The Battle of Brunanburh
E505622
The Battle of Brunanburh is a famous Old English poem celebrating King Æthelstan’s decisive 10th-century victory that helped secure the unification of England.
Observed surface forms (2)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Battle of Brunanburh | 3 |
| The Battle of Brunanburh (poem) | 0 |
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Old English poem
ⓘ
heroic poem ⓘ praise poem ⓘ |
| approximateDateOfComposition | after 937 ⓘ |
| associatedWithYearEntry | 937 ⓘ |
| author | unknown ⓘ |
| cataloguedAs | ASC Brunanburh poem ⓘ |
| celebrates | Æthelstan’s victory at Brunanburh ⓘ |
| commissionedBy | royal court of Æthelstan (hypothesized) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin | Kingdom of England ⓘ |
| dateOfComposition | 10th century ⓘ |
| depicts | defeat of Norse and Scottish coalition ⓘ |
| firstLineBeginsWith | "Her Æþelstan cyning" (in some versions) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| focusesOn |
unification of England
ⓘ
victory of King Æthelstan ⓘ |
| genre |
battle poetry
ⓘ
royal panegyric ⓘ |
| historicalContext | 10th-century England ⓘ |
| influenced | later English national historiography ⓘ |
| language | Old English ⓘ |
| length | approximately 73 lines (depending on version) ⓘ |
| literarySignificance |
key text for early English national identity
ⓘ
major example of Old English battle poetry ⓘ |
| literaryTradition | Anglo-Saxon poetry ⓘ |
| mainCharacter |
Edmund I of England
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
King Æthelstan NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| mentions |
Constantine II of Scotland
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Olaf Guthfrithson NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| metricalForm | Old English alliterative long line ⓘ |
| originalScript | Insular minuscule ⓘ |
| placeOfOrigin | Wessex NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| portraysAs |
English as unified people
ⓘ
Æthelstan as victorious Christian king ⓘ |
| preservedIn |
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle manuscript A NERFINISHED ⓘ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle manuscript B NERFINISHED ⓘ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle manuscript C NERFINISHED ⓘ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle manuscript D NERFINISHED ⓘ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle manuscript E NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedWork |
Beowulf
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
The Battle of Maldon (poem) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| studiedIn | Old English literature courses ⓘ |
| subject | Battle of Brunanburh (historical event) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| theme |
Christian victory
ⓘ
heroic warfare ⓘ kingship ⓘ unity of England ⓘ |
| writtenIn | alliterative verse ⓘ |
Referenced by (4)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Battle of Brunanburh
this entity surface form:
Battle of Brunanburh
this entity surface form:
Battle of Brunanburh