Eardwulf of Northumbria
Encyclopedia
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 then-king Æthelred I
attempted to have Eardwulf assassinated. Eardwulf's survival may have been viewed as a sign of divine favour. A group of nobles conspired to assassinate Æthelred in April 796, and he was succeeded by Osbald
; Osbald's reign lasted only twenty-seven days before he was deposed, and Eardwulf became king on 14 May 796.
Little is recorded of Eardwulf's family, though his father, also named Eardwulf, is known to have been a nobleman. Eardwulf was married by the time he became king, though his wife's name is not recorded. It is possible he later wed an illegitimate daughter of Charlemagne
. In 798, early in his reign, Eardwulf fought a battle at Billington Moor against a nobleman named Wada, who had been one of those who killed King Æthelred. Wada was defeated and driven into exile. In 801 Eardwulf led an army against Coenwulf
of Mercia
, perhaps because of Coenwulf's support for other claimants to the Northumbrian throne.
He was deposed in 806, and according to a Frankish record, returned to his kingdom in 808. No record has survived of his death or the end of his reign, and dates from 811 to 830 have been suggested. He is possibly buried at the Mercian royal monastery of Breedon on the Hill
which carries a dedication to Saint Mary and Saint Hardulph, with whom Eardwulf is identified by several historians.
During the latter half of the eighth century, the Northumbria
n succession included a long series of murdered and deposed kings, as several royal lines contended for the throne. The main lines were those of Eadberht
, Æthelwald Moll, and Alhred
. In the eight years before Eardwulf's accession all three of these dynastic lines were involved in the struggle for kingship: on 23 September 788, King Ælfwald I
, grandson of Eadberht, was murdered by the patricius Sicga
near Hexham, and Ælfwald's cousin Osred
became king. Osred, who was of Alhred's line, was deposed after a year, and Æthelred
, son of Æthelwald Moll, who had been deposed in 778 at a young age, was restored to the kingship, resuming the title Æthelred I.
Some Anglo-Saxon kings are known to have been killed by their households or in open warfare against rivals, but overall the record is very sparse. The evidence as regards the deposition of kings is equally limited. Only two eighth-century depositions offer any context, those of Æthelwald Moll in Northumbria and Sigeberht of Wessex
. In both cases the decision is presented as that of some form of council.
This record of disputed succession was by no means unique to Northumbria, and the kingdoms of Mercia
and Wessex
experienced similar troubles during the eighth and ninth centuries. In Wessex, from the death of Centwine
in 685 to Egbert
's seizure of power in 802 the relationships between successive kings are far from clear, and few kings are known have been close kinsmen of their predecessors or successors. The same may be true of Mercia from the death of Ceolred
in 716 until the disappearance of the Mercian kingdom in the late ninth century.
Kings did not rule alone, but governed together with the leading churchmen and nobles. While Northumbria lacks the body of charter
s which shed light on the institutions of the southern Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, sufficient evidence survives for historians to reconstruct some aspects of Northumbrian political life. The evidence for Northumbria survives largely in Latin
documents, and these use the words dux and patricius to describe the leading noblemen of the kingdom. The word dux is usually translated by the Old English
word ealdorman
. Historian Alan Thacker estimates that there were about eight men holding the title of dux in late Northumbria. The title patricius is usually translated as patrician, which ultimately means noble, but in the latter days of the Roman Empire
represented a high ranking position, second only to the emperor. The meaning of the title in Northumbria is unclear, but it appears that there was only one patricius. While it may be simply an alternative to dux, it might represent a position approximating to that of the mayor of the palace
in late Merovingian Francia.
The church in Northumbria was one of the major landowners, perhaps second only to the king. At the head of the Northumbrian church was the Archbishop of York
, an office held by Eanbald I
to 796, Eanbald II
until some time after 808, and then by Wulfsige
to around 830. Immediately below the archbishop were three bishops: the bishop of Lindisfarne
, the bishop of Hexham
, and the bishop of Whithorn. The typically long term of office of senior clerics meant that kings often had to work with men appointed by their predecessors, with whom their relations might be difficult.
, and Coenwulf, the dominant kingdom in Anglo-Saxon England. Offa, the greatest of the three, ruled Mercia until 796, followed soon after by Coenwulf. Offa's dominance was secured in part by marriage alliances with the other major kingdoms: Beorhtric of Wessex
and Æthelred of Northumbria were married to his daughters. Further afield, Charlemagne
, the preeminent ruler in the Christian West, appears to have taken an active interest in Northumbrian affairs. Charlemagne initially ruled Francia and parts of Italy
, but by 796 had become master of an empire which stretched from the Atlantic Ocean
to the Great Hungarian Plain
. He was a staunch defender of the Papacy, and in the popes and the church hierarchy he had allies whose influence extended to Northumbria and beyond. Events in southern Britain to 796 have sometimes been portrayed as a struggle between Offa and Charlemagne, but the disparity in their power was enormous, and Offa and then Coenwulf were clearly minor figures by comparison.
