Battlefields›Sigurd the Mighty vs Maelbrigte of Moray, 892: Bucktooth Legend
Early Medieval

Sigurd the Mighty vs Maelbrigte of Moray, 892: Bucktooth Legend

892
Scotland
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Maelbrigte (Mael Brigte) of Moray, 'the Bucktoothed'
VS
Victor
Sigurd the Mighty (Sigurd Eysteinsson), Earl of Orkney
Forces involved

Agreed as 40 men a side; Sigurd treacherously brought 80 men to the encounter.

Outcome
Maelbrigte was defeated and killed (per most accounts beheaded); Sigurd's men strapped the severed head to Sigurd's saddle as a trophy, but Maelbrigte's protruding tooth scratched Sigurd's leg during the ride home, the wound became infected, and Sigurd died of the resulting sepsis shortly afterward. Norse expansion into Moray was checked as a result.
The Battle

History & Significance

Sigurd the Mighty vs Maelbrigte of Moray, 892: Bucktooth Legend was an early medieval pitched battle between opposing field armies, fought in Scotland in 892. Sigurd the Mighty (Sigurd Eysteinsson), Earl of Orkney prevailed over Maelbrigte (Mael Brigte) of Moray, 'the Bucktoothed'. Maelbrigte was defeated and killed (per most accounts beheaded); Sigurd's men strapped the severed head to Sigurd's saddle as a trophy, but Maelbrigte's protruding tooth scratched Sigurd's leg during the ride home, the wound became infected, and Sigurd died of the resulting sepsis shortly afterward. Norse expansion into Moray was checked as a result.

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Sigurd the Mighty vs Maelbrigte of Moray, 892: Bucktooth Legend lies on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.

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This page covers Sigurd the Mighty vs Maelbrigte of Moray, 892: Bucktooth Legend. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Sigurd the Mighty vs Maelbrigte of Moray, 892: Bucktooth Legend

Glenurquhart,long cairn 800m NW of
Glenurquhart,long cairn 800m NW of
Scheduled monument · Neolithic · ~2.6 mi

Glenurquhart long cairn is a Neolithic monument located 800 metres north-west of Glenurquhart in Cromartyshire, Scotland. The cairn sits upon bedrock composed of Middle Old Red Sandstone, a foundation of conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone dating to the Middle Devonian period. This ge…

South Sutor Battery, batteries and camp
South Sutor Battery, batteries and camp
Scheduled monument · ~2.8 mi

South Sutor Battery is a batteries and camp situated on the northern shore of the Moray Firth in Cromartyshire, Scotland. The monument occupies a commanding position on headland geology of Middle Devonian sandstone, which forms the characteristic red rock faces of this coastline. This elevated lo…

Mike Searle / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Grey Cairn, cairn and long cairn
Grey Cairn, cairn and long cairn
Scheduled monument · Neolithic · ~2.9 mi

Grey Cairn is a Neolithic long cairn located in Cromartyshire, Scotland. The monument comprises both a round cairn and an elongated cairn structure, characteristic of the early farming communities that inhabited northern Scotland during the Neolithic period. Built upon bedrock of Middle Old Red S…

North Sutor Battery, batteries and camps
North Sutor Battery, batteries and camps
Scheduled monument · ~3.5 mi

North Sutor Battery is a batteries and camps monument located on the Sutors of Cromarty in Ross-shire, Scotland. The site sits upon Middle Devonian sandstone bedrock, ancient rock formed during the Middle Devonian period when the landscape bore little resemblance to the Highlands we know today. T…

Peter Moore / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Upperwood,cairn 165m SSE of
Upperwood,cairn 165m SSE of
Scheduled monument · ~4 mi

Upperwood, cairn 165m SSE of is a prehistoric burial monument situated in Cromartyshire in the Scottish Highlands. The cairn consists of a mound of stones raised over the remains of one or more individuals, a funerary practice common throughout Bronze Age Scotland. The monument rests upon bedrock…

Newhall Point,chapel and burial ground,Balblair
Newhall Point,chapel and burial ground,Balblair
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~4.6 mi

Newhall Point chapel and burial ground is a medieval ecclesiastical site situated in Ross-shire, Scotland. The monument consists of the remains of a small chapel with its associated burial ground, representative of the local religious infrastructure that served rural communities during the mediev…

Callachy Hill,cairn 450m NE of Flowerburn House
Scheduled monument · ~3.3 miles
Dunskeath Castle
Scheduled monument · ~3.5 miles
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