Battle of Embo
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| Battle of Embo | |||||||
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 The Earl's Cross which marks the site of the battle | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of Scotland |
 Kingdom of Denmark Kingdom of Norway | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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William Sutherland Richard Murray † | unknown † | ||||||
The Battle of Embo took place at Embo in Sutherland, Scotland in 1245.[1] It was fought by Scottish forces against Viking invaders who were defeated.
The first account of the Battle of Embo was written by Sir Robert Gordon, 1st Baronet (1580–1656) in his A Genealogical History of the Earldom of Sutherland.[2] Gordon states that the "Danes and Norwegians" (Vikings) invaded the northern part of the kingdom of Scotland and that William de Moravia, 1st Earl of Sutherland sent his "servant" Richard de Moravia (Richard Morray) to hold the rebels until the earl himself could arrive with a larger force to oppose them. According to Gordon, the Danes then fled being pursued by the earl and during the battle the general of the Danes was killed with many others, as well as Richard de Moravia.[3][4] The earl apparently secured the victory when he killed the Danish general with the severed leg of a horse.[5]