Early evidence of friendly relations between Charlemagne and Offa is tempered by signs of strain. Charlemagne sheltered two exiles from England at his court: Odberht of Kent (probably Eadberht Praen) and Egbert of Wessex
. Eadberht Praen ruled the Kingdom of Kent
for a short time after Offa's death, but was deposed by Coenwulf. Egbert, however, was more successful, taking and holding the throne of Wessex in 802. It is clear that Mercian and Frankish interests could not always be reconciled, and Frankish policy then moved towards support for Offa's opponents. To Charlemagne this primarily meant Northumbria: according to Patrick Wormald
, "Charlemagne … saw England as if it were ruled by two kings only: Æthelred ruling Northumbria and Offa ruling everything to the south". Frankish support for Northumbria thus appears to have been driven by a desire to counter Mercian influence in southern Britain, an area with long-standing ties to Francia. However, it has also been suggested that Charlemagne's interest in Northumbria was motivated by a desire for co-operation against Viking raiders, who had first appeared in Northumbria in the early 790s. Alternatively it may be that Charlemagne's conception of the sphere of his authority included Britain, which had once been part of the Roman Empire.
Initially, however, both Charlemagne and Offa appear to have shared a common interest in supporting King Æthelred, Offa's son-in-law. Shortly before Æthelred was murdered in 796 an embassy from Francia delivered gifts for the king and his bishops. When Charlemagne learned of Æthelred's killing he was enraged, called the Northumbrians "that treacherous, perverse people...who murder their own lords", and threatened retribution. His ambassadors, who had travelled on to Ireland
and were then returning home, were ordered back to Northumbria to recover the presents. Charlemagne in time became a supporter of Eardwulf. Eardwulf is said to have married to one of Charlemagne's daughters, but if this is correct she must have been illegitimate as the marriages of all the legitimate daughters are known. Coenwulf, on the other hand, who became king of Mercia shortly after Eardwulf's accession, is recorded as having fought with Eardwulf in 801.
's History of the Kings, an early twelfth-century work based on the lost late tenth-century chronicle of Byrhtferth
, records that his father's name was also Eardwulf, and both father and son are given the title dux. Historian Barbara Yorke
has proposed that he was a descendant of one Eanwine who (according to Symeon of Durham) was killed in 740 on the orders of King Eadberht. This Eanwine may be identified with King Eadwulf
's son of the same name. Eardwulf's father may have been one of the two Eardwulfs whose deaths are recorded by Symeon of Durham in 774 and 775.
Eardwulf appears to have been an enemy of Æthelred I. He first appears in the historical record circa
790, when Symeon of Durham reports that:
to Eardwulf suggests that this fortunate recovery was seen as being miraculous.
Eardwulf's whereabouts after his recovery are not known. In surviving King Æthelred's anger he was more fortunate than Ælfwald's sons, who were drowned on Æthelred's orders in 791. Osred returned from exile but was betrayed, and killed by Æthelred's command on 14 September 792. Æthelred himself was assassinated on 18 April 796, perhaps at Corbridge
, by conspirators led by the dux Ealdred. Æthelred was followed as king by Osbald
, whose antecedents are unknown; he was deposed after twenty-seven days and fled to the land of the Picts
with a few supporters.
Eardwulf became king on 14 May 796. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
records that he was consecrated by Eanbald I
, Archbishop of York
, and Bishops Æthelberht
, Beadwulf
, and Hygebald
, at York Minster
on 26 May 796.
Eardwulf was evidently married before he became king as Alcuin reproached him for abandoning his wife for a concubine soon after his coronation. This strained relations with the new Archbishop Eanbald II
—Eanbald I had died in the year of Eardwulf's coronation. Alcuin, while condemning secular oppression of the church, affected surprise that the Archbishop Eanbald was accompanied by a large retinue, including soldiers, while travelling, and that he received and protected the king's enemies. Eanbald was presumably in conflict with Eardwulf over property, but it is likely that he also supported rivals for Eardwulf's throne.
Although Æthelred had been Eardwulf's enemy, Æthelred's killers proved to be equally hostile to Eardwulf. In 798 a dux named Wada, who was one of those who had killed King Æthelred, fought with Eardwulf on Billington Moor, near Whalley
, Lancashire
. Wada was put to flight and may have gone into exile in Mercia. Wada may have hoped to restore Osbald to the throne. The evidence for Osbald's continued ambition is a letter Alcuin wrote to him, probably in 798, in which Alcuin attempts to dissuade Osbald from further interventions in Northumbrian affairs. Alcuin's arguments appear to have succeeded, since Osbald is known to have become an abbot by 799 (when his death is recorded), implying that he had given up his ambitions.
