Battle of Chester



The Battle of Chester (Old Welsh: Guaith Caer Legion; Welsh: Brwydr Caer) was a major victory for the Anglo-Saxons over the native Britons near the city of Chester, England in the early 7th century. Æthelfrith of Northumbria annihilated a combined force from the Welsh kingdoms of Powys, Rhôs (a cantref of the Kingdom of Gwynedd), and possibly Mercia. It resulted in the deaths of Welsh leaders Selyf Sarffgadau of Powys and Cadwal Crysban of Rhôs. Circumstantial evidence suggests that King Iago of Gwynedd may have also been killed. Archaeological evidence demonstrates the battle took place at or near Heronbridge, just to the south of Chester (see the link via the "walking man"). Notably, the Battle of Chester is also associated with the "massacre" of the monks of Bangor-on-Dee which potentially introduces a unique element of religious conflict during these troubled times.

This article explores the circumstances which possibly led up to the battle, and its consequences. Various theories have been put forward as regards the causes of the battle and its aftermath. Among these are a conflict between the Celtic and Roman church, stirred up by Augustine and the first stirrings of a Mercian wish to split apart the Britains of the north and west by finding a way to the Irish Sea. There are issues and controveries with each of these theories. The battle also needs to be seen in the context of a larger series of conflicts which took place between 600 CE and 679 CE. Many of these conflicts involved exciled "princes" and a heady brew of dynastic conflict and assasination.

Much of the period which followed the Battle of Chester was marked not only by internecine fighting between the Bernician and Deiran dynasties, but also by the contest for overlordship with the Mercians to the south. Both King Edwin (d. 633) and King Oswald (d. 642) were killed in battle with Penda, the powerful pagan king of Mercia. With his defeat of Penda at the Battle of Winwaed in 655, Oswiu of Northumbria established himself as the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kings. Penda’s death marked the end of pagan rule in Mercia. The histories of Bede and others were written by Christian historians whose religion undoubtedly coloured their view of events and there causes.

=Britain after the mid 500's=

By 550 CE the Roman empire had left Britain over a century before, and Roman civilization was a thing of the past now well outside of living memory. Britain had escaped the worst of the troubles of the third century, when much of the rest of the Roman empire had suffered at the hands of invaders and rebels. The first half of the fourth century was a period of peace and prosperity – some of the largest and most beautiful Romano-British villas date from this time. In 367, invasions from both Scotland and Ireland overwhelmed the frontier defences, but seem not to have penetrated to the south. Officially the Roman Empire was Christian at the start of the 5th century, but there is evidence of rural pagan temples being refurbished at the start of this period in western England. However, most temples seem to have been replaced eventually by Christian churches on the same site or nearby. "Celtic" churches or monasteries seem to have flourished during this period in the British areas. Prosperity continued until the Roman government withdrew its protection in 410. Soon after, a combination of renewed Pictish, Irish and now Anglo-Saxon invasions caused great destruction, from which Romano-British civilization, always confined to the towns and villas, never recovered. The period of "sub-Roman" Britain traditionally covers the history of the area which subsequently became England from the end of Roman imperial rule, traditionally dated to be in 410, to the arrival of Saint Augustine in 597. The date taken for the end of this period is arbitrary. Two primary contemporary British sources exist: the Confessio of Saint Patrick and Gildas' "De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae" (On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain).



Gildas' De Excidio is a jeremiad: it is written as a polemic to warn contemporary rulers against sin, demonstrating through historical and biblical examples that bad rulers are always punished by God – in the case of Britain, through the destructive wrath of the Saxon invaders. The historical section of De Excidio is short, and the material in it is clearly selected with Gildas' purpose in mind. There are no absolute dates given, and some of the details, such as those regarding the Hadrian's and Antonine Walls are clearly wrong.

There are numerous later written sources that claim to provide accurate accounts of the period. The first to attempt this was the monk Bede, writing in the early 8th century. He based his account of the Sub-Roman period in his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (written around 731) heavily on Gildas, though he tried to provide dates for the events Gildas describes. It was written by a Northumbrian cleric from an anti-Briton point of view. Later sources, such as the Historia Brittonum often attributed to Nennius, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (again written from a non-Briton point of view, based on West Saxon sources) and the Annales Cambriae, are all heavily shrouded in myth and can only be used with caution as evidence for this period.

The 5th and 6th centuries in Britain are marked by a sharp discontinuity in town life, perhaps always a somewhat artificial Roman imposition on the landscape, dependent on imperial military requirements and requirements of administration and tax collection; the exceptions are a handful of sites including York, Canterbury and Wroxeter amongst a few others. Writing perhaps about 540, Gildas gives an account of the history of Britain, but the earlier part (for which other sources are available) is severely muddled. He castigates five specific rulers in western Britain for their sins:


 * Constantine of Dumnonia: "tyrannical whelp of the unclean lioness of Damnonia";
 * Aurelius Caninus: "thou lion's whelp";
 * Vortipor of the Demetae: "who like to the spotted leopard ... tyrant of the Demetians";
 * Cuneglasus: "guider of the chariot which is the receptacle of the bear"; and
 * Maglocunus (Mailcun or in later spelling Maelgwn of Gwynedd): "dragon of the island";

He also attacks the British clergy. Gildas gives information on the British diet, dress and entertainment. He writes that Britons were killed, emigrated or were enslaved but gives no idea of numbers. Gildas is writing at the time of the arrival of the "Plague of Justinian", which is as good a starting point as any for the series of events which led up to the Battle of Chester. As with much on this site, it should not be assumed that Chester played a more important role than it actually did, but rather to see history from Chester as a familiar viewpoint.

Justinian's Plague
The Plague of Justinian (541–542 AD, with recurrences until 750) was a pandemic that afflicted the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire and especially its capital, Constantinople, as well as the Sasanian Empire and port cities around the entire Mediterranean Sea, as merchant ships harbored rats that carried fleas infected with plague. Some historians believe the plague of Justinian was one of the deadliest pandemics in history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 25–50 million people during two centuries of recurrence, a death toll equivalent to 13–26% of the world's population at the time of the first outbreak, others see these figures as an exaggeration. However, the plague was almost certainly the most severe pandemic until the Black Death.

