Michael Matthew Groat PhD's Genealogical Database
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Osbert of Northumberland
- Preferred Name: Osbert of Northumberland[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
- Gender: M
- FSID: 9HR5-V4Q
- DIED+OPPOSING+THE+GREAT+HEATHEN+ARMY: 21 MAR 867 in York, Northumbria at LATI: N3.9589 LONG: E1.067 with note: Description: Osberht and his brother Ælla joined together to oppose the Great Heathen Army and were slain in battle on the same day.
- Death: 21 MAR 867 in Northumbria, England at LATI: N4.6325 LONG: E2.3516 with note: died in battle against the Great Heathen Army along with his brother Ælla
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osberht_of_Northumbria
- Acceded: 849 with note: Description: throne of Northumbria
- Ruling+House:+Northumbria: with note: Wikiwand: Osberht of Northumbria
- DEPOSED+AS+KING: 862 in Northumbria at LATI: N4.6325 LONG: E2.3516 with note: Description: Osbert was deposed from rulership of Northumbria and replaced by his brother Ælla.
- Birth: ABT 810 in Northumbria, England at LATI: N4.6325 LONG: E2.3516 with note: Standardized
- BECAME+KING+OF+NORTHUMBRIA: 849 in Northumbria at LATI: N4.6325 LONG: E2.3516 with note: Description: Osberht became king of Northumbria after Æthelred son of Eanred was murdered, about 848/849.
- NOT+THE+SAME+AS+ÆLLA+OF+NORTHUMBRIA: with note: Description: Ælla was Osbert's brother. They died on the same day!
- Burial: in St Michael and All Angels, Thornhill, Yorkshire, England at LATI: N3.6602 LONG: E1.633 with note: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osberht_of_Northumbria#Chronicles
- Notes:
=== Life Sketch ===
King Osberht (Osbryht) of Northumbria was king of Northumbria from about 849 until 862 when he was deposed. Osberht became king after Æthelred son of Eanred was murdered. The date of Æthelred's death is not certain, but is generally placed in 848. However, Symeon of Durham writes that "Ethelred the son of Eanred reigned nine years. When he was slain Osbryht held the kingdom for thirteen years"
Osberht was deposed in 862 and replaced as king by Ælla. Ælla was identified by sources as Osberht's brother.
The 16th-century historian Hector Boece claims in his Historia Gentis Scotorum that two Northumbrian princes, 'Osbrecht and Ella', took the castle at Stirling.
King Ælla of Northumbria is reported to have captured and executed Ragnar Lodbrok by casting him into a pit full of venomous snakes. In retaliation, or simply using their father's death as an excuse, Lodebrok's sons gathered a "Great Heathen Army" and invaded Northumbria in 866.
Osbert and his brother Ælla joined forces to repel the invaders. After months of back and forth negotiating and squabbles, Osbert and Ælla's forces met the Danes in battle in York. On 21 March 867, both Osbert and his brother were slain in battle.
After this, the Vikings appointed one Ecgberht to rule Northumbria.
King Osberht may have been buried in Thornhill, Yorkshire. A rare cluster of Anglian gravestones dating to the 9th century, one bearing his name, were discovered in Victorian times in the graveyard of the ancient church of St Michael and All Angels.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Osberht (died 21 March 867) 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.
Osberht became king after Æthelred son of Eanred was murdered. The date of Æthelred's death is not certain, but is generally placed in 848.
Little is known of Osberht's reign. Symeon states that "Osbert had dared with sacrilegious hand to wrest from that church Wercewurde and Tillemuthe". The Historia de Sancto Cuthberto dates the seizure of these lands to the year before Osberht's death. Osberht was replaced as king by Ælla. While Ælla is described in most sources as a tyrant, and not a rightful king, one source states that he was Osberht's brother.
The Great Heathen Army marched on Northumbria in the late summer of 866, seizing York on 21 November 866. Symeon of Durham, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Asser, and Æthelweard all recount substantially the same version of events in varying detail. Symeon's Historia Regum Anglorum gives this account of the battle on 21 March 867 where Osberht and Ælla met their deaths at the hands of the Vikings:
In those days, the nation of the Northumbrians had violently expelled from the kingdom the rightful king of their nation, Osbryht by name, and had placed at the head of the kingdom a certain tyrant, named Alla. When the pagans came upon the kingdom, the dissension was allayed by divine counsel and the aid of the nobles. King Osbryht and Alla, having united their forces and formed an army, came to the city of York; on their approach the multitude of the shipmen immediately took flight. The Christians, perceiving their flight and terror, found that they themselves were the stronger party. They fought upon each side with much ferocity, and both kings fell. The rest who escaped made peace with the Danes.
King Osberht may have been buried in Thornhill, Yorkshire. A rare cluster of high status Anglian gravestones from that era, one bearing his name, were discovered in Victorian times in the graveyard of the ancient church of St Michael and All Angels, where they are on public display.
After this, the Vikings appointed one Ecgberht to rule Northumbria.
Sagas
Ragnarssona þáttr (The Tale of Ragnar's sons) adds a great deal of colour to accounts of the Viking conquest of York. This associates the semi-legendary king of Sweden Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons, Hvitserk, Björn Ironside, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, Ivar the Boneless, and Ubbe. According to the stories, Ragnar was killed by Ælla, and the army which seized York in 866 was led by Ragnar's sons who avenged his death by subjecting Ælla to the blood eagle.