Two further challenges to Eardwulf are recorded within the next two years, both apparently from among the noble lines that had been fighting for the throne over the previous decades. In 799, a dux named Moll was killed by Eardwulf's "urgent command". Moll's name has suggested that he was a kinsman of the late King Æthelred, whose father was Æthelwald Moll. The following year, Ealhmund
, "the son of King Alhred, as some say", was killed by Eardwulf's men. Ealhmund was remembered at Derby
, in the neighbouring kingdom of Mercia
, as a saint.
King Coenwulf of Mercia
may have supported the unfortunate Ealhmund, and Symeon of Durham writes that in 801:
This settlement ended open warfare, but Eardwulf was deposed in 806, in unknown circumstances. Letters between Charlemagne and Pope Leo III
suggest that Coenwulf had a hand in Eardwulf's removal. According to the thirteenth-century chronicler Roger of Wendover
, Eardwulf was replaced by King Ælfwald II
, about whom nothing else is known from the written sources, although coins issued in his reign have survived.
As the case of Ælfwald shows, while the written sources for later Northumbria are few and often written down centuries after the events they describe, archaeological evidence from coinage is independent of the surviving annals. Coins in the Anglo-Saxon period usually name the king on whose orders they were issued, and may name the mint
where they were struck—Northumbrian coinage names York
as the place of issue—and the moneyer
who produced them. Their weight and silver
content can be compared with other reigns, providing a hint of the prevailing economic conditions, and the style and size may also throw light on cultural influences when the coins are compared with those of neighbouring kingdoms and with other forms of art. The evidence of Northumbrian coinage is particularly valuable in the ninth century when contemporary written evidence all but disappears.
From the 740s until the end of the Northumbrian kingdom, coins were issued by most kings, although in variable quantities. Until recently no coins from Eardwulf's reign were known, which suggested that it may have been a time of instability, or perhaps that the kingdom was impoverished by the payment of tribute to the Mercian kings Offa and Coenwulf. It is now known that the issue of new coins did not stop during Eardwulf's reign as two of his coins were identified in the 1990s. However, issues of new currency appear to have been limited under Eardwulf and significant numbers of Northumbrian coins are not again attested until the reign of Eardwulf's son Eanred
.
, who appear to have chosen exile among the Picts, Eardwulf was linked to Ripon, and chose a southerly exile. The next reports of Eardwulf are in Frankish sources:
A surviving letter of Leo III to Charlemagne confirms that Eardwulf visited Rome and stayed at Charlemagne's court.
The Frankish source is clear that Eardwulf was "returned to his kingdom", but surviving Anglo-Saxon sources have no record of a second reign. Historians disagree as to whether Ælfwald was replaced by Eardwulf, who would thus have reigned a second time from 808 to 811 or 812, or whether the reign of Eardwulf's son Eanred
began in 808.
Recent studies, based on the discovery of a penny of Eanred for which a date no earlier than c. 850 is proposed, suggest a very different dating for ninth-century Northumbrian kings. From this, it is argued that Eardwulf's second reign ended circa 830, rather than in the years soon after 810, and that the reigns of subsequent kings should be re-dated accordingly: Eanred from 830 to 854, Æthelred II
from 854 to 862, Rædwulf
in 858, and Osberht
from 862 to 867.
Eardwulf is identified by historians with the Saint Hardulph or Hardulf to whom the Mercian royal church of Saint Mary and Saint Hardulph at Breedon on the Hill
is dedicated. The connection, though unproven, has been made by several historians and is uncontroversial. Supporting evidence comes from a twelfth-century list of the burial places of saints compiled at Peterborough
. This calls the Saint Hardulph to whom Breedon was dedicated "Hardulfus rex"—King Eardwulf—and states that he was buried at Breedon.
A panelled stone structure in the church, carved with processions of bearded and robed figures under arches, seems to reproduce details found in the Book of Cerne
, a work associated with Bishop Æthelwold of Lichfield
(818–830). The panels, which may originally have been the outer part of a sarcophagus
built to hold the remains of a high status person such as Saint Hardulph, are dated by their similarity to the illustrations in the Book of Cerne to the first third of the ninth century. According to a medieval calendar of saints, the Benedictine
monks at Breedon celebrated Hardulph's feast day on 21 August.
The death of Eardwulf is not recorded. Although he had faced considerable opposition, and had been driven into exile, he succeeded in founding a dynasty. His son Eanred and grandson Æthelred
(II) ruled Northumbria for most of its remaining existence as an independent kingdom.
Æthelred I of Northumbria
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...
attempted to have Eardwulf assassinated. Eardwulf's survival may have been viewed as a sign of divine favour. A group of nobles conspired to assassinate Æthelred in April 796, and he was succeeded by 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...
; Osbald's reign lasted only twenty-seven days before he was deposed, and Eardwulf became king on 14 May 796.
Little is recorded of Eardwulf's family, though his father, also named Eardwulf, is known to have been a nobleman. Eardwulf was married by the time he became king, though his wife's name is not recorded. It is possible he later wed an illegitimate daughter of 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...
