Edwin of Northumbria
Encyclopedia
Edwin also known as Eadwine or Æduini, was the King of Deira
and Bernicia
– which later became known as Northumbria
– from about 616 until his death. He converted to Christianity
and was baptised
in 627; after he fell at the Battle of Hatfield Chase
, he was venerated as a saint
.
Edwin was the son of Ælle king of Deira
and seems to have had (at least) two siblings. His sister Acha was married to Æthelfrith, king of neighbouring Bernicia
. An otherwise unknown sibling fathered Hereric, who in turn fathered Abbess Hilda of Whitby
and Hereswith, wife to Æthelric, the brother of king Anna of East Anglia
.
reported that on Ælle's death a certain "Æthelric
" assumed power. The exact identity of Æthelric is uncertain. He may have been a brother of Ælle, an elder brother of Edwin, an otherwise unknown Deiran noble, or the father of Æthelfrith. Æthelfrith himself appears to have been king of "Northumbria
"—both Deira and Bernicia—by no later than 604. During the reign of Æthelfrith, Edwin was an exile. The location of his early exile as a child is not known, but late traditions, reported by Reginald of Durham
and Geoffrey of Monmouth
, place Edwin in the kingdom of Gwynedd
, fostered by king Cadfan ap Iago
, so allowing biblical parallels to be drawn from the struggle between Edwin and his supposed foster-brother Cadwallon
. By the 610s he was certainly in Mercia, under the protection of king Cearl
, whose daughter Cwenburg he married.
By around 616, Edwin was in East Anglia, under the protection of king Raedwald
. Bede
reports that Æthelfrith tried to have Raedwald murder his unwanted rival, and that Raedwald was minded to do so, only being persuaded otherwise by his wife with Divine prompting. Regardless of the exact course of events, Raedwald faced
Æthelfrith in battle by the river Idle
in 616, and Æthelfrith was killed, along with Raedwald's son Raegenhere.
Edwin was installed as king of Northumbria, effectively confirming Raedwald as bretwalda
: Æthelfrith's sons went into exile in Irish Dál Riata
and Pictland
. That Edwin was able to take power not only in his native Deira, but also Bernicia, may have been due to his support from Raedwald, to whom he may have remained subject during the early part of his reign. Edwin's reign marks an interruption of the otherwise consistent domination of Northumbria by the Bernicians, and has been seen as "contrary to the prevailing tendency".
With the death of Æthelfrith, and of the powerful Æthelberht of Kent the same year, Raedwald and his client Edwin were well placed to dominate England, and indeed Raedwald did so until his death a decade later. Edwin annexed the minor British
kingdom of Elmet
following a campaign in either 616 or 626. Elmet had probably been subject to Mercia and then to Edwin. The much larger kingdom of Lindsey
appears to have been taken over c. 625, after the death of king Raedwald.
At this time Edwin and Eadbald of Kent
were allies, and Edwin arranged to marry Eadbald's sister Æthelburg. It is said by Bede that Eadbald would only agree to marry his sister to Edwin if he converted to Christianity. The marriage of Eadbald's Merovingian mother Bertha had resulted in the conversion of Kent, and Æthelburg's would do the same in Northumbria.
Edwin's expansion to the west may have begun early in his reign. In the early 620s, there is firm evidence of a war being waged between Edwin and Fiachnae mac Báetáin
of the Dál nAraidi
, king of the Ulaid
in Ireland
. A lost poem is known to have existed recounting Fiachnae's campaigns against the Saxons, and the Irish annals
report the siege, or the storming, of Bamburgh
in Bernicia in 623–624. This should presumably be placed in the context of Edwin's designs on the Isle of Man
, a target of Ulaid ambitions. Fiachnae's death in 626, at the hands of his namesake, Fiachnae mac Demmáin of the Dál Fiatach
, and the second Fiachnae's death a year later in battle against the Dál Riata
probably eased the way for Edwin's conquests in the Irish sea province.
The routine of kingship in Edwin's time involved regular, probably annual, wars with neighbours, to obtain tribute, submission and slaves. By Edwin's death, it is likely that these annual wars, unreported in the main, had extended the Northumbrian kingdoms from the Humber
and the Mersey
north to the Southern Uplands
and the Cheviots.
