Edwin (Northumbria)

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Edwin (also: Eadwine, Eaduuine, Edwine, Etguin, Æduinus, Ædwine ) (* around 584 in York ; † October 12, 633 at Doncaster ) was king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Deira and Northumbria from 616 to 633 .

Life

family

Edwin came from the Deiras royal family. He was the son of the former king Ælle (560-588 / 590) of Deira. His sister Acha was married to his predecessor Æthelfrith (593–616).

Edwin was first married to Cwenburh, daughter of King Ceorl of Mercia, with whom he had two sons, Osfrith and Eadfrith. The children Æthelhun, Æthelthryth, Uscfrea and Eanflæd (* around 625) come from his second marriage to Æthelburg, the daughter of king Æthelberht I of Kent. Eanflæd later married King Oswiu (642–670).

exile

Bernicia and its neighboring kingdoms

King Æthelfrith of Bernicia annexed Deira, who may have been dependent on Bernicia even before this step, in 604 and drove the male members of the royal family into exile. In order to further legitimize his rule over Deira, he married Acha, the daughter of the former king Ælle. 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.

Around this time he married Cwenburh, the daughter of King Ceorl of Mercia , with whom he had two sons, Osfrith and Eadfrith. 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 .

Around 616 Rædwald of East Anglia granted asylum to the displaced Edwin, 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 (after his wife intervened in favor of Edwin) was not ready to betray his protégé and moved north with his 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 .

First years as a king

Edwin moved further north under the protection of Rædwald and took control of Deira and Bernicia in 616. Æthelfrith's sons, including the later kings Eanfrith , Oswald , Oswine and Oswiu , had to go into exile with the Picts and Scots . Soon afterwards Edwin conquered the British kingdom of Elmet under King Ceredig ap Gwallog (in the southern Pennines near today's Leeds ). He also incorporated the small Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Lindsey south of the Humber into his empire. The kings of Lindsey no longer played an independent role politically. Gradually, Edwin was recognized by all British and Anglo-Saxon kings as the fifth Bretwalda (Oberkönig). Only the Kingdom of Kent could escape its influence. The occupation of the strategically important islands of Anglesey and Isle of Man indicates that Edwin also controlled shipping in the Irish Sea with a significant fleet.

Change of Faith

During Edwin's reign, the Christian mission from Kent reached Northumbria in 625. To strengthen his position on the British Isles, Edwin planned the marriage of Æthelburg , sister of King Eadbald of Kent. Since Edwin, unlike Edwin, was a Christian, he insisted that she and her companions be allowed to practice their religion freely and that Edwin and Northumbria be converted. Edwin agreed, so that in 625 Justus , Archbishop of Canterbury , ordained Paulinus bishop of Northumbria. This should take his seat in York and promote the mission in Edwin's realm. At first Edwin, although friendly to the new religion, apparently delayed his own change of faith several times.

According to the tradition of Beda , the final decision to become a Christian was the result of an assassination attempt on him on April 20, 626, which was prevented by the intervention of one of his followers named Lilla. Edwin is said to have sworn to become a Christian if he would find out who was behind the attack and if he would defeat it. It was found that the assassin Eomer had been hired by Cwichelm , King of Wessex . Edwin, after recovering, marched with an army against the Wessex forces that could actually be defeated at Win Hill & Lose Hill. After consulting the Witenagemot, Edwin fulfilled his promise and had himself and his daughter Eanflæd , who was born on the day of the attack, baptized. This narrative is certainly literarily embellished, but indicates the political explosiveness of a change of faith. Edwin's most influential followers had to be baptized by Paulinus in York in 627, so that there would be no disunity in his kingdom. According to the Welsh tradition, Eanflæd was baptized by Rhun mab Urien on Easter day 626 and Edwin with 12,000 rods on Easter day 627 .

Later years and death

Edwin began building the stone Church of St Peter , a predecessor of today's York Minster, which had been destroyed several times . In 627 he established the diocese for Paulinus in York and campaigned for the spread of the new faith in his kingdom. According to tradition, a " golden age " is said to have begun. Edwin also "persuaded" Eorpwald of East Anglia , one of the last pagans among the Anglo-Saxon kings, to abandon the "superstition of idols" ( idolorum superstitionibus ) in 627 and to accept Christianity for himself and his whole country. Eorpwald was probably baptized in Northumbria. With the conversion of East Anglia, Edwin was certainly also pursuing political goals: his influence on East Anglia, supported by the Northumbrian clergy, increased considerably and strengthened his hegemonic power. Alkuin reported that Edwin should have enacted mild laws. In the year 627/628 the "Heide" ( vir gentilis ) Ricbert killed King Eorpwald. East Anglia returned to paganism. To what extent this act was religiously or politically motivated remained unclear. Edwin's failure to intervene after Eorpwald's assassination suggests that Ricbert had great support from the anti-Orthumbrian mood in East Anglia.

