Battle of Dyrham

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that the West Saxons under Ceawlin and Cuthwine defeated three British kings at Dyrham in 577. The victory was associated with the capture of Gloucester, Cirencester and Bath.

Although the surviving account is brief and later, the battle has long been treated as a major stage in the expansion of West Saxon power and the fragmentation of British-controlled territory in the west.

Rosemary Sutcliff’s Dawn Wind opens after a disastrous battle at Aquae Sulis and uses the historical memory of Dyrham to begin its story of captivity, cultural change and survival.