Lords of Alba

by Ian W. Walker

  Direct first of all our best wishes

  To the Queen, the prince,

  The distinguished ealdormen as well,

  The arm-bearing thegns.

  Whom he [Athelstan] now rules with this

  England made whole;

  King Athelstan lives

  Glorious through his deeds!

  He, with Sihtric having died,

  In such circumstances arms for battle

  The army of the English

  Throughout all Britain.

  Constantine,

  King of the Scots,

  Hastens to Britain:

  By supporting the King of the English

  Loyal in his service.7

  The English occupation of York was quickly followed by Athelstan bringing under his rule, as the Chronicle has it, ‘all the kings who were in this island’, including Constantine and Ealdorman Ealdred of Northumbria. As in 920, the language of the Chronicle entry carries a highly charged political meaning. It deliberately seeks to exaggerate Athelstan’s power and status. For example, the Chronicle suggests that these rulers had to ‘renounce idolatry’ despite the fact that most were actually Christian. This statement was clearly designed to damage their reputations in comparison with that of Athelstan.

  The Chronicle goes on to say that Athelstan and these other rulers ‘established peace with pledge and oaths in the place which is called Eamont on 12 July.’ This seems to reflect what actually happened better than the rest of the entry. It appears that Athelstan met his new neighbours at Eamont Bridge with the object of reaching agreement about their common borders, following his recent occupation of York. In the Chronicle report, Constantine of Alba is mentioned but the ruler of Strathclyde is not, even though Eamont is on the border of Strathclyde rather than Alba itself. This perhaps suggests that this ruler was subordinate to Constantine at this time and that the latter represented his interests. In contrast, Ealdorman Ealdred of Northumbria is mentioned separately, which may indicate a degree of independence from Constantine. Once again, it is far more likely to have been an agreement among, if not equals, then certainly independent rulers with their own agendas. It probably revolved around recognition of each others’ current spheres of influence. It possibly included English recognition of Constantine’s hegemony over Strathclyde in return for his recognition of English hegemony over York. In other words a recognition of the de facto position as a basis for future agreement or disagreement and change. The position of English Northumbria as noted above is less clear. Whatever the precise nature of the agreement reached, it appears to have been fair enough to last and the region had peace for the next seven years.

  In 934 King Gothfrith of Dublin died and was succeeded by his young nephew Olaf, the son of his older brother Sihtric. The succession of this inexperienced youth effectively removed the immediate threat of Viking intervention in York. It is less clear, however, what caused Athelstan to repudiate his previous policy of alliance with the Scots and launch a major invasion of Alba. It may be that the current ebb in Viking power encouraged Athelstan to review his relationship with Constantine II of Alba. The later Chronicle of Melrose claims that it involved the breach of a treaty but it is hard to know whether this draws on early material or is simply speculation. It may simply be that the establishment of a common frontier brought tensions, possibly related to mutual cross-border raiding. It may have been the consequence of English attempts to seize direct control of English Northumbria. It is possible that Ealdorman Ealdred sought Athelstan’s help in securing freedom from Scottish hegemony. If the cause of this invasion is ultimately unclear, its consequences are not. King Athelstan invaded Alba with a powerful land and naval force which included substantial contingents of Welsh and managed to reach as far north as Dunnottar. It was as a result of this huge campaign that Athelstan finally managed to secure the submission of Constantine King of Alba, whose unnamed son was apparently taken to England as a hostage for his future behaviour. It was at this point rather than in 920 or 927 that Constantine II became a man of the English King for the first time. A couple of charters of King Athelstan from this period include Constantine among the witnesses. This is certainly an indicator of his subordinate status at this point, but it may also indicate that Constantine himself was taken south to attend Athelstan’s court at this time. Unfortunately, this is not confirmed by the chronicles, which might have been expected to make much of such an event.

