Heavenfield

Queen Cynewise is one of the few early Mercian queens that we have any information on at all. The only direct mention of her name is after Penda’s fall when Bede notes that Ecgfrith was not at the battle of Winwaed because he was a hostage in the care of Queen Cynewise (HE III.24). He would have been less than twelve years old. The casual way Bede mentions her name suggests that she may have been well known. With the hostage left her in care, it suggests that she was Penda’s primary wife. Recall that Penda was pagan and therefore was probably polygamous. Even if he was, it seems unlikely that they were all considered his queen. After Penda’s fall, it seems likely that Cynewise used young Ecgfrith as a bargaining chip to secure her safety and that of at least her daughters.

Elsewhere Bede tells us that Penda drove out Cenwealh of Wessex when he turned out Penda’s sister (HE III.7). Alex Woolf has shown that this sister’s sons eventually succeed to the throne of Mercia after the lines of Penda and Eowa fall from power. This suggests that Cenwealh made the unusual move of turning out his sons as well and that Penda’s dynasty must have integrated them. This is particularly ironic given that Cenwealh is not succeeded in Wessex by a son. It seem likely that Penda had also married a daughter of Cyngisl; that they had at some point exchanged brides. The name Cynewise fits very well with West Saxon naming patterns.

Judging by names, it is possible that she was at least the mother of Cyneburgh, wife of King Alchfrith of Deira and later Abbess of Castor and Cyneswith. It is possible that she was known in the Derian court of her daughter and may have been a contact that fostered the relationship between King Alchfrith/Deira and her probable brother King Cenwealh of Wessex. Even if she returned to her brothers court in Wessex after Penda’s death, she still may have served as a link to her daughter’s court in Deira. Marriages of the daughters of Cynegisl may account for the hints at a close relationship between Deira and Wessex during the long reign of Cenwealh. The previous king Œthelwald may have also been Cenwealh’s nephew, if he mother was Oswald’s queen, a daughter of Cynegisl and sister of Cenwealh.

Given that Wulfhere and Æthelred were youths when Penda died, it is likely that they were her sons as well. Bede tells us they were hid by some nobles so it is unlikely that she was able to buy their safety from Oswiu by exchanging Ecgfrith. Once Wulfhere had secured the throne, it is likely that Cynewise would have returned to Mercia and her probably son’s court. Given that Wulfhere is described as a youth, Cynewise may have had considerable influence on him.

We should also remember that if Cynewise was indeed the daughter of Cynegisl, then she was also the sister of King Oswald’s queen named Cyneburgh is the 12th century Life of Oswald. If their marriage happened in c. 628 when Cynegils and Penda fought and came to an agreement (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle), before Oswald came to the throne, the two rivals would have had queens who were sisters or at least kinswomen. Alternatively, Cenwealh and Penda may have exchanged brides around 642 when Penda came to ascendancy and Cenwealh succeeded his father.

Just as Penda was the last great pagan king, it is almost certain that Cynewise was the last great pagan queen. Penda was one of the most dominant kings of his era, capable of making the kin of his victims his dependents like Anna’s brother Æthelhere and Oswald’s son Œthelwald, and Edwin’s cousin Oswine follow his will and join his campaigns. Yet, Penda fell when two kings, Cadfael of Gwyendd and Œthelwald of Deira, abandoned him within 24 hours of his last battle. His hegemony was more fragile than we might think. Regardless for the 13 years of Penda’s dominance (642-655), Cynewise would have presided over the most powerful court of the day and as we can see with young Ecgfrith, guardianship over young hostages may have been one of her primary duties.

References:

Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Oxford UP, 1994.

