LKM: Bernicia/Bryneich

Bamburgh from the BBC

Bernicia or Bryneich?

We know that the name of the kingdom was British and their name for it was Bryneich. No one has put forth a compelling translation for Bryneich. It appears to have been the southern part of Votandini (Gododdin) territory under the Romans, although it may have been independent then just without its name being recorded. It is a very fertile district with numerous hill forts including Bamburgh and Coldingham, the tidal island of Metcaut/Lindisfarne, and the great administrative complex of Yeavering (and the prehistoric Yeavering Bell). The original district of Bryneich may have run from mouths of the River Tweed to the River Aln and perhaps west to around Melrose. It may have originally been centered around the Tweed valley and the fertile plain to the south of the river.  It has been hypothesized that the original Anglican settlement may have been along the River Aln and this fits with their later addition of Bamburgh to their territory (and the coincidence of the first Englishman to add Bamburgh to his territory being the first king). The Anglicized version of Bryneich appears to be Bernicia.

Bryneich was incoroporated into the mythology of Anglican Bernicia in two ways — by adding an ancestor named Beornec to the mythical portion of the royal dynasty and by possibly adding a sovereignty goddess in the form of Queen Bearnoch, wife of the dynastic founder. I have written about Bearnoch before here. Its ironic that those who study the English pedigrees seem to agree that Beornec represents the land but have ignored Queen Bearnoch.

An Anglo-British Kingdom

Archaeological evidence of Anglican settlement is extremely thin on the ground in the area of Bernicia. More sites are being found all the time, though most are 7th century or later.  What early Anglican remains are found in archaeology are focused on former Roman military sites particularly along Hadrian’s Wall, but it is unclear if they were affiliated with Bernicia or Deira. It is quite possible that all of the Angles in the northern Roman province administered from York were later organized around Deira. David Dumville believed that the story in the Historia Brittonum that Angles were recruited from Kent to settle along the wall or just north of it to protect the former Roman territory from the Picts, and led by Hengest’s son Ocha and his cousin Ebusa (HB ch.38) are a confused reference to Ossa/Osla and his son Eoppa, founders of the Bernician royal dynasty. The linkage to Kent is almost certainly fictional in an attempt to link all the English to Hengest’s arrival, focusing the adventus story on Hengest which speaks volumes for Hengest in both British and English folklore. For Bernicia, it still suggests that they were recruited by someone to occupy those former military sites. It is possible that they were recruited by the Britons south of Hadrian’s wall.  Eventually becoming independent,they became enemies of both Romano-Britons south of the wall, Britons/Picts north of the wall who they were recruited to defend against, and the English of York whose pedigree suggests they may go back to the end of Roman Britian (possibly as federate troops). If the English pedigree is any indicator, the Bernicians arrived about two generations before 547, which would place them at about 500-525 keeping the generations fairly short. This is far too late for them to be associated with the Romans, although Bede placed the English arrival at about 450 though this may not refer to his own Bernician people. It is interesting that although Deira has a longer pedigree in Britain, Bernicia is recorded first with Bede recording Ida’s reign starting in 547.

Excavations at Bamburgh’s late antique-early medieval cemetery on the beach confirms that Bamburgh was a fortress of kings back to the iron age. The visible Anglo-British transition is seen in the graves and discussed here. Toward the edge of the cemetery, I’m told there are pre-historic barrows that have not been excavated yet. Regardless it suggests that there was a hillfort here going back through Roman times, if not before. Bamburgh has been a place of power longer than we can determine and with views like in the photo above, it is no wonder. Bamburgh rises above a large fertile plain with a commanding view of the plains and sea alike (photo above). I’ve been told that Bamburgh also has one of the best beaches for beaching ships in all of Britain. Today the shallow water is a disadvantage to our boats that anchor at sea and rely on docks to get to land, but in late antique/early medieval times this was ideal to beach ships like the one found at Sutton Hoo. Bamburgh’s wide white sandy beaches (visible in the distance in the photo above) are also ideal for beachfront markets. It is noteworthy that the cemetery lays on a beachfront ridge 300 meters south of Bamburgh where is would have been clearly visible to all who came north by sea.

Although the Bernicians are universally written about as the enemies of the British, archaeology and social history tells us another story. It should also be mentioned that the Bernician use of British hillforts was unique up through the seventh century. Examples of Bernician hillforts include Bamburgh and Dunbar (where King Ecgfrith has Bishop Wilfrid imprisoned).  Elsewhere, ruins of Roman fortresses were occasionally used for monasteries but not for military sites. Abandoned British hillforts like South Cadbury were left abandoned by the southern English in up to the 8th century. Likewise there are more British placenames, like Melrose, Dunbar, and Carlisle, that survive in Bernicia.

However the English of Bernicia arrived they were oriented north until at least the reign of Ecgfrith. This is best shown by where they sought exile. Both Herring son of Hussa and the sons of Æthelfrith head to Dalriada (western scotland) for refuge rather than southern England. On the other hand Deiran exiles are associated exclusively with the southern English and maybe Edwin sought refuge among the British in Wales. The point is Deirans never looked north for aid; the Bernicians seem to look north for both aid and as their primary political concern first until the mid-670s.

Core and Waves of Expansion

Key locations in Bernicia. Upper group is Coldingham, Melrose and the tight group of Bamburgh, Yeavering and Holy Isle. The lower cluster is Tynemouth, Wearmouth, Jarrow on the coast and Heavenfield to the west.

The core of the kingdom is in the upper cluster of balloons on the map. This cluster includes Bamburgh, Lindisfarne, Yeavering and then Coldingham is the royal monastery of Oswiu’s sister Æbbe to the north. The westernmost point is Melrose, perhaps on the trail between Lindisfarne and Iona. This tight core remains the heartland of Bernicia until really after 570, after they no longer really had to fear that Bernicia would be conquored.

The expansions discussed below refer to just the kingdom of Bernicia and not to the annexation of the kingdom of Deira and creation of Northumbria. As early as 604, Bernician king Æthelfrith conquorered the neighboring kingdom of Deira, which returned the favor during Edwin of Deira’s subsequent reign.

