Ealdred I

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Ealdred (died c. 933) was the son of Eadwulf. He was a ruler of at least part of the former kingdom of Bernicia in northern Northumbria in the early tenth century.

Ealdred's father, called "king of the Saxons of the North" by the Annals of Ulster, but only reeve of Bamburgh by the chronicler Æthelweard, died in 913. He may have been ruler of Northumbria following Eowils and Halfdan who were killed at Tettenhall circa 910. It is unknown whether the family had links to pre- or post-Viking kings of Northumbria.

The Historia de Sancto Cuthberto states that Ealdred "was a friend of King Edward the Elder, as his father had been a favourite of King Alfred the Great". Ealdred was driven from his lands, whether all of Northumbria or merely the northern part which had once been Bernicia is debated, by Ragnall ua Ímair, either in or before 914, or alternatively as late as 918. The Historia states that Ealdred sought refuge with Constantín mac Áeda, the king of Scotland, and that the two fought Ragnall at the battle of Corbridge, dated by the Annals of Ulster and the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba to 918. The battle appears to have been indecisive and Ragnall remained the master of at least southern Northumbria, former Deira, or perhaps of all.

In 924 Ealdred submitted to Edward the Elder, and on 12 July 927 he was one of the northern rulers who submitted to Edward's son King Æthelstan at Eamont Bridge.

Ealdred was a witness to several of Æthelstan's charters issued in southern England in 931 or 932, but he was not recorded thereafter.[1] The Annals of Clonmacnoise record in 934 that "Adulf m'Etulfe king of the North Saxons died", and this may be the only notice of Ealdred's death.

Notes Bamburgh is a large village and civil parish on the coast of Northumberland, England. It is notable for the imposing Bamburgh Castle, overlooking the beach, seat of the former Kings of Northumbria. Bamburgh Castle, then called Din Guardi, may have been the capital of the Brythonic kingdom of Bryneich between about AD 420 and 547. In 547 the castle was taken by the invading Angles led by Ida son of Eoppa and was renamed Bebbanburgh by one of his successors, ¥thelfrith, after ¥thelfrith's wife Bebba, according to the Historia Brittonum. From then onwards the castle became the capital of the Anglian kingdom of Bernicia until it merged with its southern neighbour, Deira, in 634. After the two realms united as Northumbria the capital was moved to York. Bamburgh was again the capitol of local Bernician rulers after the Viking destruction of the old Northumbrian kingdom in 867. Initially puppets of the Vikings, they later had more autonomy under either the Vikings or Kings of united England. The rulers of Bernicia held the title of High Reeve of Bamburgh from at least 913 until 1041, when the last was killed by Harthacnut. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamburgh]

Ealdred's father, called "king of the Saxons of the North" by the Annals of Ulster, but only reeve of Bamburgh by the chronicler Æthelweard, died in 913. He may have been ruler of Northumbria following Eowils and Halfdan who were killed at Tettenhall circa 910. It is unknown whether the family had links to pre- or post-Viking kings of Northumbria.

The Historia de Sancto Cuthberto states that Ealdred "was a friend of King Edward the Elder, as his father had been a favourite of King Alfred the Great". Ealdred was driven from his lands, whether all of Northumbria or merely the northern part which had once been Bernicia is debated, by Ragnall ua Ímair, either in or before 914, or alternatively as late as 918. The Historia states that Ealdred sought refuge with Constantín mac Áeda, the king of Alba, and that the two fought Ragnall at the battle of Corbridge, dated by the Annals of Ulster and the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba to 918. The battle appears to have been indecisive and Ragnall remained the master of at least southern Northumbria, former Deira, or perhaps of all.

In 924 Ealdred submitted to Edward the Elder, and on 12 July 927 he was one of the northern rulers who submitted to Edward's son King Æthelstan at Eamont Bridge.[1]

Ealdred was a witness to several of Æthelstan's charters issued in southern England in 931 or 932, but he was not recorded thereafter.[1] The Annals of Clonmacnoise record in 934 that "Adulf m'Etulfe king of the North Saxons died", and this may be the only notice of Ealdred's death.[2]

References[edit]

1.^ Jump up to: a b Hudson, Ealdred

2.Jump up ^ Woolf, From Pictland to Alba, pp. 163-164

Sources[edit]

Hudson, Benjamin T. (2004). "Ealdred (d. 933?), leader of the Northumbrians". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/39225. Retrieved 6 October 2012.(subscription or UK public library membership required)

Stenton, Sir Frank M., Anglo-Saxon England Third Edition. Oxford University Press, 1971.

Swanton, Michael, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Dent, 1996.

Woolf, Alex (2007). From Pictland to Alba: 789-1070. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978 0 7486 1233 8.