Œthelwald son of Oswald has always been a figure of controversy. Everything we know of him comes from Bede’s Ecclesiastical History. Beginning with Bede himself memories of Œthelwald have been viewed in slanted hindsight. Bede has his known biases for a united Northumbria (Bernicia + Deira), for which Œthelwald is a spoiler, and against Mercia in general and Penda in particular. We in turn too often share Bede’s biases and look back with a hindsight colored by not only Northumbria’s golden age but norms of later medieval expectations. We can not forget that a united Northumbria was not a real reality until the reign of Ecgfrith (670-685) and really only cemented in the long, peaceful reign of Aldfrith (685-704). I’ve discussed the process of Northumbrian ethnogensis before (here and especially here).

After a lot of thought, I don’t think that Œthelwald was anyone’s puppet. I don’t think he was ‘placed’ there by anyone. I do think that he was a compromise candidate whom both the Deiran nobles and Oswiu of Bernicia could live with. This suggests that the Deiran nobles had likewise accepted Oswald as King of Deira, as the nephew of Edwin. Oswald and his son Œthelwald were the grandson and great grandson of King Aelle, Edwin’s father. Oswiu on the other hand, had no Deiran blood that we know of; I have argued against his being the son of Acha sister of Edwin elsewhere. Oswiu shows every indication of taking direct control when he could, as he did in Mercia after Penda’s death and probably in Lothian early in his reign. The fact that he faced ‘rebellion’ by three successive kings of Deira– Oswine, Œthelwald and his own son Alchfrith– really suggests to me that the nobles/ealdormen of Deira really never accepted Oswiu has their king. After his son’s rebellion, Oswiu appears to have taken direct control over Deira for about only the last five years of his 28 year reign.

There have been some speculations about Œthelwald’s age and mother. If he was the son of Cynegils’ daughter then he would have only been about 17 when he became king in about 651, but I have argued elsewhere that it is quite possible that he was born during Oswald’s exile. Oswald was about 30 years old when he came home to Bernicia and could have easily had several children, as his brother Eanfrith already did and as Edwin had during his exile.

The one thing we do know for sure about Œthelwald is that he had close ties to the church of Lindisfarne, as we would expect for Oswald’s son. We know that the four brothers, Cedd, Cælin, Cynebill, and Chad were all closely tied to the church in Deira. Cælin was the personal priest of Œthelwald and his family and he mediated the donation of Lastingham to his brother Bishop Cedd. It is interesting that Bede claims that Œthelwald mainly came to know Cedd through his brother Caelin, since as a pupil of Aidan’s you would think that Œthelwald would have known him. Yet, Cedd had long been a missionary away from Bernicia and Deira, so it is possible that Oethelwald and Cedd had not known each other well before 651. I do think that is likely that the church of Lindisfarne helped Œthelwald come to the throne of Deira. They certainly could have helped the Deiran nobles contact Œthelwald if he was not in Deira before Oswine’s death (and I think it is unlikely he would have been an ally of Oswine, unless he had a major falling out with his uncle before 651). After Oswine’s murder and Aidan’s death heartbroken over Oswine, Lindisfarne would not have been very high on Oswiu or his sons, and supporting a son of Oswald would have seemed like the best option.

Anyway, Œthelwald is remembered diplomatically as the patron of Lastingham where he intended for himself and his family to be buried. The brothers of Lastingham must have stressed this to Bede for it to be included in the History. Bede doesn’t tell us where Œthelwald was buried but it is possible that some of his family was indeed buried at Lastingham. The stress on Œthelwald’s family does suggest that he was old enough to have a family. Alternatively it could just be Lastingham’s way of stressing that they would have been a major monastery for this king, as York was for Edwin, Whitby was Oswiu & Edwin, Wearmouth-Jarrow was for Ecgfrith, and probably Lindisfarne for Oswald (and Aldfrith?).

