Monument record MWX2024 - Battle of Portland, AD 837

Alleged possible sea battle off Portland AD 837. The Battle of Portland took place in 837 or 840 AD (according to variant versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle), in which Ealdorman Aethelhelm led the Saxons against the Danes. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Saxons appeared at first to be winning until the Danes 'took possession of the field' and killed Aethelhelm, along with many of his men. This battle has been variously interpreted as a foreshore battle off the north-eastern extremity of the Bill of Portland, consistent with other battles of the Anglo-Saxon period in which the Saxons fought to stop the Danes landing and encroaching inland (for example, Maldon, 991), or as a land battle.

It is conjectured that Portland is named from Port, a Saxon pirate, who, in AD 501, landed with his two sons from Portsmouth, and possessed themselves of this shore (a); this is however pronounced a mythological factor by modern critics. <1> Symbol off NE extremity of the Isle of Portland, denoting a site of a battle and described PORT 837. <2> No further information was obtained during field investigations centred on SY 6972 in 1955. Believed by that field investigator to be, and originally indexed as, 'alleged possible sea battle'. <3> 840 (837)*: In this year Ealdorman Wulfheard fought at Southampton . . . And the same year Ealdorman Aethelhelm with the people of Dorset fought against the Danish army at Portland, and for a long time he put the enemy to flight; and the Danes had the possession of the battlefield and killed the ealdorman. <5> Documentary Evidence [* variant dates in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]: AD 837 . . . Alderman Ethelhelm also, with the men of Dorsetshire, fought with the Danish army in Portland-isle, and for a good while put them to flight; but in the end the Danes became masters of the field, and slew the alderman. <5.1> The Parker MS of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: '837 Her Wulfheard aldor man gefeaht aet Ham tune with xxxiii sciphlaesta . . . And thy ylcan geare gefeaht Aethelhelm dux with Deniscne here on Port mid Dornsaetum and gode hwile thone here gefliemde, and tha Deniscan ahton waelstowe gewald and thone aldormon ofslogon.' The Laud MS of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: '837 Her Wulfheard ealdorman gefeaht aet Hamtune with xxxiii sciphlesta . . . Aethelhelm ealdorman ge feaht with tha Deniscan on Port mid Dorsaetum, and se ealdorman waerth ofslaegen, and tha Deniscan ahton waelstowe geweald.' <5.2> 'In 840 the men of Wessex were again defeated by Vikings at Portland, but won a victory over 33 'shiploads' of raiders at Southampton . . . ' 851 is regarded in this source as the first English naval battle 'of which we have explicit mention, though it is not likely to have been the first ever fought.' <7> The same symbol in the same location on this 2nd edition <4> but attached to different dates, 786 and 802 respectively, which cannot be reconciled to any entry for those years in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle <5> whitelock or under Portland in <8> or <9>. The site of the Battle of Portland is located in Portland in Dorset. The battle was fought in 840 AD between the English and Danish. The Danish army were attacked at Portland by Earl Aethelhelm who was killed along with many of his men. <8> Site of the battle, indexed under Portland 840 AD, mapped to SY6942572606. It is not known how this figure was derived. <9> Interpretation of site: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle <5> clearly sites the battle to Portland, source <3> siting the battle offshore. Sources <8> and <9> locate the battle inland, at Portland itself. The context of Portland 837 or 840 was Danish harassment by sea, since earlier that year a battle was fought with specific reference to 33 ship crews <5.2> at Southampton. From the manuscript context, directly following on from that battle at Southampton, and from the location at Portland, it is reasonable to conjecture that on the latter occasion the Saxons were also facing a seaborne enemy. Elsewhere in Anglo-Saxon records, for example at the Battle of Maldon in 991, the Saxon strategy was to intercept the Danes to prevent them moving inland. The location of the battle at Portland would have lent itself to such a strategy, and it antedates the first explicit mention of a seaborne battle in 851 which is, however, qualified as not necessarily the first ever fought [in English waters understood], which also lends some circumstantial weight to the understanding of such a strategy in its context. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles <5> indicate that the Saxons held out for some time, suggesting that the battle may have begun on the foreshore with the Saxons containing the Danes before they broke through and 'took possession of the battlefield', language which appears to refer more to a terrestrial than a maritime context. It therefore appears likely that the battle moved inland from the foreshore (inter-tidal zone); consequently it is double-indexed as both a terrestrial and a naval battlefield; the position cited in <9> is arbitrary, for map referencing only, though would be plausible as a landing place in a relatively sheltered region. It is unlikely that a sea-battle would have taken place to the south of the Bill of Portland, because of the presence of the Portland Race, a fast and strong current breaking the surface of the water, such that it is visible from the tip of the Bill of Portland. Thus, although the battlefield has been double-indexed for its terrestrial and maritime potential, a terrestrial location has been preferred. <10>

Record last edited

Jun 6 2023 3:10PM