103-550: Olaf Guthfrithson or Anlaf Guthfrithson ( Old Norse : Óláfr Guðrøðsson [ˈoːˌlɑːvz̠ ˈɡuðˌrøðsˌson] ; Old English : Ánláf ; Old Irish : Amlaíb mac Gofraid ; died 941) was a Hiberno-Scandinavian (Irish-Viking) leader who ruled Dublin and Viking Northumbria in the 10th century. He was the son of Gofraid ua Ímair and great-grandson of Ímar , making him one of the Uí Ímair . Olaf succeeded his father as King of Dublin in 934 and succeeded in establishing dominance over
206-548: A battle that lasted all day, the English finally forced them to break up and flee. There was probably a prolonged period of hard fighting before the invaders were finally defeated. According to the poem, the English "clove the shield-wall, hacked the war-lime, with hammers's leavings". "There lay many a soldier of the men of the north, shot over shield, taken by spears, likewise Scottish also, sated, weary of war". Wood states that all large battles were described in this manner, so
309-727: A change known as Holtzmann's law . An epenthetic vowel became popular by 1200 in Old Danish, 1250 in Old Swedish and Old Norwegian, and 1300 in Old Icelandic. An unstressed vowel was used which varied by dialect. Old Norwegian exhibited all three: /u/ was used in West Norwegian south of Bergen , as in aftur , aftor (older aptr ); North of Bergen, /i/ appeared in aftir , after ; and East Norwegian used /a/ , after , aftær . Old Norse
412-417: A female raven or a male crow. All neuter words have identical nominative and accusative forms, and all feminine words have identical nominative and accusative plurals. The gender of some words' plurals does not agree with that of their singulars, such as lim and mund . Some words, such as hungr , have multiple genders, evidenced by their determiners being declined in different genders within
515-412: A front vowel to be split into a semivowel-vowel sequence before a back vowel in the following syllable. While West Norse only broke /e/ , East Norse also broke /i/ . The change was blocked by a /w/ , /l/ , or /ʀ/ preceding the potentially-broken vowel. Some /ja/ or /jɔ/ and /jaː/ or /jɔː/ result from breaking of /e/ and /eː/ respectively. When a noun, pronoun, adjective, or verb has
618-409: A given sentence. Nouns, adjectives, and pronouns were declined in four grammatical cases – nominative , accusative , genitive , and dative – in singular and plural numbers. Adjectives and pronouns were additionally declined in three grammatical genders. Some pronouns (first and second person) could have dual number in addition to singular and plural. The genitive
721-470: A large military and naval force in 934. Although the reason for this invasion is uncertain, John of Worcester stated that the cause was Constantine's violation of the peace treaty made in 927. Æthelstan evidently travelled through Beverley , Ripon , and Chester-le-Street . The army harassed the Scots up to Kincardineshire and the navy up to Caithness , but Æthelstan's force was never engaged. Following
824-584: A long vowel or diphthong in the accented syllable and its stem ends in a single l , n , or s , the r (or the elder r - or z -variant ʀ ) in an ending is assimilated. When the accented vowel is short, the ending is dropped. The nominative of the strong masculine declension and some i-stem feminine nouns uses one such -r (ʀ). Óðin-r ( Óðin-ʀ ) becomes Óðinn instead of * Óðinr ( * Óðinʀ ). The verb blása ('to blow'), has third person present tense blæss ('[he] blows') rather than * blæsr ( * blæsʀ ). Similarly,
927-445: A miraculous restitution of Æthelstan's sword at the height of the battle. William Ketel 's De Miraculis Sancti Joannis Beverlacensis (early 12th century) relates how, in 937, Æthelstan left his army on his way north to fight the Scots at Brunanburh, and went to visit the tomb of Bishop John at Beverley to ask for his prayers in the forthcoming battle. In thanksgiving for his victory, Æthelstan gave certain privileges and rights to
1030-474: A noun must mirror the gender of that noun , so that one says, " heill maðr! " but, " heilt barn! ". As in other languages, the grammatical gender of an impersonal noun is generally unrelated to an expected natural gender of that noun. While indeed karl , "man" is masculine, kona , "woman", is feminine, and hús , "house", is neuter, so also are hrafn and kráka , for "raven" and "crow", masculine and feminine respectively, even in reference to
1133-539: A peace treaty, it became apparent that Æthelstan could be defeated only by an alliance of his enemies. Olaf led Constantine and Owen in the alliance. In August 937 Olaf and his army sailed from Dublin to join forces with Constantine and Owen, but they were routed in the battle against Æthelstan. The poem Battle of Brunanburh in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recounts that there were "never yet as many people killed before this with sword's edge ... since
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#17327720657851236-731: A raid at Lagore crannog in County Meath , and then looted the burial chamber at Knowth the following week. Olaf is described as "Lord of the Foreigners" by the Annals of the Four Masters in 937, at which time he went to Lough Ree and captured Amlaíb Cenncairech , King of Limerick , and his troops after breaking their boats. This conflict can be ascribed to rivalry between the competing Viking settlements of Dublin and Limerick, with this event marking victory for Dublin. This period
1339-476: A similar development influenced by Middle Low German . Various languages unrelated to Old Norse and others not closely related have been heavily influenced by Norse, particularly the Norman language ; to a lesser extent, Finnish and Estonian . Russian, Ukrainian , Belarusian , Lithuanian and Latvian also have a few Norse loanwords. The words Rus and Russia , according to one theory, may be named after
