Background: A Land of Many Kings
To understand the significance of Brunanburh, we must first explore the chaotic landscape of 10th-century Britain. The so-called “Heptarchy” of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms had long dissolved, and power had gradually coalesced into three major spheres:
- The Kingdom of Wessex, under the leadership of the Anglo-Saxon kings, who had been gradually expanding their influence.
- The Viking-ruled Kingdom of Dublin, a powerful Norse-Gaelic domain based in Ireland with ambitions in the British Isles.
- The Kingdom of Alba, which would become Scotland, under the leadership of King Constantine II.
Wessex, led by King Æthelstan, the grandson of Alfred the Great, had successfully subdued the Viking kingdom of York in 927. With this conquest, Æthelstan became the first king to rule over all of what is now considered England. But this consolidation of power alarmed his neighbors, particularly Constantine of Alba and Olaf Guthfrithson, the Norse king of Dublin. They formed a grand alliance against Æthelstan to reclaim lost territory and halt the southward expansion of the English.
The Opposing Forces
Æthelstan assembled an English army composed of men from Mercia, Wessex, and other southern regions—perhaps as many as 15,000 warriors. His army included both seasoned warriors and fyrdmen (local militias), representing a unified Anglo-Saxon front.
The coalition arrayed against him was vast. Led by Olaf Guthfrithson, Constantine II of Alba, and Owain of Strathclyde, the invading force was multinational and multilingual—comprising Norse-Irish warriors, Scottish Highlanders, and Britons from Cumbria. Estimates vary, but the invading army may have equaled or even exceeded Æthelstan’s in number. shutdown123