The
Battle of Brunanburh was an
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
victory in
937-Europe:* Battle of Brunanburh: King Athelstan of England defeats the Viking king of Dublin, the Scots, and Strathclyde.* September 21 – Magdeburg is now the capital of the Holy Roman Empire, after a Diet held by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor.-Asia:...
by the army of
ÆthelstanAthelstan or Æthelstan , called the Glorious, was the King of England from 924/925 to 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder, and nephew of Æthelflæd of Mercia...
, King of England, and his brother,
EdmundEdmund I , called the Elder, the Deed-doer, the Just, or the Magnificent, was King of England from 939 until his death. He was a son of Edward the Elder and half-brother of Athelstan...
, over the combined armies of
Olaf III GuthfrithsonAmlaíb mac Gofraid , , a member of the Norse-Gael Uí Ímair dynasty, was king of Dublin from 934 to 941. Gofraid ua Ímair, his father, held both Dublin and York until Athelstan of England expelled him from York in 927....
, Norse-Gael
King of DublinThe Vikings invaded the territory around Dublin in the ninth century, establishing the Norse Kingdom of Dublin. This corresponded to most of present-day County Dublin. The Norse referred to the kingdom as Dyflin, which is derived . The first reference to the Vikings comes from the Annals of Ulster...
,
Constantine IIConstantine, son of Áed was an early King of Scotland, known then by the Gaelic name Alba...
, King of Scots, and Owen I,
King of StrathclydeStrathclyde , originally Brythonic Ystrad Clud was one of the kingdoms of the Britons in the Hen Ogledd, the Brythonic-speaking parts of what is now Northern England and southern Scotland, through the post-Roman period and the Middle Ages...
.
Mention is also made in some sources of
IrishThe Irish people are a Western European ethnic group who originate in Ireland, in north western Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolgs, Tuatha Dé Danann and the Milesians The Irish...
,
WelshThe Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
and
CornishThe Cornish are the people of Cornwall, the most south-westerly part of England, and the United Kingdom. As an ethnic group, the Cornish are interpreted as modern Celts, the lineal descendants of the ancient Britons who inhabited southern and central Great Britain...
mercenariesA mercenary is a professional soldier hired by a foreign army, as opposed to a soldier enlisted in the armed forces of a sovereign state. He or she takes part in armed conflict on many different scales, and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain...
.
Sources
Most of the information regarding the battle itself come from the
Anglo-Saxon ChronicleThe Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The annals were initially created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great. Multiple manuscript copies were made and distributed to monasteries...
, the writings of Anglo-Norman historian
William of MalmesburyWilliam of Malmesbury , English historian of the 12th century, was born about the year 1080/1095, in Wiltshire. His father was Norman and his mother English...
, the
Annals of TigernachThe Annals of Tigernach is a chronicle probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin and Old and Middle Irish. Much of the pre-historic entries come from twelfth century MS, Rawlinson B 502. However, the chronicle's real importance is for the period 489-766,...
, the
Annals of UlsterThe Annals of Ulster are a chronicle of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 431 and AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in...
, the
Brut y TywysogionBrut y Tywysogion is one of the most important primary sources for Welsh history. It is an annalistic chronicle that serves as a continuation of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae. Brut y Tywysogion has survived as several Welsh translations of an original Latin version, which has...
. More legendary accounts are found in the sagas from
IcelandThe Republic of Iceland is a European island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km². Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík, whose surrounding area is home to approximately two thirds of the national population...
, including
Snorri SturlusonSnorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
's
Egils sagaEgils saga is an epic Icelandic saga possibly by Snorri Sturluson , who may have written the account between the years 1220 and 1240 AD. It is an important representative of the sagas and has much to say about the end of the Viking era. The saga is centered on the life of Egill Skallagrímsson,...
about
Egill SkallagrimssonEgill Skallagrímsson was an Icelandic skald and the great anti-hero of Icelandic literature.Several accounts tell of him slaughtering as many as 20 or more armed men single-handedly and even dispatching a feared berserker with relative ease...
, a
VikingA Viking is one of the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the late eighth to the early eleventh century. These Norsemen used their famed longships to travel as far east as Constantinople and the Volga River in Russia, and as far...
who supposedly fought for Athelstan.