1442-608: A voiced velar fricative [ɣ] in all cases, and others have that realisation only in the middle of words and between vowels (with it otherwise being realised [ɡ] ). The Old East Norse /ʀ/ was an apical consonant , with its precise position unknown; it is reconstructed as a palatal sibilant . It descended from Proto-Germanic /z/ and eventually developed into /r/ , as had already occurred in Old West Norse. The consonant digraphs ⟨hl⟩ , ⟨hr⟩ , and ⟨hn⟩ occurred word-initially. It
1545-467: A vowel or semivowel of a different vowel backness . In the case of i-umlaut and ʀ-umlaut , this entails a fronting of back vowels, with retention of lip rounding. In the case of u-umlaut , this entails labialization of unrounded vowels. Umlaut is phonemic and in many situations grammatically significant as a side effect of losing the Proto-Germanic morphological suffixes whose vowels created
1648-448: A word. Strong verbs ablaut the lemma 's nucleus to derive the past forms of the verb. This parallels English conjugation, where, e.g., the nucleus of sing becomes sang in the past tense and sung in the past participle. Some verbs are derived by ablaut, as the present-in-past verbs do by consequence of being derived from the past tense forms of strong verbs. Umlaut or mutation is an assimilatory process acting on vowels preceding
1751-419: Is a poetic and figurative term for the sea. Egil's Saga contains more detailed topographical information than any of the other medieval texts, although its usefulness as historical evidence is disputed. According to this account, Olaf's army occupied an unnamed fortified town north of a heath, with large inhabited areas nearby. Æthelstan's camp was pitched to the south of Olaf, between a river on one side and
1854-544: Is classified as Old West Norse, and Old West Norse traits were found in western Sweden . In what is present-day Denmark and Sweden, most speakers spoke Old East Norse. Though Old Gutnish is sometimes included in the Old East Norse dialect due to geographical associations, it developed its own unique features and shared in changes to both other branches. The 12th-century Icelandic Gray Goose Laws state that Swedes , Norwegians , Icelanders , and Danes spoke
1957-481: Is considered to be the high-point of Viking influence in Ireland. Having secured his position in Ireland, Olaf turned his attention to England and Northumbria , which had once been ruled by Olaf's father and had been conquered in 927 by Æthelstan of England . Olaf allied with Constantine II of Scotland , whose kingdom had been invaded by Æthelstan in 934, and in 937, the same year as the victory over Limerick, Olaf and
2060-465: Is expected to exist, such as in the male names Ragnarr , Steinarr (supposedly * Ragnarʀ , * Steinarʀ ), the result is apparently always /rː/ rather than */rʀ/ or */ʀː/ . This is observable in the Runic corpus. In Old Norse, i/j adjacent to i , e , their u-umlauts, and æ was not possible, nor u/v adjacent to u , o , their i-umlauts, and ǫ . At
2163-405: Is identifiable as Gofraid, who was king of Dublin between 920 and 934, and also briefly ruled Northumbria in 927. Gofraid was a grandson of Ímar but no patronymic is given in the original sources. This may be because he was a child of a son of Ímar who never ruled Dublin, or he was a child of a daughter of Ímar, which in either case would mean his legitimacy to rule in the eyes of his contemporaries
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#17327720657852266-495: Is identifiable as a son of Olaf. The Annals of Ulster record he was defeated at a place called Dub in 960. Cammán may have been one of the meic Amlaíb (sons of Olaf) who the Annals of the Four Masters mention in 962. According to this account the sons of Olaf and the Ladgmanns (lawmen) came to Ireland and plundered Conaille Muirtheimne and Howth . Afterward the lawmen went to Munster to avenge their brother Oin. They continued
2369-584: Is more common in Old West Norse in both phonemic and allophonic positions, while it only occurs sparsely in post-runic Old East Norse and even in runic Old East Norse. This is still a major difference between Swedish and Faroese and Icelandic today. Plurals of neuters do not have u-umlaut at all in Swedish, but in Faroese and Icelandic they do, for example the Faroese and Icelandic plurals of the word land , lond and lönd respectively, in contrast to
2472-505: Is not a historically reliable narrative. Pseudo-Ingulf 's Ingulfi Croylandensis Historia (ca. 1400) recounts that: the Danes of Northumbria and Norfolk entered into a confederacy [against Æthelstan], which was joined by Constantine, king of the Scots, and many others; on which [Æthelstan] levied an army and led it into Northumbria. On his way, he was met by many pilgrims returning homeward from Beverley… [Æthelstan] offered his poniard upon
2575-617: Is sometimes cited as the point of origin for English national identity : historians such as Michael Livingston argue that "the men who fought and died on that field forged a political map of the future that remains, arguably making the Battle of Brunanburh one of the most significant battles in the long history not just of England, but of the whole of the British Isles." Following an unchallenged invasion of Scotland by Æthelstan in 934, possibly launched because Constantine had violated
2678-459: Is that the nonphonemic difference between the voiced and the voiceless dental fricative is marked. The oldest texts and runic inscriptions use þ exclusively. Long vowels are denoted with acutes . Most other letters are written with the same glyph as the IPA phoneme, except as shown in the table below. Ablaut patterns are groups of vowels which are swapped, or ablauted, in the nucleus of
