The Battle of Maserfield was assumed for much of the twentieth century to have taken place at what is now Oswestry in Shropshire. The etymology of this name is "Oswald's Tree", while the traditional Welsh name for the same place is "Croesoswald" ("Oswald's Cross"); although an association with King oswald of Northumbria is not certain, the name is popularly assumed to refer to him. In the smid -seventh century, Oswestry is thought to have probably still been in the territory of Powys. If this location is correct, it would mean Oswald was in the territory of his enemies, which would suggest he was on the offensive. However, neither the Welsh nor English names for the battle site have been securely identified with modern reflexes or localised, and site of the battle is still debated among scholars; in 2020, Andrew Breeze suggested Forden in Powys, particularly on the basis of place-names that seem to be associated with the battle in the Welsh "Canu Heledd".