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The battle of Brunanburh was a battle fought in 937 between Æthelstan, king of England, and an alliance of Olaf Guthfrithson, king of Dublin; Constantine, king of Scotland; and Owen, king of Strathclyde. Following an unchallenged large-scale invasion of Scotland by Æthelstan in 934, possibly launched because of a peace treaty violation by Constantine, it became apparent that Æthelstan could only be defeated by an allied force of his enemies. Olaf led Constantine and Owen in the alliance. In August 937, Olaf and his army crossed the Irish Sea to join forces with Constantine and Owen, and the invaders were routed in the subsequent battle against Æthelstan. The poem ''Battle of Brunanburh'' in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' recounted that there were "never yet as many people killed before this with sword's edge ... since from the east Angles and Saxons came up over the broad sea." Æthelstan's victory prevented the dissolution of England's unity. The historian Æthelweard, perhaps writing sometime around 975, said that "()he fields of Britain were consolidated into one, there was peace everywhere, and abundance of all things." The battle has been called "the greatest single battle in Anglo-Saxon history before Hastings." The site of the battle is unknown, but scholars have proposed many possible locations. ==Background== After Æthelstan defeated the Vikings at York in 927, King Constantine of Scotland, King Hywel Dda of Deheubarth, Ealdred I of Bamburgh, and King Owen I of Strathclyde (or Morgan ap Owain of Gwent) accepted Æthelstan's overlordship at Eamont, near Penrith.〔Higham 1993, p. 190; Foot 2011, p. 20〕 He became king of England, and there was peace until 934.〔Foot 2011, p. 20〕 Æthelstan invaded Scotland with a large force, both ground and naval, in 934. Although the motivation for this invasion is uncertain, John of Worcester stated that the cause was King Constantine's violation of the peace treaty made in 927.〔Foot, 2011, pp. 164–165; Woolf, 2007, pp. 158–165〕 Æthelstan evidently travelled through Beverley, Ripon, and Chester-le-Street, respectively. The army harassed the Scots up to Kincardineshire, and the navy up to Caithness. Æthelstan was never engaged.〔Stenton 2001, p. 342〕 Following Æthelstan's invasion of Scotland, it became apparent that he could only be defeated by an allied force of his enemies.〔 The leader of the alliance was Olaf Guthfrithson, king of Dublin. The other two members were Constantine II, king of Scotland; and Owen, king of Strathclyde.〔Foot 2011, p. 170〕 (According to John of Worcester, Constantine was Olaf's father-in-law.〔Cavill 2001, p. 103〕) Though they had all been enemies in living memory, Livingston points out that "they had agreed to set aside whatever political, cultural, historical, and even religious differences they might have had in order to achieve one common purpose: to destroy Æthelstan."〔Livingston (2011), p. 11.〕 In August 937, as Æthelstan and his army were on the southern coast,〔Cavill 2001, p. 101〕 Olaf crossed the Irish Sea with his army to join forces with Constantine and Owen, and in Livingston's opinion this suggests that the battle of Brunanburh probably occurred in early October of that year.〔Livingston 2011, p. 14〕 According to Paul Cavill, the invading armies raided Mercia, from which Æthelstan obtained Saxon troops as he travelled north to meet them.〔 However, Michael Wood notes that no source mentions any intrusion into Mercia.〔 John of Worcester wrote that the invaders entered via the Humber, and is the only chronicle writer to mention this.〔 Because of the lack of sources supporting the claim, along with other issues, philologist Paul Cavill argues John's statement is not true.〔Cavill, Paul. "The Place-Name Debate", in Livingston 2011, p. 322〕 According to Symeon of Durham, Olaf had 615 ships, but this number is likely exaggerated.〔Cavill 2001, pp. 103–104〕 Livingston theorises that the invading armies entered England in two waves: Constantine and Owen coming from the north, possibly engaging in some skirmishes with Æthelstan's forces as they followed the Roman road across the Lancashire plains between Carlisle and Manchester, with Olaf's forces joining them on the way. It is possible, Livingston speculates, that the battle site at Brunanburh was chosen in agreement with Æthelstan, on which "there would be one fight, and to the victor went England."〔Livingston (2011), p. 15–18.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Brunanburh」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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