Ethelstan: Or, the Battle of Brunanburgh, a Dramatic Chronicle

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Breeze, Andrew (4 December 2014). "Brunanburh in 937: Bromborough or Lanchester?". Society of Antiquaries of London: Ordinary Meeting of Fellows . Retrieved 4 April 2015. Barton-upon-Humber in North Lincolnshire is the most recent location, suggested by Deakin 2020, pp.27–44 According to Alfred Smyth, the original form of the name Bromswold, Bruneswald, could fit with Brunanburh and other variants of the name. [91] It is not difficult to see why Athelstan would have been a prized slave for a man like Ragnar, as he had intimate knowledge of the territory that Ragnar planned to raid. However, Athelstan also has the advantage that he can share that information with Ragnar because he speaks the Viking tongue. History records that he never married, which is unusual in a king because of the desire to leave an heir, and also that he liked to decorate his hair with golden ringlets…” Cornwell said in an interview while explaining his reasons for portraying Athelstan as a gay king.

a b c d Anonymous. ”Annals of Clonmacnoise". In The Battle of Brunanburh. A Casebook. Ed. Michael Livingston. University of Exeter Press. 2011. pp. 152–153

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Smyth, Alfred P. (1984). Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland, AD 80–1000. E. Arnold. ISBN 978-0-7131-6305-6. With his power finally secure, the young king wasted no time in pursuing an aggressive foreign policy. Marching north in 927 he conquered the Viking Kingdom of York (Jorvik), thus bringing all the English under one King for the first time in history. Athelstan was born in 894, whilst his grandfather Alfred the Great was still King. The 9th century had been a tumultuous one for the Saxon kingdoms of England, which had fallen one by one to invading Danes with the exception of Alfred’s kingdom: Wessex. Alfred had repelled many Danish invasions and earned his epithet, and by the time Athelstan was born he had left a legacy of good governance, well-fortified towns and military success. On 27 October 939 Athelstan – the first and perhaps the greatest King of England– died in Gloucester at the age of 47. This man was remembered as a famous warrior who defeated the Danes and the Scots and forged the Kingdom we now call England.

But, while the Athelstan that we see in the Vikings series may not be named for or based on a specific personage similar to himself, his character rings true for the historical period. Constantine retaliated in 937 with the help of the kingdoms of Strathclyde and Dublin, but were defeated at Brunanburgh, the location of which is uncertain and could have been anywhere between southern Scotland and Devon. Many moden historians favour Bromborough on the Wirral as the most likely location. Accompanied by his younger half-brother Edmund, Athelstan routed Constantine, though losses on both sides were heavy. Livingston, Michael, ed. (2011). The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook. University of Exeter Press. ISBN 978-0-85989-863-8.Breeze, Andrew (1999). "The Battle of Brunanburh and Welsh tradition". Neophilologus. 83 (3): 479–482. doi: 10.1023/A:1004398614393. S2CID 151098839. Edward the Elder had conquered the Danish territories in east Mercia and East Anglia with the assistance of Æthelflæd and her husband Æthelred, but when Edward died the Danish king Sihtric still ruled the Viking Kingdom of York (formerly the southern Northumbrian kingdom of Deira). In January 926, Æthelstan arranged for his only full sister to marry Sihtric. The two kings agreed not to invade each other's territories or to support each other's enemies. The following year Sihtric died, and Æthelstan seized the chance to invade. [d] Guthfrith, a cousin of Sihtric, led a fleet from Dublin to try to take the throne, but Æthelstan easily prevailed. He captured York and received the submission of the Danish people. According to a southern chronicler, he "succeeded to the kingdom of the Northumbrians", and it is uncertain whether he had to fight Guthfrith. [45] Southern kings had never ruled the north, and his usurpation was met with outrage by the Northumbrians, who had always resisted southern control. However, at Eamont, near Penrith, on 12 July 927, King Constantine II of Alba, King Hywel Dda of Deheubarth, Ealdred of Bamburgh, and King Owain of Strathclyde (or Morgan ap Owain of Gwent) [e] accepted Æthelstan's overlordship. His triumph led to seven years of peace in the north. [47] It corresponds closely to the description of the battle in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, but adds that: Few medieval texts refer to a known place, although the Humber estuary is mentioned by several sources. John of Worcester's Chronicon (early 12th C), [35] Symeon of Durham's Historia Regum (mid-12th C), [72] the Chronicle of Melrose (late 12th C) [75] and Robert Mannyng of Brunne's Chronicle (1338) [76] all state that Olaf's fleet entered the mouth of the Humber, while Robert of Gloucester's Metrical Chronicle (late 13th C) [77] says the invading army arrived "south of the Humber". Peter of Langtoft's Chronique (ca. 1300) [78] states the armies met at “ Bruneburgh on the Humber”, while Robert Mannyng of Brunne's Chronicle (1338) [76] claims the battle was fought at “ Brunesburgh on Humber”. Pseudo-Ingulf (ca. 1400) [79] says that as Æthelstan led his army into Northumbria (i.e. north of the Humber) he met on his way many pilgrims coming home from Beverley. Hector Boece's Historia (1527) [80] claims that the battle was fought by the River Ouse, which flows into the Humber estuary.

Conspiracies against the new king's rule formed in the early months of Athelstan's reign, lead by one Alfred, who was probably a member of the Saxon Royal House. The Kings brother, Edwin, was in 933 accused of being party to this conspiracy, despite his strong protestations to the contrary. Athelstan depicted in stained glass

Foot, Sarah, "Where English becomes British: Rethinking Contexts for Brunanburh", in Barrow, Julia; Andrew Wareham (2008). Myth, Rulership, Church and Charters: Essays in Honour of Nicholas Brooks. Aldershot: Ashgate. pp.127–144. invaded Scotland with a large military and naval force in 934. Although the reason for this invasion is uncertain, John of Worcester stated that the cause was Constantine's violation of the peace treaty made in 927. [6] Æthelstan evidently travelled through Beverley, Ripon, and Chester-le-Street. The army harassed the Scots up to Kincardineshire and the navy up to Caithness, but Æthelstan's force was never engaged. [7] Athelstan set up a system of authority through ealdormen. These men were essentially mini kings who governed large areas in the name of and under the authority of the king. Many of these ealdormen had Danish names, meaning they had earlier led Danish armies. Athelstan retained them. Below them were the reeves – noble landowners – who were charged with governing a town or estate. The reeves also had requirements of charity. Landowners had to pay a certain amount to the poor and free one enslaved person per year.