2781-635: Is the Old English poem "Battle of Brunanburh" in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (version A), which was written within two decades of the battle. The poem relates that Æthelstan and Edmund's army of West Saxons and Mercians fought at Brunanburh against the Vikings under Anlaf (i.e. Olaf Guthfrithson) and the Scots under Constantine. After a fierce battle lasting all day, five young kings, seven of Anlaf's earls, and countless others were killed in
2884-401: Is the “ Battle of Brunanburh ” poem in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (version A), written within two decades of the battle, which names the battlefield location as “ ymbe Brunanburh ” (around Brunanburh). Many other medieval sources contain variations on the name Brunanburh, such as Brune , Brunandune , Et Brunnanwerc , Bruneford , Cad Dybrunawc Duinbrunde and Brounnyngfelde . It
2987-522: Is then recorded as allying with Matudán mac Áeda, overking of Ulaid and raiding as far as Sliabh Beagh , where they were met by an army led by Muirchertach mac Néill of Ailech , and lost 240 men in the ensuing battle along with much of their plunder. An earlier reference to a "son of Gofraid" who plundered the monastery at Kildare in 928 might refer to Olaf but no name is given. Olaf's father Gofraid ua Ímair , King of Dublin , died in 934 and Olaf succeeded him as king. The following year Olaf carried out
3090-476: Is thought that the recurring element Brun- could be a personal name, a river name, or the Old English or Old Norse word for a spring or stream. Less mystery surrounds the suffixes –burh/–werc, -dun, -ford and –feld, which are the Old English words for a fortification, low hill, ford, and open land respectively. Not all the place-names contain the Brun- element, however. Symeon of Durham (early 12th C) gives
3193-557: Is unclear whether they were sequences of two consonants (with the first element realised as /h/ or perhaps /x/ ) or as single voiceless sonorants /l̥/ , /r̥/ and /n̥/ respectively. In Old Norwegian, Old Danish and later Old Swedish, the groups ⟨hl⟩ , ⟨hr⟩ , and ⟨hn⟩ were reduced to plain ⟨l⟩ , ⟨r⟩ , ⟨n⟩ , which suggests that they had most likely already been pronounced as voiceless sonorants by Old Norse times. The pronunciation of ⟨hv⟩
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3296-620: Is unclear, but it may have been /xʷ/ (the Proto-Germanic pronunciation), /hʷ/ or the similar phoneme /ʍ/ . Unlike the three other digraphs, it was retained much longer in all dialects. Without ever developing into a voiceless sonorant in Icelandic, it instead underwent fortition to a plosive /kv/ , which suggests that instead of being a voiceless sonorant, it retained a stronger frication. Primary stress in Old Norse falls on
3399-503: Is unknown; many possible locations have been proposed by scholars. After Æthelstan defeated the Vikings at York in 927, King Constantine of Scotland, King Hywel Dda of Deheubarth , Ealdred I of Bamburgh , and King Owen I of Strathclyde (or Morgan ap Owain of Gwent) accepted Æthelstan's overlordship at Eamont , near Penrith . Æthelstan became King of England and there was peace until 934. Æthelstan invaded Scotland with
3502-476: Is unsurprising in an area of Viking activity: it is not evidence for a battle, let alone any particular battle. In an article in Notes and Queries in 2022, Michael Deakin questions the philological case for Bromborough as Brunanburh , suggesting that the first element in the name is 'brown' and not 'Bruna'. Bromborough would therefore be 'the brown [stone-built] manor or fort'. The corollary of this argument being
3605-614: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that the invaders fled over deep water on Dingesmere , perhaps meaning an area of the Irish Sea or an unidentified lake or river. Deakin noted that the term ding had been used in the Old English Andreas (poem) where it is suggested to have been used metaphorically for a grave and/or Hell. His analysis of the context of lines 53–56 of the Brunanburh poem suggest to him that dingesmere
3708-546: The Chronicle of Melrose (late 12th C) and Robert Mannyng of Brunne's Chronicle (1338) all state that Olaf's fleet entered the mouth of the Humber, while Robert of Gloucester 's Metrical Chronicle (late 13th C) says the invading army arrived "south of the Humber". Peter of Langtoft 's Chronique (ca. 1300) states the armies met at “ Bruneburgh on the Humber ”, while Robert Mannyng of Brunne's Chronicle (1338) claims
3811-603: The Five Boroughs of Derby , Leicester , Lincoln , Nottingham and Stamford . In 941 the Chronicle of Melrose records that Olaf raided an ancient Anglian church at Tyninghame in what is now the East Lothian and at the time was a part of Northumbria. This attack may have been more than just a raid, and may have been intended to secure a route through Scotland upon which communication between York and Dublin
3914-727: The Five Boroughs of Derby , Leicester , Lincoln , Nottingham and Stamford . Olaf died in 941 and was succeeded in Northumbria by his cousin Olaf Cuaran . At the time of his death, the Irish annals title him "king of Danes" and "king of the Fair Foreigners and the Dark Foreigners ". Olaf first conclusively appears in contemporary records in 933 when the annals describe him plundering Armagh on 10 November. He
4017-535: The Latin alphabet , there was no standardized orthography in use in the Middle Ages. A modified version of the letter wynn called vend was used briefly for the sounds /u/ , /v/ , and /w/ . Long vowels were sometimes marked with acutes but also sometimes left unmarked or geminated. The standardized Old Norse spelling was created in the 19th century and is, for the most part, phonemic. The most notable deviation