The first expansion is really the conquest of Lothian which takes Bernicia to the shore of the Firth of Forth. They must really secure Lothian for Coldingham to be secure enough for a convent. The first suggestion of northern movement is a single annal entry listing a seige of Edenburgh in 638, during the middle of Oswald’s reign but the besieger is unlisted. We know that Oswiu was besieged in a fortress near Stirling (north of Edinburgh) in modern Scotland in 655. This says that Bernicia secured Lothian enough that they could withstand Penda’s seige. Abercorn also became the seat of a northern see from Lothian. After 685 the district north of the Firth of Forth between Stirling and Abercorn was a buffer zone that was probably English but not safe enough to actually occupy or invest in royal building programs.

The second expansion of Bernician sites are the lower cluster along Hadrian’s Wall. The earliest Bernician site here is really Heavenfield/Hexham, the westernmost balloon. The tight cluster in the east are the monasteries that are founded primarily during Ecgfrith’s time, although Tynemouth appears to have been operational when Oswiu excuted Oswine in 651. The monastery of Gateshead is also between Wearmouth and Hexham and was probably as old as Tynemouth. It really looks like this group was intentional foundations to stitch together Bernicia and Deira. Gateshead sits on a Roman bridge guarding entry into Bernicia and Tynemouth may have served a similar function for Deira, controlling access to the River Tyne along Hadrian’s Wall. (Tynemouth is where Deiran king Oswine was reputed to have been born and where he was buried.) The area between the rivers Tyne and Tees appears have been heavily contested between Bernicia and Deira during the reigns of Oswiu and Oswine. It is possible that the Tyne valley was first seized by Bernicia after the death of Oswald. It is not impossible that much of the conflict between Bernicia and Deira in the first half of the seventh century was over the Hadrian’s wall/Tyne valley zone.  The diocese of Hexham is basically the northern origins of the diocese of Durham.

The third expansion of Bernicia specifically (rather than Northumbria) is westward. Bede is very specific that Carlisle and Whithorn are within Bernicia. Bernician kings continued to chip away at the west into the Viking age but the British kingdom of Strathclyde seated at Dumbarton never fell to the English. The westward expansion was never as solid as the first two expansions. This area was completely lost to the Danes/Norse.

Gilsland Village along Hadrian's Wall in south western Bernicia (bordering Cumbria). It is near the Roman fort of Banna (Birdoswald).

The Idling Dynasty of Bernicia

• Ossa or Osla Big-knife: According to a continental annals found by David Dumville, the annal claimed that Osla was the first of dynasty to come to Britain. He is found in British legend as one of Arthur’s heroes and sometimes his main enemy. He is mentioned in the Bonedd y Sant (Pedigrees of the Saints) as the ultimate ancestor of St Oswald and as Arthur’s opponent at the battle of Badon (see a post on this pedigree here). He is also mentioned in Culhwch and Olwen and the Historia Brittonum. His epithet big-knife probably refers the Saxon saex.
• Eoppa: nothing is known about Eoppa other than as Osla’s son and Ida’s father. All of the adventus stories seem to be of partners, father and son  or brothers.
• Ida son of Eoppa: (r. 547-560) Considered by Bede to be the founder of the Bernician dynasty. He dated the beginning of his 12 year reign to 547, which suggests he had a kinglist like those that survive. The Anglo-Saxon chronicle claims that he was the first king of Bernicia and the Historia Brittonum claims that he “added Caer Guori/Bamburgh to Bernicia”.
• [Glappa (r. 560-561): followed Ida for just one year. We don't know how he was related to the Idlings but the form of his name may suggest that he was another son of Eoppa, a brother of Ida.]
• Adda son of Ida (r.561-569): Nothing specific is known of his 8 year reign.
• Æthelric son of Ida (r. 569-572) is known in British lore as Æthelric “the king”. He is a figure who is often confused with others. In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and elsewhere Ætehlric father of Æthelfrith is confused with Æthelric of Deira, successor of Ælle (and possible father of Hereric father of St Hild). The British epithet, the king, suggests that he may be getting confused with his son Æthelfrith, who was king for 24 years.
• Theodoric son of Ida (r. 572-579) followed his brother Æthelric and is best known for being the opponent of Urien Rheged, Rhydderch Hael of Strathclyde, Morcant (of Gododdin?) and other British kings. It was Theodoric who was beseiged by Urien Rheged on the isle of Metcaut/Lindisfarne, but survived. He is the most likely candidate for “the flame-bearer” who is referred to in the poetry of Taliesin and who is credited with slaying Owain ap Urien.
• [Frithuwald r. 579-585) We know nothing of Frithuwald except that he ruled after Theodoric. His name elements fit with the Idling dynasty but he could be an intruder.]
• [Hussa (r. 585-592): Hussa is almost certainly from a rival lineage of the Idlings. His son Herring led the Dalriadans through English territory to attack Æthelfrith at the battle of Degsastan in 604 (ASC-E). Herring son of Hussa had apparently been in exile in Dalriada during the first half of Æthelfrith's reign.]
• Æthelfrith son of Æthelric (r. 592-616): Northumbria is the house that Æthelfrith built. He is the real transformational king. He was the first to be truly independent of the regionally dominant king, in his day Dalriada. This suggests that previous Northumbrian kings gained in independence by either allying with a stronger king or the kingdom was too small to gain the attention of regional powers. Bede holds out Æthelfrith’s victory at Degsastan in 603 as being a truly immense victory and pivotal moment in Bernician/Northumbrian history. Æthelfrith was the first Bernician king to conquor a neighboring kingdom, Deira, and apparently rule it directly. He fought at least two major southern battles at Chester  and the battle where he fell on the River Idle in 616. His sons were forced into exile in Dalriada and Pictland upon his death.
• [Deiran Intruder Edwin son of Ælle (r. 616-633): his sister Acha had been Æthelfrith's queen. He forced Æthelfrith's sons into exile.]
• Eanfrith son of Æthelfrith (r. 633-634): Apostate king of Bernicia upon Edwin’s death. He was executed by Cadwallon of Gwynedd when he tried to sue for peace.
• Oswald son of Æthelfrith (r. 634-August 5, 642): Succeeded his brother Eanfrith. He first enters history with his faithful erection of a cross at Heavenfield and unexpected victory at the battle of Denisesburna in 634 over Cadwallon of Gwynedd. He invited Irish missionaries to Northumbria. He was the royal partner of Bishop Aidan and patron of Lindisfarne. He sponsored Christian missions throughout his extended domain that Bede claims included all of Britain. He was slain by Penda of Mercia at the battle of Maserfelth on 5 August 642. He is the earliest native English saint and was considered a saint within a decade of his death.
• Oswiu son of Æthelfrith (r. 642-February 670): Oswiu succeeded Oswald almost immediately but only to Bernicia and not Oswald’s extensive domain. The first half of his reign was in near constant conflict with Penda of Mercia. Oswiu extended his reach by marrying Eanflaed daughter of Edwin of Deira who was under the guardianship of her uncle King Eadbald of Kent. Oswiu built an alliance of Christian kings against Penda. Religion and conversion were active factors of Oswiu’s foreign policy. He eventually married two of his elder children to children of Penda, but it did not bring even short-term peace. Penda led a great campaign into Bernicia in 655 and beseiged Oswiu near Edinburgh. After Penda gave up (or was given satisfaction) Oswiu gathered an army and found the perfect place to ambush Penda and drive his army into  a flood swollen river. Oswiu’s slaying of Penda made him the short term overlord of southern Britain.
• Ecgfrith son of Oswiu (r. 670-May 20, 685): Ecgfrith lived up to his ancestors reputations for being transformational kings. His greatest achievement was the final unification of Northumbria after the death of his brother Ælfwine. He also set Northumbria with its modern dioceasen system, repariing the relationship with Canterbury and preventing the bishops of York from becoming a line of prince-bishops. He was a warrior king with mixed success who died in battle, also in keeping with his ancestors.
• Aldfrith son of Oswiu the wise (r. 685-December 705): Oswiu’s bastard was a caretaker king, a scholar king. He gave Northumbria its first 20 years of peace and prosperity. It is during Aldfrith’s peaceful reign that Ecgfrith’s unified kingdom would have cemented its unification with the development of a stable system of nobles.
• Osred son of Aldfrith (r. 706-716): the only child king of Northumbria, he came to the throne at age 8. His reign would have been a time where the nobles of Northumbria really developed, because in part of the lack of a strong king. It is likely that the real power behind Osred was Berhtfrith who would have been analogous to a Frankish Mayor of the Palace. Osred doesn’t survive long after he comes into his own as a teenager. With Bishop Wilfrid and Ealdorman Berhtfrith dead and trying to assert his own authority, he is murdered by his countrymen. He is universally written of badly but then again a teenager trying to exert control with teenage impulses would be. He is said to be slain “south of the border”, which I tend to think means the northern border. There is no word that he tried to attack Mercia. Perhaps he was seeking to show his royal authority by attacking the Picts and one of his men stopped him short of a dangerous provocation of the current peace. Raids led by new kings were traditional and although he had been king for ten years, he was really new to power.
• Osric son of Aldfrith or Alchfrith son of Oswiu (r. 718-629)  — It has been disputed whether his father was Aldfrith or his half-brother Alchfrith son of Oswiu, King of Deira. Either way he seems to have been the grandson of Oswiu and was probably the last Æthelfrithing (unless a later king could trace his lineage to Æthelfrith through is mother). If he was a younger brother of Osred, he could not have been born before 698 and would have been about 30 when he died and only about 20 when he became king. He succeeded Coenred/Cenred who John of Fordun later says he murdered. Osric was succeeded by Coelwulf brother of Coenred. Coenred may have been the kinsman of Eadwulf who succeeded Aldfrith for only a few months.

