Brunanburh Reconsidered

In ad 937 one of the most decisive battles in British history was fought, between the army of the English king, Athelstan, and the combined forces of Causantin mac Aeda, king of Alba, Owain, king of Strathclyde and Anlaf Guthfrithson, Viking king of Dublin. The English victory confirmed Athelstan’s supremacy in Britain and his political and military achievement in creating an English monarchy. But where did the battle take place? In the absence of firm evidence, many suggestions have been made. In recent years the claims of the Wirral as the site of the long-lost battlefield of Brunanburh have received much attention but this identification may be misplaced.