Table of Contents
COVER
CONTENTS
LIST OF MAPS
The main battlefields described in this book
Major kingdoms of Britain during the Dark Ages
Major towns and roads in the Dark Ages
The strategic triangle, 496-577
Alternative reconstructions of the Battle of Deorham by Burne (right) and Smurthwaite (left)
Degastan as imagined by Guy Halsall
Alternative reconstructions of the Battle of Dunnichen
Battle of Ellandun as imagined by Guy Halsall
Sketchmap of battlefield of Ellandun (after Spicer, 2001)
Battle of Ashdown 871 (conjectural)
Battle of Brunanburh as imagined by Guy Halsall
The Battle of Maldon 991
Battle of Assingdun 1016 (conjectural)
PREFACE
A note on Anglo-Saxon names
INTRODUCTION
The Dark Ages
How Many Dark Age Battles Were There?
Dark Age Weapons and Armour
Battle Tactics
Did Dark Age Armies Fight on Horseback?
The Fate of Defeated Opponents
Battlefield Archaeology
Visiting Dark Age Battlefields
THE SAXON CONQUEST OF ENGLAND
The Conquest of Kent
The Alleluia Battle
The Conquests of Aelle, Port and Cerdic
The Road to Deorham
MOUNT BADON AND KING ARTHUR
What Happened at Badon?
Dating Mount Badon
Arthur's Twelve Victories
The Strife at Camlann
THE BATTLES FOR NORTHERN ENGLAND
The Battle at Catraeth
The Battle of Degsastan
Massacre at Chester
Good King Edwin
The Heavenly Field
Oswald's Tree
Showdown at Winwaed
DUNNICHEN: DESTINY IN THE NORTH
Background
The Name of the Battle
The Road to Dunnichen
The Battle
After the Battle
The Battlefield
KING ECBERT AND THE VIKINGS
The Battle of Ellandun
The First Viking Raids
The Viking Onslaught
The End of the Kingdom of East Anglia
THE BATTLES OF KING ALFRED
Prelude at Englefield
The Battle of Ashdown
Stalemate after Ashdown
From Disaster to Triumph: The Road to Ethandun
Edington Today
BRUNANBURH: THE GREATEST BATTLE
Background
The Sources
Locating the Battle
SPEARS AS TRIBUTE: THE BATTLE OF MALDON
Background
The Site of the Battle
The Battle
Maldon Today
After the Battle
CALAMITY UNDER AETHELRED
The Battle of Ringmere
Edmund Ironside
The Battle of Assingdun
The Site of Assingdun
GAZETEER OF DARK AGE BATTLES 410--1065
NOTES
REFERENCES
INDEX