The Bernician Church

Young Cuthbert has a vision of Bishop Aidan

Lindisfarne was the mother church for all of Bernicia and its daughter house was Melrose, founded along the route between Lindisfarne and Iona. Lindisfarne was both primary monastery and bishop’s seat, while Melrose seems to have functioned as the training center for Lindisfarne. Until c. 700, Bishop Aidan was the primary saint of Lindisfarne, and he remained important within the community. After 700, Bishop Cuthbert became more politically acceptable surrogate for Aidan. Cuthbert eventually became one of the primary saints of all England.

The primary Bernician convent was at Coldingham, founding by King Oswiu’s uterine sister Æbbe. There are no other specifically Bernician convents known well enough to have thier name remembered. The importance of Coldingham is shown by Queen Æthelthryth’s entry into this convent. While she may have wanted to avoid Whitby because it was ruled by King Ecgfrith’s sister and mother, who are unlikely to have approved of her behavior, Coldingham was run by Ecgfrith’s aunt. It is also possible that she entered Coldingham because it seems to have been more friendly and perhaps lenient for noble women than Whitby.

The development of monasteries along Hadrian’s wall at Hexham, Wearmouth and Jarrow are all tied to Ecgfrith’s reign. It seems likely that the development of the valley into an ecclesiastical zone was part of King Ecgfrith’s policy to unite Bernicia and Deira into one kingdom while opening a  new economic zone that could be controlled by his surrogates in the church. Ecgfrith’s reign also saw the conquest of land to the west, bringing new churches into Bernicia. It seems likely that many churches in Cumbria and Galloway were existing British churches taken over by the English. We know there were churches and a convent at Carlisle and Whithorn came into Bernicia in this time. Ecgfrith’s reign also saw the huge Northumbrian see then ruled from York divided into two Bernician diocese (Lindisfarne and Hexham), one for Deira ( York), one for Pictland (Abercorn) and one for Lindsey (Lincoln). Eventually Lindisfarne’s diocese would be divided again to provide for another diocese at Whithorn. Such was the state of Bernicia at the time of Bede’s death.

When Norse raiding in the early 9th century made Lindisfarne unusable, the community collected their relics in St Cuthbert’s coffin and began to travel. These relics included the coffin of Cuthbert and its contents, bones of Aidan, Oethelwald, the head of Oswald, and possibly other bishops. They settled at Durham in 995 where the Bishop of Durham served Bernicia and his own diocese. In the years between all of the monasteries had been raided, wrecked, and eventually abandoned. The Cathedral of Durham is best known today for being an excellent and largely undamaged pre-Reformation Cathedral with the relics of St. Cuthbert, the head of St Oswald (entombed with Cuthbert), and the bones of St Bede relocated to its Galilee Chapel. Ironically, Bede’s tomb is the only elevated/above ground tomb today.

