Æthelfrith (Northumbria)

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Anglo-Saxon empires in the early 7th century

Æthelfrith (also Aethelfrith, Aedilfrid, Æðelfrið, Æþelfrið, Æþelferð, Æþelferþ, Æðelferð, Æðelferþ ) († 616 ) was king of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Bernicia , located in what is now south-east Scotland , since 592, or after the unification of Deira with the south-east of Deira in 604 the resulting Kingdom of Northumbria .

Life

family

Æthelfrith was the son of King Æthelric of Bernicia. He had seven sons ( Eanfrith , Oswald , Oswine (Oslaf), Oswiu , Oswudu, Oslac and Offa). His daughter Æbba became abbess of Colodæsburg / Coludi ( Coldingham / Berwickshire ). The eldest son Eanfrith probably came from his connection with Bebba, after whom the city of Bamburgh is said to be named. Oswald's mother was Queen Acha, the daughter of the former King Ælle of Deira. The mothers of his other children are unknown.

Domination

Æthelfrith succeeded his deceased predecessor Hussa to the throne in 592. He pursued a more expansive policy than his predecessors. He made tribute to neighboring British areas or drove their owners away and settled fishing there as the new masters of the small farmers and serfs. Around the year 600 there was the battle of Catraeth (Catterick / Richmondshire ) northwest of York against British troops. The poem Y Gododdin tells about this battle. The victory made Æthelfrith the most powerful king in the north. In the west, Bernicia managed to gain territorial growth at the expense of the British. In 603 he was able to repel the attack of the west Scottish empire of Dalriada under Aidan in the battle of Degsastan (exact location unknown, probably in Roxburghshire ) with a smaller army , which was apparently so costly for Dalriada that it was not for a long time again dared to attack their eastern neighbor. Bernicia also suffered heavy losses, including Theobald, Æthelfrith's brother. It is noteworthy that on the side of Dalriada Hering, the son of Hussa, participated in the fight, which indicates a family strife in the ruling house of Bernicia.

Æthelfrith's next target was the kingdom of Deira, which may have been dependent on Bernicia even before this step. Æthelfrith drove the male members of the royal family into exile in 604. In order to further legitimize his rule over Deira, he married Acha, the daughter of the former King Ælle of Deira. Edwin , who as the son of Thrlle also had claims to the throne, fled out of the country to the Welsh King of Gwynedd . Æthelfrith then did everything in his power to turn him off. He also gained influence over the eastern Midlands and Mercia , the northern part of which he possibly ruled himself.

Bernicia and its neighboring kingdoms

Around the year 613, Æthelfrith attacked the British city of Legacaestir / Carlegion (probably Chester in the then Kingdom of Gwynedd ). First he had numerous monks from Bangor-on-Dee massacred, who wanted to protect the place with prayers, before he almost destroyed the forces of Selyf map Cynan, the king of Powys , with high own losses. The British general Brocmail escaped with about 50 men. It is unknown whether this battle was related to a war of conquest, whether it was just a raid, or whether recognition as an upper king was the reason for the war. It is believed that the Ribble river formed the border between Bernicia and Mercia at that time. Æthelfrith's influence in Mercia became so strong that Edwin, who had fled , could no longer be protected by King Ceorl and sought asylum in East Anglia . It is possible that around 615 konntethelfrith could temporarily rule even Mercia and the small empires that were dependent on it, or set up sub-kings dominated by him.

Around 616 Rædwald of East Anglia granted asylum to Edwin, who had been driven out of Northumbria by Æthelfrith and who saw himself as the rightful heir to the throne. Æthelfrith offered Rædwald a large sum if he would kill or extradite Edwin, and if refused he threatened war. Rædwald was not ready to betray his protégé and moved north with his outnumbered troops. On the river Idle there was a decisive battle in 616, Æthelfrith was defeated and died in the fighting. In the battle, which was victorious for his troops, Rædwald also had to mourn the loss of his son Rægenhere. Presumably this victory led to Rædwald's recognition as a Bretwalda within the heptarchy . Edwin moved further north under the protection of Rædwald and ruled Northumbria and the territories previously dependent on Æthelfrith. Æthelfrith's sons had to go into exile with the Picts and Scots .

swell

literature

  • Nicholas J. Higham: An English Empire: Bede, the Britons, and the Early Anglo-Saxon Kings , Manchester University Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0-7190-4423-6 .
  • Æthelfrith In: DP Kirby, Alfred Smyth, Ann Williams (Eds.): A Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain , Routledge, 1991, ISBN 978-1-85264-047-7 , pp. 22-23.
  • David W. Rollason: Northumbria, 500-1100: Creation and Destruction of a Kingdom . Cambridge University Press, 2003, ISBN 978-0-521-81335-8 .
  • Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-631-22492-1 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 593
  2. ↑ a b Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 617
  3. ^ Vita Wilfridi Episcopi Eboracensis Auctore Stephano 39, MGH SS rer. Merov. VI, pp. 231-232.
  4. ↑ a b c d Æthelfrith In: DP Kirby, Alfred Smyth, Ann Williams (Eds.): A Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain , Routledge, 1991, ISBN 978-1-85264-047-7 , pp. 22-23.
  5. ↑ Beda: HE 3,6
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ Nicholas J. Higham: An English Empire: Bede, the Britons, and the Early Anglo-Saxon Kings , Manchester University Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0-7190-4423-6 , pp. 230-232.
  8. ↑ Beda: HE 1.34
  9. ↑ a b J. Calise MP: Pictish Sourcebook: Documents of Medieval Legend and Dark Age History , ABC-CLIO / Greenwood, 2002, ISBN 978-0-313-32295-2 , pp 175-176.
  10. ^ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 603
  11. ^ A b c d Nicholas J. Higham: An English Empire: Bede, the Britons, and the Early Anglo-Saxon Kings , Manchester University Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0-7190-4423-6 , pp. 77-80.
  12. ↑ Beda: HE 2.2
  13. ↑ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 607
  14. ^ David W. Rollason: Northumbria, 500-1100: Creation and Destruction of a Kingdom . Cambridge University Press, 2003, ISBN 978-0-521-81335-8 , p. 27.
  15. ↑ Nicholas J. Higham: An English Empire: Bede, the Britons, and the Early Anglo-Saxon Kings , Manchester University Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0-7190-4423-6 , pp. 146-147.
  16. ^ A b Nicholas J. Higham, Rædwald , in: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Enzyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England , Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford a. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-631-22492-1 , p. 385.
  17. ↑ Beda: HE 2,12
predecessor Office successor
Hussa King of Bernicia
593–616 		Edwin
Æthelric King of Deira
604–616 		Edwin
personal data
SURNAME Æthelfrith
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Aethelfrith; Aedilfrid; Æðelfrið; Æþelfrið; Æþelferð; Æþelferþ; Æðelferð; Æðelferþ
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of Northumbria
DATE OF BIRTH 6th century
DATE OF DEATH 616