Battle of Cynwit
Part of theViking invasions of England
Cannington hill fort, a possible site of the battle
Date 878 Location Uncertain Result West Saxon victory
Belligerents
West Saxons	Vikings
Commanders and leaders
Odda, Ealdorman of Devon	Ubba †
Strength
Unknown	1,200
Casualties and losses
Unknown	800

TheBattle of Cynwit^[a] orCountisbury Hill^[1] took place betweenWest Saxons andVikings in 878. The location of the fortress the battle is named for is not known with certainty but probably was at Countisbury Hill orWind Hill,^[2] nearCountisbury,Devon. A possible alternative site for the siege and battle is Cannington Camp in theParrett estuary nearCombwich.^[3][4][5][6]

The Viking army was said to have been led byUbba,^[b] brother ofIvar the Boneless andHalfdan Ragnarsson, and sailed from Dyfed (where they had overwintered) to land on the coast at Countisbury^[c] with 23 ships and 1200 men.^[1][3] On landing, the Viking army discovered that the West Saxons had taken refuge in a stronghold at "Cynuit", possibly Countisbury. According to the 10th century chroniclerÆthelweard, the West Saxons were led byOdda, theealdorman ofDevon.^[9][7] The Vikings perceived that the stronghold was unprepared for battle and decided to besiege it, as it did not seem to have any food or water supply.^[1]

According toAlfred's biographerAsser,^[d] the West Saxons burst out of the fortress one day at dawn and were able to overwhelm the Viking forces, killing their leader and over eight hundred of his men. They also captured the fabled "raven banner".^[11] TheAnglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded:

And the same winter the brother of Hingwar and of Halfdene came with twenty-three ships to Devonshire in Wessex; and he was there slain, and with him eight hundred and forty men of his army: and there was taken the war-flag which they called the Raven.

Track up Wind Hill (Countisbury Hill) probable site of the battle

Modern interpretation of the Raven banner.

Cannington Camp a possible site of the battle.^[3]

At the time of the battle,Alfred the Great ofWessex was on the run from the Vikings in the marshes ofSomerset. It was therefore an important victory for the West Saxons won by someone other than Alfred, who was then leading English resistance to the Viking invasions.^[11] In addressing the year 878, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle claimed that "all but Alfred the King" had been subdued by the Vikings'Great Heathen Army:

This year, during midwinter, after twelfth night, thearmy stole away to Chippenham, and overran the land of the West-Saxons, and sat down there; and many of the people they drove beyond sea, and of the remainder the greater part they subdued and forced to obey them, except king Alfred

The Battle of Cynwit was one of several triumphant stories recorded by Asser and the Chronicle in 878, ultimately culminating in the English victory over the Vikings at theBattle of Edington.^[11]

• Baggs, A P; Siraut, M C. (1992). "Cannington". In Dunning, R W; Elrington, C R (eds.).A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 6: Andersfield, Cannington, and North Petherton Hundreds (Bridgwater and neighbouring parishes). British History Online. pp. 73–76. Retrieved4 August 2021.
• Cornwell, Bernard (2005).The Last Kingdom. London: Harper Collins.ISBN 0-00-714991-3.
• Exmoor National Park (2014)."MDE1236 - Countisbury Castle or Wind Hill Promontory Fort".Exmoor's Past.Exmoor National Park. Retrieved20 April 2014.
• Giles, J.A. (1914).The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle . London: G. Bell and Sons Ltd. – viaWikisource.
• Giles, J A, ed. (1906). "The Chronicle of Fabius Ethelwerd".Six Old English Chronicles. London: Henry G. Bohn.OCLC 59720584.
• Hindley, Geoffrey (2015).The Anglo Saxons. London: Robinson.ISBN 978-1-84529-161-7.
• Historic England."Earthwork defences of Countisbury Castle promontory fort (1020807)".National Heritage List for England. Retrieved5 August 2021.
• James, Jeffrey (2013).An Onslaught of Spears: The Danish Conquest of England. The History Press.ISBN 9780750951982.
• Keynes, Simon;Lapidge, Michael (1983).Alfred the Great, Asser's Life of King Alfred and other contemporary sources. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin.ISBN 0-14-044409-2.
• Munch, Peter Andreas (1926).Norse Mythology: Legends of Gods and Heroes (English : Reiss. [of the ed.] New York: American-Scandinavian Foundation ed.). Detroit: Singing Tree Press.OCLC 917739133.
• National Trust (2014)."Countisbury circular walk via Winston's Path".National Trust. Retrieved20 April 2014.
• Yorke, Barbara (1995).Wessex in the Early Middle Ages. London: Routledge.ISBN 0-415-16639-X.

• Keary, C. F (1891).The Vikings in Western Christendom. London: T. Fisher Unwin.
• Smyth, Alfred P (1995).King Alfred the Great. Oxford University Press.

Early sources

• Asser (1908).The Life of King Alfred. Chatto & Windus.
• Æthelweard (1961). "Chronicon". In Campbell, Alistair (ed.).The Chronicle of Æthelweard. London: Thomas Nelson.OCLC 1180934971.

• 870s conflicts
• Battles involving Wessex
• Battles involving the Vikings
• Military history of Somerset
• 878
• 9th century in England

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• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from November 2021
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