Æthelstan's invasion of Scotland
Athelstan’s invasion of Scotland | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
|
| ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Athelstan | Constantine II | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
unknown | unknown |
The English king Æthelstan invaded Scotland by land and sea with a large force in AD 934. No record of any battles fought during the invasion has survived and Æthelstan returned to England later in the year.
Background
Æthelstan's reasons for mounting an invasion are unclear and historians give alternative explanations. According to one theory, Æthelstan was capitalizing on death of two sources of opposition. Specifically, the death of his half-brother
The campaign
Æthelstan's campaign is reported in brief by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and later chroniclers such as John of Worcester,
Æthelstan's army evidently travelled through
The Annals of Clonmacnoise state that "the Scottish men compelled [Æthelstan] to return without any great victory", while Henry of Huntingdon claims that the English faced no opposition. A negotiated settlement might have ended matters: according to John of Worcester, a son of Constantine was given as a hostage to Æthelstan and Constantine himself accompanied the English king on his return south.[7]
Political effects
No battles are recorded during the campaign, and chronicles do not record its outcome. By September, however, Æthelstan was back in the south of England at Buckingham, where Constantine witnessed a charter as subregulus, that is a king acknowledging Æthelstan's overlordship.[8]
The following year, in 935, Constantine was again in England at Æthelstan's court, this time at Cirencester where he appears as a witness[9] to a charter along with Owain of Strathclyde, Hywel Dda, Idwal Foel, and Morgan ap Owain. At Christmas of the same year Owain of Strathclyde was once more at Æthelstan's court along with the Welsh kings, but Constantine was not. His return to England less than two years later at the Battle of Brunanburh as Æthelstan's opponent would be in very different circumstances.[10]
References
- ^ Foot, Æthelstan: The First King of England, pp. 164–165; Woolf, From Pictland to Alba, pp. 158–165
- ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5, p. 342; Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 160–166; Smyth, Warlords and Holy Men, p. 203.
- ^ Foot, Æthelstan: The First King of England, pp. 87–88, 122–123, 165–167; Woolf, From Pictland to Alba, pp. 158–166
- ^ Stenton,Anglo-Saxon England p. 342
- ^ Foot, Æthelstan: The First King of England, pp. 87–88, 122–123, 165–167; Woolf, From Pictland to Alba, pp. 158–166
- ^ Swanton, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, p. 107, Ms. D, s.a. 934; Anderson, Scottish Annals, pp. 67–69; Miller, "Æthelstan"; Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 342; Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 160–166; Smyth, Warlords and Holy Men, p. 203.
- ^ Anderson, Early Sources, p. 426; Anderson, Scottish Annals, pp. 67–69; Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 166–168; Miller, Sean. "Charter S 426". Anglo-Saxons.net. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
- ^ Anderson, Early Sources, p. 426; Anderson, Scottish Annals, pp. 67–69; Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 166–168; Miller, Sean. "Charter S 426". Anglo-Saxons.net. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
- ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 166–168; only a part of this charter survives, see "Charter S 1792". Anglo-Saxon Charters Website. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
- ^ Foot, Æthelstan: The First King of England, pp. 88–89; Woolf, From Pictland to Alba, pp. 166–168.