The Earls of Bamburgh

i.e. Saxon Ealdormen, Bamburgh Castle, Northumbria


Bamburgh Castle, from www.northofthetyne.co.uk/BamburghCastle.html

From MBKQ:
Within 8C Northumbria (later known as Northumberland, England) are the E coastal regions of Lothian (N), Bernicia (C) and Deira (S) (269 map). In 604 Athelfrith of Bernicia had driven Edwin of Deira into exile and united the 2 kingdoms (271). Much later, during Aelle II's reign (862-7), the Vikings invaded and settled in Northumbria, establishing their kingdom at Jorvik (York, in Deira). "The kingdom of Bernicia remained in Saxon hands though it was subservient to Danish overlords" (272). MBKQ shows Northumbrian kings as (likely ancestors of Earls of Bamburgh):

Descent from Odin, see MBKQ charts p209, p212

Bernicia:
L1 Ida c557-69 (wife Bebba after whom Bebbanburg [Bamburgh] named)
L2 Glappa (Clappa) c569-74
L3 Adda 574-81
...
L9 Athelfrith 593-604

Deira L10-11

(United) Northumbria L9-42, including:
L39 Athelred II 843-9
L40 Redwulf c844 k. in a Viking raid
L41 Osbert 849-66 "
L42 Aelle (II) 862-7 "

Aelle II and Osbert were rivals, possibly brothers, but reunited to confront Danes. "The 1rst [Viking] invasion came from Ragnar Lodbrok, whom Aelle killed. His sons, Ivarr [the boneless, so-called because he was so thin] and Halfdan [the youngest], returned for revenge and took York in Nov 866 [3rd son Ubba]. Aelle escaped but there was a 2nd battle in Mar 867, an overwhelming slaughter in which both Osbert and Aelle died ... The Vikings [then] ruled Deira directly but installed a puppet king, Egbert [I] in Bernicia" (MBKQ p294, see also TLK for dramatic presentation).

Bernicia (in Saxon hands, but subservient to Danes):
L43 Egbert (I) 867-72 (Viking puppet)
L44 Ricsig 872-6 (of Dunholm [Durham])
L45 Egbert II 876-88, may have been ejected by Scots ?

L46 Eadulf (Eadwulf) 888-913, "pedigree not known, possibly related to Egbert II, ruled Bernicia between Tyne and Tweed, a territory which remained an English enclave and was not overrun by either Vikings or Scots, est. strong alliance w/Alfred the Great, regarded as ealdorman by end of his reign, est. a dynasty of earls who controlled Bamburgh [Castle and surroundings] until the Norman conquest, tho his sons Uhtred, Ealdred were expelled from Bamburgh by Viking king Ragnald in 914, they regained their lands in 920, last of dynasty was Osulf, k. 1067" (295).

MBKQ shows L47-9 as final rulers of Northumbria: "After [L16] Oswy's death the Picts rebelled against the Northumbrian overlordship. Egfrith est. a hereditary sub-kingdom in Lothian, similar to one of the Welsh Marcher [border] lords" (272).

L47 Beornheth 670-85 k. in battle
L48 Beorhtred 685-98 "
L49 Beorhtfrith 698->711

"After Eadulf's death the earldom of Bamburgh remained in his family's hands until 1041. The earls were:

[E1] Ealdred 913-30
[E2] Uhtred 930-49
[E3] Oswulf 949-63
[E4] Eadulf Evilcild 963-94
[E5] Waltheof 994-5
[E6] Uhtred II 995-1016
[E7] Eadulf Cudel 1016-9
[E8] Ealdred II 1019-38
[E9] Eadulf 1038-41

"Thereafter, it was absorbed into the earldom of Northumbria" (272).

In ahnen-sf, I have:
32 (1027-1???) Aelfled III - BIORNSSON, Siward
33 (1009-1???) Aldred Earl of Northumberland (E8?) - ?
34 (0989-1016) Uchtred Earl of Northumberland (E6) - Eggfrida
35 (0960-????) Walroef (Siward) of Northumberland (E5?)- Elfeda
36 (0930-????) Maldred of Northumberland (E1?)

I could add:
37 (08xx-0913) Eadulf (Eadwulf) r888-913 (L46), ruler of Bernicia (father of E1, E2)
[not sure, but likely]
38 (0xxx-0878) Egbert II r876-88 (L45, possibly related to Eadulf?)
39 (0xxx-0873) Egbert I r. Mar 867 to 872 (L43, Viking puppet, father of Egbert II?)
... hmmm, would Danes prefer a member of royal family, outsider, peasant? Probably any king-figure would have to be recognized by Saxon people as credible, so Egbert I was likely related somehow to ruling Saxon family, but how? A cadet branch? (see MBKQ chart p270, must tie into this somehow, likely via Eadbert L28 ... Ida L1 ... Odin).

In the books are (fictional):
Uhtred b856 (main character, originally Osbert, but renamed when older bro Uhtred dies, son of Uhtred b. c830 and gson of Uhtred b. c800)

My line continues from (Saxon) Aelfled III m. (Viking) Siward BJORNSSON, father of the 1rst Earl of HUNTINGTON, leading to the Kings of Scotland, de ROOS, PLUMPTON, BOTELER, GERARD, STANDISH, PRESCOTT, SAWYER (see ahnen-sf).


