses fonts també apunten la presència de mercenaris d'Irlanda, Gal·les i Cornualla, donant una idea sobre la magnitud de la batalla.

## Fonts

La major part de la informació sobre la batalla ens ve donada per la Crònica anglosaxona, els escrits de l'historiador anglonormand Guillem de Malmesbury, els Annals de Tigernach, els Annals d'Ulster i Brut y Tywysogion. També hi ha referències a la batalla, encara que amb un caire més llegendari, en les sagues islandeses, especialment la Saga d'Egil Skallagrímson, protagonitzada per Egill Skallagrímsson, antiheroi, mercenari i berserker que lluita al costat del regne de Wessex com home de confiança d'Etelstan.

## Antecedents

Abans de la batalla, Etelstan ja havia derrotat els vikings de Jòrvik l'any 928, consolidant el poder de Wessex sobre tota Anglaterra. Davant d'aquesta amenaça, Constantí II d'Escòcia va començar a buscar aliances entre els seus veïns per defensar les fronteres del Regne d'Alba.
Així doncs, Constantí va casar la seva filla amb Olaf Guthfrithsson, rei viking de Dublín i York, accelerant l'aliança amb els comtes del Northumbria. D'altra banda, Owen I de Strathclyde ja era part de la família de Constantí i, per tant, va ser fàcil incorporar el seu regne a l'aliança contra Etelstan.

## Batalla

Basant-se en diverses fonts, James Parket va ser capaç de narrar la batalla en el següent escrit: "Anlaf, fill de Shtric, que era el cabdill dels Ostmen (vikings) d'Irlanda, es va aliar amb Constantí, el rei dels escocesos, i es va preparar per recuperar Northumbria. Reuní un gran exèrcit en Irlanda i juntament amb els escocesos va desembarcar en el riu Humber. Etelstan va marxar contra ells amb el seu germà Edmund, però no hi va haver cap batalla fins que els saxons no van arribar a l'extrem de Northumbria. Allí, en un lloc de nom Brunanburg, els nòrdics i els escocesos s'havien fet forts a l'estil nòrdic, amb una forta tanca dins d'un profund fossat i quan foren atacats pels saxons va esclatar una lluita desesperada. Es va superar el fossat, es va batre la paret d'escuts i després d'un dia de lluita els aliats van fugir. Cinc reis i set cabdills van quedar morts, a més d'una innombrable quantitat d'homes. "
A més dels cinc reis i els set jarls vikings, dos cosins d'Etelstan i un destacat bisbe anglosaxó també van deixar la vida en la batalla. Diverses fonts afirmen que els de Wessex van llençar una càrrega de cavalleria, contradint la creença popular que els antics anglesos només lluitaven amb tropes d'infanteria. La cavalleria era relativament insignificant entre les forces saxones i, per tant, és probable que fossin mercenaris d'altres regnes.

## Fets posteriors

Aquesta batalla és una de les més importants en la història britànica, ja que la victòria d'Etelstan sobre la triple aliança de nòrdics i celtes va consolidar la unitat d'Anglaterra com un regne anglosaxó. Malgrat tot, la força militar del regne de Wessex va quedar tan malmesa que la resta de regnes es van consolidar en els seus territoris, dominis que han sobreviscut fins als nostres dies.

## Localització

Alguns indrets suggerits com a escenari de la batalla són:
* Bromborough en Wirral
* Barnsdale, South Yorkshire
* Brinsworth, South Yorkshire
* Bromswold
* Burnley
* Burnswark, a prop de Lockerbie al sud d'Escòcia
* Lanchester, en el Comtat de Durham
* Hunwick en el Comtat de Durham
* Londesborough i Nunburnholme, al Riding de l'Est en Yorkshire
* Heysham, Lancashire
* Barton-upon-Humber en North Lincolnshire
* Little Weighton, al Riding de l'Est en Yorkshire.

