The Battle at Inverboyndie

In the area of Inverboyndie and Whitehills in Aberdeenshire, field names record a battle between Scots and Danes in the 10th century

The earliest recorded account of this is in the National Statistical Account of 1834-1845.

Rev. A Anderson, under the entry for Boindie, states tradition says that the field names of Arrdanes and Swurd-danes commemorate where two divisions of Danes, armed with arrows and with swords, fought and were defeated by Scots.

Boindie is an alternative, earlier spelling of Boyndie. Boyndie is the parish and Inverboyndie a village within it. The field names have variations of the spelling too.

Rev. Anderson rejects the tradition that battle was in 968 C.E. preferring a date of 1004, in line with a similar battle which happened in Gamrie, a few miles to the east.He also states that a trench filled with large bones is known, north of the road and about 30 yards from the churchyard, in Arrdanes. The churchyard would be that of St Brandan’s which lies next to Arrdanes.

David Grieve In the Proceedings of the Antiquaries of Scotland vol. 10 (published 1875) states that in 1853, 21 skulls were removed from a mound in Ardanes Field. These being the remains of those slain in battle in 962, when Indulf was killed by Danes. Most of the skulls were reburied, 3 were given to the Banff Institute of Science and 5 were kept by the landowner Mr Grieve. He subsequently gave these to the Museum of the Antiquaries of Scotland.

The church name is variously spelt St Breadan’s, St Brandon’s or St Brandan’s. The latter is used here as it the spelling on the information board at the church.

On the Six-inch 1st edition Ordnance Survey map, surveyed in 1866 and published in 1871, the fields are called Arrdanes and Swordanes, with Arrdanes noted as a ‘site of battle’.

Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland (CC-BY (NLS))

The Banffshire Field Club Transactions 1880-1883 names the fields Arrdens and Swordens, and notes that weapons and bones were said to have been found in them.

A 1766 survey by Peter May covers the area of St Brandan’s church and Arrdanes, and whilst detailed it does not include a mention of the battle nor the field name. However, as the survey’s purpose was to record land and property ownership, this may be expected.

In the Statistical Account Vol. XIX from 1797 in the entry for Boindie, which was compiled using material supplied by Rev Alexander Milne, there is no mention of a battle.