Note 774 — Chapter V · THE DANISH CONQUEST OF ENGLAND.[464] 975–1016. (continued 3)

The scene of Eadmund’s battle “æt Peonnan wið Gillingahám” (Chron.), “in loco qui Peonnum vocatur, juxta Gillingaham” (Flor.), is undoubtedly Pen Selwood. I am far from being so certain whether the spot “æt Peonnum” (Chron. 658), where Cenwealh defeated the Welsh, is the same, or another of the Pens in the same county. The word Pen (head) is a specimen of the Celtic names which still survive in the local nomenclature of this Teutonized, but not purely Teutonic, district. Close to Pen Selwood, “Pen Pits” and a neighbouring encampment called Orchard Castle supply good primæval studies. The latter is not unlike a miniature model of the more renowned hill of Senlac.