The cause of the Plague of Justinian was Yersinia pestis, the same bacterium responsible for the Black Death (1347–1351). It has been suggested that the expansion of nomadic peoples who moved across the Eurasian steppe, such as the Xiongnu and the later Huns, had a role in spreading plague to West Eurasia from an origin in Central Asia. Another theory is that the plague was a longer-term consequence of the extreme weather event of 535–536, the most severe and protracted short-term episodes of cooling in the Northern Hemisphere in the last 2,000 years. The event is thought to have been caused by an extensive atmospheric dust veil, possibly resulting from a large volcanic eruption. Its effects were widespread, causing unseasonable weather, crop failures, and famines worldwide. Various volcanos, either alone or in combination, have been suggested as the cause.

The plague weakened the Byzantine (Easter Roman) Empire at a critical point, when Justinian's armies had nearly retaken all of Italy and the western Mediterranean coast; the evolving conquest would have reunited the core of the Western Roman Empire with the Eastern Roman Empire. Although the conquest occurred in 554, the reunification did not last long.

It has been argued that the Romano-British may have been disproportionately affected because of trade contacts with Gaul and other factors, such as British settlement patterns, however the differential effects may have been exaggerated. British sources were then more likely to report natural disasters than the pagan Saxons, who hardly kept records at all.



Chester in 600 CE
It has been proposed that an early christian community possiby maintained a shrine at the Amphitheatre in Chester, and that Chester was the site of an important synod around 601. Bede (writing in the 8th Century) provides the following information on the Battle of Chester:


 * "..that very powerful king of the English, Aethelfrith, whom we have already spoken of, collected a great army against the city of the legions, which is called Legacaestir by the English, and more correctly Caerlegion (Chester) by the Britons, and made a great slaughter of that nation of heretics. When he was about to give battle and saw their priests, who had assembled to pray to God on behalf of the soldiers taking part in the fight, standing apart in a safer place, he asked who they were and for what purpose they had gathered there. Most of them were from the monastery of Bangor, where there was said to be so great a number of monks that, when it was divided into seven parts with superiors over each, no division had less than 300 men, all of whom were accustomed to live by the labour of their hands. After a three days’ fast, most of these had come to the battle in order to pray with the others. They had a guard named Brocmail, whose duty it was to protect them against the  barbarians’ swords while they were praying. When Aethelfrith heard why they had come he said ‘If they are praying to their God against us, them, even if they do not bear arms, they are fighting against us, assailing us as they do with prayers for our defeat. So he ordered them to be attacked first and then he destroyed the remainder of their wicked host, though not without heavy losses."

Note that the Northumbrian Bede refers to Chester as a "city" ("civitas"). The battle is also refered to in the "Annales Cambriae" (Welsh) and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:


 * "Aethelfrith led his levies to Chester and there slew a countless number of Welsh."

Bede, generally considered a moderately accurate and careful historian throws in a few phrases which have been, for want of much additional material, laboured over by historians: the Britons are "a nation of heretics" and the Northumbrian warlord destroys "their wicked host". Bede is almost gleeful about the wholesale slaughter of the monks of Bangor, who, despite being "heretics" suit his religious agenda by dying in droves. If the monks were unarmed as Bede appears to suggest, then it makes no military sense for Æthelfrith to waste time and resources in killing them all.

=So What Happened At Chester?=

Æthelfrith
Æthelfrith, king of Northumbrian Bernicia in about 593-616, was largely responsible for expanding the power of the Angles north of the Humber. Until he gained the throne, the kingdom of Bernicia, which had only existed for forty-six years, had probably only occupied a small area near the coast. This is supported by the Historia Brittonum's description of fighting between Bernicians and the native Britons of the area, indicating ongoing resistance. It is also supported by the scarcity of sixth-century Anglo-Saxon archaeological finds from further inland. This area was hemmed in by the British to the north and west, and by the Anglish kingdom of Deira to the south.

Bernicia


Bernicia occurs in Old Welsh poetry as Bryneich or Brynaich and in the 9th-century Historia Brittonum, (§ 61) as Berneich or Birneich. This was most likely the name of the native Brittonic kingdom, whose name was then adopted by the Anglian settlers who rendered it in Old English as Bernice or Beornice. Local linguistic evidence suggests continued political activity in the area before the arrival of the Angles. Important Anglian centres in Bernicia bear names of British origin, or are known by British names elsewhere: Bamburgh is called Din Guaire in the Historia Brittonum; Dunbar (where Saint Wilfrid was once imprisoned) represents Dinbaer; and the name of Coldingham is given by Bede as Coludi urbs ("town of Colud"), where Colud seems to represent the British form, possibly for the hill-fort of St Abb's Head. The first Anglian king in the historical record is Ida, who is said to have obtained the throne and the kingdom about 547 and died in 559. The Anglo Saxon Chronicle for 547 provides the usual geneology and reads:


 * "This year Ida began his reign; from whom first arose the royal kindred of the Northumbrians. Ida was the son of Eoppa, Eoppa of Esa, Esa of Ingwy, Ingwy of Angenwit, Angenwit of Alloc, Alloc of Bennoc, Bennoc of Brand, Brand of Balday, Balday of Woden. Woden of Fritholaf, Fritholaf of Frithowulf, Frithowulf of Finn, Finn of Godolph, Godolph of Geata. Ida reigned twelve years. He built Bamburgh-Castle, which was first surrounded with a hedge, and afterwards with a wall."



Little is known of Ida's life or reign and whether he died in battle or through another cause is uncertain. His sons spent many years fighting a united force from the surrounding Brythonic kingdoms until their alliance collapsed into civil war. It is unlikely that he was the first to build a "castle" at Bamburgh. Built on a volcanic dolerite outcrop overlooking the sea from 150 meters and with a natural harbour, the location is an ideal defensive position and within sight of Lindisfarne. The archaeology of Bamburgh Castle is complex. The site has been occupied since pre-historic times and, by the late Iron Age, was an important settlement of the Votadini tribe. A beacon was established on the site during the Roman era and it is possible Bamburgh acted as part of the warning system associated with the "Saxon Shore" defences. After Ida's capture of Bamburgh it evolved into the capital of the Kingdom of Bernicia. It remained important even after Bernicia merged with Deira to become the Kingdom Northumbria. Bamburgh was attacked and destroyed by the Vikings in AD 993. The Normans later built a new castle on the site, which forms the core of the present one.

