Æthelred I of Northumbria
Encyclopedia
Æthelred was king of Northumbria
from 774 to 779 and again from 788 or 789 until his murder in 796. He became king after Alhred
was deposed. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
refers to him as "Æthelwald Moll's son", rather by his own name, which has led Higham to suppose that he was a child.
If he was indeed no more than a straw man for his father, then Æthelwald Moll's second attempt at ruling Northumbria lasted no longer than his first. Æthelred was deposed in 779 and the throne passed back to the Eatingas in the person of Ælfwald I
, probably a grandson of Eadberht Eating
.
Æthelred lived in exile during the reign of Ælfwald and his successor Osred II
. Osred was deposed, forcibly tonsured and exiled in 788 or 789, and Æthelred was restored to the throne. His second reign saw considerable trouble. The ealdorman
Eardwulf
was ordered killed by Æthelred in 790, but survived and later became king. Ælfwald's sons Ælf and Ælfwine were killed, probably on Æthelred's orders, in 791. The next year Osred attempted to regain the throne, but was defeated, captured and killed on 14 September 792. A year after, Lindisfarne
was sacked, and Alcuin
's letters to Æthelred blame the sack on the sins of Æthelred and his nobility. Also in 792, he married Ælfflæd
, daughter of Offa of Mercia
, at Catterick
.
Æthelred is thought to have had strong backing in Deira, and received assistance from Charlemagne
, but this did not prevent his murder on 18 April 796 by a group of conspirators led by the earldormen Ealdred and Wada. In the resulting confusion, Osbald
, probably a veteran ealdorman, became king.
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 774 to 779 and again from 788 or 789 until his murder in 796. He became king after Alhred
Alhred of Northumbria
Alhred or Alchred was king of Northumbria from 765 to 774. He had married Osgifu, either the daughter of Oswulf, granddaughter of Eadberht Eating, or Eadberht's daughter, and was thus related by marriage to Ecgbert, Archbishop of York...
was deposed. 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 him as "Æthelwald Moll's son", rather by his own name, which has led Higham to suppose that he was a child.
If he was indeed no more than a straw man for his father, then Æthelwald Moll's second attempt at ruling Northumbria lasted no longer than his first. Æthelred was deposed in 779 and the throne passed back to the Eatingas in the person of Ælfwald I
Ælfwald I of Northumbria
Ælfwald was king of Northumbria from 778 to 788. He is thought to have been a son of Oswulf, and thus a grandson of Eadberht Eating.Ælfwald became king after Æthelred son of Æthelwald Moll was deposed in 778...
, probably a grandson of Eadberht Eating
Eadberht of Northumbria
Eadberht was king of Northumbria from 737 or 738 to 758. He was the brother of Ecgbert, Archbishop of York. His reign is seen as a return to the imperial ambitions of seventh-century Northumbria and may represent a period of economic prosperity. He faced internal opposition from rival dynasties...
.
Æthelred lived in exile during the reign of Ælfwald and his successor Osred II
Osred II of Northumbria
Osred was king of Northumbria from 789 to 790. He was the son of Alhred and Osgifu, daughter of Eadberht.He succeeded Ælfwald, son of his mother's brother Oswulf, who was murdered by the patricius Sicga....
. Osred was deposed, forcibly tonsured and exiled in 788 or 789, and Æthelred was restored to the throne. His second reign saw considerable trouble. The ealdorman
Ealdorman
An ealdorman is the term used for a high-ranking royal official and prior magistrate of an Anglo-Saxon shire or group of shires from about the ninth century to the time of King Cnut...
Eardwulf
Eardwulf of Northumbria
Eardwulf was king of Northumbria from 796 to 806, when he was deposed and went into exile. He may have had a second reign from 808 until perhaps 811 or 830. Northumbria in the last years of the eighth century was the scene of dynastic strife between several noble families, and, in 790, the...
was ordered killed by Æthelred in 790, but survived and later became king. Ælfwald's sons Ælf and Ælfwine were killed, probably on Æthelred's orders, in 791. The next year Osred attempted to regain the throne, but was defeated, captured and killed on 14 September 792. A year after, Lindisfarne
Lindisfarne
Lindisfarne is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England. It is also known as Holy Island and constitutes a civil parish in Northumberland...
was sacked, and Alcuin
Alcuin
Alcuin of York or Ealhwine, nicknamed Albinus or Flaccus was an English scholar, ecclesiastic, poet and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student of Archbishop Ecgbert at York...
's letters to Æthelred blame the sack on the sins of Æthelred and his nobility. Also in 792, he married Ælfflæd
Ælfflæd of Mercia
Ælfflæd was a daughter of Offa of Mercia and Cynethryth.She may have witnessed a charter with her father, mother, and brother Ecgfrith in the 770s, and again in 787 with her mother, father, brother, and two sisters; here she is described as virgo—unmarried.It is possible that she was the...
, daughter of Offa of Mercia
Offa of Mercia
Offa was the King of Mercia from 757 until his death in July 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of Æthelbald after defeating the other claimant Beornred. In the early years of Offa's reign it is likely...
, at 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...
.
Æthelred is thought to have had strong backing in Deira, and received assistance from Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
, but this did not prevent his murder on 18 April 796 by a group of conspirators led by the earldormen Ealdred and Wada. In the resulting confusion, Osbald
Osbald of Northumbria
Osbald was a king of Northumbria during 796. He was a friend of Alcuin, a monk from York who often sent him letters of advice.Osbald was a violent man and most likely a murderer as modern records suggest. On 9 January AD 780, he killed Bearn, the son of King Ælfwald by burning him to death at...
, probably a veteran ealdorman, became king.
Further reading
- Higham, N.J., The Kingdom of Northumbria AD 350-1100. Stroud: Sutton, 1993. ISBN 0-86299-730-5
- Kirby, D.P., The Earliest English Kings. London: Unwin, 1991. ISBN 0-04-445692-1
- Yorke, BarbaraBarbara YorkeBarbara Yorke is a historian of Anglo-Saxon England.She studied history and archaeology at Exeter University, where she completed both her undergraduate degree and her Ph.D. She is currently Professor of Early Medieval History at the University of Winchester, and is a Fellow of the Royal...
, Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Seaby, 1990. ISBN 1-85264-027-8