Oswiu
Oswiu, also known as Oswy or Oswig (Old English: Ōswīg; c. 612 – 15 February 670), was King of Bernicia from 642 and of Northumbria from 654 until his death. He is notable for his role at the Synod of Whitby in 664, which ultimately brought the church in Northumbria into conformity with the wider Catholic Church.
Oswiu
642–670
655 or 656–658
c. 612
15 February 670 (aged 57–58)
One of the sons of Æthelfrith of Bernicia, Oswiu became king following the death of his brother Oswald in 642. Unlike Oswald, Oswiu struggled to exert authority over Deira, the other constituent kingdom of medieval Northumbria, for much of his reign.
Oswiu and his brothers were raised in exile in the Irish kingdom of Dál Riata in present-day Scotland after their father's death at the hands of Edwin of Deira, only returning after Edwin's death in 633. Oswiu rose to the kingship when his brother Oswald was killed in battle against Penda of Mercia. The early part of his reign was defined by struggles to assert control over Deira and his contentious relationship with Penda, his overlord.[1] In 655, Oswiu's forces killed Penda in a decisive victory at the Battle of the Winwaed, establishing Oswiu as one of the most powerful rulers in Britain. He secured control of Deira, with his son Alhfrith serving as a sub-king,[2] and for three years, Oswiu's power extended over Mercia, earning him recognition as bretwalda over much of Great Britain.[3]
Oswiu was a devoted Christian, promoting the faith among his subjects and establishing a number of monasteries, including Gilling Abbey and Whitby Abbey.[4] He was raised in the Celtic Christian tradition of much of the Irish world, rather than the Roman tradition practiced by the southern Anglo-Saxon kingdoms as well as some members of the Deiran nobility, including Oswiu's queen Eanflæd. In 664, Oswiu presided over the Synod of Whitby, where clerics debated over the two traditions, and helped resolve tension between the parties by decreeing that Northumbria would follow the Roman style.[5] Oswiu died in 670 and was succeeded by his son, Ecgfrith.[6] His feast is 15 February in the East and in the West.[7]
Penda[edit]
Oswiu's relations with Penda were not entirely peaceful between 642 and 655. Bede appears to place a major assault on Bernicia by Penda, which reached the gates of Bamburgh, at some time before 651 and the death of Bishop Aidan of Lindisfarne.[32] An entry in the Irish annals recording "[t]he battle of Oswy against Penda" circa 650 may refer to this campaign.[33]
D.P. Kirby suggests that the killing of Oswine may have led to an improvement in relations between Penda and Oswiu in the early 650s. Oswiu's son Ealhfrith married Penda's daughter Cyneburh, while his daughter Ealhflæd married Penda's son Peada. Peada was baptised at Ad Murum—in the region of Hadrian's Wall—by Aidan's successor Finan. Peada and Ealhflæd took a missionary group, including Cedd and Diuma, to establish a church in their lands.[34]
In 655 Bede reports that Penda invaded Bernicia at the head of a large army. Bede states that Oswiu offered "an incalculable quantity of regalia and presents as the price of peace", but that Penda refused. Oswiu vowed to give his daughter Ælfflæd to the church, and to found a dozen monasteries if he was granted the victory, and assisted by Ealhfrith he engaged Penda with a small army in the Battle of the Winwæd, which took place in the region of Loidis, which is to say Leeds. He was successful, and Penda was killed, along with many of his allies, including King Æthelhere of the East Angles. Œthelwald had assisted Penda, but stood aside from the fighting.[35]
The Historia Brittonum gives a somewhat different account. Here, Oswiu's offer of treasure is accepted, and is associated with the siege of a place named Iudeu. It is assumed that Ecgfrith was given over as a hostage, into the keeping of Penda's queen Cynewise, at this time.[36] The Historia suggests that many of Penda's allies were British kings, and notes that Cadafael ap Cynfeddw joined Œthelwald in avoiding the battle, so gaining the epithet Cadomedd (the Battle-Shirker). The decisive battle is located at "Gaius's field".[37]
Overlord of Britain[edit]
The surprising defeat of the hitherto dominant Penda, and the death of the East Anglian king Æthelhere left Oswiu as the dominant figure in Britain. Œthelwald's ambivalent stance during the campaign which led to the Winwæd appears to have led to his removal as he disappears from the record at this time. Oswiu installed his adult son Ealhfrith as king of Deirans in Œthelwald's place. Penda's son Peada was installed as king of southern Mercia, while Oswiu took the north of the kingdom. Other subject rulers seem to have been established elsewhere in Mercia.
