From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see Northumbria (disambiguation). Kingdom of Northumbria Norþanhymbra Rīċe 654-954 Northumbria around 700 AD Northumbria around 700 AD Status Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876) North: Anglian kingdom (after 876) South: Danish kingdom (876-914) South: Norwegian kingdom (after 914) Capital Northern: Bamburgh Southern: York Common languages Old Northumbrian, Cumbric, Latin; Norse (c. 876- c. 914) Government Monarchy Monarchy • Kings various History • Established 653 • South is annexed by the Danelaw 876 • South is conquered by Norse warriors 914 • Annexed by Kingdom of England 954 Currency Sceat (peninga) Preceded by Succeeded by Bernicia Deira Rheged Gododdin Kingdom of Scotland Kingdom of England Today part of United Kingdom Northumbria (/nɔːrˈθʌmbriə/; Old English: Norþanhymbra Rīċe; Latin: Regnum Northanhymbrorum)[1] was an early medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom in what is now Northern England and south-east Scotland. The name derives from the Old English Norþan-hymbre meaning "the people or province north of the Humber",[2] as opposed to the people south of the Humber Estuary. Northumbria started to consolidate into one kingdom in the early seventh century, when the two earlier core territories of Deira and Bernicia entered into a dynastic union. At its height, the kingdom extended from the Humber, Peak District and the River Mersey on the south to the Firth of Forth (now in Scotland) on the north. Northumbria ceased to be an independent kingdom in the mid-tenth century when Deira was conquered by the Danes and formed into the Kingdom of York. The rump Earldom of Bamburgh maintained control of Bernicia for a period of time, however, the area north of the Tweed was eventually absorbed into the medieval Kingdom of Scotland while the portion south of the Tweed was absorbed into the Kingdom of England and formed into the county of Northumberland and County Palatinate of Durham. Today, Northumbria usually refers to a smaller region corresponding to the counties of Northumberland, County Durham and Tyne and Wear in North East England.[3] The term is used in the names of some North East regional institutions, particularly the Northumbria Police (which covers Northumberland and Tyne and Wear), Northumbria University (based in Newcastle upon Tyne), the Northumbria Army Cadet Force, and the regionalist Northumbrian Association.[4] The local Environment Agency office, located in Newcastle Business Park, also uses the term Northumbria to describe its area. However, the term is not the official name for the UK region of North East England. Contents 1 Kingdom (654-954) 1.1 Communities and divisions 1.1.1 Possible Celtic British origins 1.1.2 Unification of Bernicia and Deira 1.1.3 Northumbria and Norse settlement 1.2 Kings 1.2.1 Æthelfrith (r. 593-616) 1.2.2 Edwin (r. 616-633) 1.2.3 Oswald (r. 634-642) 1.2.4 Oswiu (r. 642-670) 1.2.5 Halfdan Ragnarsson (r. 876-877) 1.2.6 Æthelstan of Wessex (r. 927-939) 1.2.7 Eric of York (r. 947-948, 952-954) 1.2.8 Eadred of Wessex (r. 946-954) 1.3 Politics and war 2 Ealdormen and earldoms of Northumbria 3 Religion 3.1 Roman and post-Roman Britain 3.2 Conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Roman Catholicism 3.3 Monasteries and figures of note 3.4 Synod of Whitby 3.5 Impact of Scandinavian raiding, settlement and culture 4 Culture 4.1 Golden Age of Northumbria 4.2 Insular art 4.3 Literature 4.4 Scandinavians and the Danelaw 5 Economy 6 Language 7 See also 8 Footnotes 9 Notes 10 References 10.1 Primary sources 10.2 Secondary sources 11 External links Kingdom (654-954) Communities and divisions Possible Celtic British origins The Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria was originally two kingdoms divided approximately around the River Tees: Bernicia was to the north of the river and Deira to the south.[5] It is possible that both regions originated as native Celtic British kingdoms which the Germanic settlers later conquered, although there is very little information about the infrastructure and culture of the British kingdoms themselves.[6] Much of the evidence for them comes from regional names that are British rather than Anglo-Saxon in origin. The names Deira and Bernicia are likely British in origin, for example, indicating that some British place names retained currency after the Anglo-Saxon migrations to Northumbria.[a] There is also some archeological evidence to support British origins for the polities of Bernicia and Deira. In what would have been southern Bernicia, in the Cheviot Hills, a hill fort at Yeavering called Yeavering Bell contains evidence that it was an important centre for first the British and later the Anglo-Saxons. The fort is originally pre-Roman, dating back to the Iron Age at around the first century. In addition to signs of Roman occupation, the site contains evidence of timber buildings that pre-date Germanic settlement in the area that are probably signs of British settlement. Moreover, Brian Hope-Taylor has traced the origins of the name Yeavering, which looks deceptively English, back to the British gafr from Bede's mention of a township called Gefrin in the same area.[10][11] Yeavering continued to be an important political centre after the Anglo-Saxons began settling in the north, as King Edwin had a royal palace at Yeavering.