Battle of the Holme 902
Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).
Key facts
| Date (year) | 902 | Wikidata P585 point in time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 10th century | derived |
| Period | Early medieval, Anglo-Saxon & Viking | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
| War / conflict | Æthelwold's Revolt | Wikidata |
About the battle
The Battle of the Holme took place in East Anglia probably on 13 December 902 where the Anglo-Saxon men of Kent fought against the East Anglian Danes. Its location is unknown but may have been Holme in Huntingdonshire (now administratively part of Cambridgeshire) or the medieval location known as 'Holm' in St. Clements Parish Cambridge.
Following the death of Alfred the Great in 899, his son Edward the Elder became king, but his cousin Æthelwold, the son of Alfred's elder brother, King Æthelred, claimed the throne. His bid was unsuccessful, and he fled to the Northumbrian Danes, who, according to one version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, accepted him as king. In 902 Æthelwold came with a fleet to Essex and the following year he persuaded the East Anglian Danes to attack Mercia and north Wessex. Edward retaliated by ravaging East Anglia and the Danish army was forced to return to defend its own territory. Edward then retreated, but the men of Kent disobeyed the order to retire, and they met the Danes at the battle of the Holme.
The course of the battle is unknown, but the Danes appear to have won as according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle they "kept the place of slaughter".
Visiting the battlefield
Location
- Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 52.4759, -0.2425
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of the Holme (revision 1370600197), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs and trimming at sentence boundaries; citations removed. No text added.
Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby battlefields
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Browse more: battles in England · Early medieval, Anglo-Saxon & Viking · 10th century battles