Earlier English sources record that Ælla and Osberht died in battle, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle stating that "both the kings were slain on the spot". The main figure in the revenge tales is Ivar, who is sometimes associated with the Viking leader Ímar, brother of Amlaíb Conung, found in the Irish annals. Dorothy Whitelock notes that "it is by no means certain that he should be identified with the son of Ragnar, for the name is not uncommon". The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle does not name the leaders in Northumbria, but it does state that "Hingwar and Hubba" slew King Edmund of East Anglia (Saint Edmund) some years later. Hubba is named as a leader of the army in Northumbria by Abbo of Fleury, and by the Historia Historia de Sancto Cuthberto. Symeon of Durham lists the leaders of the Viking army as "Halfdene, Inguar, Hubba, Beicsecg, Guthrun, Oscytell, Amund, Sidroc and another duke of the same name, Osbern, Frana, and Harold."
Norman historian Geoffrey Gaimar and Geoffrey of Wells both associate an Englishman named "Bern" or "Buern" with bringing the Danes to England, in Gaimar's case to Northumbria, in Geoffrey of Wells' mid-twelfth-century hagiography of Saint Edmund, to East Anglia. Gaimar's account has "Buern" seeking revenge for Osberht's rape of his wife.
Other
Hector Boece relates that two Northumbrian princes, Osbrecht and Ella, took the castle at Stirling.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osberht_of_Northumbria
Preferred Parents:
Father: Eardwulf of Bernicia , b. ABT 785 in Northumbria, England
Sources:
- Title: The historical works of Simeon of Durham
Publication: Name: https://archive.org/details/historicalworks00simegoog/page/n64/mode/1up?q=Osbert;
Note: Page 470
In those days, the nation of the Northumbrians had violently expelled from the kingdom the rightful king of their nation, Osbryht by name, and had placed at the head of the kingdom a certain tyrant, named Alia. When the pagans came upon the kingdom, that dissension was allayed by divine counsel and the aid of the nobles. King Osbryht and Alia, having united their forces and formed an army, came to the city of York ; on their approach, the multitude of the shipmen immediately took to flight. The Christians, per- ceiving their flight and terror, found that they themselves were the stronger party. They fought on each side with much ferocity, and both kings fell. The rest who escaped made peace with the Danes.
page 486
A.D. 854, (the sixth of the birth of king Elfred,) king Osbert reigning over the Northumbrians
page 653
In the year of our Lord's incarnation eight hundred and fifty- four (being the fifth year of the rule of Osbert, the successor of Aethelred, who had been put to death), the government of the episcopal chair was undertaken by Eardulf, a man of great merit.....
page 654
At this period there was a large assembly of the people from aD quarters, that is to say, of the Danes and Frisians, and other pagan nations, who arrived here in an immense fleet, under their ' and dukes, Halfdene, Inguar, Hubba, Beic^sec^, Guthrun, Amund, Sidroc and another duke of the same name, Osb Frana, and Harold. On their arrival in England they took possession of it, and wandered over the whole of it, carrying with them plunder and slaughter wherever they went. After having subdued and destroyed nearly the whole of the southern provinces of England, they next attacked the region of the Northumbrians. In the year from the incarnation of our Lord eight hundred and sixty- seven (being the fourteenth of the episcopate of Eardulf, and the fifth of the reign of Aella, king of the Northumbrians, whom they had placed upon the throne after they had expelled Osbert), the said army of the pagans, after having taken York, upon the kalends of November [Ist Nov.], spread themselves over the whole country, and filled all with blood and grief; they destroyed the churches and the monasteries far and wide with fire and sword, leaving nothing remaining save the bare unroofed walls; and so thoroi^hly did they do their work, that even our own present generation can seldom discover in those places any conclusive memorial of their ancient dignity, sometimes none. Upon this occasion, however, the barbarians advanced no further north than the mouth of the river Tyne, but returned from thence to York. Urged by this their necessity, the people of the Northumbrians collected a great army; their kings, Osbert and Ella, were reconciled with each other; and they made the attempt, to the best of their ability, to weaken the forces of their enemy. Headed by two kings and eight earls, they assaulted York, upon the twelfth of the kalends of April [21st March], which they stormed with considerable pertinacity, some from within, some from without. The enemy were somewhat alarmed by their sudden arrival, but they speeclily offered a firm resistance, and the conflict was waged on both sides with much fierceness. It ended, however, in the death of the two kings, who fell along with the larger portion of their followers; and thus they were deprived at once of life and kingdom, and so paid the penalty for the injuries which they had previously inflicted upon the church of St. Cuthbert: for Osbert had dared with sacrilegious hand to wrest from that church Wercewurde and Tillemuthe, and Aella had done the like for Billingham, Ileclif, and Wigeclif, and Crece.
Page: Identifies Osbryht/Osbert as the rightful king of Northumbria from 849 to 862 (the successor of Aethelred) who was replaced by 'Alia' And in 867 King Osbryht/Osbert and Alla put aside their differences and united aginst the invading Danes and both died on 21 March 867.
