Never Greater Slaughter: Brunanburh and the Birth of England

In the late AD 937, four armies met at Brunanburh, including the Anglo-Saxons and a remarkable alliance of rival kings. The stakes were the survival of the dream that would become England. The location of the battle had been lost for centuries, but an extraordinary effort has found the site, revealing the story of the forgotten struggle and the men who fought and died at Brunanburh.

Format: Hardback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 13 May 2021
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

No one has done more than Michael Livingston to revive memories of the battle, and you could not hope for a better guide. BERNARD CORNWELL Bestselling author of The Last Kingdom series Late in AD 937, four armies met in a place called Brunanburh. On one side stood the shield-wall of the expanding kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons. On the other side stood a remarkable alliance of rival kings – at least two from across the sea – who had come together to destroy them once and for all. The stakes were no less than the survival of the dream that would become England. The armies were massive. The violence, when it began, was enough to shock a violent age. Brunanburh may not today have the fame of Hastings, Crécy, or Agincourt, but those later battles, fought for England, would not exist were it not for the blood spilled this day. Generations later, it was still called, quite simply, the 'great battle.'

But for centuries, its location has been lost. Today, an extraordinary effort, uniting enthusiasts, historians, archaeologists, linguists, and other researchers – amateurs and professionals, experienced and inexperienced alike – may well have found the site of the long-lost battle of Brunanburh, over a thousand years after its bloodied fields witnessed history. This groundbreaking new book tells the story of this remarkable discovery and delves into why and how the battle happened. Most importantly, though, it is about the men who fought and died at Brunanburh, and how much this forgotten struggle can tell us about who we are and how we relate to our past.

Weight: 464g
Dimension: 162 x 242 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781472849373