Ælle (Northumbria)

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Ælle (also Ælla, Aelle, Alle, Alli ) († March 21, 867 ) was king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria from 862/863 to 867 . Alternatively, his reign is dated from 866 to 867.

Life

family

The source situation on all is very short and contradicting. Nothing is known about his ancestry, but it is possible that he was a relative of Rædwulf (844 or 858) and Osberht (862 / 863-867), who were also kings of Northumbria. Although most sources list Æll as an illegitimate ruler, the Historia de sancto Cuthberto identifies him as Osberht's brother.

Domination

An exact dating of his coronation is just as problematic as the length of his reign. Chroniclers give 862/863 as the year of the coronation, while coin finds strongly indicate that his predecessor Osberht remained in office until 866. All sources agree that the “rightful king” Osberht was deposed and Ælle, a “ tyrant who could not assert a claim to the throne”, was appointed as his successor. During the ensuing civil war, Osberht was guilty of the sacrilege of robbing the church of lands at Wercewurde ( Warkworth ) and Tillemuthe ( Tillmouth ) in northern Bernicia . Ælle confiscated church properties near Billingham , Ileclif (Cliffe), Wigeclif (Wycliffe) and Crece ( Crayke ) in southern Deira to finance his army.

Faced with the threat posed by the " Great Pagan Army " (Vikings) under Ubba , Halvdan and Ivar Ragnarsson , who were marching on York from East Anglia , Osberht and Ælle were reconciled. They united their armies and pursued the Vikings who conquered York on November 1, 866 and entrenched themselves. When the Northumbrians breached the fortifications on March 21, 867 and stormed the city, the Vikings made a successful breakout. Osberht, Ælle, and a large part of the Northumbrian army were slaughtered; the survivors made peace. The Vikings used Ecgberht I (867–872) as a puppet king and turned to Mercia the following summer . In the mid-870s, Northumbria was divided. The northern Bernicia remained under the rule of Anglo-Saxon vassal kings, while the southern Deira became the Danish kingdom of Jórvík and thus part of the Danelag .

reception

Ælle murders Ragnar Lodbrok

According to a later unbelievable English tradition, ll raped the wife of the merchant Arnulf and who called the Vikings into the country in revenge .

Ælle is an important figure in Ragnarssona þáttr ("The Story of Ragnar's Sons"). Ragnarssona þáttr relates that the legendary Viking leader Ragnar Lodbrok was allegedly killed by Ælle when he fell into a snake pit . The army that Jórvík (York) took in 867 was led by Ragnar's sons Halfdan , Ubba and Ivar the Boneless . Ivar is said to have insisted on carving a blood hair of the king on the back of the king in revenge for the murder of her father . Legend has it that Ælle's daughter Blaeja married Sigurd Snake Eye , a son of Ragnar Lodbrok, after his death . The Gesta Danorum (“The Deeds of the Danes”) also describes Ælle as the son of King Hame, who is otherwise unknown. The late creation of the Nordic tradition and its legendary style make these representations altogether implausible.

In the 1958 film The Vikings , Ælle is played by Frank Thring . The film deals very freely with the subject matter of Ragnarssona þáttr .

In the series Vikings (TV series) , Ælle is played by Ivan Kaye .

swell

literature

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Simon Keynes: Kings of the Northumbrians . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-631-22492-1 , pp. 502-505.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g David W. Rollason: Ælle (paid registration required). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved February 4, 2012
  3. ↑ DP Kirby: The Earliest English Kings . Routledge, London-New York 2000, ISBN 978-0-415-24211-0 , p. 163.
  4. ^ David W. Rollason: Osberht (paid registration required). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved February 4, 2012
  5. ^ William M. Aird: St Cuthbert and the Normans: the Church of Durham, 1071-1153 (Studies in the History of Medieval Religion Vol. 14). Boydell & Brewer , 1998, ISBN 978-0-85115-615-6 , pp. 28-29.
  6. ↑ Asser : Vita Alfredi
  7. ^ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 867
  8. ↑ Angelo Forte, Richard D. Oram, Frederik Pedersen: Viking empires . Cambridge University Press, 2005, ISBN 978-0-521-82992-2 , pp. 69-70.
  9. ^ Philip Holdsworth: Northumbria . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-631-22492-1 , pp. 334-335.
  10. ↑ Whitelock, p 225ff.
  11. ↑ Þáttr af Ragnars Sonum / The Tale of Ragnar's Sons (Old Norse / English)
  12. ^ Saxo Grammaticus Gesta Danorum , 9
  13. ^ IMDb: The Vikings
predecessor Office successor
Osberht King of Northumbria
862 / 866–867
866–867 together with Osberht 		Ecgberht I.
personal data
SURNAME Æll
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eels; Ælla; All; Alli
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of Northumbria
DATE OF BIRTH 8th century or 9th century
DATE OF DEATH March 21, 867