When you think of ‘the 300′ you probably think of the recent movie on the famous Spartan-Persian battle of antiquity. Considered by historians all around as a pivotal battle in antiquity, the number 300 either spawned a legend that spread all the way to the British Isles or was such a common symbolic number that [...]
Archive for the ‘Battles’ Category
10 Apr
FB: The Mystery of Urbs Iudeu
James Fraser has written an interesting article on a very important seventh century English fortress called Urbs Iudeu. Fraser notes that the Urbs Iudeu is unlikely to be one of the better known named places on the Firth of Forth, this fortress gave its name to the firth itself, or took its name from the [...]
28 Aug
Urien, Lord of Catraeth
I’ve been thinking today about the claim that Urien is Lord of Catraeth. Wherever Catraeth is doesn’t matter for the moment. What has struck me as strange is that the British attacked Catraeth. The point of the battle of Catraeth was to take it away from its Lord, and the Britons lost. Other references to [...]
23 Aug
Ecgfrith’s Burial
I was reading more of Clarkson’s The Picts today and came across his references to the burial of King Ecgfrith on Iona after the battle of Dunnichen. Ecgfrith’s burial is only mentioned by Symeon of Durham, which is quite late but its so unusual and nonchilant that it is believable. No other English king was [...]
23 May
PW: King Ecgfrith of Northumbria
On May 20th, 685 King Ecgfrith of Northumbria fell deep in Pictland at Dunnichen to King Bridei, who was somehow his cousin. As far as we know, Ecgfrith’s death at Dunnichen marked the deepest incursion into Pictland that we know of in the Anglo-Saxon period. Given that Ecgfrith invaded to prevent loosing hegemony, it [...]
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