BattlefieldsAethelflaed Takes Stafford
Early Medieval

Aethelflaed Takes Stafford

913
Staffordshire, England
Also known as: Mercian Burh at Stafford 913
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Staffordshire, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Danish raiders
Forces
Danish raiders c.800–1,500.
VS
Victor
Mercia (Aethelflaed)
Forces
Aethelflaed's garrison c.1,000–1,500
Outcome
Stafford burh established as frontier fortress against Danelaw
The Battle

History & Significance

Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, built a fortified burh at Stafford in 913 as part of her systematic construction of defended towns along the Danelaw frontier. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records burhs at Tamworth and Stafford in the same year. Stafford sat on a spur of land above the River Sow — an easily defended peninsula. It became the county town of Staffordshire. The burh system transformed English military strategy, giving the Anglo-Saxons permanent defended bases that the Danes found very difficult to capture.

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