Stainmore, battle of

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Stainmore, battle of, 954. The death at Stainmore of Erik Bloodaxe, son of Harold Fairhair of Norway, brought to an end the Scandinavian kingdom of York, which reverted to Wessex. The place of the battle, on the old route from Scotch Corner to Penrith, suggests that Erik had already been expelled from the city and was intercepted while escaping to Viking allies in Scotland or Ireland.

J. A. Cannon