| Eadberht | |
|---|---|
 Asceat of Eadberht | |
| King of Northumbria | |
| Reign | 737–758 |
| Predecessor | Ceolwulf |
| Successor | Oswulf |
| Died | 19 or 20 August 768[1] York,England |
| Burial | |
| Issue | Oswulf, King of Northubria Oswine Osgifu |
| House | Idings |
| Father | Eata |
| Religion | Christianity |
Eadberht (died 19 or 20 August 768) wasking of Northumbria from 737 or 738 to 758. He was the brother ofEcgbert, Archbishop of York. His reign is seen as a return to the imperial ambitions of seventh-centuryNorthumbria and may represent a period of economic prosperity. He faced internal opposition from rival dynasties and at least two actual or potential rivals were killed during his reign. In 758 he abdicated in favour of his sonOswulf and became a monk atYork.
Eadberht became ruler of Northumbria following the second abdication of his cousinCeolwulf, who entered the monastery atLindisfarne. Unlike Ceolwulf's first abdication, which clearly involved force, his second, in favour of Eadberht, may have been voluntary.[2]
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Eadberht son of Eata was a descendant ofIda of Bernicia through either his son Ocga (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle andAnglian collection) or Eadric (Historia Brittonum). The genealogy gives Eadberht's father Eata thecognomenGlin Mawr.[3]
Eadberht appears to have faced opposition from rival families throughout his reign. Eardwine, probably the son of KingEadwulf, and grandfather of the future kingEardwulf, was killed in 740.[4] In 750 Offa, son of KingAldfrith was taken from the sanctuary of Lindisfarne and put to death after a siege, while BishopCynewulf of Lindisfarne, who had presumably supported Offa, was deposed and detained inYork.[5] The importance of religious foundations in Northumbrian political struggles and family feuds is apparent. Eardwine's family is associated withRipon, Offa and Ceolwulf with Lindisfarne, andHexham appears to have supported kings and noblemen opposed by the Lindisfarne community.[6] Eadberht, however, as brother of the Archbishop of York, enjoyed the support of the greatest Northumbrian prelate.[7]
Eadberht's reign saw major reforms to the Northumbrian coinage, and some coins name King Eadberht and Archbishop Ecgberht. Kirby concludes that "the indications are that Eadberht was bringing new prosperity to his kingdom."[8] A letter sent byPope Paul I to Eadberht and Ecgberht, ordering them to return lands taken from Abbot Fothred, and given to his brother Moll, presumed to be the same person as the later kingÆthelwald Moll, suggests that Eadberht's reign saw attempts at reclaiming some of the vast lands which had been granted to the church in earlier reigns.[9]
Kirby suggests that "a revival of seventh-century northern imperial ambitions had evidently occurred among the Northumbrians at the court of Eadberht".[8]
The first record of Eadberht's efforts to recreate this dominion appear in 740, the year of Earnwine's death. A war between the Picts and the Northumbrians is reported, during whichÆthelbald, King ofMercia, took advantage of the absence of Eadberht to ravage his lands. The reason for the war is unclear, but Woolf suggests that it was related to the killing of Earnwine. Earnwine's father had been an exile in the north after his defeat in the civil war of 705–706, and it may be that the Pictish kingÓengus, or Æthelbald, or both, had tried to place him on the Northumbrian throne.[10]
In 750, Eadberht conquered the plain ofKyle and in 756, he campaigned alongside King Óengus against theBritons ofAlt Clut. The campaign is reported as follows:
That Ouania isGovan is now reasonably certain,[12] but the location of Newanbirig is less so. Although there are many Newburghs, it is Newburgh-on-Tyne nearHexham that has been the preferred location.[8] An alternative interpretation of the events of 756 has been advanced: it identifies Newanbirig withNewborough byLichfield in the kingdom of Mercia. A defeat here for Eadberht and Óengus by Æthelbald's Mercians would correspond with the claim in the Saint Andrews foundation legends that a king named Óengus son of Fergus founded the church there as a thanksgiving toSaint Andrew for saving him after a defeat in Mercia.[13]
Eadberht abdicated in 758, entering the monastery attached to the cathedral of York. His death there in 768 is recorded inSymeon of Durham's chronicle.[8] Symeon'sHistory of the Church of Durham records that Eadberht was buried in the porch of the cathedral, alongside his brother Ecgberht, who had died in 766.
His sonOswulf succeeded him, but was murdered within the year.[14] However, his daughter Osgifu's husbandAlhred became king, and Eadberht's descendants, such as Oswulf's sonÆlfwald and Osgifu's sonOsred contested for the Northumbrian throne until the end of the century. Eadberht's last known descendant is Osgifu's son SaintAlhmund, murdered in 800 on the orders of KingEardwulf, and reputed amartyr.[15]
| Preceded by | King of Northumbria 737 or 738–758 | Succeeded by |