The royal household moved regularly from one "royal villa" to the next, consuming the food renders given in tribute and the produce of the royal estates, dispensing justice, and ensuring that royal authority remained visible throughout the land. The royal sites in Edwin's time included Yeavering
in Bernicia, where traces of a timber amphitheatre
have been found. This "Roman" feature makes Bede's claim that Edwin was preceded by a standard-bearer carrying a "tufa" (OE
thuuf, this may have been a winged globe) appear to be more than antiquarian curiosity, although whether the model for this practice was Roman or Frankish is unknown. Other royal sites included Campodunum in Elmet (perhaps Barwick
), Sancton
in Deira and Goodmanham
, the site where the pagan high priest Coifi
destroyed the idols according to Bede. Edwin's realm included the former Roman cities of York
and Carlisle, and both appear to have been of some importance in the 7th century, although it is not clear whether urban life continued at this period.
The account of Edwin's conversion offered by Bede turns on two events. The first, during Edwin's exile, tells how Edwin's life was saved by Paulinus of York
. The second, following his marriage to Æthelburg, was the attempted assassination at York
, at Easter 626, by an agent of Cwichelm of Wessex
, Edwin's decision to allow the baptism of his daughter Eanfled
and his subsequent promise to adopt Christianity if his campaign against Cwichelm proved successful. Apart from these events, the general character of Bede's account is one of an indecisive king, unwilling to take risks, unable to decide whether to convert or not.
As well as these events, the influence of Edwin's half-Merovingian Queen cannot be ignored, and the letters which Bede reproduces, sent by Pope Boniface V
to Edwin and Athelburg, are unlikely to have been unique. Given that Kent was under Frankish influence, while Bede sees the mission as being "Roman" in origin, the Franks were equally interested in converting their fellow Germans, and in extending their power and influence. Bede recounts Edwin's baptism, and that of his chief men, on 12 April 627. Edwin's zeal, so Bede says, led to Raedwald's son Eorpwald
also converting.
Bede's account of the conversion is oft-cited. After Paulinus explains the tenets of Christianity, the king asks his counselors what they think of the new doctrine. Edwin's priest Coifi responds that they may be worthwhile; after all, he says, no one has been more respectful of and devoted to their gods than he, and he has seen no benefits from his dedication to them. Then, an unnamed counselor stands up and addresses the king, also seeing the benefit of the new faith. Coifi speaks again and announces that they should destroy the idols and temples they had hitherto worshiped. King Edwin agrees and embraces Christianity; Coifi himself will set fire to the idols. The brief speech by the unnamed counselor, a nobleman, has attracted much attention; suggesting the "wisdom and hopefulness of the Christian message", it has inspired poets such as William Wordsworth
and was called "the most poetic simile in Bede":
Edwin's conversion and Eorpwald's were reversed by their successors, and in the case of Northumbria the Roman Paulinus appears to have had very little impact. Indeed, by expelling British clergy from Elmet and elsewhere in Edwin's realm, Paulinus may have weakened the Church rather than strengthening it. Very few Roman clergy were present in Paulinus's time, only James the Deacon
being known, so that the "conversion" can have been only superficial, extending little beyond the royal court. Paulinus's decision to flee Northumbria at Edwin's death, unlike his acolyte James who remained in Northumbria for many years afterwards until his death, suggests that the conversion was not popular, and the senior Italian cleric unloved.
in the summer of 625. By offering his protection to lesser kings, such as the king of Wight
, Edwin thwarted the ambitions of Cwichelm of Wessex. Cwichelm's response was to send an assassin, as noted already. Edwin did not immediately respond to this insult, suggesting either that he felt unable to do so, or that Bede's portrayal of him as a rather indecisive ruler is accurate. Following the failed assassination, as noted, Edwin committed himself to Christianity provided only that he was victorious against Cwichelm.
From about 627 onwards, Edwin was the most powerful king among the Anglo-Saxons, ruling Bernicia, Deira and much of eastern Mercia, the Isle of Man
and Anglesey
. His alliance with Kent, the subjection of Wessex, and his recent successes added to his power and authority. The imperium, as Bede calls it, that Edwin possessed was later equated with the idea of a Bretwalda
, a later concept invented by West Saxon kings in the 9th century. Put simply, success confirmed Edwin's overlordship, and failure would diminish it.