- Title: YouTube video about Osberht of Northumbria
Publication: Name: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atCxErWYtro;
Note: Using a computer voice with a British Accent, this is a brief history regarding Osberht.
- Title: Wikipedia article on Osberht of Northumbria
Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osberht_of_Northumbria;
Note: While Wikipedia is often less that complete, it is a great place to learn what is known or has been researched.
- Title: List of monarchs of Northumbria From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_monarchs_of_Northumbria#Kings_of_Northumbria_in_the_Norse_era;
Note: Northumbria, a kingdom of Angles, in what is now northern England and south-east Scotland, was initially divided into two kingdoms: Bernicia and Deira. The two were first united by Aethelfrith around the year 604, and except for occasional periods of division over the subsequent century, they remained so. The exceptions are during the brief period from 633 to 634, when Northumbria was plunged into chaos by the death of King Edwin in battle and the ruinous invasion of Cadwallon ap Cadfan of Gwynedd. The unity of the Northumbrian kingdoms was restored after Cadwallon's death in battle in 634.
Another exception is a period from about the year 644 to 664, when kings ruled individually over Deira. In 651, King Oswiu had Oswine of Deira killed and replaced by Aethelwald, but Aethelwald did not prove to be a loyal sub-king, allying with the Mercian king Penda; according to Bede, Aethelwald acted as Penda's guide during the latter's invasion of Northumbria but withdrew his forces when the Mercians met the Northumbrians at the Battle of Winwaed. After the Mercian defeat at Winwaed, Aethelwald lost power and Oswiu's own son, Alchfrith, became king in his place. In 670, Aelfwine, the brother of the childless King Ecgfrith, was made king of Deira; by this point the title may have been used primarily to designate an heir. Aelfwine was killed in battle against Mercia in 679, and there was not another separate king of Deira until the time of Norse rule.
Kings of Northumbria in the Norse era
The kings of Northumbria in the Norse era variously controlled Jórvík, the former Deira, from its capital York or the northern part of the kingdom, the former Bernicia, from Bamburgh. The southern kings were usually Vikings while the northern rulers were Anglo-Saxons. Some of the rulers controlled all or most of Northumbria although there is some doubt over the details as the history of Northumbria in the ninth and tenth centuries is poorly recorded.
Years Ruler of southern Northumbria Ruler of northern Northumbria Notes
867–872 Military conquest by the Great Heathen Army Ecgberht I Ecgberht I ruled north of the Tyne as a puppet king of the Danes.[3]
872–c. 875 Ricsige Probably ruled most of Northumbria as a sovereign Anglo-Saxon king.[4]
c. 875–877 Halfdan Ragnarsson[5] Ecgberht II[6] The year in which Ecgberht II ceased to be king is unclear.
877–883 Interregnum in York
c. 883–895 Guthred Uncertain. Possibly Ecgberht II.
c. 895–900 Siefried Eadwulf II 1. Eadwulf II is variously titled as either a king or a reeve and the year in which he came to power is unknown. Conventionally he is thought to have ruled only the northern part of the kingdom but he may have ruled the entirely of Northumbria.[7]
2. Siefried and Cnut may have been joint kings in York for part or all of the period between 895 and 905[8]: 79
3. Along with Hálfdan and Eowils, another king, Ingwær, their brother, may have also ruled. All three were killed at the Battle of Tettenhall in 910.
c. 900–905 Cnut
c. 900–902[8]: 79 Æthelwold
c. 902–910[8]: 87 Hálfdan and Eowils
c. 910–913 Anglo-Saxon control, possibly under Eadwulf II
913–c. 918 Anglo-Saxon control, possibly under Ealdred I Ealdred I 1. There is some evidence that Ealdred submitted to Edward the Elder in 924 who died in that year.
2. Ealdred submitted to Æthelstan in 927, making Æthelstan the overlord of all Northumbria as King of the English from 12 July 927, following the Treaty of Eamont Bridge. It is likely that Ealdred's submission was somewhat nominal with Ealdred ruling semi-independently while acknowledging West Saxon authority.[9]
Page: Identifies Osberht (Osbert) as the successor of Æthelred II as King of Northumbria, ruled from c. 848/9 to 862/3 when he was deposed and replaced with Ælla; died on 21 March 867 killed by the Danes along with Ælla. 867 to 21 March 867 Osberht (Osbert) Killed by the Danes with the usurper Ælle
- Title: OSBERHT and ÆLLA - KING of NORTHUMBRIA 759-895 - Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
Publication: Name: https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLAND,%20AngloSaxon%20&%20Danish%20Kings.htm#_ftnref1122;
Note: ÆTHELRED (-killed [848]). Roger of Wendover records the death in 840 of "rege Northanhumbrorum Andredo" and the succession of "Athelredus filius eius" who reigned for seven years[1115]. He succeeded his father in 840 as ÆTHELRED II King of Northumbria. Roger of Wendover records that "rex Northanhumbrorum Athelredus" fled in 844 and was replaced by "Readwlfus", but that the latter was killed in battle "apud Alutthelia" with "consul Alfredus" whereupon Æthelred was restored[1116]. Roger of Wendover records that "Athelredo rege Northanhumbrorum" was killed in 848 and succeeded by "Osbertus" who reigned for eighteen years[1117].
