The history of England, from the earliest times to the Norman ConquestHodgkin, Thomas
History
The history of England, from the earliest times to the Norman Conquest
Hodgkin, Thomas
Great Britain -- History -- To 1066
The victory by the Winwaed left Oswy undoubtedly the mightiest king in
Britain. It may be convenient to enumerate here the chief territorial
changes during the latter half of the seventh century which can be
discerned between the succession of bishops and the miracles of saints
that form naturally the chief subject of Bede’s _Ecclesiastical
History_.
1. Northumbria, at any rate after Oswy’s victory, may have stretched
along the eastern coast from Aberdeen or the Cromarty Firth nearly to
the Wash. We are distinctly told that “he subdued the nation of the
Picts or at least the largest part of them to the Anglian kingdom,”
and it is generally agreed that this must refer to the Picts north
of the Firth of Forth, which was at this time the ordinary Anglian
boundary. Southward, the dominions of which Oswy was overlord probably
now included the whole of Yorkshire. It seems, however, to have been
an accepted principle that when the overlord was king in Bernicia
there must be an under-king in Deira. For seven years, as we have
seen, the comely and gracious Oswin, either as equal colleague or as
such under-king, reigned in Deira (644–51). After his murder and the
consequent extinction of the direct male line of the descendants of
Aelle, Oswald’s son, Ethelwald, ruled over the southern kingdom. Did
his dubious conduct on the battle-plain of the Winwaed fail to secure
for him the favour of his victorious uncle? We cannot say, but it is an
ominous circumstance that soon after that event he vanishes from the
scene and is replaced by Alchfrid, son of Oswy by his first marriage.
We have heard of this prince as assisting in the conversion of his
brother-in-law, Peada, to Christianity; we have seen him fighting by
his father’s side against his father-in-law, Penda; we shall find
him taking a leading part in the discussions about the date of Easter
and generally befriending the Roman party; but besides these facts we
hear also of some action on his part, possibly in the way of overt
rebellion, whereby he added to the “labours” of his father. Whatever
the date of this rebellion, if such it were, after 664 we hear no more
of Alchfrid.
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