Battle of Maldon Commemorative Embroidery

Detail of the Battle of Maldon commemorative embroidery. 1991. Detail of the Battle of Maldon commemorative embroidery. 1991. Copyright The Maeldune Heritage Centre, Essex, England.

The Battle of Maldon was fought in 991 near Maldon, Essex, England, between Earl Byrhtnoth and his Anglo-Saxon forces, and an invading army of Danes. The Anglo-Saxon king at the time was King Æthelred the Unready. When the Anglo-Saxons were defeated, they were forced to pay a high sum to the Scandinavians, heralding a long period of regular payments to the Danes.

An account of the battle is included in an Old English poem, generally also called The Battle of Maldon. To mark the one thousandth anniversary of the Battle, in 1991, a commemorative embroidery was made, which is now housed in the Maeldune Heritage Centre, at Maldon.

The embroidery includes seven panels and measures in all 12.8 x 0.66 metres. It was designed by Humphrey Spender, and 86 women took three and a half years to complete the work, led by the embroideress, Lee Cash.

Digital source (retrieved 2nd November 2016).

See also J.R.R. Tolkien's The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son, orginally published in 1953.

Digital source of illustration (retrieved 2nd November 2016).

WV

Last modified on Saturday, 20 May 2017 19:57
Published in Commemorative and commissioned textiles
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