Battle of Maserfield
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The Battle of Maserfield (or Maserfeld) was fought on August 5, 642, between the Anglo-Saxon kings Oswald of Northumbria and Penda of Mercia, ending in Oswald's defeat, death, and dismemberment. The battle was also known as Cogwy to the Welsh, with the men of Powys probably participating in the battle as allies of the Mercians. Bede reports the commonly accepted date given above; the Welsh Annales Cambriae is generally considered incorrect in giving the year of the battle as 644.
Since the death of Oswald's uncle Edwin of Northumbria at Hatfield Chase in 633, the Mercians under Penda had presented an obstacle to the power of Northumbria over the lands of Britain south of the Humber. Oswald had already defeated the Britons under Cadwallon ap Cadfan (Penda's ally at Hatfield) at Heavenfield, and now intended to do the same to Penda, bringing his army to Maserfield, a site that is usually identified with Oswestry ("Oswald's Tree") in Shropshire, near the Welsh border. Penda's Welsh allies may have included Cynddylan ap Cyndrwyn of Powys; the Marwnad Cynddylan says of him that "when the son of Pyd requested, he was so ready!" This may be a reference to Penda, the son of Pybba, meaning that Cynddylan was eager to fight in battle alongside him.
For the battle, no details are known beyond the outcome; Penda defeated and killed Oswald. Oswald's body was cut into pieces, and his head and arms mounted on poles; the parts were later retrieved by his brother and successor Oswiu. Since Penda was a pagan and Oswald was Christian, the latter was subsequently venerated as a martyr and saint. Bede reports many miracles attributed to the various body parts revered as relics. The Historia Brittonum accredits Penda's victory to "diabolical agency", but the characterization of the battle as a clash between Christians and pagans may be oversimplified if there were Welsh, who were Christian, fighting on Penda's side. The battle may more accurately be characterized as marking the defeat of Northumbrian imperialism south of the Humber: the 20th century historian Frank Stenton wrote of Penda that his resistance may have prevented the establishment of "a loosely compacted kingdom of England under Northumbrian rule" by the mid-7th century. Another 20th century historian, D. P. Kirby, wrote that the battle left Penda as "without question the most powerful Mercian ruler so far to have emerged in the midlands."
According to the Historia Brittonum and the Annales Cambriae, Penda's brother Eowa, also said to have been a king of the Mercians, was killed in the battle along with Oswald. The possibility exists that he was actually fighting in the battle as Oswald's ally; it has been suggested that he had ruled the northern Mercians while Penda ruled the southern Mercians. Since the Historia Brittonum says Penda ruled for only ten years (Bede says 22 years: 633–655), this may mean that it was dating Penda's reign from the time of his victory at Maserfield (although the period was still more than ten years); this would make sense if Eowa's death removed an important rival to Penda, enabling him to claim or consolidate authority over all the Mercians.
Following the battle, Deira, in the southern part of Northumbria, chose a king of its own, Oswine, while Bernicia in the north (which had been dominant, with Oswald, a member of the Bernician royal line, ruling both Bernicia and Deira prior to Maserfield) was ruled by Oswald's brother Oswiu. Thus the battle led to the internal weakening and fracturing of the Northumbrian kingdom, a situation which lasted until after the battle of the Winwaed, despite Oswine's murder on the orders of Oswiu in 651.
According to Stenton, Maserfield left Penda as "the most formidable king in England." He maintained this position until his death against the Bernicians at the Battle of Winwaed in 655; at times in the years between the two battles, his power was sufficient that he could mount destructive raids into Bernicia itself, at one point besieging Bamburgh, prior to his final, doomed campaign.
References
- Bede, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, Book III, Chapters IX–XII. (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/bede-book3.html)