In this study the author uses topographic references found in the manuscript of the poem ‘Brúnanburh’ to try and locate the ‘site’ of this momentous battle. The first references were maritime then latterly landscape leading to field-names which have a more stable base than the constantly changing place-names.
In this study the author uses topographic references found in the manuscript of the poem 'Brúnanburh' to try and locate the 'site' of this momentous battle. The first references were maritime then latterly landscape leading to field-names which have a more stable base than the constantly changing place-names.
We focus attention to the possible sites for the Battle of Brunanburh by paying extra attention to all known sources known for the battle. We focus on two known poems that describe the events in detail; that is the Brunanburh poem and the poems in Egil's saga as well as other known sources for this battle. The poems in Egil's saga are contemporary with the events, even though the saga was written in the 13th century, the poems are older and are thought to be the work of Egill Skallagrímsson himself. We also use other references that conform to elements in other known sources like the issue of silver in this time. We conclude from all these sources that the Battle might have been fought in Hunwick in County Durham. We revive the poems in Egil's saga, the Brunanburh poem and the relation these poems have with the old Icelandic poem Völuspá and we conclude that the Brunanburh poem is much related to these Old Icelandic poems and Egill Skallagrímsson might have been the poet of the Brunanburh poem.
"Gathers together for the first time the key historical and literary primary sources for the study of the Battle of Brunanburh in their language of origin with facing-page translations and explanatory notes. Many of the sources are translated here for the first time."--Page 4 of cover.
This volume brings together a number of essays written by leading scholars in the field of early medieval English history. Focusing on three specific themes - myths, charters and warfare - each contribution presents a balance of both sources and interpretations. Furthermore, they link the subjects: warfare was the predominant theme in Anglo-Saxon myth; charters are an important source for military organisation and can also shed light on belief and cult. Several of the contributions take a wider perspective, looking at later interpretations of the Anglo-Saxon past, both in the Anglo-Norman and more modern periods. In all, the volume makes a significant addition to the study of Anglo-Saxon England, showing how seemingly unrelated topics can be used to illuminate other areas.
Estoire des Engleis is a rhymed chronicle of English history written in the British Isles in the 12th century. It is the oldest surviving example of historiography in the French vernacular, and is presented here in full with a facing-page translation in modern English prose and extensive explanatory notes.
Andrew Wawn draws together a wide range of source material, including novels, poems, lectures and periodicals, to give a comprehensive account of the construction and translation of the Viking age in 19th century Britain.
This book presents a collection of papers from experts in a broad range of disciplines, including history, archaeology, genetics, and linguistics, to provide a detailed understanding of the Vikings in peace and in war. It focuses on one particularly exciting area of the Viking world, namely the north-west section of England, where they are known to have settled in large numbers. The 12 integrated studies in this book are designed to reinvigorate the search for Vikings in this crucial region and to provide must-reading for anyone interested in Viking history.
The church of Durham, founded in 995, claimed in the Middle Ages to be in origin the church of Lindisfarne or Holy Island, the members of which had fled in the face of Viking raids and had wandered for long across northern England, before re-establishing their church at Chester-le-Street in Co. Durham and then at Durham itself. The text edited and translated here for the first time for over a century is the most complete and detailed account of the history of that church. Important as a piece of early post-Conquest historiography by an author about whom much is now known, the text is fascinating for the details it gives about the ecclesiastical community of Durham, the miracles which its members believed had occurred, and the place of the church of Durham in relation to the lands and secular inhabitants of northern England.
