4<6i) Report of Meetings for 1880. By Dr. J. Hardy. 



this, that he was ignorant of the true religion. For he conquered more 

 territories from the Britons, either making them tributary, or expelling 

 the inhabitants, and planting Angles in their places, than any other king 

 or tribune. To him might justly be applied the saying of the patriarch 

 blessing his son in the person of Saul : — " Benjamin shall raven as a wolf ; 

 in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the 

 spoil." [Gen. xlix., 27.] Hereupon, Aedan, king of the Scots that in- 

 habit Britain, being concerned at this success, came against him with an 

 immense and brave army, but was beaten by an inferior force and put to 

 flight, escaping with a few only of his followers ; for almost all his army 

 was slain at a famous place called Degsastan, that is Degsastone. In 

 which battle also Theodbald, brother to ^Edilfrid, was killed with almost 

 all the forces he commanded. To this war ^Edilfrid put an end in the 

 year 603 after the incarnation of our Lord, the eleventh of his own reign 

 which lasted twenty-four years, and the first year of the reign of Phocas, 

 who then governed the Roman empire. From that time, no king of the 

 Scots durst come into Britain to make war on the Angles to this day, viz. 

 730. (Beda by Stevenson, p. 11). a.d. 603. This year iEgthan, king of 

 the Scots, fought against yEthelferth, king of the North-humbrians, at 

 Daegsanstane, and slew almost all his army. Here Theodbald, .ZEthelferth's 

 brother, was slain with all his band. Since then no king of the Scots has 

 dared to lead an army against this nation. Hering, the son of Hussa, led 

 the army thither." (Anglo-Saxon Chron., by Stevenson, p. 11). 



Mr Murray, who had the use of my papers, thus sums up. 

 " The locality of this battle lies in dispute between Dalston in 

 Cumberland, and this place, Dawston Rig, and in our opinion 

 the evidence in favour of the latter is very strong. Bearing in 

 mind that the principal brunt of the battle was borne by the 

 Scots, who must have come either from Galloway or Argyleshire, 

 and bearing in mind that the Roman road (the Maiden Way) 

 crosses near this place, and also the Catrail or Picts Wark, we 

 should find it more likely that the northern army came over the 

 hills, intending to descend into Beruicia by North Tyne, than 

 that they found their way into Cumberland. Bede calls it ' a 

 famous place ' — it might well be famous from the abundance of 

 ancient remains that are congregated in the valley. It may be 

 conjectured that the Scots and their allies were induced to camp 

 on this ground by the presence of the three large fortified British 

 camps close together, with the hut dwellings that were doubtless 

 then in good preservation. The rampart of the strongest of these 

 camps seems to have been strengthened at certain parts, and 

 this may have been done by Aidan's army. The battle, however, 

 was certainly fought on the slope above, which is dotted over by 

 the cairns, and which, opposite the Angles, was probably protected 



