Battle of Cynwit

The battle known in Cynuit, also known as Battle of Cannington, took place at the hill fort in Cynwit in the year 878. The place is now called Cannington Hill, located near Bridgwater in Devonshire, Somerset, England.

A Danish army under the leadership of Ubba Ragnarsson, brother of Ivar and Halfdan Ragnarsson, landed with 23 ships and 1,200 men on the coast at Combwich. Several Anglo-Saxon thegn or subjects, who most likely were under the leadership of Eldormann Odda had, during its entrenched with their men in the hill fort of Cynuit. The fort was on all sides, except on the east side, well protected, but there were no wells within the fort Ubba then besieged the fort with his men, in the hope that the British would arise due to lack of water. The English, however, decided to attack, rather than dying of thirst on the hill and surprised and defeated the Danes with an attack at dawn. Ubba Ragnarsson fell in battle. Geffrei Gaimar mentioned in his " Estorie of Engles ' (by approximately 1140 written ) that Ubba was buried by the Danes in a very large hill in Devonshire, the Ubbelawe is called. Furthermore, it was possible the Anglo-Saxon troops, a Danish war banner with the name " Hrefn " ( Raven ), to bring in their possession.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle writes about the battle:

The Battle for Cynuit is treated especially in two novels:

• In The Marsh King, a historical novel by C. Walter Hodges about Alfred the Great, in which the site of the Battle " Kynwit " is called, the author describes the battle, but it may be that the description is not very exact.
• Also describes the battle in the novel The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell - Cornwell laid the killing Ubbast, and thus the battle, but by one year forward and writes them to his fictional hero Uthred.