Two brothers, parents not known:
1. OSBERHT (-killed in battle York 21 Mar 867). Roger of Wendover records that "Athelredo rege Northanhumbrorum" was killed in 848 and succeeded by "Osbertus" who reigned for eighteen years[1122]. He succeeded in 848 as OSBERHT King of Northumbria. He was deposed 862 in favour of Ælla, but combined with him to recapture York in early 867. He was killed during the attack.
2. ÆLLA (-killed in battle York 21 Mar 867). He succeeded in 862 as ÆLLA King of Northumbria. Roger of Wendover names (in order) "…Osbertus, Ella…" in his list of kings of Northumbria[1123]. The Danes occupied York 1 Nov 866, resisting a Northumbrian counter-attack 21 Mar 867 in which both Ælla and Osberht his predecessor were killed.
ECGBERHT, son of --- (-873). Roger of Hoveden records that he was established in 867 as ECGBERHT tributary King of Northumbria by the Danes[1124]. The same source records that the Northumbrians expelled him in 872[1125]. Ecgberht sought refuge with Burghred King of Mercia. Northumbria was conquered by the Danes in 878. Danish kings ruled Northumbria until the mid-10th century.
Page: Identifies Osberht as the successor of Æthelred II, king of Northumbria, who was killed in 848. Reigned for 18 years but was deposed in 862 (that would be 13 years). Was deposed in favor of Ælla, who is identified as Osberht's brother. Ælla ruled from 862 until his death in 867. Both Ælla and Osberht were killed in battle against the Danes, who occupied York, on March 21 867.
- Title: Osberht of Northumbria From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osberht_of_Northumbria;
Note: Osberht (died 21 March 867) 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
Osberht became king after Æthelred son of Eanred was murdered. The date of Æthelred's death is not certain, but is generally placed in 848.[1] However, Symeon of Durham writes that "Ethelred the son of Eanred reigned nine years. When he was slain Osbryht held the kingdom for thirteen years" and states that 854 was "the fifth year of the rule of Osbert, the successor of Ethelred, who had been put to death".[2]
Little is known of Osberht's reign. Symeon states that "Osbert had dared with sacrilegious hand to wrest from that church Wercewurde and Tillemuthe".[3] The Historia de Sancto Cuthberto dates the seizure of these lands to the year before Osberht's death.[4] Osberht was replaced as king by Ælla. While Ælla is described in most sources as a tyrant, and not a rightful king, one source states that he was Osberht's brother.[5]
The Great Heathen Army marched on Northumbria in the late summer of 866, seizing York on 21 November 866.[6] Symeon of Durham, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Asser, and Æthelweard all recount substantially the same version of events in varying detail. Symeon's Historia Regum Anglorum gives this account of the battle on 21 March 867 where Osberht and Ælla met their deaths at the hands of the Vikings:[7]
In those days, the nation of the Northumbrians had violently expelled from the kingdom the rightful king of their nation, Osbryht by name, and had placed at the head of the kingdom a certain tyrant, named Alla. When the pagans came upon the kingdom, the dissension was allayed by divine counsel and the aid of the nobles. King Osbryht and Alla, having united their forces and formed an army, came to the city of York; on their approach the multitude of the shipmen immediately took flight. The Christians, perceiving their flight and terror, found that they themselves were the stronger party. They fought upon each side with much ferocity, and both kings fell. The rest who escaped made peace with the Danes.[8]
King Osberht may have been buried in Thornhill, Yorkshire. A rare cluster of high status Anglian gravestones from that era, one bearing his name, were discovered in Victorian times in the graveyard of the ancient church of St Michael and All Angels, where they are on public display.
After this, the Vikings appointed one Ecgberht to rule Northumbria.[9]
Sagas
Ragnarssona þáttr (The Tale of Ragnar's sons) adds a great deal of colour to accounts of the Viking conquest of York. This associates the semi-legendary king of Sweden Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons, Hvitserk, Björn Ironside, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, Ivar the Boneless, and Ubbe. According to the stories, Ragnar was killed by Ælla, and the army which seized York in 866 was led by Ragnar's sons who avenged his death by subjecting Ælla to the blood eagle.[10]
Earlier English sources record that Ælla and Osberht died in battle, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle stating that "both the kings were slain on the spot".[11] The main figure in the revenge tales is Ivar, who is sometimes associated with the Viking leader Ímar, brother of Amlaíb Conung, found in the Irish annals. Dorothy Whitelock notes that "it is by no means certain that he should be identified with the son of Ragnar, for the name is not uncommon".[12] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle does not name the leaders in Northumbria, but it does state that "Hingwar and Hubba" slew King Edmund of East Anglia (Saint Edmund) some years later.[13] Hubba is named as a leader of the army in Northumbria by Abbo of Fleury, and by the Historia Historia de Sancto Cuthberto. Symeon of Durham lists the leaders of the Viking army as "Halfdene, Inguar, Hubba, Beicsecg, Guthrun, Oscytell, Amund, Sidroc and another duke of the same name, Osbern, Frana, and Harold."[14]
Norman historian Geoffrey Gaimar and Geoffrey of Wells both associate an Englishman named "Bern" or "Buern" with bringing the Danes to England, in Gaimar's case to Northumbria, in Geoffrey of Wells' mid-twelfth-century hagiography of Saint Edmund, to East Anglia. Gaimar's account has "Buern" seeking revenge for Osberht's rape of his wife.[15]
Other
Hector Boece relates that two Northumbrian princes, Osbrecht and Ella, took the castle at Stirling.[16]
Notes
However, D.P. Kirby suggests that it may have been as late as 853; Kirby, p. 196.