. In 798, early in his reign, Eardwulf fought a battle at Billington Moor against a nobleman named Wada, who had been one of those who killed King Æthelred. Wada was defeated and driven into exile. In 801 Eardwulf led an army against Coenwulf
Coenwulf of Mercia
Coenwulf was King of Mercia from December 796 to 821. He was a descendant of a brother of King Penda, who had ruled Mercia in the middle of the 7th century. He succeeded Ecgfrith, the son of Offa; Ecgfrith only reigned for five months, with Coenwulf coming to the throne in the same year that Offa...
of 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...
, perhaps because of Coenwulf's support for other claimants to the Northumbrian throne.
He was deposed in 806, and according to a Frankish record, returned to his kingdom in 808. No record has survived of his death or the end of his reign, and dates from 811 to 830 have been suggested. He is possibly buried at the Mercian royal monastery of Breedon on the Hill
Breedon on the Hill
Breedon on the Hill is a village and civil parish about north of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in North West Leicestershire, England. The parish adjoins the Derbyshire county boundary and the village is only about south of the Derbyshire town of Melbourne. The 2001 Census recorded a parish population of 958...
which carries a dedication to Saint Mary and Saint Hardulph, with whom Eardwulf is identified by several historians.
Background
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...
n succession included a long series of murdered and deposed kings, as several royal lines contended for the throne. The main lines were those of Eadberht
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...
, Æthelwald Moll, and 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...
. In the eight years before Eardwulf's accession all three of these dynastic lines were involved in the struggle for kingship: on 23 September 788, King 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...
, grandson of Eadberht, was murdered by the patricius Sicga
Sicga
Sicga was a nobleman in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria.Sicga first appears in the historical record as senior lay witness to the proceedings of a council held by Papal Legate, George, Bishop of Ostia in 786, where he is called a patrician , a term which may correspond with the Old English...
near Hexham, and Ælfwald's cousin Osred
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....
became king. Osred, who was of Alhred's line, was deposed after a year, and Æthelred
Æthelred I of Northumbria
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...
, son of Æthelwald Moll, who had been deposed in 778 at a young age, was restored to the kingship, resuming the title Æthelred I.
Some Anglo-Saxon kings are known to have been killed by their households or in open warfare against rivals, but overall the record is very sparse. The evidence as regards the deposition of kings is equally limited. Only two eighth-century depositions offer any context, those of Æthelwald Moll in Northumbria and Sigeberht of Wessex
Sigeberht of Wessex
Sigeberht was the King of Wessex from 756 to 757.Sigeberht succeeded his distant relative Cuthred, but was then accused of acting unjustly. He was removed from power by a council of nobles, but given control of Hampshire. There, he was accused of murder, driven out and ultimately killed...
. In both cases the decision is presented as that of some form of council.
This record of disputed succession was by no means unique to Northumbria, and the kingdoms of 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...
and Wessex
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
experienced similar troubles during the eighth and ninth centuries. In Wessex, from the death of Centwine
Centwine of Wessex
Centwine was King of Wessex from circa 676 to 685 or 686, although he was perhaps not the only king of the West Saxons at the time.The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that Centwine became king circa 676, succeeding Æscwine...
in 685 to Egbert
Egbert of Wessex
Egbert was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was Ealhmund of Kent...
's seizure of power in 802 the relationships between successive kings are far from clear, and few kings are known have been close kinsmen of their predecessors or successors. The same may be true of Mercia from the death of Ceolred
Ceolred of Mercia
-Mercia at the end of the 7th century:By the end of the 7th century, England was almost entirely divided into kingdoms ruled by the Anglo-Saxons, who had come to Britain two hundred years earlier. The kingdom of Mercia occupied what is now the English Midlands, bordered by Northumbria to the...
in 716 until the disappearance of the Mercian kingdom in the late ninth century.
Kings did not rule alone, but governed together with the leading churchmen and nobles. While Northumbria lacks the body of charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
s which shed light on the institutions of the southern Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, sufficient evidence survives for historians to reconstruct some aspects of Northumbrian political life. The evidence for Northumbria survives largely in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
documents, and these use the words dux and patricius to describe the leading noblemen of the kingdom. The word dux is usually translated by the Old English
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
word 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...
. Historian Alan Thacker estimates that there were about eight men holding the title of dux in late Northumbria. The title patricius is usually translated as patrician, which ultimately means noble, but in the latter days of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
represented a high ranking position, second only to the emperor. The meaning of the title in Northumbria is unclear, but it appears that there was only one patricius. While it may be simply an alternative to dux, it might represent a position approximating to that of the mayor of the palace
Mayor of the Palace
Mayor of the Palace was an early medieval title and office, also called majordomo, from the Latin title maior domus , used most notably in the Frankish kingdoms in the 7th and 8th centuries....
in late Merovingian Francia.
