Ealdred I of Bamburgh

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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. Eadwulf may have also been ruler of all 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. Ealdred was Eadwulf's oldest son and succeeded his father upon his death in 913. He is believed to have had three younger siblings: Uhtred, Adulf mcEtulfe, and Oswulf.

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". About 914 Ealdred was driven from his lands by Ragnall ua Ímair, whether this was all of Northumbria or merely the southern part is unclear. This could have occurred before 914, or 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 southern Northumbria, former Deira. However, if Ealdred was indeed 'driven from his lands' then his regaining control of northern Northumbria was a decided benefit resulting from the battle.

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's submission added Northumbria to Æthelstan's kingdom and is generally seen as the date of the foundation of the Kingdom of England.

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] however, it is usually seen as a notice of his brother's death.

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography states that he was 'probably the father of Oswulf, who later ruled in Northumbria under King Eadred (d. 955).'[3] Alternatively, a genealogy in the text De Northumbria post Britannos, recording the ancestry of Waltheof of Northumbria Earl of Northampton (and, briefly, Northumbria), identifies Oswulf as the son of Eadwulf II of Northumbria.[4] This would make Ealdred to be Oswulf's brother, instead of father.

References[]

  1. ^ a b Hudson, Ealdred
  2. ^ Woolf, From Pictland to Alba, pp. 163–164
  3. ^ ‘Ealdred (d. 933?)’, Benjamin T. Hudson, , Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved 8 April 2015
  4. ^ McGuigan, ′Ælla and the descendants of Ivar′, pp. 24–25.

Sources[]

  • 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.

External links[]

Regnal titles
Preceded by Ruler of Bamburgh
913-c. 933 		Succeeded byas King of the English
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