Edwin's supposed foster-brother Cadwallon ap Cadfan
enters the record circa 629, but Cadwallon was defeated and either submitted to Edwin's authority or went into exile. With the defeat of Cadwallon, Edwin's authority appears to have been unchallenged for a number of years, until Penda of Mercia
and Cadwallon rose against him in 632–633.
Edwin faced Penda and Cadwallon at the Battle of Hatfield Chase
in the autumn of 632 or 633, and was defeated and killed. For a time his body was (allegedly) hidden in Sherwood Forest
at a location that became the village of Edwinstowe
(trans. Edwin's resting place). Of his two grown sons by Cwenburh of Mercia, Osfrith died at Hatfield, and Eadfrith was captured by Penda and killed some time afterwards.
After his death, Edwin's Queen Æthelburg, along with Paulinus, returned to Kent, taking her son Uscfrea, daughter Eanfled, and Osfrith's son Yffi into exile with her. Uscfrea and Yffi were sent to the court of Æthelburg's kinsman Dagobert I
, king of the Franks, but died soon afterwards. Eanfled, however, lived to marry her first cousin king Oswiu
, son of Acha and Æthelfrith.
, son of Edwin's paternal uncle Ælfric, in Deira, and by Eanfrith
, son of Æthelfrith and Edwin's sister Acha, in Bernicia. Both reverted to paganism
, and both were killed by Cadwallon; eventually Eanfrith's brother Oswald
defeated and killed Cadwallon and united Northumbria once more. Thereafter, with the exception of Oswine
son of Osric, power in Northumbria was in the hands of the Idings, the descendants of Ida of Bernicia
, until the middle of the 8th century.
After his death, Edwin came to be venerated as a saint by some, although his cult was eventually overshadowed by the ultimately more successful cult of Oswald, who was killed in 642. They met their deaths in battle against similar foes, the pagan Mercians and the British in both cases, thus allowing both of them to be perceived as martyrs; however, Bede's treatment of Oswald clearly demonstrates that he regarded Oswald as an unambiguously saintly figure, a status that he did not accord to Edwin.
Edwin's renown comes largely from his treatment at some length by Bede, writing from an uncompromisingly English and Christian perspective, and rests on his belated conversion to Christianity. His united kingdom in the north did not outlast him, and his conversion to Christianity was renounced by his successors. When his kingship is compared with his pagan brother-in-law Æthelfrith, or to Æthelfrith's sons Oswald and Oswiu, or to the resolutely pagan Penda of Mercia, Edwin appears to be something less than a key figure in Britain during the first half of the 7th century. Perhaps the most significant legacies of Edwin's reign lay in his failures, the rise of Penda and of Mercia, and the return from Irish exile of the sons of Æthelfrith which tied the kingdom of Northumbria into the Irish sea world for generations.
Deira
Deira was a kingdom in Northern England during the 6th century AD. Itextended from the Humber to the Tees, and from the sea to the western edge of the Vale of York...
and Bernicia
Bernicia
Bernicia was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England....
– which later became known as Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
– from about 616 until his death. He converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and was baptised
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
in 627; after he fell at the Battle of Hatfield Chase
Battle of Hatfield Chase
The Battle of Hatfield Chase was fought on October 12, 633 at Hatfield Chase near Doncaster, Yorkshire, in Anglo-Saxon England between the Northumbrians under Edwin and an alliance of the Welsh of Gwynedd under Cadwallon ap Cadfan and the Mercians under Penda. The site was a marshy area about 8...
, he was venerated as a saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
.
Edwin was the son of Ælle king of Deira
Deira
Deira was a kingdom in Northern England during the 6th century AD. Itextended from the Humber to the Tees, and from the sea to the western edge of the Vale of York...
and seems to have had (at least) two siblings. His sister Acha was married to Æthelfrith, king of neighbouring Bernicia
Bernicia
Bernicia was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England....
. An otherwise unknown sibling fathered Hereric, who in turn fathered Abbess Hilda of Whitby
Hilda of Whitby
Hilda of Whitby or Hild of Whitby was a Christian saint and the founding abbess of the monastery at Whitby, which was chosen as the venue for the Synod of Whitby...
and Hereswith, wife to Æthelric, the brother of king Anna of East Anglia
Anna of East Anglia
Anna was King of East Anglia from the early 640s until his death. Anna was a member of the Wuffingas family, the ruling dynasty of the East Angles. He was one of the three sons of Eni who ruled East Anglia, succeeding some time after Ecgric was killed in battle by Penda of Mercia...