The church in Northumbria was one of the major landowners, perhaps second only to the king. At the head of the Northumbrian church was the Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
, an office held by Eanbald I
Eanbald I
Eanbald was an eighth century Archbishop of York.-Life:...
to 796, Eanbald II
Eanbald II
Eanbald was an eighth century Archbishop of York and correspondent of Alcuin-Life:...
until some time after 808, and then by Wulfsige
Wulfsige of York
Wulfsige was a medieval Archbishop of York.Wulfsige was consecrated sometime after 808 and he died between 830 and 837.-External links:*...
to around 830. Immediately below the archbishop were three bishops: the bishop of Lindisfarne
Bishop of Lindisfarne (Saxon)
The Bishop of Lindisfarne was the ordinary of several early medieval episcopal sees in Northumbria and pre-Conquest England. The first such see was founded at Lindisfarne in 635 by Saint Aidan.-List of Bishops of Lindisfarne:...
, the bishop of Hexham
Bishop of Hexham
The Bishop of Hexham was an episcopal title which took its name after the market town of Hexham in Northumberland, England. The title was first used by the Anglo-Saxons in the 7th and 9th centuries, and then by the Roman Catholic Church in the 19th century....
, and the bishop of Whithorn. The typically long term of office of senior clerics meant that kings often had to work with men appointed by their predecessors, with whom their relations might be difficult.
Relations with other states
Northumbria's southern neighbour Mercia was, under the rule of kings Æthelbald, OffaOffa 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...
, and Coenwulf, the dominant kingdom in Anglo-Saxon England. Offa, the greatest of the three, ruled Mercia until 796, followed soon after by Coenwulf. Offa's dominance was secured in part by marriage alliances with the other major kingdoms: Beorhtric of Wessex
Beorhtric of Wessex
Beorhtric was the King of Wessex from 786 to 802.In 786, Cynewulf, king of Wessex, was killed by the exiled noble Cyneheard, brother of the former King Sigeberht. Beorhtric's successful bid for the throne was supported by Offa, king of the Mercians against Egbert...
and Æthelred of Northumbria were married to his daughters. Further afield, 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...
, the preeminent ruler in the Christian West, appears to have taken an active interest in Northumbrian affairs. Charlemagne initially ruled Francia and parts of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, but by 796 had become master of an empire which stretched from the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
to the Great Hungarian Plain
Great Hungarian Plain
The Great Hungarian Plain is a plain occupying the southern and eastern part of Hungary, some parts of the Eastern Slovak Lowland, southwestern Ukraine, the Transcarpathian Lowland , western Romania , northern Serbia , and eastern Croatia...
. He was a staunch defender of the Papacy, and in the popes and the church hierarchy he had allies whose influence extended to Northumbria and beyond. Events in southern Britain to 796 have sometimes been portrayed as a struggle between Offa and Charlemagne, but the disparity in their power was enormous, and Offa and then Coenwulf were clearly minor figures by comparison.
Early evidence of friendly relations between Charlemagne and Offa is tempered by signs of strain. Charlemagne sheltered two exiles from England at his court: Odberht of Kent (probably Eadberht Praen) and Egbert of Wessex
Egbert of Wessex
Egbert was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was Ealhmund of Kent...
. Eadberht Praen ruled the Kingdom of Kent
Kingdom of Kent
The Kingdom of Kent was a Jutish colony and later independent kingdom in what is now south east England. It was founded at an unknown date in the 5th century by Jutes, members of a Germanic people from continental Europe, some of whom settled in Britain after the withdrawal of the Romans...
for a short time after Offa's death, but was deposed by Coenwulf. Egbert, however, was more successful, taking and holding the throne of Wessex in 802. It is clear that Mercian and Frankish interests could not always be reconciled, and Frankish policy then moved towards support for Offa's opponents. To Charlemagne this primarily meant Northumbria: according to Patrick Wormald
Patrick Wormald
Charles Patrick Wormald was a British historian born in Neston, Cheshire, son of historian Brian Wormald.He attended Eton College as a King's Scholar...
, "Charlemagne … saw England as if it were ruled by two kings only: Æthelred ruling Northumbria and Offa ruling everything to the south". Frankish support for Northumbria thus appears to have been driven by a desire to counter Mercian influence in southern Britain, an area with long-standing ties to Francia. However, it has also been suggested that Charlemagne's interest in Northumbria was motivated by a desire for co-operation against Viking raiders, who had first appeared in Northumbria in the early 790s. Alternatively it may be that Charlemagne's conception of the sphere of his authority included Britain, which had once been part of the Roman Empire.
