Eric Bloodaxe
Encyclopedia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n ruler. He is thought to have had short-lived terms as the second king of Norway and possibly as the last independent ruler of the kingdom of Northumbria (c. 947/8–948 and 952–5).
Distinct from the king of Norway of the Norse sagas, a member of the Fairhair dynasty
Fairhair dynasty
The Fairhair dynasty was a family of kings founded by Harald I of Norway which ruled Norway with few interruptions from 800 to 1387 , or through only three generations of kings , in the 10th century CE....
, the historical Eric of Northumbria has recently been argued to have actually belonged to the Uí Ímair
Uí Ímair
The Uí Ímair , or Dynasty of Ivar, were an enormous royal and imperial Norse dynasty who ruled Northern England, the Irish Sea region and Kingdom of Dublin, and the western coast of Scotland, including the Hebrides, from the mid 9th century, losing control of the first in the mid 10th, but the rest...
(House of Ivar), a distinct dynasty long established in the British Isles by the time of his rule.
Sources
The little historical data which is available has been used by historians to reconstruct a narrative of his life and career. There is a distinction between contemporary or near contemporary sources for Eric's period as ruler of NorthumbriaNorthumbria
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...
, and the entirely saga-based sources that detail the life of Eric of Norway, a chieftain who ruled the Norwegian Westland in the 930s. Norse sources have identified the two as the same since the late 12th century, and while the subject was controversial among early modern historians, most historians have identified the two figures as the same since W. G. Collingwood's article in 1901. This identification has been rejected recently by the historian Claire Downham, who argued that later Norse writers synthesized the two Erics, possibly using English sources. This argument, though respected by other historians in the area, has not produced consensus.
Contemporary or near-contemporary sources include different recension
Recension
Recension is the practice of editing or revising a text based on critical analysis. When referring to manuscripts, this may be a revision by another author...
s of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-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...
, Eric's coinage, the Life of St Cathróe and possibly skaldic poetry. Such sources reproduce only a hazy image of Eric's activities in Anglo-Saxon England.
Strikingly, Eric's historical obscurity stands in sharp contrast to the wealth of legendary depictions in the kings' sagas, where he takes part in the sagas of his father Harald Fairhair and his younger brother Haakon the Good. These include the late 12th-century Norwegian synoptics – Historia Norwegiæ (perhaps c. 1170), Theodoricus monachus
Theodoricus monachus
Theodoric the Monk In Old Norse his name was most likely Þórir munkr. was a 12th century Norwegian Benedictine monk, perhaps at the Nidarholm Abbey. He may be identical with either Bishop Tore at Hamar or Archbishop Tore Gudmundsson, who both went under the name Theodoricus in the Abbey of St...
' Historia de antiquitate regum Norwagiensium (c. 1180) and Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum
Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum
Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum or Ágrip is a synoptic history of the kings of Norway, written in Old Norse. The preserved text starts with the death of Hálfdan svarti and ends with the accession of Ingi krókhryggr but the original is thought to have covered a longer period, probably up to the reign of...
(c. 1190) – and the later Icelandic kings' sagas
Kings' sagas
The kings' sagas are Norse sagas which tell of the lives of Scandinavian kings. They were composed in the 12th to 14th centuries in Iceland and Norway....
Orkneyinga saga
Orkneyinga saga
The Orkneyinga saga is a historical narrative of the history of the Orkney Islands, from their capture by the Norwegian king in the ninth century onwards until about 1200...
(c. 1200), Fagrskinna
Fagrskinna
Fagrskinna is one of the kings' sagas, written around 1220. It takes its name from one of the manuscripts in which it was preserved, Fagrskinna meaning 'Fair Leather', i.e., 'Fair Parchment'. Fagrskinna proper was destroyed by fire, but copies of it and another vellum have been preserved...
(c. 1225), the Heimskringla
Heimskringla
Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...
ascribed to Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
(c. 1230), Egils saga
Egils saga
Egils saga is an epic Icelandic saga. The oldest transcript dates back to 1240 AD. The saga is centered on the life of Egill Skallagrímsson, an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald...
(1220 x 1240) and Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta
Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta
Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta or The Greatest Saga of Óláfr Tryggvasonis one of the kings' sagas, an extended biography of King Óláfr Tryggvason....
(c. 1300). Exactly in what sense the Eric of the sagas may have been based on the historical Eric of Northumbria, and conversely, to what extent later evidence might or might not be called upon to shed light on the historical figure, are matters which have inspired a variety of approaches and suggestions among generations of historians. Current opinion veers towards a more critical or dismissive attitude towards the use of sagas as historical sources, but conclusive answers cannot be offered.
Epithet
Eric's soubriquet blóðøx ‘Bloodaxe’ or 'Bloody-axe' is of uncertain origin and context. It is doubtful whether its preservation in two lausavísur by Egill SkallagrímssonEgill Skallagrímsson
Egill Skallagrímsson was a Viking Age warrior and skald. Egill is one of the great anti-heroes of the Icelandic sagas.-Life:...
and a contemporary skald
Skald
The skald was a member of a group of poets, whose courtly poetry is associated with the courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic leaders during the Viking Age, who composed and performed renditions of aspects of what we now characterise as Old Norse poetry .The most prevalent metre of skaldic poetry is...
genuinely dates to the 10th century or had been inserted at some stage when Eric was becoming the focus of legend. There is no guarantee that it significantly predates the 12th-century narrative tradition, where it is first attached to him in Ágrip and in Latin translation as sanguinea securis in the Historia Norwegiæ. The sagas usually explain it as referring to Eric's slaying of his half-brothers in a ruthless struggle to monopolise his rule over Norway. Theodoricus gives the similar nickname fratrum interfector (killer of brothers). Fagrskinna, on the other hand, ascribes it to Eric's violent reputation as a Viking raider.
Father
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...
(MS E) describes Eric laconically as ‘Harold’s son’ (Haroldes sunu), perhaps assuming some familiarity on the reader's part. In the early part of the 12th century, John of Worcester
John of Worcester
John of Worcester was an English monk and chronicler. He is usually held to be the author of the Chronicon ex chronicis.-Chronicon ex chronicis:...
had reason to believe that Eric (Yrcus) was of royal Scandinavian stock (Danica stirpe progenitum, a phrase used earlier for the Hiberno-Norse ruler of Northumbria, Sihtric Cáech).
This appears to match with independent tradition from Norwegian synoptic histories and Icelandic sagas, which are explicit in identifying Eric of Northumbria as a son of the Norwegian king Harald (I) Fairhair. The skaldic poems ascribed to Egill Skallagrímsson may offer further reassurance that the sagas are on the right track, although doubts have been expressed about the date and integrity of the verses in the form in which they have survived. One of Egill's lausavísur speaks of an encounter in England with a man of “Harald's line” (Haralds áttar), while the Arinbjarnarkviða
Arinbjarnarkviða
Arinbjarnarkviða is a skaldic poem by Egill Skalla-Grímsson in praise of his friend Arinbjörn. The poem is preserved in manuscripts of Egils saga. Some lines are lost while others may be corrupted. The metre is kviðuháttr.-References:...
envisages a ruler at York (Jórvik) who is a descendant of Halfdán
Halfdan the Black
Halfdan the Black was a ninth-century king of Vestfold. He belonged to the House of Yngling and was the father of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway.-Biography:...
(Halfdanar) and of the Yngling
Yngling
The Ynglings were the oldest known Scandinavian dynasty. It can refer to the clans of the Scylfings , the semi-legendary royal Swedish clan during the Age of Migrations, with kings such as Eadgils, Onela and Ohthere...
dynasty (ynglings burar). If genuine, the latter identification would form the only direct clue in the contemporary record which might link Eric with the Norwegian dynasty.
Another Haraldr known from this period is Aralt mac Sitric (d. 940), king of Limerick, the probable father of Maccus
Maccus mac Arailt
Maccus mac Arailt or Maccus Haraldsson was a Scandinavian or Norse-Gael king. He and his brother Gofraid were active in the lands around the Irish Sea in the 970s and 980s...
and Gofraid
Gofraid mac Arailt
Gofraid mac Arailt , in Old Norse Guðrøðr Haraldsson, was a Scandinavian or Norse-Gael king. He and his brother Maccus were active in the lands around the Irish Sea in the 970s and 980s.-Origins:...
. This may be relevant, since both these brothers and a certain Eric have been described as rulers of 'the Isles' (Hebrides
Hebrides
The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...
) (see below). In a letter addressed to Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII , born Benedetto Gaetani, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1294 to 1303. Today, Boniface VIII is probably best remembered for his feuds with Dante, who placed him in the Eighth circle of Hell in his Divina Commedia, among the Simonists.- Biography :Gaetani was born in 1235 in...
, King Edward I (r. 1272–1307) remembered a certain Eric (Yricius) as having been a king of Scotland subject to the English king.
In the 19th century, a case had also been made for Harald Bluetooth King of Denmark (d. 983) as being Eric's true father. J.M. Lappenberg and Charles Plummer
Charles Plummer
Charles Plummer was an English historian, best known for editing Sir John Fortescue's The Governance of England, and for coining the term 'bastard feudalism'....
, for instance, identified Eric with Harald's son Hiring. The only authority for this son's existence is Adam of Bremen
Adam of Bremen
Adam of Bremen was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. He is most famous for his chronicle Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum .-Background:Little is known of his life other than hints from his own chronicles...
, who in his Gesta (c. 1070) claims to cite the otherwise unknown Gesta Anglorum for a remarkable anecdote about Hiring's foreign adventures: "Harald sent his son Hiring to England with an army. When the latter had subjugated the island, he was in the end betrayed and killed by the Northumbrians." Even if Eric's rise and fall had been the inspiration for the story, the names are not identical and Harald Bluetooth's floruit does not sit well with Eric's.
A brother?