[12] Overall, English place-names dominate the Northumbrian landscape, suggesting the prevalence of an Anglo-Saxon elite culture by the time that Bede-one of Anglo-Saxon England's most prominent historians-was writing in the eighth century.[13][14] According to Bede, the Angles predominated the Germanic immigrants that settled north of the Humber and gained political prominence during this time period.[15] While the British natives may have partially assimilated into the Northumbrian political structure, relatively contemporary textual sources such as Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People depict relations between Northumbrians and the British as fraught.[16] Unification of Bernicia and Deira The Anglo-Saxon countries of Bernicia and Deira were often in conflict before their eventual semi-permanent unification in 654. Political power in Deira was concentrated in the East Riding of Yorkshire, which included York, the North York Moors, and the Vale of York.[17] The political heartlands of Bernicia were the areas around Bamburgh and Lindisfarne, Monkwearmouth and Jarrow, and in Cumbria, west of the Pennines in the area around Carlisle.[18] The name that these two countries eventually united under, Northumbria, may have been coined by Bede and made popular through his Ecclesiastical History of the English People.[19] Information on the early royal genealogies for Bernicia and Deira comes from Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People and Welsh chronicler Nennius’ Historia Brittonum. According to Nennius, the Bernician royal line begins with Ida, son of Eoppa.[20] Ida reigned for twelve years (beginning in 547) and was able to annex Bamburgh to Bernicia.[21] In Nennius' genealogy of Deira, a king named Soemil was the first to separate Bernicia and Deira, which could mean that he wrested the kingdom of Deira from the native British.[22] The date of this supposed separation is unknown. The first Deiran king to make an appearance in Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum is Ælle, the father of the first Roman Catholic Northumbrian king Edwin.[23] A king of Bernicia, Ida's grandson Æthelfrith, was the first ruler to unite the two polities under his rule. He exiled the Deiran Edwin to the court of King Rædwald of the East Angles in order to claim both kingdoms, but Edwin returned in approximately 616 to conquer Northumbria with Rædwald's aid.[24][25] Edwin, who ruled from approximately 616 to 633, was one of the last kings of the Deiran line to reign over all of Northumbria; it was Oswald of Bernicia (c. 634-642) who finally succeeded in making the merger more permanent.[26] Oswald's brother Oswiu eventually succeeded him to the Northumbrian throne despite initial attempts on Deira's part to pull away again.[25] Although the Bernician line ultimately became the royal line of Northumbria, a series of Derian sub-kings continued after Oswald, including Oswine (a relation of Edwin murdered by Oswiu in 651), Œthelwald (killed in battle 655), and Aldfrith (son of Oswiu, who disappeared after 664).[25] Although both Œthelwald and Aldfrith were Oswiu's relations who may have received their sub-king status from him, both used Deira separatist sentiments to try to snatch independent rule of Deira.[22] Ultimately, neither were successful and Oswiu's son Ecgfrith succeeded him to maintain the integrated Northumbrian line.[25] While violent conflicts between Bernicia and Deira played a significant part in determining which line ultimately gained supremacy in Northumbria, marriage alliances also helped bind these two territories together. Æthelfrith married Edwin's sister Acha, although this marriage did little to prevent future squabbles between the brothers-in-law and their descendants. The second intermarriage was more successful, with Oswiu marrying Edwin's daughter and his own cousin Eanflæd to produce Ecgfrith, the beginning of the Northumbrian line. However, Oswiu had another relationship with an Irish woman named Fina which produced the problematic Aldfrith.[25] In his Life and Miracles of St. Cuthbert, Bede declares that Aldfrith, known as Fland among the Irish, was illegitimate and therefore unfit to rule.[27] Northumbria and Norse settlement England in 878. The independent rump of the former Kingdom of Northumbria (yellow) was to the north of the Danelaw (pink). The Viking invasions of the ninth century and the establishment of the Danelaw once again divided Northumbria. Although primarily recorded in the southern provinces of England, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles (particularly the D and E recensions) provide some information on Northumbria's conflicts with Vikings in the late eighth and early ninth centuries. According to these chronicles, Viking raids began to affect Northumbria when a band attacked Lindisfarne in 793.[28] After this initial catastrophic blow, Viking raids in Northumbria were either sporadic for much of the early ninth century or evidence of them was lost.[29] However, in 865 the so-called Great Heathen Army landed in East Anglia and began a sustained campaign of conquest.