Battle Of Alclud Ford
Battle
According to Taliesin the Anglian king Ulph "came with violence on his enemies" and was met in battle and killed by Urien map Cynfarch, King of Rheged (probably Cumbria and/or Galloway), and his son Owain mab Urien, as noted in two separate poems. The Bernician attack would have been faced by spear and javelin armed horsemen, who made up the bulk of the Rhegedian warriors, whilst the Bernicians themselves would have primarily consisted of infantry as was the standard for Anglo-Saxon warriors of the period. Ulph was probably either the son of King Ida of Bernicia, most likely Theodulf, which puts the battle at c.574 or c.590, or potentially Frithuwolf, also known as Freothulf or Frithuwald, which would put the Alclut Ford at c.580.
The battle was fought at a time when Rheged was at its ascendancy, and the armies under Urien and Owain were the most powerful in the north.
References
- ^ Nicolle, David (2006). Arthur and the Anglo-Saxon Wars. Osprey Publishing. p. 18. ISBN 0-85045-548-0.
- ^ Harrison, Mark (1993). Anglo-Saxon Thegn AD 449-1066. Osprey Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 1-85532-349-4.
- ^ Mike, Ashely (1998). The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens. New York: Carroll & Graff. p. 274. ISBN 0-7867-0692-9.