King Edwin and his Conversion to Christianity

The continuation of the history of my home, The ancient Kingdom and modern region of England called Northumbria

When Aethelfrith  died, Edwin, the son of Aelle and prince of Deira seized the kingdom of Northumbrian . A Deiran was now in charge of the Northumbrian kingdom, but the rivalry between Deiran and Bernician factions was still there. The claimant for the  Bernician's was Aethelfrith's son Prince Oswald, who fled from Northumbria for safety. He had taken refuge on the island monastery of Iona off the west coast of Scotland . If and Anglo-Saxon King wanted to gain support  and respect,  it was essential that he had victories  in battle as well as political expansion . T his was as true for Edwin as it had beeen for Aethelfrith.

The Celtic influence was still strong on the southern borders of Northumbria, consequently,  lot of Edwin's early military activity seems to have been  concentrated  there.  He evicted a client king called Ceretic from the ancient British kingdom of Elmet near Leeds, this was about  626.  He then followed this with the capture of  Meicen (Hatfield), a Celtic kingdom  ( near Doncaster). He also extended south into the Anglian kingdom of Lindsey (Lincolnshire).

 Edwin already had control over much of the land acquired by Aethelfrith, consequently, Edwin's power in the north was unequalled by any of his Anglian predecessors. However,his power and expansion naturally aroused jealousy and fear amongst rivals including Cuichelm, King of the West Saxons. The consequence of this jealousy was that in 626 Cuichelm sent  an assassin north. The assassin was called Eumer, attempted to kill Edwin as he celebrated the pagan festival of Easter at his  palace, which  is thought to be situated somewhere close to the River Derwent on the edge of the Yorkshire wolds. Eumer, the assassin entered Edwin's court and asked to speak with him. He said he bhad an important message from the West Saxon King. When he was presented to King Edwin, Eumer produced a poisoned dagger from beneath his cloak and attempted to stab Edwin with it. Fortunately one of Edwin's men, who's name was Lillam, jumped in the way and took the blow which  killed him. Edwin was injured in the fight which followed,  but Eumer was eventually put to death. On the same night  attempt on his life,  Queen Ethelburga, King Edwin's wife, gave birth. Angered by the assasination attempt, Edwin sought revenge and defeated the West Saxons in a great battle in Wessex. This resulted in  Edwin proclaiming  himself 'overking' of all England.

EDWIN'S CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY

Up to  this point in time, all the  kings of Northumbria , including Edwin, had been  pagan , this was however, about to change. Edwin had already formed an important alliance with the Kingdom of Kent. Kent was an Anglo-Saxon Kingdom that St Augustine, and his influence,  had managed to converted to Christianity .  A marriage had been arranged  in 625, between Edwin and the Christian Princess of Kent called Ethelberga. At that time Edwin was already considering his own conversion to Christianity and he took the opportunity to claim that his victory in Wessex was due to  his new Christian faith.

On April 11 627, Edwin converted to Christianity, and was baptized at York. The baptism was performed by Paulinus, a Roman missionary . The ceremony took place in the new, wooden church dedicated to St Peter. This humble little  wooden building was the foundation of the present York Minster.  Edwin's Pagan high priest Coifi,, followed the king's example and also converted to Christianity. Coifi destroyed the great heathen temple of Goodmanham near the River Derwent,  to demonstrate his new faith.  Goodmanham was in what is now East Yorkshire.

Though the title and position of  "Bishop of York"  had not been used since the time of  Roman rule, Paulinus was appointed to that position. Paulinus travelled throughout Northumbria converting the people, particularly  in those areas associated with the Royal household. He reputed to have baptised thousands people  near Catterick , in the Swale, and in the River Glen near Yeavering.

Though it t is only visible from the air,  the outline of one of Edwin's  Palaces can still be seen in the fields at Yeavering.   The outline of several buildings including an auditorium and a great hall   can clearly be seen.  It is thought that the people of the area  assembled here to hear the words of influential speakers such as  Edwin and Paulinus.  The palace lies at the foot of a prominent hill called Yeavering Bell, which is also the site of a large Celtic fort. This may be one of the areas where the Celtic and Anglian cultures merged together. 

