At Brunanburh, in the late summer of 937, Athelstan of Wessex eliminated an invading army of Scots, Strathclyders and Vikings. It was a major victory, never forgotten, and crucial in uniting England, for Athelstan's success was in part due to Mercian forces under his command. But the battle's location was eventually forgotten and became a long- standing historical mystery. In 2018, however, I (following a suggestion of Alistair Campbell in 1938) published reasons to locate Brunanburh at the burh or Roman fort of Lanchester, above the Brune or river Browney in County Durham.

That account being in book form and hence accessible to readers, there is no need to go through it again in full. All the same, for the sake of completeness, British Battles 493– 937 can be brought to an end with a Chapter on it, including information on points not mentioned in the original paper.

The bibliography of Brunanburh is immense, like that for Mount Badon and Arthur's other Twelve Battles in Historia Brittonum. As with the Twelve Battles, where one finds shrewd and cogent remarks, together with a great deal of nosense, so also with Brunanburh. Early scholars came close to the truth, later and lesser scholars ignore what they said.

We start with the Reverend James Ingram (1774– 1850), editor and translator of the Anglo- Saxon Chronicle. In his edition (a handsome one, with much of interest), he could do no more than cite William Camden (1551– 1623) for the suggestion of ‘Bromeridge’ in Northumberland, and Camden’s translator Edmund Gibson (1669– 1748) for Bromborough, Cheshire. The latter has defenders even now. But, after three centuries, his ideas should be dismissed. The first writer to approach the correct solution seems to have been Joseph Bosworth (1789– 1876). Discussing the Old English poem The Battle of Brunanburh, he translated Brunanburh as ‘castle of Bruna’ (better, the Brune) and put it by the river Browney. Unfortunately, he located the battlefield not near Lanchester, but outside Durham. His suggestion in any case had no influence.

The next step came in 1938, when the Oxford scholar Alistair Campbell

edited The Battle of Brunanburh, in one of the finest ever editions of an Old

English poem. He collected other names for the conflict.