## Notes

* ↑ According to Michael Livingston, the case for a location in the Wirral has wide support among current historians. Charters from the 1200s suggest that Bromborough (a town on the Wirral Peninsula) was originally named Brunanburh (which could mean "Bruna's fort"). In his essay "The Place-Name Debate", Paul Cavill listed the steps by which this transition may have occurred. Evidence suggests that there were Scandinavian settlements in the area starting in the late 800s, and the town is also situated near the River Mersey, which was a commonly used route by Vikings sailing from Ireland. Additionally, the Chronicle states that the invaders escaped at Dingesmere, and Dingesmere could be interpreted as "mere of the Thing". The word Thing (or þing, in Old Norse) might be a reference to the Viking Thing (or assembly) at Thingwall on the Wirral. In Old English, mere refers to a body of water, although the specific type of body varies depending on the context. In some cases, it refers to a wetland, and a large wetland is present in the area. Therefore, in their article "Revisiting Dingesmere", Cavill, Harding, and Jesch propose that Dingesmere is a reference to a marshland or wetland near the Viking Thing at Thingwall on the Wirral Peninsula. Since the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle describes the battle as taking place "ymbe Brunanburh" ("around Brunanburh"), numerous locations near Bromborough have been proposed, including the Brackenwood Golf Course in Bebington, Wirral (formerly within the Bromborough parish). Recent research on the Wirral has identified a possible landing site for the Norse and Scots. This is a feature called Wallasey Pool. This is in the north of the Wirral near the River Mersey. The pool is linked to the river by a creek which, before it was developed into modern docks, stretched inland some two miles, was, at high tide over 20 peus (6 m) deep and was surrounded by a moss or mere which is now known as Bidston Moss. In addition to this landing site a Roman Road leads from the area of Bidston to Chester. Following the route of this road would take an invading force through the area the battle is believed to have been fought. Landscape survey has identified a likely position for Bruna's burh. This survey places the burh at Brimstage approximately 11 milles (18 km) from Chester.
* ↑ The civil parish of Burghwallis was recorded as "Burg" in the Domesday book, likely because of a Roman fort situated near the place where the Great North Road (Ermine Street) is met by the road from Templeborough. The site is overlooked by a hill called "Barnsdale Bar", past which flows the River Went. Michael Wood has suggested this site, noting the similarity between Went and Symeon of Durham's Wendun.
* ↑ Michael Wood suggests Tinsley Wood, near Brinsworth, as a possible site of the battle. He notes that there is a hill nearby, White Hill, and observes that the surrounding landscape is strikingly similar to the description of the battlefield contained in Egil's Saga. There is an ancient Roman temple on White Hill, and Wood states that the name Symeon of Durham used for the place of the battle, Weondun, means "the hill where there had been a pagan Roman sanctuary or temple". According to Wood, Frank Stenton believed that this piece of evidence could help in finding the location of the battle. There is also a Roman fort nearby, and burh means "fortified place" in Old English; Wood suggests that this fort may have been Brunanburh.
* ↑ According to Alfred Smyth, the original form of the name Bromswold, Bruneswald, could fit with Brunanburh and other variants of the name.
* ↑ Burnswark is a hill 280 metres (920 ft) tall, and is the site of two Roman military camps and many fortifications from the Iron Age. It was initially suggested as the site of the battle by George Neilson in 1899 and was the leading theory in the early 1900s, having obtained support from historians such as Charles Oman. Kevin Halloran argues that the different forms used by various authors when naming the battle site associate it with a hill and fortifications, since burh (used by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle poem) means "a fortified place", and dune (used by Æthelweard and Symeon of Durham, in names such as Brunandune and We(o)ndune) means "a hill". He also states that the name "Burnswark" could be related to Bruneswerce, another alternative name for the battle site used by Symeon of Durham and Geoffrey Gaimar.
* ↑ Andrew Breeze has argued for Lanchester, since the Roman fort of Longovicium overlooks the point where the road known as Dere Street crossed the River Browney.
* ↑ Hunwick in County Durham is a recent location suggested by Stefan Bjornsson and Bjorn Verhardsson in their book Brunanburh: Located Through Egil's Saga published on 4 May 2018.
* ↑ Barton-upon-Humber in North Lincolnshire is the most recent location, suggested by Deakin 2020, pàg. 27-44