4120-667: The Rus' people , a Norse tribe, probably from present-day east-central Sweden. The current Finnish and Estonian words for Sweden are Ruotsi and Rootsi , respectively. A number of loanwords have been introduced into Irish , many associated with fishing and sailing. A similar influence is found in Scottish Gaelic , with over one hundred loanwords estimated to be in the language, many of which are related to fishing and sailing. Old Norse vowel phonemes mostly come in pairs of long and short. The standardized orthography marks
4223-668: The word stem , so that hyrjar would be pronounced /ˈhyr.jar/ . In compound words, secondary stress falls on the second stem (e.g. lærisveinn , /ˈlɛːɾ.iˌswɛinː/ ). Unlike Proto-Norse, which was written with the Elder Futhark , runic Old Norse was originally written with the Younger Futhark , which had only 16 letters. Because of the limited number of runes, several runes were used for different sounds, and long and short vowels were not distinguished in writing. Medieval runes came into use some time later. As for
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4326-557: The 11th century in most of Old East Norse. However, the distinction still holds in Dalecarlian dialects . The dots in the following vowel table separate the oral from nasal phonemes. Note: The open or open-mid vowels may be transcribed differently: Sometime around the 13th century, /ɔ/ (spelled ⟨ǫ⟩ ) merged with /ø/ or /o/ in most dialects except Old Danish , and Icelandic where /ɔ/ ( ǫ ) merged with /ø/ . This can be determined by their distinction within
4429-979: The 12th-century First Grammatical Treatise but not within the early 13th-century Prose Edda . The nasal vowels, also noted in the First Grammatical Treatise, are assumed to have been lost in most dialects by this time (but notably they are retained in Elfdalian and other dialects of Ovansiljan ). See Old Icelandic for the mergers of /øː/ (spelled ⟨œ⟩ ) with /ɛː/ (spelled ⟨æ⟩ ) and /ɛ/ (spelled ⟨ę⟩ ) with /e/ (spelled ⟨e⟩ ). Old Norse had three diphthong phonemes: /ɛi/ , /ɔu/ , /øy ~ ɛy/ (spelled ⟨ei⟩ , ⟨au⟩ , ⟨ey⟩ respectively). In East Norse these would monophthongize and merge with /eː/ and /øː/ , whereas in West Norse and its descendants
4532-668: The 13th century there. The age of the Swedish-speaking population of Finland is strongly contested, but Swedish settlement had spread the language into the region by the time of the Second Swedish Crusade in the 13th century at the latest. The modern descendants of the Old West Norse dialect are the West Scandinavian languages of Icelandic , Faroese , Norwegian , and the extinct Norn language of Orkney and Shetland , although Norwegian
4635-486: The Angles and Saxons came here from the east...seized the country". The Annals of Ulster describe the battle as "great, lamentable and horrible" and record that "several thousands of Norsemen ... fell". Among the casualties were five kings and seven earls from Olaf's army. The poem records that Constantine lost several friends and family members in the battle, including his son. The largest list of those killed in
4738-412: The Battle of Brunanburh. Egil's Saga contains information not found in other sources, such as military engagements prior to the battle, Æthelstan's use of Viking mercenaries, the topology of the battlefield, the position of Anlaf's and Æthelstan's headquarters, and the tactics and unfolding of events during the battle. Historians such as Sarah Foot argue that Egil's Saga may contain elements of truth but
4841-468: The British Isles testify to its perceived importance at the time. The annals record Olaf's return to Ireland in 938 as well as a raid he carried out that year on Kilcullen in modern-day County Kildare , where he is said to have taken a thousand prisoners. Æthelstan died in October 939 and very soon afterwards Olaf left for York where he was able to quickly establish himself as king of Northumbria . Olaf
4944-572: The Faroe Islands, Faroese has also been influenced by Danish. Both Middle English (especially northern English dialects within the area of the Danelaw ) and Early Scots (including Lowland Scots ) were strongly influenced by Norse and contained many Old Norse loanwords . Consequently, Modern English (including Scottish English ), inherited a significant proportion of its vocabulary directly from Norse. The development of Norman French
5047-639: The Roman road across the Lancashire plains between Carlisle and Manchester , with Olaf's forces joining them on the way. Deakin argues against a western passage for the coalition army by demonstrating that on the few occasions Scottish armies had crossed into England, they had used the Stainmore Pass or Dere Street and were engaged in battle to the east of the Pennines. Livingston speculates that
5150-492: The Scots, men of Cumberland , Welsh and Picts at "Bruneswerce". The Chronica de Mailros (1173–4) repeats Symeon of Durham's information that Anlaf arrived with 615 ships, but adds that he entered the mouth of the river Humber . Egil's Saga is an Icelandic saga written in Old Norse in 1220–40, which recounts a battle at "Vínheidi" (Vin-heath) by "Vínuskóga" (Vin-wood); it is generally accepted that this refers to
5253-473: The Swedish plural land and numerous other examples. That also applies to almost all feminine nouns, for example the largest feminine noun group, the o-stem nouns (except the Swedish noun jord mentioned above), and even i-stem nouns and root nouns , such as Old West Norse mǫrk ( mörk in Icelandic) in comparison with Modern and Old Swedish mark . Vowel breaking, or fracture, caused
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#17327720657855356-529: The Vikings of Limerick when he captured their king, Amlaíb Cenncairech , in 937. That same year he allied with Constantine II of Scotland in an attempt to reclaim the Kingdom of Northumbria which his father had ruled briefly in 927. The forces of Olaf and Constantine were defeated by the English led by Æthelstan at the Battle of Brunanburh in 937. Olaf returned to Ireland in 938 but after Æthelstan's death
