GetWiki
Edwin of Northumbria
ARTICLE SUBJECTS
being →
database →
ethics →
fiction →
history →
internet →
language →
linux →
logic →
method →
news →
policy →
purpose →
religion →
science →
software →
truth →
unix →
wiki →
ARTICLE TYPES
essay →
feed →
help →
system →
wiki →
ARTICLE ORIGINS
critical →
forked →
imported →
original →
Edwin of Northumbria
please note:
- the content below is remote from Wikipedia
- it has been imported raw for GetWiki
{{short description|King of Deira and Bernicia from 616 to 632/633}}{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}- the content below is remote from Wikipedia
- it has been imported raw for GetWiki
factoids | |
---|---|
Ãthelfrith of Bernicia>Ãthelfrith| successor = | spouse = CwenburgÃthelburg of Kent| issue = Osfrith, Uscfrea, Eadfrith, Ãthelhun, Eanflæd, Ãthelthryth| royal house = | dynasty = | royal anthem = | Aella of Deira>Ãlle| mother = | religion = Anglo-Saxon paganism and later Christianity| birth_date = c. 586| birth_place = Deira, England | 633|586}}| death_place = Hatfield Chase, England| date of burial = | }}Edwin (; c. 586 â 12 October 632/633), also known as Eadwine or Ãduinus, was the King of Deira and Bernicia â which later became known as Northumbria â from about 616 until his death. He converted to Christianity and was baptised in 627. After he fell at the Battle of Hatfield Chase, he was venerated as a saint.Edwin was the son of Ãlle, the first known king of Deira, and likely had at least two siblings. His sister Acha was married to Ãthelfrith, king of neighbouring Bernicia. An otherwise unknown sibling fathered Hereric, who in turn fathered Abbess Hilda of Whitby and Hereswith, wife to Ãthelric, the brother of king Anna of East Anglia.Higham, Kingdom of Northumbria, p. 80; Kirby, p. 72. Yorke, Kings and Kingdoms, p. 76, makes Hereric a brother of Edwin.Early life and exileThe Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reported that on Ãlle's death a certain "Ãthelric" assumed power. The exact identity of Ãthelric is unclear. He may have been a brother of Ãlle, an elder brother of Edwin, an otherwise unknown Deiran noble, or the father of Ãthelfrith. Ãthelfrith himself appears to have been king of "Northumbria"âboth Deira and Berniciaâby no later than 604.Higham, "Edwin", p. 44. During the reign of Ãthelfrith, Edwin was an exile. The location of his early exile as a child is not known, but late traditions, reported by Reginald of Durham and Geoffrey of Monmouth, place Edwin in the kingdom of Gwynedd, fostered by king Cadfan ap Iago, so allowing biblical parallels to be drawn from the struggle between Edwin and his supposed foster-brother Cadwallon. By the 610s, he was certainly in Mercia under the protection of king Cearl, whose daughter, Cwenburg, he married.Cadfan: Marsden, Northamhymbre Saga, pp. 82â83; Geoffrey of Monmouth, pp. 268â269. Mercia: Bede, HE, II, xiv; Higham, Kingdom of Northumbria, pp. 112â113; Holdsworth, "Edwin".By around 616, Edwin was in East Anglia under the protection of king Rædwald. Bede reports that Ãthelfrith tried to have Rædwald murder his unwanted rival, and that Rædwald intended to do so until his wife persuaded him otherwise with Divine prompting.Bede, HE, II, xii. Ãthelfrith faced Rædwald in battle by the River Idle in 616, and Ãthelfrith was defeated; Rædwald installed Edwin as king of Northumbria. Rædwald's son Rægenhere may have been killed at this battle, but the exact date or manner of Rædwald's death are not known. He likely died between the years 616â627, and the efficacy of Edwin's kingship ostensibly depended greatly on his fealty to Rædwald.Rowley, Sharon M. The Old English Version of Bedeâs Historia Ecclesiastica. Boydell and Brewer: Suffolk, 2011.Edwin was installed as king of Northumbria, effectively confirming Rædwald as bretwalda: Ãthelfrith's sons went into exile in Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata and Pictland. That Edwin was able to take power not only in his native Deira but also in Bernicia may have been due to his support from Rædwald, to whom he may have remained subject during the early part of his reign. Edwin's reign marks an interruption of the otherwise consistent domination of Northumbria by the Bernicians and has been seen as "contrary to the prevailing tendency".D. P. Kirby, The Earliest English Kings (1991, 2000), pp. 61â62.As king(File:Britain peoples circa 600.svg|thumb|200px|right|The main Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms in Edwin's time.)With the death of Ãthelfrith, and of the powerful Ãthelberht of Kent the same year, Rædwald and his client Edwin were well placed to dominate England, and indeed Rædwald did so until his death a decade later. Edwin expelled Ceretic from the minor British kingdom of Elmet in either 616 or 626. Elmet had probably been subject to Mercia and then to Edwin.Death of Ceretic in Annales Cambriae, s.a. 616; Bede, HE, IV, xxiii; Higham, Kingdom of Northumbria, pp. 84â87 & 116. The larger kingdom of Lindsey appears to have been taken over c. 625, after the death of king Rædwald.