## Referències

* ↑ Lawrence Snell. The Suppression of the Religious Foundations of Devon and Cornwall. 1966
* ↑ BBC Battle of Brunanburh
* ↑ The New School history of England James Parket 1870 pp42
* ↑ Marren, pp. 15-17.
* ↑ Livingston, 2011, p. 19.
* 1 2 Cavill, Paul; Harding, Stephen; Jesch, Judith «Revisiting Dingesmere». Journal of the English Place Name Society, 36, 10-2004, pàg. 25–36.
* 1 2 Foot, 2011, p. 178.
* ↑ Cavill 2001, p.105
* ↑ Cavill, Paul. "The Place-Name Debate", in Livingston 2011, p. 328
* ↑ Birthplace of Englishness 'found'. BBC News Online (URL accessed 27 August 2006).
* ↑ Capener, David, Brunanburh and the Routes to Dingesmere, 2014. Countyvise Ltd
* ↑ Capener, David, 2014
* ↑ Wood, 2013, p. 138–159.
* ↑ Wood 2001, pp. 206–14.
* ↑ Smyth 1975, pp. 51–52
* ↑ Wilkinson 1857, pp. 21–41
* ↑ Partington 1909, pp. 28–43
* ↑ Newbigging 1893, pp. 9–21
* ↑ «History of the Parish of Rochdale». The Rochdale Press. Arxivat de l'original el 2021-09-17. [Consulta: 1r gener 2021].
* ↑ In 1856, Burnley Grammar School master and antiquary Thomas T. Wilkinson published a paper suggesting that the battle occurred on the moors above Burnley, noting that the town stands on the River Brun. His work was subsequently referenced and expanded by a number of local authors. Notably Thomas Newbigging argued the battle took place six miles from Burnley, namely in Broadclough, Rossendale, associating the battle with an area known as Broadclough Dykes. Broadclough is also said to be the site where a Danish chieftain was killed in a battle between the Danes and Saxons. His grave is said to be at a farm near Stubbylee.
* ↑ «Battle of Brunanburh». UK Battlefields Trust. [Consulta: 7 juny 2012].
* ↑ Halloran, 2005, p. 133-148.
* ↑ Breeze, Andrew. «Brunanburh in 937: Bromborough or Lanchester?», 04-12-2014. [Consulta: 4 abril 2015].
* ↑ Breeze, Andrew. Brunanburh Located: The Battlefield and the Poem in Aspects of Medieval English Language and Literature (ed. Michiko Ogura and Hans Sauer). Peter Lang: Berlin, 2018, p. 61–80 [Consulta: 27 abril 2019].
* ↑ England, Sally «The Nunburnholme Cross and the Battle of Brunanburh». The Archaeological Forum Journal. Council for British Archaeology, 2, 2020, pàg. 24–57.
* ↑ «Brun and Brunanburh: Burnley and Heysham». North West Regional Studies. Arxivat de l'original el 2020-07-04. [Consulta: 1r gener 2021].
* ↑ Bulmer's History and Directory of East Yorkshire (1892)]..

## Bibliografia

* Crònica anglosaxona, 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.
* Ethelweard, Chronicon, ed. and tr. Alistair Campbell, The Chronicle of Æthelweard. London, 1961.
* Guillem de 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.
* Enric de 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 d'Ulster, ed. and tr. Seán Mac Airt and Gearóid Mac Niocaill, The Annals of Ulster (to AD 1131). Dublin, 1983.
* Annals dels quatre mestres, 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.
* Saga d'Egil Skallagrímson, ed. Finnur Jónsson, Egils saga Skallagrímssonar. Halle, 1894; tr. Herman Pálsson and Paul Edwards, Egil's Saga. Harmondsworth, 1976.
* 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.

## Enllaços externs

* Text del poema "Battle of Brunanburh"
* BBC "Cuerdale Hoard"
* British Museum Cuerdale collection
* The Cuerdale Hoard Arxivat 2016-03-16 a Wayback Machine.
* The Battle of Brunanburgh