Battle of Cefn Digoll

Last updated

Battle of Cefn Digoll
Datec.630
Location
Long Mountain near Welshpool, Wales
52°39′N3°04′W / 52.650°N 3.067°W / 52.650; -3.067
Result Gwynedd-Mercian victory
Territorial
changes
Northumbrian domination of Gwynedd ended
Belligerents
Kingdom of Gwynedd
Kingdom of Mercia
Kingdom of Northumbria
Commanders and leaders
Cadwallon ap Cadfan
Penda of Mercia
Edwin of Northumbria
Strength
Unknown Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown

The Battle of Cefn Digoll, also known as the Battle of the Long Mynd was fought in 630 at Long Mountain near Welshpool in modern-day Wales. The battle was fought between the Northumbrian army of King Edwin of Northumbria and an anti-Northumbrian alliance between King Cadwallon of Gwynedd and Penda of Mercia. [1] :71 The battle ended the Northumbrian domination of Gwynedd, and preceded a Welsh campaign into Northumbria, which led to Edwin's death at the Battle of Hatfield Chase.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oswald of Northumbria</span> King of Northumbria from 634 to 641/42; Christian saint

Oswald was King of Northumbria from 634 until his death, and is venerated as a saint, of whom there was a particular cult in the Middle Ages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northumbria</span> Medieval kingdom of the Angles

Northumbria was an early medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom in what is now Northern England and south-east Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Æthelred of Mercia</span> 7th and 8th-century King of Mercia

Æthelred was king of Mercia from 675 until 704. He was the son of Penda of Mercia and came to the throne in 675, when his brother, Wulfhere of Mercia, died from an illness. Within a year of his accession he invaded Kent, where his armies destroyed the city of Rochester. In 679 he defeated his brother-in-law, Ecgfrith of Northumbria, at the Battle of the Trent: the battle was a major setback for the Northumbrians, and effectively ended their military involvement in English affairs south of the Humber. It also permanently returned the Kingdom of Lindsey to Mercia's possession. However, Æthelred was unable to re-establish his predecessors' domination of southern Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penda of Mercia</span> King of Mercia c. 626 – 655

Penda was a 7th-century king of Mercia, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom in what is today the Midlands. A pagan at a time when Christianity was taking hold in many of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Penda took over the Severn Valley in 628 following the Battle of Cirencester before participating in the defeat of the powerful Northumbrian king Edwin at the Battle of Hatfield Chase in 633.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Æthelfrith</span> Bernician king

Æthelfrith was King of Bernicia from c. 593 until his death. Around 616 AD at the Battle of the River Idle. He became the first Bernician king to also rule the neighboring land of Deira, giving him an important place in the development and the unification of the later kingdom of Northumbria. He was especially notable for his successes against the Britons and his victory over the Gaels of Dál Riata. Although he was defeated and killed in battle and replaced by a dynastic rival, his line was eventually restored to power in the 630s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Winwaed</span> 655 battle between Mercia and Bernicia

The Battle of the Winwaed was fought on 15 November 655 between King Penda of Mercia and Oswiu of Bernicia, ending in the Mercians' defeat and Penda's death. According to Bede, the battle marked the effective demise of Anglo-Saxon paganism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Maserfield</span> Battle between the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Bernicia and various Welsh kingdoms (c. 641/642)

The Battle of Maserfield, a corruption of the Welsh Maes Elferth was fought on 5 August 641 or 642 between the Anglo-Saxon kings Oswald of Northumbria and Penda of Mercia allied with Welsh Kingdom of Gwynedd, ending in Oswald's defeat, death, and dismemberment. The location was also known as Cogwy in Welsh, with Welshmen from Pengwern participating in the battle, probably as allies of the Mercians. Bede reports the commonly accepted date given above; the Welsh Annales Cambriae is generally considered incorrect in giving the year of the battle as 644. The site of the battle is traditionally identified with Oswestry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elmet</span> Early Middle Ages kingdom of northern England

Elmet, sometimes Elmed or Elmete, was an independent Brittonic Celtic Cumbric speaking kingdom between about the 4th century and mid 7th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cadwallon ap Cadfan</span> King of Gwynedd from 625 to 634

Cadwallon ap Cadfan was the King of Gwynedd from around 625 until his death in battle. The son and successor of Cadfan ap Iago, he is best remembered as the King of the Britons who invaded and conquered the Kingdom of Northumbria, defeating and killing its king, Edwin, prior to his own death in battle against Oswald of Bernicia. His conquest of Northumbria, which he held for a year or two after Edwin died, made him one of the last recorded Celtic Britons to hold substantial territory in eastern Britain until the rise of the Welsh House of Tudor. He was thereafter remembered as a national hero by the Britons and as a tyrant by the Anglo-Saxons of Northumbria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Hatfield Chase</span> Battle between the kingdoms of Northumbria, Gwynedd and Mercia (633 AD)

The Battle of Hatfield Chase was fought on 12 October 633 at Hatfield Chase near Doncaster. It pitted the Northumbrians against an alliance of Gwynedd and Mercia. The Northumbrians were led by Edwin and the Gwynedd-Mercian alliance was led by Cadwallon ap Cadfan and Penda. The site was a marshy area about 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Doncaster on the south bank of the River Don. It was a decisive victory for Gwynedd and the Mercians: Edwin was killed and his army defeated, leading to the temporary collapse of Northumbria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Heavenfield</span> 630s battle in Northumberland

The Battle of Heavenfield was fought in 633 or 634 between a Northumbrian army under Oswald of Bernicia and a Welsh army under Cadwallon ap Cadfan of Gwynedd. The battle resulted in a decisive Northumbrian victory. The Annales Cambriae record the battle as Bellum Cantscaul in 631. Bede referred to it as the Battle of Deniseburna near Hefenfelth.

Cadafael ap Cynfeddw was King of Gwynedd. He came to the throne when his predecessor, King Cadwallon ap Cadfan, was killed in battle, and his primary notability is in having gained the disrespectful sobriquet Cadafael Cadomedd.

Cearl was an early king of Mercia who ruled during the early part of the 7th century, until about 626. He is the first Mercian king mentioned by Bede in his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum. Bede was a Northumbrian who was hostile to Mercia, and historian Robin Fleming speculates that as "ceorl" means "rustic" in Old English, his name may have been a joke.

Cadfan ap Iago was King of Gwynedd. Little is known of the history of Gwynedd from this period, and information about Cadfan and his reign is minimal.

Events from the 1060s in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7th century in England</span>

Events from the 7th century in England.

Clemen ap Bledric was a 7th-century King of Dumnonia.

Urbs Iudeu was a city, whose location is now unknown, which according to the ninth-century Historia Brittonum was besieged in 655 AD by Penda, King of Mercia, and Cadafael, King of Gwynedd.

References

  1. Kirby, D. P. (2002). The Earliest English Kings. London, New York: Routledge. ISBN   9780415242110.