{{Cn|date=April 2023}}Edwin and Eadbald of Kent were allies at this time, and Edwin arranged to marry Eadbald's sister Ãthelburg. Bede notes that Eadbald would agree to marry his sister to Edwin only if he converted to Christianity. The marriage of Eadbald's Merovingian mother Bertha had resulted in the conversion of Kent and Ãthelburg's would do the same in Northumbria.Bede, HE, II, ixâxi; Holdsworth, "Edwin"; Higham, Kingdom of Northumbria, pp. 113â115.Edwin's expansion to the west may have begun early in his reign. There is firm evidence of a war waged in the early 620s between Edwin and Fiachnae mac Báetáin of the Dál nAraidi, king of the Ulaid in Ireland. A lost poem is known to have existed recounting Fiachnae's campaigns against the Saxons, and the Irish annals report the siege, or the storming, of Bamburgh in Bernicia in 623â624. This should presumably be placed in the context of Edwin's designs on the Isle of Man, a target of Ulaid ambitions. Fiachnae's death in 626, at the hands of his namesake, Fiachnae mac Demmáin of the Dál Fiatach, and the second Fiachnae's death a year later in battle against the Dál Riata probably eased the way for Edwin's conquests in the Irish sea province.For Fiachnae see à CróinÃn, Early Medieval Ireland, pp. 51â52; Byrne, Irish Kings and High Kings, p. 111. Siege or capture of Bamburgh see Annals of Ulster, s.a. 623; Annals of Tigernach, s.a. 624.The routine of kingship in Edwin's time involved regular, probably annual, wars with neighbours to obtain tribute, submission, and slaves. By Edwin's death, it is likely that these annual wars, unreported in the main, had extended the Northumbrian kingdoms from the Humber and the Mersey north to the Southern Uplands and the Cheviots.Higham, Kingdom of Northumbria, p. 123The royal household moved regularly from one royal vill to the next, consuming the food renders given in tribute and the produce of the royal estates, dispensing justice, and ensuring that royal authority remained visible throughout the land. The royal sites in Edwin's time included Yeavering in Bernicia, where traces of a timber amphitheatre have been found. This "Roman" feature makes Bede's claim that Edwin was preceded by a standard-bearer carrying a "tufa" (OE thuuf, this may have been a winged globe) appear to be more than antiquarian curiosity, although whether the model for this practice was Roman or Frankish is unknown. Other royal sites included Campodunum in Elmet (perhaps Barwick), Sancton in Deira, and Goodmanham, the site where the pagan high priest Coifi destroyed the idols according to Bede.Tufa: Bede, HE, II, xvi. Royal villas: Gittos, "Yeavering"; Holdsworth, "Edwin"; Higham, Kingdom of Northumbria, p. 81; Bede, HE, II, xiii. Edwin's realm included the former Roman cities of York and Carlisle, and both appear to have been of some importance in the 7th century, although it is not clear whether urban life continued in this period.Blair, "Carlisle"; Hall, "York".Conversion to ChristianityFile:Edwin - John Speed.JPG|thumb|160px|right|Depiction of Edwin from John Speed's 1611 "Saxon Heptarchy".]]The account of Edwin's conversion offered by Bede turns on two events. The first, during Edwin's exile, tells how Edwin's life was saved by Paulinus of York. The second, following his marriage to Ãthelburg, was the attempted assassination at York, at Easter 626, by an agent of Cwichelm of Wessex. Apart from these events, the general character of Bede's account is one of an indecisive king, unwilling to take risks, unable to decide whether to convert or not.Bede, HE, II, ixâxiv.Along with these events, the influence of Edwin's half-Merovingian Queen cannot be ignored, and the letters which Bede reproduces, sent by Pope Boniface V to Edwin and Ãthelburg, are unlikely to have been unique. Given that Kent was under Frankish influence, while Bede sees the mission as being "Roman" in origin, the Franks were equally interested in converting their fellow Germans and in extending their power and influence.James, The Franks, p. 103; Bede, HE, II, ixâxi; Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 80â81. Bede recounts Edwin's baptism, and that of his chief men, on 12 April 627.Bede, HE, II, xiv. Edwin's zeal, so Bede says, led to Rædwald's son Eorpwald also