5459-510: The Vikings of Dublin left for England. The allied forces of Olaf and Constantine met the forces of Æthelstan at the Battle of Brunanburh , at a site which is the subject of much debate, although current scholarly consensus identifies the site as Bromborough in Cheshire . Olaf and Constantine commanded the Viking troops while Æthelstan alongside his brother Edmund led the English troops into
5562-484: The alternative name Weondune (or Wendune ) for the battle site, while the Annals of Clonmacnoise say the battle took place on the “ plaines of othlyn ” Egil's Saga names the locations Vínheiðr and Vínuskóga . Few medieval texts refer to a known place, although the Humber estuary is mentioned by several sources. John of Worcester 's Chronicon (early 12th C), Symeon of Durham 's Historia Regum (mid-12th C),
5665-496: The annals as dying in 963 may have been a son of Olaf or he may have been a son of Olaf Cuaran . The Annals of Clonmacnoise list an Ímar, a "son of the king", among the dead at Brunanburh who might be a son of Olaf, although the origin of this list is uncertain. Old Norse language Old Norse , also referred to as Old Nordic , or Old Scandinavian , was a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse
5768-452: The battle is contained in the Annals of Clonmacnoise , which names several kings and princes. A large number of English also died in the battle, including two of Æthelstan's cousins, Ælfwine and Æthelwine. The battle of Brunanburh is mentioned or alluded to in over forty Anglo-Saxon, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Norman and Norse medieval texts. One of the earliest and most informative sources
5871-476: The battle of Brunanburh occurred in early October of that year. According to Paul Cavill, the invading armies raided Mercia , from which Æthelstan obtained Saxon troops as he travelled north to meet them. Michael Wood wrote that no source mentions any intrusion into Mercia. Livingston thinks that the invading armies entered England in two waves, Constantine and Owen coming from the north, possibly engaging in some skirmishes with Æthelstan's forces as they followed
5974-410: The battle site at Brunanburh was chosen in agreement with Æthelstan, on which "there would be one fight, and to the victor went England". The battle resulted in an overwhelming victory for Æthelstan's army. The main source of information is the poem " Battle of Brunanburh " in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle . After travelling north through Mercia, Æthelstan's army met the invading forces at Brunanburh. In
6077-541: The battle was fought at “ Brunesburgh on Humber ”. Pseudo-Ingulf (ca. 1400) says that as Æthelstan led his army into Northumbria (i.e. north of the Humber) he met on his way many pilgrims coming home from Beverley . Hector Boece 's Historia (1527) claims that the battle was fought by the River Ouse , which flows into the Humber estuary. Few other geographical hints are contained in the medieval sources. The poem in
6180-505: The battle. Contemporary accounts indicate both sides suffered many casualties but the result was a decisive English victory. Olaf and Constantine survived the battle and returned to Ireland and Scotland respectively, but one of Constantine's sons died. The battle is well-attested, with references in Irish chronicles, and a poetic telling of the battle in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle . The numerous references to it in various chronicles throughout
6283-541: The beginning of words, this manifested as a dropping of the initial /j/ (which was general, independent of the following vowel) or /v/ . Compare ON orð , úlfr , ár with English word, wolf, year . In inflections, this manifested as the dropping of the inflectional vowels. Thus, klæði + dat -i remains klæði , and sjáum in Icelandic progressed to sjǫ́um > sjǫ́m > sjám . The * jj and * ww of Proto-Germanic became ggj and ggv respectively in Old Norse,
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#17327720657856386-489: The church at Beverley. According to Symeon of Durham 's Libellus de exordio (1104–15): John of Worcester 's Chronicon ex chronicis (early 12th century) was an influential source for later authors and compilers. It corresponds closely to the description of the battle in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, but adds that: Another influential work, Gesta regum Anglorum by William of Malmesbury (1127) adds
6489-411: The cluster */Crʀ/ cannot be realized as /Crː/ , nor as */Crʀ/ , nor as */Cʀː/ . The same shortening as in vetr also occurs in lax = laks ('salmon') (as opposed to * lakss , * laksʀ ), botn ('bottom') (as opposed to * botnn , * botnʀ ), and jarl (as opposed to * jarll , * jarlʀ ). Furthermore, wherever the cluster */rʀ/
6592-604: The description in the poem is not unique to Brunanburh. Æthelstan and his army pursued the invaders until the end of the day, slaying great numbers of enemy troops. Olaf fled and sailed back to Dublin with the remnants of his army and Constantine escaped to Scotland; Owain's fate is not mentioned. According to the poem: "Then the Northmen, bloody survivors of darts, disgraced in spirit, departed on Ding's Mere, in nailed boats over deep water, to seek out Dublin, and their [own] land again." Never has there been greater slaughter "since
6695-532: The detail that Danes living in England had joined Anlaf's army. Michael Wood argues that this, together with a similar remark in the Annals of Clonmacnoise , suggests that Anlaf and his allies had established themselves in a centre of Anglo-Scandinavian power prior to the battle. The mid-12th century text Estoire des Engleis , by the Anglo-Norman chronicler Geoffrey Gaimar , says that Æthelstan defeated
