The Battles that Won and Made England! - (Part 5)

617 AD - 682 AD

AD 617. Here Aethelfrith, king of the Northumbrians, was killed by  Raedwald, king of the East Angles,* and Edwin, Aelle's offspring,  succeeded to the kingdom, and conquered all of Britain except for the  inhabitants of Kent alone, and drove out the princes, the sons of  Aethelfrith: that was first Eanfrith, [then] Oswald and Oswy, Oslac,  Oswudu, Oslaf and Offa*. Mentioned above the battle of the River Idle on  the Mercian Border, the Idle is a Tributary of the River Trent. The  above named sons of Aethelfrith who were exiled by Edwin and Raedwald of  East the East Angles, went into Exile with the Scots and Picts, where  they were converted to Christianity.

The next entry is of the year AD 626, since there is no recorded  information between 617 and the year 625, the recorded information for  the year 625 is of no real interest to this article or English History  of this period.

AD 626. Here Eomer came from Cwichelm, king of the West Saxons – he  wanted to stab king Edwin, but he stabbed Lilla, his Thegn, and  Forthhere, and wounded the king.

AD 628. Here Cynegils and Cwichelm fought against Penda at Cirencester,  and then came to an agreement. Little else is known at the moment on  this period.

AD 633. Here King Edwin was killed by Cadwallon and Penda at Hatfield*  on the 14 October; and he ruled 7 years* and his son Osfrith also was  killed with him. And then afterwards Cadwallon and Penda went and did  for the whole land of Northumbria. This campaign by Penda and Cadwallon  of Wales against Edwin of Northumbria is mentioned in my above chapter  on the Battles of the Northern Englisc 603 – 685 AD so I will not go  further, although just to mention that in another source the year of the  Battle of Hatfield is put in the year 632 and not the above date of  633. The site of the battle has already been mentioned in my previous  chapter above, and is mentioned as being at or around the area of  Hatfield Chase, in the West Riding of Yorkshire; Bede says the battle  was fought on the 12 October. The above mentioned 7 years, may not be  accurate but since there is no other information to correct this, it  will remain as is.

This next entry is of the year 652, since all of the years before this  date, are in the most part to do with the Christianisation of England,  and various figures Baptised and so on, and are therefore of no interest  to this particular article.

AD 652. Here Cenwalh fought at Bradford on Avon.* We are told by William  of Malmesbury in his (Gesta Regum, p. 23) that this battle was against  the Brythons at Wirtgernesburg or (Vortigern's stronghold) which might  perhaps be situated or identified with Bradford on Avon. Although  Athelweard uses the term Civil War.

If so, we may presumably say that the battle was fought by Englishmen  against Englishmen, rather than against Brythons, I have no information  to say which of the two are correct.

Here in the year 653 AD, King Anna was killed, and Botwulf began to  build a minster at Icanho.* Perhaps this is the Old English name for  Iken, in Suffolk, St Botolph (Botwulf) and Iken.

Here in the year 654 AD, Oswy killed Penda King of the Mercian Englisc  at the battle of Winwidfeld* and 30 royal children with him, and some of  them were kings; one of them was Aethelhere, brother of the above Anna,  King of the East Angles (Englisc). Then five thousand and 800 years had  passed away from the beginning of the world. And Peada, Penda's  offspring, succeeded to the Kingdom of the Mercians* on this year, in  another source, it is given as taking place in the year 655? The battle  site is still unidentified, but Bede says that the battle was fought  near the flooded River Winwaed, of which I have already gone into above,  but it is also recorded that many of those that fought, perhaps  speaking of the Mercian Englisc were drowned. This River may have been a  tributary of the River Humber? On the point of Peada the son of the  great King of the Mercian Englisc Penda, in point of fact Peada ruled  Southeren Mercia, perhaps an area of five thousand hides, and then  Oswy's grant? Further recorded is that King Peada ruled for no great  length of time, before he was betrayed by his own queen at Eastertide.  That was in the year 656 AD, King Peada was killed, and his brother  Wulfhere, succeeded to the Kingdom of the Mercians* this killing of  Peada took place after a Mercian rebellion which expelled Oswy's  ealdormen in 658 according to Bede, this may mean that Peada was perhaps  a puppet king installed by Oswy himself after the death in battle of  Peada's Father Penda.

Here in the year 658 AD, Cenwalh fought at Penselwood* against the  Welsh, and drove them in flight as far as the Parret.* This [battle] was  fought after he came from East Anglia, where he was for 3 years on a  journey of exile. Penda had driven him out and deprived him of his  kingdom because he is repudiated to have abandoned his sister.*  (Penselwood) meaning the 'the head of Selwood', where lies the earthwork  Keniwilkin's castle Somerset, or perhaps Pinhoe on the approach to  Exeter in Devon. See Cf. Hoskins, The Westward Expansion of Wessex,  pages 15-16. (Parret) A river runing north-south through the wet-lands  of Somerset, and a significant westward boundary. (Penda's Sister), whom  Cenwalh had married.

Here at Easter in the year 661 AD, Cenwalh fought at Posent's  stronghold* and Wulfhere, Penda's offspring, raided from* Ashdown.  Cuthred, Cwichelm's offspring, and King Coenbreht passed away in the one  year. And Wulfhere, Penda's offspring, raided on Wight, and gave the  inhabitants of Wight to Aethelwald,* King of the South Saxons, because  Wulfhere had received him [as his god-son]. (Posent's Stronghold) or  Posentes byrg or byrig: see Hoskins, The Westward Expansion of Wessex,  page 14 suggests Posbury, Devon. Or it may be Pontesbury, south-west of  Shrewsbury. (Wulfhere raided from Ashdown) may mean or refers to the  line of the Berkshire Downs; or need not necessarily refer to the Downs  (hills) as such, since the collocation gehergian on is sometimes used  where no sense of hight in involved?

(Aethelwald) Bede calls him Aethelealh. (as god-son) The significance of  god-father god-son relationship is defined in wergild or wergeld terms  in the laws of Ine.

The next entry is for the year 675 AD, the previous entries were of no  relevance to this article.

Here in the year 675 AD, Wulfhere Penda's offspring, and Ascwine, fought  at Bieda's Head;* and the same year Wulfhere passed away, and Aethelred  succeeded to the Kingdom of Mercia. (Bieda's Head) Biedan Heafde, or  Bedan Heafde; sadly unidentified.

Here in the year 679 AD, Aelfwine brother of the Englisc King Ecgfrith  of Northumbria was killed in a battle against the Mercian Englisc near  the River Trent. In one source it gives the year of this battle as 678  AD, I've already gone into this battle in the above chapter on the  Battles of the Northern English, so will not go into it again here. Bede  says that the above mentioned Aelfwine was much beloved in both  Kingdoms.

The next entry is for the year 682 AD, since as with previous entries  the years before mention nothing of any interest to this article.

Here in the year 682 AD, Centwine put the Brythons to flight as far as  the sea. There is no other information on this battle, as far as numbers  involved, killed or where the battle was fought, and or which sea the  Brythons were put to flight as far as.

This half of my article ends here, the second half will begin with year  710 AD, since any previous entries are not relevant to these articles on  the battles and campaigns that made and won England.

Copyright: Harold Godwinsson