Conquests
Æthelfrith son of Æthelric is the first Bernician king to appear in history with any significant details. Bede tells of Æthelfrith's great successes over the Britons, while also noting his paganism (the conversion of Northumbria did not begin until a decade after his death): he


 * "ravaged the Britons more than all the great men of the English, insomuch that he might be compared to Saul, once king of the Israelites, excepting only this, that he was ignorant of the true religion. For he conquered more territories from the Britons, either making them tributary, or driving the inhabitants clean out, and planting English in their places, than any other king or tribune."

One early victory of Æthelfrith was at Degsastan which was fought around 603 between Æthelfrith and the Gaels under Áedán mac Gabráin, a king of Dál Riada. Æthelfrith's smaller army won a decisive victory, although his brother Theodbald (Eanfrith) was killed. Very little further is known about the battle, including the location. According to Bede's account in his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (Book I, chapter 34), Æthelfrith had won many victories against the Britons and was expanding his power and territory, and this concerned Áedán, who led "an immense and mighty army" against Æthelfrith. Bede reports that almost all of Áedán's army was slain, and Áedán himself fled. After this defeat, according to Bede, the Irish kings in Britain would not make war against the English again, right up to Bede's own time (130 years later). Áedán's army included the Bernician exile Hering, son of the former Bernician king Hussa (who possibly ruled from about 585 to about 592); his participation is mentioned by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (manuscript E, year 603), and has been taken to indicate the scope of dynastic rivalry among the Bernicians. Æthelfrith gained control of Deira around 604; the circumstances of this are unknown. That he gained Deira through conquest is suggested by the exile of Edwin, son of the former king Ælla, and Hering, Edwin's nephew, who were both notable members of the Deiran royal line; the short five-year reign of Æthelric of Deira, who ruled immediately prior to Æthelfrith's acquisition of Deira, may also indicate conquest.

Bede has frequently been interpreted as linking the battle of Chester to the meeting between the Roman representative Augustine and the extant Celtic church. This is discussed in more detail below, but presents the immediate problem that Æthelfrith was a pagan (something which Bede stresses). Bede is equally scathing about the "British" (Welsh) side, whom he describes as a "gens perfidia" (treacherous nation - possibly, when seen in the context of Gwynedd the first use of "Perfidious Albion"). Perhaps grudgingly, Bede excuses Æthelfrith's paganism as being due to his ignorance.

That Æthelfrith was present at the Battle of Chester is probably certain. However things become a little more murky when it comes to the opposing forces.

Selyf Sarffgadau
Selyf (possibly Solomon) ap Cynan reputedly bore the nickname "Serpent of Battle" (Sarffgadau) son of Cynan Garwyn, King of Powys died in about 613 at the battle of the City of the Legions (Chester) fighting against King Æthelfrith of Bernicia and Deira (Northumbria). His death is recorded in the Annals Cambriae and the Irish annals. The Annals Cambriae entry for 613 reads:


 * "The battle of Caer Legion [Chester]. And there died Selyf son of Cynan. And Iago son of Beli slept [died]."

According to early Welsh poetry, genealogies and hagiography, which are often late and of uncertain value, his father Cynan Garwyn had been a major over-king in Wales in the previous generation. It is unclear whether the epithet Sarffgadau is meant in a positive or negative sense. On the one hand it could be a reference to treachery, on the other a reference to the "dragon" associations commonplace in Welsh mythology. Gildas refers to king Maglocunus (Mailcun/Maelgwyn of Gwynedd) as the head serpent of the isles, ie. pendragon (literally pen = head, dragon) in c545. Selyf Sarffgadau ("Serpent of Battle" / Battle Serpent) is one of the best recorded of these "dragon" kings. Cadwallon of Gwynedd, Selyf’s reputed nephew, best known for killing Edwin of Deira, was also referred to as "dragon of the isles" in a fragmentary death song. However, as discussed below, the terms could be influenced by the polemic of Gildas, who swathes his condemnations in allegorical beasts from the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation, likening the kings to the beasts described there: a lion, (possibly) a leopard, a bear, and a dragon.

Powys


The Kingdom of Powys was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. It very roughly covered the top two thirds of the modern county of Powys and part of today's English West Midlands. During the Roman occupation of Britain, this region was organised into a Roman province, with the capital most likely at Viroconium Cornoviorum (modern Wroxeter: see maps linked to via the "walking man"), the fourth-largest Roman city in Britain. Archaeological evidence has shown that, unusually for the post-Roman period, Viroconium Cornoviorum survived as an urban centre well into the 6th century and thus could have been the Powys capital.

In 549, the Plague of Justinian – an outbreak of a strain of bubonic plague – arrived in Britain, and Welsh communities were devastated, with villages and countryside alike depopulated. However, the English were less affected by this plague as they had far fewer trading contacts with the continent at this time. Nevertheless, the impact of the Plague of Justinian on the history of Britain was significant. Some scholars have suggested that the plague facilitated the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, as its aftermath coincided with the renewed Saxon offensives in the 550s. Maelgwn, the "Serpent" (or Dragon) king of Gwynedd, was said to have died of the "Yellow Plague of Rhos" around 547 and, from 548 to 549, plague devastated Ireland as well. Saxon sources from this period are silent, as there are no 6th-century English documents. The common date of the arrival of the plague in 549 and the political changes in Bernicia may indicate a link between the two, especially if any Bernician sea-trade with Europe was dislocated.

Faced with shrinking manpower and increasing Anglian encroachment, King Brochwel Ysgithrog (died c. 560) may have moved the court from Caer Guricon to Pengwern, the exact site of which is unknown but may have been at Shrewsbury, traditionally associated with Pengwern, or the more defensible Din Gwrygon, the hill fort on The Wrekin.