In the account cited in full below, Roger of WendoverRoger of Wendover
Roger of Wendover , probably a native of Wendover in Buckinghamshire, was an English chronicler of the 13th century.At an uncertain date he became a monk at St Albans Abbey; afterwards he was appointed prior of the cell of Belvoir, but he forfeited this dignity in the early years of Henry III,...
says that Eric was killed by a certain Maccus – elsewhere a son of Olaf – together with his son Haeric (Henricus or Haericus) and brother Ragnald (Reginaldus). Historians have been struck by the correspondence with names in Fagrskinna, which says that two of the kings who died with Eirik in his final battle against Olaf were called Harékr and Ragnvald, although they are not identified as relatives.
Mother and half-brothers (sagas)
Further details on his family background are provided solely by the Icelandic and Norwegian sources of the 12th and 13th centuries, which are of limited and uncertain historical value and should therefore be treated with due circumspection. Harald 'Fairhair' is usually portrayed as a polygamous and fertile king, the number of his sons varying between 16 and 20. While Eirik's mother remains anonymous in the synoptic histories (Ágrip) and most of the Icelandic sagas, the Heimskringla (c. 1230) claims that she was RagnhildrRagnhildr
-Female characters in the kings' sagas and þættir:* Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter, daughter of Sigurd Hart, identified as the mother of Harald I of Norway in the Ragnarssona þáttr.* Ragnhildr, mother of Harald I of Norway...
, daughter of Eric, king of (South) Jutland. The possibility that Harald had married a Danish princess may find some support in a skaldic stanza which is usually assigned to Þorbjörn Hornklofi
Þorbjörn hornklofi
Þorbjörn Hornklofi was a 9th century Norwegian poet. He was the court poet of King Harald Fairhair.-Bibliography:*Glymdrápa - A drápa on King Harald.*Hrafnsmál/Haraldskvæði - Another poem on King Harald using the málaháttr metre....
's Hrafnsmál
Hrafnsmál
Hrafnsmál is a fragmentary skaldic poem generally accepted as authored by the 9th century Norwegian skald Þorbjörn Hornklofi. Hrafnsmál largely consists of a conversation between an unnamed valkyrie and a raven; the two discuss the life and martial deeds of Harald Fairhair. Due to this, the poem...
, a eulogy on Harald's deeds in the form of a conversation between a raven and valkyrie
Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who decides who dies in battle. Selecting among half of those who die in battle , the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin...
. It tells that Harald “chose the lady from Denmark [konu danska] / broke with his Rogaland loves / and his lemans of Horthaland, / the maidens of Hálogaland / and of Hathaland eke.” In the Flateyjarbók, it is preceded by another stanza which refers to the “handmaidens of Ragnhildr” (ambáttir Ragnhildar) as witnesses of the event. However, it is uncertain whether her name was already in the original composition, as another manuscript reading has the metrically regular ambáttir Danskar. The account of Heimskringla, which claims that Harald had enjoyed the company of eleven consorts before Ragnhildr, and that of Egils saga are at variance with the suggestion elsewhere that Eric was one of the oldest (Fagrskinna), if not the eldest son of Harald (Historia Norwegiæ, Ágrip). Whatever one makes of the discrepancy, the sagas – including Heimskringla – are unanimous in making Haakon Eric's younger half-brother and successor.
Early career (sagas)
According to Heimskringla and Egils saga, Eric spent much of his childhood in fosterage with the hersir Thórir son of Hróald. Of his adolescent years, a remarkable picture is painted in Heimskringla, which recounts that Eric, aged twelve and seemingly possessed of prodigious valour and strength, embarked on a career of international piracy: four years were spent harrying the Baltic coasts and those of Denmark, Frisia and Germany ('Saxland'); another four years those of Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France; and lastly, Lappland and Bjarmaland (in what is now northern Russia). Describing the last trip, Egils saga notes that Eric sailed down the Dvina River into the Russian hinterland of Permia, where he sacked the small trading port of Permina.Marriage
The Life of St Cathróe of MetzCathróe of Metz
Saint Cathróe was a monk and abbot. His life is recorded in a hagiography written soon after his death by a monk at the monastery of Saint Felix at Metz, where Cathróe was abbot...
, written c. 1000 at the latest and therefore of near contemporary value, has information about Eric and his wife. It relates that "after keeping him for some time", the King of the Cumbrians conducted Cathróe to Loidam Civitatem, the boundary between the Normanni ("Scandinavians") and the Cumbri ("Britons"):
And there he was received by a certain nobleman, Gunderic, by whom he was led to king Erichius in the town of York, because this king had as wife a relative of the godly Cathróe"
Given what is known of Cathróe's own background, this probably means that she was of British
Britons (historical)
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...
("Cumbrian") or Scottish descent. This contradicts to some extent later saga tradition. According to the early 13th century Egils saga
Egils saga
Egils saga is an epic Icelandic saga. The oldest transcript dates back to 1240 AD. The saga is centered on the life of Egill Skallagrímsson, an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald...
, Eric's consort at York was Gunnhildr, the famous "mother of kings". This account was constructed by the author of Egils saga using an earlier poem called Arinbjarnarkviða
Arinbjarnarkviða
Arinbjarnarkviða is a skaldic poem by Egill Skalla-Grímsson in praise of his friend Arinbjörn. The poem is preserved in manuscripts of Egils saga. Some lines are lost while others may be corrupted. The metre is kviðuháttr.-References:...
"Lay of Arinbjörn", and this poem does not mention Gunnhild by name, implying therefore that the name was introduced by the author of Egils saga.
Saga tradition is though unanimous that Eric did cohabit with a woman named Gunnhildr. Her name occurs in a handful of Egill's lausavísur. The earliest saga Historia Norwegiæ describes her as the daughter of Gorm inn Gamli (‘the Old’), king of Denmark (and hence a sister of Harald Bluetooth). Most subsequent accounts name her father Ozur
Ozur Toti
Ozur Toti was a 9th-century Norwegian hersir who lived in Halogaland. In the Heimskringla and Egil's Saga, he is identified as the father of Gunnhild Mother of Kings, the wife and queen of Erik Bloodaxe, though elsewhere she is identified as a daughter of Gorm the Old.Heimskringla and Egil's Saga...
, nicknamed either Toti “teat” (Egils saga, Fagrskinna, Heimskringla) or lafskegg “dangling beard” (Ágrip, Fagrskinna), a man who hailed from the northern province of Hålogaland
Hålogaland
Hålogaland was the northernmost of the Norwegian provinces in the mediaeval Norse sagas. In the early Viking Age, before Harald Fairhair, Hålogaland was a petty kingdom extending between Namdalen in Nord-Trøndelag and Lyngen in Troms.-Etymology:...
(Egils saga, Heimskringla). Icelandic hostility towards Gunnhildr has been cited as being a possible source for her dissociation from the Danish royal house.
There is no consensus on how to solve this problem. An early suggestion is that the name for the king in York in the Life of Cathróe has been erroneously supplanted for Eric's predecessor Amlaíb Cuarán (Olaf Sihtricsson), whose (second) wife Dúnflaith was an Irishwoman. Recently, Clare Downham has suggested that Erichius, Eric of Northumbria, is not the same Eric as Eirik Bloodaxe. And there remains the possibility that Eirik was not strictly monogamous, and the existence of two wives need not be mutually exclusive.
King of Norway (sagas)
The dominant theme of the sagas about Harald's numerous sons is the struggle for the Norwegian throne, in particular the way it manifests itself in the careers of Haakon and his foil Eric. According to Heimskringla, Harald had appointed his sons as client kings over the various districts of the kingdom, and intended Eric, his favourite son, to inherit the throne after his death. At strife with his half-brothers, Eric brutally killed Ragnvald (Rögnvaldr), ruler of HadelandHadeland
Hadeland is a traditional district in the south-eastern part of Norway. It is located around the southern part of lake Randsfjorden in Oppland county, and consists of the municipalities of Gran, Jevnaker and Lunner. Hadeland occupies the area north of the hills of Nordmarka close to the Norwegian...
, and Bjørn Farmann
Bjørn Farmann
Bjørn Farmann was the king of Vestfold. Bjørn was one of the sons of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway...
, ruler of Vestfold
Vestfold
is a county in Norway, bordering Buskerud and Telemark. The county administration is in Tønsberg.Vestfold is located west of the Oslofjord, as the name indicates. It includes many smaller, but well-known towns in Norway, such as Larvik, Sandefjord, Tønsberg and Horten. The river Numedalslågen runs...
. Some texts maintain that towards the end of his life, Harald allowed Eric to reign together with him (Heimskringla, Ágrip, Fagrskinna). When Harald died, Eric succeeded to the realm, slaughtered the combined forces of his half-brothers Olaf
Olaf Haraldsson Geirstadalf
Olaf Haraldsson , was a reputed son of King Harald Fairhair of Norway with Svanhild Øysteinsdotter, daughter of Øystein Jarl.The saga Heimskringla, written in Iceland in the thirteenth century by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson, gives the ninth century Norwegian founder king Harald Fairhair...
and Sigrød, and gained full control of Norway. At the time, however, Eric's younger and most famous half-brother Haakon, often nicknamed Aðalsteinsfóstri, had been staying at the West-Saxon court, having been sent there to be reared as fosterson to King Æthelstan (r. 924–939). Eric's rule was reputedly harsh and despotic and so he fell rapidly out of favour with the Norwegian nobility. At this propitious time, Haakon returned to Norway, found a nobility eager to accept him as king instead and ousted Eric, who fled to Britain. Heimskringla specifies that Haakon owed his success in large part to Sigurd, earl of Lade.
Determining the date and length of Eric's reign (before and after his father's death) is a challenging and perhaps impossible task based on the confused chronology of our late sources. It is also unfortunate that no contemporary or even near contemporary record survives for Eric’s short-lived rule in Norway, if it is historical at all.