Background
After the defeat by Athelstan of the Vikings at York in 928AD, the Scottish King
ConstantineConstantine, son of Áed was an early King of Scotland, known then by the Gaelic name Alba...
considered the Wessex king a considerable threat to
AlbaThe Kingdom of Alba pertains to the Kingdom of Scotland between the deaths of Donald II in 900, and of Alexander III in 1286 which then led indirectly to the Scottish Wars of Independence...
and so began forging alliances with the neighbouring countries.
Constantine married his daughter to
Olaf GuthfrithssonAmlaíb mac Gofraid , , a member of the Norse-Gael Uí Ímair dynasty, was king of Dublin from 934 to 941. Gofraid ua Ímair, his father, held both Dublin and York until Athelstan of England expelled him from York in 927....
the King of Dublin and York, which created alliances with the Earls of Northumbria. Owen of
StrathclydeStrathclyde , originally Brythonic Ystrad Clud was one of the kingdoms of the Britons in the Hen Ogledd, the Brythonic-speaking parts of what is now Northern England and southern Scotland, through the post-Roman period and the Middle Ages...
was related to Constantine and took little persuasion to join the King of Alba in a pre-emptive strike against Athelstan.
Date
There is some difficulty in determining the exact date of the battle; historian
Sharon TurnerSharon Turner was an English historian.-Life:Born in Pentonville, Turner was the eldest son of William and Ann Turner, Yorkshire natives who had settled in London upon marrying. He left school at fifteen to be articled to an attorney in the Temple...
gives it as 934, Worsaae in his "Danes and Norwegians in England," says 937 and Ethelweard's "Chronicle" suggests 939. Sharon Turner refers to the fact that one manuscript of the
Anglo-Saxon ChronicleThe Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The annals were initially created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great. Multiple manuscript copies were made and distributed to monasteries...
gives the date as 937, although he himself preferred 934. Dr. Freeman in his "Old English History" also suggests 937.
Battle
The
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the event as follows:
- 937:
- Here, King Athelstan, leader of warriors,
- ring-giver of men, and also his brother,
- the aetheling Edmund, struck life-long glory
- in strife around 'Brunanburh' ...
James Parket summarized various sources including the
Chronicle in a narrative:
"Anlaf, the son of Sihtric. who had become the head of the Ostmen in Ireland, leagued himself with Constantine, the king of the Scots, and prepared to recover Northumbria. He collected a large army in Ireland, and being joined by the Scots, landed in the Humber. Athelstan marched against them, accompanied by his brother Edmund, but no battle was fought until they had reached the extremity of Northumbria. There, at a place called the Brunanburg the Norsemen and the Scots had fortified themselves after the Noresman fashion. with a strong stockade of timber within a deep trench, and when attacked by the Saxons a most desperate contest ensued. The trench was passed, the "board wall" was cleft, and after a day's fighting the allies were put to flight. Five kings and seven earls lay dead on the field, beside an innumerable host of their men."
Five "
kingKing may be a title for a head of state.King may also refer to:-Places:* King, Ontario, Canada* King, Indiana, United States* King, North Carolina, United States* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin, United States...
s" and seven Viking jarls were killed in the bloody battle. Two of Athelstan's cousins Alfric and Athelwin and a prominent Saxon bishop were also killed. Some sources claim that at one point the West Saxons deployed a cavalry charge, contradicting popular belief that the early English fought only in infantry-based armies. Cavalry were a relatively insignificant part of the Saxon force and were likely mercenaries from any number of other kingdoms. However, the Anglo-Saxon text of the chronicle makes no such mention:
Burton RaffelBurton Raffel is a translator, a poet and a teacher. He has translated many poems, including the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, poems by Horace, and Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais. In 1964, Raffel recorded an album along with Robert P...
's translation of the poem, for instance, is misleading. His rendering "All the battle / Became the Wessex cavalry endlessly / Hunting a broken enemy" mistranslates the Anglo-Saxon
eorodcistum, which means 'troop' or 'company'. The later poem "
Battle of MaldonThe Battle of Maldon took place on 10 August 991 near Maldon beside the River Blackwater in Essex, England, during the reign of Aethelred the Unready. Earl Byrhtnoth and his thegns led the Anglo-Saxons against a Viking invasion, which ended in defeat...