A number of places still identifiable in the Shropshire landscape today are mentioned alongside Pengwern in myth and poetry. The exact location of Llys Pengwern - the Court of Pengwern - is not known, and the problem is compounded by the fact that several other Pengwerns exist in Wales (e.g. near Denbigh in north Wales). A tradition, recorded by Giraldus Cambrensis in the late 12th century, associates it with the site of modern Shrewsbury (although that town has been known as Amwythig in Welsh since the Middle Ages). A number of alternative locations have been proposed. A more recent suggestion is the Berth, a dramatic hillfort at Baschurch, but the archaeological evidence shows only the Iron Age fort with possible Roman reuse.

Cadwal Crysban
Rhos is identified as a small kingdom during the sub-Roman and early medieval periods in an Old Welsh genealogical document "Ancestry of the Kings and Princes of Wales" listing thirteen of its kings (including two who are known to have ruled the wider region of Gwynedd).



The most famous monarch of Rhos was perhaps Cynlas Goch (Cuneglasus), the son of Owain Ddantgwyn, who lived in the early 6th century and was denounced by the monk, Gildas, who wrote that Cynlas was the "guider of the chariot which is the receptacle of the bear". The latter may refer to mythical characters from the Bible or to a "Fort of the Bear", possibly Dinerth, or more likely the name of a hillfort on Bryn Euryn in Llandrillo-yn-Rhos. The road that runs below the western side of the hill is still called Dinerth Road and Dinarth Hall is nearby: (Old Welsh: Din Eirth, "Fort Bear"). The Gwynedd Archaeological Trust have undertaken a trial excavation of this hillfort which revealed a massive defensive stone wall, "well built" and faced with good-quality limestone blocks originally rising to about ten feet high. The ramparts were eleven and a half feet thick. These defences are unlike those of Iron Age hillforts but comparable with similar Dark Age fortifications, so may represent a possible stronghold of the Kings of Rhos. Bryn Euryn commands extensive views south up the Conwy Valley, east and west along the coast. A rampart is intermittently visible on the small summit where lengths of a single course of limestone blocks protrude from the turf. What could be an enclosed terrace lies below the summit. The overall layout suggests a citadel and dependent outwork.

Accordin to Breeze (see Sources and Links) Cadwal Crysban (Cetula) could possibly have been, or believed to have been, the great grandson of Cynlas Goch.

Iago ap Beli
Iago ap Beli (c.540 – c.616) was King of Gwynedd (reigned c.599 – c.616). Little is known of him or his kingdom from this early era, with only a few anecdotal mentions of him in historical documents. Iago ap Beli (Latin: Iacobus Belii filius . English: Saint James son of Beli) was the son and successor of King Beli ap Rhun, and is listed in the royal genealogies of the Harleian genealogies and in Jesus College MS. 20. The only other record of him is the note of his death, which occurred in the same year as the Battle of Chester, but with no connection between Iago's death and the battle, and with no hard evidence that Gwynedd had any part in the battle. In his Celtic Britain, John Rhys notes that the Annals of Tigernach mention Iago's death and use the word dormitat (or dormitato, meaning sleep in the sense of a euphemism for death), contradicting the notion of a violent death. The line about Iago also appears on a separate line to the mention of the Battle of Chester. Further, as the word dormitato was generally used in reference to clerics, it is possible that Iago resigned his kingship and thereafter led a clerical life until a peaceful death. On the other hand in the medieval Welsh Triads the death of King Iago ap Beli is described as the result of an axe-blow by one of his own men, a certain Cadafael Wyllt (English: Cadafael the Wild).

He would be succeeded as king by his son, Cadfan ap Iago, whose own son was, according to traditional Welsh tales, Cadwallon a later king of Gwynedd and an enemy of Northumbria. Other traditional sources make Iago the great-grandson of the Maglocunus of Gildas, so not only does his name appear next to the mention of the Battle of Chester, but he also conveniently bridges a gap between two other noted historical figures. This might well have been sufficient for Iago to have been placed as "fallen asleep" at a battle he never actually attended, and could even have never been aware of (if he died before it, or was simply too old to care).

Gildas and Bede
The fact that Cadwal (Cuneglasus) and Iago are both (according to some souces) the great grandchildren of Gildas' targets for condemnation may be more than a co-incidence or a consequence of simple family history. It could be that Bede and other religious historians place them at the Battle to illustrate how the sins of their forefathers have not been spent and therfore hint at ongoing divine retribution dealt out down the gnerations. From the above it is possible to construct a list of the possible correspondences between those allegly present at the Battle of Chester and the rulers condemned by Gildas based on the family trees of Welsh monarchs. The early generations of these genealogies are traditional and their historical accuracy is debated by scholars. It is not at all clear who Bede might have believed to have been the descendants of those castgated by Gildas.


 * It is not clear which character in Bede might be associated with Constantine of Dumnonia - "tyrannical whelp of the unclean lioness of Damnonia". If "Damnonia" is meant to be Dumnonia this makes some kind of sense as Dumnonia (modern Cornwall) is an immense distance from Chester and even further from Northumbria. That distance will not stop Geoffrey of Monmouth later putting a Cornish troop in the field under "Blederic, duke of Cornwall".


 * It is not known which part of Britain Aurelius Caninus - "thou lion's whelp" - is actually supposed to have ruled.


 * Vortipor of the Demetae - "who like to the spotted leopard ... tyrant of the Demetians" - would, if a real figure, have ruled Dyfed (southwest Wales). Again this would place his descendants a long way from the action at Chester and little appears to have been known of his descendants even in the time of Bede. Again Geoffrey of Monmouth had no problem putting "Margaduc, king of the Demetians" at Bangor for "part II" of the Battle of Chester.


 * Cadwal Crysban may have been believed to have been the great grandson of Cuneglasus - "guider of the chariot which is the receptacle of the bear".