Eric and the jarls of Orkney (sagas)
The Norse sagas differ in the way they treat the manner and route by which first Eric came to Britain after he was forced out of Norway. The synoptic histories offer the most concise accounts. Theodoricus goes straight for Eirik's arrival in England, his welcome there by King Æthelstan, his brief rule and his death soon afterwards. Similarly, the Historia Norwegiæ makes him flee directly to England, where he was received by his half-brother Haakon, baptised and given charge of Northumbria by Æthelstan. When Eirik's rule became intolerable, he was driven out and slain on an expedition in Spain. Ágrip tells that Eirik came to Denmark first. According to Historia Norwegiæ, it would have been his wife’s native country and hence a power base where he might have expected to muster some support, but the text makes no such claims.However, later sagas greatly expand upon Eirik's activities in the interim between his reigns in Norway and Northumbria, claiming that Eirik initially adopted a predatory lifestyle of raiding, whether or not he was aiming for a more political line of business in the longer run. The jarldom of Orkney, the former Viking base subjected and annexed by Eirik's father, came to loom large in these stages of the literary development. Fagrskinna (c. 1220) mentions Eirik's daughter Ragnhild and her marriage to an Orkney earl, here Hávard, but never describes Eirik as actually stepping ashore. The Orkneyinga saga, written c. 1200, does speak of Eirik’s presence in Orkney and his alliance with the joint jarls Arnkel and Erland, sons of Torf-Einarr
Torf-Einarr
Einarr Rögnvaldarson, Torf-Einarr or Turf-Einar was one of the Norse Earls of Orkney. His rise to power is related in sagas which apparently draw on verses of Einarr's own composition for inspiration...
, but not until his rule in Northumbria was challenged by Olaf (Amlaíb Cuarán). However, a number of later sagas such as the Separate Saga of St. Olaf
Separate Saga of St. Olaf
The Separate Saga of St. Olaf is one of the kings' sagas. It was written about King Olaf II of Norway , later Saint Olaf , patron saint of Norway.-History:...
(c. 1225), Heimskringla, Egils saga and Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta assert that Eirik sailed directly to Orkney, where he took the joint jarls into vassalage, collected forces and so set up a base which enabled him to organise several expeditions on overseas territory. Named targets include Ireland, the Hebrides, Scotland and England. Eirik sealed the alliance by giving his daughter Ragnhild
Ragnhild Eriksdotter
Ragnhild Eriksdotter was the daughter of Eric Bloodaxe and his wife, Gunnhild. According to the Orkneyinga Saga, she was a scheming woman who sought power. Her first marriage was with Arnfinn Thorfinnsson in 954. Gunhildr and her children were returning after Erik's death at Stainmore. Her mother...
in marriage to the future earl of Orkney, Arnfinn, son of Thorfinn Turf-Einarsson.
King of Northumbria
It is when Eirik gains the kingship in Northumbria that he finally appears more firmly into the historical limelight, even though the sources provide only scanty detail and present notorious problems of their own. The historical sources – e.g. versions A-F of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Historia regum and Roger of Wendover's Historia Anglorum – tend to be reticent and the chronology is confused. However, the best chronological guideline appears to be that offered by the Worcester Chronicle, i.e. the D-text of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.The Northumbria on which Eirik set foot was one which had been bitterly fought over between the West-Saxon kings and the Hiberno-Norse line of descendants from Ímair
Uí Ímair
The Uí Ímair , or Dynasty of Ivar, were an enormous royal and imperial Norse dynasty who ruled Northern England, the Irish Sea region and Kingdom of Dublin, and the western coast of Scotland, including the Hebrides, from the mid 9th century, losing control of the first in the mid 10th, but the rest...
, kings of Dublin. The Northumbrians' own position in the middle of the struggle may have been complex and the outcome was variable, leading an unsympathetic historian like Henry of Huntingdon to judge harshly on their “their usual faithlessness” (solita infidelitas).
Æthelstan
In 927, having ejected Gofraid ua ÍmairGofraid ua Ímair
Gofraid was a Norse-Gael king of Dublin and, for a short time, king of Northumbria...
from York, King Æthelstan brought Northumbria under West-Saxon control. His victory in the Battle of Brunanburh
Battle of Brunanburh
The Battle of Brunanburh was an English victory in 937 by the army of Æthelstan, King of England, and his brother Edmund over the combined armies of Olaf III Guthfrithson, the Norse-Gael King of Dublin, Constantine II, King of Scots, and Owen I, King of Strathclyde...
in 937, in which he and his half-brother Edmund defeated Gofraid's son King Olaf (III) Guthfrithson of Dublin, seems to have had the effect of consolidating his power. This impression is borne out by royal charters issued towards the end of his reign, between 937 and 939, which style Æthelstan ruler over all Britain (e.g. totius rex Brittanniae or Albionis).
Edmund and the two Olafs
However, Æthelstan died in 939 and his successor EdmundEdmund I of England
Edmund I , called the Elder, the Deed-doer, the Just, or the Magnificent, was King of England from 939 until his death. He was a son of Edward the Elder and half-brother of Athelstan. Athelstan died on 27 October 939, and Edmund succeeded him as king.-Military threats:Shortly after his...
, only 18 years of age, was unable to retain control of Northumbria. In 939 or 940, almost as soon as Edmund had come to power, a new ruler of the Uí Ímair
Uí Ímair
The Uí Ímair , or Dynasty of Ivar, were an enormous royal and imperial Norse dynasty who ruled Northern England, the Irish Sea region and Kingdom of Dublin, and the western coast of Scotland, including the Hebrides, from the mid 9th century, losing control of the first in the mid 10th, but the rest...
dynasty had made York his seat. From Irish annals it is known that Edmund's old rival Olaf Guthfrithson left Dublin in 939 (Annals of the Four Masters), that in 940 his cousin Amlaíb Cuarán (also Olaf Sihtricsson) joined him in York (Annals of the Four Masters, Annals of Clonmacnoise) and that Olaf Guthfrithson died in 941 (Annals of Clonmacnoise, Chronicon Scotorum), while the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (MS E) dates his death – incorrectly it seems – to 942. Amlaíb Cuarán succeeded him and did so with popular support, as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (MS D) reports that in 941, “the Northumbrians belied their pledges, and chose Olaf [i.e. Amlaíb Cuarán] from Ireland as their king.” Amlaíb shared the throne with his nephew Ragnald
Ragnall mac Gofraid
Ragnall mac Gofraid was a Norse-Gael King of the Isles of Scotland during the early eleventh century. Ragnall's Norse name was Røgnvaldr Guðrøðsson and he was titled rí na nInnsi meaning that he ruled over the Hebrides. It is also possible his territory included the Isle of Man...
(Rögnvaldr), son of Gofraid. There are indications that Wulfstan, Archbishop of York and a leading statesman in Northumbrian politics, played a key role in Amlaíb's support, although he would later change his mind (see below). In 942 Edmund struck back with a recapture of Mercia and the Five Boroughs of Danelaw
Danelaw
The Danelaw, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , is a historical name given to the part of England in which the laws of the "Danes" held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. It is contrasted with "West Saxon law" and "Mercian law". The term has been extended by modern historians to...
, which so impressed contemporaries that a poem was written in honour of the achievement and included in the Chronicle. In response, Amlaíb launched a successful raid on Tamworth
Tamworth
Tamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker...
(Mercia), probably sometime later that year. However, in 943, when Amlaíb had marched on to Leicester, one of the Boroughs, he and Wulfstan were besieged by Edmund and managed to escape only by a hair's breadth. Peace negotiations followed later that year to that effect that Edmund accepted Amlaíb as an ally and as two northern sources add, ceded to him Northumbria as far south as Watling Street. Later, Edmund stood sponsor to him at baptism and to Ragnall at confirmation. In 944, however, Northumbria passed into West-Saxon hands again as Edmund drove out both Viking rulers. The chronicler Æthelweard is clearer on the point of agency, writing that it was Wulfstan and the ealdorman (dux) of the Mercians who deposed these 'deserters' – perhaps born again pagans – and forced them to submit to Edmund. The same year, Edmund raided Cumbria and entrusted it to Malcolm (I) of Scotland
Malcolm I of Scotland
Máel Coluim mac Domnaill was king of Scots , becoming king when his cousin Causantín mac Áeda abdicated to become a monk...
in exchange for support “both on sea and on land”. The Irish annals report that in 945, Amlaíb was back in Dublin and an anonymous ruler at York, possibly Ragnald (Rögnvaldr), died. Edmund was described as rex totiusque Albionis primicerius in one of his charters, but did not live long to enjoy his renewed hold on the northern zone. He was killed in 946.
Eadred and Eirik's first reign (947/8–948)
When Eadred succeeded to the throne in 946, Northumbrian as well as Scottish loyalties had proved unstable, though nothing is known for certain of the ambitions of rival rulers at this stage. Eadred “reduced all the land of Northumbria to his control; and the Scots granted him oaths that they would do all that he wanted.” Moreover, in 947 he convened Archbishop Wulfstan and the Northumbrian witan at Tanshelf (now in PontefractPontefract
Pontefract is an historic market town in West Yorkshire, England. Traditionally in the West Riding, near the A1 , the M62 motorway and Castleford. It is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28,250...
, West Yorkshire), on the boundary of the Humber (near an old Roman road), where they pledged their obedience to him. What perceived threat was being countered remains unclear, but English rule does not seem to have been very warmly received.
In any event, the Chronicle (MS D) notes that the Northumbrians soon violated their pledges and oaths (947) and records a definite outcome of their disloyalty in 948, by which time “they had taken Eirik [Yryc] for their king”. That year, King Eadred harshly punished the northern defectors by launching a destructive raid on Northumbria, which notably included burning the Ripon
Ripon
Ripon is a cathedral city, market town and successor parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located at the confluence of two streams of the River Ure in the form of the Laver and Skell. The city is noted for its main feature the Ripon Cathedral which is architecturally...
minster founded by St Wilfrid. Although Eadred's forces had to sustain heavy losses in the Battle of Castleford
Castleford
Castleford is the largest of the "five towns" district in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England. It is near Pontefract, and has a population of 37,525 according to the 2001 Census, but has seen a rise in recent years and is now around 45-50,000. To the north...