" says (translated) that before the battle "
he ([=
ByrhtnothByrhtnoth was a 10th century Ealdorman of Essex. His name is composed of Old English beorht and noth ....
] commanded his men to dismount thereupon, / send steedSteed may refer to:* A working animal, a mount * A Stallion People*With the surname Steed** Jake Steed , an American pornographic actor** Maggie Steed Steed may refer to:* A working animal, a mount (especially for warfare means)* A Stallion (an archaic term)People*With the surname Steed** Jake...
s away and stride forwards", showing that his men used horses for travelling but fought on foot.
Battle site
The location of Brunanburh has not been definitively identified. Its name occurs in the poem as "
ymbe brunanburh": here "
ymbe" means "around" and is a preposition which takes the accusative case. As a result, "
ymbe brunanburh" could mean "around Brown's fort" or "around a brown fort" / "around Brown Fort". (Anglo-Saxon original manuscript texts do not capitalize proper nouns.) Suggested possible sites include:
- Sites in Northumberland
Northumberland is a ceremonial county and unitary district in the North East of England. It borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham to the south and Tyne and Wear to the south east, as well as having a border with the Scottish Borders council area to the north, and nearly eighty miles of North...
- Sites in Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. Taking its name from the River Mersey, Merseyside came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974, after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, and the county consists of five metropolitan...
:
- Bromborough
Bromborough is a small town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the Wirral Peninsula, to the south of Bebington and to the north of Eastham...
- Newton-le-Willows
Newton-le-Willows is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. It is situated about midway between the cities of Manchester and Liverpool, to the east of St Helens, to the north of Warrington and to the south of Wigan....
- A site in Bebington, Wirral which is now a golf course
- Burnswark in Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. To the north, it borders onto South Ayrshire, East Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire; in the east the Borders; and to the south the county of Cumbria in England. It lies to the north of the Solway Firth and to the east of the Irish Sea...
in southwest Scotland
- Tinsley Wood
Tinsley is a suburb of northeastern part of Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Its name derives from the Old English Tingas-Leah, which means 'Field of Council'...
in South YorkshireSouth Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and the city of Sheffield...
- Axminster
Axminster is a market town on the eastern border of Devon, England. The town is built on a hill overlooking the River Axe which heads towards the English Channel at Axmouth, and is in the East Devon local government district. The market is still held every Thursday.Axminster gave its name to a type...
in Devon.
- Sites close to Burnley:
- Cuerdale
Cuerdale is a civil parish in the South Ribble district of Lancashire, England. It includes Cuerdale Hall and has no substantive settlements. It originated as a township in the parish of Blackburn, becoming a separate civil parish in 1866...
in Lancashire where the Cuerdale HoardThe Cuerdale Hoard is a hoard of over 8,600 items including silver coins and bullion. The hoard was discovered on the 15 May 1840, on the Southern bank of a bend of the River Ribble, in an area known as Cuerdale on the outskirts of the City of Preston, Lancashire, England...
was buried sometime after 910 and a number of axe and spear heads have been found, though most scholars agree the hoard was buried long before Athelstan's reign, no coin being later than 905. "This celtCelt is an archaeological term used to describe long thin prehistoric stone or bronze adzes, other axe-like tools, and hoes.By the beginning of the twentieth century, the term had largely been abandoned by archaeologists, who were beginning to classify the tools into more precise sub-groups...
is in the museum at Preston, and it seems to correspond with that described * as having been found at Cuerdale in 1838 by men in deepening a ditch, between three and four feet from the surface, about three or four yards from a spear-head described in the next section.".
- The remains of defensive ditches on the site of Cuerdale Hall were surveyed in the early 1990s. The hall is contained within a semi-rectangular area about 150 metres in extent formed by a deep ditch about 12 meters in width. There is a V shaped ditch about 7 metres wide and two meters deep on the southern side of the Hall. Parallel and a little further south there is a scarp which suggests that the 7 metre ditch may have been cut from an earlier and wider ditch that silted up. The evidence suggests that a fortified enclosure existed on the site. The fortifications have not been dated.
- Livesay in Lancashire. The Livesay Historical Society says that the names Livesay and Livesey came from the common Anglo-Saxon personal name Lēofsige (which means "beloved victory" or "he whose victory is beloved"), and that that name refers to the Battle of Brunaburh ; but see Livesey#Etymology.