Initially, however, both Charlemagne and Offa appear to have shared a common interest in supporting King Æthelred, Offa's son-in-law. Shortly before Æthelred was murdered in 796 an embassy from Francia delivered gifts for the king and his bishops. When Charlemagne learned of Æthelred's killing he was enraged, called the Northumbrians "that treacherous, perverse people...who murder their own lords", and threatened retribution. His ambassadors, who had travelled on to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and were then returning home, were ordered back to Northumbria to recover the presents. Charlemagne in time became a supporter of Eardwulf. Eardwulf is said to have married to one of Charlemagne's daughters, but if this is correct she must have been illegitimate as the marriages of all the legitimate daughters are known. Coenwulf, on the other hand, who became king of Mercia shortly after Eardwulf's accession, is recorded as having fought with Eardwulf in 801.
Early life and accession
Eardwulf was not, so far as is known, connected to any of the factions that had been warring for the throne up to the mid-790s. Nothing is definitely known of his background, though 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...
's History of the Kings, an early twelfth-century work based on the lost late tenth-century chronicle of Byrhtferth
Byrhtferth
Byrhtferth was a priest and monk who lived at Ramsey Abbey. He had a deep impact on the intellectual life of later Anglo-Saxon England and wrote many computistic, hagiographic, and historical works. He was a leading man of science and best known as the author of many different works...
, records that his father's name was also Eardwulf, and both father and son are given the title dux. Historian Barbara Yorke
Barbara Yorke
Barbara 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...
has proposed that he was a descendant of one Eanwine who (according to Symeon of Durham) was killed in 740 on the orders of King Eadberht. This Eanwine may be identified with King Eadwulf
Eadwulf of Northumbria
Eadwulf was king of Northumbria from death of Aldfrith in December 704 until February or March of 705, when Aldfrith's son Osred was restored to the throne.Osred was a child when his father died, and it is assumed that Eadwulf usurped the throne...
's son of the same name. Eardwulf's father may have been one of the two Eardwulfs whose deaths are recorded by Symeon of Durham in 774 and 775.
Eardwulf appears to have been an enemy of Æthelred I. He first appears in the historical record circa
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
790, when Symeon of Durham reports that:
Eardulf was taken prisoner, and conveyed to RiponA letter from AlcuinRipon CathedralRipon Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds and the mother church of the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds, situated in the small North Yorkshire city of Ripon, England.-Background:...
, and there ordered by the aforesaid king [Æthelred] to be put to death without the gate of the monastery. The brethren carried his body into the church with Gregorian chantGregorian chantGregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
ing, and placed it out of doors in a tent; after midnight he was found alive in the church.
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...
to Eardwulf suggests that this fortunate recovery was seen as being miraculous.
Eardwulf's whereabouts after his recovery are not known. In surviving King Æthelred's anger he was more fortunate than Ælfwald's sons, who were drowned on Æthelred's orders in 791. Osred returned from exile but was betrayed, and killed by Æthelred's command on 14 September 792. Æthelred himself was assassinated on 18 April 796, perhaps at Corbridge
Corbridge
Corbridge is a village in Northumberland, England, situated west of Newcastle and east of Hexham. Villages in the vicinity include Halton, Acomb, Aydon and Sandhoe.-Roman fort and town:...
, by conspirators led by the dux Ealdred. Æthelred was followed as king by 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...
, whose antecedents are unknown; he was deposed after twenty-seven days and fled to the land of the Picts
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
with a few supporters.
King
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...
records that he was consecrated by Eanbald I
Eanbald I
Eanbald was an eighth century Archbishop of York.-Life:...
, Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
, and Bishops Æthelberht
Æthelberht of Whithorn
Æthelberht was a 8th century Anglo-Saxon bishop. His consecration as Bishop of Whithorn can be placed using the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle on 15 June in either 776 or 777, and took place at York. In either 789, 790 or 791 he became Bishop of Hexham; he was succeeded at Whithorn by Beadwulf. He died on...
, Beadwulf
Beadwulf
Beadwulf was the last Bishop of Candida Casa to be consecrated by the Northumbrian Archbishop of York. He appears in four years of the chronicles and nowhere else...
, and Hygebald
Higbald of Lindisfarne
Higbald of Lindisfarne was Bishop of Lindisfarne from 780 until his death on 24 June 803. Powicke gives his death date as 25 May 802...
, at York Minster
York Minster
York Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by...
on 26 May 796.
Eardwulf was evidently married before he became king as Alcuin reproached him for abandoning his wife for a concubine soon after his coronation. This strained relations with the new Archbishop Eanbald II
Eanbald II
Eanbald was an eighth century Archbishop of York and correspondent of Alcuin-Life:...
—Eanbald I had died in the year of Eardwulf's coronation. Alcuin, while condemning secular oppression of the church, affected surprise that the Archbishop Eanbald was accompanied by a large retinue, including soldiers, while travelling, and that he received and protected the king's enemies. Eanbald was presumably in conflict with Eardwulf over property, but it is likely that he also supported rivals for Eardwulf's throne.