converting.Bede, HE, II, xv.Bede's account of the conversion is oft-cited. After Paulinus explains the tenets of Christianity, the king asks his counselors what they think of the new doctrine. Edwin's priest Coifi responds that they may be worthwhile; after all, he says, no one has been more respectful of and devoted to their gods than he, and he has seen no benefits from his dedication to them. Then, an unnamed counselor stands up and addresses the king, also seeing the benefit of the new faith. Coifi speaks again and announces that they should destroy the idols and temples they had hitherto worshiped. King Edwin agrees and embraces Christianity; Coifi himself will set fire to the idols,BOOK, Fletcher, Richard A., The barbarian conversion: from paganism to Christianity, 1999, U of California P, 978-0-520-21859-8,weblink 5, declaring "I will do this myself, for now that the true God has granted me knowledge, who more suitably than I can set a public example, and destroy the idols that I worshipped in ignorance?â Bede goes on to describe the scene as Coifi "formally renounces his superstitions, and asked the king to give him arms and a stallion." Armed with both a sword and spear, Coifi rides Edwin's horse towards the idols, all within view of the crowd gathered to witness Edwin's conversion. Upon reaching the temple, Coifi "cast a spear into it and profaned it."Bede, A History of the English Church and People, trans. and ed. by Leo Sherley-Price, Baltimore 1955, p. 126.In an article titled "How Coifi Pierced Christâs Side", Julia Barrow examines Bede's Latinate text and pays particular attention to the passage concerning Coifi's attack upon the temple.JOURNAL, Barrow, Julia, 2011, How Coifi Pierced Christ's Side: A Re-Examination of Bede's Ecclesiastical History, II, Chapter 13,weblink The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, en, 62, 4, 693â706, 10.1017/S0022046911001631, 1469-7637, Barrow notes that Bede's use of lancea was "not the word medieval writers normally used for spear", while âhasta was the usual choice." Barrow goes on to claim that lancea was likely used by Bede as a reference to the details of the crucifixion of Christ provided in the vulgate book of John, thus Coifi's desecration of the shrine is to be understood "as an inversion of the piercing of the temple of Christâs body." All of these details support an understanding that Bede had great "warmth and admiration" for Edwin.BOOK, Kershaw, Paul J.E.,weblink Peaceful kings : peace, power, and the early Medieval political imagination, Oxford University Press, 2011, 978-0-19-820870-9, 1, Oxford, 1â26, 751553106, The brief speech by the unnamed counselor, a nobleman, has attracted much attention; suggesting the "wisdom and hopefulness of the Christian message",BOOK, Damon, John Edward, Soldier saints and holy warriors: warfare and sanctity in the literature of early England, 2003, Ashgate,weblink 154, 9780754604730, it has inspired poets such as William Wordsworth"Man's life is like a sparrow," or Sonnet XVI of his Ecclesiastical Sonnets. BOOK, Wordsworth, William, The Prose Works of William Wordsworth: Critical and ethical, 1876, E. Moxon, 131â132,weblink and was called "the most poetic simile in Bede":BOOK, Godman, Peter, The bishops, kings, and saints of York, 1982, Clarendon, Oxford, 978-0-19-822262-0, 149ff,weblink registration, The present life man, O king, seems to me, in comparison with that time which is unknown to us, like to the swift flight of a sparrow through the room wherein you sit at supper in winter amid your officers and ministers, with a good fire in the midst whilst the storms of rain and snow prevail abroad; the sparrow, I say, flying in at one door and immediately out another, whilst he is within is safe from the wintry but after a short space of fair weather he immediately vanishes out of your sight into the dark winter from which he has emerged. So this life of man appears for a short space but of what went before or what is to follow we are ignorant. If, therefore, this new doctrine contains something more certain, it seems justly to deserve to be followed.BOOK, Robinson, J.H., Readings in European History, 1905, Ginn, Boston, 97â105,weblink Noteworthy is Bede's summation of the nature of Edwin's reign as King of Northumbria:âIt is told that at the time there was so much peace in Britannia, that whenever King Edwinâs power extended, as is said proverbially right up to today, even if a woman with a recently born child wanted to walk across the whole island, from sea to sea, she could do so without anyone harming her.