The Battle of Meretun (or Merton) between a West Saxon army led by King Æthelred and his brother, the future King

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...

, and a Viking army took place on 22 March 871 at an unknown location in Wessex, probably in one of the modern counties of

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, or

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

The battle

According to the manuscript C of the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

'': :King Æthelred and his brother Alfred fought against the army at Basing, and there the Vikings had the victory. And two months later, King Æthelred and his brother Alfred fought against the army at ''Meretun'', and they were in two divisions; and they put both to flight and were victorious far on into the day; and there was a great slaughter on both sides; and the Danes had possession of the battlefield. And Bishop

Heahmund __NOTOC__ Heahmund was a medieval Bishop of Sherborne. He was a warrior-bishop and he was killed fighting against the Danes for the Anglo-Saxon King Æthelred I of Wessex and his brother, the future King Alfred the Great. Heahmund was consecrate ...

was killed there and many important men. And after this battle a great summer army came to Reading. And afterwards, at Easter, King Æthelred died. The battle is dated by the death of Heahmund, Bishop of Sherborne. His feast day is listed in the English calendar of saints as 22 March, indicating that he died on that date.

Location

Various names and spellings similar to Marton or Meretun have been used for the site of the engagement. The location is unknown, but there are two possibilities based on the location names used in the original text sources. One is in the vicinity of ancient Merdon Castle, which is in

Hursley Hursley is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Hampshire, England with a population of around 900 in 2011. It is located roughly midway between Romsey and Winchester on the A3090. Besides the village the parish includes th ...

parish near

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

. The other is the village of

Marten A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on ...

, although there is a similarly named village called Marden, also in Wiltshire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marton, Battle of 870s conflicts Battles involving Denmark Marton 871 Battles involving the Vikings Military history of Wiltshire 871 9th century in England Battles involving Norway