Although Æthelred had been Eardwulf's enemy, Æthelred's killers proved to be equally hostile to Eardwulf. In 798 a dux named Wada, who was one of those who had killed King Æthelred, fought with Eardwulf on Billington Moor, near Whalley
Whalley
Whalley is a large village in the Ribble Valley on the banks of the River Calder in Lancashire, England. It is overlooked by Whalley Nab, a large picturesque wooded hill over the river from the village....
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. Wada was put to flight and may have gone into exile in Mercia. Wada may have hoped to restore Osbald to the throne. The evidence for Osbald's continued ambition is a letter Alcuin wrote to him, probably in 798, in which Alcuin attempts to dissuade Osbald from further interventions in Northumbrian affairs. Alcuin's arguments appear to have succeeded, since Osbald is known to have become an abbot by 799 (when his death is recorded), implying that he had given up his ambitions.
Two further challenges to Eardwulf are recorded within the next two years, both apparently from among the noble lines that had been fighting for the throne over the previous decades. In 799, a dux named Moll was killed by Eardwulf's "urgent command". Moll's name has suggested that he was a kinsman of the late King Æthelred, whose father was Æthelwald Moll. The following year, Ealhmund
Alcmund of Derby
Alcmund of Derby or of Lilleshall, also spelt Ealhmund, Alhmund, Alkmund, or Alchmund was son of Alhred of Northumbria. After more than twenty years in exile among the Picts as a result of Northumbrian dynastic struggles, he returned with an army...
, "the son of King Alhred, as some say", was killed by Eardwulf's men. Ealhmund was remembered at Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
, in the neighbouring kingdom of 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...
, as a saint.
King Coenwulf of Mercia
Coenwulf of Mercia
Coenwulf was King of Mercia from December 796 to 821. He was a descendant of a brother of King Penda, who had ruled Mercia in the middle of the 7th century. He succeeded Ecgfrith, the son of Offa; Ecgfrith only reigned for five months, with Coenwulf coming to the throne in the same year that Offa...
may have supported the unfortunate Ealhmund, and Symeon of Durham writes that in 801:
Eardwulf, king of the Northumbrians, led an army against Coenwulf, king of Mercians, because he had given asylum to his enemies. He also, collecting an army, obtained very many auxiliaries from other provinces, having made a long expedition among them. At length, with the advice of the bishops and chiefs of the Angles on either side, they made peace through the kindness of the king of the Angles.
This settlement ended open warfare, but Eardwulf was deposed in 806, in unknown circumstances. Letters between Charlemagne and Pope Leo III
Pope Leo III
Pope Saint Leo III was Pope from 795 to his death in 816. Protected by Charlemagne from his enemies in Rome, he subsequently strengthened Charlemagne's position by crowning him as Roman Emperor....
suggest that Coenwulf had a hand in Eardwulf's removal. According to the thirteenth-century chronicler 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,...
, Eardwulf was replaced by King Ælfwald II
Ælfwald II of Northumbria
Ælfwald is said to have been king of Northumbria following the deposition of Eardwulf in 806. This information is only reported in the anonymous tract De primo Saxonum adventu and the later Flores Historiarum of Roger of Wendover...
, about whom nothing else is known from the written sources, although coins issued in his reign have survived.
As the case of Ælfwald shows, while the written sources for later Northumbria are few and often written down centuries after the events they describe, archaeological evidence from coinage is independent of the surviving annals. Coins in the Anglo-Saxon period usually name the king on whose orders they were issued, and may name the mint
Mint (coin)
A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is usually closely tied to the political situation of an era...
where they were struck—Northumbrian coinage names York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
as the place of issue—and the moneyer
Moneyer
A moneyer is someone who physically creates money. Moneyers have a long tradition, dating back at least to ancient Greece. They became most prominent in the Roman Republic, continuing into the empire.-Roman Republican moneyers:...
who produced them. Their weight and silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
content can be compared with other reigns, providing a hint of the prevailing economic conditions, and the style and size may also throw light on cultural influences when the coins are compared with those of neighbouring kingdoms and with other forms of art. The evidence of Northumbrian coinage is particularly valuable in the ninth century when contemporary written evidence all but disappears.
From the 740s until the end of the Northumbrian kingdom, coins were issued by most kings, although in variable quantities. Until recently no coins from Eardwulf's reign were known, which suggested that it may have been a time of instability, or perhaps that the kingdom was impoverished by the payment of tribute to the Mercian kings Offa and Coenwulf. It is now known that the issue of new coins did not stop during Eardwulf's reign as two of his coins were identified in the 1990s. However, issues of new currency appear to have been limited under Eardwulf and significant numbers of Northumbrian coins are not again attested until the reign of Eardwulf's son Eanred
Eanred of Northumbria
Eanred was king of Northumbria in the early ninth century.Very little is known for certain about Eanred. The only reference made by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to the Northumbrians in this period is the statement that in 829 Egbert of Wessex...
.
Exile and return
Like many of his predecessors, Eardwulf took to exile when he was deposed. Unlike kings with ties to LindisfarneLindisfarne
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...
