Battle of Edington

Battle of Edington
Part of the Viking invasions of England

Memorial to the Battle of Ethandun erected in 2000 near the hillfort of Bratton Castle.[1]
DateMay 878
Location
Probably Edington, Wiltshire
Result Saxon victory
Belligerents
Wessex Danelaw
Commanders and leaders
Alfred the Great Guthrum
Strength
2,000–6,000[2] ~4,000
Casualties and losses
Unknown 2,000+[3]

At the Battle of Edington, an army of the kingdom of Wessex under Alfred the Great defeated the Great Heathen Army led by the Dane Guthrum sometime between 6 and 12 May 878, resulting in the Treaty of Wedmore later the same year. Primary sources locate the battle at "Eðandun". Until a scholarly consensus linked the battle site with the present-day village of Edington in Wiltshire, it was known as the Battle of Ethandun. This name continues to be used.

  1. ^ UK Inventory of War Memorials. The Memorial stone plaque reads:
    TO COMMEMORATE THE BATTLE OF ETHANDUN FOUGHT IN THIS VICINITY MAY 878 AD WHEN KING ALFRED THE GREAT DEFEATED THE VIKING ARMY, GIVING BIRTH TO THE ENGLISH NATIONHOOD. UNVEILED BY THE 7TH MARQUESS OF BATH 5TH NOVEMBER 2000.

    An additional inscription reads:

    THIS STONE, PRESENTED BY F. SWANTON AND SONS, NORTH FARM, WEST OVERTON, IS A SARSEN STONE SIMILAR TO THOSE AT KINGSTON DEVERILL, THE AREA WHERE KING ALFRED RALLIED SAXON LEVIES FROM HAMPSHIRE, WILTSHIRE AND SOMERSET TO MARCH AGAINST GUTHRUM'S VIKING ARMY BASED AT CHIPPENHAM.
  2. ^ "Alfred the Great and The Battle of Edington". STMU History Media. 7 November 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  3. ^ Eric Niderost (15 November 2015). "Viking Tide: Alfred the Great during the Danish Invasions". Warfare History Network. Retrieved 21 January 2021.

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