Dingesmere facts for kids

Dingesmere is a mysterious place that we only know about from a very old English poem. This poem is called the Battle of Brunanburh, and it describes a major battle that took place in the year 937. The name "Dingesmere" appears in different versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which was like an ancient newspaper keeping track of important events.

The Mystery of Dingesmere

Dingesmere is a puzzle for historians and language experts because it doesn't match any known place on modern maps. This has led to many different ideas about what the name means and where this place might have been.

The Ancient Poem

The name "Dingesmere" shows up in lines 53-56 of the Battle of Brunanburh poem. These lines describe what happened after the big battle. They talk about the Norsemen, who were a group of people from the north, leaving the battle.

Here's what those lines say in Old English:

Gewitan him þa Norðmen nægledcnearrum,

dreorig daraða laf, on Dingesmere

ofer deop wæter Difelin secan,

eft Iraland, æwiscmode.

This means something like:

Then the sad group of Norsemen, who had survived the spears, sailed away on the sea of Dinge in their ships with metal studs, heading for Dublin across the deep water. They felt ashamed as they returned to Ireland.

The poem mentions that they sailed "on Dingesmere" to get to Dublin, which is in Ireland. This suggests Dingesmere was a body of water.

What Does the Name Mean?

Since Dingesmere isn't on maps today, its meaning has been a big debate. People have suggested a few ideas for what "Dingesmere" could mean:

• "Sea of Dinge" – This is the most direct translation from the poem.
• "Dingy sea" – Meaning a dark or gloomy sea.
• "Sea of noise" – Perhaps a noisy body of water.
• "Wetland of the Thing (assembly)" – This idea suggests it was a marshy area where people gathered for meetings, known as a "Thing."

Where Could it Be?

Experts have tried to figure out where Dingesmere might have been. Here are some of the main ideas:

• The Dee Estuary: One idea is that it was located near the Dee Estuary in a place called Heswall on the Wirral Peninsula. Another suggestion for this area is Lingham, which is on the Irish Sea coast of Wirral, near Moreton. However, some experts, like Michael Deakin, have argued that a large wetland like Dingesmere was unlikely to be on the Wirral coast of the Dee in the 900s.
• Foulness Valley: Another idea is that Dingesmere was the Foulness Valley in Yorkshire, in an area called the East Riding. In Anglo-Saxon times, this valley would have been a large wetland, or mere, stretching from Holme-on-Spalding-Moor to the Humber estuary. The name ‘Foulness’ comes from an Old English phrase meaning “dirty water,” because iron in the water made it look brown. This could be similar to a ‘dung-coloured wetland,’ which in Old English might have been called ‘dinges-mere’ (from ding, meaning dung, and mere, meaning wetland).

The exact location and meaning of Dingesmere remain a fascinating mystery from ancient times.

See also

• Battle of Ringmere