Early saints of Bernicia include Aidan of Lindisfarne, King Oswald, Boisil of Melrose, Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, Eata of Hexham, Wilfrid of Ripon/Hexham, Acca of Hexham, John of Beverly, Æthelthryth (Audrey) of Ely, Æbbe of Coldingham, Oethelwald of Farne, Bede of Jarrow, Benedict Biscop and Coelfrith of Wearmouth-Jarrow, and Ninian of Whithorn (adopted by Bernicia). Although a few of these are associated with Deira or further south, all had a connection to Bernicia and personal patronage/admiration from at least Bede!

Bernicia Re-established in Danelaw

Danelaw

The Viking incursions that began with an attack on Lindisfarne in the 790s eventually led to the re-establishment of a semi-independent Bernicia under the overlordship of the Danes of York. Bernicia during the Danelaw compromised the diocese of Durham and the heartland of Bernicia/Northumbria including Lothian. It stretched from Durham north to Edinburgh. The English Earls of Bamburgh remained a force to be reconed with by the Normans. A feud between the Earls of Bamburgh and men loyal to Cnut and the later kings of England is chronicled in the well recieved book Bloodfeud: Murder and Revenge in Anglo-Saxon England by Richard Fletcher (2002) and Earl Uchtred of Bamburg is the focus of Bernard Cromwell’s The Saxon Chronicles series of novels.

From the time of King Æthelfrith (r. 592-616) through to the Earls of Bamburgh in the twilight of Anglo-Saxon England, Bamburgh and Bernicia was a place of power and influence. Ælfred didn’t manage to unite all of the Anglo-Saxon nobles under his banner, the Earls of Bamburgh stood alone in thier dealings with the Danes.  Earl Osulf II, descendent of Earl Uchtred of Bamburgh, managed to gain control of the reconstituted Earldom of Northumbria until his death in 1067. He was succeeded by  a half-Scottish cousin Gospatrick who secured the earldom from William I seeing Bamburgh into the Norman period in English hands. His descendents ruled as earls in parts of Bernicia into the 1400s.

LKM: Deira

Its not too difficult to do little known kingdoms. Its possible to seem comprehensive when you don’t have a lot of information. I could keep to those practically forgotten kingdoms, but I think a regional approach is more fair. So there is no dancing around it, Deira is one of the two giants of the Humbrian region. I suspect that in the beginning, as Rome pulled out of Britain and new Germanic immigrants arrived, Deira was the dominant region. Deira is essentially a more controllable portion of the land controlled by the Roman colony and province campital Ebrauc /York.

According to British poetry and legend, the city state of Ebrauc was controlled by a Romano-British warlord called Eliffer of the Great Retinue. We really know nothing about him except his epithet — well, it would take a large retinue to man the fortress at York, wouldn’t it? — and that he was the father of Peredur Steel Arms and Gwrgi who were opponents of both Gwenddolau (Mryddin’s lord at the battle of Arthuret) and Ida of Bernicia. Eliffer’s wife was the sister of Urien Rheged and his grandson Gwrgant Gwron (Hero) was one of the lords who lost the lands he had a right to. Now, if there is even a hint of truth that Eliffer’s sons died fighting Ida of Bernicia who died in the 540s, it only one generation until we have our first recorded Anglican king of Deira, Aelle who is said to have begun his reign in about 569. A big problem here is that Peredur and Gwrgi are said to have taken part in the battle of Arfderydd in 573 (AC) and are among those who descend upon Urien Rheged’s sons after his death in the 570s. Obviously this is rather mixed up…but it suggests that Eliffer’s family fought the early English. We also have to keep in mind that we can’t take Aelle’s 30 years too seriously either; 30 years is another way of saying that he ruled for a generation (or more). It is interesting that their opponents are Bernicians (and mostly other Britons). John Koch has suggested that the English of Deira were allied with the Britons, Urien specifically.

What is most interesting here though is that Eliffer, his sons Peredur and Gwrgi, and grandson Gwrgant are all listed in the sixth century when the transition to English rule occurred. Makes me wonder if Eliffer’s Great Retinue could have included English federates. The deaths of Eliffer’s sons when their retinue abandoned them in a battle with the English (Welsh traids) could mark the struggles for power between the Romano-British elites and the English soldiers, but that is purely speculative. The Welsh Triads claim that they were fighting Ida of Bernicia really doesn’t match their other literary opponents, so Ida may be standing in for his dynasty. It’s a natural part of the mythmaking process for a dynastic founder to stand in for unspecified or less known members of his dynasty.

Of this dynasty Peredur survives as a literary hero, becoming incorporated in a late section of Y Gododdin and the Arthurian story, particularly in the Mabinogion story Peredur son of Efrawg. Efrawg is the Romano-British name for York. His use in Peredur son of Efrawg is probably only because of the similarity of his name to Perceval. Peredur Steel-Arm survives in Welsh poetry as one of the many heroes who names are dropped in poetry. It seems likely that there were once more stories about him and his family, as the triads also suggest. There is no doubt that he was a prominent hero in the stories of the battle of Arthuret which his alliance won and where Mryddin went mad.

With the passing of Eliffer’s dynasty, Yorkshire was left open for the English. The Deiran genealogy in the Historia Brittonum claims that they had been in Britain for at least five generations before Ælle. His fifth ancestor Soemil ‘first separated Deira from Bernicia’ (Historia Brittonum), what ever that means. The name Deira probably derives from the British word for waters, Deifr, and we know that the main population center for the English at Goodmanham was closer to the marshy areas of the Humber. Further, the upper reaches of the Derian royal genealogy seems to have more sea-related names like Seawulf (Zegulf) and Soemil is the British form of a name that may incorporate Sea-, maybe Seamael? or Seamall? If they were primarily located east of York, then they were in a triangle of land surrounded on two sides by the Humber estuary and North Sea.