Further south, Æthelhere's brother Æthelwold may have been established with Oswiu's assistance, as well as that of his kinsman by marriage King Eorcenberht of Kent. Cenwalh of Wessex, who had been driven out of his lands by Penda for putting aside his marriage to Penda's sister, may also have returned to power in this period, again with Oswiu's assistance. King Sigeberht the Good of the East Saxons was Oswiu's ally.[38] Oswiu's nephew, Eanfrith's son Talorcan, may have also been established as a leading king among the Picts at this time.[39]
Oswiu's total domination lasted only a short time, around three years. The proximate cause was the death of Peada, supposedly poisoned by his wife, Oswiu's daughter Eahlflæd.[40] This probably occurred at Easter 656, and Oswiu proceeded to install governors or subject kings in Mercia. Probably in late 659, but perhaps in 657, a revolt led by three Mercian noblemen—Immin, Eata, and Eadberht—installed Penda's son Wulfhere as ruler of the Mercians and drove out Oswiu's supporters.[41] Oswiu remained a force to be reckoned with, and political settlement rather than open warfare appears to have resolved the crisis. Oswiu's kinsman Trumhere was named to be Wulfhere's bishop.[42] While Wulfhere extended Mercian influence and authority in southern Britain, he apparently continued to recognise Oswiu's primacy.[43]
Welsh sources suggest that Oswiu campaigned in Wales in the late 650s, imposing tribute on the Welsh kings who had previously been Penda's allies such as Cadafael, the battle-dodging King of Gwynedd.[44] Elsewhere in the south, Oswiu's ally Sigeberht of the East Saxons was murdered and replaced by his brother Swithhelm, who remained a Christian, but distanced himself from Oswiu and the Irish-Northumbrian church. Switthelm was probably subject to the East Angles.[45]
Ecgfrith[edit]
In 660, Oswiu married his son Ecgfrith to Æthelthryth, daughter of the former East Anglian king Anna.[50]
Death[edit]
Even in his final years, Oswiu remained a major figure in Britain. The newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, Theodore of Tarsus, came north to meet him in 669. Bede writes that Oswiu had intended to undertake a pilgrimage to Rome in the company of Bishop Wilfrid. However, he fell ill and died, aged 58, on 15 February 670.[9] His elder son by Queen Eanflæd, Ecgfrith, succeeded him as King of Bernicia, while their younger son, Ælfwine, succeeded Ecgfrith as King of Deira. He was buried at Whitby Abbey, alongside Edwin of Deira. His widow and their daughter Ælflæd were later Abbess of Whitby and were also buried there.[35]
Alcuin, writing about a century after Oswiu's death, describes him as "very just, with equitable laws, unconquered in battle but trustworthy in peace, generous in gifts to the wretched, pious, equitable to all".[51]
Holy relics[edit]
Oswy and his wife Eanflæd were gifted relics of several saints from Pope Vitalian around 665: Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Saint Laurentius, John the Apostle, Saint Gregory, and Saint Pancras. Eanflæd was also granted "a cross, with a gold key to it, made out of the most holy chains of the apostles, Peter and Paul". This gift is documented by Bede in Ecclesiastical History of the English People as part of a returning delegation from Rome, which had been led by Wighard.[52]