[30][31] The Great Army fought in Northumbria in 866-867, striking York twice in less than one year. After the initial attack the Norse left to go north, leaving Kings Ælle and Osberht to recapture the city. The E recension of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle suggests that Northumbria was particularly vulnerable at this time because the Northumbrians were once again fighting among themselves, deposing Osberht in favor of Ælle.[32] In the second raid the Vikings killed the Northumbrian kings Ælle and Osberht while recapturing the city.[30] After King Alfred reestablished his control of southern England the Norse invaders settled into what came to be known as the Danelaw in the Midlands, East Anglia, and the southern part of Northumbria.[30] In Northumbria, the Norse established the Kingdom of York whose boundaries were roughly the River Tees and the Humber, giving it approximately the same dimensions as Deira.[33] Although this kingdom fell to Hiberno-Norse colonizers in the 920s and was in constant conflict with the West-Saxon expansionists from the south, it survived until 954 when the last Scandinavian king Eric, who is usually identified as Eric Bloodaxe, was driven out and eventually killed.[34][35][36] In contrast, the Great Army was not as successful in conquering territory north of the River Tees. There were raids that extended into that area, but no sources mention lasting Norse occupation and there are very few Scandinavian place names to indicate significant Norse settlement in northern regions of Northumbria.[37] The political landscape of the area north of the Tees during the Viking conquest of Northumbria consisted of the Community of St. Cuthbert and the remnants of the English Northumbrian elites.[38] While the religious Community of St. Cuthbert "wandered" for a hundred years after Halfdan Ragnarsson attacked their original home Lindisfarne in 875, The History of St. Cuthbert indicates that they settled temporarily at Chester-le-Street between the years 875-883 on land granted to them by the Viking King of York, Guthred.[39][40] According to the twelfth-century account Historia Regum, Guthred granted them this land in exchange for their raising him up as king. The land extended from the Tees to the Tyne and anyone who fled there from either the north or the south would receive sanctuary for thirty-seven days, indicating that the Community of St. Cuthbert had some juridical autonomy. Based on their positioning and this right of sanctuary, this community may have acted as a buffer between the Norse in southern Northumbria and the Anglo-Saxons who continued to hold the north.[41][42] North of the Tyne, Northumbrians maintained partial political control in Bamburgh. The rule of kings continued in that area with Ecgberht I acting as regent around 867 and the kings Ricsige and Ecgberht II immediately following him.[43] According to twelfth-century historian Symeon of Durham, Ecgberht I was a client-king for the Norse. The Northumbrians revolted against him in 872, deposing him in favor of Ricsige.[44] Although the A and E recensions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle report that Halfdan was able to take control of Deira and take a raiding party north of the River Tyne to impose his rule on Bernicia in 874, after Halfdan's death (c. 877) the Norse had difficulty holding on to territory in northern Bernicia.[45][46] Ricsige and his successor Ecgberht were able to maintain an English presence in Northumbria. After the reign of Ecgberht II, Eadwulf "King of the North Saxons" (r. 890-912) succeeded him for control of Bamburgh, but after Eadwulf rulership of this area switched over to earls who may have also been related to the last of the royal Northumbrian house.[47]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "Frea" redirects here. For the genus of beetles, see Frea (beetle). For other uses, see Frigg (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Freyja. Frigg sits enthroned and facing the spear-wielding goddess Gná, flanked by two goddesses, one of whom (Fulla) carries her eski, a wooden box. Illustrated (1882) by Carl Emil Doepler. Frigg (/frɪɡ/)[1] is a goddess in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about her, she is associated with marriage, prophecy, clairvoyance and motherhood, and dwells in the wetland halls of Fensalir. In wider Germanic mythology, she is known in Old High German as Frīja, in Langobardic as Frēa, in Old English as Frīg, in Old Frisian as Frīa, and in Old Saxon as Frī, all ultimately stemming from the Proto-Germanic theonym *Frijjō, meaning '(the) Beloved' or '(the) Free'. Nearly all sources portray her as the wife of the god Odin. In Old High German and Old Norse sources, she is specifically connected with Fulla, but she is also associated with the goddesses Lofn, Hlín, Gná, and ambiguously with the Earth, otherwise personified as an apparently separate entity Jörð (Old Norse: 'Earth'). The children of Frigg and Odin include the gleaming god Baldr. Due to significant thematic overlap, scholars have proposed a connection to the goddess Freyja. The English weekday name Friday (ultimately meaning 'Frigg's Day') bears her name.[2] After Christianization, the mention of Frigg continued to occur in Scandinavian folklore. During modern times, Frigg has appeared in popular culture, has been the subject of art and receives veneration in Germanic Neopaganism.