- Hill of Shelfield (north of Burnley
Burnley is a large market town in the borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies east of Blackburn and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....
in Lancashire), stated in one traditional story to be the site of a battle in Saxon times. Walton Spire, built in Victorian times, is rumoured to be erected on an ancient battle stone dating back to the Battle of Brunanburh. It is thought that the battle stone is a gravestone marking a mass burial site for those that died in the battle. Some experts believe that this battle took place on the Hurstwood and WorsthorneWorsthorne is a rural village on the eastern outskirts of Burnley in Lancashire, England. The parish of Worsthorne-with-Hurstwood has a population of 2,986. The village was known as Worthesthorn in 1202, which means thorn tree of a man named 'Weorth'....
moorlands above Burnley in Lancashire where the River Brun has its source. After the battle, Burnley belonged to the King of England. On the outskirts of Burnley, possible battle-sites have been suggested. Local folkloreFolklore is the body of expressive culture, including stories, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, customs, and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions of that culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which...
tells of a Great Battle which was fought in ancient times in the hills above Burnley with tales of the River BrunThe River Brun is a river in eastern Lancashire.Rising at the confluence of Hurstwood Brook and Rock Water at Foxstones Bridge near the village of Hurstwood, the river runs north west towards the town of Burnley.The river passes through the artificial Rowley Lake near Rowley Hall and collects...
flowing red with blood. There has also been tales of farmers ploughing up various pieces of weaponry said to date from this Great Battle. Nearby is a large mound which is either a glacial deposit or according to the story, it is the Knaves Hill or mound beneath which the warriors killed in the Battle were buried. One account states that Shelfield Hill was once the site of an ancient camp. The site is now known as Walton Spire which was erected in Victorian times on top of a stone marker of unknown date.
- The Burnley site is about ten miles east of Cuerdale
Cuerdale is a civil parish in the South Ribble district of Lancashire, England. It includes Cuerdale Hall and has no substantive settlements. It originated as a township in the parish of Blackburn, becoming a separate civil parish in 1866...
near the River Ribble. A ancient ford at CuerdaleCuerdale is a civil parish in the South Ribble district of Lancashire, England. It includes Cuerdale Hall and has no substantive settlements. It originated as a township in the parish of Blackburn, becoming a separate civil parish in 1866...
is the point where the river would have been no longer navigable to VikingA Viking is one of the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the late eighth to the early eleventh century. These Norsemen used their famed longships to travel as far east as Constantinople and the Volga River in Russia, and as far...
ships entering the RibbleRibble may refer to:* the River Ribble in North West England** Ribble and Alt Estuaries* Ribble Motor Services, a former bus company in North West England* Ribble Valley, a local government district in Lancashire, England...
estuary from Ireland. The Cuerdale HoardThe Cuerdale Hoard is a hoard of over 8,600 items including silver coins and bullion. The hoard was discovered on the 15 May 1840, on the Southern bank of a bend of the River Ribble, in an area known as Cuerdale on the outskirts of the City of Preston, Lancashire, England...
, the largest Viking silver treasure found in Western Europe, predates the battle by some thirty years but its location suggests a main route from Dublin to York, and thus a possible route for a later invading army, which would take it near Burnley.
These are not the only sites suggested, but they are the most commonly accepted. The
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
documentary series
A History of Scotland, in episode one ("The Last of the Free"), suggested that the battle of Brunanburh took place where "the
MerseyThe River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
estuary enters the sea", suggesting that
BromboroughBromborough is a small town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the Wirral Peninsula, to the south of Bebington and to the north of Eastham...
in
MerseysideMerseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. Taking its name from the River Mersey, Merseyside came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974, after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, and the county consists of five metropolitan...
was the site of the battle.
Aftermath
This poorly recalled battle is actually one of the most important in British history since Athelstan's defeat of the combined Norse-Celtic force facing him confirmed England as a fully unified kingdom. However, he was militarily weakened and the battle effectively forced all the kingdoms of the British Isles to consolidate in the positions they occupy today.
