logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2024
37m 6s

Battle of Brunanburh

iHeartPodcasts
About this episode

The Battle of Brunanburh took place in 937, and is often referred to as the battle that made England. But there are a LOT of questions about that battle, including how it played out and where it took place.

Research:

  • “Battle of Brunanburh.” The Anglo Saxons. https://www.theanglosaxons.com/battle-of-brunanburh-poem/
  • Anderson, Anne. “Battle of Brunanburh: The Site Argument.” Liverpool Daily Post. Sept. 18, 1937. https://www.newspapers.com/image/891771637/?match=1&terms=brunanburh
  • Blakemore, Erin. “England Was Born on This Battlefield. Why can’t historians find it?” National Geographic. May 24, 2023. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/battle-of-brunanburh-england-anglo-saxon-victory?loggedin=true&rnd=1725286067852
  • Bolton, W. F. “‘Variation’ in The Battle of Brunanburh.” The Review of English Studies, vol. 19, no. 76, 1968, pp. 363–72. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/512805
  • Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Athelstan". Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Aug. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Athelstan
  • Castelow, Ellen. “Battle of Brunanburh 937AD.” Historic UK. Nov. 25, 2014. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Battle-of-Brunanburh/
  • Cavill, P. (2022). The Battle of Brunanburh: The Yorkshire Hypothesis. English Studies, 104(1), 19–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/0013838X.2022.2154045
  • Cavill, Paul. “Vikings: Fear and Faith in Anglo-Saxon England.” Harper Collins. https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/-sczsteve/Cavill_2001.pdf
  • “The Danes in Lancashire, or the Battle of Brunanburh, and the Probable Locality of the Conflict.” Preston Chronicle and Lancashire Advisor. Jan. 17, 1857. https://www.newspapers.com/image/392902369/?match=1&terms=brunanburh
  • Halloran, Kevin. “The Brunanburh Campaign: A Reappraisal.” The Scottish Historical Review, vol. 84, no. 218, 2005, pp. 133–48. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25529849
  • Hardwick, Charles. “Where was the Batt;e of Brunanburh fought?” The Preston Chronicle and Lancashire Advertiser. July 12, 1856. https://www.newspapers.com/image/392945292/?match=1&terms=brunanburh
  • Livingston, Michael. “Never Greater Slaughter: Brunaburh and the Birth of England.” Osprey. 2021.
  • Loxton, Alice. “What happened at the Battle of Brunanburh?” History Hit. Oct. 25, 2019. https://www.historyhit.com/what-happened-at-the-battle-of-brunanburh/
  • McDonald, J.E. “Stockport and the Battle of Brunanburh.” Wimslow and Alderley and Knutsford Advertiser. Sept. 22, 1933. https://www.newspapers.com/image/887178425/?match=1&terms=brunanburh
  • Neilson, Geo. “Brunanburh and Burnswork.” The Scottish Historical Review, vol. 7, no. 25, 1909, pp. 37–55. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25518148
  • Sartore, Melissa. “Who was the first king of England? The answer is … complicated.” National Geographic. May 2, 2023. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/first-king-of-england-aethelstan?loggedin=true&rnd=1725286069300
  • Whitelock, Dorothy. "Alfred". Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Aug. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alfred-king-of-Wessex
  • WIRRAL ARCHAEOLOGY. “The search for the Battle of Brunanburh, is over.” Liverpool University Press Blog. October 21, 2019. https://liverpooluniversitypress.blog/2019/10/22/the-search-for-the-battle-of-brunanburh-is-over/
  • “Wirral Archaeology and the Search for the Battle of Brunanburh.” Wirral Archaeology. https://www.wirralarchaeology.org/pages/wirral-archaeology-and-the-search-for-the-battle-of-brunanburh/
  • “Walton-Le-Dale in the Olden Time.” The Preston Chronicle and Lancashire Advertiser. June 20, 1863. https://www.newspapers.com/image/392939927/?match=1&terms=brunanburh
  • Wood, M. (2013). Searching for Brunanburh: The Yorkshire Context of the ‘Great War’ of 937. Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, 85(1), 138–159. https://doi.org/10.1179/0084427613Z.00000000021