(Ceaster forda) – near Tanshelf – as they returned southwards, Eadred managed to check his rival by promising the latter’s supporters even greater havoc if they did not desert Eirik. The Northumbrians preferred to appease the English king, renounced Eirik and paid compensation.
The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba
Chronicle of the Kings of Alba
The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, or Scottish Chronicle, is a short written chronicle of the Kings of Alba, covering the period from the time of Kenneth MacAlpin until the reign of Kenneth II . W.F...
records that shortly thereafter, in '948 or 949, Malcolm (I) of Scotland
Malcolm I of Scotland
Máel Coluim mac Domnaill was king of Scots , becoming king when his cousin Causantín mac Áeda abdicated to become a monk...
and Cumbria, at Constantine
Constantine II of Scotland
Constantine, son of Áed was an early King of Scotland, known then by the Gaelic name Alba. The Kingdom of Alba, a name which first appears in Constantine's lifetime, was in northern Great Britain...
's instigation, raided Northumbria as far south as the River Tees
River Tees
The River Tees is in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines, and flows eastwards for 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar.-Geography:...
and returned with many cattle and captives. Marios Costambeys suggests that it “may have been directed against, or mounted in favour of, Eirik, though the protagonist could just as easily have been Óláf Sihtricson.”
Eadred and Eirik's second reign (952–954)
Eirik's removal cleared the way for Amlaíb [Anlaf Cwiran], who having suffered defeat at SlaneSlane
Slane is a village in County Meath, in Ireland. The village stands on a steep hillside on the left bank of the River Boyne at the intersection of the N2 and the N51 . In 2006 Slane's population was 1,099, having grown from 823 in 2002. The population of the village and the surrounding rural area...
(Co. Meath, Ireland) in 947, returned to Northumbria and took the kingship, supposedly in 949, if the E-text is to be trusted. Eadred does not appear to have undertaken any significant action and may even have turned a blind eye on his brother's godson, or so at least the silence of the sources appears to suggest.
The E-text reports, however, that in 952, “the Northumbrians drove out King Olaf and accepted Eric, son of Harold.” The Annals of Ulster for the same year report a victory of the 'foreigners', i.e. the Northmen or the Norse-Gaels, over “the men of Scotland and the Welsh [Bretnu, i.e. Britons of Strathclyde] and the Saxons.” Exactly what this succinct account may tell us of Eirik's second rise to power, if at all, is frustratingly unclear. He may have led the Viking forces in a second bid for the throne, or only returned from the sideline to exploit the ravages of defeat. Eirik's reign proved once again of a short duration, since in 954 (a date on which MSS D and E agree), the Northumbrians expelled him, too.
Clare Downham notes the existence of an otherwise unrecorded Eltangerht, whose coins were minted at York and date from about the same time, but nothing is known of him from other records.
Eirik, Wulfstan (I), archbishop of York and the charters
The nature of Eirik's relationship with Archbishop Wulfstan, the leading Northumbrian churchman who played such a decisive role in Amlaíb's career in the early 940's, remains tantalisingly unclear. One might assume that Wulfstan, given his political eminence, headed the Northumbrian party which elected Eirik. It has likewise been suggested that Eadred's punitive attack on the ancient minster of Ripon, which carried little military weight, was targeted at Wulfstan in particular. In what sense Eirik's deposition in 948 may have affected the relationship in later years is more open to speculation.The witness lists of Anglo-Saxon charters
Anglo-Saxon Charters
Anglo-Saxon charters are documents from the early medieval period in Britain which typically make a grant of land or record a privilege. The earliest surviving charters were drawn up in the 670s; the oldest surviving charters granted land to the Church, but from the eighth century surviving...
, which reveal when or not Wulfstan attended Eadred's court, in his own right or as a diplomat intermediating between two kings, have been used to provide a chronological framework for Wulfstan's swerving loyalties. Between 938 and 941, that is roughly between the Battle of Brunanburh (937) and the recovery of the Five Boroughs (942), the archbishop did not attest any royal charters, but he began to do so during or after the negotiations of 942. What the charters reveal for Eirik's first reign is less clear-cut, but intermittent absence may explain gaps in the record for Wulfstan's attestations in the turbulent years 947–948. Unfortunately, the critical period between 950 and 954 has produced comparatively few charters (owing perhaps to Eadred's deteriorating health), but what little there is may be instructive. Wulfstan is still seen at court in 950, but of the five charters which were issued in 951, not one was attested by him, which once again may imply his backing of Amlaíb. Eirik's reign (952–954) is more obscure. We do know, however, that in 952, the same year that Eirik began his second term at York, Wulfstan was arrested and stood on trial in Iudanbyrig (unknown) on account of several unspecified allegations which had been repeatedly brought before Eadred. Of the few charters surviving for 953, Wulfstan attests one and by 955, after Eirik's death, he was restored to office, but now with Dorcester rather than York as his episcopal seat. Clare Downham suggests that during this period, Wulfstan may have been pressurized by King Eadred into relinquishing his support of Eirik.
Coinage
Eirik's Northumbrian rule is also corroborated by numismatic evidence. As of 3 February 2009, 31 coins minted at York had been found which bear the inscription of Eirik's name. These can be divided into two distinct types of issue: N549, in which the moneyer's name (reverse) is written horizontally and broken up in two, and N550, in which his name is inscribed around the edges and Eirik's name (obverse) accompanied by a sword symbol (image on the left). The two principal moneyers, Ingalger and Radulf, who had also minted coins for Amlaíb, occur on both types. The two types may correspond to Eirik's two reigns, but it is not out of the question that both were issued during a single reign.Life of St Cathróe
Eirik's sudden appearance in the Chronicle, first noted by the D-text, is a puzzling one, lacking any information as to how or why he emerged on the scene. As hinted above, the Life of the Scottish saint Cathróe of MetzCathróe of Metz
Saint Cathróe was a monk and abbot. His life is recorded in a hagiography written soon after his death by a monk at the monastery of Saint Felix at Metz, where Cathróe was abbot...
, written by a cleric (Reimann) who claimed to have been a former pupil of the saint, may possibly shed some light on Eirik's background. St Cathróe, a Scottish saint with a Brythonic
Brythonic languages
The Brythonic or Brittonic languages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael...
name, visited a certain King Eric (Erichus) in York as he proceeded southwards from his native Strathclyde
Kingdom of Strathclyde
Strathclyde , originally Brythonic Ystrad Clud, was one of the early medieval kingdoms of the celtic people called the Britons in the Hen Ogledd, the Brythonic-speaking parts of what is now southern Scotland and northern England. The kingdom developed during the post-Roman period...
and Cumbria to Loida civitas, sometimes identified as Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, on the boundary with Cumbria, ultimately intending to go to West France. This Eric was both settled and married, and may have been on good terms with his neighbours in the northwest, although the evidence is indirect and somewhat ambiguous: the saint claimed kinship not only with Eric's wife but also with Dyfnwal (III) (d. 975), king of Strathclyde and Cumbria (Donevaldus, rex Cumbrorum), which may point to an alliance of some kind between the two rulers. Based on internal evidence for the saint's itinerary, Cathróe's stay is to be dated between 940 x 943, when Constantine (II)
Constantine II of Scotland
Constantine, son of Áed was an early King of Scotland, known then by the Gaelic name Alba. The Kingdom of Alba, a name which first appears in Constantine's lifetime, was in northern Great Britain...
left the kingdom of Scotland to Malcolm (I)
Malcolm I of Scotland
Máel Coluim mac Domnaill was king of Scots , becoming king when his cousin Causantín mac Áeda abdicated to become a monk...
, and 946, when Edmund was slain. The greatest obstacle to an identification of the Erics lies in the problem that the account would be difficult to square with the version of events presented by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the assertion in royal charters that in 946, Edmund was still king of all Britain. It may be noted that the text's chronology has likewise presented some difficulties concerning the political status of Dyfnwal in the story (see main article there).
King of the Hebrides (Caithréim Chellacháin Chaisil)
A further glimpse may be offered by the mid-12th century Irish saga entitled Caithréim Chellacháin ChaisilCaithréim Chellacháin Chaisil
Caithréim Chellacháin ChaisilDonnchadh Ó Corráin writes that this title "was first given it by Eugene O'Curry in his transcript of the text. It has no title in the earliest copy, that in the Book of Lismore...
, a text which was primarily to designed to glorify the deeds of Cellachán mac Buadacháin (d. 954), king of Munster, and hence his descendants, the Clann Faílbe
Eóganacht Chaisil
Eóganacht Chaisil were a branch of the Eóganachta, the ruling dynasty of Munster during the 5th-10th centuries. They took their name from Cashel which was the capital of the early Christian kingdom of Munster...
. In one of its poems, an ‘Eric, King of the Islands’ (Éiric Righ na n-Innse), meaning ruler of the Hebrides, is described as having allied himself to Sitriuc mac Tuirgeis, king of Dublin. Although the Caithréim is hardly a work celebrated for its accuracy as a source of history, the distant memory of an Eric who ruled the Hebrides
Hebrides
The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...
may not be fictitious. It may or may not be a matter of coincidence that the next Vikings known to have ruled the Hebrides were also 'sons of Harold', Gofraid mac Arailt
Gofraid mac Arailt
Gofraid mac Arailt , in Old Norse Guðrøðr Haraldsson, was a Scandinavian or Norse-Gael king. He and his brother Maccus were active in the lands around the Irish Sea in the 970s and 980s.-Origins:...
