THE POWER AND THE GLORY: Kings of Northumbria Book 4 Read online

  THE POWER AND THE GLORY

  By

  H A Culley

  Book four about the Anglo-Saxon Kings of Northumbria

  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: © Sergiyi Patalakha| Dreamstime.com

  Table of Contents

  List of Principal Characters

  Place Names

  Glossary

  SYNOPSIS OF THE FIRST THREE BOOKS

  CHAPTER ONE – THE STAGE IS SET

  CHAPTER TWO – THE BATTLE SHIRKER

  CHAPTER THREE – PEACE AND WAR

  CHAPTER FOUR – INTO THE LAND OF THE PICTS

  CHAPTER FIVE – MERCIA RESURGENT

  CHAPTER SIX – THE PLAGUE OF JUSTINIAN

  CHAPTER SEVEN – PEACE AND RECONCILIATION

  CHAPTER EIGHT – STRATHCLYDE

  CHAPTER NINE – THE BATTLE OF LOCH KATRINE

  CHAPTER TEN – THE SUBJUGATION OF DALRIADA

  CHAPTER ELEVEN – THE SYNOD OF WHITBY

  CHAPTER TWELVE – ALCFRITH’S REVOLT

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN – THE FALL OF ARDEWR

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN – THE RETURN OF WILFRID

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN – BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER

  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

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

  (NOTE: Spelt Ehlfrith in earlier books but changed to the alternative spelling of Alchfrith in this book to save confusion with his brother Ecgfrith)

  Aldfrith – Oswui’s eldest son (illegitimate)

  Aldhun – Member of Oswiu’s gesith, later its leader

  Alaric – Catinus’ elder son

  Alweo – Son of Eowa and nephew of the late King Penda of Mercia

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

  Ælfwine – Oswiu’s younger son by Eanflæd. Later Sub-king of Deira

  Bruide – Son of the King of Prydenn and later High King of the Picts

  Beornheth - Cuthbert’s younger brother and heir presumptive to the Eorldom of Dùn Barra

  Cadafael – King of Gwynedd (North Wales)

  Cadwalladr – King of Gwynedd after Cadafael

  Catinus – Briton born in Mercia who became Ealdorman of Bebbanburg

  Ceadda – Oswiu’s hereræswa (army commander), later an ealdorman

  Chad – Monk at Lindisfarne, later Bishop of Northumbria in competition with Wilfrid

  Colman – Bishop and Abbot of Lindisfarne after Finan

  Conomultus – Catinus’ younger brother, chaplain to Oswiu

  Cuthbert – A member of Oswiu’s gesith, later Prior then Bishop of Lindisfarne

  Domangart – King of Dalriada until 660

  Domnall Dhu– King of Dalriada after Domangart

  Drest – High King of the Picts after Garnait

  Eadstan – Leader of the garrison at Bebbanburg, later the captain of Catinus’ gesith

  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 son by Eanflæd. Sub-king of Deira 664 – 670

  Elfin – King of Strathclyde after Guret and Mermin

  Ethelred – Penda’s third son. Later King of Mercia. Also spelt Æthelred in some sources

  Finan – Bishop and Abbot of Lindisfarne

  Fergus – King of Ardewr and Ròidh’s younger brother

  Garnait – High King of the Picts after Talorgan

  Guret - King of Strathclyde

  Hereswith – Catinus’ daughter, later wife of Alweo

  Kyneburga – Daughter of Penda of Mercia and wife of Alchfrith

  Leoflaed – Wife of Catinus and mother Hereswith, Alric and Osfrid

  Leofric – Catinus’ body slave

  Lethlobar – Son of Eochaid, King of the Ulaidh in Ulster

  Mael Duin – King of Dalriada after his brother, Domnall Dhu

  Morleo – King of Ardewr after Fergus

  Osfrid – Catinus’ younger son

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

  Oswiu – King of Northumbria and Bretwalda

  Redwald – Hereræswa after Ceadda

  Rægenhere – Wilfrid’s younger brother and chaplain to Alchfrith

  Ruaidhrí – The bastard son of King Eochaid of the Ulaidh and half-brother of Lethlobar

  Talorgan – Oswiu’s nephew. High King of the Picts

  Tuda – Bishop of Lindisfarne after Colman

  Wigmund – Alweo’s cousin. Prior of Whitby

  Wilfrid - Abbot of Ripon. Later Bishop of Northumbria, initially in competition with Chad

  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, Northumberland, North East England

