Battles in Britain Trivia Quiz

The battle took place in May 878 and prevented the Danes from conquering the whole of England. The Vikings, from Scandinavia, had initially been content to raid the Anglo-Saxons, with some settling around the coasts, but 865 saw a change in tactics. Starting with East Anglia, the Danes took control of much of England, but Wessex, in south-western England, under Alfred the Great, held out.

Even Alfred suffered setbacks, with his fortress at Chippenham being captured. Resorting to guerrilla warfare, Alfred continued to harass the Danes until he had amassed an army to take them on. The Battle of Edington, outside Chippenham, gave Alfred victory with the Danes agreeing to allow Wessex to remain under Anglo-Saxon rule while they held the remainder of the country.

We're up to 991 now, and the Vikings were still causing trouble. The battle took place in Essex, during the reign of Æthelred the Unready and resulted in a defeat for the Anglo-Saxon forces. Consequently, the defeated kingdom had to pay a large sum to buy off the invaders. Money was raised by taxes, known as gafol, and later referred to as danegeld. Naturally, this only led to a temporary reprieve as the invaders came back for more.

Much of what is known of the battle comes from an epic poem called 'The Battle of Maldon', written in Old English, of which a fragmentary version remains. It was probably not written at the time, so the facts of the battle are shrouded in mystery.

This was the earlier of the two famous battles which took place in 1066. King Harold II had taken the throne on the death of Edward the Confessor early in the year, but was under pressure from rival claimants in Harold Hardrada, from Norway and William of Normandy, later William I. The Norse forces attacked first, at Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire, with the English forces prevailing - Harold Hardrada was killed during the battle and the Norwegian survivors were allowed to leave after pledging not to attack again.

This battle took place in northern England on 25 September, and William took his chance to invade from the south. Harold II marched his troops to Sussex and met William at the Battle of Hastings, where Harold was killed, bringing an end to the Anglo-Saxon era and beginning the Norman one.

This battle, which took place in 1265, was part of the Second Barons' War, which lasted from 1264 until 1267. The barons, led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, had rebelled against the rule of King Henry III, successor to King John. By 1263, de Montfort had taken control of the country, but support was lacking. The Battle of Evesham was to prove decisive when forces led by the king's son, Prince Edward (later to become Edward I) defeated the rebels with Simon de Montfort being killed.

The fighting was so bitter than many of the forces on the barons' side were killed despite their attempts to surrender. Although some resistance to the royals remained, the Battle of Evesham was the decisive battle in this civil war.

If you know your British history, you'll be aware that the English were frequently fighting either the French or the Scots, or both, and the Battle of Otterburn was one of the many fought against the northern neighbours. The battle took place in 1388 (the English and Scots can't even agree on the exact date, other than that it was in August). It took place on the English side of the border, in Northumberland, when James, 2nd Earl of Douglas, led a raiding party over the border.

The English were led by Henry Percy, nicknamed 'Hotspur', who lost the battle despite having the larger army available. This may have been due to the long march his men had endured to reach the battlefield and/or his impatience in attacking before they all arrived. Douglas himself was killed during the battle, but with no effect on the outcome. Percy was captured with a ransom, common in those days, paid for his later release.

The Battle of Shrewsbury took place in 1403, during the reign of Henry IV, who was dealing with an insurrection by the Welsh, led by Owain Glyndŵr. The king had been on the throne since 1399, having taken it by force from Richard II. The Percys, from Northumberland, had supported Henry during this and in fighting the Welsh and had been promised lands and wealth in return. The new king had reneged on his promises, and the Percys, led by Harry Hotspur, now nearly forty, rebelled against him.

The battle took place in Shropshire, just outside the city of Shrewsbury, with the king leading his troops and Hotspur leading the rebels. The battle ended with the royals prevailing and Henry Percy dead. Henry IV ruled for another ten years, dying of natural causes.

The Wars of the Roses consisted of a series of battles between 1455 and 1487 between two rival factions each claiming the English throne. These were the two branches of the Plantagenet, the Yorkists, represented by a white rose, and the Lancastrians, whose symbol was a red rose, giving the struggle its name.

The Battle of Tewkesbury took place in 1471 when Henry IV, a Yorkist, was on the throne. His right was challenged by the heir on the Lancastrian side, Prince Edward, son of Henry VI, who had reigned from 1422 until 1461 and again, briefly, from 1470/71. Prince Edward was killed, along with many other Lancastrian nobles, and Henry VI, who was being held prisoner, died (possibly murdered) soon after. The Battle of Tewkesbury brought an end to the fighting for several years, until Richard III usurped the throne leading to the Battle of Bosworth and the start of the Tudor dynasty.

Over a hundred years on from Otterburn and the English and Scots were still fighting, with Northumberland again the battleground, this time in 1513. Although a peace treaty had been signed in 1502 (it was, ironically, called the Treaty of Perpetual Peace) James IV, king of Scotland, was determined to honour the Auld Alliance with France. Declaring war on England would distract the English forces engaged in fighting against France. James was excommunicated for breaking the treaty by Pope Leo X.

Each side commanded a large army of close on 30,000 mean each, making the battle the largest, numerically, fought between England and Scotland. The English army had archers and were better equipped for the close quarter fighting which took place, and the Scottish were defeated. James IV died towards the end of the battle and many of Scotland's leading noblemen died too, creating problems for the country since James's heir was still a toddler.

This was a battle of the First English Civil War between the supporters of the monarchy and the Parliamentarians, who were looking for reform. The battle took place in July 1642, in Yorkshire, and resulted in a defeat for the Royalists, who were led by Prince Rupert of the Rhine.

It made a decisive change to the course of the war as the Royalists had now lost control of the north of England, which included powerful earls who supported the monarchy. By 1646, the First English Civil War was over, but hostilities resumed in 1648, culminating in the execution of King Charles I in 1649 and Oliver Cromwell becoming Lord Protector of England.

This 1746 battle is usually cited as being the last battle fought on British soil. Subsequent fights are classed as skirmishes rather than full scale battles. It took place in April, near Inverness, and was the battle which brought to an end the attempts of the Stuart dynasty to reclaim the throne. In 1688, James II had been deposed due to his Catholic faith and replaced by his Protestant daughters. The second of these, Anne, died heirless and the Hanovers were invited to take the throne.

The Jacobites, supporters of the Stuarts, had made previous unsuccessful attempts to reclaim the throne, with the 1745 rising in support of Prince Charles Edward, known as the 'Young Pretender' and 'Bonnie Prince Charlie', having initial success. The Battle of Culloden brought it to a bloody and decisive end, with many of the Scots being slaughtered. Charles himself managed to escape to France but Culloden had ended his hopes for good.