In 'Speaking Power to Truth: The Norton Anthology of English Literature' (B&C Jul/Aug 2013), Daniel E Ritchie (English prof and dir. of Humanities program at Bethel) discusses how the multiple editions of the NAEL have tended toward PC removals/additions of 'must-read' lit. The 1st ed. was 1962 under the editorship of the Romantic scholar M H Abrams, initially 1759pp (now 3k in vol I alone, Beowulf to Wm Cowper d1800)! Later eds. are concerned w/'thematic clusters' e.g. race, gender, class studies, power issues, etc (tho DER still thinks a work like this is needed, to 1) guide students in sensible paths thru a vast subject, 2) introduce them to unfamiliar writers in fair, reasonable ways, and 3) answer their questions re difficult words/passages w/o prejudice to the students' own best thots. Orig. idea of Matthew Arnold's 'best that's been thot/said in the world', but later PC eds asked 'good for whom?' in good pomo fashion. What caught my eye for placement here is his mention of the poem 'Battle of Maldon' by an Anglo-Saxon author which documents the AD 991 defeat of the Saxons by invading Danes at Maldon, NE of London, ~halfway to Chichester on E coast (at mouth of ? river). He says the poem is about how to die w/honor i.e. 'our hearts must be the stronger, our purpose firmer, our spirit higher as our might lessens'. DER muses that a poem about being good losers isn't much good to editors focused on POWER! Ed. SG took it out starting 2000 since he said is 'isn't much used anymore'. He says they also watered down Burke's belief that rel. was the basis of civil society and that he promoted reform based on const. principles (instead portraying him as having weak arguments and exaggerated rhetoric v. his rival [in NAEL, the revolutionary] Mary Wollstonecraft). DER quotes Samuel Johnson on Milton: 'poetry is the art of uniting pleasure [beauty] w/truth, by calling imagination to the help of reason'. DER: THAT's where the true pwr of lit. lies. Editions: 1 1962, 2 1968, 3 1974 (I have, w/multi-pics on front, from BC), 4 1980?, 5 1986?, 6 1993, 7 2000 (new ed. Stephen Greenblatt, when PC stuff began, spurred by competition of 1998 Longman Anth. of Brit. Lit), 8 ,9 2012 (v1 3078pp, v2 3068pp)

Related to Maldon, tASA (D J V Fisher, 1973, BN 1992, p308) refers to the poem, saying it portrays Essex ealdorman Byrhtnoth rvwing his troops before leading them to battle (unsuccessfully) against the Danes. He and many of his army are killed and the Danes win ... This is in tASA's ch13 The Nadir of Anglo-Saxon Kingship (3 sections; 1 Civil War and Anti-Monastic Reaction, 2 The Resumption of Danish Raiding and its Effects, and 3 The Danish Conquest). Summarize ch13 here ...


Here's my tentative reconstruction of this family line, which the Swinton papers call the Edulfing line (see also ahnen-sf.html, ScotKngs.html and ahnen-sg):

The 'Eadulfings' are reputed to have descended from Ida 'the flamebearer' who becaome Overking (bretwalda) of Bernicia in 547 and made his fortress stronghold at Din Gwayrdi, [an old Celtic hillfort] later called Bamburgh Castle. Ida claimed to be the 9th descendant of the Angle god/ldr 'Woden'. He had 12 sons, 6 by his wife Beamoch, and 6 by concubines. From which of these sons Eadulf descended is yet to be discovered.

- 48? Ida 'the flamebearer' L1 r. c557-69 m. Beamoch [Celtic princess?]
-- 47? his 12 sons Glappa L2, Adda L3, Frithuwulf L4, Theodulf L5 (Hussa L6 not a son), Theodoric L7, Athelric L8, Ocg, Edric and 4 others?

... 135yrs 704-569, so about 5-6 generations (42-7)