 * Iago ap Beli was the great grandson of Maglocunus (Mailcun or in later spelling Maelgwn of Gwynedd) - "dragon of the island" - and Iago's supposed grandson was Cadwallon king of Gwynedd and an enemy of Northumbria. Selyf ap Cynan (or Selyf Sarffgadau) also has elements of the "dragon or serpent" connection in his nickname.

While it is by no means certain, it is possible that there is a connection between the rulers condemned by Gildas and the opposition said to be faced by Æthelfrith.

Legends
The struggles of the period prior to 600 perhaps gave rise to the legends of Uther Pendragon and King Arthur (dragons and bears again again put through the mincer of historical garbling). It is sometimes said that Ambrosius Aurelianus, a possible leader of the Romano-British forces, was the model for the former, and that Arthur's court of Camelot is an idealised memory of pre-Saxon Romano-British civilisation. The ninth battle of the legendary King Arthur was supposedly fought at The City of the Legion ("nonum bellum gestum est in urbe legionis"). Some have suggested that this is Chester, while others propose Caerleon, York or Carlisle. The list of battles is given by Nennius in his Historia Britonum compiled some time around 820, and whether Chester was the site has been the subject of conflicting theories. The legendary battle is not mentioned by Gildas writing in the early sixth century, who only mentions "Mons Badonicus", the last Arthurian battle. What is known for a fact is that there was a major battle at Chester in post-Roman times, and that may have later been drawn into the Arthurian legends (despite it being a Northumbrian victory over the Welsh). Dates given for the Battle of Chester vary, but 616 seems close to a reasonable estimate.

The battle had consequences for the religious development of England, as the 600-800 period opened with an important synod of St Augustine with the British bishops at "Urbs Legion" (Chester). This was listed in the Annales Cambriae for the year 601. Augustine was a Benedictine monk who arrived in Britain 597 and became the first archbishop of Canterbury. While he is considered the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of the English Church it should not be forgotten that the Celtic church was already flourishing, possibly as a survival of Christianity from Roman times, or possibly as a result to earlier waves of missionaries. St Patrick was Romano-British and had been active in the first half of the 5th century. By 600, in Kent, the Saxon king Æthelberht was in the process of converting to Christianity and obviously both the Celtic and the Roman Church saw the opportunities that this would bring. Augustine, tried to reach an agreement with the Celtic bishops who would not cooperate with the new arrival from Rome, and refused to give up their existing traditions regarding baptism and the dating of Easter. That Chester was possibly selected as the location of a synod suggests that some local infra-structure had survived. A Celtic monastery had been established at Bangor-on-Dee in about AD 560 by Saint Dunod and was an important religious centre in the late 5th and early 6th centuries. According to some accounts, St Dunod was still alive at the time of the Synod and apparently chaired the meeting (although this may not have been the case).

Augustine died in 604. Shortly thereafter in 616 the Battle of Chester was fought between Æthelfrith of Northumbria (a Pagan) against Kings Selyf Sarffgadau of Powys (leading the army of Din Eirth) and (supposedly) Cadwal Crysban of Rhôs (with a smaller force from eastern Gwynedd) - and possibly also Iago ap Beli - although the latter has very weak evidence for his presence. If we are to believ Beded large number of Saint Dunod's monks were slaughtered (said to be in keeping with Augustine's prophecy that if "they would not accept peace with their brethren, they should have war with their enemies").

The usually unreliable Geoffrey of Monmouth (in History of the Kings of Britain) states that one of leaders of the British was "consul urbis" (Consul of the City) and that:


 * "After this all the princes of the Britons met together at the city of Legecester,(..possibly Chester/possibly Leicester..) and consented to make Cadwan their king, that under his command they might pursue Ethelfrid beyond the Humber. (Book XII part I)".



Holinshead repeats this:


 * After that the Britains had cōtinued about the space almost of 24 yéeres without anie one speciall gouernour, being led by sundrie rulers, euer sithens that Careticus was constreined to flée ouer Seuerne, and fought oftentimes not onelie against the Saxons, but also one of them 613 against another, at length in the yéere of our Lord 613, they assembled in the citie of Chester, and there elected Cadwan that before was ruler of Northwales, to haue the souereigne rule & gouernement ouer all their nation, and so the said Cadwan began to reigne as king of Britaine in the said yéere 613. But some authors say, that this was in the yéere 609, in which yéere Careticus the British king departed this life. And then after his deceasse the Britains or Welshmen (whether we shall call them) chose Cadwan to gouerne them in the foresaid yéere 609, which was in the 7 yéere of the emperour Phocas, and the 21 of the second Lotharius king of France, and in the 13 yéere of Kilwoolfe king of the Westsaxons.

While one generally accepted date is 616, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says in 605 (in one version and 606 in another version) that:


 * And her Æðelfrið lædde his færde to Legercyestre, & ðar ofsloh unrim Walena. & swa wearþ gefyld Augustinus witegunge. þe he cwæþ. Gif Wealas nellað sibbe wið us. hi sculan æt Seaxana handa farwurþan. Þar man sloh eac .cc. preosta ða comon ðyder þæt hi scoldon gebiddan for Walena here. Scrocmail was gehaten heora ealdormann. se atbærst ðanon fiftiga sum. (a rather free translation reads...And here Æthelfrith led his militia to the castle of the legions (Chester), and there slew innumerable Welsh. And so was fulfilled Augustinus's prediction (prophecy), that he said give the barbarians no peace with us, they shall owe their death to the hands of the Saxons. There were slain also 200 priests that came in order to pray for the Welsh soldiers. Brochfael was called their leader, and he escaped as one of fifty.)

The dates of the battle remains troublesome and the following sources differ:


 * Anglo-Saxon Chronicle - 607: This year Ceolwulf fought with the South-Saxons. And Ethelfrith led his army to Chester; where he slew an innumerable host of the Welsh; and so was fulfilled the prophecy of Augustine, wherein he saith "If the Welsh will not have peace with us, they shall perish at the hands of the Saxons." There were also slain two hundred priests, (18) who came thither to pray for the army of the Welsh. Their leader was called Brocmail, who with some fifty men escaped thence.


