| Aldfrith | |
|---|---|
 The lion symbol used on Aldfrith's coinage[1] | |
| King of Northumbria | |
| Reign | 685–704/705 |
| Predecessor | Ecgfrith |
| Successor | Disputed betweenOsred andEadwulf |
| Died | 14 December 704/705 Driffield, East Riding of Yorkshire |
| Consort | Cuthburh |
| Issue | Osred Osric? Offa Osana? |
| Father | Oswiu |
| Mother | Fín |
Aldfrith (Early Modern Irish:Flann Fína mac Ossu;Latin:Aldfrid,Aldfridus; died 14 December 704 or 705) was king ofNorthumbria from 685 until his death. He is described by early writers such asBede,Alcuin andStephen of Ripon as a man of great learning. Some of his works and some letters written to him survive. His reign was relatively peaceful, marred only by disputes with BishopWilfrid, a major figure in the early Northumbrian church.
Aldfrith was born on an uncertain date toOswiu of Northumbria and an Irish princess namedFín. Oswiu later became King of Northumbria; he died in 670 and was succeeded by his sonEcgfrith. Aldfrith was educated for a career in thechurch and became a scholar. However, in 685, when Ecgfrith was killed at thebattle of Nechtansmere, Aldfrith was recalled to Northumbria, reportedly from theHebridean island ofIona, and became king.
In his early-8th-century account of Aldfrith's reign, Bede states that he "ably restored the shattered fortunes of the kingdom, though within smaller boundaries".[2] His reign saw the creation of works ofHiberno-Saxon art such as theLindisfarne Gospels and theCodex Amiatinus, and is often seen as the start ofNorthumbria's golden age.
By the year 600, most of what is now England had been conquered by invaders from the continent, includingAngles,Saxons, andJutes.Bernicia andDeira, the twoAnglo-Saxon kingdoms in the north of England, were first united under a single ruler in about 605 whenÆthelfrith, king of Bernicia, extended his rule over Deira. Over the course of the 7th century, the two kingdoms were sometimes ruled by a single king, and sometimes separately. The combined kingdom became known as the kingdom ofNorthumbria: it stretched from theRiver Humber in the south to theRiver Forth in the north.[3]
In 616, Æthelfrith was succeeded byEdwin of Northumbria, a Deiran. Edwin banished Æthelfrith's sons, including bothOswald andOswiu of Northumbria. Both spent their exile inDál Riata, a kingdom spanning parts of northeastern Ireland and western Scotland. Oswiu was a child when he came to Dál Riata, and grew up in an Irish milieu.[4] He became a fluent speaker of Old Irish,[5] and may have married a princess of theUí Néill dynasty, probablyFín the daughter (or possibly granddaughter) ofColmán Rímid.[6] Aldfrith was a child of this marriage, but his date of birth is unrecorded.[7] He was probably thus a cousin or nephew of the noted scholarCenn Fáelad mac Aillila, and perhaps a nephew of BishopFinan of Lindisfarne.[8] Irish law made Fín's kin, theCenél nEógain of the northern Uí Néill, responsible for his upbringing.[9] The relationship between Aldfrith's father and mother was not considered a lawful marriage by Northumbrian churchmen of his day, and he is described as the son of aconcubine in early sources.[10]
Oswald and Oswiu returned to Northumbria after Edwin's death in 633, and between them they ruled for much of the middle of the 7th century. The 8th-century monk and chroniclerBede lists both Oswald and Oswiu as having heldimperium, or overlordship, over the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms; in Oswiu's case his dominance extended beyond the Anglo-Saxons to thePicts, theGaels ofDál Riata, and the many obscure and nameless native British kingdoms in what are nowNorth West England and southernScotland.[11] Oswiu's overlordship was ended in 658 by the rise ofWulfhere of Mercia, but his reign continued until his death in 670, when Ecgfrith, one of his sons by his second wife,Eanflæd, succeeded him. Ecgfrith was unable to recover Oswiu's position in Mercia and the southern kingdoms, and was defeated by Wulfhere's brotherÆthelred in a battle on theRiver Trent in 679.[12]
Ecgfrith sent an army under his general,Berht, to Ireland in 684 where he ravaged the plain of Brega, destroying churches and taking hostages. The raid may have been intended to discourage support for any claim Aldfrith might have to the throne, though other motives are possible.[13]