6798-570: The detail that Æthelstan "purposely held back", letting Anlaf advance "far into England". Michael Wood argues that, in a twelfth-century context, "far into England" could mean anywhere in southern Northumbria or the North Midlands . William of Malmesbury further states that Æthelstan raised 100,000 soldiers. He is at variance with Symeon of Durham in calling Anlaf "son of Sihtric ” and asserting that Constantine himself had been slain. Henry of Huntingdon 's Historia Anglorum (1133) adds
6901-449: The diphthongs remained. Old Norse has six plosive phonemes, /p/ being rare word-initially and /d/ and /b/ pronounced as voiced fricative allophones between vowels except in compound words (e.g. veðrabati ), already in the Proto-Germanic language (e.g. * b *[β] > [v] between vowels). The /ɡ/ phoneme was pronounced as [ɡ] after an /n/ or another /ɡ/ and as [k] before /s/ and /t/ . Some accounts have it
7004-522: The early names of Bromborough cannot be derived from Old English Brunanburh . Michael Wood (historian) , in an article in Notes and Queries in 2017, discusses the alternative spelling Brunnanburh 'the burh at the spring or stream', found in several Anglo-Saxon Chronicle manuscripts. The medieval texts employ a plethora of alternative names for the site of the battle, which historians have attempted to link to known places. The earliest relevant document
7107-460: The east Angles and Saxons came up over the broad sea". Æthelstan's victory preserved the unity of England. The historian Æthelweard wrote around 975 that "[t]he fields of Britain were consolidated into one, there was peace everywhere, and abundance of all things". Alfred Smyth has called the battle "the greatest single battle in Anglo-Saxon history before Hastings ". The site of the battle
7210-638: The field is being kept secret to protect it from nighthawks . As of 2020, they are seeking funds to pursue their research further. The military historian Michael Livingston argues in his 2021 book Never Greater Slaughter that Wirral Archaeology's case for Bromborough is conclusive, but this claim is criticised in a review of the book by Thomas Williams. He accepts that Bromborough is the only surviving place name which originates in Old English Brunanburh , but says that there could have been others. He comments that evidence of military metal working
7313-452: The following year Olaf left for York where he was quickly able to establish himself as king, with his brother Blácaire mac Gofraid being left to rule in Dublin. Olaf and Æthelstan's successor Edmund met in 939 at Leicester where they came to an agreement regarding the division of England between them. This agreement proved short-lived, however, and within a few years Vikings had occupied
7416-484: The greatest slaughter since the Anglo-Saxon invasions. Anlaf and a small band of men escaped by ship over Dingesmere (or Ding's Mere) to Dublin. Constantine's son was killed, and Constantine fled home. Another very early source, the Irish Annals of Ulster , calls the battle "a huge war, lamentable and horrible". It notes Anlaf's return to Dublin with a few men the following year, associated with an event in
7519-638: The holy altar [at Beverley], and made a promise that, if the lord would grant him victory over his enemies, he would redeem the said poniard at a suitable price, which he accordingly did…. In the battle which was fought on this occasion there fell Constantine, king of Scots, and five other kings, twelve earls, and an infinite number of the lower classes, on the side of the barbarians. The Annals of Clonmacnoise (an early medieval Irish chronicle of unknown date that survives only in an English translation from 1627 ) states that: The Annals of Clonmacnoise records 34,800 Viking and Scottish casualties, including Ceallagh
7622-824: The invasion of Scotland, it became apparent that Æthelstan could only be defeated by an allied force of his enemies. The leader of the alliance was Olaf Guthfrithson , King of Dublin, joined by Constantine II, King of Scotland and Owen , King of Strathclyde. (According to John of Worcester , Constantine was Olaf's father-in-law.) Though they had all been enemies in living memory, historian Michael Livingston points out that "they had agreed to set aside whatever political, cultural, historical, and even religious differences they might have had in order to achieve one common purpose: to destroy Æthelstan". In August 937, Olaf sailed from Dublin with his army to join forces with Constantine and Owen and in Livingston's opinion this suggests that
7725-401: The late 900s, said that the battle was "still called the 'great battle' by the common people" and that "[t]he fields of Britain were consolidated into one, there was peace everywhere, and abundance of all things". The location of the battlefield is unknown and has been the subject of lively debate among historians since at least the 17th century. Over forty locations have been proposed, from
7828-536: The long history not just of England but of the whole of the British isles". The battle was called "the greatest single battle in Anglo-Saxon history before the Hastings " by Alfred Smyth , who nonetheless says its consequences beyond Æthelstan's reign have been overstated. Alex Woolf describes it as a pyrrhic victory for Æthelstan: the campaign against the northern alliance ended in a stalemate , his control of
7931-399: The long vowels with an acute accent. In medieval manuscripts, it is often unmarked but sometimes marked with an accent or through gemination . Old Norse had nasalized versions of all ten vowel places. These occurred as allophones of the vowels before nasal consonants and in places where a nasal had followed it in an older form of the word, before it was absorbed into a neighboring sound. If