Symeon of Durham, pp. 653 & 761. Kirby, pp. 196–197, notes the dating problems: if Osberht reigned thirteen years, he was either deposed in around 862, or did not become king until c. 853. Kirby suggests that the discrepancies are due to confusion caused by the omission of Eardwulf's second reign from regnal lists.
Symeon of Durham, p. 654.
Kirby, p. 196.
Kirby, p. 197.
Higham, pp. 178–179; ASC s.a. 867.
Dated by Symeon of Durham, p. 654.
Symeon of Durham, p. 470.
Higham, p.179.
Whitelock, p. 225ff.
ASC, s.a. 867.
Whitelock, p. 227.
ASC, s.a. 870.
Symeon of Durham, p. 654. Whitelock, p. 227, discusses the leaders of the Great Army in various sources.
Whitelock, pp. 228–230; Gaimar, pp. 760–763.
Nimmo, William; Gillespie, Robert (1880). The history of Stirlingshire. Glasgow: Thomas D. Morison. pp. 63–64. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
References
Geoffrey Gaimar; J. Stevenson, translator (1854). "The History of the English according to the translation of Master Geoffrey Gaimar". Church Historians of England, volume II, part II. Seeley's. Retrieved 27 January 2007.
Kirby, D.P., The Earliest English Kings. London: Unwin, 1991. ISBN 0-04-445692-1
Higham, N.J., The Kingdom of Northumbria AD 350-1100. Stroud: Sutton, 1993. ISBN 0-86299-730-5
Symeon of Durham; J. Stevenson, translator (1855). "The Historical Works of Simeon of Durham". Church Historians of England, volume III, part II. Seeley's. Retrieved 27 January 2007.
Whitelock, Dorothy (1969). "Fact and Fiction in the Legend of St. Edmund". Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology 31. Archived from the original on 4 September 2006. Retrieved 27 January 2007.
Page: Identifies Osberht of Northumbria as king of Northumbria from about 849 to 862, when he was deposed and Ælla , who is identified as his brother, became king. Died on 21 March 867 in battle against the Great Heathen Horde and the sons of Ragnar Lodebrok. Ælla, who was allied with Osberht, died the same day in the same battle. Osberht followed Æthelred II as king of Northumbria and was succeeded by Ælla. May be buried in Thornhill, Yorkshire, where a gravestone from the 9th century bears his name.
- Title: Wikiwand: Osberht of Northumbria
Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Osberht_of_Northumbria;
Note: Osberht (died 21 March 867) 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
Osberht became king after Æthelred son of Eanred was murdered. The date of Æthelred's death is not certain, but is generally placed in 848. However, Symeon of Durham writes that "Ethelred the son of Eanred reigned nine years. When he was slain Osbryht held the kingdom for thirteen years" and states that 854 was "the fifth year of the rule of Osbert, the successor of Ethelred, who had been put to death."
Little is known of Osberht's reign. Symeon states that "Osbert had dared with sacrilegious hand to wrest from that church Wercewurde and Tillemuthe." The "Historia de Sancto Cuthberto" dates the seizure of these lands to the year before Osberht's death. Osberht was replaced as king by Ælla. While Ælla is described in most sources as a tyrant, and not a rightful king, one source states that he was Osberht's brother.
The Great Heathen Army marched on Northumbria in the late summer of 866, seizing York on 21 November 866. Symeon of Durham, the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," Asser, and Æthelweard all recount substantially the same version of events in varying detail. Symeon's "Historia Regum Anglorum" gives this account of the battle on 21 March 867 where Osberht and Ælla met their deaths at the hands of the Vikings:
"In those days, the nation of the Northumbrians had violently expelled from the kingdom the rightful king of their nation, Osbryht by name, and had placed at the head of the kingdom a certain tyrant, named Alla. When the pagans came upon the kingdom, the dissension was allayed by divine counsel and the aid of the nobles. King Osbryht and Alla, having united their forces and formed an army, came to the city of York; on their approach the multitude of the shipmen immediately took flight. The Christians, perceiving their flight and terror, found that they themselves were the stronger party. They fought upon each side with much ferocity, and both kings fell. The rest who escaped made peace with the Danes."
King Osberht may have been buried in Thornhill, Yorkshire. A rare cluster of high status Anglian gravestones from that era, one bearing his name, were discovered in Victorian times in the graveyard of the ancient church of St Michael and All Angels, where they are on public display.
After this, the Vikings appointed one Ecgberht to rule Northumbria.