, who appear to have chosen exile among the Picts, Eardwulf was linked to Ripon, and chose a southerly exile. The next reports of Eardwulf are in Frankish sources:
Meanwhile the king of the Northumbrians from the island of Britain, Eardwulf by name, being expelled from his kingdom and native land, came to the emperor while he was still at Nijmegen, and after he had made known the reason for his coming, he set out for RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
; and on his return from Rome he was escorted by envoys of the Roman pontiff and of the lord emperor back into his kingdom. At that time Leo IIIPope Leo IIIPope Saint Leo III was Pope from 795 to his death in 816. Protected by Charlemagne from his enemies in Rome, he subsequently strengthened Charlemagne's position by crowning him as Roman Emperor....
ruled over the Roman church, and his messenger, the deacon Ealdwulf from that same Britain, a Saxon by race, was sent to Britain, and with him two abbots, Hruotfrid the notary and Nantharius of St. OmerSaint-OmerSaint-Omer , a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais. The town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area....
, sent by the emperor.
A surviving letter of Leo III to Charlemagne confirms that Eardwulf visited Rome and stayed at Charlemagne's court.
The Frankish source is clear that Eardwulf was "returned to his kingdom", but surviving Anglo-Saxon sources have no record of a second reign. Historians disagree as to whether Ælfwald was replaced by Eardwulf, who would thus have reigned a second time from 808 to 811 or 812, or whether the reign of Eardwulf's son Eanred
Eanred of Northumbria
Eanred was king of Northumbria in the early ninth century.Very little is known for certain about Eanred. The only reference made by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to the Northumbrians in this period is the statement that in 829 Egbert of Wessex...
began in 808.
Recent studies, based on the discovery of a penny of Eanred for which a date no earlier than c. 850 is proposed, suggest a very different dating for ninth-century Northumbrian kings. From this, it is argued that Eardwulf's second reign ended circa 830, rather than in the years soon after 810, and that the reigns of subsequent kings should be re-dated accordingly: Eanred from 830 to 854, Æthelred II
Æthelred II of Northumbria
Æthelred was king of Northumbria. He was the son of Eanred.Relatively little is known of his reign from the surviving documentary record. He appears to have been expelled in favour of Rædwulf, whose reign is confirmed by the evidence of coinage. However, Rædwulf was killed the same year, fighting...
from 854 to 862, Rædwulf
Rædwulf of Northumbria
Rædwulf was king of Northumbria for a short time. His descent is not known, but it is possible that he was a kinsman of Osberht and Ælla.Rædwulf became king when Æthelred son of Eanred was deposed. Coins from his reign are known, but other than the report in the Roger of Wendover's Flores...
in 858, and Osberht
Osberht of Northumbria
Osberht was king of Northumbria in the middle of the 9th century. Sources on Northumbrian history in this period are limited. Osberht's descent is not known and the dating of his reign is problematic.-Chronicles:...
from 862 to 867.
Breedon on the Hill
Breedon on the Hill is a village and civil parish about north of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in North West Leicestershire, England. The parish adjoins the Derbyshire county boundary and the village is only about south of the Derbyshire town of Melbourne. The 2001 Census recorded a parish population of 958...
is dedicated. The connection, though unproven, has been made by several historians and is uncontroversial. Supporting evidence comes from a twelfth-century list of the burial places of saints compiled at Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
. This calls the Saint Hardulph to whom Breedon was dedicated "Hardulfus rex"—King Eardwulf—and states that he was buried at Breedon.
A panelled stone structure in the church, carved with processions of bearded and robed figures under arches, seems to reproduce details found in the Book of Cerne
Book of Cerne
The Book of Cerne is a ninth century Anglo-Saxon prayer book. It was apparently made between 820 and 840 for Bishop Æthelwold of Lichfield . It is the only surviving illuminated manuscript that can be firmly attributed to the kingdom of Mercia...
, a work associated with Bishop Æthelwold of Lichfield
Æthelwold of Lichfield
Æthelwold was a medieval Bishop of Lichfield.Æthelwald was consecrated in 818 and died in 830.-External links:*...
(818–830). The panels, which may originally have been the outer part of a sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
built to hold the remains of a high status person such as Saint Hardulph, are dated by their similarity to the illustrations in the Book of Cerne to the first third of the ninth century. According to a medieval calendar of saints, the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monks at Breedon celebrated Hardulph's feast day on 21 August.
The death of Eardwulf is not recorded. Although he had faced considerable opposition, and had been driven into exile, he succeeded in founding a dynasty. His son Eanred and grandson Æthelred
Æthelred II of Northumbria
Æthelred was king of Northumbria. He was the son of Eanred.Relatively little is known of his reign from the surviving documentary record. He appears to have been expelled in favour of Rædwulf, whose reign is confirmed by the evidence of coinage. However, Rædwulf was killed the same year, fighting...
(II) ruled Northumbria for most of its remaining existence as an independent kingdom.