Southumbrians
Encyclopedia
The Southumbrians or 'Suðanhymbre' were the Anglo-Saxon
people occupying northern Mercia
. The term may not have been used by the Mercians, and it may have been coined by the Deira
n or Bernicia
n people as a territorial response to their own Kingdom of Northumbria
. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
refers to King Coenred as having become the King of the Southumbrians in 702
, two years before he became King of all the Mercians. The fact that Coenred was the son of Wulfhere, the Mercian King, implies that Southumbria was a sub-kingdom of Mercia.
More generally Southumbria is used by modern historians to refer conveniently to all of Anglo-Saxon England south of the River Humber, and not in Northumbria, especially in the period before England was unified.
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
people occupying northern Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
. The term may not have been used by the Mercians, and it may have been coined by the Deira
Deira
Deira was a kingdom in Northern England during the 6th century AD. Itextended from the Humber to the Tees, and from the sea to the western edge of the Vale of York...
n or Bernicia
Bernicia
Bernicia was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England....
n people as a territorial response to their own Kingdom 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...
. 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...
refers to King Coenred as having become the King of the Southumbrians in 702
702
Year 702 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 702 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Franconian Duke Hetan II completes the...
, two years before he became King of all the Mercians. The fact that Coenred was the son of Wulfhere, the Mercian King, implies that Southumbria was a sub-kingdom of Mercia.
More generally Southumbria is used by modern historians to refer conveniently to all of Anglo-Saxon England south of the River Humber, and not in Northumbria, especially in the period before England was unified.