There is a reasonable case for supposing that 'Brunandun' might develop into present day 'Brunington' or maybe even 'Bruningdon'
There are no such place names in existence today in the UK. However, I have found two places that were named thus in the past.
These are Bronington in Flintshire (Brunington,Brunynton, Brunyngton) and Brinnington - Greater Manchester (Bruninton)
Bronington was once in Saxon held territory on the border with Wales. Brinnington would lie very close to the route taken over the Pennines by any invading army pushing West-East.
I am currently involved in gathering information for both places and will update as and when.
...if the battle location was Greater Manchester, where would the reference to Dingesmere fit in? Didn't the defeated army supposedly flea across nearby water?
Your reference to Dingesmere is noted - and yes this has to be considered. I am presently pursuing information that may link Dingesmere with the river name 'Dvina' mentioned in Egil's Saga and the River Dee.
The difficulty with 'Brunandun' is that it is a single mention by a Wessex-based scribe with no awareness of the local geography and not the best grasp of Latin. He was writing probably forty years after the battle and would have been using the ASC as his primary source of information.
Also, Dvina refers to a river in Bjarmaland, which is on the borders of Scandi/Russia unless I'm missing something. Bit far from North Wales!
It's always worth a revisit though as I've learnt myself how simple information can be overlooked!
Would the area around Chester be on a route that is easier for an army to reach travelling from the south going north or is it a place that has some other significance as the Romans had a legion there and other battles fought there 616: Aethelfrith of Northumbria defeats the Welsh in a battle at Chester. 610, after the Battle of Chester, the Saxons were in control of most of what we now call England.
(don't know if these are 2 seperate battles or the same one)
Dingesmere could still well be the River Dee if current theories concerning the 'Thing' association and Thingwall are to be believed.
I know it's very easy to over-simplify such things but it's crossed my mind before that the Dingesmere name may have been a corruption of Inga's Mere, in reference to Ingimund and the Viking settlers who came here via Ireland & Wales. Talking rubbish, I know, but the problem with relying so much on place-name evidence is that it's always open to interpretation and doesn't really prove anything without the archaeological evidence to back it up.
I agree with you Geekus, we look too much to place-name evidence when everything else is lacking. Even supposedly firm place-names such as Thingwall are really based on infirm evidence.
Let's just say place-names can be useful but they're far from conclusive. This is the same point I was trying to make on the Fender thread.
All it takes is for one person to mistranscribe a word or name and it causes nothing but confusion. I've just noticed, for example, that I wrote Inga's Mere instead of Ingi's Mere in reference to Ingimund! An easy enough mistake, but to an etymologist every nuance of a word potentially alters it's origin & meaning.
Its early days yet, but I am working on the notion that bodies of water may be known by several different names given to it by the various peoples living along its shores. Hydronyms from different areas and languages/dialects can also share a common etymon. The River Dee in Scotland and England/Wales is believed to be derived from Celtic 'Deva' - godess. There are also two Galician river names called 'Deva' in North West Spain. As well as the River Don in England and Scotland, there is also a River Don in Russia. The Western Dvina was known in Old Norse as Dyna and in German as Düna. There are similarities between 'Dvina' and 'Deva' and i know it may be a longshot - but worth pursuing.
We are all aware that the coalition against Aethelstan consisted of the Irish Vikings, Strathclyde British and the Scottish. We are also aware that the Scandinavian settlements on the Wirral would likely have made that area a 'friendly' landing point.
But what of the possibilty of a strike force coming from the Welsh border? Aethelstan had earlier (circa 927) moved against the Welsh princes forcing them to surrender to him at Hereford and agree to a staggering annual tribute.
The Welsh princes then appeared at the English court as 'sub-reguli' from 927 onwards. However, from late December 935 until the end of Aethelstans reign, Causantin, Owain and most importantly - the Welsh princes, disappear altogether from the English court.
This begs the question, that whilst the Welsh may not have actively engaged against Aethelstan - did they allow the coalition to disembark on their shoreline and give save passage etc through their country?
