Battle of Stainmore
Part of theViking invasions of England
Date 954 Location Stainmore,Westmorland,England 54°31′40″N2°15′35″W / 54.52778°N 2.25972°W /54.52778; -2.25972 Result Victory for Oswulf
Commanders and leaders
Oswulf I of Bamburgh Maccus, son of Olaf	Eric Bloodaxe †
class=notpageimage| Location within modernCumbria

TheBattle of Stainmore was a conflict betweenEric Bloodaxe and opponents possibly led byOswulf I of Bamburgh or a Maccus son of Olaf. Eric had previously been invited by theNorthumbrians to rule as their king and had come into conflict with KingEadred of England, on whose behalf Maccus may have been acting. Eric's death atStainmore led to the end of the independence ofScandinavian York, with Oswulf becomingearl of Northumbria and ruling on behalf of Eadred.

Olaf Sihtricson first became the ruler ofNorthumbria in 941 and led a successful raid on Tamworth in 943 after whichEdmund I of England retaliated and at first the two rulers made peace. This ended the following year when Edmund attacked Northumbria and Olaf was forced out, succeeding in being named king ofDublin.^[1] English rule of Northumbria would lapse following Edmund's death in 946, with his successorEadred accepting pledges in 947 fromWulfstan,Archbishop of York, and other Northumbrian leaders in a manner suggesting they had considerable independence.^[2]

TheAnglo-Saxon Chronicle records that in 948 the Northumbrians chooseEric Bloodaxe as their king, reneging on their pledge to Eadred.^[3] Wulfstan in particular welcomed Eric for the protection he offered against theWest Saxon kings of England.^[4] Eadred responded by raiding Northumbria and after a counterattack led by Eric destroyed his rearguard atCastleford Eadred threatened to retaliate, prompting the Northumbrians to abandon Eric as their king.^[3]

Olaf was invited by the Northumbrians to return as king in 949,^[1] once again betraying their loyalty to Eadred.^[3] Olaf would again be replaced by Eric in 952.^[1]

In 954 Eric was again removed by the Northumbrians and was killed atStainmore,^[5] possibly while making for Dublin or the Isles.^[4]

English sources state that Eric was killed by an Earl Maccus, son of Olaf, which may or may not be a reference to Olaf Sihtricson.^[6] It is possible Maccus was acting in part on behalf of Eadred, who may have used the established tactic of setting oneViking leader against another.^[7]Roger of Wendover writes Eric was killed after being betrayed byOswulf I of Bamburgh.^[6] Scandinavian sources state Eric died leading an outnumbered army against his foes,^[5] and was accompanied by fiveHebridean kings and twoearls of Orkney.^[7]

Eric's death ended the independence ofScandinavian York which became part of England.^[4][8] Eadred choose Oswulf asearl of Northumbria,^[9] and from this point Northumbria was ruled by earls acting on behalf of the kings of England.^[10] Viking raids in England did not resume until the 980s.^[7]

After Eric's death, his wifeGunnhild left England with their five sons and joined her brotherHarald Bluetooth inJutland. From here they began a campaign to reclaim the throne ofNorway, which Eric had a claim to, and would ultimately succeed whenHarald Greycloak became king after thebattle of Stordc. 960.[11]

• BBC History Magazine (September 2017)."Bloodaxe's Final Stand".BBC History Magazine. BBC: 34. Retrieved24 May 2024.
• Cannon, J. A. (2009a). "Erik Bloodaxe".The Oxford Companion to British History. Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-956763-8. Retrieved24 May 2024.
• Cannon, J. A. (2009b). "Stainmore, battle of".The Oxford Companion to British History. Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-956763-8. Retrieved24 May 2024.
• Costambeys, Marios (2004). "Erik Bloodaxe [Eiríkr Blóðöx, Eiríkr Haraldsson]".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/49265. (Subscription,Wikipedia Library access orUK public library membership required.)
• Hudson, Benjamin T. (2004). "Óláf Sihtricson [Óláfr Sigtryggsson, Amlaíb Cúarán]".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/20671. (Subscription,Wikipedia Library access orUK public library membership required.)
• Foot, Sarah (2010). "Northumbria". In Bjork, Robert E. (ed.).The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages. Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-866262-4. Retrieved24 May 2024.
• Peterson, Gary Dean (21 June 2016).Vikings and Goths: A History of Ancient and Medieval Sweden. McFarland.ISBN 978-1-4766-2434-1. Retrieved24 May 2024.
• Rollason, David (25 September 2003).Northumbria, 500-1100: Creation and Destruction of a Kingdom. Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0-521-81335-8. Retrieved24 May 2024.
• Stenton, Frank M. (7 June 2001).Anglo-Saxon England. Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5.
• Williams, Ann (2004). "Eadred [Edred]".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8510. (Subscription,Wikipedia Library access orUK public library membership required.)
• Williams, Gareth (17 February 2011)."Eric Bloodaxe".BBC History. BBC. Retrieved24 May 2024.

• Battles involving Northumbria
• Battles involving the Vikings
• Westmorland
• 950s conflicts
• 954
• 10th century in England

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