Battle of Maserfield

The Battle of Maserfield () was fought on 5 August 642. It was mainly between the armies of the Christian king Oswald of Northumbria and the pagan King Penda of Mercia. The battle ended in Oswald's death and his army's defeat. The site of the battle is reported to be at Oswestry in Shropshire.

 Background 

King Oswald's uncle, King Edwin of Northumbria, was killed at the Battle of Hatfield Chase in 633 by Penda and his ally Cadwallon ap Cadfan.John Davies, A History of Wales (London: Penguin Books, 1994), p. 63 After the battle Cadwallon and Penda began slaughtering the people of Northumbria. This included men, women and children.Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, trans. Leo Sherley Price, revsd. R. E. Latham (London; New York: Penguin, 1990), p. 140 Northumbria fell apart and was divided into its two former kingdoms of Deira and Bernicia.Peter Hunter Blair, Roman Britain and Early England 55 B.C.–A.D 871 (New York; London: W. W. Norton & Company, 1963), p. 194 Oswald defeated and killed Cadwallon ap Cadfan at the Battle of Heavenfield in 634. After that Oswald reunited Northumbria into a single kingdom.Rudolf Abraham, St Oswald's Way and St Cuthbert's Way (Milnthorpe, Cumbria: Cicerone, 2013), p. 26 Oswald was considered a bretwalda by Bede, the fourth such overlord over the other Anglo-Saxon kings.Frank Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971), p. 34 Penda remained a constant threat but was kept busy fighting the East Angles and making new alliances with the Welsh.Mike Ashley, The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens (New York: Carroll & Graf, 1999), p. 251 Oswald also created several similar alliances in an effort to contain Penda.Mike Ashley, The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens (New York: Carroll & Graf, 1999), p. 280 About 638 he won a battle against Owen Map Bili, the king of Strathclyde near Edinburgh. In 640 Oswald recovered the kingdom of Lindsey from Penda.

 The battle 

There is no record of what led to this battle or why this place.Frank Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971), p. 82 As a pagan, Penda would not have been happy over Oswald bringing monks from Iona to Lindisfarne, further expanding Christianity in the north.John Marsden, Northanhymbre Saga; the History of the Anglo-Saxon Kings of Northumbria (London: Kyle Cathie Limited, 1992), p. 129 The conquest of the Gododdin at  Din Eidyn  (Edinburgh) in 638 removed the last stronghold of the Britons in the north. Domnall Brecc, King of Dal Riata defeated them and was a close ally of Oswald. Northumbrians may have been there also. It would have angered the Welsh, Britons themselves, against Oswald.Peter Hunter Blair, Roman Britain and Early England 55 B.C.–A.D 871 (New York; London: W. W. Norton & Company, 1963), p. 195 In 642 the armies of Northumbria and Mercia (with his Welsh allies) met at a place called  Maserfield (probably in Shropshire).Peter Hume Brown, History of Scotland: to the present time, Volume 1 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), p. 17 Oswald was killed in the battle.John Marsden, Northanhymbre Saga; the History of the Anglo-Saxon Kings of Northumbria (London: Kyle Cathie Limited, 1992), p. 130 For a year after the battle his head and hands were fastened to stakes. Oswald's brother Oswiu finally recovered Oswald's body. Oswiu succeeded Oswald as king of Northumbria.Mike Ashley, The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens (New York: Carroll & Graf, 1999), p. 281

 Outcome 

The battle of Maserfield left Penda "the most formidable king in England."Frank Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971), p. 83 Following the battle, Deira, in the southern part of Northumbria, chose a king of its own, Oswine. Bernicia in the north was ruled by Oswald's brother Oswiu. The immediate effect of the battle was to weaken and divide Northumbria. The long term effect was that Oswiu restored Northumbrian power over the next 13 years. He finally defeated and killed Penda at the Battle of Winwaed in 655.Peter Hunter Blair, Roman Britain and Early England; 55 B.C.–A.D. 871 (New York; London: W. W. Norton & Company, 1966), p. 196

 Notes 

 References 

 Other websites 
 Kings of Northumbria
 Who was St. Oswald? 

Maserfield
Maserfield
Category:Anglo-Saxons
Category:642
Category:Shropshire