937 and counting

The Irish difficulty with pronouncing words that begin with 'Th' is increasingly well known, as Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is a famous exponent and we (occasional sufferers of the affliction ourselves, especially on consecutive 'Th' words) can recall references to it back to the days of noted Irish rockers Tin Lizzy. So we were fascinated to read that research into the exact location of an obscure 10th century battle relies partly on the possibility of a similar pronunciation lapse by the Dubliners of that era.

As this fascinating London Times article explains, historians have sought to pin down where the Battle of Brunanburh in 937 AD took place, a battle notable for its alliance of proto-English forces against invaders from the north and west, led by forces from Dublin. While a small town near Liverpool had been suspected as the location,

nobody had convincingly identified Dingesmere [referred to in contemporary accounts], from which the invaders fled in disarray into the Irish Sea.

Together with Judith Jesch, Professor of Viking Studies at Nottingham University, and Paul Cavill, the research fellow for the English Place Names Society, Professor Harding has published a paper arguing that “Ding” refers to the Viking meeting place or “Thing” at modern-day Thingwall off the A551 in Wirral [near Liverpool]. The word would have been pronounced “Ding” by Viking settlers who had acquired a Celtic accent.

Needless to say, for anyone familiar with Irish history, the battle itself saw a quick route to Valhalla for our ancestors:

Professor Harding says that the forces of Olaf Guthfrithsson, the Viking king of Dublin, King Constantine II of the Scots and King Owain the Bold of the Strathclyde Britons were finally cornered by a combined Saxon army under Athelstan, King of Wessex and Alfred the Great’s grandson.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records: “Never yet on this island has there been a greater slaughter.” When it was over Athelstan and his brother Edmund returned to Wessex, leaving behind “corpses for the dark black-coated raven, horny-beaked, to enjoy.