Osric was king of Northumbria

Northumbria

Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...

 from the death of Coenred

Coenred of Northumbria

Coenred was king of Northumbria from 716 to 718. John of Fordun claims that he murdered his predecessor Osred. He was described as a member of the Leodwaldings, a kindred descended from Ocg son of Ida of Bernicia, and was the first of the family to rule Northumbria.William of Malmesbury calls him...

 in 718 until his death on the 9th of May, 729. Symeon of Durham

Symeon 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...

 calls him a son of Aldfrith of Northumbria

Aldfrith of Northumbria

Aldfrith sometimes Aldfrid, Aldfridus , or Flann Fína mac Ossu , was king of Northumbria from 685 until his death. He is described by early writers such as Bede, Alcuin and Stephen of Ripon as a man of great learning, and some of his works, as well as letters written to him, survive...

, which would make him a brother, or perhaps a half-brother, of Osred

Osred I of Northumbria

Osred was king of Northumbria from 705 until his death. He was the son of King Aldfrith of Northumbria. Aldfrith's only known wife was Cuthburg, but it is not certainly known whether Osred was her son...

. Alternatively, he may have been a son of King Eahlfrith of Deira, and thus a first cousin of Osred.

Bede

Bede

Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...

 reports little of Osric's reign, but records that comets were seen at his death, a sign of ill omen. William of Malmesbury

William of Malmesbury

William 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,...

 praises Osric for his decision to adopt Ceolwulf

Ceolwulf of Northumbria

Ceolwulf was king of Northumbria from 729 until 737, except for a short period in 731 or 732 when he was deposed, and quickly restored to power. Ceolwulf finally abdicated and entered the monastery at Lindisfarne. He was the "most glorious king" to whom Bede dedicated his Historia ecclesiastica...

, brother of Coenred, as his heir.

Further reading

• Higham, N.J., The Kingdom of Northumbria AD 350-1100. Stroud: Sutton, 1993. ISBN 0-86299-730-5
• Marsden, J., Northanhymbre Saga: The History of the Anglo-Saxon Kings of Northumbria. London: Cathie, 1992. ISBN 1-85626-055-0

Preceded by: Coenred Coenred of Northumbria Coenred was king of Northumbria from 716 to 718. John of Fordun claims that he murdered his predecessor Osred. He was described as a member of the Leodwaldings, a kindred descended from Ocg son of Ida of Bernicia, and was the first of the family to rule Northumbria.William of Malmesbury calls him...

King of Northumbria

Succeeded by: Ceolwulf Ceolwulf of Northumbria Ceolwulf was king of Northumbria from 729 until 737, except for a short period in 731 or 732 when he was deposed, and quickly restored to power. Ceolwulf finally abdicated and entered the monastery at Lindisfarne. He was the "most glorious king" to whom Bede dedicated his Historia ecclesiastica...