8034-544: The mid- to late 14th century, ending the language phase known as Old Norse. These dates, however, are not absolute, since written Old Norse is found well into the 15th century. Old Norse was divided into three dialects : Old West Norse (Old West Nordic, often referred to as Old Norse ), Old East Norse (Old East Nordic), and Old Gutnish . Old West Norse and Old East Norse formed a dialect continuum , with no clear geographical boundary between them. Old East Norse traits were found in eastern Norway , although Old Norwegian
8137-730: The most conservative language, such that in present-day Iceland, schoolchildren are able to read the 12th-century Icelandic sagas in the original language (in editions with normalised spelling). Old Icelandic was very close to Old Norwegian , and together they formed Old West Norse , which was also spoken in Norse settlements in Greenland , the Faroes , Ireland , Scotland , the Isle of Man , northwest England, and in Normandy . Old East Norse
8240-514: The nasal was absorbed by a stressed vowel, it would also lengthen the vowel. This nasalization also occurred in the other Germanic languages, but were not retained long. They were noted in the First Grammatical Treatise , and otherwise might have remained unknown. The First Grammarian marked these with a dot above the letter. This notation did not catch on, and would soon be obsolete. Nasal and oral vowels probably merged around
8343-617: The north declined, and after he died Olaf acceded to the Kingdom of Northumbria without resistance. In 954 however the Norse lost their territory in York and Northumbria , with the death of Eric Bloodaxe . Æthelstan's ambition to unite the island had failed; the Kingdoms of Scotland and Strathclyde regained their independence, and Great Britain remained divided for centuries to come, Celtic north from Anglo-Saxon south. Æthelweard , writing in
8446-641: The other North Germanic languages. Faroese retains many similarities but is influenced by Danish, Norwegian, and Gaelic ( Scottish and/or Irish ). Although Swedish, Danish and Norwegian have diverged the most, they still retain considerable mutual intelligibility . Speakers of modern Swedish, Norwegian and Danish can mostly understand each other without studying their neighboring languages, particularly if speaking slowly. The languages are also sufficiently similar in writing that they can mostly be understood across borders. This could be because these languages have been mutually affected by each other, as well as having
8549-525: The plunder there and were defeated by the Irish in Uí Liatháin where 365 of them died. In the same year an unnamed son of Olaf led a raid from Ireland's Eye on Anglesey and Britain. Cammán may be identical to Sitriuc Cam, an individual who in 962 made a naval attack on Uí Cholgain, but was forced to flee back to ships after a force of Dubliners and Leinstermen overtook him and slaughtered some of his men. An individual named Gofraid mac Amlaíb recorded by
8652-416: The prince of Scotland (Constantine's son) and nine other named men. Æthelstan's victory prevented the dissolution of England, but it failed to unite the island: Scotland and Strathclyde remained independent. Foot writes that "[e]xaggerating the importance of this victory is difficult". Livingston writes that the battle was "the moment when Englishness came of age" and "one of the most significant battles in
8755-536: The root vowel, ǫ , is short. The clusters */Clʀ, Csʀ, Cnʀ, Crʀ/ cannot yield */Clː, Csː, Cnː, Crː/ respectively, instead /Cl, Cs, Cn, Cr/ . The effect of this shortening can result in the lack of distinction between some forms of the noun. In the case of vetr ('winter'), the nominative and accusative singular and plural forms are identical. The nominative singular and nominative and accusative plural would otherwise have been OWN * vetrr , OEN * wintrʀ . These forms are impossible because
8858-441: The same language, dǫnsk tunga ("Danish tongue"; speakers of Old East Norse would have said dansk tunga ). Another term was norrœnt mál ("northern speech"). Today Old Norse has developed into the modern North Germanic languages Icelandic , Faroese , Norwegian , Danish , Swedish , and other North Germanic varieties of which Norwegian, Danish and Swedish retain considerable mutual intelligibility . Icelandic remains
8961-430: The skeleton belonged to a high-status individual. The presence of such goods, and the age of the skeleton, has led to speculation among historians and archaeologists that the remains could be those of Olaf. Olaf is known to have conducted raids on Auldhame and Tyninghame shortly before his death in 941. Auldhame and Tyninghame were two of several local churches dedicated to Saint Baldred . According to Alex Woolf , although
9064-412: The skeleton cannot be definitively identified with Olaf, the date and nature of the burial make it very likely the deceased individual died as a consequence of Olaf's attacks in the area in 941. Woolf has also suggested that "there is a strong likelihood that the king’s followers hoped that by burying him in the saint’s cemetery he might have benefitted from some sort of post-mortem penance". Olaf's father
9167-540: The southwest of England to Scotland, although most historians agree that a location in Northern England is the most plausible. Wirral Archaeology, a local volunteer group, believes that it may have identified the site of the battle near Bromborough on the Wirral . They found a field with a heavy concentration of artifacts which may be a result of metal working in a tenth-century army camp. The location of
9270-470: The spring. In its only entry for 937, the mid/late 10th-century Welsh chronicle Annales Cambriae laconically states "war at Brune". Æthelweard 's Chronicon (ca. 980) says that the battle at "Brunandune" was still known as "the great war" to that day, and no enemy fleet had attacked the country since. Eadmer of Canterbury 's Vita Odonis (very late 11th century) is one of at least six medieval sources to recount Oda of Canterbury 's involvement in