.
Early life and exile
The Anglo-Saxon ChronicleAnglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
reported that on Ælle's death a certain "Æthelric
Aethelric of Deira
Æthelric was supposedly a King of Deira . He is thought to have succeeded Ælla of Deira, but his existence is historically obscure....
" assumed power. The exact identity of Æthelric is uncertain. He may have been a brother of Ælle, an elder brother of Edwin, an otherwise unknown Deiran noble, or the father of Æthelfrith. Æthelfrith himself appears to have been king of "Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
"—both Deira and Bernicia—by no later than 604. During the reign of Æthelfrith, Edwin was an exile. The location of his early exile as a child is not known, but late traditions, reported by Reginald of Durham
Reginald of Durham
Reginald of Durham was an English monk and hagiologist.Reginald, a monk at Durham, was a hagiologist who wrote about the lives of saints. His best known work is about the hermit Saint Godric of Finchale...
and Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth was a cleric and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur...
, place Edwin in the kingdom of Gwynedd
Kingdom of Gwynedd
Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...
, fostered by king Cadfan ap Iago
Cadfan ap Iago
Cadfan ap Iago was King of Gwynedd . Little is known of the history of Gwynedd from this period, and information about Cadfan and his reign is minimal....
, so allowing biblical parallels to be drawn from the struggle between Edwin and his supposed foster-brother Cadwallon
Cadwallon ap Cadfan
Cadwallon ap Cadfan was the King of Gwynedd from around 625 until his death in battle. The son and successor of Cadfan ap Iago, he is best remembered as the King of the Britons who invaded and conquered Northumbria, defeating and killing its king, Edwin, prior to his own death in battle against...
. By the 610s he was certainly in Mercia, under the protection of king Cearl
Cearl of Mercia
Cearl was an early king of Mercia who ruled during the early part of the 7th century, perhaps from about 606 to about 626. He is the first Mercian king mentioned by Bede in his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum.Cearl's ancestry is unknown...
, whose daughter Cwenburg he married.
By around 616, Edwin was in East Anglia, under the protection of king Raedwald
Raedwald of East Anglia
Rædwald ; also Raedwald or Redwald, was a 7th century king of East Anglia, a long-lived Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. He was the son of Tytila of East Anglia and a member of the Wuffingas dynasty , who were the first rulers of the East Angles...
. Bede
Bede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
reports that Æthelfrith tried to have Raedwald murder his unwanted rival, and that Raedwald was minded to do so, only being persuaded otherwise by his wife with Divine prompting. Regardless of the exact course of events, Raedwald faced
Æthelfrith in battle by the river Idle
River Idle
The River Idle is a river in Nottinghamshire, England. Its source is the confluence of the River Maun and River Meden, near Markham Moor. From there, it flows north through Retford and Bawtry before entering the River Trent at Stockwith near Misterton...
in 616, and Æthelfrith was killed, along with Raedwald's son Raegenhere.
Edwin was installed as king of Northumbria, effectively confirming Raedwald as bretwalda
Bretwalda
Bretwalda is an Old English word, the first record of which comes from the late 9th century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. It is given to some of the rulers of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from the 5th century onwards who had achieved overlordship of some or all of the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms...
: Æthelfrith's sons went into exile in Irish Dál Riata
Dál Riata
Dál Riata was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland with some territory on the northeast coast of Ireland...
and Pictland
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
. That Edwin was able to take power not only in his native Deira, but also Bernicia, may have been due to his support from Raedwald, to whom he may have remained subject during the early part of his reign. Edwin's reign marks an interruption of the otherwise consistent domination of Northumbria by the Bernicians, and has been seen as "contrary to the prevailing tendency".
Edwin as king
Brython
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
kingdom of Elmet
Elmet
Elmet was an independent Brythonic kingdom covering a broad area of what later became the West Riding of Yorkshire during the Early Middle Ages, between approximately the 5th century and early 7th century. Although its precise boundaries are unclear, it appears to have been bordered by the River...
following a campaign in either 616 or 626. Elmet had probably been subject to Mercia and then to Edwin. The much larger kingdom of Lindsey
Kingdom of Lindsey
Lindsey or Linnuis is the name of a petty Anglo-Saxon kingdom, absorbed into Northumbria in the 7th century.It lay between the Humber and the Wash, forming its inland boundaries from the course of the Witham and Trent rivers , and the Foss Dyke between...
appears to have been taken over c. 625, after the death of king Raedwald.
