The Realm of Humbria

Humbria is a hypothetical proto-over-kingdom in the extreme. The area discussed under the term Humbria seems to be the region around the Humber River, not surprisingly. This region includes the kingdoms of Deira, Elmet, Lindsey, and proto-Mercia. In effect, references to Humbria suggest that it was the core of Deira's hegemony. While Edwin had extended...

FB: Din-Guaïroï /Bebbanburg/Bamburgh

You knew I couldn't wait too long to do Bamburgh. 🙂 Thanks to Bernard Cromwell it may be the best known Anglo-Saxon fortress site in England today anyway. Din-Guaïroï Din Guaïroï is the name given to Bamburgh in the Historia Brittonum, which then later tells us that it was renamed Bebbanburgh for Æthelfrith's queen. The...

Three British Chieftains of Bernicia and Deira

I was browsing through Rachel Bromwich's Triodd Ynys Prydein (The Welsh Triads) today and I came across the triad of the Three Chieftains of "Deiuyr a Brennych", Deira and Bernicia, that reminds me of some of the usual nearly lost material among the 'Men of the North' lore.  The variant triad 10W combines it with...

LKM: Bernicia/Bryneich

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...

The Grandfather Effect

As I worked on this month's lost kingdom, my mind wondered on to the grandfather effect. There is this trend for the dynastic founder to be the grandfather of the first great king. This is not to say that the grandfather wasn't an important king in his own time, but he could have easily become...

The Long Seventh Century

There seems to be a new trend to name certain transitional centuries as "long centuries" because the important events that happened tend to wrap over both century marks. Its not surprising that real life doesn't match our numbering system. I've heard of the long 19th century* - from the American Revolution to World War I...