Hmmm, one possible linkage would be as follows: L13 Eanfrith (son of L9 Athelfrith m. Bebba, son of L8 Athelric, son of L1 Ida; MBKQ p270) b. c596 r633-5 was forced to flee (as were his bros L15 Oswald, L16 Oswy) Bamburgh when his father was k616 (by L12 Edwin's ally Redwald King of E Anglia, Edwin then took over kingship of Northumbria). Eanfrith went to the Picts, probably to relatives of his mother Bebba. He m. a Pictish princess (dau of Nechtan II FA15, FB7 (p166). Their son Talorcen later became King of Picts FA20 and their dau (Talorcen's sis) m. King of Strathclyde Bili FB8. There's evidence (p279) that Eanfrith also allied himself w/other Brits e.g. King Cadwallon ED9 P105 of Gwynnedd, whom Edwin of Northumbria had driven into Ireland. When Cadwallon k. Edwin at the battle of Hatfield Chase 633/4, Eanfrith immediately assumed kingship of Bernicia. Unlike Edwin who'd been a Chr convert, Eanfrith remained a pagan, prob. welcomed by many of his subjects. Tho he tried to ally w/Cadwallon (supposedly a Christian), after 18mos Eanfrith was k. by him and succeeded in Bernicia by his bro Oswald (L15 r635-42, k. Cadwallon 634, but k. 5 Aug 642 by Penda at Maserfield). He was followed by his bro L16 Oswy r642-70 (k. Penda 655, Whitby 664), then L20 Egfrith r664-85. When Oswy d670, the Picts under FA22 Drust rebelled against Northumbrian English domination, but were massacred in 672 by Egfrith and his subking or marcher lord L47 Beornheth (FA23 Brude III now took over the Pictish kingship). OK, meantime Bili and the dau of Eanfrith had a son Brude FA23. Also, Brude IV FA25 may've been in this line (see p177). Now Brude III FA23 King of Picts r672-93 slaughtered Egfrith L20 (son of Oswy and Enfleda, dau of Edwin) and his army at the battle of Nechtansmere in 685 near Forfar. Now Brude III d693, but his relative (son or gson?) Brude IV r697-706. This Brude in 698 led his Pictish army against the Northumbrians in Lothian, slaying sub-king Beorhtred and confirming Pictish control of that territory (including Bamburgh?). Interesting that Eadwulf L23 then r. Northumbria (Bernicia) Dec 704 to Feb 705, 'a thane who usurped the N throne after Aldfrith's d, but was driven out (of York, back to Bamburgh) w/in 2 mos by supporters of Osred' (286). His descent is unknown, but perhaps same as or related to Brude IV FA25 (perhaps concealing Pictish identity)? In any case, he founded the Edulfing family that ruled Bernicia (between Tyne and Firth of Forth) from Bamberg til it fell to Danes in 878. Hmmm. So perhaps:

Somewhere in the above would fit:
3x (c877-09xx) Uhtred (son of BC's main character Uhtred and Saxon wife Mildrith)
3x (0856-09xx) Uhtred - ? (Bernard Cornwell's fictional? main character, raised by Ragnar Lodbrok after 866 Battle of York, in which Vikings won)
3x (0830-0866) Uhtred - ? (k. when Ragnar Lodbrok attacked and took York in 866)
3x (0800-08xx) Uhtred - ? (Uhtred's gfather)
...
3x (07xx-07xx) Uchtred - ? (this unusual name shows up fl759 as a ruler [K37 MBKQ p265 only Uchtred in the index] of Celtic [Welsh] Hwicce, a Mercian subkingdom, the heartland of British revival after Roman rule had crumbled in the 5C and homeland of Ambrosius Aurelianus and possibly Arthur (see ScotKngs, brits, br-doka). So perhaps the Uchtreds of Northumbria were descendants of this Celtic people?). In Bernard Cornwell's Saxon trilogy, his fictional? main character Uhtred was b856 at Bamburgh Castle, originally named Osbert, but renamed when his older bro Uhtred dies (k. by Viking chieftain Ragnar Lodbrok ['hairy breeks' (breeches)]), son of Uhtred b. c830 k866 at York, and gson of Uhtred b. c800.

Some Ælfgifus (common Anglo-Saxon name, meaning 'elf gift'):
1 St Ælfgifu d944, original, family saint in the West Saxon royal dynasty, after whom many girls named, wife of King Edmund, mother of Kings Edwy and Edgar, gmother of Ethelred II 'the Unready'
2 Ælfgifu of York, Ethelred II 'the Unready's [d1016] 1rst wife c963-1002 dau of Thored EoN (Queen)
3 Ælfgifu (Emma), dau of Richard I Duke of Normandy and 2nd wife of Ethelred II 'the Unready', who renamed her Ælfgifu. Also a Queen, Emma turned her back on Ethelred and her 3 kids by him [Edward (later 'the Confessor'), Alfred and Godgifu] after Cnut's 1016 invasion (and becoming King) of England and m2 1017 Cnut, and having kids w/him Harthacanute and Gunnhildr. She provided the tenuous blood link 'justifying' WmConq's invasion of England i.e. she was his great Aunt. She was a pivotal figure in 11C England/Scandanavia. It bothered her greatly that Cnut's consort had kids and she feuded with them for 20yrs over who would be the next legitimate ruler of England.
4 Ælfgifu of Northampton, dau of Ælfhelm, Earl of Northumbria mur. 1006 (by Ethelred, so Uchtred the Bold could become new Earl), who became c1013-6 the consort of Cnut (Queen) and had sons Harold Harefoot and Sveyn 'Alfifasson' (probably the one depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry i.e. to discredit her sons' legitimacy as rulers of England). She served for a time as [unpopular] regent (for son Sweyn) of Denmark and Norway. She maintained a 20yr feud w/Emma.
5 dau of Ethelred II and 3rd wife of Uchtred the Bold (no wiki page)
6 dau of Earl Godwin and Gytha, who m. ?