The last we hear of Œthelwald is during Penda’s last campaign into Bernicia in the fall of 655. Bede tells us that Œthelwald had acted a guide for Penda’s army into Bernicia and later refused to take part in the battle of Winwæd on November 15th, 655. For this Bede branded him a traitor, a claim surely influenced by Bede’s desire to project a united Northumbria. Accompanying Penda’s army into Bernicia would likely have been enough for a Bernician patriot to consider him a traitor, though it is perhaps hard to see how he could have refused Penda. It would have been suicide for a single king to have stood in the way of Penda’s army. We already knew from Oswine’s encounter with Oswiu that Deira did not have an imposing enough army to stand up to Oswiu’s forces, so it is unlikely that they could have faired better against Penda’s massive Southumbrian-British coalition. His decision to pull his army out of the fray at Winwæd may speak as much to the the shock of Oswiu’s attack as anything else. Was it a moment of indecision or had Penda’s alliance begun to fray enough that he would not side with him? Penda’s army must have still been very formidable for Œthelwald not to try to switch sides and fight for his uncle. It also tells us that Œthelwald may have been unwilling to fight against his own kinsmen (as Æthelhere of East Anglia probably did against his brother Anna). Bede tells us that the river in flood was a major factor in Oswiu’s victory as Mercians and their allies drowned trying to escape and we might also guess that an early death of Penda may have contributed to the loss. If the dominant king of a grand army was killed early, then military discipline probably would have fell as each unit would only then be concerned about its escape.

Œthelwald’s fate is left unknown. We don’t hear that he was executed, as Lastingham might have remembered. I doubt they would have been ashamed of another Deiran king who died for not fighting like Oswine. Indeed, it would have further vilified Oswiu in line with Deiran sympathies. It seems likely to me that Iona would have recorded Œthelwald’s death if it had occurred at Winwæd, as they recorded Penda’s death (Annals of Ulster). I tend to think that not hearing anything about his fate may mean that he was exiled. The mysterious fates of King Oswiu’s nephew Oethelwald and his son Alchfrith, who also disappears after a rebellion, are certainly two on my list of ‘things I would like to know’!

The Liber Eliensis makes a rather startling claim for Augustine of Canterbury:

~~~

“there had not yet been any church on the island [of Ely] other than the one founded by blessed the Augustine, the apostle of the English, but that was demolished right down to ground level by army of the unbelieving King Penda. This church Æthelthryth, lover of God, labored with all her might to renew and rebuild after its prolonged desolation. And as soon as it was rebuilt, dedicated as of old, in honour of Mary, the holy Mother of God, it became a shining light, through innumerable signs and miracles, as God carried out His work every day.” (LE i.15, p. 43)

It is quite possible that there was indeed a church or chapel on the Isle of Ely before she married Ecgfrith because tradition claims she retired to the Isle of Ely after the death of her first husband Tondbert. Owine and others who came to Northumbria as managers of her household could have been her staff from her retirement at Ely. It would make sense that she would return to what ever dwellings that she had on her estate at Ely when she returned to found the monastery. Perhaps Penda destroyed it, perhaps he didn’t. Penda becomes the fall guy for all mid-seventh century destruction, particularly of churches. The problem though is that Æthelthryth would have been living there until about 661 long after Penda was dead. If she returned to Ely after Penda destroyed it, then she didn’t have a church there during her religious retreat from the world before her second marriage.

What I find highly suspect is that Augustine had founded the original church and that it was dedicated to St. Mary before c. 605 (when Augustine died). There is no evidence whatsoever that Augustine worked outside of the Thames estuary, except the meeting at Augustine’s Oak and that was under the special protection of King Æthelberht. How likely is it that Augustine ventured up into the fenlands northwest of East Anglia? It just seems incredible to me. Also, I believe that this would be the earliest known dedication to St. Mary in England, if true. Now, when Æthelthryth built her church in the 670s, dedications to St Mary were becoming very popular. There is no reason to doubt that Æthelthryth had the church of Ely dedicated to St Mary.

So why credit Augustine of Canterbury with a church of St Mary at Ely? I think that Ely had a problem in that they were founded under the direction of the extra-territorial Bishop Wilfrid of York. Although it was founded on private property of a local royal woman, there is no evidence that the East Anglican church took part in its foundation or supported it in anyway in the early years. We might even imagine that the East Anglican church took offense at Bishop Wilfrid’s trespass in their diocese. This made the royal family more important than usual in the governance of the church of Ely. Thus, there was a hunt to keep finding more female heirs of Æthelthryth to govern the church, and act as intercessors in this life and beyond. Overall, the LE pulls in as many major saints of East Anglia and beyond as it can to support Æthelthryth’s veneration, but I’ll come back to that another day.

Only the need to court Canterbury can explain why they deferred credit to Canterbury, rather than give Æthelthryth the full credit. Why else would they even mention a church that had been completely razed to the ground over a decade before her arrival? Granted it gives the church a claim for antiquity probably greater than an existing East Anglican church. The church is said to be leveled to the ground to give Æthelthryth full credit for the fabric of the original church in the time the LE was written. (Æthelthryth’s new church was probably dedicated by Bishop Wilfrid while he stuck on his first nomadic exile.) In deferring to Canterbury for the foundation of Ely, they also divert credit for the early church away from Bishop Felix (who converts King Anna and his family, says the LE) and the East Anglian establishment. Or, could it be just a statement that says that the contemporary monastery of Ely should be directly accountable to the Archbishop of Canterbury, rather than local bishops? Indeed, was a statement of loyalty to Canterbury required in the wake of Archbishop Thomas Becket’s murder?

