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Maserfield, battle of
Maserfield, battle of, 642. Penda of Mercia defeated and killed Oswald of Northumbria. Penda is said by Bede to have removed Oswald's head and hands and to have hung them on stakes, perhaps as an offering to a pagan god of war. Penda's actions helped facilitate the cult of Oswald and miracles were credited not just to his relics, but also to the place where he was killed. The site of the battle, which in British sources is called Cocboy, is uncertain. It has sometimes been identified as Oswestry (‘Oswald's tree’) in Shropshire, but somewhere closer to the Northumbrian–Mercian border, the location of many other 7th-cent. engagements between Mercia and Northumbria, is more likely.
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Maserfield, battle of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Maserfield, battle of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-Maserfieldbattleof.html JOHN CANNON. "Maserfield, battle of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-Maserfieldbattleof.html |
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Maserfield, battle of
Maserfield, battle of, 642. Penda of Mercia defeated and killed Oswald of Northumbria. Penda is said by Bede to have removed Oswald's head and hands and to have hung them on stakes, perhaps as an offering to a pagan god of war. The site of the battle is uncertain. It has sometimes been identified as Oswestry (‘Oswald's tree’) in Shropshire, but somewhere closer to the Northumbrian–Mercian border is more likely.
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Maserfield, battle of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Maserfield, battle of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-Maserfieldbattleof.html JOHN CANNON. "Maserfield, battle of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-Maserfieldbattleof.html |
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