The Battle of Lüneburg Heath (also called the Battle of Ebstorf) was a conflict between the army of King

Louis the Younger Louis the Younger (830/835 – 20 January 882), sometimes Louis the Saxon or Louis III, was the second eldest of the three sons of Louis the German and Emma. He succeeded his father as the King of Saxony on 28 August 876 and his elder brother C ...

and the Norse

Great Heathen Army The Great Heathen Army,; da, Store Hedenske Hær also known as the Viking Great Army,Hadley. "The Winter Camp of the Viking Great Army, AD 872–3, Torksey, Lincolnshire", ''Antiquaries Journal''. 96, pp. 23–67 was a coalition of Scandin ...

fought on 2 February 880 AD, at Lüneburg Heath in today's

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

Following defeat by Alfred the Great at the

Battle of Edington At the Battle of Edington, an army of the kingdom of Wessex under Alfred the Great defeated the Great Heathen Army led by the Dane Guthrum on a date between 6 and 12 May 878, resulting in the Treaty of Wedmore later the same year. Primary ...

, the Norse Great Heathen Army moved from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

pillage Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

the

Duchy of Saxony The Duchy of Saxony ( nds, Hartogdom Sassen, german: Herzogtum Sachsen) was originally the area settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 and incorporated into the C ...

. The army of

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

met the Norsemen at Lüneburg Heath. The

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

were routed in a

snowstorm A winter storm is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In temperate continental climates, these storms are not necessar ...

, with the army being destroyed or captured. Known combatants include Marquard of Hildesheim, Theodoric of Minden,

Lothar I, Count of Stade Lothar I (840-880), Count of Stade, possibly a descendant of Saxon leader Widukind. Lothar was one of the twelve counts killed in the Battle of Ebstorf (also called the Battle of Lüneburg Heath) which pitted the army of Louis III of France ag ...

, an unidentified

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

named "Bardonum" and

Bruno Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters *Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...

, Duke of East Saxony who, according to the chronicles

Annales Fuldenses The ''Annales Fuldenses'' or ''Annals of Fulda'' are East Frankish chronicles that cover independently the period from the last years of Louis the Pious (died 840) to shortly after the end of effective Carolingian rule in East Francia with the a ...

and the Gesta Francorum,Bruno, son of Liudolf, died in one of two battles (one at the river

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...

and one in Saxony) which are reported separately in the ''

''. The '' Gesta Francorum'' lists "Bardonum...alterum Bardonum ttertium Bardonum" as three of the twelve counts who were killed fighting the Danes in 880 20 The other two counts named "Bardo" or "Bruno" have not been identified. drowned in a river during the Saxon retreat. Those killed were recognized by the Catholic Church as the

Martyrs of Ebsdorf The Martyrs of Ebsdorf were a group of Catholic martyrs killed in the winter of 880 AD at the Battle of Lüneburg Heath near Ebstorf, Saxony.Norse army was subsequently defeated at the

Battle of Thimeon The Battle of Thiméon was a Frankish victory over the Vikings near Thiméon (near modern Charleroi, Wallonia) north of the Sambre in February 880. In 879, Vikings (probably Norsemen) from England settled on the river Scheldt. After celebrating C ...

later that month and finally checked at the Battle of Saucourt. Bruno dux

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luneburg Heath, Battle of Battles involving France Battles involving the Vikings 880s conflicts Battles in Lower Saxony 880 9th century in East Francia