Though  tempting as it is  to look for the continuous presence of Christianity in the region since Roman times. It may be significant that York was chosen by Edwin as the centre for his Christian activity because it was so closely associated with the great Christian Emperor Constantine as well as being  the site of a Roman bishopric. Edwin's  new wooden minster was built  within what had been Yorks headquarters building,  of the Roman legionary fortress.  The church of St Peter's was rebuilt in 628 AD by Edwin.   He built his new church in stone, and may even have used rubble from the Roman fortess in its construction. The Anglo-Saxon  certainly made use of Roman stone in the building of their churches. This can be seen at  the Anglo-Saxon church at Escomb in County Durham. It is also known for certain, that the  minster at York is dedicated to St Peter, and was chosen to reflect its links with St Peter's in Rome. The church was given sealed approval by the Pope.

Though Roman Christianity was now  re-established in the north. Its future was not secure and would only be assured as long as Edwin remained in power.  Edwin was killed on October 12, 633.  As with Aethelfrith, Edwin' died during a battle on the marshy low country near Doncaster.  The battle was at Heathfield (or Hatfield).   Edwin's forces were crushed by the Mercians who were alliance with the Welsh. The Mercians fought under a chieftain called Penda.  The Welsh assisted under the their king Caedwalla. Osric,  who was a possible successor to Edwin, was also killed in the battle.  Edwin's son Edfrith surrendered.

 The Mercians appointed Penda  as their King, His Welsh ally Caedwalla, could now claim to be one of the most powerful kings in the north. Caedwalla claimed the throne of Deira, he also had his eye on Northumbrian territory.   It is not so strange that  a Welshman would claim Anglian territory in Yorkshire, as many parts of the region still encompassed Welsh speaking territory  particularly in the Pennines and in the old Celtic kingdoms near Leeds and Doncaster.

 In Bernicia, Eanfrith, the  son of Aethelfrith, who was a pagan, was crowned King of the Northumbrians.  Those people  who had converted to Christianity during the reign of Edwin,  may have thought it wise to revert to Eanfrith's Pagan ways. The Christian Bishop of York, St Paulinus, returned to Kent.

--
Malcolm

malcolm.shoestringmall.com

king Aethelfrith

In the North-East of England,  Aethelfrith, the grandson of Ida the Flamebearer, became the new King of Bernicia in 593. His power seemed assured, even in the Celtic regions. Aethelfrith's men heavily defeated the native Britons in a great battle at Catterick in 598 . It was here that the ancient British kingdom called Catraeth was situated, on the rivers Tees and Swale. After assembling at Edinburgh, a huge army of Britons,  included the people of Gododdin, Rheged and Northern Wales. marched to Catterick. It was as if the Britons were engaging in a last stand against the Anglo-Saxons. But they were heavily defeated by Aethelfrith. The kingdom of Catraeth was seized.

Aethelfrith's power was now beyond dispute and the Celts were forced to accept his rule. That did not mean however,  that large areas of the north became Anglo-Saxon overnight. The settlements of Anglo-Saxons were extensive, but Celts were still dominant in Cumbria, the Pennines, and in the Celtic Kingdoms of Elmet and Meicen (in Hatfield, the marshy country near Doncaster) as well as Loidis (Leeds) .

Aethelfrith turned his attention to the Celts of the far north in 603 , going into battle with Aidan MacGabrain, King of the Dalriada Scots. The Dalriada Scots lived in western Caledonia but had originated from Ireland  (Hibernia).  During the battle, the Scots were assisted by a large force of Ulstermen, but were defeated in battle at Degastan, though the precise location is unknown, it is thought to be  possibly in Liddesdale.  Aethelfrith's victory resulted in  the Kingdoms of Strathclyde in the west, Rheged in Cumbria and Gododdin in the Lothians being forced to recognise Bernician superiority again.  His power and prestige assured, Aethelfrith seized the crown of Deira in Yorkshire. This resulted in him becoming King of both Deira and Bernicia, this united  all the Angle territory north of the River Humber into one kingdom called Northumbria. Bernicia and Deira were reduced to mere sub kingdoms.

Many in Deira  disliked Bernician rule, so Aethelfrith encouraged Deiran support by marrying Acha, a member of the Deiran royal family. The marriage did not stop Acha's brother Edwin from claiming the kingdom of Deira but it was too dangerous for Edwin to stay in Northumbria so he sought protection at the court of King Cearl of Mercia (an Angle kingdom based in the Midlands). Edwin's presence in Mercia was a constant threat to Aethelfrith.