Depiction of Edwin on a window of St Mary Church in Sledmere / Yorkshire

The occupation of the Isle of Man and Anglesey may have prompted the rebellion of King Cadwallon ap Cadfan of Gwynedd , who allied himself with Penda of Mercia . Together they brought together a sizable force that succeeded in destroying the Northumbrian army on October 12, 633 at the Battle of Hatfield Chase near Doncaster . Edwin fell in battle; likewise his son Osfrith. His son Eadfrith had to surrender and was later murdered by Penda. After Edwin's death, Æthelburg had to flee to Kent with their children and Bishop Paulinus, who had accompanied them to Northumbria, where they were warmly received. The immediate consequence of the defeat was the renewed division of Northumbria: While Edwin's relative Osric was able to hold on in southern Deira , Bernicia fell back to the returned Eanfrith , Æthelfrith's son, and thus to the old dynasty there. Both could only last a year and were killed in 634 by Cadwallon, who set fire to Northumbria.

Adoration

Since Penda was a pagan, Edwin was considered a martyr . Edwin's daughter Eanflæd promoted the cult around him, which, starting from Whitby , never achieved the meaning of the cult around his nephew Oswald († 642). Legend has it that Edwin's body was initially hidden in Edwinstowe ("Edwin's resting place") after the Battle of Hatfield Chase . His head relic was brought to St. Peter's Church in York, the construction of which he had begun; his body was transferred to Whitby. Several churches in England are named after him. Edwin was founded by Pope Gregory XIII. (1572–1585) recognized as a martyr. The Catholic Church celebrates his feast day on October 12th.

swell

literature

  • Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 .
  • David W. Rollason: Northumbria, 500-1100: Creation and Destruction of a Kingdom . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2003, ISBN 978-0521813358 .

Web links

Commons : Edwin of Northumbria  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Remarks

  1. Alkuin : VersEubor 91
  2. ^ John Cannon, Anne Hargreaves: The Kings and Queens of Britain , Oxford University Press, 2009 (2nd revised edition), ISBN 978-0-19-955922-0 , p. 33.
  3. a b Beda: HE 2,14
  4. a b c Beda: HE 2.9
  5. ^ A b Nicholas J. Higham: An English Empire: Bede, the Britons, and the Early Anglo-Saxon Kings , Manchester University Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0719044236 , pp. 77-80.
  6. a b c d e f g h i j Philip Holdsworth: Edwin, King of Northumbria . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 , pp. 163-164.
  7. Nicholas J. Higham: An English Empire: Bede, the Britons, and the Early Anglo-Saxon Kings , Manchester University Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0719044236 , pp. 146-147.
  8. ^ 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 978-0-6312-2492-1 , p. 385.
  9. Beda: HE 2,12
  10. ^ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 617
  11. Annales Cambriae for the year 616
  12. ^ Frank Merry Stenton: Anglo-Saxon England , Oxford University Press, 2001 (3rd ed.), ISBN 978-01928-0139-5 , pp. 115-116.
  13. Frank Merry Stenton: Anglo-Saxon England , Oxford University Press, 2001 (3rd ed.), ISBN 978-01928-0139-5 , p. 48.
  14. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 625
  15. Annales Cambriae to the year 626
  16. Nennius: Historia Brittonum , 63
  17. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 626
  18. Beda: HE 2.16
  19. The dating of baptism in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to the year 632 is considered incorrect.
  20. a b Beda: HE 2,15
  21. Nicholas J. Higham: The convert kings: power and religious affiliation in early Anglo-Saxon England , Manchester University Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0-7190-4828-9 , pp. 102-103.
  22. ^ A b Nicholas J. Higham: The convert kings: power and religious affiliation in early Anglo-Saxon England , Manchester University Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0719048289 , pp. 181-183.
  23. Alkuin: VersEubor 217
  24. Richard Hoggett: The Archeology of the East Anglian Conversion (Anglo-Saxon Studies), Boydell & Brewer, 2010, ISBN 978-1843835950 , pp. 30-31.
  25. a b Beda: HE 2.20
  26. ^ St. Edwin in Catholic Encyclopedia at newadvent.org
  27. Edwin in heiligenlexikon.de
predecessor Office successor
Æthelfrith King of Bernicia
616–633
Eanfrith
Æthelfrith King of Deira
616–633
Osric