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, it was called "the greatest single battle in Anglo-Saxon history before Hastings." Michael Livingston claimed that Brunanburh marks "the moment when Englishness came of age."
Mention of the battle is made in dozens of sources, in Old English, Latin, Irish, Welsh, Icelandic, and Middle English, and there are many later accounts or responses to the battle, including those by Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Jorge Luis Borges. A contemporary record of the battle is found in the Old English poem Battle of Brunanburh, preserved in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
Read more about Battle Of Brunanburh: Sources, Background, Battle, Battle Site, Aftermath
Famous quotes containing the words Battle Of Brunanburh, battle and/or brunanburh:
“Athelstan King,
Lord among Earls,
Bracelet-bestower and
Baron of Barons,”
—Unknown. Battle of Brunanburh (l. 1–4)
“Whose kiss
stings and stills;
your kiss was stale, satiate and pale
beside his,
who commands battles,
who kills
when the battle delays.”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)
“Brake the shield-wall,
Hewed the lindenwood,
Hacked the battleshield,”
—Unknown. Battle of Brunanburh (l. 11–13)