  This triumphant expedition was an extraordinary demonstration of power by the new English state and a terrible warning of their ambition. It was a shock to Constantine that the elimination of the Viking threat from York had brought a far greater danger in its wake. It resulted in a complete reversal of Constantine’s earlier policy of alliance with the English kings against the Vikings. This policy had depended on mutual recognition of each others’ spheres of influence, but Athelstan’s campaign of 934 had effectively destroyed this. In these circumstances, Constantine was compelled to revise his policy and seek an alliance with his former enemies against Athelstan and the English. He therefore approached King Olaf of Dublin, who was eager to strike back at Athelstan and so restore his rule in York. The new aggressive policy of Athelstan had brought about the recognition of his hegemony across Britain based on his superior military power. It had also produced a negative reaction which took shape in the formation of a formidable coalition of defeated powers against him. The two men who had suffered most from English aggression, Constantine and Olaf, forged an alliance with the principal aim of defeating Athelstan and restoring their own power and influence.

  The new allies Constantine and Olaf realised, as a result of their earlier experience of English military power, that they would not defeat Athelstan easily. They therefore put a great deal of thought and planning into how they might humble him. It would be three years before the allies were ready, but this preparatory period was not wasted. They spent the time carefully preparing a joint campaign in England, which was intended to force Athelstan to fight their combined armies at a disadvantage. It was hoped that where they had been unable to defeat him individually they could do so together. They also made great efforts to recruit allies from among those others crushed by Athelstan’s rule. The Welsh poem Armes Prydain or ‘The Prophecy of Britain’ was composed in support of this recruitment campaign. It complained of Athelstan’s levying of heavy tribute from Wales and urged the Welsh to rise up against him alongside the Scots and the Vikings of Dublin:

  The warriors will scatter the foreigners [English] As far as Caer Weir – They will rejoice after the devastation, And there will be reconciliation between the Welsh and the men of Dublin, The Gaels of Ireland and Man and Britain,

  The men of Cornwall and of Strathclyde will be made welcome among us. The Britons will rise again.8

  Ultimately, the Welsh chose to reject these overtures on this occasion and when Constantine and Olaf eventually struck they did so without Welsh support.

  In 937 the allies’ plans were finally ready and King Constantine II and Olaf of Dublin launched their combined invasion of England. It appears from later accounts that Constantine had the support of his sub-king, Owain of Strathclyde. The invasion was clearly well coordinated and the two allies managed to achieve their objective of engaging Athelstan with the full strength of their combined forces. It is not clear whether Olaf sailed to join Constantine in the north and the two allies then crossed into English territory or if the allies invaded England separately and met at an agreed rendezvous. The former would have avoided any risk of Athelstan catching them and defeating them individually before they combined. Alternatively, if they had invaded England independently, Constantine from the north and Olaf from across the Irish Sea coast, they might have posed a quandary for Athelstan as to which enemy force to tackle first. What is clear is that the armies of Constantine and Olaf had combined at some point before they encountered the English army under Athelstan at a place called Brunanburh.

  In spite of the spilling
of a great deal of ink, the identity of this place remains elusive to this day. The best that can be said is that it probably lies somewhere in the northern half of England. This is unfortunate since it effectively prevents us from reaching any firm conclusions about the circumstances immediately preceding this important battle. If the location was conclusively identified it might, for example, be possible to identify whence and how the northern allies originally invaded, how far they had penetrated into English territory and, perhaps, how and where they had joined forces. It might also be possible to suggest whether they were in the process of advancing or withdrawing before the battle occurred. It might even provide an indication of what the allies had achieved, if anything, by their invasion. In reality, the current uncertainty about the location of this battle means that we can establish almost none of these facts.