~~~

Janet Fairweather, trans. Liber Eliensis: A History of the Isle of Ely from the Seventh Century to the Twelfth. Boydell, 2005.

Æthelhere of East Anglia is an interesting figure. He was the brother and successor of King Anna son of Enni. He had a one year reign from c. 654 to November 655, when Bede specifically says that he died at the battle of Winwæd.

“The battle was joined and the heathen were put to flight or destroyed; of the thirty royal ealdormen who had come to Penda’s help nearly all were killed. Among them was Æthelhere, brother and successor to Anna, king of the East Angles and the cause of the war; he was cut down, having suffered the loss of all his thegns and followers. The battle was fought near the river Winwæd, which owing to heavy rains, had overflowed its channels and its banks to such an extent that many more were drowned in flight than were destroyed by the sword in battle.” (HE III.24, McClure & Collins, 1994:150)

This translation crediting the cause of the war to Æthelhere has been challenged. McClure and Collins (1994: 396) note that Prestwich saw it as beginning a new sentence and referring to Penda. This really doesn’t make sense though. Penda was clearly the leader of his forces, why go on to state that he was the ‘author of the war’? It has been noted elsewhere that Bede doesn’t give Penda the usual regnal summary or even specifically say that he died in the battle. This ambiguity makes Prestwich’s reading more tempting. However, the Liber Eliensis specifically contradicts this; it specifically says that Æthelhere instigated the war. “Amongst the slain was the very person who instigated the war, Æthelhere, the brother of Anna, king of East Angles, who became ruler in succession of him.” From this is it clear that the author of the LE read his copy of Bede’s History in such a way to make his own East Anglian king the cause or instigator of the war. So even in an East Anglian royal monastery there was no tradition to contradict this interpretation.

It seems very likely that Penda’s campaign into Northumbria in 655 was directly related to his war against Anna of East Anglia. Æthelhere would not be the first royal brother to turn to a traditional enemy to assist him in coming to the throne. His successor Æthelwold was a supporter of Lindisfarne’s missionaries, Bishop Cedd among the East Saxons. Æthelwold stood as godfather to King Swithelm of Essex, as his brother Anna had stood as godfather to Cenwealh of Wessex. It is unclear who baptized Cenwealh, uncharacteristically Bede doesn’t tell us. The Liber Eliensis claims that he was baptized, not surprisingly, by Bishop Felix who had come to East Anglia when Sigiberht returned from exile. Archbishop Honorius of Canterbury ordained a Bishop Berhtgisl (Boniface) of Kent for East Anglia before his death in September 653 (Bede, HE III:20), a year before the death of King Anna. McClure and Collins note that he remains bishop of East Anglia until 670. Experiencing a king who was willing to ally himself with pagan king Penda in a grab for power may have made Berhtgisl much more willing to cooperate with Lindisfarne if that alliance brought stability.

