Conflict of Kings - Background
In 924 there came to power perhaps the greatest king of the Anglo-Saxon era - Athelstan, son of Edward the Elder. He succeeded first to the throne of Mercia, the land of his upbringing, where from boyhood he had been fostered by his aunt Æthelflæd, daughter of Alfred the Great and his uncle - Ethelred, Earl of Mercia. It was intended that Athelstan's brother Ælfweard should succeed to the throne of Wessex, but he died after sixteen days, and so Athelstan became king of Wessex also.
Soon after his coronation in September 925, Athelstan allied himself to Sihtric, the Norse king of York, by a royal marriage to Athelstan's sister, Edith. Regrettably, the alliance was short-lived as within six months Sihtric was dead. Athelstan faced the first threat to the stability of his realm. The Norse king of Dublin - Guthfrith - espousing the cause of his nephew, Olaf Sihtricsson, to the throne of his recently deceased father, invaded in the North. Guthfrith was supported by the Kings of Scotland and Strathclyde - Constantine II and Owain II. Athelstan marched north and within weeks had routed the invaders and expelled Guthfrith and Olaf from York. The English king had acted so rapidly in chasing the fugitives from Northumbria that Guthfrith was unable to reach the coast and was forced to take refuge with Constantine in Scotland.
In 927 Athelstan summoned the Convention of Eamont, near Penrith on the 12th of July. It is a testament to the esteem and awe in which other rulers held Athelstan that he was able to summon five kings to attend him and pledge their allegiance; Hywel Dda of Deheubarth, Gwent & Powys, Idwal Foel of Gwynedd, Constantine II of Scotland, Owain II of Strathclyde and the Anglian king of Bernicia (Bamburgh) Ealdred, paid homage to Atrhelstan that day, thereby establishing him truly as the first king of all England. Not even his grandfather, that most famous Saxon king, Alfred the Great, had achieved that. Constantine and Owain agreed to withdraw any assistance to the Irish Norsemen and agreed to hand over Guthfrith. However, the wily Viking escaped - probably with Constantine's connivance, instantly assembled a group of malcontents, and rode to York to recommence the war! He was again defeated and suffered many hardships as a refugee before surrendering to Athelstan. Athelstan had Guthfrith deported to Dublin, where he died in 934, being succeeded by his son, Olaf Guthfrithsson. Athelstan then turned his attention southwards to subdue the recalcitrant Cornish.
History records that in 934 Athelstan prepared a formidable army and travelled north to deal with the restive Scots. He ravaged Scotland as far as Dunottar in Kincardineshire. His fleet supported him, sailing up the east coast as far as Caithness. The Scots did not offer battle. It was this punitive expedition, which led three years later to reprisals, which in turn culminated in the Battle of Brunanburh - a disastrous encounter for the Norse forces. The exact location of this battle remains unidentified, although a case has been proposed for Bromborough, on the Wirral peninsula in Cheshire. The Battle of Brunanburh was a spectacular victory for Athelstan and a crushing defeat for the coalition forces of the two Olafs - Guthfrithsson & Sihtricsson and their allies, Constantine and Owain. These latter two had reneged on their promise to Athelstan not to champion the Norse cause. The Scottish king was wounded, whilst it is believed that the Strathclyde monarch perished in the conflict, as his name is not mentioned again after the encounter.
For two years the might of Athelstan held sway over a united England, but at the height of his career this exceptional monarch met an untimely end, dying in October 939, of unknown causes. He was just 44 and was succeeded by his eighteen-year old half-brother, Edmund.
"He was much beloved by his subjects, out of admiration of his courage
and humility, but like a thunderbolt to rebels by his invincible steadfastness."
- [William of Malmesbury]
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With the brilliant tactician Athelstan out of the frame, once again ambitious eyes were cast towards York. Licking their wounds after the ignominious Brunanburh fiasco, Olaf Guthfrithsson and his faction saw the accession of a fresh-faced boy as a heaven-sent opportunity. Olaf did not repeat the mistake of 937, when he had lingered in Lancashire awaiting the arrival of his Scottish and Strathclyde allies. Before the end of December, Olaf was back in York, and at the beginning of 940, led a devastating invasion into the heart of the Midlands. Although checked at Northampton, Olaf ravaged Mercia, sacking the Royal Burh of Tamworth, and proceeded to take the Five Boroughs of Lincoln, Stamford, Nottingham, Derby and Leicester. Olaf was aided by Dunmail, the King of Strathclyde, (whose two sons would later be blinded by Edmund in 946 when he handed their kingdom to Malcolm I of Scotland). Olaf was also supported by Wulfstan, the Archbishop of York, who had his own agenda and wished to see England split into two, with the spiritual power of the north vested in his office, whilst that of the south would be the province of the See of Canterbury.
The young king Edmund gathered together an army and caught up with the invaders at Leicester. The Northumbrians had, by this time renounced their allegiance to Edmund, and Earl Orm, the overlord of the Five Boroughs, had also declared for Olaf. A battle seemed inevitable, but the church (i.e. Wulfstan and Oda, the Archbishops of York and Canterbury) intervened to avoid bloodshed and brokered a peace settlement. Olaf Guthfrithsson was more than happy to accept the terms of the accord as he was ceded the Five Danish Boroughs, which was to all intents and purposes virtually the old Danelaw from Watling Street to the Northumbrian border. It must be noted however, that the largely Danish population of the Five Boroughs did not take kindly to Norse overlordship, preferring by this time to be ruled by English kings. This is a fact, which many writers fail to mention. Archbishop Wulfstan had achieved his aim. Such a treaty was a humiliation for Edmund, but the unproven king was doubtless advised to bide his time until more firmly established.
He did not have to wait long. The Peace of Leicester lasted only two years. Olaf Guthfrithsson died in 941 to be succeeded by his namesake, Olaf Sihtricsson, who was a poor substitute for his predecessor. In 942 Edmund launched an attack on the forces of Olaf II and soundly defeated him, winning back all the territory previously surrendered. Even the people of York had had enough. Olaf was deposed and replaced by another cousin - Ragnald Guthfrithsson. In 943 both Olaf and Ragnald went to Edmund's court to receive baptism. Edmund became godfather to both. Olaf returned to York a year later to reassert his claim in opposition to Ragnald. By this time, Edmund had had enough of the squabbling and travelled north to expel both rival kings.
Edmund died at the royal manor-house at Pucklechurch in Gloucestershire in 946, when he intervened to break up a brawl, and was stabbed by a Thegn called Leofa.
Bibliography
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle – Trans. By G. N. Garmonsway
The Saxon Age – Commentaries of an Era – Compiled by A. F. Scott
A Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain – Ann Williams, Alfred
P. Smyth & D.P.Kirby
The Saxon Kings – Richard Humble
The Warrior Kings of Saxon England – Ralph Whitlock
The Queen’s Lineage – G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville
The Kingdom of Northumbria – N. J. Higham
Anglo-Saxon England [3rd Ed.] – Sir Frank Stenton
Saxon England – D. R. Banting & G. A. Embleton
Essays and Data on Dark Age Britain – Compiled & Edited by M.
D. Baker
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