, ri Innsi Gall (d. 989), who was succeeded by his son Ragnall, rí na n-innsi (d. 1005), and probably Gofraid's brother Maccus mac Arailt
Maccus mac Arailt
Maccus mac Arailt or Maccus Haraldsson was a Scandinavian or Norse-Gael king. He and his brother Gofraid were active in the lands around the Irish Sea in the 970s and 980s...
, who is accorded the title “king of very many islands” (plurimarum rex insularum).
Eric's death
The Chronicle gives no explanation, but it seems as if Amlaíb's and Eric's abdication are described as being essentially northern affairs, apparently without any great deal of (direct) West-Saxon intervention, let alone invasion. The historical accounts of Eric's death point to more complex circumstances, but Northumbrian politics are to the fore. Following a report on William I's invasion of Scotland in 1072, the Historia regum attributed to Symeon of DurhamSymeon of Durham
Symeon of Durham was an English chronicler and a monk of Durham Priory. When William of Saint-Calais returned from his Norman exile in 1091, Symeon was probably in his company...
recalls that Eric was driven out and slain by one Maccus son of Onlaf. The Flores historiarum (early 13th century) by Roger of Wendover
Roger of Wendover
Roger of Wendover , probably a native of Wendover in Buckinghamshire, was an English chronicler of the 13th century.At an uncertain date he became a monk at St Albans Abbey; afterwards he was appointed prior of the cell of Belvoir, but he forfeited this dignity in the early years of Henry III,...
is thought to have relied on a northern source now lost to us when it adds the following details:
- ... rex Eilricus in quadam solitudine quae 'Steinmor' dicitur, cum filio suo Henrico [in other MSS, Haerico] et fratre Reginaldo, proditione Osulfi comitis, a Macone consule fraudulenter interempti sunt, ac deinde in partibus illis rex Eadredus regnavit.
- "King Eric was treacherously killed by Earl [consul] Maccus in a certain lonely place which is called Stainmore, with his son Haeric and his brother Ragnald, betrayed by Earl [comes] Oswulf; and then afterwards King Eadred ruled in these districts."
Stainmore
Stainmore
Stainmore is a civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, including the villages of North Stainmore and South Stainmore. It has a population of 253.- Geography :...
, previously in Westmorland
Westmorland
Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...
(Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
) until the reform of April 1974
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
, lies in the main pass through the northern Pennines
Pennines
The Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East.Often described as the "backbone of England", they form a more-or-less continuous range stretching from the Peak District in Derbyshire, around the northern and eastern edges of...
, the Stainmore Pass or Gap, which marks the boundary between Cumbria in the west and modern Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
in the east. It is here that the mountains are traversed by an old Roman road – more or less followed by the A66
A66 road
The A66 is a major road in northern England which in part follows the course of the Roman road from Scotch Corner to Penrith. It runs from east of Middlesbrough in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire to Workington in Cumbria...
today – leading from York to Catterick
Catterick, North Yorkshire
Catterick , sometimes Catterick Village, to distinguish it from the nearby Catterick Garrison, is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England...
and northwestwards from Catterick (via Bowes
Bowes
Bowes is a village in County Durham, England. Located in the Pennine hills, it is situated close to Barnard Castle. It is built around the medieval Bowes Castle.-Civic history:...
, Stainmore, Brough
Brough, Cumbria
Brough, sometimes known as Brough under Stainmore, is a village and civil parish in the Eden district of Cumbria, England, on the western fringe of the Pennines near Stainmore. The village is on the A66 trans-Pennine road, and the Swindale Beck, and is about south east of Appleby-in-Westmorland...
, Appleby
Appleby-in-Westmorland
Appleby-in-Westmorland is a town and civil parish in Cumbria, in North West England. It is situated within a loop of the River Eden and has a population of approximately 2,500. It is in the historic county of Westmorland, of which it was the county town. The town's name was simply Appleby, until...
and Penrith
Penrith, Cumbria
Penrith was an urban district between 1894 and 1974, when it was merged into Eden District.The authority's area was coterminous with the civil parish of Penrith although when the council was abolished Penrith became an unparished area....
) to Carlisle. Eric may therefore have followed by and large the same route that St Cathroé had taken, except in opposite direction, possibly with Strathclyde or the Hebrides as his intended destination.
The comes Osulf who betrayed Eric was high-reeve of the northern half of Northumbria centred on Bamburgh, roughly corresponding to the former kingdom of Bernicia. He clearly benefited from his murderous plot against Eric. The Historia regum
Historia Regum
The Historia Regum is a historical compilation attributed to Symeon of Durham, which presents material going from the death of Bede until 1129. It survives only in one manuscript compiled in Yorkshire in the mid-to-late 12th century, though the material is earlier...
says that the province of Northumbria was henceforward administered by earls and records the formal appointment of Osulf as earl of Northumbria the following year. Likewise, the early 12th-century De primo Saxonum adventu
De primo Saxonum adventu
De primo Saxonum adventu is a historical work, probably written in Durham during the episcopate of Ranulf Flambard . It recounts the coming of the English to the British Isles, treating individually the history of the rulers of the Kingdom of Kent, of the Kingdom of East Anglia, of the Kingdom...
notes that “[f]irst of the earls after Erik, the last king whom the Northumbrians had, Osulf administered under King Eadred all the provinces of the Northumbrians.” By contrast, the identity of Eric's slayer, the comes Maccus son of Anlaf, is unclear. His name may point to origins in a Norse-Gaelic family based in the Border country
Border Country
Border Country is a novel by Raymond Williams. The book was re-published in December 2005 as one of the first group of titles in the Library of Wales series, having been out of print for several years. Written in English, the novel was first published in 1960.It is set in rural South Wales, close...
. While Anlaf (i.e. MI Amlaíb, ON Óláfr) is a common Scandinavian and Norse-Gaelic name, Maccus
Maccus
-Personal name:Maccus is a personal name which is first attested and possibly coined in the tenth century, the name Maccus, later also written as Machus, was especially common in the Border country:*Maccus mac Arailt , also Maccus Haraldsson....
, a Norse-Gaelic name of Middle Irish origin, is geographically more restricted and is particularly well attested in southern Scottish place-names. Based on Eric's confrontation with his predecessor Óláfr in Fagrskinna, attempts have been made to connect Onlaf to Amlaíb Cuarán, but this must remain in the realm of speculation.
Eric's death receives a grander treatment in the synoptic histories and sagas. Fagrskinna, apparently the Eiríksmál which it incorporates, and Heimskringla assert that Eric and five other kings died together in battle in an unnamed place in England. According to Ágrip and Historia Norwegiæ, Eric died on a foray in Spain after being forced out of Northumbria. Somewhat in line with the former version, earlier generations of scholars have envisaged the occasion of Eric’s death on Stainmore to have been a last stand in battle. The view was espoused by W.G. Collingwood and later still by Frank Stenton
Frank Stenton
Sir Frank Merry Stenton was a 20th century historian of Anglo-Saxon England, and president of the Royal Historical Society . He was the author of Anglo-Saxon England, a volume of the Oxford History of England, first published in 1943 and widely considered a classic history of the period...
, who speculates that Eric might have attempted to regain the kingdom or was fighting off pursuers. Finnur Jónsson
Finnur Jónsson
Finnur Jónsson was an Icelandic philologist who made extensive contributions to the study of Old Norse literature.Finnur graduated from Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík in 1878 and went to Denmark for further studies at the University of Copenhagen. He received a doctorate in philology in 1884 with a...
re-interprets the alternative tradition in a historical light by proposing that Span- ‘Spain’ in Ágrip goes back to a scribal confusion for Stan-, which in turn would have referred to Stainmore (OE *Stan). Having thus ascribed a historical core to the body of Scandinavian material, he in turn interprets the event as a battle.
However, scholars today are usually less prepared to colour the sober records with details from the sagas, preferring to take the view that Eric was assassinated in exile. In sum then, it looks as if Eric, expelled and heading in northwesterly direction (possibly in search of support), was about to cross over into Cumbria, when in a bid for power, his official Osulf had him killed through the agency of Maccus. Exactly what made this a betrayal (proditio) in the eyes of the tenth-century chronicler or those of Roger of Wendover
Roger of Wendover
Roger of Wendover , probably a native of Wendover in Buckinghamshire, was an English chronicler of the 13th century.At an uncertain date he became a monk at St Albans Abbey; afterwards he was appointed prior of the cell of Belvoir, but he forfeited this dignity in the early years of Henry III,...
, is unclear. It is unknown whether Osulf was also behind Eric's expulsion, despite being the main beneficiary, and whether he was expected to grant Eric safe passage and perhaps an escort to guide him safely through that part of Northumbria over which he (Osulf) had jurisdiction. It is equally obscure whether Maccus ambushed his victims, or was part of the escort, betraying them (fraudulenter) as soon as he saw the opportunity.
Eiríksmál
Towards the end of its portrait of Eric, FagrskinnaFagrskinna
Fagrskinna is one of the kings' sagas, written around 1220. It takes its name from one of the manuscripts in which it was preserved, Fagrskinna meaning 'Fair Leather', i.e., 'Fair Parchment'. Fagrskinna proper was destroyed by fire, but copies of it and another vellum have been preserved...
cites the Eiríksmál
Eiríksmál
Eiríksmál is a skaldic poem composed sometime in 954 or later on the behest of the Norwegian queen Gunnhild in honour of her slain consort Erik Bloodaxe. Only the beginning of the poem is extant....
(“Lay of Eric”), an anonymous panegyric written in commemmoration of Eric's death and according to the saga's introduction, commissioned by his widow Gunnhild. Except for a single stanza in the Edda, the skaldic poem is preserved nowhere else and what has survived may represent only the opening stanzas.
