‘In the same year,’ declares an annal of 844 preserved by Roger of Wendover, ‘Aethelred, king of the Northumbrians, was expelled from the kingdom, and Raedwulf succeeded to the kingdom; and when, hastily invested with the crown, he fought a battle with the pagans at Alutthèlia, he and Ealdorman Alfred fell with a large part of their subjects, and then Aethelred reigned again.’ The annal may relate to the entry for 844 in the Annals of St Bertin’s, in part by Bishop Prudentius (d. 861) of Troyes, on how the Northmen then ‘attacked with war the island of Britain, especially in the part which is inhabited by the Anglo- Saxons, and fighting for three days were victorious, committed plunder, rapine, and slaughter everywhere, and possessed the land at their pleasure’.

The fatal events at Alutthèlia in 844 have not attracted much attention. Kirby, observing that Danish raids worsened in the 840s, referred to the death in 844 of Raedwulf of Northumbria in battle against the invader, linking what was relayed by Roger to the words of Prudentius. Roger's annal was also noted by Stenton. He spoke of it as rare evidence for Northumbrian history at this date, showing how the kingdom suffered from Viking attacks, like the rest of England. The perceptive comment is also made that, although Raedwulf is mentioned in no other historical document, his name occurs on many Anglo- Saxon coins in the British Museum and elsewhere. It indicates a stronger and more significant ruler than manuscript sources would imply. The shortness of his reign (‘hastily invested with the crown’) can probably be reconciled with this. An energetic usurper might well issue many coins rapidly.

In any case, we should no doubt hear more from modern historians on the battle of 844 if we knew where Alutthèlia was. Whitelock observed that, unless the form is very corrupt, it cannot represent Elvet (Swan Stream) (on the River Wear opposite Durham), which appears in the Anglo- Saxon Chronicle for 762 as Ӕlfetee. This must be right. So there seems a case for identifying Alutthèlia with Bishop Auckland, eight miles south- south- west of Durham.