 * Annals of Tigernach - 611: The battle of Chester where the saints were slain; and [where]Solon, Conan's son, king of Britons, and king Cetula fell. Æthelfrith was the victor; and immediately afterwards he died.


 * Annals of Clonmacnoise - 613: The battle of Carleil or Carlegion, where Folinn, Conan's son, king of the Britons, was killed by Æthelfrith; who having the victory died himself instantly.


 * Annals Cambriae - 613: The battle of Caer Legion [Chester]. And there died Selyf son of Cynan. And Iago son of Beli slept [died].


 * Annals of Ulster - 613: The battle of Chester in which the saints were slain, and Solon, Conan's son, King of Britons fell.


 * Annals of Innisfallen - 614: The battle of Chester, in which hosts of saints fell, [was fought] in Britain between the Saxons and Britons.

Who was Brochmael?
Just who "Brochfael" was presents something of a problem. Some writers have suggested that "Brochfael" was Brochwel ap Cyngen, better known as Brochwel Ysgrithrog, who was a king of Powys in Eastern Wales (the nickname Ysgithrog has been translated as ‘of the canine teeth’, ‘the fanged’ or ‘of the tusk’ - perhaps because of big teeth, horns on a helmet or an aggressive manner). However Brochwel is believed to have died c. 560. Thomas Pennant even suggests that the Pillar of Eliseg identifies the Brochmael of the battle of Chester as the son of Eliseg.



Hollinshead writes thus:


 * It chanced that he had espied before the battell ioined (as Beda saith) where a great number of the British priests were got aside into a place somewhat out of danger, that they might there make their intercession to God for the good spéed of their people, being then readie to giue battell to the Northumbers. Manie of them were of that famous monasterie of Bangor, in the which it is said, that there was such a number of moonks, that where they were diuided into seuen seuerall parts, with their seuerall gouernors appointed to haue rule ouer them, euerie of those parts conteined at the least thrée hundred persons, the which liued altogither by the labour of their hands. Manie therefore of those moonks hauing kept a solemne fast for thrée daies togither, were come to the armie with other to make praier, hauing for their defender one Brocmale or Broemael, earle (or consull as some call him) of Chester, which should preserue them (being giuen to praier) from the edge of the enimies swoord.

The event is also mentioned in Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum:


 * ...rex Anglorum fortissimus Aedilfrid collecto grandi exercitu ad ciuitatem Legionum, quae a gente Anglorum Legacaestir, a Brettonibus autem rectius Carlegion appellatur, maximam gentis perfidae stragem dedit (..the warlike king of the English, Ethelfrid, having raised a mighty army, made a very great slaughter of that perfidious nation, at the City of Legions, which by the English is called Legacestir, but by the Britons more rightly Carlegion.)

The "200 priests" mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle are reputed, according to the historian Bede, to have come from Bangor-on-Dee. They were later to be the subject of a poem by Sir Walter Scot which was set to music by Beethoven. Bede does not seem to be quite right about his "Brochfael" who he has guarding the monks and fleeing at the first sign of trouble and, who is probably not be the same character mentioned on Eliseg's Pillar. Further confusion is caused by many writers who have made "Brochwel" an ancestor:


 * "Brochwel Yscithroc, Consul of Chester, who dwelt in a town then called Pengwerne Powys, and now Shrewsbury (Salopia), whose dwelling house was in the verie same place where the college of St Chad's now standeth." - Dr Powel's Historie of Cambrie (1584 edition)

For further information see the last paragraph of Bede, Book II, Chapter II. If you are really interested in this confused period of history, see Vortigern on Wikipedia or see the Vortigern Studies website.

Did Geoffrey Get It Right?
Geoffrey of Monmouth, in his pseudo-historical History of the Kings of Britain describes the battle of Chester thus (and has "Brocmail" as consul of the city):


 * Therefore Ethelbert, king of Kent, when he saw that the Britons disdained subjection to Augustine, and despised his preaching, was highly provoked, and stirred up Ethelfrid, king of the Northumbrians, and the other petty kings of the Saxons, to raise a great army, and march to the city of Bangor, to destroy the abbot Dinooth, and the rest of the clergy who held them in contempt. At his instigation, therefore, they assembled a prodigious army, and in their march to the province of the Britons, came to Legecester, where Brocmail, consul of the city, was awaiting their coming. To the same city were come innumerable monks and hermits from several provinces of the Britons, but especially from the city of Bangor, to pray for the safety of their people. Whereupon Ethelfrid, king of the Northumbrians, collecting all his forces, joined battle with Brocmail, who, having a less army to withstand him, at last quitted the city and fled, though not without having made a great slaughter of the enemy. But Ethelfrid, when he had taken the city, and understood upon what occasion the monks were come thither, commanded his men to turn their arms first against them; and so two hundred of them were honoured with the crown of martyrdom, and admitted into the kingdom of heaven that same day. From thence this Saxon tyrant proceeded on his march to Bangor; but upon the news of his outrageous madness, the leaders of the Britons, viz. Blederic, duke of Cornwall, Margaduc, king of the Demetians, and Cadwan, of the Venedotians, came from all parts to meet him and joining battle with him, wounded him, and forced him to flee; and killed of his army to the number of ten thousand and sixty-six men. On the Britons' side fell Blederic, duke of Cornwall, who was their commander in those wars.



As usual Geoffrey is happy to mix fact with complete fiction: Æthelfrith wasn't a Saxon (he was Anglian) and he wasn't marching south to destroy Bangor! Why March across the country to slay a group of presumably unarmed monks belonging to another religion for no military benefit whatsoever? It would be a waste of resources and a risk of needlessly exposing his forces. Losing 10,066 men killed seems a remarkably accurate tally and (not to mention getting wounded) would have been a military disaster for Æthelfrith - if it were even possible to raise and feed an army of that size except in the direst of emergencies.