At this time Edwin and Eadbald of Kent
Eadbald of Kent
Eadbald was King of Kent from 616 until his death in 640. He was the son of King Æthelberht and his wife Bertha, a daughter of the Merovingian king Charibert. Æthelberht made Kent the dominant force in England during his reign and became the first Anglo-Saxon king to convert to Christianity from...
were allies, and Edwin arranged to marry Eadbald's sister Æthelburg. It is said by Bede that Eadbald would only agree to marry his sister to Edwin if he converted to Christianity. The marriage of Eadbald's Merovingian mother Bertha had resulted in the conversion of Kent, and Æthelburg's would do the same in Northumbria.
Edwin's expansion to the west may have begun early in his reign. In the early 620s, there is firm evidence of a war being waged between Edwin and Fiachnae mac Báetáin
Fiachnae mac Báetáin
Fiachnae mac Báetáin , also called Fiachnae Lurgan or Fiachnae Find, was king of the Dál nAraidi and high-king of the Ulaid in the early 7th century. He was a son of Báetán mac Echdach and brother of Fiachra Cáech Fiachnae mac Báetáin (died 626), also called Fiachnae Lurgan or Fiachnae Find, was...
of the Dál nAraidi
Dál nAraidi
Dál nAraidi was a kingdom of the Cruthin in the north-east of Ireland in the first millennium. The lands of the Dál nAraidi appear to correspond with the Robogdii of Ptolemy's Geographia, a region shared with Dál Riata...
, king of the Ulaid
Ulaid
The Ulaid or Ulaidh were a people of early Ireland who gave their name to the modern province of Ulster...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. A lost poem is known to have existed recounting Fiachnae's campaigns against the Saxons, and the Irish annals
Irish annals
A number of Irish annals were compiled up to and shortly after the end of Gaelic Ireland in the 17th century.Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days...
report the siege, or the storming, of Bamburgh
Bamburgh
Bamburgh is a large village and civil parish on the coast of Northumberland, England. It has a population of 454.It is notable for two reasons: the imposing Bamburgh Castle, overlooking the beach, seat of the former Kings of Northumbria, and at present owned by the Armstrong family ; and its...
in Bernicia in 623–624. This should presumably be placed in the context of Edwin's designs on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, a target of Ulaid ambitions. Fiachnae's death in 626, at the hands of his namesake, Fiachnae mac Demmáin of the Dál Fiatach
Dál Fiatach
The Dál Fiatach were a group of related dynasties located in eastern Ulster in the Early Christian and Early Medieval periods of the history of Ireland.-Description:...
, and the second Fiachnae's death a year later in battle against the Dál Riata
Dál Riata
Dál Riata was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland with some territory on the northeast coast of Ireland...
probably eased the way for Edwin's conquests in the Irish sea province.
The routine of kingship in Edwin's time involved regular, probably annual, wars with neighbours, to obtain tribute, submission and slaves. By Edwin's death, it is likely that these annual wars, unreported in the main, had extended the Northumbrian kingdoms from the Humber
Humber
The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal River Ouse and the tidal River Trent. From here to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire on the north bank...
and the Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
north to the Southern Uplands
Southern Uplands
The Southern Uplands are the southernmost and least populous of mainland Scotland's three major geographic areas . The term is used both to describe the geographical region and to collectively denote the various ranges of hills within this region...
and the Cheviots.
The royal household moved regularly from one "royal villa" to the next, consuming the food renders given in tribute and the produce of the royal estates, dispensing justice, and ensuring that royal authority remained visible throughout the land. The royal sites in Edwin's time included Yeavering
Yeavering
Yeavering is a very small hamlet in the north-east corner of the civil parish of Kirknewton in the English county of Northumberland. It is located on the River Glen at the northern edge of the Cheviot Hills...
in Bernicia, where traces of a timber amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
have been found. This "Roman" feature makes Bede's claim that Edwin was preceded by a standard-bearer carrying a "tufa" (OE
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
thuuf, this may have been a winged globe) appear to be more than antiquarian curiosity, although whether the model for this practice was Roman or Frankish is unknown. Other royal sites included Campodunum in Elmet (perhaps Barwick
Barwick-in-Elmet
Barwick-in-Elmet is a village east of the centre of but still part of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is one of only three places in the area to be explicitly associated with the ancient Celtic kingdom of Elmet, the others being Scholes-in-Elmet and Sherburn-in-Elmet. It is part of...