Sagas
"Ragnarssona þáttr" ("The Tale of Ragnar's Sons") adds a great deal of color to accounts of the Viking conquest of York. This associates the semi-legendary king of Sweden Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons, Hvitserk, Björn Ironside, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, Ivar the Boneless, and Ubbe. According to the stories, Ragnar was killed by Ælla, and the army which seized York in 866 was led by Ragnar's sons who avenged his death by subjecting Ælla to the blood eagle.
Earlier English sources record that Ælla and Osberht died in battle, the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" stating that "both the kings were slain on the spot." The main figure in the revenge tales is Ivar, who is sometimes associated with the Viking leader Ímar, brother of Amlaíb Conung, found in the Irish annals. Dorothy Whitelock notes that "it is by no means certain that he should be identified with the son of Ragnar, for the name is not uncommon." The "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" does not name the leaders in Northumbria, but it does state that "Hingwar and Hubba" slew King Edmund of East Anglia (Saint Edmund) some years later. Hubba is named as a leader of the army in Northumbria by Abbo of Fleury, and by the "Historia Historia de Sancto Cuthberto." Symeon of Durham lists the leaders of the Viking army as "Halfdene, Inguar, Hubba, Beicsecg, Guthrun, Oscytell, Amund, Sidroc and another duke of the same name, Osbern, Frana, and Harold."
Norman historian Geoffrey Gaimar and Geoffrey of Wells both associate an Englishman named "Bern" or "Buern" with bringing the Danes to England, in Gaimar's case to Northumbria, in Geoffrey of Wells' mid-twelfth-century hagiography of Saint Edmund, to East Anglia. Gaimar's account has "Buern" seeking revenge for Osberht's rape of his wife.
Other
Hector Boece relates that two Northumbrian princes, Osbrecht and Ella, took the castle at Stirling.
- Title: Summary of peripherally related history of Osbert of Northumbria
Publication: Name: https://ahgray.wordpress.com/2013/06/23/historical-figure-profile-king-osbert-and-king-aelle-of-northumbria/;
Note: This article is about others, but reference is made to Osbert.
- Title: The Earliest English Kings By D. P. Kirby
Author: Google books
Publication: Name: https://books.google.com/books?id=wCQqKQIrSYUC&q=Osbrecht#v=onepage&q=Osberht&f=false;
Note: A chronicle of "The Earliest English Kings" as the title suggests
Information on the reign of King Osberht of Northumbria, as well as others such as King Aella.
Identifies Aella as the brother of Osberht.
Says Aella and Osberht united their forces against the invading 'heathen army' to recover the city of York and were slain in battle on 21 March 867.
- Title: Osberht in record of Ælla of Northumbria From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86lla_of_Northumbria;
Note: Ælla (or Ælle or Aelle, fl. 866; died 21 March 867) was King of Northumbria, a kingdom in medieval England, during the middle of the 9th century. Sources on Northumbrian history in this period are limited, and so Ælla's ancestry is not known and the dating of the beginning of his reign is questionable.
In addition to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Ælla is also mentioned in Scandinavian sources, such as the Norse sagas. According to the latter, Ælla captured the semi-legendary Swedish-Danish Viking leader Ragnar Lodbrok and put him to death in a pit of snakes. The historical invasion of Northumbria in 866 occurred in retaliation for Ragnar's execution, according to Ragnarssona þáttr (The Tale of Ragnar's Sons). While Norse sources claim that Ragnar's sons tortured Ælla to death by the method of the blood eagle, Anglo-Saxon accounts maintain that he died in battle at York on 21 March 867. Concerning the Norse claim, Roberta Frank reviewed the historical evidence for the ritual in her Viking Atrocity and Skaldic Verse: The Rite of the Blood-Eagle, where she writes: "By the beginning of the ninth century, the various saga motifs—eagle sketch, rib division, lung surgery, and 'saline stimulant'—were combined in inventive sequences designed for maximum horror."[1] She concludes that the authors of the sagas misunderstood alliterative kennings that alluded to leaving one's foes face down on the battlefield, their backs torn as carrion by scavenging birds. If this is to be believed, then it is easy to surmise that the mention of his death via the blood eagle is in fact a description of his death on the battlefield, which would make both accounts of his death consistent.