In 615, the Bernician capital Din Guyardi, was renamed Bebbanburgh in honour of Bebba, Aethelfrith's new wife. The name meant the fort of Bebba, but it would gradually come to be pronounced Bamburgh. This was perhaps one of many Celtic place names that were replaced by Anglo-Saxon names in this period and may reflect the gradual replacement of Celtic with Anglo-Saxon speech. It seemed that the native Celts were no longer the major threat to the expansion of the Angles and Aethelfrith for one was now preoccupied with defeating his Anglian rival.

Later in 615 AD, Aethelfrith ousted King Cearl from the Kingdom of Mercia and took control of the midland kingdom, he did however,  employ a Mercian to look after Northumbrian interests here.  Aethefrith's major Northumbria rival, Edwin, fled from Mercia and took refuge with the King of East Anglia. Though Edwin was still a threat to Aethelfrith, he probably seemed a more distant one. It seemed there would be no end to Aethelfrith's expansion. Aethelfrith defeated the Welsh in 615,  in battle at Chester and  again seized Cumbria, bringing it firmly under Northumbria rule. The event was significant  as it isolated the Britons of North Wales from those of Strathclyde and the Lothians, although that is not to say that the Britons were exterminated in the District of the Lakes.

Aethelfrith's expansion would not remain unchecked forever. He finally met his end in 616,  in battle,  against Raedwald King of East Anglia at Bawtry on the River Idle. The site lies close to the present borders of Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. In Aethelfrith's time this area lay on the southern reaches of Northumbria. It was a dangerous marshy region close to the border with Lindsey and easily accessible from the East Anglian kingdom.

malcolm.shoestringmall.com

DEIRA AND BERNICIA

Probably the  most important date in this period of history  in the North East ,was 547 AD,  when  Din Guyaroi (Bamburgh) on the North East coast was seized by the Angle chief called Ida the Flamebearer.  Even then, this was an ancient fortress,  His capture of this important British stronghold was important to the Angles' political and military seizure of the North. It is is a year which is widely regarded as the first date in history of the kingdom that would become known as Northumbria. It is probable that Ida already controlled an area in the Tyne, Wear and Tees region. But the more populated  lands held by the British, to the north,  in the vicinity of Bamburgh (Din Guyardi), were to become important additions to Ida's Kingdom of Bernicia, a kingdom that was expanding.

 The name Bernicia, was like Deira, probably an corruption of an existing Celtic name and would come to be synonymous with the  region of the North East in the centuries to come.

Huge areas of the North East had been conquered by Ida.   By 550 this included some territory south of the Tees. Ida was now the  undisputed and most powerful leader in the northern Angle Land (later England) and  Bamburgh or (Din Guyardi) was the capital .   Ida was succeeded by his son Theodoric, In 560 . His domain was confined to Bernicia, north of the Tees. However, some of the remaining Celtic kingdoms in the north, saw  Theodoric as a weaker leader than his father and would to accept his rule.

Meanwhile, in the Yorkshire Wolds (known  as Deira to the Angles)  Aelle, an Anglian chief  was rising to power and leading his people against the native Britons. Aelle is often regarded as the first king of Deira. Rivalry between the two kingdoms of  Deira and Bernicia would be a long running, and would feature in Anglo-Saxon history in the north for many years.  The native Celts however,  were still not  completely subdued. Urien, the king of the  of Rheged , a British kingdom based in Cumbria, was determined to fight for the Celtic cause. , He besieged King Theodoric of Bernicia on the island of LindisfarneIn  575 AD. The  siege that lasted three days, but victory could not be claimed.

,Due to the  close proximity of  the island of Lindisfarne to the Bernician capital of Bamburgh, it seems to have been  important as a  location for the early battles between Britons and Angles in the North. Not much is known of this period but, Urien of Rheged would meet his end fighting against the Anglo-Saxons on Lindisfarne in 590 AD.  It is thought that Morgan, a leader of the Goddodin tribe from north of the Tweed betrayed him

http://www.bamburghcastle.com/

--
Malcolm

malcolm.pickering@gmail.com

malcolm.shoestringmall.com