Kings of Deira

1. Aelle son of Yffi son of Usfrea, King of Deira c. 597 (30 years, reputed to be 569 to 599): It is possible that Ælle’s reign began during the time of Peredur and Gwrgi and that one of Ælle’s big advances was to incorporate York’s territory into the English kingdom but still didn’t inhabit York. Gaining York’s hegemony may have given Ælle some control over Elmet, Craven and Lindsey. Deira’s territory is believed to have extended all the way to the River Tyne with north of the Tees being a dangerous frontier zone. It is likely that Deira would have relied on a mixture of English and British warlords to hold the territory. It held the entire eastern half of the former Roman province making it the northern prize. Although its long western flank looks exposed, it was butted up against the mountains that would have meant that controlling a few mountain passes like Catterick would have controlled the flank from large forces. The fact that Catterick is such a critical place for Deiran security and also is the likely site of the battle of Catraeth is significant.
2. Aethelric (5 years, reputed to be 599-604): We don’t know how Æthelric was related to Ælle but it seems mostly likely that he was Ælle’s son and the father of Ælle’s grandson Hereric, father of St. Hild. It is clear that Ælle had older children and that Edwin and Acha were younger children probably of a second wife. Edwin and his nephew Hereric were very close in age. His short reign probably means that he was killed by Æthelfrith. He may have married his probable sister Acha to Æthelfrith in an earlier attempt to make peace between the kingdoms.
3. Æthelfrith of Bernicia rules Deira c. 604-616: There have been many guesses how Æthelfrith took Deira but it was almost certainly by conquest. This has been muddled because his father was named Æthelric and from an early date he was confused with Æthelric of Deira, and because his wife was Acha daughter of Ælle of Deira. There is no reason to think that Æthelfrith came to the throne in any way other than conquest and he spent most of the rest of his time hunting the Deiran princes Hereric and Edwin (and probably others).
4. Edwin son of Aelle 616-633: The most successful Deiran king in the historical record. He extended his direct rule over Bernicia, Lindsey and Elmet and his hegemony over the rest of the former Roman Britain territory. He was the first to move the capital of Deira to York, and only then under the influence of Bishop Paulinus. As far as we know, he made no attempt to control beyond the Antonine wall and perhaps didn’t care to. He clearly liked to take on the mantle of Rome perhaps encouraged by Bishop Paulinus of York, who accompanied his second wife Ætehlburgh to their marriage in c. 625. Bishop Paulinus began the evangelization of Northumbria. Bishop Paulinus and King Edwin baptized hundreds if not thousands and built many churches, but no monasteries. It seems that Bishop Paulinus preferred to be a metropolitan bishop without monastic ties. Edwin faced continual rebellions most prominently led by Cadwallon of Gwynedd, who he drove into exile at least once. Cadwallon spent his exile in Ireland and returned to lead an alliance, who second most important member was an English noble named Penda of Mercia. After a long campaign they managed to kill Edwin and his eldest son at Hatfield Chase in October 633. Edwin’s second son was captured by Penda of Mercia who later executed him. Edwin’s infant son Usfrea and his grandson Yffi were sent to Dagobert of Gaul where they died of disease. His daughter Eanflaed, who had been the first Deiran to be baptized, was his only child to live a long life. She married Oswiu of Bernicia and two of her sons became kings over Deira. Edwin’s remains where moved to Whitby by his daughter Eanflaed or granddaughter Ælfflaed about 50 years after his death.
5. Osric son of Aelfric brother of Aelle 633: Immediately after Edwin’s death his first cousin Osric appears to have been chosen to lead the resistance against Cadwallon who was pillaging Deira. Cadwallon chose to spend the winter in the North and Osric attempted to lay seige to the fortified city (perhaps Leeds? or Catterick?) where Cadwallon was but Cadwallon sallied forth and destroyed the Derians. Osric’s reign lasted less than a year.
   
6. Cadwallon of Gwynedd 633-634: According to Bede, Cadwallon occupied Deira for a full year before he was killed by Oswald at Denisesburn in the next summer or fall. He would have been viewed as an occupier, though its uncertain how differently the peasants may have viewed him. It is known that he pillaged what he could find and burned what churches Edwin had built. Sometime before his death in the summer of 634, Cadwallon executed Eanfrith of Bernicia who had returned from exile and retaken his homeland of Bernicia. Eanfrith reputedly came to sue for peace and Cadwallon executed him. There is some suggestion in the Irish annals that Eanfrith’s request for peace may have come after a battle, which would make more sense of his execution.
7. Oswald son of Aethelfrith and Acha daughter of Aelle 634-642: After Oswald killed Cadwallon he seems to have been genuinely accepted as king of Bernicia and Deira in ways that neither Æthelfrith in Deira or Edwin in Bernicia probably were. Unlike either of them, he did have a blood tie to both royal dynasties as his mother was the sister of Edwin. Under normal circumstances distaff links would not qualify him for the Deiran throne, but these were not normal times. Two members of the Deira royal dynasty had been killed in the previous year, Edwin appears to have no other available heirs (Eadfrith in Penda’s ‘care’ and the others children), and Osric had been such a disaster his sons seem to have fled and been out of favor. Under these circumstances, Oswald who had managed to get vengeance for his uncle, was successful. There is some suggestion in Bede that Oswald made a lot of out his kinship with his uncle Edwin. Oswald’s eventual completion of York cathedral and its enshrinement of Edwin’s head was almost certainly part of his efforts to show himself as Edwin’s heir. After Oswald’s death on 5 August 642, there are no Deiran kings listed for the next two years. It seems that either Oswald’s slayer Penda took control of Deira or his successor Oswiu managed to keep Deira for two years.
   
8. Oswine son of Osric 644-651 Two years after Oswald’s death, his second cousin Oswine son of Osric came to the throne, probably with the help or at least approval of Penda of Mercia. It seems likely that he went into exile during Oswald’s reign. Its not sure who protected him. Where ever he was, he accepted Aidan of Lindisfarne as his bishop rather than trying to import a bishop from where ever he was in exile. He also seems to have allowed Penda to travel through Deira to attack Bamburgh in Bernicia at least once before his death in 651. In the end, he backed out of a battle with Oswiu of Bernicia, was captured and executed. The monastery of Gilling was founded to pray for the souls of Oswiu and Oswine. Oswine’s death ended all hope for the desendents of males from the Deiran dynasty. Now only those with blood ties to Bernicia would be allowed.
   