Anglo-Saxon accounts
Ælla became king after Osberht (Osbryht) was deposed. The beginning of his reign is traditionally dated to 862 or 863 but evidence about Northumbrian royal chronology is unreliable prior to 867.[2] His reign may have begun as late as 866.[3] Almost nothing is known of Ælla's reign; Symeon of Durham states that Ælla had seized lands at Billingham, Ileclif, Wigeclif, and Crece, which belonged to the church.[4] While Ælla is described in most sources as a tyrant and an illegitimate king,[5] one source states that he was Osberht's brother.[6]
The Great Heathen Army, composed mostly of Danish, Norwegian and Frisian Vikings, landed in Northumbria in mid-866 and had captured York by 21 November.[7]
Subsequent events are described by historians such as Symeon of Durham, Asser and Æthelweard in accounts that vary only in detail. According to the Historia Regum Anglorum, following the invasion of the Danes, the previous "dissension" between Osberht and Ælla "was allayed by divine counsel" and other Northumbrian nobles. Osberht and Ælla "having united their forces and formed an army, came to the city of York" on 21 March 867.[8] A majority of the "shipmen" (Vikings) gave the impression of fleeing from the approaching Northumbrians. "The Christians, perceiving their flight and terror", attacked, but found that the Vikings "were the stronger party". Surrounded, the Northumbrians "fought upon each side with much ferocity" until both Osberht and Ælla were killed. The surviving Northumbrians "made peace with the Danes".[5]
After this, the Vikings appointed a puppet king of Northumbria, named Ecgberht.[9]
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle does not name the Viking leaders, but it does state that "Hingwar and Hubba" (probably Ivar and Ubba) later killed King Edmund of East Anglia.[10] Ubba was also named as a leader of the army in Northumbria by Abbo of Fleury and by the Historia de Sancto Cuthberto. Symeon of Durham lists the leaders of the Viking army as "Halfdene [Halfdann], Inguar [Ingvar], Hubba, Beicsecg, Guthrun, Oscytell [Ketill], Amund, Sidroc and another duke of the same name, Osbern, Frana and Harold."[11]
Family
Ælla has been identified as the brother of Osberht of Northumbria.[12] According to an Anglo-Norman genealogy, Ælla had a daughter named Æthelthryth and through her was the grandfather of Eadwulf of Bamburgh, "King of the Northern English" who died in 913.[13]
Norse sources
According to Ragnarssona þáttr, the army that seized York in 866 was led by Hvitserk, Björn Ironside, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, Ivar the Boneless and Ubba, sons of Ragnar Lodbrok, who avenged his death by subjecting Ælla to the blood eagle.[14] However, Anglo-Saxon sources claim that Ælla and Osberht died in battle at York, with the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle stating that "both the kings were slain on the spot".[15]
Ivar the Boneless, who plays a major role in both Norse and Anglo-Saxon accounts, is sometimes associated with the Viking leader Ímar (Old Norse: Ívarr), a King of Dublin mentioned in the Irish annals. This is unlikely, however, as Ímar's father is usually said to be Gofraid of Lochlann and his brothers are usually named as Amlaíb Conung and Auisle. As Dorothy Whitelock notes, the names Ívarr and Ímar were "not uncommon" in Norse societies.[16]
Other
Hector Boece relates that two Northumbrian princes, Osbrecht and Ella, took the castle at Stirling.[17]
Page: Identifies Osberht (Osbryht) as the king of Northumbria, deposed about 862 and replaced by Ælla, who is also identified as Osberht's brother. Joined forces with Ælla in 867 to oppose the Great Heathen Army of Vikings and was killed in battle against them on 21 March 867, along with his brother Ælla. Also says Osbrecht and Ella, took the castle at Stirling in Scotland.
- Title: Osberht of Northumbria From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osberht_of_Northumbria;
Note: Osberht
King of Northumbria
Reign c.849 – c.862 AD
Predecessor Æthelred II
Successor Ælla
Died 21 March 867
House Northumbria
Osberht (died 21 March 867) 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
Osberht became king after Æthelred son of Eanred was murdered. The date of Æthelred's death is not certain, but is generally placed in 848.[1] However, Symeon of Durham writes that "Ethelred the son of Eanred reigned nine years. When he was slain Osbryht held the kingdom for thirteen years" and states that 854 was "the fifth year of the rule of Osbert, the successor of Ethelred, who had been put to death".[2]
Little is known of Osberht's reign. Symeon states that "Osbert had dared with sacrilegious hand to wrest from that church Wercewurde and Tillemuthe".[3] The Historia de Sancto Cuthberto dates the seizure of these lands to the year before Osberht's death.[4] Osberht was replaced as king by Ælla. While Ælla is described in most sources as a tyrant, and not a rightful king, one source states that he was Osberht's brother.[5]
The Great Heathen Army marched on Northumbria in the late summer of 866, seizing York on 21 November 866.[6] Symeon of Durham, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Asser, and Æthelweard all recount substantially the same version of events in varying detail. Symeon's Historia Regum Anglorum gives this account of the battle on 21 March 867 where Osberht and Ælla met their deaths at the hands of the Vikings:[7]
In those days, the nation of the Northumbrians had violently expelled from the kingdom the rightful king of their nation, Osbryht by name, and had placed at the head of the kingdom a certain tyrant, named Alla. When the pagans came upon the kingdom, the dissension was allayed by divine counsel and the aid of the nobles. King Osbryht and Alla, having united their forces and formed an army, came to the city of York; on their approach the multitude of the shipmen immediately took flight. The Christians, perceiving their flight and terror, found that they themselves were the stronger party. They fought upon each side with much ferocity, and both kings fell. The rest who escaped made peace with the Danes.[8]
King Osberht may have been buried in Thornhill, Yorkshire. A rare cluster of high status Anglian gravestones from that era, one bearing his name, were discovered in Victorian times in the graveyard of the ancient church of St Michael and All Angels, where they are on public display.