Here's a brief chart of Danes of this period in Northumbria:


Bernard Cornwell's 'Saxon Tales' trilogy covers the period between 866 and 9xx, when Alfred the Great and his heirs "with their backs to the wall, fought to secure the survival of the last outpost of Anglo-Saxon culture by battling the ferocious Vikings, whose invading warriors had already captured and occupied 3 of England's 4 kingdoms ... epic novel opens in 866. Uhtred, a boy of 10 and the son of a [Saxon] nobleman, is captured in the same battle [at York] that leaves his father dead. His captor is Earl Ragnar, a Danish chieftain, who raises the boy as his own, teaching him the Viking ways of war ... divided loyalties - between Ragnar, the warrior he loves like a father, and Alfred, whose piety and introspection leave him cold" (TLK cvr). "Uhtred is a Saxon, cheated of his inheritance and adrift in a world of fire, sword, and treachery. He has to make a choice: fight for the Vikings, who raised him, or for King Alfred the Great of Wessex, who dislikes him ... Alfred, forced to become a fugitive in a few square miles of swampland [after the disasters at Chippenham, Wiltshire], fights his enemies against overwhelming odds. The king is a pious Christian, while Uhtred is a pagan. Alfred is a sickly scholar, while Uhtred is an arrogant warrior. Yet the 2 forge an uneasy alliance that will lead them out of the marshes to the stark hilltop [Edington, Wiltshire] where the last remaining Saxon army will fight for the very existence of England" (TPH cvr). "A big-bellied, bushy-bearded tale of 9C England. Our hero is Uhtred, a good-hearted lout w/a pleasantly sour disposition, like a 9C Han Solo ... After Edington, Uhtred is disgusted by Alfred's lack of generosity, heads N to York, rejoins Alfred's effort to subdue N Vikings" (LotN cvr).

The Last Kingdom (2005)

- Prologue: Northumbria, AD 866-7

"My name is Uhtred. I am the son of [ealdorman] Uhtred, who was the son of Uhtred and his father was also called Uhtred" (3). He was originally named Osbert, but when his older bro Uhtred is killed by Vikings (Ragnar), he is renamed Uhtred by his father. Their fortress, Bebbanburg, was not far from Lindisfarne island, which had first been raided in 793. Osbert was king of Northumbria, but Aella was contesting that. Uhtred senior was #3 in the kingdom. "Bebba had been a queen in our land many years before (c557-69), and she had given her name to my home" (5). Bebba was wife of King Ethelfrith (L9).

- I: A Pagan Childhood (ch1-6)

Here we observe the Danes running riot across Britain (after having killed Aella, Osbert, Uhtred's father and many others and taken Uhtred captive at York), taking (after Northumbria) Mercia (by vassalizing King Burghred) then E Anglia (by killing Edmund), leaving only Wessex as 'the last [Saxon] kingdom.' We see that Uhtred comes to like the pagan Danish ways, seeing them as more effective than the 'wimpish' Christian Saxons. "They [Danes] worshipped the old gods, the same ones we had worshipped before the light of Christ came to bless us" (8). Uhtred's family was descended from "Woden, the ancient Saxon god of battles ... Christians, it seemed to me, were forever weeping and I did not think Woden's worshippers cried much" (9). His father saw Northumbrians as "the hardest men in England, much harder than the soft Mercians ... the coddled W Saxons [effete and overpious p56] ... [and worst] the E Anglians [who] live in marshes ... like frogs" (14, and had once attacked and defeated Northumbria, k. King Ethelfrith husband of Bebba, they'd also given horses and winter shelter to the Danes, 'treacherous frogs'). "Thor [was] a Danish god almost as important as Odin, as [the Danes] called Woden ... There were no priests among the Danes, which I liked, because priests were forever telling us not to do things or trying to teach us to read or demanding that we pray, and life w/o them was much more pleasant. The Danes, indeed, seemed very casual about their gods, yet almost every one wore Thor's hammer. I had torn mine from the neck of a boy who had fought me, and I have it to this day" (39-40). Uhtred's new 'father' was Earl Ragnar, "hugely popular, a jester and fighter who blew through fear as though it were a cobweb" (40-1). Ragnar thought Alfred a "weakling ... spends half his time [womanizing] and the other half praying to his god to forgive him for [womanizing]. How can a god disapprove of [womanizing]? ... In Denmark, our kings are the hard men, and if their sons are soft, then a man from another family becomes king, but in England they believe the throne passes through a woman's [womb]. So a feeble creature like Alfred could become king ... [we have] a dozen [kings in Denmark]. I could call myself king if I fancied, except Ivar and Ubba might not like it, and no man offends them lightly" (56). Uhtred accompanies Ragnar and his army to subdue Mercia, including the siege of Nottingham (Summer 868).

At Nottingham, Ragner tells Uhtred: "Gods fight, and some win, some lose. The Christian god is losing ... [the Christians] weep rivers of tears for him, they pray to him, they give him their silver, and we come along and slaughter them! Their god is pathetic. If he had any real power then we wouldn't be here, would we?" (69). There Uhtred sneaks into the Saxon camp and overhears Alfred confessing to Beocca (76). Ragnar's father later says "Christianity is a soft religion, a woman's creed. It doesn't ennoble men, it makes them into worms" (84). Uhtred is conflicted: "To exchange Ragnar's freedom for Alfred's earnest piety seemed a miserable fate to me" (95-6). King Burghred of Mercia buckled during negotiations. "1rst Northumbria, then Mercia. In just 2 yrs half of England was gone and the Danes were only just beginning" (96, i.e. Uhtred is tempted to join them, since they seem like the inevitable winners). Their next target was E Anglia. Ubba would lead a seaborne force while Ivar lead a land one. Another Viking lesson Uhtred learned was to "start your killers young, before their consciences are grown ... [then] they'll be lethal ... I'd been given a perfect childhood ... at least, to the ideas of a boy ... I was free ... ran wild ... encumbered by no laws ... troubled by no priests ... encouraged to violence ... rarely alone" (104). When Uhtred is impressed by a Roman villa in E Anglia, he asks his friend Brida "were the Romans Christians? ... the gods reward those they love, and it would be nice to know which gods had looked after the Romans" (106, hmmm, still debated today! Ragnar's father Ravn later answers "not always, they had their own gods once, but gave them up to become Christians and after that they knew nothing but defeat" 110, the view of Gibbon in DFRE). Edmund had given the Danes shelter during the winter before they'd attacked York (109), only insisting they not harm any churchmen. This deal was considered traitorous by the English and foolish by the Vikings. The Danes won a coastal battle that Edmund may have been able to turn into a slaughter, but chose not to (114).