The Battle of Brunanburh still has a great deal of influence in the
WiltshireWiltshire is a ceremonial county in the south west of England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers 3,485 km²...
town of
MalmesburyMalmesbury is a south Cotswold town and civil parish in south west England in the county of Wiltshire. The town is close to Cirencester, Chippenham and Swindon and surrounded by rivers on three sides.- Geography and administration :...
, 200 miles south of any probable site. The townsfolk of Malmesbury fought for King Athelstan, and he granted them 600 hides of land and gave them all freemen status. This status and the organisation formed then exists today, as the Warden and Freemen of Malmesbury, and Athelstan is remembered in their ceremonies. When Athelstan died, his body was transported from
GloucesterGloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
to Malmesbury for burial.
Modern literature and art
English
poetA poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
Alfred Lord Tennyson translated the poem from the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 1880, publishing it as part of his
Ballads and Other Poems. Tennyson's son Hallam Tennyson published a prose translation of the poem. The Argentine writer
Jorge Luis BorgesJorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , best known as Jorge Luis Borges, was an Argentine writer and poet born in Buenos Aires. In 1914, his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school and traveled to Spain. On his return to Argentina in 1921, Borges began publishing his poems and...
wrote various poems about or mentioning the English and their victory at Brunanburh.
Primary sources
- Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The annals were initially created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great. Multiple manuscript copies were made and distributed to monasteries...
, ed. D. Dumville and S. Keynes, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. A Collaborative Edition. 8 vols. Cambridge, 1983; tr. Michael J. Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. 2nd ed. London, 2000.
- The Battle of Brunanburh (Old English poem), ed. Alistair Campbell, The Battle of Brunanburh. London: Heinemann, 1938.
- Æthelweard, Chronicon, ed. and tr. Alistair Campbell, The Chronicle of Æthelweard. London, 1961.
- William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury , English historian of the 12th century, was born about the year 1080/1095, in Wiltshire. His father was Norman and his mother English...
, Gesta regum Anglorum, ed. and tr. R.A.B. Mynors, R. M. Thomson and M. Winterbottom, William of Malmesbury. Gesta Regum Anglorum. The History of the English Kings. OMT. 2 vols: vol 1. Oxford, 1998.
- Henry of Huntingdon
Henry of Huntingdon was an English historian of the 12th century and archdeacon of Huntingdon.-Life:Not much is known about Henry, the Archdeacon in the Diocese of Lincoln . There are no personal correspondences or anecdotes that survived his life and it seemed that no one considered him...
, Historia Anglorum, ed. and tr. D.E. Greenway, Henry Archdeacon of Huntingdon. Historia Anglorum. The History of the English People. OMT. Oxford, 1996.
- Annals of Ulster
The Annals of Ulster are a chronicle of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 431 and AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in...
, ed. and tr. Seán Mac Airt and Gearóid Mac Niocaill, The Annals of Ulster (to AD 1131). Dublin, 1983.
- Annals of the Four Masters
The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the deluge, dated as 2,242 years after creation to AD 1616.-Text:...
, ed. and tr. John O’Donovan. Annála Rioghachta Eireann. Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters. 7 vols. Royal Irish Academy. Dublin, 1848-51.
- Egils saga
Egils saga is an epic Icelandic saga possibly by Snorri Sturluson , who may have written the account between the years 1220 and 1240 AD. It is an important representative of the sagas and has much to say about the end of the Viking era. The saga is centered on the life of Egill Skallagrímsson,...
, ed. Finnur Jónsson, Egils saga Skallagrímssonar. Halle, 1894; tr. Herman Pálsson and Paul Edwards, Egil's Saga. Harmondsworth, 1976.
Further reading
- "Tinsley Wood," in
- Foot, Sarah, "Where English becomes British: Rethinking Contexts for Brunanburh," in
External links
See also
- Cuerdale
Cuerdale is a civil parish in the South Ribble district of Lancashire, England. It includes Cuerdale Hall and has no substantive settlements. It originated as a township in the parish of Blackburn, becoming a separate civil parish in 1866...
- Cuerdale Hoard
The Cuerdale Hoard is a hoard of over 8,600 items including silver coins and bullion. The hoard was discovered on the 15 May 1840, on the Southern bank of a bend of the River Ribble, in an area known as Cuerdale on the outskirts of the City of Preston, Lancashire, England...