Battle of Woden's Burg (715)

Battle of Woden's Burg (715)
Date 715
Location Wiltshire
Result Not recorded
Belligerents

West Saxons
 Not known

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records a battle fought at Woden's burg, the prehistoric barrow now known as Adam's Grave, near Marlborough Wiltshire in 715. The entry for the year states:

Her Ine 7 Ceolred fuhton æt Woddes beorge. (There Ine and Ceolred fought at Woden's hill.)

Ine was king of Anglo-Saxon Wessex and Ceolred was king of Anglo-Saxon Mercia. The identity of the opposing force is not recorded[1]

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle also records an earlier battle on the same site. The area was of strategic importance since it lay near the intersection of the ancient Ridgeway with Wansdyke. It is likely that the battle, like many Anglo-Saxon battles, took place on the nearby Iron Age hillfort of Knap Hill.

References

  1. ^ From the phrasing of the entry, using 7 rather than wiþ, it is unlikely Ine and Ceolred fought against one another.

External links