Anyway, it is clear that there was a close alliance between Bernicia and East Anglia before and after the death of King Anna. The strength of an alliance with King Anna is surely what made Æthelthryth an attractive bride for the much younger prince Ecgfrith. Æthelthryth and Ecgfrith were married in c. 661, during King Æthelwold’s reign (655-663) when Ecgfrith was only 15; presumably the marriage took place as soon as he was deemed old enough. Æthelwold was succeeded by his nephew Ealdwulf who reigned for nearly two generations (663-713). The succession of a nephew whose father had never been king (that we know of) might suggest that pleasing Northumbria was a factor in his succession. As the nephew of St Hild, he was also a matrilineal cousin of Queen Eanflaed of Northumbria. The year after Ealdwulf succeeded, King Oswiu of Northumbria took part in nominating the next Archbishop of Canterbury. Such close ties between Northumbria and East Anglia may explain the lengths that Mercian kings Æthelbald and Offa went to secure their hegemony over East Anglia in the next century.

King Ecgric is a little known king of East Anglia from the late 640s to about 652. Bede tells us that Ecgric was a kinsman of King Sigeberht son of Rædwald of East Anglia. When Sigebert abdicates the throne and enters a monastery that he founded, he hands the kingdoms over to Ecgric, “who had previously ruled part of the kingdom”. So its seems that Ecgric was a local ruler who was conquered or submitted to Sigebert as King of East Anglia and then Sigebert handed the entire kingdom over to him. Given that he was once a provincial ruler and Sigeberht handed the kingdom over to him, over Anna’s family, suggests that Ecgric was indeed from the same royal dynasty. Its possible that he was related to Ricberht who had assassinated and succeeded Eorpwald son of Rædwald (who was after all also Sigeberht’s rival).

Ecgric does not seem to have won the confidence of the people. When King Penda of Mercia invades East Anglia, Ecgric and the people force former king Sigeberht to leave the monastery and lead them in battle. Sigeberht, now a monk, refuses to carry a weapon and only carries his royal scepter. Penda of Mercia kills both Sigeberht and Ecgric and destroys their army. We hear nothing else of Ecgric’s family. He is succeeded by King Anna whose family holds East Anglia for the next century.

Cadwaladr the blessed is one of my favorite Old British folklore figures so I can’t leave 2007 behind without one long post on him. A paraphrase translation follows of some matrilinear notes on Cadwaladr in the Bonedd y Arwyr (pedigrees of the heroes) taken from PC Bartun, Early Welsh Genealogical Tracts, Cardiff, U of Wales Press, 1966. I can’t read Old Welsh so this paraphrase is based off the little Welsh I can figure out in the pedigree and translations I’ve seen elsewhere for these names.

These are the mothers of Cadwaladr and most of his paternal ancestors. This list of mothers assumes that you know Cadwaladr’s paternal lineage (given further below).

The Mothers of Cadwaladr o Gogail

• Mother of Cadwaladr the blessed, daughter of Pybba, sister of Penda son of Pybba.
• Mother of Cadwallon son of Cadfan, Tandreg the black, daughter of Cynan Garwen [of Powys]
• Mother of Beli son of Rhun, Perwar daughter of Rhun of Great Wealh son of Einian son of Mar son of Keneu son of Coel [Hen]
• Mother of Rhun ap Maelgwn, Gwallwenn daughter of Avallach
• Mother of Maelgwn Gwynedd, Meddyf daughter of Faeldaf son of Dylan Draws of Nan Conway
• Mother of Meddyf, daughter of Tallwch son of March/Mark son of Meirchiawn, sister of Tristain [Drystann, Drustain]
• Mother Cadwallon Long Arm, Prawst daughter of Tithlyn Britain [Prydain]

“Catwaladyr vendigeit [ap Kadwallawn ap Catuan] m. Yago m. Beli m. Rhun m. Maelgwn m Catwallawn llawhir m. Einyawn yrth m. Cuneda weldic” (Bartrum, p. 56)

Cadwaladr the blessed [son of Cadwallon son of Cadfan] son of Iago son of Beli son of Rhun son of Maelgwn (Gwynedd) son of Cadwallon Long Arm son of Einian yrth son of Cunedda the Chieftain/ruler.

