DEGSASTAN - v1.0
603
by Chris Jackson
SYMBOL SET REQUIRED: Master 1

man-to-man scale: possibly close to 1:1 - no army of any kingdom in Britain at this
time could have exceeded 1,000 men.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Around 550, the Anglo-Saxon invaders renewed their push into Britain that had been
set back by Arthur early in the century. Information is sketchy prior to 600, but
with less documentation of military operations, but armies of this time seem to 
have been relatively small war bands attaching themselves to a particular lord
or king. In 597 Pope Gregory the Great sent Augustine to Britain to Christianize
the pagan Anglo-Saxons, and with the conversion of King Aethelbert of Kent, as
well as the official conversion from Arianism to Catholicism in Visigoth Spain
in 589, orthodox Christianity was on the rise all over Europe. Already by 600 it
was spreading into Essex.  

The Kingdom of the Northumbrians (a union of Bernicia and Deira), ruled by 
Aethelfrith since 593, is the first kingdom of Britain that can be indentified as
united and coherent. King Aidan of the Dalriad Scots to the northwest wanted to 
preserve independency from the Dalriad Irish in the area, and invaded the 
Northumbrian Kingdom in 603. Marching from the fortress of Dunadd, led by
Aethelfrith's own brother Theodbald (suggesting some dissension in the royal 
family), they were met by the Northumbrian army led by Hering at Degsastan 
(Dawston) in Liddesdale. Here Theodbald and the Dalriad Scots were completely
wiped out. After this battle the Scots probably recognized Northumbria as the
prevailing kingdom of northern Britain, as it truly would become in the 
seventh century. 


SOURCES


Alcock, Leslie. "Economy, Society, and Warfare Among the Britons and Saxons".
    Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1987.

Higham, N.J. "An English Empire: Bede and the Early Anglo-Saxon Kings".
     New York: Manchester University Press, 1995.



BATTLE NOTES

I have some pretty good information on the arms and armour used by the Britons
and Anglo-Saxons of this time, so I went ahead and made this scenario. I wasn't
too sure on the Scots but I don't think they were "Romanized" like the Britons
to have cavalry. The Anglo-Saxons always dismounted for battle, so here we get 
medieval battles with no cavalry elements in them. I had to take away some 
archers from the Scots because they really swung the battle in their favour, so
right now the edge probably goes to the Northumbrians.


Chris Jackson, April 8, 2000
chrisbjackson@hotmail.com

