Northumbria was once made up of two kingdoms; Deira approximately spanned modern-day Yorkshire and Bernicia contained what is roughly modern day Northumberland and parts of Lothian.
King Oswald, who ruled from around 633 AD to 642 AD, ruled both kingdoms. He was an powerful ruler and promoted the spread of Christianity in the region. For this reason he is venerated as a saint. However, when he died fighting Mercian forces at the Battle of Maserfield in 642 AD, different kings ruled Bernicia and Deira once again.
After Oswald’s death, King Oswin ruled Deira and Oswald’s brother Oswiu ruled Bernicia. Bede describes Oswin as a humble and generous man and seemingly well liked. Both kings ruled peacefully for seven years until Oswiu declared war on Oswin.
Outnumbered by Oswiu’s forces, Oswin did not want to fight. To try to avoid this, he went to the house of his friend Earl Hunwald. However, Hunwald betrayed Oswin to Oswiu. Oswin was killed in what Bede describes as a “detestable manner” by Oswiu’s commander Ethilwin. Oswin’s death was on the 20th of August, 651 AD.
In Anglo-Saxon culture, it was common that the closest relatives of a murdered person would seek justice of vengeance for the death. One way to do this was through ‘weregild’, in which you would pay money to the relatives of someone you had killed or injured.
Interestingly, though, Oswin’s closest relative was actually Oswiu’s wife! Aside from weregild, the only other way she could have taken revenge for Oswin’s death would have been to kill her husband. Not to mention that Oswin and Oswiu themselves were also related. This complicated things a bit.
Oswiu’s solution was to found a monastery, Gilling Abbey, to atone for the murder. Some wrote that he did this at the bidding of his wife, Eanflæd. The monks had to say prayers for the souls of both Oswin and Oswiu.
This avoided any messy family complications and Oswiu ruled over both Bernicia and Deira. He continued to reign until his death in 670 AD. He was well known for founding Whitby Abbey, and for his role in the Synod of Whitby, a very important event in the early English Church.
We hope you enjoyed this story from early Northumbria, of betrayal and power struggle and complicated family feuds. And perhaps a little insight into how two very separate kingdoms would become one as the Kingdom of Northumbria.