9. Œthelwald son of Oswald c. 651-655. Oswine was succeeded by Oswiu’s nephew Œthelwald son of Oswald. It is unclear if he was placed there by his uncle or was raised in opposition. All went well initially. He got along very well with churchmen from Lindisfarne, and gives Lastingham to Bishop Cedd to found a monastery. This would have given Cedd a place to stop over between his work in Essex and Lindisfarne. In the end, he cooperated with Penda of Mercia against his uncle Oswiu and although he did not take part in the battle of Winwæd, he is not heard from again.
10. Alchfrith son of Oswiu son of Aethelfrith c. 655-c. 665 After the battle of Winwæd, Oswiu of Bernicia was at his height in control of Deira, Lindsey, Mercia and Middle Anglia. He rewarded his eldest son Alchfrith with the throne of Deira. In time, Alchfrith came to favor Roman rites. He was an early supporter of the Roman cause, Wilfrid to whom he gave the monastery of Ripon, and was one of those demanding the Synod of Whitby. After his cause won, he convinced his father to have Wilfrid made Bishop of York. While Wilfrid was gone he rebelled against his father and disappears from history. There is then about a 5 year gap in the rule of Deira and it is unclear if Oswiu rules it directly or places his other son Ecgfrith there.
11. Ælfwine son of Oswiu c. 670-679. We actually don’t know when Ælfwine’s became king of Deira. he was only about 18 when he died in 679. If he did succeed to Deira in 670 he would have only been about 9 years old and the first child king (rather than his nephew Osred). He seems to have had a good life up to his last days. He had visited his sister Osthryth who was Queen of Mercia and apparently a favorite at court there and he had been in his brothers court (or perhaps his brother was in his) when Bishop Wilfrid of York was exiled. Æthelred of Mercia’s decision to attack along the Trent, probably the Mercian-Deiran border, in 679 to regain Lindsey may have been influenced by the youth of the king and probably most of his retainers. It is unclear if Ecgfrith and his forces were there or not. Ælfwine’s death had nearly caused a major Northumbrian-Mercian war until Archbishop Theodore intervened and brokered the peace. I personally believe that the foundation of St. Oswald’s cult at Bardney was weregeld (formal or not) from King Æthelred to his wife Queen Osthryth. If he pays her brother King Ecgfrith it is likely she could demand something for her brother as well. Lastly, Ælfwine was probably buried at Whitby with his father and grandfather. He (and possibly his brother Alchfrith) are probably the other royals that Bede refers to as being buried with Oswiu and Edwin at Whitby.
    
12. Ecgfrith son of Oswiu and Eanflaed daughter of Edwin unifies the country for the last time. With Ælfwine’s death Ecgfrith takes direct control of Deira and it never has its own king again. See Ecgfrith’s recent person of the week post for more on him. Ecgfrith’s successor was his half-Irish brother Aldfrith who had no Deiran blood but retained a unified kingdom.

Deiran Women

Deira is unusual in that we know as much or more about some of the Deiran women as any early kingdom. As important as kings Oswald and Ecgfrith were to uniting Northumbria, much of their claims came through their mothers Acha daughter of Ælle and Eanflaed daughter of Edwin. We don’t know much about Acha and we have to keep in mind that Æthelfrith would have almost certainly been polygamous, weakening the importance of individual wives during his reign. In a polygamous situation, most of their honor would have come as the mothers of their children. Eanflaed was a critically important queen who played a role in uniting Northumbria and a major role in calling the Synod of Whitby. She later retired to Whitby where she was co-abbess with her daughter Ælfflaed and was likely instrumental in establishing the family sepulcher in the church of Whitby where Edwin and Oswiu were both buried. Her daughters both played important roles in Northumbrian politics as Abbess of Whibty (Ælfflaed) and Queen of Mercia (Osthryth). Eanflaed’s cousin Hild was also a very critical player in the church of all England, not just Northumbria, and was a major ally of Archbishop Theodore, proving that those trained by Lindisfarne could have a good relationship with Canterbury very early after the Synod of Whitby.

Bishops of York

There is quite a bit known about the bishops of York as well. The first bishop was Paulinus of York who focused on rebuilding former Roman churches, particularly in York and Lincoln. He also built churches at or near royal palaces. He focused on baptizing but it is unclear how much teaching he did. There is no evidence that Paulinus was a monastic or established any monasteries for his church. This also has important implications for training clergy. Paulinus seems to be relying entirely on clergy supplied from Rome. With all that being said, the more we study Deira, the more we see of influence of Paulinus’ mission. After the death of Edwin, Paulinus fled to Kent with the wealth of the church, leaving behind only one deacon.

Thereafter Deira was primarily under the influence of Lindisfarne until the turn of the century. From c. 635-664, Deira was under the care of the Bishops of Lindisfarne until the synod of Whitby in 664. It was not until Archbishop Theodore arrived in 669 that the Romanist Wilfrid actually got control of the church of York that he had been consecrated for. His pro-Roman tenure only lasted about 9 years until he was expelled and the vast see of York divided into three dioceses. From then on the monastery of Whitby, Deria’s primary monastery, had been trained by Abbess Hild through the lifetime of her protege Ælfflaed and Wilfrid never regained York. Wilfird II was trained by John of Beverly, who was trained by Hilda. His deposition was probably political to allow the king’s brother Egbert to become Bishop of York, set to be the first Archbishop of York since Paulinus. By then, Deira had been merely a territorial unit within Northumbria that it can no longer be considered a kingdom. Indeed it would soon York will be controlled primarily by Archbishop separately from the rest of Deira.

The bishops of York were:

1. Paulinus of York c. 626-633
2. Bishops of Lindisfarne : Aidan, Finian, Colman, Tuda c. 635-664
3. Chad c. 665-669
4. Wilfrid of York c. 666, 669-678.
5. Bosa of Whitby 679-705
6. John of Beverly 705-718
7. Wilfrid II 718-732
8. Ecgbert, first Archbishop 735-766
9. Lists of the Archbishops of York

Major Deiran monasteries

• Tynemouth, pre-651: We know nothing of the details of Tynemouth except that it is the place were King Oswine was buried.
• Hartlepool, 648-650: Given to Abbess Hild by Bishop Aidan before the death of King Oswine.
• Gilling, 651: Founded to pray for the souls of King Oswine and King Oswiu. It was the family monastery for some of King Oswine’s family including Ceolfrith of Jarrow. It is quite likely that the church provided a safe space for Oswine’s male kin, who otherwise may have needed to go into exile.
• Lastinhgam, c. 653: Given by King Œthelwald to Bishop Cedd to be Œthelwald’s family monastery where they would be buried.
• Whitby, c. 658: Given by King Oswiu along with five other monasteries in Deira and six more in Bernicia in thanksgiving for victory over Penda of Mercia. It was also a better home for King Oswiu’s young daughter Ælfflaed who initially was given to Hild in 655 at Hartlepool. From the first exile of Bishop Wilfrid in 678 through the death of Abbess Ælfflaed in c. 714, Whitby managed to retain bishops of their own training and probably bishops friendly to them until at least 732.
• Ripon, c. 660: Given by King Alchfrith to Abbot Eata of Melrose; he later took it away from Eata when he refused to convert to Roman rites and gave it to the young monk Wilfrid
• Beverly, c. 710: Possibly the last major monastery founded by Bishop John of Beverly as his personal monastery where he retired to in 718. John of Beverly was a more popular saint that his biography might suggest.