Uhtred portrays the doomed King Edmund of E Anglia not as a saint (the Saxon view), but "a fool who talked himself into martyrdom" (123, by comparing himself w/St Sebastian, the Roman soldier who had miraculously survived arrows, but was later clubbed to death pp117-8, the Danes put that theory to the test on him!). When Dane-friendly Saxon Ricsig defends monasteries as "places of prayer, contemplation and learning ... [Ragnar counters] what use [are these] Does prayer grow rye? Does contemplation fill a fishing net? Does learning build a house or plow a field?" (126-7, hmmm, kind of like modern pagan liberal [and social gospel] focus on material well-being, to the detriment of the spiritual). A key passage is when the Saxon Ealdwulf flees Uhtred's evil Uncle Aelfric at Bebbanburg and opts to follow Uhtred instead. When Ealdwulf tells Uhtred he'd like to see the Danes gone, Uhtred is shocked and asks why (135). "Because this isn't [rightfully] their land, that's why. I want to walk w/o being afraid. I don't want to touch my forelock to a man just because he has a sword. There's one law for them [i.e. might makes right] and another for us [i.e. right should trump might]. Uhtred agrees that 'There's no law for them [the Danes].' Ealdwulf complains that the Danes have "no wergild [prince on a guilty man's head], no reeve [enforcer] to see, no lord to seek justice ... that whole careful [Saxon] system of justice had vanished since the Danes had come. There was no law now except what the Danes said it was, and that was what they wanted it to be, and I [Uhtred] knew that I reveled in that chaos, but then I was privileged. I was Ragnar's man, and [he] protected me, but w/o [him] I would be no better than an outlaw or a slave" (135). Here's where Uhtred begins to see the value of the Saxon rule of law, i.e. recognition of a higher law than simply will or might. See also note in br-tdr from Tom Palmer's piece in CATO Handbook on the roots of limited govt.

We also observe the 2nd sacking of Lindesfarne, just off the coast from Bebbanburg, as part of a quelling of an anti-Dane, pro-Saxon uprising in Northumbria (128-32). Uhtred's almost killer Weland is there (sent by Uncle Aelfric), having been wounded by Ealdwulf and driven away from Bebbanburg, but Uhtred finishes him off. Uhtred learns (from Ealdwulf) of his uncle (mother's bro) Ealdorman Aethelwulf in Wessex (136, hmmm, related to Alfred? Yes, p178, Uhtred's uncle is 1rst cousin of Mercian Ealdorman Aethelred, father of Alfred's wife Aelswith). Ragnar's son 'Ragnar the Younger' stays for the winter 866-7 then returns to Ireland. Ch4 ends: "It was late summer [871] before Serpent-Breath [his new sword, made by Ealdwulf] was finished and then, before autumn brought its sea-churning storms, we went south. It was time to obliterate England, so we sailed toward Wessex" (143).

"Ragnar now commanded the fleet. Ivar the Boneless had returned to ... Ireland ... while Ubba was ravaging Dalriada, the land N of Northumbria ... so the main assault on Wessex would be led by Halfdan, the 3rd brother, who was marching his land army out of E Anglia and would meet us somewhere on the [Thames], and Ragnar was not happy about the change of command. Halfdan, he muttered, was an impetuous fool, too hotheaded, but he cheered up when he remembered my tales of Alfred [whom Uhtred had earlier met] that confirmed that Wessex was led by men who put their hopes in the Christian god who had been shown to possess no power at all. We had Odin, we had Thor, we had our ships, we were warriors" (146).

Uhtred was very impressed w/London, where Wessex, Mercia and E Anglia met, especially the famous bridge. "The gods alone know how the Romans had built such a thing" (148). The city was 2 hills; the E one containing the remains of the ancient Roman stone buildings and the N end of the bridge, the W one more recent ones. The "Great Army" of the Danes was forming at Mercian London (Mercian King Burghred was its lord) in preparation for the attack on Wessex. As the leaders of the 2K-strong army meet just after New Years, we meet 'king' Bagseg, Earl Sidroc and 'king' Harald ("very fat" 152) from Denmark, also Earls Fraena and Osbern from Ireland. Meanwhile, King Aethelred and his brother Alfred were gathering their army of 3K. Powerful Earl Guthrum 'the Unlucky' ("You could give [him] the world and he'd still believe you'd cheated him" 154) from Denmark then arrives at the Danes' meeting. Uhtred notes the strange Danish way that "men served in a campaign if they wished, or else they stayed home, and there was no single authority among [them]" (155).