  Caerlleon – Chester, Cheshire, 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 Dalriada

  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 (later Lothian) – 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

  Kinneddar – Lossiemouth, Moray, Scotland

  Loidis – Leeds, Yorkshire

  Lundenwic – London

  Maserfield – Oswestry in Shropshire

  Medeshamstede – Peterborough in Cambridgeshire

  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

  Northumbria – Comprised Bernicia, Elmet and Deira. At times it also included Rheged and Goddodin (Lothian)

  Orcades – The Orkney Islands, Scotland

  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; made up at this time of seven kingdoms

  River Sabrina – River Severn

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

  Rheged - A kingdom of the 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

  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 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 villeins and provided the fyrd in time of war

  Currach - A boat, sometimes quite large, with a wooden frame over which animal 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.

  Ealdorman – A rank of noble that came into use at this period. A high-ranking royal official and chief magistrate of an Anglo-Saxon shire or group of shires. He also commanded the army of the shire on behalf of the king. He ranked between an eorl (later earl) and a thegn

  Eorl – A noble originally 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

  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.

  Mormaer – Literally great steward, title accorded to a sub-king or ruler of a province in Scotland; equivalent of an earl or eorl.

  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/ealdorman.

  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 general use

  Síþwíf - My lady in Old English. The term used to address a queen

  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 – Members of the witenagemot, the council of an Anglo-Saxon king. Usually it included the eorls and the chief priests (bishops and abbots in the case of a Christian kingdom) and, later, the ealdormen, but for the selection of a king or other important matters, it might 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 THREE BOOKS

  WHITEBLADE, WARRIORS OF THE NORTH & BRETWALDA

  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 have been 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 decided that his moment of destiny has arrived; he sets out with his brother, Oswiu, and his warriors to confront Cadwallon and win back Northumbria.

  Once secure on his throne, he enlists the aid of his friend 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.

  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.

  After Oswald is killed and his corpse dismembered, Oswiu rides deep into enemy territory to recover his brother’s body. Despite his efforts to keep it together, the Kingdom of Northumbria is split into two but Oswiu vows to reunite it.

  However, he is forced to concentrate on securing his northern border first. Once he becomes overlord of the North he fends off an invasion by Penda, the powerful pagan King of Mercia, before he resorts to underhand tactics to kill his cousin, the King of Deira, and unite Northumbria once more.

  Having overcome rebellion by the Picts and another invasion by the Mercians he survives, only to be betrayed by his nephew who he had raised up to be King of Deira. Matters come to a head at the Battle of the Winwaed where he must win or see Northumbria torn apart once more. Against all the odds he prevails and Penda is slain. Oswiu is now Bretwalda of England as well as overlord of Caledonia (Scotland). His greatest challenge will now be to hold his vast realm together

  CHAPTER ONE – THE STAGE IS SET

  656 AD

  Bedwyr sat on his pony just
below the skyline and watched the column wend its way along the valley path below him. The air had that clean feel to it that only comes just after recent rain has washed the dust out of it. The moderate breeze blew his long, matted hair across his eyes and he impatiently brushed it away.

  He was only a boy and he wasn’t very good at estimating numbers, but even he realised that there must be at least a thousand, maybe even fifteen hundred, men on the move, mainly warriors with quite a few boys and servants leading packhorses loaded with supplies. He headed around the side of the hill so as to remain in shadow from anyone who happened to glance up. He sniffed at the change in the air and glanced up at the crag above him. Birds flew in and out of cracks in the short pitch of vertical rock which was streaked with guano. That explained the acrid tang in his nostrils.

  He rode on, glad to be away from the stench. Once out of sight he started back through the hills to where Cadwalladr currently had his base. He was so excited by what he’d seen that he failed to watch his surroundings as carefully as he should have done. He had entered a shallow valley before he noticed the six riders below him. He saw with alarm that they weren’t men he knew; in all probability they were scouts from the army he’d seen.

  He pulled his pony to a halt, then yanked her protesting head around to head off up the side of the valley to the north. Initially he left the startled scouts behind but, once they’d collected their wits, they started up the slope to try and intercept him.

  They too were mounted on sure-footed mountain ponies, but larger and more powerful beasts than Bedwyr’s. However, this advantage was somewhat negated by the heavier weight of their riders; all except one. He was no more than fourteen and therefore only two years older than the boy they were chasing. His pony drew ahead of the others and, as their quarry darted a look over his shoulder, it was obvious that the leading scout would overtake him before he was able to reach the ridge up ahead.