Battle of Brunanburh

Part of the Viking invasions of England

Date	937
Location	Great Britain
Result	English victory

Belligerents

Kingdom of England

Kingdom of Dublin
Kingdom of Alba
Kingdom of Strathclyde

Commanders and leaders

Æthelstan
Edmund I

Olaf III Guthfrithson
Constantine II of Scotland
Owen I of Strathclyde

Strength

Unknown

Casualties and losses

Heavy

The Battle of Brunanburh was 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. One of the historiographical cruxes of this battle is the fact that it is often attributed to as the point of origin for English nationalism, but overall historians, such as Michael Livingston, argue that "the men who fought and died on that field forged a political map of the future that remains [in modernity], arguably making the Battle of Brunanburh one of the most significant battles in the long history not just of England, but of the whole of the British Isles."

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 "[t]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.

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