Battle of Maserfield - The Battle

The Battle

The outcome of the battle was defeat for the Northumbrians. Bede mentions the story that Oswald prayed for the souls of his soldiers when he saw that he was about to die. Oswald's body was cut into pieces, and his head and arms mounted on poles; the parts were retrieved in the next year by his brother and successor Oswiu. Since Penda was a pagan and Oswald was Christian, the latter was subsequently venerated as a martyr and saint. Bede reports a number of miracles attributed to Oswald's bones and to the spot where he died. (In the 12th century, Henry of Huntingdon wrote of the battle: "It is said the plain of Maserfeld was white with the bones of the Saints".) The Historia Brittonum accredits Penda's victory to "diabolical agency", but the characterization of the battle as a clash between Christians and pagans may be oversimplified if there were Welsh, who were Christian, fighting on Penda's side. The 20th century historian, D. P. Kirby, wrote that the battle left Penda as "without question the most powerful Mercian ruler so far to have emerged in the midlands."

According to the Historia Brittonum and the Annales Cambriae, Penda's brother Eowa, also said to have been a king of the Mercians, was killed in the battle along with Oswald. The possibility exists that he was subject to Oswald and fighting in the battle as his ally. It has been suggested that Eowa was the dominant king among the Mercians for a period prior to the battle, and it has also been suggested that he had ruled the northern Mercians while Penda ruled the southern Mercians. Since the Historia Brittonum says Penda ruled for only ten years (Bede says 22 years: 633–655), this may mean that it was dating Penda's reign from the time of his victory at Maserfield; this would make sense if Eowa's death removed an important rival to Penda, enabling him to claim or consolidate authority over all the Mercians.