Æthelfrith, King of Bernicia and First King of Northumbria
Æthelfrith (593-616 AD) was an Anglo-Saxon king based in North East England. He went on to expand his territory, and become the first King of Northumbria. He was especially notable for his victories against the Britons and over the Gaels of Dál Riata (a Scots-Irish coalition).
Æthelfrith’s capital was Din Guarie, a coastal fortress that was renamed Bebbanburgh meaning Bebba’s fort and now called Bamburgh. It was named from Æthelfrith’s wife, Queen Bebba. Æthelfrith seized control of the rival kingdom of Deira (in east Yorkshire) in 604AD to effectively become the first king of all Northumbria – a name given to all the land north of the Humber. Æthelfrith was killed in battle at Bawtry (near Doncaster) fighting Raedwald, King of East Anglia during the period in which Anglo Saxon royalty ruled various regions of Britain.
Bede tells of Æthelfrith's great successes over the Britons, the Celtic peoples who had already settled Britain, while also noting his paganism (the conversion of Northumbria did not begin until a decade after his death): he "ravaged the Britons more than all the great men of the English, insomuch that he might be compared to Saul, once king of the Israelites, excepting only this, that he was ignorant of the true religion."
It may have been Æthelfrith who destroyed the British army at the Battle of Catraeth (Catterick, c. 600). The Britons called him Flesaur, or "the twister". Æthelfrith’s young son, Oswald fled into exile in Scotland and Æthelfrith was succeeded by Edwin of Deira as king.
Further reading
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