cole: brunanburh. 
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followed them, and escaped from the field. And now King Olaf 
found no further resistance, but subdued all Northumberland." 
If all Northumbria was subdued, naturally its capital, York, 
was in the hands of the invaders, and we must put away any idea that 
Athelstan marched from York to Beverley, as suggested by Mr. C. S. 
Todd, to meet an army encamped at Brough. Besides, this is making 
him come in the wrong direction — since it is stated over and 
over again that Olaf advanced from the north and Athelstan 
from the south, e.g., "North of the heath stood a town. There 
in the town King Olaf quartered him, and there he had the 
greatest part of his force," and " From day to day Athelstan's 
men said that the King would come, or was come, to the town 
that lay south of the heath." 
Neither could Athelstan be at Beverley on his way to regain 
Northumbria, as jNIr. T. Holderness suggests. Athelstan was 
at Beverley after the battle (how long after we do not know),, 
not before. He had been at Beverley a few years before on his 
way to Scotland, and had then sent his army straight to York,, 
whilst he himself crossed the Humber ; but he would never have 
dreamed now of transporting an army across the Humber, especially 
with the knowledge that 600 hostile vessels were ready to oppose 
him. 
No — we may be certain that Athelstan advanced from the 
south, and by land, and that his objective w^as probably York. 
In that case he must follow the only existing road, the Roman 
road, from Lincoln through Boncaster, Castleford, and Tadcaster. 
It is somewhere on this line that the battle must have been fought, 
for the confederates were much in the same position. They had 
heard of Athelstan's preparations and wished to meet his advance,, 
and this they could only do by marching south by way of Tadcaster. 
Already masters of Northumbria, they \vere probably massed at 
York. The Scots had arrived by land, Anlaf and his other allies 
by Humber mouth. Where Anlaf landed we know not, but it is. 
very improbable that he took his ships up the river Hull to 
Emmotland, as Mr. T. Holderness supposes. The river would not 