), Sancton
Sancton
Sancton is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately south east of the market town of Market Weighton on the A1034 road.The civil parish is formed by the village of Sancton and the hamlet of Houghton...
in Deira and Goodmanham
Goodmanham
Goodmanham is a small village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately to the north-east of Market Weighton...
, the site where the pagan high priest Coifi
Coifi
Coifi or Cofi was the priest of the temple at Goodmanham in Northumbria in 627.Bede's description of Coifi is that of the chief of priests in Northumbria; the fact that he is the chief priest suggests that there was some sort of organised pagan priesthood in existence during Coifi's time...
destroyed the idols according to Bede. Edwin's realm included the former Roman cities of York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
and Carlisle, and both appear to have been of some importance in the 7th century, although it is not clear whether urban life continued at this period.
Edwin's conversion to Christianity
Paulinus of York
Paulinus was a Roman missionary and the first Bishop of York. A member of the Gregorian mission sent in 601 by Pope Gregory I to Christianize the Anglo-Saxons from their native Anglo-Saxon paganism, Paulinus arrived in England by 604 with the second missionary group...
. The second, following his marriage to Æthelburg, was the attempted assassination at York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, at Easter 626, by an agent of Cwichelm of Wessex
Cwichelm of Wessex
Cwichelm was an Anglo-Saxon king of the Gewisse, a people in the upper Thames area who later created the kingdom of Wessex. He is usually counted among the Kings of Wessex....
, Edwin's decision to allow the baptism of his daughter Eanfled
Eanfled of Deira
Eanflæd was queen of Bernicia and later, the abbess of an influential Christian monastery in Whitby, England. She was the daughter of King Edwin of Deira and Æthelburg, daughter of King Æthelberht of Kent. In about 642 Eanflæd married King Oswiu of Bernicia...
and his subsequent promise to adopt Christianity if his campaign against Cwichelm proved successful. Apart from these events, the general character of Bede's account is one of an indecisive king, unwilling to take risks, unable to decide whether to convert or not.
As well as these events, the influence of Edwin's half-Merovingian Queen cannot be ignored, and the letters which Bede reproduces, sent by Pope Boniface V
Pope Boniface V
Pope Boniface V was pope from 619 to 625.He was consecrated as pope on December 23, 619. He did much for the Christianising of England and enacted the decree by which churches became places of refuge for criminals....
to Edwin and Athelburg, are unlikely to have been unique. Given that Kent was under Frankish influence, while Bede sees the mission as being "Roman" in origin, the Franks were equally interested in converting their fellow Germans, and in extending their power and influence. Bede recounts Edwin's baptism, and that of his chief men, on 12 April 627. Edwin's zeal, so Bede says, led to Raedwald's son Eorpwald
Eorpwald of East Anglia
Eorpwald; also Erpenwald or Earpwald, , succeeded his father Rædwald as ruler of the independent Kingdom of the East Angles...
also converting.
Bede's account of the conversion is oft-cited. After Paulinus explains the tenets of Christianity, the king asks his counselors what they think of the new doctrine. Edwin's priest Coifi responds that they may be worthwhile; after all, he says, no one has been more respectful of and devoted to their gods than he, and he has seen no benefits from his dedication to them. Then, an unnamed counselor stands up and addresses the king, also seeing the benefit of the new faith. Coifi speaks again and announces that they should destroy the idols and temples they had hitherto worshiped. King Edwin agrees and embraces Christianity; Coifi himself will set fire to the idols. The brief speech by the unnamed counselor, a nobleman, has attracted much attention; suggesting the "wisdom and hopefulness of the Christian message", it has inspired poets such as William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
and was called "the most poetic simile in Bede":
The present life man, O king, seems to me, in comparison with that time which is unknown to us, like to the swift flight of a sparrow through the room wherein you sit at supper in winter amid your officers and ministers, with a good fire in the midst whilst the storms of rain and snow prevail abroad; the sparrow, I say, flying in at one door and immediately another, whilst he is within is safe from the wintry but after a short space of fair weather he immediately vanishes out of your sight into the dark winter from which he has emerged. So this life of man appears for a short space but of what went before or what is to follow we are ignorant. If, therefore, this new doctrine contains something more certain, it seems justly to deserve to be followed.
