Battle Edge
Encyclopedia
Battle-Edge is a former field
, located beside Sheep Street and Tanners Lane, in Burford
in Oxfordshire
, England
where King Ethelbald
of Mercia
was defeated by King Cuthred
of the West Saxons in 752 AD.
Cuthred had been tributary to Ethelbald but, by winning the battle and taking the standard (a golden dragon), "threw off the Mercian yoke."
Gardner's Directory of Oxfordshire, 1852, reports that "As some workmen were making a road from Burford to Barrington
, a few years since, they discovered a large stone sarcophagus of very rude workmanship, weighing nearly three tons, which on examination, was found to contain the remains of a human body, and portions of (apparently) a leathern cuirass studded with metal nails, completely oxidated and matted together. From the size and appearance of this coffin (which is still preserved in the church), and from the circumstance of its being found near to Battle Edge, it may be presumed it was deposited there after the battle between Ethelbald and Cuthred above noticed."
Field (agriculture)
In agriculture, the word field refers generally to an area of land enclosed or otherwise and used for agricultural purposes such as:* Cultivating crops* Usage as a paddock or, generally, an enclosure of livestock...
, located beside Sheep Street and Tanners Lane, in Burford
Burford
Burford is a small town on the River Windrush in the Cotswold hills in west Oxfordshire, England, about west of Oxford, southeast of Cheltenham and only from the Gloucestershire boundary...
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
where King Ethelbald
Ethelbald of Mercia
Æthelbald was the King of Mercia, in what is now the English Midlands, from 716 until 757. During his long reign, Mercia became the dominant kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons, and recovered the position of pre-eminence it had enjoyed during the seventh century under the strong Mercian kings Penda and...
of Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
was defeated by King Cuthred
Cuthred of Wessex
Cuthred or Cuþræd was the King of Wessex from 740 until 756. He succeeded Æthelheard, his relative and possibly his brother....
of the West Saxons in 752 AD.
Cuthred had been tributary to Ethelbald but, by winning the battle and taking the standard (a golden dragon), "threw off the Mercian yoke."
Gardner's Directory of Oxfordshire, 1852, reports that "As some workmen were making a road from Burford to Barrington
Barrington, Gloucestershire
Barrington is a civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 209.The parish includes the villages of Great Barrington and Little Barrington, on either side of the River Windrush...
, a few years since, they discovered a large stone sarcophagus of very rude workmanship, weighing nearly three tons, which on examination, was found to contain the remains of a human body, and portions of (apparently) a leathern cuirass studded with metal nails, completely oxidated and matted together. From the size and appearance of this coffin (which is still preserved in the church), and from the circumstance of its being found near to Battle Edge, it may be presumed it was deposited there after the battle between Ethelbald and Cuthred above noticed."