  What is beyond doubt is that the Battle of Brunanburh in 937 was a major engagement between two large armies. It features in a significant number of contemporary sources from Ireland, Scotland and England. It receives the prominence of a detailed entry in the Annals of Ulster, although the participation of Constantine and the men of Alba is completely ignored. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle also chooses to distinguish this event but does so by incorporating a celebratory poem on the English victory. It contains the following details about the Scottish involvement:

  There . . . the aged Constantine, the hoary-haired warrior came north to his own land by flight. He had no cause to exult in that crossing of swords. He was shorn of his kinsmen and deprived of his friends at that meeting-place, bereaved in the battle, and he left his young son on the field of slaughter, brought low by wounds in the battle. The grey-haired warrior, the old and wily one, had no cause to vaunt of that sword-clash; no more had Olaf. They had no need to gloat with the remnants of their armies, that they were superior in warlike deeds on the field of battle, in the clash of standards, the meeting of spears, the encounter of men, and the crossing of weapons, after they had contended on the field of slaughter with the sons of Edward.9

  In contrast to accounts of the Battle of Corbridge, in 918 all the sources on Brunanburh are unanimous about the outcome. It was a disastrous defeat for the northern allies, Constantine and Olaf, and a major victory for Athelstan and the English. They are also in accord on the scale of the slaughter on both sides but especially among the Vikings and the men of Alba. On this occasion, the Old English poem contained in the Chronicle may perhaps offer a few hints about the course of the fighting. The poem describes how the English breached the allies’ shield-wall and put them to flight. It follows this with a description of a mounted pursuit of the fleeing enemy that lasted all day. It is, of course, possible that these are no more than conventional expressions about a generic battle. The poetic account is completed with a list of the heavy casualties among the vanquished especially in the ranks of their leaders. It notes the deaths of five young kings, seven earls and a countless host among the Vikings and of Constantine’s young son, kinsmen and friends and many others among the men of Alba. The Ulster annalist confirms the heavy Viking losses but adds that the English also suffered heavy losses. The English and Irish sources agree that Olaf of Dublin returned to Ireland with only ‘a small company’ or a ‘few followers’, respectively.

  The victory achieved by King Athelstan of England at Brunanburh in 937 was clear and emphatic and it effectively ensured his immediate supremacy among the rulers of Britain. He had claimed in his charters since around 930 to be ‘ruler of the whole island of Britain’ and after this victory he could finally use this title with complete justification. It is clear that Constantine must have had to accept the restoration of his earlier subjection to Athelstan. The triumphant English realm would be secure against invasion for the rest of Athelstan’s reign. The victory was incomplete in one respect, however, in that both Constantine and Olaf survived the defeat. They lived on to fight another day and this would prove a problem when Athelstan died within two years of his triumph in 939. The unexpected death of Athelstan on 27 October 939, so soon after this success severely undermined the English position of overlordship and none of his immediate successors could be considered rulers of the whole of Britain. In addition, when Athelstan died in 939 he had no heir and was succeeded by his much younger half-brother Edmund. This change was the exact reverse of that five years earlier in 934. The English kingdom was now in the hands of a young and relatively untried man, while a humiliated Olaf of Dublin was burning for revenge and stood ready to exploit this apparent English weakness.

  The Battle of Brunanburh in 937 was perhaps decisive in another, previously unremarked, sense. It is notable that King Constantine II of Alba appears not to have joined the Viking attacks on England which raged between 940 and 943. There is no mention of the men of Alba in any of the fighting of this period, when the Vikings once again contested control of York with the English. In the earlier part of his long reign, Constantine had sought alliances against the dangerous Viking threat among the English rulers to the south. In about 907, he had allied with Aethelred and Aethelflaed of Mercia and in 920 he had renewed this arrangement with Edward of England. The alliances with English rulers had allowed him to extend his own influence southwards into Strathclyde and English Northumbria. On their side, the English rulers had been able to extend their authority northwards into Danish-controlled Mercia and Viking York. This mutually advantageous arrangement had reached a climax with the mutually satisfactory extinction of Viking York. It was King Athelstan’s consequent strike against Alba in 934 that had forced Constantine to pursue an alliance with his former enemies, the Vikings. This had led to unmitigated disaster at Brunanburh and must have prompted Constantine to review his policy. He had been fortunate to escape the disaster himself and had lost his son Cellach, many of his kinsmen and friends and large numbers of his warriors.

