Battle of Ashdown

Battle of Ashdown
	Part of the Viking invasions of England
	; A nineteenth-century depiction of the Battle of Ashdown.
Date	c. 8 January 871
Location	Berkshire
Result	West Saxon Victory
Belligerents
West Saxons	Vikings
Commanders and leaders
Æthelred; Alfred	Bagsecg † ; Halfdan; Sidroc the Old †; Sidroc the Younger †; Osbern †; Fræna †; Harold †

The Battle of Ashdown was a West Saxon victory over a Danish Viking army on about 8 January 871. The location of Ashdown is not known, but may be Kingstanding Hill^[a] in Berkshire. Other writers place the battle near Starveall, a short distance north of the village of Aldworth and south east of Lowbury Hill.^[3]^[4]

The West Saxons were led by King Æthelred and his younger brother, the future King Alfred the Great, while the Viking commanders were Bagsecg and Halfdan. The battle is described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Asser's Life of King Alfred.^[5]

^ Hughes (1859) p. frontis.
^ Peddie, John (2005). Alfred, Warrior King. Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishing. pp. 96–98. ISBN 978-0-7509-3796-2.
^ "britishbattles.com".
^ Marren, Peter (2009). Battles of the Dark Ages. Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1844158843.
^ Abels, Richard (1998). Alfred the Great: War, Kingship and Culture in Anglo-Saxon England. Harlow, UK: Longman. p. 129. ISBN 0-582-04047-7.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[1] Hughes (1859) p. frontis.

[2] Peddie, John (2005). Alfred, Warrior King. Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishing. pp. 96–98. ISBN 978-0-7509-3796-2.

[4] "britishbattles.com".

[5] Marren, Peter (2009). Battles of the Dark Ages. Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1844158843.

[6] Abels, Richard (1998). Alfred the Great: War, Kingship and Culture in Anglo-Saxon England. Harlow, UK: Longman. p. 129. ISBN 0-582-04047-7.

[1]

[a]

[3]

[4]

[5]