Everything about The Battle Of Chester totally explained
The
Battle of Chester (in
Old Welsh,
Guaith Caer Legion and in
modern Welsh,
Brwydr Caer), is generally agreed to have taken place in
616, as first argued by
Charles Plummer, although near contemporary annals give a variety of dates. It was fought between the Northumbrians of
King Æthelfrith and a number of Northern
Welsh kingdoms, certainly including
Powys and
Rhôs. Northumbria was victorious and Kings
Selyf Sarffgadau of Powys and
Cadwal Crysban of Rhôs were both killed in the slaughter. Circumstantial evidence suggests that
King Iago of
Gwynedd may also have been amongst the dead.
Bede records that a large number of monks from
Bangor-on-Dee "resorted...to pray at the...battle...King Ethelfrid being informed [ofthis]...said, "If then they cry to their God against us, in truth, though they don't bear arms, yet they fight against us, because they oppose us by their prayers." He, therefore, commanded them to be attacked first ... About twelve hundred of those that came to pray are said to have been killed". Bede thought this was divine retribution for the Welsh bishops having refused to submit to
St. Augustine.
The
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says, for year
605 in one version and year
606 in another version:-
» And her Æðelfrið lædde his færde to Legercyestre, 7 ðar ofsloh unrim Walena. 7 swa wearþ gefyld Augustinus witegunge. þe he cwæþ. Gif Wealas nellað sibbe wið us. hi sculan æt Seaxana handa farwurþan. Þar man sloh eac .cc. preosta ða comon ðyder þæt hi scoldon gebiddan for Walena here. Scrocmail was gehaten heora ealdormann. se atbærst ðanon fiftiga sum.
And here Æðelfrið led his army to Chester, and there slew countless Welsh. And came about Augustinus's prophesy, that he said "If they don't have peace with us, that'll die at the hands of the Saxons.". There also were slain 200 priests who came there to pray for the Welsh army. Scrocmail was called their leader, and he escaped as one of fifty."
In the 'Cleopatra' version of the
Welsh Brut y Brenhinedd, this conflict is called the
Battle of Perllan Fangor (Bangor Orchard), perhaps indicating that it took place nearer Bangor than
Chester. However, archaeological excavations at
Heronbridge, just south of Chester, have discovered
post-Roman graves buried beneath a defensive earthwork over an old
Roman settlement. They may possibly be the bodies of Northumbrian casualties lying beneath a fortress built by their fellows subsequent to the
Anglian victory.
The reasons behind the battle are unclear. Welsh tradition, chiefly expounded by the unreliable
Geoffrey of Monmouth says that King Æthelfrith's political rival,
Edwin of Deira was living in exile in Gwynedd around this time. Oblique references in the writings of
Reginald of Durham and the
Welsh Triads may indicate that this was indeed the case. However, there's no evidence that Æthelfrith was in pursuit of this man, as historians such as
John Morris suggest. It has also been claimed that this battle finally severed the land connection between
Wales and the
old northern Brythonic kingdoms of
Rheged and
Alt Clut where the
Cumbric language was spoken. However, whether this was by design or simply an accidental consequence is undetermined.
Some historians believe that
King Arthur's "ninth battle...in the City of the Legion", as recorded by
Nennius, is a misplaced reference to this later battle.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Battle Of Chester'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://battle_of_chester.totallyexplained.com">Battle of Chester Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