Ecgfrith's two marriages—the first to the saintly virginÆthelthryth (Saint Audrey), the second to Eormenburh—produced no children.[15] He had two full brothers:Alhfrith, who is not mentioned after 664, andÆlfwine, who was killed at the battle on the Trent in 679.[16] Hence the succession in Northumbria was unclear for some years before Ecgfrith's death. Bede'sLife of Cuthbert recounts a conversation betweenCuthbert and AbbessÆlfflæd of Whitby, daughter of Oswiu, in which Cuthbert foresaw Ecgfrith's death. When Ælfflæd asked about his successor, she was told she would love him as a brother:
"But," said she, "I beseech you to tell me where he may be found." He answered, "You behold this great and spacious sea, how it aboundeth in islands. It is easy for God out of some of these to provide a person to reign over England." She therefore understood him to speak of [Aldfrith], who was said to be the son of her father, and was then, on account of his love of literature, exiled to the Scottish islands.[17]
Cuthbert, later considered a saint, was a second cousin of Aldfrith (according to Irish genealogies), which may have been the reason for his proposal as monarch.[18][19]
Ecgfrith was killed during a campaign against his cousin, theKing of the PictsBridei map Beli, at a battle known as Nechtansmere to the Northumbrians, in Pictish territory north of theFirth of Forth.[20] Bede recounts that Queen Eormenburh and Cuthbert were visitingCarlisle that day, and that Cuthbert had a premonition of the defeat.[21] Ecgfrith's death threatened to break the hold of the descendants of Æthelfrith on Northumbria, but the scholar Aldfrith became king and the thrones of Bernicia and Deira remained united.[22]
Although rival claimants of royal descent must have existed, there is no recorded resistance to Aldfrith's accession.[23] It has also been suggested that Aldfrith's ascent was eased by support from Dál Riata, theUí Néill, and thePicts, all of whom might have preferred the mature, known quantity of Aldfrith to an unknown and more warlike monarch, such as Ecgfrith or Oswiu had been.[24] The historian Herman Moisl, for example, wrote that "Aldfrith was in Iona in the year preceding the battle [of Nechtansmere]; immediately afterwards, he was king of Northumbria. It is quite obvious that he must have been installed by the Pictish-Dál Riatan alliance".[25] Subsequently, a battle between the Northumbrians and the Picts in which Berht was killed is recorded by Bede and the Irish annals in 697 or 698.[26] Overall, Aldfrith appears to have abandoned his predecessors' attempts to dominate Northumbria's neighbours.[27]
Bede, paraphrasingVirgil, wrote that following Ecgfrith's death, "the hopes and strengths of the English realm began 'to waver and slip backward ever lower'".[2] The Northumbrians never regained the dominance of central Britain lost in 679, or of northern Britain lost in 685. Nonetheless, Northumbria remained one of the most powerful states of Britain and Ireland well into theViking Age.[28]
Aldfrith ruled both Bernicia and Deira throughout his reign, but the two parts remained distinct, and would again be divided by the Vikings in the late 9th century.[29] The centre of Bernicia lay in the region around the laterAnglo-Scottish border, withLindisfarne,Hexham,Bamburgh, andYeavering being important religious and royal centres. Even after Ecgfrith's death, Bernicia included much of modern southeast Scotland, with a presumed royal centre atDunbar, and religious centres atColdingham andMelrose.[30] The details of the early Middle Ages in northwest England and southwest Scotland are more obscure, but aBishop of Whithorn is known from shortly after Aldfrith's reign.York,Catterick,Ripon, andWhitby appear to have been important sites in Deira.[31]
Northumbria's southern frontier with Mercia ran across England, from theHumber in the east, following theRiver Ouse and theRiver Don, to theMersey in the west. Some archaeological evidence, theRoman Rig dyke, near modernSheffield, appears to show that it was a defended border, with large earthworks set back from the frontier.[32] TheNico Ditch, to the south of modernManchester, has been cited in this context, though it has also been argued that it was simply a boundary marker without fortifications.[32][33] In the far north, the evidence is less clear, and it appears that authority lay with sub-kings, perhaps including native British rulers.[32] The family of Ecgfrith's general Berht may have been one such dynasty of under-kings.[34]
Along with the king, royal family, and chief noblemen, the church was a major force in Northumbria. Churchmen were not only figures of spiritual authority, they were major landowners, who also controlled trade, centred at major churches and monasteries in a land without cities and towns. Thebishopric of Lindisfarne was held by Cuthbert at Aldfrith's accession; Cuthbert was succeeded by the Irish-educatedEadberht, who would later beAbbot of Iona and bring theEaster controversy to an end, and then byEadfrith, creator of theLindisfarne Gospels. The bishops of Lindisfarne sometimes held the see ofHexham, but during Aldfrith's reign it was held byJohn of Beverley, a pupil and protégé ofTheodore, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The bishopric of York was held byBosa in 685.Wilfrid was given the see in 687, but removed in 691 with Bosa returning to York. The short-lived see atAbercorn, created in 681 for BishopTrumwine, collapsed in the period after Ecgfrith's death and the first knownBishop of Whithorn was appointed in the reign of KingCeolwulf. Important monasteries existed atWhitby, where the known abbesses tended to be members of the Deiran royal family, atMonkwearmouth-Jarrow, where Bede was a monk, and atRipon.[35]
Aldfrith appears to have had the support of leading ecclesiastics, most notably his half-sister Ælfflæd and the highly respected Bishop Cuthbert.[36] He is known to have receivedconfirmation at the hands ofAldhelm, later theBishop of Sherborne in the south-western Anglo-SaxonKingdom of Wessex. Aldhelm too had received an Irish education, but in Britain, atMalmesbury. Correspondence between the two survives, and Aldhelm sent Aldfrith his treatise on thenumerology of the number seven, theEpistola ad Acircium.[37] Aldfrith also owned a manuscript on cosmography, which (according to Bede) he purchased from Abbot Ceolfrith of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow in exchange for an estate valued at eighthides.[38] Aldfrith was a close friend ofAdomnán,Abbot of Iona from 679, and may have studied with him.[39] In the 680s Aldfrith twice met with Adomnán, who came to seek the release of the Irish captives taken in Berht's expedition of 684. These were released and Adomnán presented Aldfrith with a copy of his treatiseDe Locis Sanctis ("On the Holy Places"), a description of the places ofpilgrimage in theHoly Land, and atAlexandria andConstantinople. Bede reports that Aldfrith circulated Adomnán's work for others to read.[40]
Bede described Aldfrith as a scholar, and his interest in learning distinguishes him from the earlier Anglo-Saxon warrior kings, such as Penda. Irish sources describe him as asapiens, a term from theLatin for wise that refers to a scholar not usually associated with a particular church. It implies a degree of learning and wisdom that led historianPeter Hunter Blair to compare Aldfrith to thePlatonic ideal of the philosopher king.[41]Victoria Whitworth writes that he had a reputation as a scholar in Latin, Irish and English.[42] Bede also makes it clear that the church in Aldfrith's day was less subject to lay control of monasteries, a practice he dated from the time of Aldfrith's death.[43]
Aldfrith's relations with the Church were, however, not always smooth. He inherited from Ecgfrith a troubled relationship withWilfrid, a major ecclesiastical figure of the time. Wilfrid, the bishop ofYork, had been exiled by Ecgfrith for his role in persuading Ecgfrith's wife, Æthelthryth, to remain a saintly celibate. In 686, at the urging of Archbishop Theodore, Aldfrith allowed Wilfrid to return.[44][45] Aldfrith's relations with Wilfrid were stormy; the hostility between the two was partly caused by Aldfrith's allegiances with the Celtic Church, a consequence of his upbringing in exile.[46] A more significant cause of strife was Wilfrid's opposition to Theodore's division, in 677, of his huge Northumbrian diocese. When Wilfrid returned from exile the reconciliation with Aldfrith did not include Aldfrith's support for Wilfrid's attempts to recover his episcopal authority over the whole of the north.[47] By 691 or 692 their differences were beyond repair. Wilfrid's hagiographer writes:[48]
For a while all would be peace between the wise King Aldfrith and our holy bishop, and a happier state of affairs could hardly be imagined. Then spite would boil up again and the situation would be reversed. And so they continued for years, in and out of friendship with each other, till finally their quarrels came to a head and the king banished Wilfrid from Northumbria.
Wilfrid spent his exile in Mercia, where he enjoyed the staunch support of King Æthelred. In 702 or 703, Aldfrith convened acouncil atAusterfield, on the southern border of Northumbria, which was attended byBerhtwald, Archbishop of Canterbury, and many bishops. The question of Wilfrid's return to Northumbria was hotly debated and then rejected by the bishops. According to Stephen of Ripon, King Aldfrith offered to use his army to pressure Wilfrid into accepting the decision, but the bishops reminded him that he had promised Wilfridsafe-conduct.[49] After returning to Mercia, Wilfrid wasexcommunicated by his enemies among the bishops. He responded by journeying to Rome, where he appealed in person toPope John VI. The Pope provided him with letters to Aldfrith ordering that Wilfrid be restored to his offices.[50] Aldfrith refused to receive the letters, and Wilfrid remained in disfavour.[51]
Aldfrith's reign is considered the beginning ofNorthumbria's Golden Age, which lasted until the end of the 8th century. The period saw the flowering ofInsular art in Northumbria and produced theLindisfarne Gospels, perhaps begun in Aldfrith's time, the scholarship of Bede, and the beginnings of theAnglo-Saxon missions to the continent.[52]
The Lindisfarne Gospels are believed to be the work ofEadfrith of Lindisfarne,bishop of Lindisfarne from 698. They are not the only surviving Northumbrianilluminated manuscripts from Aldfrith's time. Also active at Lindisfarne in the late 7th century was the scribe known as the "Durham-Echternach calligrapher", who produced theDurham Gospels and theEchternach Gospels.[53] TheCodex Amiatinus was a product of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow, made on the orders of AbbotCeolfrid, probably in the decade after Aldfrith's death.[54]
Two significant items of jewellery from Northumbria in this period have survived. TheRipon Jewel, discovered in the precincts ofRipon Cathedral in 1977, is difficult to date but its grandeur and the location of the find have suggested a link with Bishop Wilfrid, whose rich furnishings of the church at Ripon are on record.[55] Bishop Cuthbert'spectoral cross was buried with him during Aldfrith's reign, either at his death in 687 or his reburial in 698 and is now atDurham Cathedral.[56] There are few surviving architectural or monumental remains from the period. TheBewcastle Cross, theRuthwell Cross and theHexham Cross are probably to be dated to one or two generations after Aldfrith's time.[57]Escomb Church is the best preserved Northumbrian church of the period, dated to the late 7th century. The ruined chapel atHeysham, overlookingMorecambe Bay, may be somewhat later in date.[58]
The Northumbrian coinage is thought to have begun during Aldfrith's reign. Early silver coins, known assceattas, appeared, replacing the impractical goldthrymsa as a medium of exchange.[59] Exceptionally for the period, Aldfrith's coins bear his name, rather than that of a moneyer, in an Irishuncial script. Most show a lion, with upraised tail.[60]
Aldfrith was married toCuthburh, sister of KingIne of Wessex; the marriage thus allied Aldfrith with one of the most powerful kings in Anglo-Saxon England. TheAnglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Aldfrith and Cuthburh separated, and Cuthburh established an abbey atWimborne Minster where she was abbess. At least two sons were born to Aldfrith, but whether Cuthburh was their mother is unrecorded.[61]Osred, born around 696 or 697, succeeded to the throne after a civil war following Aldfrith's death. Little is known of Offa, who is presumed to have been killed after being taken from Lindisfarne in 750 on the orders of KingEadberht of Northumbria.[62]Osric, who was later king, may have been Aldfrith's son, or alternatively the son of Aldfrith's half-brotherAlhfrith.[63] The 13th-century discovery of a tomb thought to be that of StOsana has led to the suggestion that Osana was the daughter of Aldfrith, although this view is not widely held by modern historians.[64]
Aldfrith was said to have been ill for some time before his death, dying on 14 December 704 or 705.[65] TheAnglo-Saxon Chronicle adds that he died atDriffield in theEast Riding of Yorkshire. The succession was disputed byEadwulf, supported initially by Bishop Wilfrid, and supporters of Aldfrith's young son Osred, apparently led by Berht's kinsmanBerhtfrith.[66]
The reports of Aldfrith's death in theIrish annals call him Aldfrith son of Oswiu, but some of these are glossed by later scribes with the name Flann Fína mac Ossu. A collection ofwisdom literature attributed to Flann Fína, theBriathra Flainn Fhina Maic Ossu, has survived, though the text is not contemporary with Aldfrith as it is inMiddle Irish, a form of Irish not in use until the 10th century.[67]
Learning merits respect.
Intelligence overcomes fury.
Truth should be supported.
Falsehood should be rebuked.
Iniquity should be corrected.
A quarrel merits mediation.
Stinginess should be spurned.
Arrogance deserves oblivion.Good should be exalted.
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