Edwin's conversion and Eorpwald's were reversed by their successors, and in the case of Northumbria the Roman Paulinus appears to have had very little impact. Indeed, by expelling British clergy from Elmet and elsewhere in Edwin's realm, Paulinus may have weakened the Church rather than strengthening it. Very few Roman clergy were present in Paulinus's time, only James the Deacon
James the Deacon
James the Deacon was an Italian deacon who accompanied Paulinus of York on his mission to Northumbria. He was a member of the Gregorian mission which came to England to Christianize the Anglo-Saxons from their native Anglo-Saxon paganism, although when he arrived in England is unknown...
being known, so that the "conversion" can have been only superficial, extending little beyond the royal court. Paulinus's decision to flee Northumbria at Edwin's death, unlike his acolyte James who remained in Northumbria for many years afterwards until his death, suggests that the conversion was not popular, and the senior Italian cleric unloved.
Edwin as overlord
The first challenge to Edwin came soon after his marriage-alliance with Kent, concluded at CanterburyCanterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
in the summer of 625. By offering his protection to lesser kings, such as the king of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, Edwin thwarted the ambitions of Cwichelm of Wessex. Cwichelm's response was to send an assassin, as noted already. Edwin did not immediately respond to this insult, suggesting either that he felt unable to do so, or that Bede's portrayal of him as a rather indecisive ruler is accurate. Following the failed assassination, as noted, Edwin committed himself to Christianity provided only that he was victorious against Cwichelm.
From about 627 onwards, Edwin was the most powerful king among the Anglo-Saxons, ruling Bernicia, Deira and much of eastern Mercia, the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
and Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
. His alliance with Kent, the subjection of Wessex, and his recent successes added to his power and authority. The imperium, as Bede calls it, that Edwin possessed was later equated with the idea of a Bretwalda
Bretwalda
Bretwalda is an Old English word, the first record of which comes from the late 9th century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. It is given to some of the rulers of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from the 5th century onwards who had achieved overlordship of some or all of the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms...
, a later concept invented by West Saxon kings in the 9th century. Put simply, success confirmed Edwin's overlordship, and failure would diminish it.
Edwin's supposed foster-brother Cadwallon ap Cadfan
Cadwallon ap Cadfan
Cadwallon ap Cadfan was the King of Gwynedd from around 625 until his death in battle. The son and successor of Cadfan ap Iago, he is best remembered as the King of the Britons who invaded and conquered Northumbria, defeating and killing its king, Edwin, prior to his own death in battle against...
enters the record circa 629, but Cadwallon was defeated and either submitted to Edwin's authority or went into exile. With the defeat of Cadwallon, Edwin's authority appears to have been unchallenged for a number of years, until Penda of Mercia
Penda of Mercia
Penda was a 7th-century King of Mercia, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom in what is today the English Midlands. A pagan at a time when Christianity was taking hold in many of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Penda took over the Severn Valley in 628 following the Battle of Cirencester before participating in the...
and Cadwallon rose against him in 632–633.
Edwin faced Penda and Cadwallon at the Battle of Hatfield Chase
Battle of Hatfield Chase
The Battle of Hatfield Chase was fought on October 12, 633 at Hatfield Chase near Doncaster, Yorkshire, in Anglo-Saxon England between the Northumbrians under Edwin and an alliance of the Welsh of Gwynedd under Cadwallon ap Cadfan and the Mercians under Penda. The site was a marshy area about 8...
in the autumn of 632 or 633, and was defeated and killed. For a time his body was (allegedly) hidden in Sherwood Forest
Sherwood Forest
Sherwood Forest is a Royal Forest in Nottinghamshire, England, that is famous through its historical association with the legend of Robin Hood. Continuously forested since the end of the Ice Age, Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve today encompasses 423 hectares surrounding the village of...
at a location that became the village of Edwinstowe
Edwinstowe
Edwinstowe is a village in the heart of Sherwood Forest, north Nottinghamshire, England.Its name means Edwin's resting place because King Edwin of Northumbria's body was hidden in the church after he was killed in the Battle of Hatfield Chase, near Doncaster, probably in 633. References to...
(trans. Edwin's resting place). Of his two grown sons by Cwenburh of Mercia, Osfrith died at Hatfield, and Eadfrith was captured by Penda and killed some time afterwards.