Cadwaladr became an immensely important ancestor to later kings of Gwynedd because they all traced their descent from him. The remainder of the First Dynasty of Gwynedd were his son and grandsons and the Second Dynasty of Gywnedd legitimated itself through a matrilinear linkage to Cadwaladr’s dynasty. As Cadwallon was universally said to be Cadwaladr’s father, thus the Cadwallon who was slain by King Oswald at Denisesburna close to Heavenfield was the ancestor of all later kings of North Wales.

I should point out that the patrilinear genealogy above probably has at least incorrect link. The ancestry of Iago ap Beli is given differently in different genealogical tracts. There seems to have been claims that Rhun ap Maelgwn was a bastard or died childless. Anyway, Iago ap Beli was related to Maelgwn but probably not his great grandson.

Getting back to this massive matrilinear genealogy… the whole point is to link Cadwaladr to as many Old British heroes and genealogical tales as possible. One of the oddest and most common tales of Cadwaladr is that his mother was the sister of Penda of Mercia. This is also found in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain. Notably, it is not improbable, even if it is too late to rely on. Heroes whom Cadwaladr is said to descend from include Cynan Garwen of Powys (such a marriage, again, is not improbable), a fabulously wealthy descedant of the northern Coel Hen (Ole King Coel was a merry ole soul…), King Mark and Tristain of Arthurian fame, and then some sovereignty type tales. Both Coel Hen and King Mark-Tristain link Cadwaladr to the stories of the Gwyr y Gogledd [Men of the North- British heroes whose land later became Northumbria].

These extended genealogies give us a peek into all of the folklore and oral ‘history’ that has been lost and some of the material that Geoffrey of Monmouth and other twelfth century authors drew upon.

Penda’s last campaign against Northumbria is one of the few scenes in Bede’s History where we can see Northumbrian propaganda exposed. At Penda’s siege of Oswiu in 655, Bede reports that Oswiu tried to offer a couple bribes to get out of the situation, first to Penda and then to God. Lets look at what Bede actually says:

“At length dire need compelled him to offer Penda an incalculable quantity of regalia and presents as a price of peace, on condition that he returned home and ceased his ruinous devastation of the provinces of his kingdom. But the treacherous king refused to consider his offer, and declared his intention of wiping out the entire nation from the highest to the humblest in the land. Accordingly Oswy turned for help to the mercy of God, who alone could save the land from its barbarous and godless enemy; and he bound himself with an oath, saying:’If the heathen refuses to accept our gifts, let us offer them to God.’ So he vowed that, if victorious, he would offer his daughter to God as a consecrated virgin and give twelve estates to build monasteries.” (Bede, Historia III:24, Farmer ed, p. 183)

It goes on to narrate Oswiu’s victory over Penda in the battle of Winwaed. Now the Historia Brittonum gives a different, garbled version.

“He slew Penda in the field of Gai, and now took place the slaughter of Gai Campi, and the kings of the Britons, who went out with Penda on the expedition as far as the city of Judeu*, were slain.

65. Then Oswy restored all the wealth, which was with him in the city, to Penda; who distributed it among the kings of the Britons, that is, Atbert Judeu. [Redistribution of Iudeu/Stirling] But Catgabail alone, king of Guenedot, rising up in the night, escaped together with his army, wherefore he was called Catgabail Catguommed. [Cadafael Battle Shierker)” (Historia Brittonum)

Ok, so the Historia Brittonum version is very garbled. I think this is mostly because the separate paragraphs have been copied/written to each make a separate point and there was little regard for putting them in the correct order. Paragraph 64 is a summary of Oswiu’s reign and it concludes with his victory over Penda and the slaughter of the British kings with Penda. That is fitting as it was Oswiu’s greatest achievement and responsible for all that followed after it.

