Battlefields›Great Army Partition at Cirencester 879
Early Medieval

Great Army Partition at Cirencester 879

879
Gloucestershire, England
Also known as: Danish army at Cirencester 879 · Great Army breaks up Cirencester
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Gloucestershire, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Mercia
Forces
c.1,500–2,500 Mercians; skirmish following Great Heathen Army partition.
VS
Victor
Danes
Forces
c.2,000–3,000 Danes
Outcome
Army divided; Guthrum withdrew to East Anglia; second force went to Continent
The Battle

History & Significance

The break-up of the Great Heathen Army at Cirencester in 879 following Alfred victory at Edington effectively ended the threat of total Danish conquest of England and led to the formal Danelaw settlement.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Great Army Partition at Cirencester 879

St John's Hospital chantry
Scheduled monument · ~0 miles
Churchyard cross
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 miles
Corinium Roman town
Scheduled monument · ~0.5 miles
Long barrow and Roman amphitheatre and cemetery
Scheduled monument · ~0.6 miles
Tar Barrows: the earthwork and buried remains of two prehistoric or Roman round barrows and the buried remains of a Romano-British or earlier funerary and ritual site
Scheduled monument · ~0.6 miles
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