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Yesterday
Peter Stumpp, Werewolf of Bedburg
Peter Stubbe or Peter Stumpp, also known as the Werewolf of Bedburg, was part of a case in Germany where the concepts of witchcraft and lycanthropy were interconnected. Research: Baillie, Nathan. “Monstrous Lessons: Peter Stumpp, the Werewolf of Bedburg.” University of Saskatchew ... Show More
40m 49s
Oct 6
Loudun Possessions
In 17th century France a group of nuns described some unsettling visitations at their convent, which developed into a story of possession, political intrigue, and a moment in time that was rife with social tensions. Research: The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Wars of Reli ... Show More
35m 6s
Oct 4
SYMHC Classics: Bell Witch
This 2016 episode covers a haunting story from the early 1800s. Many narratives have blossomed from the Bell Witch story, but when you really try to look at the facts, they're few and far between.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
29m 42s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2024
189. Culloden: Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Last Stand
Few battles in history have been remembered as powerfully, nor been as mythologised, as Culloden on the 16th of April 1746. Under the leadership of Charles Edward Stuart - Bonnie Prince Charlie, ‘the Young Pretender’ - the Jacobites fight to the death upon Culloden Moor to place ... Show More
1h 2m
Sep 1
The English Civil War
What sparks a nation to turn against its own king? Professor Suzannah Lipscomb dives into the turbulent and transformative decade that witnessed the English Civil Wars — a bloody clash that claimed nearly 185,000 lives and reshaped the very soul of Britain. From the power struggl ... Show More
44m 2s
Dec 2017
The Battle of Ruapekapeka
As relations between Māori and Pākehā sour in the years after the Treaty of Waitangi, Hone Heke makes his famous attacks on the flagstaff at Kororāreka/Russell in 1845. This sparks the NZ Wars proper, with the fight for sovereignty, development of trench warfare and inconclusive ... Show More
47m 58s
Sep 9
After 1066: The Harrying of the North
Dr. Eleanor Janega unravels the blood-soaked aftermath of the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest of England. Joined by Professor Levi Roach, Eleanor delves into the harrowing campaign, known as the Harrying of the North, where William the Conqueror brutally suppressed the ... Show More
51m 47s
Apr 2025
556. 1066: The Battle of Hastings (Part 3)
Following King Harold Godwinson’s climactic victory at the Battle of Stanford Bridge, and the death of Harald Hardrada, what did he do when news reached him that William of Normandy’s army had landed further south? How did the two armies finally come together for one of the most ... Show More
59m 1s
Sep 21
The Picts: Rulers of the North
Tristan Hughes journeys up to windswept Scotland to uncover the secrets of the Picts — fierce warriors, skilled artisans, enemies of Rome and rulers of the North.In this special episode of The Ancients - recorded on site at East Lomond hill fort and National Museums Scotland - Tr ... Show More
45m 45s
Feb 2025
The Battle of Stalingrad
During World War Two, the Battle of Stalingrad was one of the most brutal engagements of the entire conflict, and would go on to be one of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare. Over a course of six months, Soviet forces fought to defend their city against the German Ar ... Show More
1h 2m
Apr 2025
555. 1066: Slaughter at Stamford Bridge (Part 2)
In the tumultuous climax of 1066, why was Harold’s very own brother Tostig the first of the mighty foes he had to face? How did Harald Hardrada then launch his invasion of England, and how much resistance did he initially receive? And, what unfolded at the bloody battle of Stamfo ... Show More
1h 10m
Oct 2024
The Battle of Bull Run
On July 21, 1861, Confederate and Union forces met for the first time in full-scale battle at Bull Run Creek, near Manassas, Virginia. By the end of the day nearly 900 men were dead, and it was clear that this war would not be over in 90 days. Don is joined by President of the Am ... Show More
30m 17s
Dec 2024
228. The Battle of the Bulge
On December 16, 1944, Hitler launched his 'last gamble' in the snow-covered forests of the Ardennes in Belgium, hoping to smash through the Allied lines in the west and retake the Belgian port of Antwerp on the coast of the English Channel. Joining Saul to discuss the Battle of t ... Show More
56m 11s