Deiran Missionaries

The last topic I’m going to cover is the existence of specifically Deiran missionaries. There are only two who really stand out — Willibrord and his younger cousin Alcuin. Willibrord grew up in his father’s small monastery and went to Ripon at age 7. He was initially trained under Bishop Wilfrid but when Wilfrid was exiled, Willibrord seemed to seize his opportunity to join other Deirans/Northumbrians in Ireland. He remained there 12 years with St Egbert until he was sent to Frisia as a missionary. His mission was approved by the Pope who made him Archbishop of Utrecht. He is considered the Apostle to Frisia (Low Countries).

About a generation later, his younger cousin Alcuin who had been trained by Bishop Egbert of York was recruited to the court of Charlemagne’s court. Alcuin was brought in to personally oversee the remodeling of the educational system in Charlemagne’s kingdom. He was personally known to the king and most of the major church leaders. He became Abbot of Tours and wrote copiously. He wrote a prose and verse Life of Willibrord among many other things. It appears that Alcuin inherited the monastery of Willibrord’s father and the abbot of Willibrord’s major monastery Echternach was also another cousin. Alcuin was also the primary advocate of Bede’s work in Gaul and responsible for much of its popularity on the continent in later centuries.

~~~

Although the kingdom of Deira only existed for less than a century in the historic record, it left a lasting impression on Northern England and its heartland is mostly enshrined in the diocese of York and the Yorkshire counties (one county until the 1970s). The presence of four kings – Oswald and his son Œthelwald, Ælfwine and Ecgfrith – with blood ties to royal Deiran women allowed the kingdom to eventually be assimilated into the greater kingdom of Northumbria.

LKM: Lindsey

[Updated 27 March 2008]

This month’s lost kingdom is Lindsey, which makes up most of what is considered Lincolnshire. The kingdom of Lindsey is a hypothetical kingdom because it never appears in the historical record as such. It is based on the Roman city of Lincoln and its environs. Lindsey apparently means Isle of Lincoln. Cut off by rivers and marshes, in the early medieval period, Lindsey was a large island or set of islands with the district of Hatfield to its northwest along with the Isle of Axholme.

A Conflict Zone

From the earliest period, Lindsey appears to be under the control of her neighbors. The highest ranking secular figure in Lindsey that Bede lists is a reeve. A series of battles were fought on Lindsey’s western flank with control over the Isle of Lindsey being the major prize.

This northwestern corner near Lindsey (but perhaps outside of it) was a conflict zone for 6th and 7th century kings. The first battle located in this area was on the east bank of the River Idle on the Mercian boder in 616 when Aethelfrith of Bernicia was slain by Redwald of East Anglia on behalf of Edwin of Deira. This was at a fork in the Roman road system on Lindsey’s western flank that may have marked a boundary between petty kingdoms and the extent of each kings hegemony over those petty kingdoms. Aethelfrith’s death there without his full army suggests that he felt comfortable traveling in this region with just his normal retinue/body guard. It is possible that Lindsey passed to Aethelfrith with his conquest of Deira, and that he felt secure there.

Edwin is the only northern king we see actually active in Lindsey. Bede tells us that Bishop Paulinus of York was particularly active in Lincoln. The reeve of Lincoln Blaecca and his family are converted (apparently he is the highest ranking man in Lindsey) and Paulinus builds a stone church there (HE II.16). Now this is strange as the stone church in York was still incomplete when Edwin died. It seems more likely that Paulinus refurbished a Roman building, perhaps a church. Bede says that in his time the roof has fallen in from neglect but that miracles still occur there so apparently the current Bishop of Lincoln did not use the same church. It was in this church in Lincoln rather than in York that Paulinus consecrated Archbishop Honorius of Canterbury in about 627. Bede goes on to relate a story told to him by Abbot Deda of Partney about Bishop Paulinus’ preaching in Littleborough (Tiowulfingacaestir) that unusally describes the appearance of Bishop Paulinus as “tall, with a slight stoop, black hair, a thin face, a slender aquiline nose, and at the same time he was both venerable and awe-inspiring in appearance”(HE II.16, McClure and Collins, p. 100). This account also apparently mentioned James the Deacon who survived up to the synod of Whitby in 664. Added on to this is Bede’s discussion of Edwin’s royal standard (tufa/thuf). I wonder if this addition was inspired by the place name Tiowulfingacaestir?

Lindsey also figures in the death of King Edwin of Deira whose death is located at Hatfield Chase just northwest of Lindsey on 12 October 633. His body was miraculously found there sometime after 679 and relocated to the church at Whitby.

When Queen Osthryth sent her uncle Oswald’s body to Bardney the monks initially tried to reject it because they said that he had once conquered them. This suggest that the men of Lindsey had met Oswald in battle and lost. The Irish record a southern uprising against Oswald in 637 [rec 641?] that appears to be independent of his last campaign against Penda. (The Annals of Tigernach give this as being one year before it records his death in 638 [rec 642], placing the siege of Edinburgh in between.) Given the importance of this conflict zone it is possible that the uprising was focused in the region of Lindsey and that Lindsey had sided with Oswald’s opponents. If so, it would appear that Oswald successfully put down this revolt. It makes me wonder if Oswald was chasing the ring leader of the revolt in 642 when he fell at Maserfelth. The sentiment that Lindsey may have preferred Mercian rule over Bernician could even go back to the apparent Deiran cooperation with Mercia against Bernicia seen in Edwin’s marriage in exile, and Oswine’s and even Oethelwald’s later cooperation with Mercia. This fits well into ideas I have been developing about the “Humbrian” region that I will have to save for another day.

The next the battlefield shifts slightly north to near Leeds, where Penda of Mercia is killed by Oswiu in 15 November 655. The location of Penda’s death is not specifically known. Somewhere in the marshy fenlands around the upper Humber River in the region of Loidis (Leeds). From the time of Penda’s death in 655, Lindsey appears to have passed securely into Northumbrian hands under King Oswiu.

