thelfld, Lady of the Mercians; The Battle of Tettenhall 910ad; And Other West Mercian Studies.

An account of West Mercia in the early tenth century, a period of great threat from Scandinavian forces. After the death of Alfred the Great in 899, his son Edward the Elder, supported by Alfred's son-in-law thelred, Lord of the Mercians, and Edward's sister thelfld, Lady of the Mercians, embarked on a frenetic programme constructing fortified burhs on the Alfredian pattern from which to launch an arduous and lengthy military campaign to recover territory from the Danes and other Scandinavians which they controlled as part of the Danelaw, a campaign that was to culminate in the unification of Britain by Edward's son thelstan. Central to those events was the decisive English victory at the battle of Tettenhall in 910, one of the most significant military events of the Anglo-Saxon period. This work seeks to investigate in detail the period leading up to the battle, to analyse early accounts of the conflict, to identify the possible battlefield site, and not least to consider the roles of thelred and thelfld in that battle. The book also considers the early history and topography of the area, with specific reference to Quatford, Tettenhall, Wednesfield and Wolverhampton, and the archaeology and ancient monuments in the region. Well illustrated with maps, photographs and diagrams, the book incorporates a detailed index.