However, there may just be more truth in Geoffrey than at first appears: Æthelfrith may however have been stirred into action by the activities of Edwin of Northumbria. Edwin had been disinherited by Æthelfrith. While the location of his early exile as a child is not known, later traditions, reported by Reginald of Durham (and Geoffrey of Monmouth), place Edwin in the kingdom of Gwynedd, fostered by king Cadfan ap Iago. This could have made him a childhood companion (some say rival) of Cadfan's son, Cadwallon ap Cadfan. By the 610s Edwin was certainly in Mercia, under the protection of king Cearl, whose daughter Cwenburh he married. By around 616, Edwin was in East Anglia, under the protection of king Raedwald. Raedwald, despite his conversion to Christianity (Roman rather than Celtic) is the most likely contender for the Sutton Hoo ship burial (the sole surviving witness to the excavation of the Sutton Hoo boat burial was living in Chester c 2007). Bede reports that Æthelfrith tried to have Raedwald murder his unwanted rival, and that Raedwald was minded to do so, only being persuaded otherwise by his wife (a woman of pagan custom and high moral principle whose name is unknown) with "Divine prompting". What Geoffrey seems to be hinting at is some clever manoeuvring by recent Christian converts to pit the pagans against the Celtic Christians. Regardless of the exact course of events, Raedwald was to face Æthelfrith in battle by the River Idle in 616 (where the Roman road from Lincoln to Doncaster crosses the River Idle near Bawtry), and there Æthelfrith was killed, along with one of Raedwald's son's, Rægenhere.

For many years it was not known whether the battle of Chester was actually fought close to the city, or to the south at or towards Heronbridge (where there are graves from the period). Raphael Holinshed suggests that the battle was fought outside the city:


 * "The Britains that dwelt about Chester, through their stoutnesse prouoked the aforesaid Edelferd king of the Northumbers vnto warre: wherevpon to tame their loftie stomachs, he assembled an armie & came forward to besiege the citie, then called of the Britains Chester. The citizens coueting rather to suffer all things than a siege, and hauing a trust in their great multitude of people, came foorth to giue batell abroad in the fields, whome he compassing about with ambushes, got within his danger, and easilie discomfited."

The Bodies
Recent information has come to light due to the efforts of the Chester Archaeological Society, which does seem to pin the battle down to Heronbridge or nearby. The evidence takes the form of a mass grave pit containing only male skeletons, of no more than middle age who seem to have died from battle wounds. The care with which the bodies are laid out seems to imply that this is a burial by the victorious Æthelfrith. Radiocarbon dating places the remains at the right time for the battle. As the bodies are likely to have been buried on or very close to the battlefield, it seems likely that Heronbridge was the site of the battle. If it is accepted that this is the site of the Battle of Chester then this is the the earliest positively identified battle site in England, pre-dating the Battle of Maldon by some 300 years.

When the remains were first found it was thought that they were Roman, as heronbridge was known to be a site of activity outside of Roman Chester. Dr Elwyn Davies, who wrote the bone report appended to the site report, suggested that the evident trauma were inflicted by Roman cavalry swords or spathae:


 * "Nine crania show signs of injury. Long cuts traverse the vaults of the skulls and their clean–cut nature suggest they were inicted with a sharp-edged instrument of long leverage… some form of long sword or the spatha… it is of interest to note that these cuts are mostly along the vaults of the skull, which suggest that they might possibly have been inflicted by cavalry. If these injuries were received during life, and there is every appearance that this is the case, the individuals met with a violent death." (Davies 1933: 47)

Modern examination of the remains showed that one skeleton had suffered large sword injuries, mostly from the front, extending half way back across the calvarium (the portion of a skull including the braincase and excluding the jaw), as well as further sword injuries to the side of the head and through the forehead. In addition there are triangular holes in the skull, that could possibly represent stabs from pointed weapons such as spearheads, which is likely to be the weapon used by most of the rank-and-file at this period. In another case the individual suffered a large sword-cut halfway down the left parietal bone (above the ear). Indeed another similar sword-cut crosses the first at right angles and has penetrated through the bone. There is also a large, crushed, penetrating fracture down the frontal bone (forehead), originating in a blow from an edged weapon (probably an axe). There are numerous hairline fractures at many places in calvarium of this second skeleton. The most severe of the injuries was a blow across the facial skeleton, cleaving the edge of the left orbit (eye-socket). In addition to other injuries to the skull, there appear to be cuts behind and to the side of the left knee and a cut to the right knee. A thid casualty suffered even more extensive wounds including a deep, heavy sword or axe blow into the face, penetrating deeply and causing extensive fracturing and loss of internal bones of the skull. The injury appears to reach as far as the circle of Willis (the base of the brain), as well as indirect damage to the brain stem and cerebellum. In some cases the pattern of fractures of the skull suggest that the individual was wearing a helmet, however there are no associated finds with the skeletons. One would expect them to have been recycled on the battle-field or before burial. These gory details indicate how the lethal blows were ferocious. It may well be that the victims had been brought down by damage to soft tissues and then "finished off" with a blow to the head.

Conclusions
From the above it is clear that the accounts of the Battle of Chester may well have been tainted with a little bias, and a good dose of historical confusion. A battlefield, or at least it's graveyard has been identified without any real doubt at Heronbridge. This almost certainly means that the battle was fought nearby, although we do not know how many founght and how many died. We are not even sure who actually fought in the battle.

A fairly good case can be made out that Æthelfrith of Northumbria actually turned up on the day, but as to his opponents there is some doubt. Selyf Sarffgadau, Cadwal Crysban and Iago ap Beli where all possibly alive at the date of the battle, although there is some doubt about Iago, who might just be unfortunate enought to have died peacefully in the same year. All of the potential opponents of Æthelfrith appear to have some connection, which may be actual or imagined, with the Welsh rulers singled out by Gildas, some generations earlier. There are at least curious parallels between the "insults" which Gildas throws at them: - "bear", "serpent/dragon" and those who supposedly fought at Chester. The supposed combatants also have forward links to the time of Bede, potentially creating a linkage between those Gildas singles out as rulers of a heretical people and those bede might consider the enemies of Northumbria.