  In 938 the Scottish Chronicle reports the death of Dubucan, son of Indrechtach, Mormaer of Angus, who may have been an important supporter of Constantine. King Constantine himself was now an old man, in his sixties at least, and less able to lead troops into battle. The loss of his son Cellach at Brunanburh possibly left him with no adult heir to perform this duty on his behalf or to succeed him as king. The future of the kingdom would fall into the hands of others from the wider dynasty. The death of King Athelstan in 939 had effectively freed him from his earlier subjection to English overlordship. In these circumstances, there was little to be gained from supporting the Vikings and Constantine remained aloof from their further attempts to seize York. The conflict between the Vikings and the English that erupted in 940 absorbed all their energies and allowed Constantine the luxury of remaining at peace.

  In 940, with some help from the local Vikings, King Olaf of Dublin finally regained control of York from the young King Edmund of England. He subsequently went on to conquer a large stretch of the East Midlands, including the burhs of Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham, Stamford and Derby. This dramatically reversed the balance of power in northern England to the position before the English occupation of York in 934 and, arguably, before the English conquest of the northern Danish settlements in the 910s. It also removed the English presence on the borders of Alba, which eased Constantine’s immediate problems, although a revitalised Viking York also raised the prospect of a return to the position around 910, when a powerful Viking kingdom at York was able to prey on both Alba and England. An early indication of what such a scenario might mean for Alba came in 941 when Olaf launched a raid deep into English Northumbria, devastating Lindisfarne and sacking St Baldred’s church at Tyninghame in East Lothian. The wrathful Northumbrian saint was considered responsible for Olaf’s sudden death soon afterwards. The Viking leader had showed no respect for the church and received a suitable heavenly punishment. It was perhaps only this saintly intervention that spared Constantine an invasion of his own kingdom.

  The sudden death of Olaf in the midst of his hour of triumph in 941 transformed the situation once again. He was quickly succee
ded by his cousin, another Olaf, the son of Gothfrith, who was nicknamed Cuaran or ‘Sandal’ but who proved much less successful. It was not long before King Edmund of England recovered and restored his authority over the East Midlands during 942 before applying pressure on Olaf Cuaran at York. The subsequent desperate struggles between the Vikings of York, under a variety of rulers, and the English kings absorbed their energies completely until 944. This left Constantine undisturbed and at peace during his final years. He was not apparently required or compelled to support either side in this bitter dispute. It was left to his successor Malcolm I to recognise the greater power of the English kings and to renew the alliance with them in 945.

  The Life of St Cadroe of Metz, which was composed around 980 and describes events that occurred around 940 in the closing years of Constantine’s reign, provides confirmation that the kingdom of Alba was at peace. It reports that Constantine was among those who urged Cadroe to remain in Alba rather than go on pilgrimage, probably to Rome. He was, however, eventually persuaded to assist rather than hinder the saint by Abbot Maelodair of St Brigit’s monastery at Abernethy:

  . . . the king that ruled the land, Constantine by name, hastened to hold back the man [Cadroe]. Already part of the journey had been completed; and Cadroe had entered the church of the blessed Brigit to pray when a crowd of nobles and peasants filled the church . . . They all asked the man not to forsake his country. And turning to them he answered this only to the king and to all; he said ‘I shall not forsake you since wherever I am I shall keep you in remembrance.’ Then an outcry of the people arose. It happened that with the king had come a certain abbot called Maelodair. And he being a just man in counsel said: ‘If we cannot prevail to turn this man from his design and wish, let us each as best we can render him help upon the way, that we may be sharers in the reward of his labours.’ Then all competed to render assistance with gold and silver with clothes and horses; and they sped him with God’s blessing; and conducted by the king himself, he came to the land of the Cumbrians.10