Cast as a dialogue between Bragi
Bragi
Bragi is the skaldic god of poetry in Norse mythology.-Etymology:Bragi is generally associated with bragr, the Norse word for poetry. The name of the god may have been derived from bragr, or the term bragr may have been formed to describe 'what Bragi does'...
, Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
and fallen heroes, it tells of Eric's arrival in Valhöll, accompanied by five other kings, and his splendid welcome there by Odin and his entourage. Odin had eagerly awaited his coming because “many lands [...] / with his sword he has reddened” and on being asked why he had deprived Eric of such earthly glory, answers that “the future is uncertain”, since the grey wolf is always lying in wait. Eric is then greeted by the famous hero Sigmundr: “Hail now, Eiríkr [...] / here you shall be welcome; / brave hero, enter the hall.”
Some have argued that the language of the poem shows influence from Old English. However, on recently examining the poem, John McKinnell could find little trace of this. The (original) date of composition remains a matter of some debate: some argue that it was written shortly after Eric's death, while others who regard the poem as an imitation of the Hákonarmál
Hákonarmál
Hákonarmál is a skaldic poem which the skald Eyvindr skáldaspillir composed about the fall of the Norwegian king Hákon the Good at the battle of Fitjar and his reception in Valhalla. This poem emulates Eiríksmál and is intended to depict the Christian Hákon as a friend to the pagan gods...
in honour of Haakon the Good prefer a date sometime after Haakon's death, c. 961.
In spite of the decidedly pagan contents of the poem, Eric may have died a Christian, as some of the sagas suggest. There is no evidence for his religious beliefs, but if ever Eric was to be accepted and consecrated as king, probably with Wulfstan as king-maker, acceptance of the Christian faith would have been set as a condition to royal office. The impression is borne out by Wulfstan's earlier removal of Amlaíb Cuarán and Ragnald on grounds that they had become, in Æthelweard's words, deserti "deserters" (see above).
In support of this view, it has sometimes been suggested that the name of one Eiric rex Danorum “Eric king of the Danes”, written into the Durham Liber Vitae
Durham Liber Vitae
The Durham Liber Vitae is a confraternity book produced in north-eastern England in the Middle Ages. It records the names of visitors to the church of the bishopric of Durham, and its predecessor sees at Lindisfarne and Chester-le-Street...
, f. 55v., may represent Eric of York. However, this can now be safely rejected in favour of an identification with Eric Ejegod (r. 1095–1103), whose queen Bodil (Botild) occurs by name after him.
Rey Cross
On the north side of the A66 on Stainmore today, stands the so-called Rey Cross, also known as Rere Cross, though what survives is little more than a stump consisting of the socket and a fragment of the shaft. Before it was temporarily housed at the Bowes MuseumBowes Museum
The Bowes Museum has a nationally renowned art collection and is situated in the town of Barnard Castle, Teesdale, County Durham, England.The museum contains an El Greco, paintings by Francisco Goya, Canaletto, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, François Boucher and a sizable collection of decorative art,...
in 1990 and moved to its present location, it stood on a mound of rock a little further west on the south side of the road - coordinates
British national grid reference system
The Ordnance Survey National Grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references used in Great Britain, different from using latitude and longitude....
: . The two sides of the shaft once seem to have borne carvings, if that much can be concluded from John Speed
John Speed
John Speed was an English historian and cartographer.-Life:He was born at Farndon, Cheshire, and went into his father's tailoring business where he worked until he was about 50...
's supposed description of it in 1611. Based on stylistic observations made by W.G. Collingwood when certain features were apparently still visible, it has been described as an Anglo-Scandinavian cross, possibly of the tenth century. No burials have been found. All evidence seems to point to its use as a boundary marker (between Cumbria and Northumbria), much like the Legg's cross
Legg's cross
Legg's cross is an Anglo-Saxon cross in County Durham, England, about 4 miles north of Piercebridge on the Pilgrims' Way . The cross is now eroded to an obelisk-like structure, although it once had an inscription reading "LEG", giving rise to the name...
(County Durham) on Dere Street
Dere Street
Dere Street or Deere Street, was a Roman road between Eboracum and Veluniate, in what is now Scotland. It still exists in the form of the route of many major roads, including the A1 and A68 just north of Corbridge.Its name corresponds with the post Roman Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Deira, through...
. The name has been explained as deriving from Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
hreyrr, "cairn" or "boundary cairn". Towards the end of the 19th century, however, W.S. Calverley argued that whatever its function in later ages, crosses in those times were usually tombstones, whereas boundary crosses postdate the Conquest. In the absence of a churchyard, he tentatively links the erection of the Rey cross to the putative battle on Stainmore. Although he ultimately rejects the idea of a memorial stone for Eric as "mere romance", W.G. Collingwood was less prepared to dismiss it out of hand: "a romancer might be justified in fancying that the Reycross was carved and set up by Northumbrian admirers of the once mighty and long famous last King of York." No further evidence has been adduced to support the suggestion.
Reputation in the sagas
The figure which Eric became in the Norse sagas is a heady mix of history, folklore and political propaganda. He is usually portrayed as a larger-than-life Viking hero, whose powerful and violent performances bring him many short-term successes, but ultimately make him flawed and impopular as a ruler and statesman. The Heimskringla describes Eric as “a large and handsome man, strong and of great prowess, a great and victorious warrior," but also "violent of disposition, cruel, gruff, and taciturn." The synoptic histories (Theodoricus, the Historia Norwegiae and Ágrip) to some degree seek to excuse Eric’s cruelty and fall out of favour with the Norwegian nobility by pointing out another weakness, that of his naive faith in the evil counsels of his wife.
Conflict with Egill Skallagrimsson (Egils saga)
One of the richest sagas to deal with Eric Bloodaxe and his affairs in England is Egils sagaEgils saga
Egils saga is an epic Icelandic saga. The oldest transcript dates back to 1240 AD. The saga is centered on the life of Egill Skallagrímsson, an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald...
, which is also a rich if problematic source for skaldic poems surviving from the 10th century. It tells how at the instigation of his wife Gunnhild, King Eric became involved in a prolonged conflict with Egill Skallagrimsson
Egill Skallagrímsson
Egill Skallagrímsson was a Viking Age warrior and skald. Egill is one of the great anti-heroes of the Icelandic sagas.-Life:...
, the well-known Icelander Viking and skald. The account seems designed to enhance Egill's abilities as a warrior, wizard and poet. The story can be summarised as follows.
Egill had killed Bárðr of Atley, one of the king's retainers, thus making an enemy of Queen Gunnhild, who never forgave him and did everything within her power to take revenge. Gunnhild ordered her two brothers to kill Egil and Egill's older brother Þórólfr, who had been on good terms with both her and the king before. However, this plan did not go well, as Egill easily killed the pair when they confronted him, greatly increasing the Queen's thirst for revenge. All that happened shortly before the death of Harald Fairhair and King Eric's killing of his brothers to secure his place on the throne. He then declared Egill an outlaw in Norway. Berg-Önundr gathered a company of men to capture Egill, but was killed in his attempt to do so. Escaping from Norway, Egill killed Ragnald (Rögnvaldr Eirikssen), the king's son, and then cursed his parents, setting a horse's head on a pole (níðstöng
Nithing pole
A nithing pole , sometimes normalized as nithstang or nidstang, was a pole used for cursing an enemy in Germanic pagan tradition.-History and usage:...
or "spite-post") and saying,
- "'Here I set up a pole of insult against King Eirik and Queen Gunnhild' – then, turning the horse head towards the mainland – 'and I direct this insult against the guardian spirits of this land, so that every one of them shall go astray, neither to figure nor find their dwelling places until they have King Eirik and Queen Gunnhild from this country.'"
He set up the pole of spite in the cliff-face and left it standing; he faced the horse's eyes on the land, and he rist runes upon the pole, and said all the formal words of the curse. (níð has been variously translated as "scorn", "spite" or "curse"). Gunnhild also put a spell on Egill, which made him feel restless and depressed until they met again. The last encounter happened when Erik and Gunnhild were living in England. Egill was shipwrecked on a nearby shore and came before Eric, who sentenced him to death. But Egill composed a drápa in Eric's praise in the dungeon during the night, and when he recited it in the morning, Eric gave him his freedom and forgave any vengeance or settlement for the killing of Ragnald.
Eric in modern culture
- In his lyric poem Briggflatts, Basil BuntingBasil BuntingBasil Cheesman Bunting was a significant British modernist poet whose reputation was established with the publication of Briggflatts in 1966. He had a lifelong interest in music that led him to emphasise the sonic qualities of poetry, particularly the importance of reading poetry aloud...
refers several times to Eric Bloodaxe, his flight and death on Stainmore, as in the lines: “By such rocks / men killed Bloodaxe. // Fierce blood throbs in his tongue, / lean words. / Skulls cropped for steel caps / huddle round Stainmore.” - Chris Goggans, former hackerHacker (computer security)In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
and present information securityInformation securityInformation security means protecting information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, perusal, inspection, recording or destruction....
expert, had in his wilder days taken up the nickname "Erik Bloodaxe" in honour of the Viking king. - Poul AndersonPoul AndersonPoul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
, a Danish-American writer of science fictionScience fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and fantasyFantasyFantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
, wrote Mother of KingsMother of KingsMother of Kings is a historical novel by Poul Anderson. It was first published in 2001 by Tor Books. The book is an account of the life of Gunnhild, Mother of Kings, a tenth-century queen of Norway and wife of King Eirik Bloodaxe. It is based largely on the accounts of Gunnhild's life given in...
