Ceawlin of Wessex - 571: Bedcanford

571: Bedcanford

The annal for 571 reads: "Here Cuthwulf fought against the Britons at Bedcanford, and took four settlements: Limbury and Aylesbury, Benson and Eynsham; and in the same year he passed away." Cuthwulf's relationship with Ceawlin is unknown, but the alliteration common to Anglo-Saxon royal families suggests Cuthwulf may be part of the West Saxon royal line. The location of the battle itself is unidentified. It has been suggested that it was Bedford, but what is known of the early history of Bedford's names, does not support this. This battle is of interest because it is surprising that an area so far east should still be in Briton hands this late: there is ample archaeological evidence of early Saxon and Anglian presence in the Midlands, and historians generally have interpreted Gildas's De Excidio as implying that the Britons had lost control of this area by the mid-sixth century. One possible explanation is, that this annal records a reconquest of land that was lost to the Britons in the campaigns ending in the battle of Mons Badonicus.