You might find Stephen Matthews' article on Viking Settlement in the Wirral useful. It's in the Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society (vol.78, 2003), if you're interested.
Has quite a bit of background info concerning the military problems faced by the Mercian rulers. Draws quite a lot on the work of N.J.Higham ('The Cheshire burhs & the Mercian frontier...', etc.). Well worth adding to your research reading list, if you haven't already seen it.
There appears to have been several battles against the Danes in the years before 937 Bromborough
Alfred's son Edward the Elder continued his father's policy of establishing fortified towns, and he and his sister Aethelflaed of Mercia built a new double row of burhs along the old Roman road of Watling Street, which marked the border of the Danelaw as it ran from the Mersey to Essex.The burhs were remarkable for their time in that they used a regular grid pattern of streets - not unlike the old Roman towns. Indeed, in many cases pre-existing Roman town sites were re-used to create Saxon towns. Why re-use Roman sites? Three main reasons can be found.
First, the Roman towns were sited at key points along the old Roman network of roads. In other words, communication was a key factor in siting Saxon towns. Chester and Gloucester are two examples of towns sited at major road intersections, though they were established by Alfred's successors.
Second, the Roman towns had basic fortifications in place. Walled towns such as Portchester were already defensible. Other Roman towns had earthwork defenses that could easily be repaired and strengthened.
Third, the growth of Christianity influenced the choice of town sites. In areas where the Roman church was strongest (i.e. the south and east), a conscious choice was made to establish sees in metropolitan centres. Contrast this with the Celtic church, which concentrated its efforts on evangelizing in the the countryside.
After another lull, in the autumn of 892 or 893, the Danes attacked again. Finding their position in mainland Europe precarious, they crossed to England in 330 ships in two divisions. They entrenched themselves, the larger body at Appledore, Kent, and the lesser, under Hastein, at Milton, also in Kent. The invaders brought their wives and children with them, indicating a meaningful attempt at conquest and colonisation. Alfred, in 893 or 894, took up a position from which he could observe both forces. While he was in talks with Hastein, the Danes at Appledore broke out and struck northwestwards. They were overtaken by Alfred's oldest son, Edward, and were defeated in a general engagement at Farnham in Surrey. They took refuge on an island in the Hertfordshire Colne, where they were blockaded and were ultimately forced to submit. The force fell back on Essex and, after suffering another defeat at Benfleet, coalesced with Hastein's force at Shoebury.[9]
Alfred had been on his way to relieve his son at Thorney when he heard that the Northumbrian and East Anglian Danes were besieging Exeter and an unnamed stronghold on the North Devon shore. Alfred at once hurried westward and raised the Siege of Exeter. The fate of the other place is not recorded. Meanwhile, the force under Hastein set out to march up the Thames Valley, possibly with the idea of assisting their friends in the west. But they were met by a large force under the three great ealdormen of Mercia, Wiltshire and Somerset, and forced to head off to the northwest, being finally overtaken and blockaded at Buttington. Some identify this with Buttington Tump at the mouth of the River Wye, others with Buttington near Welshpool. An attempt to break through the English lines was defeated. Those who escaped retreated to Shoebury. Then, after collecting reinforcements, they made a sudden dash across England and occupied the ruined Roman walls of Chester. The English did not attempt a winter blockade, but contented themselves with destroying all the supplies in the neighbourhood. Early in 894 (or 895), want of food obliged the Danes to retire once more to Essex. At the end of this year and early in 895 (or 896), the Danes drew their ships up the River Thames and River Lea and fortified themselves twenty miles (32 km) north of London. A direct attack on the Danish lines failed but, later in the year, Alfred saw a means of obstructing the river so as to prevent the egress of the Danish ships. The Danes realised that they were outmanoeuvred. They struck off north-westwards and wintered at Cwatbridge near Bridgnorth. The next year, 896 (or 897), they gave up the struggle. Some retired to Northumbria, some to East Anglia. Those who had no connections in England withdrew
