What if the Anglo-Saxons lost the Battle of Brunanburh (937)

[Diego]

So, in 937 the kingdoms of Alba, Strathclyde, and Dublin allied and invaded the kingdom of England. For motivations the king of Dublin had a claim over Northumbria, meanwhile Alba and Strathclyde were rebelling against their overlord. In OTL the battle ended in a minor tactical victory and a somewhat major (but temporary) political/strategic victory for England.

What if it ended in a crushing defeat for England? Let's say, what if the allies attacked early with a significant superiority in numbers, routing the English and killing or even capturing the king and his brother?

What you think that could be the effects of such disaster? Could Wessex lose control over Cornwall? Would the Welsh join the fight opening another front against England? Would it be possible that Mercia and Wessex ended up separated again?

 

[DanMcCollum]

It really depends on how the English lose. If its a near thing, and Athelstan survives and is able to keep his army together, the war likely continues. If it's a slaughter ... then things can go a bit differently. Athelstan and his brother Edmund (who succeeded him two years later in OTL) were present at the battle. If it turns into a route, both of them are killed along with many of their nobles, then the Kingship will likely pass to their youngest brother Eadred. The problem, of course, is Eadred is only 14 at this point. In OTL Eadred's biggest acheivment was finally incorporating Northumbria fully into the English realm. But that was some years later (he also died young after developing a digestive problem).

The point? Even after Brunanburh in OTL, Northumbria wasn't fully incorporated into the realm until some years later. So it does seem that there's a chance that a solid English loss in the battle could give Northumbria the breathing room it needs to really solidify its independance - especially if its being supported by the Scots. If the battle goes badly enough, there's a chance that you can effectively decapitate the ruling house of the realm and deposit the crown in the hands of a 14 year old boy. If the nobility is likewise hard hit by this, you could cause enough chaos in England to cause it to look inwards for a number of years.

However, it's important to remember that though Eadred was of ill-health, he was hardly a weak king - his defeat of Eric Blood-axe in OTL shows he had the ability to project power into the North and cause havoc if he so chose. Furthermore, Northumbria had a tendency of attracting adventurers trying to claim its kingship (such as the King of Dublin and the aforementioned Eric Blood-Axe) and that is going to continually weaken it.

None of this, though, I think is enough to splinter England. Though England WOULD be split atwain a few decades later, this was a short lived situation and based on some pretty unique political sitautions at the time - and I'm not sure that a loss at Brunanburh would be enough to cause something similar to happen. I also don't see the Welsh suddenly hopping on board - they were hardly a united principality at this time, and were faced with pretty severe Danish raids at the time. As for losing Cornwall, I can't imagine why that would happen.