There follows a battle at Readingum [Reading, Berkshire], where Uhtred's uncle and ealdorman Aethelwulf is killed by Ragnar, then at Aebbanduna [Abingdon, Berkshire], where their captive says the supplies are stored. "Take Aebbanduna and Aethelred's army would be short of food, Wessex would fall, England would vanish, and Odin would triumph" (164). Here the West Saxons won at nearby Aesc's Hill [Ashdown], killing many Danes including Harald, Bagseg, both Sidrocs, Osbern and Fraena. The Danes were driven back to Reading (169). Uhtred was 14yo. King Aethelred was later killed at Wiltun [Wilton, Wiltshire], leaving as heir [aetheling] Aethelwold (172), but Alfred [the youngest of 6 bros, 173] was chosen by the witan instead [871]. Shortly after, Alfred's daughter Aethelflaed was born.

Soon after, Alfred and Halfdan agreed to a truce (at Bath) by which the Danes would leave Wessex and Alfred would pay a huge sum of silver. Meanwhile, Uhtred and Brida are kidnapped and brought to Alfred and Aelswith (178). Alfred wanted Uhtred to become a scholar, but he and Brida escape and rejoin the Danes at Reading. Rorik has died and Ragnar is devastated. Soon after, the Danes returned to York. Ragnar's group settled into farm life, w/Thyra planning to marry Anwend. But on the morning of Yule, when the marriage was to take place, Kjartan attacks and burns Ragnar's hall, killing all but Uhtred and Brida, who are up the hill tending the charcoal fires. They later dug up his treasure and head South (201). Uhtred was 16yo (198).

- II: The Last Kingdom (ch7-11)

They first settle for a time w/Uhtred's uncle in Mercia named Ealdorman Aethelred, "son of Aethelred, bro of Aethelwulf, father of Aethelred, and bro to another Aethelwulf who had been the father of Aelswith who was married to Alfred" (205). While helping his uncle fend off Welsh attacks on his land [they call England 'Lloegyr' or 'Lost Lands' 207], Uhtred experiences his first 'shield wall' battle, performing well. Later, he muses: "These days, I employ poets to sing my praises, but only because that is what a lord is supposed to do, though I often wonder why a man should get paid for mere words. These word-stringers make nothing, grow nothing, kill no enemies, catch no fish, and raise no cattle. They just take silver in exchange for words, which are free anyway. It is a clever trick, but in truth they are about as much use as priests" (212). Soon Uhtred gets a visit from Willibald the priest, sent by Alfred to fetch Uhtred back to his court (presumably to make him a warrior this time, not a scholar). Its now 2 yrs into Alfred's reign and his son Edward has been born recently. Uhtred agrees [in 874] to serve Alfred for 1 year and works on the ships with Leofric. Alfred tells him Ivar the Boneless is dead, k. in Ireland, and that the rumor in York is that he [Uhtred] killed Ragnar (218). "Destiny is all. And now, looking back, I see the pattern of my life's journey. It began in Bebbanburg and took me south, ever southward, until I reached the farthest coast of England [i.e. at Southhampton shipyard] ... That was my childhood's journey. As a man I have gone the other way, ever northward, carrying sword [Serpent-Breath] and spear [seax Wasp-Sting] and ax to clear the path back to where I began" (225).

As a sailor he develops strong muscles and becomes a full-grown man and warrior. Alfred had meant for Leofric to break Uhtred like a horse, but Uhtred ended up liking Leofric and learning much from him (234). He meets Ragner the Younger during a battle and explains how Ragnar the Elder died (i.e. denying the rumor and explaining that Kjartan did it 244, also, telling Ragnar his sister Thyra survived and was captured). Brida goes back w/the Danes, but Uhtred stays to finish his pledge to Alfred (a few more weeks). Soon after, Alfred offers to make Uhtred commander of his 12 ships (v. Danish 100s!, Leofric talks him into staying w/Saxons v. Danes to be free v. enslaved to a lord 249), but Uhtred must learn to read and marry the Wessex-born Mildrith (since she was 16yo and unmarried, he suspected she had a "face like a bag of maggots" 235, but turned out untrue; it was because of a family debt to Alfred!). Uhtred: "I like the Danes ... because they're not frightened of life ... [i.e.] they're not Christians" (248). Leofric reminds Uhtred that with the Danes, there's no real freedom, only servitude to a lord (249). It turns out Leofric can't read and therefore can't be a leader under Alfred (which drives him nuts), so Uhtred (because he can read) agrees to become a leader of men for Alfred and allow Leofric to be his advisor (250). There were 9 shires in Wessex, each with an ealdorman and a reeve (255 e.g. Hamptonshire). Uhtred manages to get Alfred to name him commander of the fleet, but only on condition that he marry Mildrith of Devonshire (260). He ends up marrying her (265) and just afterward learns of the huge debt he now owes (2K shillings). She was in fact pretty and he grew to love her (the debt wasn't her fault, but her father's, who'd badly managed his insufficient lands).