The fate of Lindsey from the revolt against Oswiu in Mercia that placed Wulfhere on the throne in 658 is unknown. We know that Wulfhere granted land to Chad before 672 and that Chad’s deposed successor Wynfrith retired there. Yet, Oswiu died in 670 so it is still possible that Northumbria/Bernicia retained control of Lindsey until the death of Oswiu and it wasn’t disputed until the time of Ecgfrith (670-685). We know that Wulfhere attacked Northumbria in 674 but was defeated. Lindsey was the usual conflict zone between these kingdoms but the exact time and location of this battle is lost. The Life of Wilfrid suggests that Lindsey passed back to the Northumbrians after this defeat. But it Wulfhere was attacking Northumbria, how did he loose Lindsey? How did Northumbria on the defense gain Lindsey for their victory?

Again in 679 a battle is fought due west of Lindsey again on the River Trent when King Æthelred of Mercia invaded Northumbria. King Ælfwine of Deira was slain in the battle. It is significant to know that the River Trent was considered an invasion of Northumbria. This last battle seems to be specifically over control of Lindsey. After Ælfwine’s death the border skirmishes threatened to turn into a blood feud until Archbishop Theodore stepped in and mediated a settlement that allowed Mercia to keep Lindsey but pay weregeld for Ælfwine’s death.

Monastic Networks

The primary means of controlling the region of Lindsey appears to have rested in its monastic network. The kings of Mercia in particular invested heavily in monasteries that controlled key fords or bridges over the main rivers that provided access to Lindsey.

The monasteries of Bardney and Partney both fall into this category and were at one time, along with a convent, controlled by one family who also provided Lindsey with an early bishop, Aethelwine Bishop of Lindsey 680-692. His brother was Abbot Eadlwine of Partney and their sister was Abbess Aethelhild, whose monastery was somewhere near Partney. Although the early monks of Bardney may have favored Merican rule, this family does seem to have been well entrenched with the church of Lindisfarne. Another brother of this family, Aethelhun, died in Ireland with Egbert in about 664 and another monk of Lindsey, Higebald, later visited Egbert in Ireland.

We know that Bardney was heavily invested in by King Aethelred of Mercia, who became its abbot after his abdication. It was at Bardney that Aethelred and his queen Osthryth established the shrine of her uncle King Oswald and where both were later themselves buried. His burial of Queen Osthryth there after her murder (also by Mercian rebels), which when placed next to her martyred uncle, must have further enhanced the prestige of the site. St Oswald’s shrine at Bardney seems to have been the most major shrine in Lindsey during the Anglo-Saxon period, although St Guthlac’s Croyland and St Audrey’s Ely, and Peterborough (Medeshampstead) where not that far away in the fen lands bordering Lindsey.

It is interesting to note that unlike in other regions, Lindsey’s monasteries are along inland waterways, but I don’t know of any on the seaward side. This suggests that their placement was to control internal trade and travel, but not to be part of a port as we find near Whitby, Jarrow, Whithorn, St David’s Menevia and other monasteries.

Lindsey’s Pseudo-Royal Family

Only one instance of a royal genealogy for Lindsey has survived. It is in an Anglican Collection of genealogies that are believed to have come from Offa’s Mercia. By this time Lindsey was securely under Mercian control and probably had been for all of living memory. We know that King Offa gave the shrine of St Oswald at Bardney expensive gifts, as mentioned in Alcuin’s poem on the Bishops, Kings and Saints of York.

The Lindsey genealogy is obviously non-royal. It is probably a noble who is being particularly honored by Offa, perhaps one who rose to sub-king, but not from a royal family. Just as Offa killed off his son’s rivals, he would have boosted those who he expected to help his son. Offa may have considered this sub-king/ealdorman to have been important in helping secure the succession of his son Ecgfrith. This lineage disappears after its single mention in Offa’s genealogical collection, so it is possible that this family fell from power with the death of Offa’s son. Its last member Aldfrith is a witness to one charter in Offa’s time. However, given that it isn’t that long before the arrival of the Danes it is not surprising that the fate of this family is a mystery.

If we look at the genealogy in detail there is just enough alliteration and common naming patterns to believe that it could be real back to Winta, the last man before Woden. Winta may reflect the placename Winteringham (homestead of Winta’s people) (Wikipedia). His son Cretta looks like a reasonable name for a son of Winta so they may come from local Lindsey lore. Note that most of the kingdoms are founded by duos, father and son (Ida and Eoppa), or brothers (Hengest and Horsa). It does not follow any other pattern to show linkage between royal houses, but neither does Mercia. (For example, Wessex and Bernicia claim to be descended from the same son of Woden.) The genealogy is noticeably shorter than the others in the collection (ie. it reaches Woden sooner) and then unlike the others extends beyond Woden to Geot (Geat) to make it as long as the others in the collection. This all adds up to suggest it is probably a fairly recent act of creative writing.

Medieval Legends

In early medieval legends, Lindsey/Lincoln is often mentioned in Arthurian stories. The earliest mention is the Historia Brittonum where Arthur fights three of his twelve battles over the ‘district of Linnis’, usually interpreted as Lindsey. This section of the Historia Brittonum (written in c. 825) is widely accepted to be a battle listing poem that has been incorporated as a bridge in the historical narrative. Whether or not the poet originally intended Linnis to be Lindsey, it is likely that by 825 the author of the Historia Brittonum would have been thinking of Lindsey when he compiled that work. Even in legend, Lindsey is an area of conflict.

Modern Legends

As far as I can tell the early antiquarian guess that the name and people of Lindisfarne are somehow linked to Lindsey is just that, a guess based on the name. I don’t think there is any real connection between the two place names.

References:

I owe my knowledge of conflict zones to the PhD thesis of Tim Clarkson and many conversations over the years.

Clarkson, Tim. 2001. Warfare in early historic northern Britain. Unpublished PhD dissertation. Manchester: University of Manchester.

Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People

“The Kingdom of Lindsey” at Wikipedia.