After his death, Edwin's Queen Æthelburg, along with Paulinus, returned to Kent, taking her son Uscfrea, daughter Eanfled, and Osfrith's son Yffi into exile with her. Uscfrea and Yffi were sent to the court of Æthelburg's kinsman Dagobert I
Dagobert I
Dagobert I was the king of Austrasia , king of all the Franks , and king of Neustria and Burgundy . He was the last Merovingian dynast to wield any real royal power...
, king of the Franks, but died soon afterwards. Eanfled, however, lived to marry her first cousin king Oswiu
Oswiu of Northumbria
Oswiu , also known as Oswy or Oswig , was a King of Bernicia. His father, Æthelfrith of Bernicia, was killed in battle, fighting against Rædwald, King of the East Angles and Edwin of Deira at the River Idle in 616...
, son of Acha and Æthelfrith.
Death and legacy
Edwin's realm was divided at his death. He was succeeded by OsricOsric of Deira
Osric was a King of Deira in northern England. He was a cousin of king Edwin of Northumbria, being the son of Edwin's uncle Aelfric...
, son of Edwin's paternal uncle Ælfric, in Deira, and by Eanfrith
Eanfrith of Bernicia
Eanfrith was briefly King of Bernicia from 633 to 634. He was the son of Æthelfrith, a Bernician king who had also ruled Deira to the south before being killed in battle around 616 against Raedwald of East Anglia, who had given refuge to Edwin, an exiled prince of Deira.Edwin became king of...
, son of Æthelfrith and Edwin's sister Acha, in Bernicia. Both reverted to paganism
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
, and both were killed by Cadwallon; eventually Eanfrith's brother Oswald
Oswald of Northumbria
Oswald was King of Northumbria from 634 until his death, and is now venerated as a Christian saint.Oswald was the son of Æthelfrith of Bernicia and came to rule after spending a period in exile; after defeating the British ruler Cadwallon ap Cadfan, Oswald brought the two Northumbrian kingdoms of...
defeated and killed Cadwallon and united Northumbria once more. Thereafter, with the exception of Oswine
Oswine of Deira
Oswine was a King of Deira in northern England. He succeeded King Oswald of Northumbria, probably around the year 644, after Oswald's death at the Battle of Maserfield. Oswine was the son of Osric....
son of Osric, power in Northumbria was in the hands of the Idings, the descendants of Ida of Bernicia
Ida of Bernicia
Ida is the first known king of the Anglian kingdom of Bernicia, which he ruled from around 547 until his death in 559. Little is known of his life or reign, but he was regarded as the founder of a line from which later Anglo-Saxon kings in this part of northern England and southern Scotland...
, until the middle of the 8th century.
After his death, Edwin came to be venerated as a saint by some, although his cult was eventually overshadowed by the ultimately more successful cult of Oswald, who was killed in 642. They met their deaths in battle against similar foes, the pagan Mercians and the British in both cases, thus allowing both of them to be perceived as martyrs; however, Bede's treatment of Oswald clearly demonstrates that he regarded Oswald as an unambiguously saintly figure, a status that he did not accord to Edwin.
Edwin's renown comes largely from his treatment at some length by Bede, writing from an uncompromisingly English and Christian perspective, and rests on his belated conversion to Christianity. His united kingdom in the north did not outlast him, and his conversion to Christianity was renounced by his successors. When his kingship is compared with his pagan brother-in-law Æthelfrith, or to Æthelfrith's sons Oswald and Oswiu, or to the resolutely pagan Penda of Mercia, Edwin appears to be something less than a key figure in Britain during the first half of the 7th century. Perhaps the most significant legacies of Edwin's reign lay in his failures, the rise of Penda and of Mercia, and the return from Irish exile of the sons of Æthelfrith which tied the kingdom of Northumbria into the Irish sea world for generations.
External links
- Bede's Ecclesiastical History and its Continuation (pdf), at CCEL, translated by A.M. Sellar, Latin edition at the Latin Library.
- Anglo-Saxon Chronicle an XML edition by Tony Jebson, including Ms. E.
- Annales Cambriae (translated) at the Internet Medieval Sourcebook.
- Anglo-Saxon texts, selected Anglo-Saxon texts at Fordham University, Internet Medieval Sourcebook.
- CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork includes the Annals of Ulster and Tigernach. Most works are translated into English, or translations are in progress.