"There is a hierarchy among men. Beocca like to tell me it reflected the hierarchy of heaven, and perhaps it does ... At the top is the king, and beneath him are his sons [princes], and then come the ealdormen who are the chief nobles of the land and w/o land a man cannot be noble ... The king and his ealdormen are the power of a kingdom, the men who hold great lands and raise the armies, and beneath them are the lesser nobles, usually called reeves, and they are responsible for law in a lord's land, though a man can cease to be a reeve if he displeases his lord. The reeves are drawn from the ranks of thegns, who are wealthy men who can lead followers to war, but who lack the wide holdings of noblemen like Odda [whose reeve was Mildrith's father] or my father. Beneath the thegns are the ceorls [karls], who are all free men, but if a ceorl loses his livelihood than he could well become a slave, which is the bottom of the dung heap. Slaves can be, and often are, freed, though unless a slave's lord gives him land or money he will soon be a slave again" (267).

Not long after they married, its now 876, when "the Danes made their greatest effort yet to rid England of its last [Saxon] kingdom [i.e. Wessex], and the onslaught was huge, savage, and sudden" (269). Guthrum attacks from E Anglia, capturing Werham fortress on the S Wessex coast (270). There they wait for Halfdan to attack from Wales (271). But Halfdan had been killed in Ireland. Of the 3 Lothbrok brothers, only Ubba remained, but "he was still in the far wild north" (271). Beocca comes to Uhtred, living at Hampton (navy HQ), and says Uhtred must come to see Alfred (and gives him news of Halfdan's death) at Werham, where he is negotiating terms w/Guthrum. He soon learns that he is to be a hostage given to the Danes (275). Happily, once in Werham fortress, he meets Ragnar and Brida. Guthrum showed a genuine interest in Christianity and talked much w/a captive priest (277, Waella, cousin of Alfred). "Alfred spent that winter reading the ancient law codes ... and dreaming of the perfect society where the church told us what not to do and the king punished us for doing it" (282). Uhtred and the other hostages remained all winter and in Spring 877 were roused one night and told to go outside. Guthrum had ordered all the hostages to be killed (since the Danes were going to break the truce agreement). Uhtred was about to die when Ragnar intervened, killing Uhtred's attacker. Ragnar's "men came out of the crowd to stand beside their lord. They were outnumbered by at least 5 to 1, but they were Danes and they showed no fear ... Uhtred is my brother, and you are welcome to kill him, lord, but you must first kill me" (285). Ragnar offers Uhtred to join them, but he declines: "I have a wife and a child." Ragnar: "Alfred has trapped you, Uhtred." Ragner drops Uhtred off on an island, saying "You are free" (286). Uhtred returns to Hampton but Mildrith has been taken (by Odda) back to Devonshire (for her own safety, to escape the coming Danes). There are stories that Ubba has replaced dead Halfdan in organizing a Dane/Welsh army to attack from the W (i.e. at Devonshire).

Uhtred decides to take Leofric and a "full fighting crew" (288) by ship to Devonshire. En route, they get caught in a monster storm, which kills many Danes, but which they somehow get through. They landed and made their way to Oxton, learning that Odda had been sent by Alfred to block Ubba's eastward advance at N Devonshire (295). They head toward the place where Odda (and Uhtred) will meet Ubba in battle [historical note: 'the one large change I have made was to bring Ubba's death forward by a year, so that, in the next book, Uhtred can be elsewhere, and, persuaded by ... John Peddie's book ... I placed that action at Cannington in Somerset rather than at the more traditional site of Countisbury Head in N Devon' p333]. Although he saw Alfred's banner in the distance, Uhtred wants to avoid being ordered elsewhere in order to catch up to Mildrith (presumably w/Odda). "The preachers tell us that pride is a great sin, but the preachers are wrong. Pride [related to honor] makes a man, it drives him, it is the shield wall around his reputation and the Danes understood that. Men die, they said, but reputation does not die. What do we look for in a lord? Strength, generosity, hardness, and success, and why should a man not be proud of those things? Show me a humble warrior and I will see a corpse" (296). Though Alfred preached humility, he was proud, and men feared him because of it. Pride also drove Uhtred to either find his wife and child or take revenge on their killers (297). "The river was called the Pedredan and close to its mouth was small place called Cantucton, near ... the ancient earth-walled fort that the locals said was named Cynuit ... older than the Romans" (298-9). There he found Odda, his son and his army. Meanwhile, Ubba's [36, i.e. ~1250 men] ships were collecting at the river's mouth. Ubba was the "last, strongest, most frightening of the sons of Lothbrok" (300). Uhtred confonts Odda, but learns his wife and son are fine and in Devonshire w/Odda's wife (301). When the 2 sides meet to talk, Uhtred shocks everyone by taunting Ubba, telling him Guthrum's fleet is gone and that the runes say Ubba will soon die (305). Ubba is shaken but defiant. Odda wants to wait for Alfred, but Uhtred convinces him they must attack at dawn. Its 900 Saxons v. 1250 Danes. But as Uhtred lays awake, a new plan comes to him; he will sneak down the hill (i.e. he's a 'night walker') through the Dane camp by night and set fire to the ships at dawn, the signal for the [100, Uhtred's 50 plus 50 from Odda] others to race down the hill and join the battle (while the rest of Odda's men would attack the Danes' rear, 311). Long-story-short, it works! Amazingly, Uhtred ends up killing the mighty Ubba in the midst of a dreaded Shield wall battle (320-6).

