Somerset | Page 6

he covered the distance that separated him from the foe in two stages; for, halting for the night at "Iglea," the next day he defeated the Danes at "Ethandune," and then besieged and reduced their fortress or fortified camp. Guthrum, after his defeat, was baptised at Aller; and at Wedmore subsequently a treaty of peace was concluded between him and Alfred. The site of the battle of "Ethandune" is unfortunately difficult to determine. There is an Edington in Somerset on the Polden Hills; and the fact that the battle was followed by Guthrum's baptism at Aller and the treaty at Wedmore (places near the Somerset Edington) is in favour of this being the scene of the encounter. Those who accept this identification assume that the Danes had moved from Chippenham to the Poldens, and here, whilst watching Athelney, were taken in the rear by Alfred, whose single night-halt at "Iglea" on the march from Brixton Deveril is placed at Edgarley, a locality near Glastonbury.[4] But the distance between Brixton Deveril and Glastonbury seems too great to be accomplished by a large body of men along indifferent roads in a single day; and by many authorities "Ethandune" is identified with Edington, near Westbury, or Heddington, W. of Melksham, both in Wilts. However this may be, it was from the Somerset marshes that Alfred issued forth to his victory, and it was at a Somerset town that he secured the fruits of it.
The importance of Somerset during the reign of the Saxon kings who succeeded Alfred is evidenced by the many noteworthy incidents that are connected with its chief city, Bath, and its great abbey of Glastonbury. It was at Bath that King Edgar was crowned in 973; and at the same place at a later date (1013) the Danish king, Sweyn, received the submission of the western thegns. At Glastonbury were buried three of the Saxon kings, Edmund (son of Edward the Elder), Edgar, and Edmund Ironside. Here too was born Dunstan, who was so prominent an ecclesiastic in the reigns of the first Edmund and five of his successors. He was made abbot of the abbey by Edmund, and, after becoming Archbishop of Canterbury, was buried at Glastonbury (988). Two other Somerset men who filled the see of Canterbury during the Saxon period were Ethelgar and Alphege.
Under the Plantagenets the history of the county was not very eventful, though some localities suffered severely in the disturbances of the Norman period. In William Rufus' reign it was the scene of several of the movements directed against the king in favour of his brother Robert. The powerful baron-bishop, Geoffrey of Coutances, with his nephew Robert of Mowbray, after seizing Bristol, burnt Bath, but was unsuccessful in the siege of Ilchester (1088). On the death of Henry I. Somerset favoured the claims of Matilda, and the castles at Cary, E. Harptree, and Dunster were held by their owners for her against Stephen, to the no small discomfort of their respective neighbourhoods. Castle Cary and Harptree were taken by Stephen, but he seems to have regarded Dunster (defended by William of Mohun) as impregnable.
In Tudor times Somerset witnessed the attempt made on the throne by Perkin Warbeck in 1497, who was supported by Lord Audley of Nether Stowey and other Somerset gentlemen. The pretender advanced from Devonshire to seize Taunton; but when Henry VII. entered Somerset, passing in his progress through Bath, Wells (where he stayed with the Dean), and Glastonbury, to Taunton, Warbeck lost heart and fled. When captured and brought into Henry's presence he was spared; but the king's clemency did not extend to his supporter Lord Audley, who was executed on Tower Hill.
During the Great Rebellion in the 17th cent. Somerset was the field of many important operations. At the outbreak of war in August 1642, the royal cause was maintained by the Marquis of Hertford, who was supported by Lord Powlett, Sir Ralph Hopton, Sir John Stawell, and other leading gentlemen of the county. But the sympathies of the yeomen and manufacturers were with the Parliament, and Hertford had to withdraw from Wells, where he had taken up his position, to Sherborne. In 1643, however, the king's Cornish army entered Somerset, and was joined by the Marquis and Prince Maurice at Chard; and the Royalists then rapidly became masters of Taunton, Bridgwater, and Dunster. To oppose them, Sir William Waller was despatched to the West, and a cavalry skirmish between the two forces took place on the Mendips near Chewton. Waller's main army was posted at Bath; and the Royalists, advancing by way of Wells and Frome, had another skirmish near Claverton. They kept E. of Bath and reached Marshfield in Gloucestershire, 5 m. N. of the city. Then on July 5 Waller gave battle on Lansdowne Hill, and was