, a fictionalized biographyBiographyA biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
of Queen Gunnhild, including mythological elements as well as historical facts, and telling much of Eric, Gunnhild, and their children, especially their many efforts to regain the throne of Norway as well their long feud with Egill. - Bloodaxe is one of many historical personages who feature prominently in the RiverworldRiverworldRiverworld is a fictional planet and the setting for a series of science fiction books written by Philip José Farmer . Riverworld is an artificial environment where all humans are reconstructed. The books explore interactions of individuals from many different cultures and time periods...
series of BangsianBangsian fantasyBangsian fantasy is a fantasy genre which concerns the use of famous literary or historical individuals and their interactions in the afterlife. It is named for John Kendrick Bangs who often wrote it.-Definition:According to E. F...
science fiction novels by Philip José FarmerPhilip José FarmerPhilip José Farmer was an American author, principally known for his award-winning science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories....
. On the Riverworld, Bloodaxe is sailing upriver with Samuel Clemens and his prehistoric friend, and engages in a power struggle with King John of EnglandJohn of EnglandJohn , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
. - Eric Bloodaxe appears in the historical Yorkshire building "York DungeonYork DungeonYork Dungeon is a tourist attraction in York, England. York Dungeon depicts local horrible history using actor led shows, special effects and displays of models and objects.-History:York Dungeon was opened in 1986 at 12 Clifford Street, York, England...
s" where he talks of killing his relatives, the tour of the room ends when he shouts them to leave before he "changed his mind" (suggesting he would have been wanting to kill them).
Ancestors
Primary sources
- Anderson, Alan OrrAlan Orr AndersonAlan Orr Anderson was a Scottish historian and compiler. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh. The son of Rev. John Anderson and Ann Masson, he was born in 1879...
, Early Sources of Scottish History A.D. 500–1286, volume 1. Reprinted with corrections. Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1990. - Anglo-Saxon ChronicleAnglo-Saxon ChronicleThe 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...
MSS D ('Worcester Chronicle', London, British Library, Cotton Tiberius B.IV) and E (‘Peterborough Chronicle’ or ‘Laud Chronicle’, Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Laud 636), ed. D. Dumville and S. Keynes, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. A Collaborative Edition. Vols 6 and 7. Cambridge, 1983; tr. Michael J. Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. 2nd ed. London, 2000. - Æthelweard, Chronicon, ed. and tr. Alistair Campbell, The Chronicle of Æthelweard. London, 1961.
- Reimann or Ousmann, De S. Cadroe abbate (The Life of St Cathróe), ed. John ColganJohn ColganJohn Colgan was an Irish hagiographer and historian.-Life:...
, Acta Sanctorum HiberniaeActa Sanctorum HiberniaeActa Sanctorum Hiberniae is the abbreviated title of a celebrated work on the Irish saints by the Franciscan, John Colgan . The full title runs as follows: Acta Sanctorum veteris et majoris Scotiae, seu Hiberniae, Sanctorum Insulae, partim ex variis per Europam MSS. codd...
, Vol. 1. pp. 494 ff; in part reprinted by W.F. Skene, Chronicles of the Picts, Chronicles of the Scots. pp. 106–116; ed. the Bollandists, Acta SanctorumActa SanctorumActa Sanctorum is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, which is organised according to each saint's feast day. It begins with two January volumes, published in 1643, and ended with the Propylaeum to...
. 1865. 1 March 473–80 (incomplete); ed. and tr. A.O. Anderson, Early Sources of Scottish History, A.D. 500 to 1286. (from Colgan's edition, pp. 495–7). No full translation has appeared to this date. - Chronicle of the Kings of AlbaChronicle of the Kings of AlbaThe Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, or Scottish Chronicle, is a short written chronicle of the Kings of Alba, covering the period from the time of Kenneth MacAlpin until the reign of Kenneth II . W.F...
, ed. W.F. Skene. Chronicles of the Picts and Scots: And Other Memorials of Scottish History. Edinburgh, 1867. 8–10. - Post-Conquest English histories:
- William of MalmesburyWilliam of MalmesburyWilliam of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
, Gesta regum Anglorum, ed. and tr. R.A.B. Mynors, R. M. Thomson and M. Winterbottom, William of Malmesbury. Gesta Regum Anglorum. The History of the English Kings. OMT. 2 vols: vol 1. Oxford, 1998. - John of WorcesterJohn of WorcesterJohn of Worcester was an English monk and chronicler. He is usually held to be the author of the Chronicon ex chronicis.-Chronicon ex chronicis:...
, Chronicle (of Chronicles), ed. Benjamin Thorpe, Florentii Wigorniensis monachi chronicon ex chronicis. 2 vols. London, 1848–9; tr. J. Stevenson, Church Historians of England. 8 vols: vol. 2.1. London, 1855. 171–372. - Henry of HuntingdonHenry of HuntingdonHenry of Huntingdon , the son of a canon in the diocese of Lincoln, was a 12th century English historian, the author of a history of England, Historia anglorum, "the most important Anglo-Norman historian to emerge from the secular clergy". He served as archdeacon of Huntingdon...
, Historia Anglorum, ed. and tr. D.E. Greenway, Henry Archdeacon of Huntingdon. Historia Anglorum. The History of the English People. OMT. Oxford, 1996. - Historia Regum (Anglorum et Dacorum)Historia RegumThe Historia Regum is a historical compilation attributed to Symeon of Durham, which presents material going from the death of Bede until 1129. It survives only in one manuscript compiled in Yorkshire in the mid-to-late 12th century, though the material is earlier...
, ed. Thomas Arnold, Symeonis Monachi Opera Omnia. 2 vols: vol 2. London, 1885. 1–283; tr. J. Stevenson, Church Historians of England. 8 vols: vol. 4 (part 2: The Historical Works of Simeon of Durham). London, 1853. 425–617. - De primo Saxonum adventuDe primo Saxonum adventuDe primo Saxonum adventu is a historical work, probably written in Durham during the episcopate of Ranulf Flambard . It recounts the coming of the English to the British Isles, treating individually the history of the rulers of the Kingdom of Kent, of the Kingdom of East Anglia, of the Kingdom...
, ed. Thomas Arnold, Symeonis Monachi Opera Omnia. 2 vols: vol 2. London, 1885. 365–84 (Appendix 1); tr. Alan Orr Anderson, Scottish Annals from English Chroniclers A.D. 500 to 1286. Revised and corrected ed. Stamford: Paul Watkins, 1991 (1908). - Roger of WendoverRoger of WendoverRoger of Wendover , probably a native of Wendover in Buckinghamshire, was an English chronicler of the 13th century.At an uncertain date he became a monk at St Albans Abbey; afterwards he was appointed prior of the cell of Belvoir, but he forfeited this dignity in the early years of Henry III,...
, Flores HistoriarumFlores HistoriarumThe Flores Historiarum is a Latin chronicle dealing with English history from the creation to 1326 . It was compiled by various persons and quickly acquired contemporary popularity, for it was continued by many hands in many manuscript traditions...
, ed. H. O. Coxe, Rogeri de Wendoveri chronica, sive, Flores historiarum. Vol 1. London, 1841. 402–3. - Roger of Howden, Chronica Rogeri de Houedene, ed. William Stubbs. Chronica magistri de Houedene. 4 vols.: vol. 1. Rolls series 51. London, 1868.
- William of Malmesbury
- Corpus of Early Medieval Coin Finds (EMC), at the Department of Coins and Medals, Fitzwilliam Museum.
- Anglo-Saxon chartersAnglo-Saxon ChartersAnglo-Saxon charters are documents from the early medieval period in Britain which typically make a grant of land or record a privilege. The earliest surviving charters were drawn up in the 670s; the oldest surviving charters granted land to the Church, but from the eighth century surviving...
, here indicated as S + number and date following Peter Sawyer, Anglo-Saxon Charters. An Annotated List and Bibliography. London, 1968, and The Electronic Sawyer. - Contemporary skaldic poetry:
- EiríksmálEiríksmálEiríksmál is a skaldic poem composed sometime in 954 or later on the behest of the Norwegian queen Gunnhild in honour of her slain consort Erik Bloodaxe. Only the beginning of the poem is extant....
, ed. R.D. Fulk, Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages; tr. Alison Finlay, Fagrskinna: A Catalogue of the Kings of Norway. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2004. pp. 58–9. - Egill SkallagrímssonEgill SkallagrímssonEgill Skallagrímsson was a Viking Age warrior and skald. Egill is one of the great anti-heroes of the Icelandic sagas.-Life:...
, Lausavísur, ed. Margaret Clunies RossMargaret Clunies RossMargaret Clunies Ross is the McCaughey Professor of English Language and Early English Literature and Director of the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Sydney. Her main research areas are Old Norse-Icelandic Studies and the history of their study. Since 1997 she has led the project...
. At Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages. - –––, Arinbjarnarkviða, ed. Margaret Clunies Ross. At Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages.
- –––, Höfuðlausn, ed. Margaret Clunies Ross. At Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages.
- Eyvindr Finnsson skáldaspillir, Lausavísur, ed. Russel Poole. At Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages.
- Eiríksmál
- Synoptics:
- Historia Norwegiæ, ed. Inger Ekrem and Lars Boje Mortensen, tr. Peter Fisher, Historia Norwegie. Museum Tusculanum Press, 2003; tr. Debra Kunin, A History of Norway and the Passion and Miracles of the Blessed Óláfr. London: Viking Society for Northern Research, University College London, 2001. Online PDF, including corrections, available from Viking Society for Northern Research.
- Ágrip af NóregskonungasögumÁgrip af NóregskonungasögumÁgrip af Nóregskonungasögum or Ágrip is a synoptic history of the kings of Norway, written in Old Norse. The preserved text starts with the death of Hálfdan svarti and ends with the accession of Ingi krókhryggr but the original is thought to have covered a longer period, probably up to the reign of...
, ed. and tr. M.J. Driscoll, Ágrip af Nóregskonungasǫgum. Viking Society for Northern Research Text Series 10. 2nd ed. 2008 (1995). - Theodoricus monachus, Historia de Antiquitate Regum Norwagiensium, ed. Gustav Storm, Monumenta Historica Norvegiæ: Latinske kildeskrifter til Norges historie i middelalderen. Kristiania, 1880; tr. David and Ian McDougall, Theodoricus Monachus. Historia de Antiquitate regum Norwagiensium. Viking Society for Northern Research. 1998.
