By Nevil Story Maskelyne, Esq., U.P. 193 
held but a single division of it. The battle of Barbury, is also 
stated in Ethelwerd’s Chronicle to have been near, not at, Beran 
Byrig. The Brit general, then, may have arranged his nine divisions 
in a position covering Barbury, or, what is more likely, leaving a 
garrison to hold the rampart, he would have drawn them up in a 
position to defend the roads to the north and the old British trackway 
over the downs. The slope of the down on the west side of the Og 
valley between Barbury and the Swindon road would on this view 
have been the probable scene of the struggle. The other approach 
from the direction of Pewsey and Marlborough would have led 
Ceawlin over the open down by Rockley towards the height of 
Hakpen. In this case the battle might have been in the bottom to 
the north-east of Rockley and across the line of the present road 
from Wroughton by Prior’s Hill to Marlborough, the British lines 
being in this case drawn up in a position to prevent Ceawlin from 
advancing by the ridge of Hakpen, and so to reach the gap between 
that ridge and Barbury. Obviously it was for the Briton to choose 
his battlefield on that side on which Ceawlin might approach his 
position, so soon as he was aware of the direction of that approach, 
and of this he would have timely warning while the Saxon host was 
marching over the open country. For Ceawlin could not mask the 
position, and move onwards to the north, leaving the Briton army 
in his rear at Barbury. He came to fight, and his enemy had the 
choice of the ground. But neither chosen ground, nor cavalry, nor 
the tradition of Roman tactics, nor even impulsive Celtic valour, were 
of avail against the steady, unrelenting rush and stern fighting of 
_ those terrible West Saxon foot soldiers. So that day’s sun set with 
‘ the defeat of the Britons, with the presage of doom for their homes 
and polity in central Britain: and the next day’s sun rose on the 
birthday of Wessex as the dominant power in England. It was 
_ this battle that in effect gave Ceawlin the imperial title of Bretwalda 
of all the Anglo-Saxon polities within the seas, which enabled him 
_ to sweep the land from the Thames to Bedford and back again over 
the vale of Aylesbury, and finally to win the crushing victory at 
Deorham which drove part of the Welsh to what has ever since 
been Wales, and cut them off from their kindred in Devon and 
_ VOL. XXIII.—NO. LXVIII. i) 
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