After this, the Vikings appointed one Ecgberht to rule Northumbria.[9]
Sagas
Ragnarssona þáttr (The Tale of Ragnar's sons) adds a great deal of colour to accounts of the Viking conquest of York. This associates the semi-legendary king of Sweden Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons, Hvitserk, Björn Ironside, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, Ivar the Boneless, and Ubbe. According to the stories, Ragnar was killed by Ælla, and the army which seized York in 866 was led by Ragnar's sons who avenged his death by subjecting Ælla to the blood eagle.[10]
Earlier English sources record that Ælla and Osberht died in battle, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle stating that "both the kings were slain on the spot".[11] The main figure in the revenge tales is Ivar, who is sometimes associated with the Viking leader Ímar, brother of Amlaíb Conung, found in the Irish annals. Dorothy Whitelock notes that "it is by no means certain that he should be identified with the son of Ragnar, for the name is not uncommon".[12] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle does not name the leaders in Northumbria, but it does state that "Hingwar and Hubba" slew King Edmund of East Anglia (Saint Edmund) some years later.[13] Hubba is named as a leader of the army in Northumbria by Abbo of Fleury, and by the Historia Historia de Sancto Cuthberto. Symeon of Durham lists the leaders of the Viking army as "Halfdene, Inguar, Hubba, Beicsecg, Guthrun, Oscytell, Amund, Sidroc and another duke of the same name, Osbern, Frana, and Harold."[14]
Norman historian Geoffrey Gaimar and Geoffrey of Wells both associate an Englishman named "Bern" or "Buern" with bringing the Danes to England, in Gaimar's case to Northumbria, in Geoffrey of Wells' mid-twelfth-century hagiography of Saint Edmund, to East Anglia. Gaimar's account has "Buern" seeking revenge for Osberht's rape of his wife.[15]
Other
Hector Boece relates that two Northumbrian princes, Osbrecht and Ella, took the castle at Stirling.[16]
Notes
However, D.P. Kirby suggests that it may have been as late as 853; Kirby, p. 196.
Symeon of Durham, pp. 653 & 761. Kirby, pp. 196–197, notes the dating problems: if Osberht reigned thirteen years, he was either deposed in around 862, or did not become king until c. 853. Kirby suggests that the discrepancies are due to confusion caused by the omission of Eardwulf's second reign from regnal lists.
Symeon of Durham, p. 654.
Kirby, p. 196.
Kirby, p. 197.
Higham, pp. 178–179; ASC s.a. 867.
Dated by Symeon of Durham, p. 654.
Symeon of Durham, p. 470.
Higham, p.179.
Whitelock, p. 225ff.
ASC, s.a. 867.
Whitelock, p. 227.
ASC, s.a. 870.
Symeon of Durham, p. 654. Whitelock, p. 227, discusses the leaders of the Great Army in various sources.
Whitelock, pp. 228–230; Gaimar, pp. 760–763.
Nimmo, William; Gillespie, Robert (1880). The history of Stirlingshire. Glasgow: Thomas D. Morison. pp. 63–64. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
References
Geoffrey Gaimar; J. Stevenson, translator (1854). "The History of the English according to the translation of Master Geoffrey Gaimar". Church Historians of England, volume II, part II. Seeley's. Retrieved 27 January 2007.
Kirby, D.P., The Earliest English Kings. London: Unwin, 1991. ISBN 0-04-445692-1
Higham, N.J., The Kingdom of Northumbria AD 350-1100. Stroud: Sutton, 1993. ISBN 0-86299-730-5
Symeon of Durham; J. Stevenson, translator (1855). "The Historical Works of Simeon of Durham". Church Historians of England, volume III, part II. Seeley's. Retrieved 27 January 2007.
Whitelock, Dorothy (1969). "Fact and Fiction in the Legend of St. Edmund". Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology 31. Archived from the original on 4 September 2006. Retrieved 27 January 2007.
External links
Osberht 6 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
Page: Identifies Osberht as King of Northumbria from c.849 to c.862; succeeded after the death of Æthelred son of Eanred. Also identified as Osbryht, ruled 13 years, was dethroned about 862 and replaced by his brother Ælla. Died on 21 March 867, along with his brother Ælla, in battle against the Viking 'Great Heathen Army'
- Title: Osberht in the record of Æthelred II of Northumbria From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelred_II_of_Northumbria;
Note: Æthelred was king of Northumbria in the middle of the ninth century, but his dates are uncertain. N. J. Higham gives 840 to 848, when he was killed, with an interruption in 844 when Rædwulf usurped the throne, but was killed the same year fighting against the Vikings.[1] Barbara Yorke agrees, and adds that Æthelred was the son of his predecessor, Eanred, but dates his death 848 or 849.[2] D. P. Kirby thinks that an accession date of 844 is more likely, but notes that a coin of Eanred dated stylistically no earlier than 850 may require a more radical revision of dates.[3] David Rollason accepts the coin evidence, and dates Æthelred's reign from c.854 to c. 862, with Rædwulf's usurpation in 858.[4]
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 against Vikings, and Æthelred was restored to power. He was assassinated a few years later, but no further details are known of his murder.
The new styca coinage, small brass coins containing very little silver and much zinc, which began in his father's reign, continued in Æthelred's. Large numbers of his styca coins have been found, again minted in York by a number of moneyers. A moneyer active in this period named Eardwulf was sometimes confused with Æthelred's grandfather King Eardwulf in older works on numismatics.
Written and numismatic evidence agrees that Æthelred was succeeded by Osberht.
Page: Identifies Osberht as the successor of Æthelred
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