- Nóregs konungatalNóregs konungatalNóregs konungatal is an Icelandic skaldic poem. Composed around 1190 the poem is preserved in the 14th century Flateyjarbók manuscript. It is based on the lost historical work of Sæmundr fróði and is the best extant testimony on the scope of Sæmundr's work...
(c. 1190, preserved in FlateyjarbókFlateyjarbókThe Flatey Book, is an important medieval Icelandic manuscript. It is also known as GkS 1005 fol. and by the Latin name Codex Flateyensis.- Description :...
), ed. Kari Ellen Gade, Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages. - Icelandic kings' sagasKings' sagasThe kings' sagas are Norse sagas which tell of the lives of Scandinavian kings. They were composed in the 12th to 14th centuries in Iceland and Norway....
. Chapter numbering follows that assigned in the translations given below:- FagrskinnaFagrskinnaFagrskinna is one of the kings' sagas, written around 1220. It takes its name from one of the manuscripts in which it was preserved, Fagrskinna meaning 'Fair Leather', i.e., 'Fair Parchment'. Fagrskinna proper was destroyed by fire, but copies of it and another vellum have been preserved...
, ed. Finnur JónssonFinnur JónssonFinnur Jónsson was an Icelandic philologist who made extensive contributions to the study of Old Norse literature.Finnur graduated from Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík in 1878 and went to Denmark for further studies at the University of Copenhagen. He received a doctorate in philology in 1884 with a...
, Fagrskinna. Nóregs Kononga Tal. Copenhagen, 1902–3. PDF available from septentrionalia.net; tr. Alison Finlay, Fagrskinna: A Catalogue of the Kings of Norway. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2004. The chapter numbering follows that of Bjarni Einarsson (the most recent editor) and Alison Finlay. - Egils sagaEgils sagaEgils saga is an epic Icelandic saga. The oldest transcript dates back to 1240 AD. The saga is centered on the life of Egill Skallagrímsson, an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald...
, ed. Finnur Jónsson, Egils saga Skallagrímssonar. Halle, 1894; tr. Herman Pálsson and Paul Edwards, Egil's Saga. Harmondsworth, 1976. - Snorri Sturluson, HeimskringlaHeimskringlaHeimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...
, ed. Finnur Jónsson, Snorri Sturluson. Heimskringla. Nóregs konunga sögur. Copenhagen, 1911; tr. Lee M. Hollander, Snorri Sturluson. Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway. University of Texas PressUniversity of Texas PressThe University of Texas Press is a university press that is part of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly books in several areas, including Latin American studies, Texana, anthropology, U.S...
, 1964. - Orkneyinga sagaOrkneyinga sagaThe Orkneyinga saga is a historical narrative of the history of the Orkney Islands, from their capture by the Norwegian king in the ninth century onwards until about 1200...
(ch. 8–9 and 17), ed. Finnbogi Guðmundsson, Orkneyinga saga. Íslenzk fornrit 34. Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka fornritafélag, 1965; tr. Hermann Pálsson and Paul Edwards, Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney. London: Hogarth Press, 1978. Republished 1981, Harmondsworth: Penguin. - Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mestaÓláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mestaÓláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta or The Greatest Saga of Óláfr Tryggvasonis one of the kings' sagas, an extended biography of King Óláfr Tryggvason....
(Longer saga of Óláf Tryggvason), ed. Ólafur Halldórsson, Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta. Copenhagen, 1958; ed. Hèr hefr upp Sögu Ólafs konúngs Tryggvasonar. available from Saganet; tr. John Sephton, The Saga of Olaf Tryggwason. London, 1895 (based on edition in Fornmanna sögur).
- Fagrskinna
- Irish annalsIrish annalsA 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...
:- Annals of the Four MastersAnnals of the Four MastersThe Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...
, ed. and tr. John O’Donovan, Annála Rioghachta Éireann. Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters. 7 vols.: vol. 2. Royal Irish Academy. Dublin, 1848–51. - Annals of ClonmacnoiseAnnals of ClonmacnoiseThe Annals of Clonmacnoise are an early 17th-century Early Modern English translation of a lost Irish chronicle, which covered events in Ireland from pre-history to A.D. 1408...
, Denis Murphy, The Annals of Clonmacnoise. Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. Dublin, 1896. - Chronicon ScotorumChronicon ScotorumChronicon Scotorum is a medieval Irish chronicle.According to Nollaig Ó Muraíle, it is "a collection of annals belonging to the 'Clonmacnoise group', covering the period from prehistoric times to 1150 but with some gaps, closely related to the 'Annals of Tigernach'...
, ed. and tr. Gearóid Mac Niocaill. Chronicon Scotorum. Edition and translation available from CELT, supplied with readings from older edition of W.M. Hennessy (ed. and tr.), Chronicum Scotorum. London, 1866. - Annals of UlsterAnnals of UlsterThe Annals of Ulster are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 431 to AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in the...
, ed. and tr. Seán Mac Airt and Gearóid Mac Niocaill, The Annals of Ulster (to AD 1131). Dublin, 1983.
- Annals of the Four Masters
- Caithréim Chellacháin ChaisilCaithréim Chellacháin ChaisilCaithréim Chellacháin ChaisilDonnchadh Ó Corráin writes that this title "was first given it by Eugene O'Curry in his transcript of the text. It has no title in the earliest copy, that in the Book of Lismore...
, ed. Alexander Bugge, Caithream Ceallachain Caisil. The Victorious Career of Cellachan of Cashel. Christiania, 1905. - Durham Liber VitaeDurham Liber VitaeThe Durham Liber Vitae is a confraternity book produced in north-eastern England in the Middle Ages. It records the names of visitors to the church of the bishopric of Durham, and its predecessor sees at Lindisfarne and Chester-le-Street...
, ed. A.H. Thompson, Liber vitae ecclesiae Dunelmensis. Surtees Society 136. 1923.
Secondary sources
- Calverley, W.S. "Stainmoor." Notes on the early sculptured crosses, shrines and monuments in the present diocese of Carlisle, ed. W.G. Collingwood. Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society 11. Kendal, 1899. 264–8.
- Campbell, Alistair. "Two Notes on the Norse Kingdoms in Northumbria." English Historical Review 57 (1942): 85–97: 91–7 ("The End of the Kingdom of Northumbria.").
- Collingwood, W.G. “King Eirík of York.” Saga-book of Viking Club Society for Northern Research 2 (1897–1900): 313–27.
- Collingwood, W.G. "The battle of Stainmoor in legend and history." Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian Archaeological Society series 2 no. 2 (1902): 231–41.
- Cormack, Margaret. "Egils saga, Heimskringla, and the Daughter of Eiríkr blóðøx." alvissmál 10 (2001): 61–8. Available online
- Costambeys, Marios. "Erik Bloodaxe (d. 954)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. September 2004. Accessed: 2 February 2009.
- Downham, Clare. Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland. The Dynasty of Ívarr to A.D. 1014. Edinburgh, 2007.
- Hudson, Benjamin T.Benjamin HudsonBenjamin T. Hudson is an American medievalist based at Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree at Pennsylvania State University, received his Masters at University College, Dublin, and his Ph. D. at Worcester College, Oxford...
Viking Pirates and Christian Princes: Dynasty, Religion, and Empire in the North Atlantic. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005 ISBN 0-19-516237-4. - Jakobsson, Sverrir. om en mægtig Personlighed“: Den norsk-islandske historiske tradisjon om Harald Hårfagre i et kildekritisk perspektiv.“ "Historisk tidsskrift" 81 (2002): 213-30.
- Lang, James (ed.). Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture. Volume VI: Yorkshire North Riding (Except Ryedale). British Academy 6. Oxford, 2002.
- McKinnell, John. "Eddic Poetry in Anglo-Scandinavian Northern England." In Vikings and the Danelaw. Select Papers from the Proceedings of the Thirteenth Viking Congress, ed. James Graham-Campbell et al. Oxford, 2001. 327–44.
- Smyth, Alfred P. Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland AD 80–1000. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 1984.
- Stenton, F.M.Frank StentonSir Frank Merry Stenton was a 20th century historian of Anglo-Saxon England, and president of the Royal Historical Society . He was the author of Anglo-Saxon England, a volume of the Oxford History of England, first published in 1943 and widely considered a classic history of the period...
Anglo-Saxon England. 3rd ed. Oxford, 1971. - Williams, AnnAnn Williams (historian)Ann Williams is an English medievalist, historian and author. Before retiring she worked at the Polytechnic of North London, where she was Senior Lecturer in Medieval History. She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a Research Fellow at the University of East Anglia...
. "Eadred (d. 955)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. September 2004. Accessed: 2 February 2009.
Further reading
- Bailey, R.N. "The Rey cross: background." In Stainmore. The Archaeology of a North Pennine Pass, ed. B. Vyner. Tees Archaeology Monographs 1. Hartlepool, 2001. 118–20.
- Dumville, D.N. "St Cathróe of Metz and the hagiography of exoticism." In Studies in Irish Hagiography. Saints and scholars, ed. John Carey, Máire Herbert and Pádraig Ó Riain. Dublin, 2001. 172–88.
- Larrington, Carolyne. “Egill’s longer poems: Arinbjarnarkviða and Sonatorrek.” In Introductory Essays on Egils saga and Njáls saga, ed. J. Hines and D. Slay, London: The Viking Society for Northern Research, 1992
- Williams, Gareth. Eirik Bloodaxe. Saga Bok, 2010
- Woolf, Alex. From Pictland to Alba, 789–1070. The New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007. ISBN 0-7486-1234-5, OCLC 123113911
External links
- Photo of Rey Cross, Flickr.com.