9373-401: The twelfth century, claimed that Olaf had married a daughter of Constantine II of Scotland prior to 937, but this evidence is considered unreliable. The thirteenth century chronicler Roger of Wendover wrote that Olaf married Aldgyth, the daughter of a Northumbrian earl called Orm as a consequence of the agreement at Leicester between Olaf and King Edmund. An individual named Cammán mac Amlaíb
9476-497: The umlaut allophones . Some /y/ , /yː/ , /ø/ , /øː/ , /ɛ/ , /ɛː/ , /øy/ , and all /ɛi/ were obtained by i-umlaut from /u/ , /uː/ , /o/ , /oː/ , /a/ , /aː/ , /au/ , and /ai/ respectively. Others were formed via ʀ-umlaut from /u/ , /uː/ , /a/ , /aː/ , and /au/ . Some /y/ , /yː/ , /ø/ , /øː/ , and all /ɔ/ , /ɔː/ were obtained by u-umlaut from /i/ , /iː/ , /e/ , /eː/ , and /a/ , /aː/ respectively. See Old Icelandic for information on /ɔː/ . /œ/
9579-482: The verb skína ('to shine') had present tense third person skínn (rather than * skínr , * skínʀ ); while kala ('to cool down') had present tense third person kell (rather than * kelr , * kelʀ ). The rule is not absolute, with certain counter-examples such as vinr ('friend'), which has the synonym vin , yet retains the unabsorbed version, and jǫtunn (' giant '), where assimilation takes place even though
9682-404: Was a moderately inflected language with high levels of nominal and verbal inflection. Most of the fused morphemes are retained in modern Icelandic, especially in regard to noun case declensions, whereas modern Norwegian in comparison has moved towards more analytical word structures. Old Norse had three grammatical genders – masculine, feminine, and neuter. Adjectives or pronouns referring to
9785-400: Was also influenced by Norse. Through Norman, to a smaller extent, so was modern French. Written modern Icelandic derives from the Old Norse phonemic writing system. Contemporary Icelandic-speakers can read Old Norse, which varies slightly in spelling as well as semantics and word order. However, pronunciation, particularly of the vowel phonemes, has changed at least as much in Icelandic as in
9888-724: Was dependent on the identity of his grandfather, not his parents. Ímar, possibly identical to Ivar the Boneless , was the founder of the Uí Ímair and was one of the earliest kings of Dublin in the mid-ninth century. Three other individuals are identifiable as sons of Gofraid; Albann, Blácaire and Ragnall. Albann was killed in battle against Muirchertach mac Néill in 926. Blácaire ruled Dublin from 939 onwards, and Ragnall mac Gofraid ruled Northumbria in 943 and 944, probably along with his cousin Olaf Cuaran, until they were driven out by Edmund I of England . John of Worcester , writing in
9991-583: Was heavily influenced by the East dialect, and is today more similar to East Scandinavian (Danish and Swedish) than to Icelandic and Faroese. The descendants of the Old East Norse dialect are the East Scandinavian languages of Danish and Swedish . Among these, the grammar of Icelandic and Faroese have changed the least from Old Norse in the last thousand years, though their pronunciations both have changed considerably from Old Norse. With Danish rule of
10094-400: Was joined in England by his cousin Olaf Cuaran , and Olaf's brother Blácaire was left to rule in Dublin while he was away. Symeon of Durham 's Historia Regum records that Olaf and the new English king Edmund met at Leicester in 939 and came to an agreement on dividing England between the two of them. This peace was short-lived and within a few years of the agreement the Vikings had seized
10197-535: Was obtained through a simultaneous u- and i-umlaut of /a/ . It appears in words like gøra ( gjǫra , geyra ), from Proto-Germanic *garwijaną , and commonly in verbs with a velar consonant before the suffix like søkkva < *sankwijaną . OEN often preserves the original value of the vowel directly preceding runic ʀ while OWN receives ʀ-umlaut. Compare runic OEN glaʀ, haʀi, hrauʀ with OWN gler, heri (later héri ), hrøyrr/hreyrr ("glass", "hare", "pile of rocks"). U-umlaut
10300-521: Was reliant. Olaf died in 941 and he was succeeded in Northumbria by Olaf Cuaran. In recording his death, the annals title him "king of Danes" ( Chronicon Scotorum ) and "king of the Fair Foreigners and the Dark Foreigners " ( Annals of Clonmacnoise ). In 2005, a skeleton was excavated in an archaeological dig at Auldhame , East Lothian . Grave goods including a belt similar to others known to have been worn in Viking-age Ireland indicate that
10403-532: Was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlements and chronologically coincides with the Viking Age , the Christianization of Scandinavia , and the consolidation of Scandinavian kingdoms from about the 8th to the 15th centuries. The Proto-Norse language developed into Old Norse by the 8th century, and Old Norse began to develop into the modern North Germanic languages in
10506-766: Was spoken in Denmark, Sweden, Kievan Rus' , eastern England, and Danish settlements in Normandy. The Old Gutnish dialect was spoken in Gotland and in various settlements in the East. In the 11th century, Old Norse was the most widely spoken European language , ranging from Vinland in the West to the Volga River in the East. In Kievan Rus' , it survived the longest in Veliky Novgorod , probably lasting into
10609-528: Was used partitively and in compounds and kennings (e.g., Urðarbrunnr , the well of Urðr; Lokasenna , the gibing of Loki). There were several classes of nouns within each gender. The following is an example of the "strong" inflectional paradigms : Battle of Brunanburh The Battle of Brunanburh was fought in 937 between Æthelstan , King of England , and an alliance of Olaf Guthfrithson , King of Dublin ; Constantine II , King of Scotland ; and Owain , King of Strathclyde . The battle
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