Historian says famed King Oswald actually died in mid Wales

Until now it was always believed that he died in Oswestry, so much so that the town's name is derived from the venerated saint.

But according to a new book by Dr Andrew Breeze – a professor of philology at the University of Navarra in Spain – the King of Northumbria actually breathed his last in Forden, near Welshpool.

Much of the information on Oswald comes from the English historian Bede who portrays Oswald as “a saintly king”, with miracles occurring at the site of his burial.

“That nothing connects King Oswald with Oswestry will no doubt be a shocking heresy to the people of that town,” said Mr Breeze, whose book is called British Battles 493 – 937.

“Our main informant for the conflict at Maserfelth [more commonly known as Maserfield] is Bede. Although he understands its importance, he otherwise knew little about it, particularly on where it was.

“Circumstantial details in Bede show that the battlefield was on a highway (most likely a Roman one), frequented by Welshman.

“You don’t have to believe that the ‘miracles’ were miracles. But you do have to believe they ‘occurred’ on a main road, used by travellers who included Welshmen, and with inns not far away. Bede is precise on these points.

“These prosy details guide us to a solution, as does evidence from Wales, including a12th century poem by Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr who described Maserfelth as within walking distance of Meifod, a village six miles north-west of Welshpool.”

Map of the areas believed to be the location of Oswald's death, by The Battlefields Trust.

Oswald is notable for uniting two Northumbrian kingdoms under a single ruler in 634 and promoted the spread of Christianity throughout the region. He was killed at the Battle of Maserfield in 642.

Mr Breeze adds: “We have already learned from Bede that Maserfelth was on a strategic highway. Oswestry, in contrast, is far from any old roads. The facts available on Maserfelth do not fit Oswestry at all.

“What the facts do fit is a site near Forden, where the Roman highway from Wroxeter, Shrewsbury, enters Wales and reaches the valley of the Severn.”

Mr Breeze’s theory was also published in Battlefield, a quarterly magazine run by The Battlefields Trust, a volunteer run registered charity dedicated to the promoting and interpreting Britain’s battlefields.

Looking north along the route of the old Roman Road as it runs through Forden parish. Photo James Parker/Battlefields Trust.

But local historians have been quick to shrug off the claims.

In a statement, Oswestry Town Museum said: “We have read Mr Breeze article and continue to maintain that the Battle of Maserfield took place in north-west Oswestry.

“Ultimately, the battle is regarded as taking place within the grounds of Mercia, with mutual aid provided to Mercia by the neighbouring Kingdom of Powys. Forden has been located in the Powys area since the drawing of the Welsh/English border, so without a detailed map of both kingdoms, can we be certain which kingdom Forden fell under?

“We cast no aspersions on Mr Breeze’s work, but based on these points raised above, nobody can be absolutely certain that the Battle of Maserfield took place outside of Oswestry. Because the battle took place so long ago, very little concrete evidence exists to prove otherwise.”