Geoffrey of Monmouth also throws in contingents from Cornwall and Dyfed who would appear to have no reason to get involved in the fight and who appear to be led by rulers he has simply made-up. Perhaps Geoffrey made the connection between Bede and Gildas and simply added the Demetians and the Dumnonians back in. Geoffrey also makes Aurelius Conanus the nephew to the previous king Constantine, whom he kills after a reign of only three years. While the kingship should go to another, unnamed uncle of Aurelius', but Aurelius pursues a civil war, ultimately imprisoning his kinsman and killing his sons. However, Aurelius only rules for two years before he himself dies; according to Geoffrey he is succeeded by Vortiporius. So Geoffrey uses all the actors from Gildas in his Arthurian construct, and then throws their equivlents into the Battle of Chester.

Augustine is dragged in as a possible cause, despite having died about ten years before the battle. His "if you are not with us you are against us" prophecy is put into the mouth of a the pagan Æthelfrith, who seems remarkably familiar with Matthew 12:30 "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters" (and other similar quotes), or as Æthelfrith puts it: "If they are praying to their God against us, them, even if they do not bear arms, they are fighting against us". Æthelfrith then uses his military force to eradicate the monks - of whose numbers estimates vary wildly - while his opponents apparently stand about doing nothing and Brochmael (whoever he was) runs away. Despite losing over 10,000 troops according to Monmouth, and being wounded and routed, Æthelfrith claims a victory.

=Why was the Battle of Chester fought at all?=

So what was really going on at the Battle of Chester?

It has been estimated that at least 112 people died and were buried with reasonable care in the relatively small part of the Heronbridge site excavated. Isotopic anaysis of bones suggests that they were not local to Chester but came from the north and east. This is entirely consistent with Northumbrian origins. Their injuries are violent, in many cases extremely so, and some injuries suggest that at least some wore helmets. Evidence of earlier, healed injury to bones suggests past and protracted military service by veterans. The bodies do not appear to have been disturbed after burial but no grave goods were present. This is entirely consistent with a victorious Northumbran army removing useful armour and weapons then respectfully burying its dead. Then the Northumbrians left. They did not settle in the area.

The remaining earthworks at Heronbridge seem poorly located from a military perspective. They are located by a river but there is nothing to suggest that Æthelfrith had any kind of naval support, or indeed that such would have been practical give that his ships would have to sail half-way around the country to reach the Dee. As well as the damp, being trapped against a river and having a poor view out of the river valley the site has little to commend it.

=What Happened Afterwards?=

=Notes, sources, links etc=

Chronology with links to sources
Many of the dates in the following list are approximate. This is due to several reasons: the shortage of written records and having to date events by evidence such as coin finds; Chroniclers being unsure of dates or different dates being used in different chronicles; and, changes in the timing of the new year.

5th Cent

 * 410: Romans leave Britain;
 * 446: Bangor Tewdws burnt;

6th Cent

 * 508: Bangor Tewdws rebuilt;
 * 536: Great famine due to extreme weather events;
 * 540: Gildas writes "The ruin of Britain", possibly at Bangor Tewdws. He mentions the martyrdom of Julius and Aaron;
 * 547: Maelgwn Gwynedd dies of the "yellow plague"; quite probably the arrival of Justinian's Plague in Britain.
 * 560: Posssible date for establishment of Celtic christian monastery at Bangor-on-Dee by Dunod. Dunod is best known as being the only Welsh ecclesiastic mentioned by name, in Bede's "Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum", as having been at the meeting of the Welsh bishops with Saint Augustine of Canterbury;
 * 577: Saxons under Ceawlin of Wessex resume attacks on Britons;
 * 597: Augustine of Canterbury lands in Kent;

7th Cent

 * 601: Synod at Chester;
 * 603: Battle of Degsastan;
 * 604: Æthelfrith's hostile takeover of Deira;
 * 613: Hereric was poisoned in the court of King Ceretic of Elmet probably at the instigation of Æthelfrith;
 * 616: Battle of Chester, possibly at Heronbridge;
 * 641: Oswald dies at Battle of Maserfield;
 * 650: Werburgh born;
 * 655: Cynddylan possibly dies at the Battle of the Winwaed;
 * 664: Synod of Whitby: Wilfrid becomes famous;
 * 672: Ely Abbey founded by Æthelthryth (St Etheldreda), daughter of the East Anglian King;
 * 679: Æthelred of Mercia defeats the Northumbrian Ecgfrith (his brother in law) at the Battle of the Trent;
 * 689: St Johns founded possibly by Æthelred of Mercia (king from 675 until 704) and Wilfred (c. 633 – 709 or 710);
 * 697: Bardney Abbey founded, possibly by Æthelred of Mercia;
 * 699: Werburgh dies;

Related Pages

 * Dark Ages;
 * Amphitheatre;
 * Heronbridge;

Chronicles and other eBooks

 * The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle;
 * Bede Ecclesiastical History of England;
 * Six old English chronicles: Ethelwerd's Chronicle, Asser's Life of Alfred, Geoffrey of Monmouth's British history, Gildas, Nennius and Richard of Cirencester.

N.B. Richard of Cirencester's De Situ Britanniae was faked by Charles Bertram prior to publication in 1747 although it was revealed to be a fake in 1845, it had by then provided misinformation which turned up in many other works.

Heronbridge

 * Battle of Chester on Wikipedia;
 * Chester Arch. Soc. report on Heronbridge;
 * Heronbridge and Eccleston archaeology report;
 * Carbon dating of some remains from Heronbridge;
 * Megalithic Britain;
 * Pastscape;
 * Skeletons rediscovered;
 * Clive Tolley on the Battle of Chester;
 * Aethelfrith of Nothumbria and the Battle of Chester: the bones;
 * Nicholas Higham on the Battle of Chester;

Bamburgh and Æthelfrith

 * Æthelfrith's Growing Fyrd;
 * Bamburgh Castle: at Castles, Forts, Battles;
 * The Politics of Exile in Early Northumbria;

Powys and Selyf Sarffgadau

 * Wrekin Archaeology;

Iago, Cetula and Rhos

 * British Battles 493-937: Mount Badon to Brunanburh: (Breeze 2020)

Bede

 * Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England;