âKershaw indicates that âBedeâs decision to couch Edwinâs peace in proverbial terms offers ...a chilling insight into the levels of lawlessness accepted in eighth-century Englandâ. Furthermore, a definition of âpeaceâ is to be understood as âfreedom from robbery, rape, or violence; security to travel at will and to literally âgo in peace.ââ{{Cn|date=April 2023}}Edwin's conversion and Eorpwald's were reversed by their successors, and in the case of Northumbria the Roman Paulinus appears to have had very little impact. Indeed, by expelling British clergy from Elmet and elsewhere in Edwin's realm, Paulinus may have weakened the Church rather than strengthening it. Very few Roman clergy were present in Paulinus's time, only James the Deacon being known, so that the "conversion" can have been only superficial, extending little beyond the royal court. Paulinus's decision to flee Northumbria at Edwin's death, unlike his acolyte James who remained in Northumbria for many years afterwards until his death, suggests that the conversion was not popular, and the senior Italian cleric unloved.Higham, Kingdom of Northumbria, pp. 119â124; Lapidge, "James the Deacon"; Lapidge, "Paulinus".As overlordThe first challenge to Edwin came soon after his marriage-alliance with Kent, concluded at Canterbury in the summer of 625. By offering his protection to lesser kings, such as the king of Wight, Edwin thwarted the ambitions of Cwichelm of Wessex. Cwichelm's response was to send an assassin, as noted already. Edwin did not immediately respond to this insult, suggesting either that he felt unable to do so, or that Bede's portrayal of him as a rather indecisive ruler is accurate. Following the failed assassination, as noted, Edwin committed himself to Christianity provided only that he was victorious against Cwichelm.{{Cn|date=April 2023}}From about 627 onwards, Edwin was the most powerful king among the Anglo-Saxons, ruling Bernicia, Deira and much of eastern Mercia, the Isle of Man, and Anglesey. His alliance with Kent, the subjection of Wessex, and his recent successes added to his power and authority. The imperium, as Bede calls it, that Edwin possessed was later equated with the idea of a Bretwalda, a later concept invented by West Saxon kings in the 9th century. Put simply, success confirmed Edwin's overlordship, and failure would diminish it.Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 80â82; Keynes, "Bretwalda"; Holdsworth, "Edwin"; Bede, HE, II, v; Higham, Kingdom of Northumbria, p. 115.Edwin's supposed foster-brother Cadwallon ap Cadfan enters the record circa 629, but Cadwallon was defeated and either submitted to Edwin's authority or went into exile.AC, s.a. 629; Higham, Kingdom of Northumbria, p. 116; Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 80â82. With the defeat of Cadwallon, Edwin's authority appears to have been unchallenged for a number of years, until Penda of Mercia and Cadwallon rose against him in 632â633.{{Cn|date=April 2023}}Edwin faced Penda and Cadwallon at the Battle of Hatfield Chase in the autumn of 632 or 633 and was defeated and killed. For a time his body was (allegedly) hidden in Sherwood Forest at a location that became the village of Edwinstowe (trans. Edwin's resting place), his head being eventually buried at York and the rest of his body at Whitby. Of his two grown sons by Cwenburh of Mercia, Osfrith died at Hatfield, and Eadfrith was captured by Penda and killed some time afterwards.Higham, Kingdom of Northumbria, p. 124; Bede, HE, II, xx; III, xxiv.After his death, Edwin's Queen Ãthelburg, along with Paulinus, returned to Kent, taking her son Uscfrea, daughter Eanfled, and Osfrith's son Yffi into exile with her. Uscfrea and Yffi were sent to the court of Ãthelburg's kinsman Dagobert I, king of the Franks, but died soon afterwards. Eanfled, however, lived to marry her first cousin, King Oswiu, son of Acha and Ãthelfrith.{{Cn|date=April 2023}}Death and legacy
See alsoNotes{{Reflist|2}}References{{col-begin}}{{col-2}}see also External links for primary sources
External links
|
- content above as imported from Wikipedia
- "Edwin of Northumbria" does not exist on GetWiki (yet)
- time: 3:18pm EDT - Wed, May 15 2024
- "Edwin of Northumbria" does not exist on GetWiki (yet)
- time: 3:18pm EDT - Wed, May 15 2024
[ this remote article is provided by Wikipedia ]
LATEST EDITS [ see all ]
GETWIKI 23 MAY 2022
The Illusion of Choice
Culture
Culture
GETWIKI 09 JUL 2019
Eastern Philosophy
History of Philosophy
History of Philosophy
GETWIKI 09 MAY 2016
GetMeta:About
GetWiki
GetWiki
GETWIKI 18 OCT 2015
M.R.M. Parrott
Biographies
Biographies
GETWIKI 20 AUG 2014
GetMeta:News
GetWiki
GetWiki
© 2024 M.R.M. PARROTT | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED