BRETWALDA Read online

  BRETWALDA

  By

  H A Culley

  Book three about the lives and times of Oswald and Oswiu, brothers who were Kings of Northumbria, warriors and saints

  Published by Orchard House Publishing

  First Kindle Edition 2017

  Text copyright © 2017 H A Culley

  The author asserts the moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

  All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced in any form, in whole or in part, without written permission from the author.

  Cover Image: © Copora | Dreamstime.com

  Table of Contents

  List of Principal Characters

  Place Names

  Glossary

  SYNOPSIS OF THE FIRST TWO BOOKS – WHITEBLADE and WARRIORS OF THE NORTH

  CHAPTER ONE – DIVISION OF THE KINGDOM

  CHAPTER TWO – DEEP INTO ENEMY TERRITORY

  CHAPTER THREE – SAINTLY REMAINS

  CHAPTER FOUR – LOVE AND WAR

  CHAPTER FIVE – THE FALL OF WESSEX

  CHAPTER SIX – RETURN TO ARDEWR

  CHAPTER SEVEN – THE LAND OF THE PICTS

  CHAPTER EIGHT – OVERLORD OF THE NORTH

  CHAPTER NINE – WAR CLOUDS GATHER

  CHAPTER TEN – TWO INVASIONS

  CHAPTER ELEVEN – REGICIDE

  CHAPTER TWELVE – WAR AND PEACE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN – PRELUDE TO CONFLICT

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN – THE BATTLE OF THE WINWAED

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN – AFTERMATH

  Author’s Note

  Other Novels by H A Culley

  About the Author

  List of Principal Characters

  (In alphabetical order)

  Historical characters are shown in bold type

  Acha – Widow of Æthelfrith and sister of Edwin, both kings of Northumbria

  Æbbe - Acha’s only daughter. Abbess and founder of Coldingham Priory

  Ælfflaed – Oswiu’s second daughter by Eanflæd. Later Abbess of Whitby

  Æthelred – Youngest of Penda’s three sons.

  Aidan – First Bishop of Lindisfarne. He is credited with converting Northumbria to Christianity

  Alchflaed – Oswiu’s daughter by Rhieinmelth. Married Peada of Mercia

  Aldfrith – Oswui’s eldest son (illegitimate)

  Alweo – Nephew of Penda of Mercia.

  Arthius – Son of Rand, Eorl of Elmet

  Cadafael – King of Gwynedd in North Wales

  Catinus – Briton born in Mercia who becomes one of Oswiu’s warriors

  Ceadda – Captain of Oswiu’s gesith, later his Hereræswa.

  Cenwalh – Cynegils’ eldest son, King of Wessex from 342

  Conomultus – Catinus’ younger brother, a monk and later chaplain to Oswiu

  Cuthbert – Monk at Melrose, later a warrior before becoming Prior then Bishop of Lindisfarne

  Domangart – King of Dalriada

  Dudda – Eorl of Norhamshire and one of Oswiu’s counsellors

  Dunstan – Oswiu’s horse marshal

  Eanflæd – Oswiu’s second wife. Daughter of his uncle, Edwin of Northumbria

  Eata – Novice at Lindisfarne, later Abbot of Melrose, then of Lindisfarne

  Ecgfrith – Oswiu’s elder son by Eanflæd.

  Elhfrith – Oswiu’s son by Rhieinmelth. Sub-king of Deira 655-664

  Finan – Bishop of Lindisfarne after St. Aidan

  Fergus – King of Ardewr and Ròidh’s younger brother

  Genofeva – Former queen of Ardewr and the mother of Ròidh and Fergus

  Guret - King of Strathclyde

  Hild – Oswiu’s cousin. Abbess of Hartlepool, later of Whitby

  James the Deacon – A Roman Catholic missionary in Deira; later canonised

  Kenric – Eorl of Dùn Barra in Goddodin, fictional father of Cuthbert.

  Œthelwald – Oswald’s son; later King of Deira

  Offa – Oswiu’s youngest brother, his chaplain and later Abbot of Melrose

  Osthryth – Oswiu’s elder daughter by Eanflæd. Later married King Æthelred of Mercia

  Oswiu – King of Bernicia. Later King of Northumbria and Bretwalda of England

  Penda – King of Mercia

  Peada – Penda’s eldest son, Sub-king of Middle Anglia as his father’s vassal.

  Rhieinmelth – Princess of Rheged and Oswiu’s first wife.

  Ròidh – A Pictish prince who became Aidan’s acolyte, now a bishop

  Talorc – High King of the Picts

  Talorgan – Oswald’s and Oswiu’s half-brother. Later High King of the Picts

  Wigmund – Alweo’s cousin. A monk, later Prior of Whitby

  Wulfhere – Penda’s second son, later King of Mercia

  Utta – Former warrior in Eaochaid’s gesith, later chaplain to Oswiu and then Bishop of Prydenn.

  Place Names

  (In alphabetical order)

  I find that always using the correct place name for the particular period in time may be authentic but it is annoying to have to continually search for the modern name if you want to know the whereabouts of the place in relation to other places in the story. However, using the ancient name adds to the authenticity of the tale. I have therefore compromised by using the modern name for places, geographical features and islands, except where the ancient name is relatively well known, at least to those interested in the period, or else is relatively similar to the modern name. The ancient names used are listed below:

  Austrasia – A part of Frankia (see below) centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, with a coastline opposite that of southern Kent.

  Bebbanburg – Bamburgh, Northumberland, North East England.

  Bernicia – The modern counties of Northumberland, Durham, Tyne & Wear and Cleveland in the North East of England. At times Goddodin was a subsidiary part of Bernicia.

  Berwic – Berwick upon Tweed

  Cair Lerion – Leicester in the Midlands of England

  Caer Luel – Carlisle, Cumbria, England

  Caledonia - Scotland

  Cantwareburg – Canterbury, Kent, England

  Dalriada – Much of Argyll and the Inner Hebrides

  Deira – Most of North Yorkshire and northern Humberside

  Dùn Add – Dunadd, near Kilmartin, Argyll, Scotland. Capital of Dal Riata.

  Dùn Barra - Dunbar, Scotland

  Dùn Breatainn - Literally Fortress of the Britons. Dumbarton, Scotland

  Dùn Dè – Dundee, Tayside, Scotland

  Dùn Èideann - Edinburgh

  Dùn Phris - Dumfries, south-west Scotland

  Eoforwīc - York

  Elmet – West Yorkshire

  Frankia – The territories inhabited and ruled by the Franks, a confederation of West Germanic tribes, approximating to present day France and a large part of Germany.

  German Ocean – North Sea

  Gleawecastre – Gloucester, England

  Goddodin – The area between the River Tweed and the Firth of Forth; i.e. the modern regions of Lothian and Borders in Scotland.

  Gwynedd – North Wales including Anglesey

  Hammaburg – Hamburg, Germany

  Hamwic – Southampton, Hampshire, England

  Isurium Brigantum - Aldborough in Yorkshire

  Ledes – Leeds, West Yorkshire

  Legacæstir – Chester, England

  Lundenwic – London

  Mamucium – Roman name for Manchester

  Maserfield – Oswestry in Shropshire, England

  Mercia – Roughly the present day Midlands of England

  Neustria - The region of Frankia between Aquitaine and the English Channel, i.e. the north of present-day France

  Nort
humbria – Comprised Bernicia, Elmet and Deira. At times it also included Rheged and Goddodin

  Orcades – The Orkney Islands, Scotland

  Oxenforda – Oxford, England

  Pictland – The confederation of kingdoms including Shetland, the Orkneys, the Outer Hebrides, Skye and the Scottish Highlands north of a line running roughly from Skye to the Firth of Forth

  River Twaid – The river Tweed, which flows west from Berwick through northern Northumberland and the Scottish Borders.

  Rheged - A kingdom of Ancient Britons speaking Cumbric, a Brythonic language similar to Old Welsh, which roughly encompassed modern Lancashire, Cumbria in England and, at times, part of Galloway in Scotland

  Strathclyde – South east Scotland

  Wintan-ceastre - Winchester, Hampshire, England

  Weorgoran-ceastre – Worcester, England

  Ynys Môn – The Isle of Anglesey, North Wales

  Yr Wyddfa – Mount Snowdon, North Wales

  Glossary

  Ætheling – Literally ‘throne-worthy. An Anglo-Saxon prince.

  Birlinn – A wooden ship similar to the later Scottish galleys. Usually with a single mast and square rigged sail, they could also be propelled by oars with one man to each oar.

  Brenin – The Brythonic term by which kings were addressed in Wales, Strathclyde and the Land of the Picts.

  Bretwalda - In Anglo-Saxon England, an overlord or paramount king accepted by other kings as their leader

  Ceorl - Freemen who worked the land or else provided a service or trade such as metal working, carpentry, weaving etc. They ranked between thegns and slaves and provided the fyrd in time of war

  Currach - A boat, sometimes quite large, with a wooden frame over which animal skins or hides are stretched and greased to make them waterproof.

  Custos – A guardian or custodian, the word was used in a variety of contexts including to mean one left in charge in the absence of the lord or king.

  Cymru - Wales

  Cyning – Old English for king and the term by which they were normally addressed.

  Eorl – A noble ranking between thegn and members of the royal house. In the seventh century it meant the governor of a division of the kingdom. Later replaced by ealdorman, the chief magistrate and war leader of a county, and earl, the ruler of a province under the King of All England; for example, Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria.

  Fyrd – A militia that was raised from freemen to defend their shire, or to join a royal expedition in times of exceptional need. Service in the fyrd was usually of short duration and members were expected to provide their own arms and provisions

  Gesith – The companions of a king, usually acting as his bodyguard.

  Hereræswa – Military commander or general. The man who commanded the army of a nation under the king.

  Seax – A bladed weapon somewhere in size between a dagger and a sword. Mainly used for close-quarter fighting where a sword would be too long and unwieldy.

  Thegn – The lowest rank of noble. A man who held a certain amount of land direct from the king or from a senior nobleman, ranking between an ordinary freeman and an eorl.

  Ulaidh - A confederation of dynastic-groupings that inhabited a provincial kingdom in Ulster (north-eastern Ireland) and was ruled by the Rí Ulad or King of the Ulaidh. The two main tribes of the Ulaidh were the Dál nAraidi and the Dál Fiatach.

  Uí Néill – An Irish clan who claimed descent from Niall Noigiallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), a historical King of Tara who died about 405 AD.

  Settlement – Any grouping of residential buildings, usually around the king’s or lord’s hall. In 7th century England the term city, town or village had not yet come into use.

  Síþwíf - My lady in Old English.

  Weregeld – In Anglo-Saxon England, if property was stolen, or someone was injured or killed, the guilty person would have to pay weregeld as restitution to the victim's family or to the owner of the property.

  Witan – The council of an Anglo-Saxon kingdom. Its composition varied, depending on the matters to be debated. Usually it consisted of the Eorls and the chief priests (bishops and abbots in the case of a Christian kingdom), but for the selection of a king or other important matters, it would be expanded to include the more minor nobility, such as the thegns.

  Villein - A peasant (tenant farmer) who was legally tied to his vill.

  Vill - A thegn’s holding or similar area of land in Anglo-Saxon England which might otherwise be described as a parish or manor.

  SYNOPSIS OF THE FIRST TWO BOOKS – WHITEBLADE and WARRIORS OF THE NORTH

  Woken in the middle of the night to flee the fortress of Bebbanburg on the Northumbrian coast, the twelve year old Prince Oswald escapes his father’s killer, Edwin, to establish a new life for himself on the West Coast of Scotland. He becomes a staunch Christian on Iona and trains to be a warrior.

  He makes a name for himself in the frequent wars in Ulster and in a divided Scotland, earning himself the nickname of ‘Whiteblade’ and establishing himself as the greatest war leader in his adopted homeland. However, he is beset by enemies on all sides and is betrayed by those he should be able to trust the most.

  After playing a leading role in deposing the treacherous Connad, King of Dalriada, he helps his successor to extend Dalriada to include the Isles of Skye, Arran and Bute. When King Edwin is killed in battle and those who try to succeed him are also killed by Cadwallon and his invading Welsh army, Oswald decides that his moment of destiny has arrived; he sets out with his warriors to confront Cadwallon and win back the throne of Northumbria.

  Once secure on his throne, he enlists the aid of his friend Saint Aidan to convert his pagan subjects to Christianity and establishes the monastery on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne that will become the focus for the spread of the faith throughout the north of England.

  Oswald’s brother, Oswiu, marries the heiress of Rheged and becomes its king. Gradually he overcomes the ancient enemies of Rheged and allies himself to them to become the dominant force in Caledonia (Scotland) as well as North West England.

  Meanwhile Oswald uses a mixture of force, diplomacy and threat to become the most powerful ruler in the whole of England. However, his enemies lurk in the wings and he is betrayed by his allies and killed in battle by the pagan King of Mercia. Oswui vows to continue the work Oswald started and to take Northumbria forward into its golden age.

  CHAPTER ONE – DIVISION OF THE KINGDOM

  642 AD

  Oswiu and his gesith rode as if the devil was behind them as they headed for the King of Bernicia’s summer residence at Yeavering in the Cheviot Hills. His body slave, a boy called Nerian, struggled to keep up with them, burdened as he was by riding an inferior horse and leading a packhorse. The boys who served the twenty warriors who made up Oswiu’s gesith lagged even further behind, but that wasn’t Nerian’s problem.

  It was one hundred and seventy miles from Maserfield, where Oswald, King of Northumbria had been killed, to Yeavering; a journey that would normally have taken the best part of a week, even on horseback, but Oswiu, Oswald’s brother, was determined to cover it in three days. His plan was to convene the Witan as quickly as possible to elect him as king in place of Oswald and then head for Eoforwīc, the capital of Deira, and convene the Witan there.

  Although Northumbria was theoretically one kingdom now, it had a nasty habit of splitting into two parts: Bernicia with its client kingdoms of Rheged to the west and Goddodin between the River Twaid and Forth of Forth, and Deira with its satellites of Elmet to the west of it and Lindsey between the River Humber and the Kingdom of East Anglia. Oswald had failed to get support for the combination of the two Witans and so, like Oswald before him, Oswiu would have to get the agreement of both to his enthronement.

  It was not going to be a simple matter. In Anglo-Saxon England sons did not automatically follow fathers to the vacant throne. The Witan, composed of the eorls, thegns, abbots and bishops of the kingdom, chose from amongst the eli
gible members of the royal house, called æthelings.

  There were a number of contenders including Oswald’s nineteen year old son, Œthelwald, who was in Kent the last Oswiu had heard. But he had two fast ships with him and it was only a few days by sea up the east coast. The other main contender for Deira was Oswine, son of the last King of Deira before Oswald.

  Apart from Oswiu’s tent, armour, weapons and other equipment, the poor packhorse was carrying Oswald’s remains – the limbless and headless torso that Oswiu had removed from the crude crucifix where Penda of Mercia had nailed it - sewn into a leather tent.

  Penda was a pagan and no doubt he saw some humour in abusing his enemy’s corpse in this way. No-one knew where Oswald’s head and limbs were, but Oswiu had vowed to recover them. His brother was already being referred to as Saint Oswald the Martyr and no doubt his remains would be highly prized amongst the faithful. The recovery of all his various body parts was likely to be something of an impossible quest.

  Before Maserfield Oswiu had intercepted King Peada of Middle Anglia, Penda’s son, and had soundly defeated him. Now here he was on a mad dash all the way across England to secure his brother’s crown.

  ‘Take my brother’s remains to the church and lay it in front of the altar for now,’ Oswiu told Nerian once they’d reached Yeavering.

  ‘Yes, Cyning. Shall I see the carpenter about a coffin?’

  ‘I’m not king here yet, even though I am the ruler of Rheged, so addressing me as one won’t help my case if the members of the Witan hear you.’

  ‘I’m sorry, lord.’

  ‘Not that I don’t appreciate the sentiment. You’ve been a good servant over the years; when this is all over remind me to talk to you about your future. Yes, go and see the carpenter by all means. Oswald wouldn’t have wanted anything elaborate. A plain wooden box will suffice.’