I think the Cadafael paragraph is included so that King Merfyn (c. 825) could trash a rival as a battle shierker (Catguommed); it a pun on his name which means Battle-Prince (Cadafael) Battle Shirker (Catguommed) — sort of like Aethelred the Unred. I actually doubt that Cadafael abandoned Penda before a pending battle. Winwaed is usually placed somewhere in Elmet, and the Roman road toward Wales would have branched off before then, so it would have been natural for an army from Gwynedd to take the road over the mountains toward Chester rather than going down through the lowlands. Some of the lessor British warlords/’kings’ from say Powys may on the other hand have wished to stay with Penda as long as possible because they needed his support.

Normally, Bede’s version would trump all other versions, particularly from a text like the Historia Brittonum, but I just don’t buy it — the idea that Oswiu offered wealth turned down by Penda to God. It comes down to a couple of fundamental things:

1. You don’t crow about loot you don’t get! The Britons are bragging about the spoils they brought home. Note that Cadafael of Gwynedd and his army escaped from the battle and presumably brought their share of the loot home.
2. We are talking about completely different types of loot. Penda is being offered portable loot — gold, silver, jewels, and perhaps other portables as well, like livestock and slaves. Oswiu offers to God what Penda can’t carry away — land and his daughter (only if he defeats Penda). Livestock and slaves might have been just what slowed Penda’s army down enough that Oswiu could raise his army and catch up with them before they were inside Mercia.
3. The Annals Cambriae lists the death of Penda in 657 and in 658 “Oswy came and took plunder”. It could be that Oswy is just punishing the Britons for being allied with Penda (although he isn’t recorded as punishing other kings who came with Penda), or he could be trying to reclaim some or all of the loot that the Britons got home with. Reclaiming loot is particularly attractive if some of it had symbolic meaning.

Lets stop and consider what kind of immense loot Oswiu would have had to offer. Bamburgh and its kings had the accumulated wealth of kings Æthelfrith, Edwin, Cadwallon and Oswald. Æthelfrith, Edwin and Oswald had fallen on campaign away from home, so there was some hope that their wealth was passively taken by their successor. Cadwallon who had killed Edwin and taken Deira was killed by Oswald far from home and so Oswald likely reclaimed most of the Deiran wealth Cadwallon had taken from his camp. However, Aethelfrith, Edwin, and Cadwallon’s wealth had been immediately redistributed, Oswald had the ability by succession or conquest to collect it all at Bamburgh. Bede (HE III:16,17) also tells us that Penda had tried to capture Bamburgh rock before 651. Anglo-Saxons normally didn’t besiege fortresses, preferring open field battles. Consequently, Penda was unsuccessful in both the siege of Bamburgh in c. 650 and of Stirling in 655. Could Penda have been so persistent at trying to take the fortresses of Bernicia because they contained fabled wealth?

Getting back to Oswiu’s bribes, I don’t see any reason why Oswiu could not have tried both bribes. Paying off Penda to get him to leave and then not being able to stand the shame of it, mounting a rash attempt to catch up to Penda on his way home and ambush him. His offer to God stiffened his nerve to make such a rash assault. I’m sure afterwards Oswiu was convinced that had been God on his side; on paper it was a foolish attempt to take on Penda’s mighty army. Oethelwald’s refusal to take part in the battle, the early break up of Penda’s army, the flood swollen river, all turned in Oswiu’s favor and so he survived and died in his bed, an old man, undefeated.

As a side note, one of those 12 estates offered to God would have almost certainly been Whitby….so this story would have been preserved as part of Whitby’s foundation legend.

*Judeu/Iudeu has been identified with the site of Stirling castle. The city of Urbs Guidi may also be the same site. The evolution of the castle of Stirling has obliterated any early medieval archaeology that presumably lies under the current castle.