"These days, so long after that battle at Cynuit [877], I employ a harpist. He's an old Welshman, blind, but very skillful, and he often sings tales of his ancestors. He likes to sing of Arthur and Guinevere, of how Arthur slaughtered the English [Saxons], but he takes care not to let me hear those songs ... after [Cynuit] it seemed to me that my life was made of strings ... Ragnar ... Kjartan ... Brida ... Mildrith ... Alfred ... Aelswith, and all those separate people were a part of my life, strings strung on the frame of Uhtred ... Daft thoughts, I told myself. Life is just life. We live, we die ... There is no music, just chance ... [Leofric tells him] 'you're as bad as Alfred. You think too much.' He was right. Alfred was obsessed by order ... by the task of marshalling life's chaos into something that could be controlled. He would do it by the church and by the law, which are much the same thing, but I wanted to see a pattern in the strands of life. In the end I found one, and it had nothing to do with any god, but with people. With the people we love ... We are all lonely and seek a hand to hold in the darkness" (327-9, hmmm, too bad, humanist tripe).

- Historical Note: "Alfred was responsible for saving Wessex and, ultimately, English society from the Danish assaults, and his son Edward [the Elder], daughter Aethelflaid, and gson Aethelstan finished what he began to create, which was, for the first time, a political entity they called Englaland. I intend Uhtred to be involved in the whole story" (331). Most characters are real, but "Ragnar and Uhtred [and Kjartan, Sven] are fictional, though a family w/Uhtred's name did hold Bebbanburg (now Bamburgh Castle) later in the Anglo-Saxon period, and that family are my ancestors" (333, and mine). Main sources are the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles (ASC) and Asser's life of King Alfred.

The Pale Horseman (2006)

- 13 chapters

- Historical Note: "The Westbury white horse is cut into the chalk of the escarpment beneath Bratton Camp on the edge of Wiltshire Downs ... The present horse ... was cut in the 1770s, making it the oldest of Wiltshire's 10 white horses, but local legend says that it replaced a much older horse that was emblazoned into the chalk hillside after the battle of Ethandun [Edington] in 878" (347). Guthrum had broken the 876 truce of Wareham and more recently also the truce [to leave Exeter, retreat to Gloucester in Danish-held Mercia, give Danish hostages], by attacking Chippenham and forcing Alfred into the swamps. Some great nobles (e.g. Wulfhere, Earl of Wiltshire) had defected. The great Danish enemies before Guthrum had been the 3 Lothbrok brothers, last of them defeated at Cynuit (where TLK ends, 348). TLK tells of the Viking defeat of Northumbria, Mercia, E Anglia and TPH tells how Wessex nearly followed them into oblivion. For a few months in early 878 the idea of England, its culture and language, were reduced to a few square miles of swamp" (349).

Lords of the North (2007)

- I: The Slave King (ch0-4)

- II: The Red Ship (ch5-7)

- III: Shadow-Walker (ch8-11)

- Historical Note: LotN "opens a month or so after" (315) Edington. Tho Guthrum had broken 2 earlier truces; Wareham, Exeter, this last treaty of Chippenham held. "Guthrum accepted Alfred as his godfather and took the baptismal name of Aethelstan ... it seems that his conversion was genuine for, once back in E Anglia, he ruled as a Christian monarch ... in 886 they signed the Treaty of Wedmore which divided England into 2 spheres of influence. Wessex and S Mercia were to be Saxon, while E Anglia, N Mercia, and Northumbria were to fall under Danish law. Thus the Danelaw was established, that NE half of England which, for a time, was to be ruled by Danish kings and which still bears, in place-names and dialects, the imprint of that era. The Treaty was a recognition by Alfred that he lacked the forces to drive the Danes out of England altogether, and it bought him time in which he could fortify his heartland of Wessex ... enabled Alfred and his successors to reconquer the Danelaw" (315-6). "In the 11C [Bebbanburg] was ruled by a family with the name Uhtred ... but we know almost nothing of the family's activities in the late 9C" (317).

Bernard Cornwell is also the author of 20 Richard Sharpe novels which tell the story of the Napoleonic wars (and aftermath, Waterloo 1815) of 1799-1821, the Grail Quest series (The Archer's Tale, Vagabond, Heretic), the Nathaniel Starbuck [Civil War] Chronicles (Rebel, Copperhead, Battle Flag, The Bloody Ground), the Warlord Chronicles (The Winter King, The Enemy of God, Excaliber) and other novels (Redcoat, A Crowning Mercy, Stormchild, Scoundrel, Gallows Thief, Stonehenge 2000 BC).

Note: Interestingly, of the 4 kingdoms that faced the Viking onslaught (1 Northumbria conquered outright, 2 Mercia by vassalizing King Burghred, 3 E Anglia by killing 'pious' King Edmund, leaving only 4 Wessex as 'the last [Saxon] kingdom' defended by King Alfred), 2 would loom large in a [800yrs] later conflict; most Puritans hailed from E Anglia, while most Cavaliers were from Wessex (GaG p251).


Here's Uchtred II's (989-1016) page at www.smokykin.com.

Wikipedia entry on Bamburgh Castle.

See Saxons and brits.

Sources:
- MBKQ = Mammouth Book of British Kings and Queens, Mike Ashley, 1998, 824pp, own.