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Kingdom of Northumbria

60 dated entries naming Kingdom of Northumbria, drawn from 57 separate years between 644 CE and 1089 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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7th century

  • 644Oswine, son of the late king Osric of Deira, manages to establish himself as king of Deira (Northern England) despite armed objections from King Oswiu of Bernicia. His succession, probably the choice of the people of Deira, splits the Kingdom of Northumbria.source

8th century

  • 715King Nechtan mac Der-Ilei invites the Northumbrian clergy to establish Christianity amongst the Picts.source
  • 759July 24 – Oswulf, king of Northumbriasource
  • 788September 23 – Ælfwald I, king of Northumbriasource
  • 790King Æthelred I returns to Northumbria, and is restored to the throne after living in exile for 11 years. His rival Osred II is deposed, forcibly tonsured, and exiled to the Isle of Man. Æthelred then faces a rebellion by another rival, named Eardwulf. The latter is captured, and hanged outside the gates to Ripon Abbey. The body is taken into the abbey, where Eardwulf recovers and escapes to exile.source
  • 791Princes Ælf and Ælfwine of Northumbria, the sons of former king Ælfwald I, are persuaded to leave their sanctuary in York Minster, and are immediately forcibly drowned in Wonwaldremere, at the instigation of King Æthelred I.source
  • 792September – King Æthelred I of Northumbria marries Princess Ælfflæd, daughter of King Offa of Mercia, at Catterick. Unrest in Northumbria tempts the exiled king Osred II back to his kingdom from the Isle of Man. His supporters desert him, and Osred II is killed by Æthelred's men at Aynburg. He is buried at Tynemouth Priory.source
  • 793June 8 – Viking raiders attack the Northumbrian coast, arriving in longships from either Denmark or Norway, and sacking the monastery of Lindisfarne. Many of the monks are killed or enslaved. It is the first Viking attack on a monastery in the British Isles, although it is not the first known Viking attack in the British Isles. The first attack came in 789, when Vikings raided the settlement of Portland in Dorset.source
  • 794Vikings sack the Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey in Northumbria (the second monastery target in England of the Vikings, after the raids on Lindisfarne in 793).source
  • 796April 18 – Æthelred I, king of Northumbriasource
  • 800Ealhmund, prince of Northumbria (approximate date)source

9th century

  • 808Ælfwald II, king of Northumbria (approximate date)source
  • 810Eardwulf, king of Northumbria (approximate date)source
  • 829Winter – Battle of the River Dore: Egbert of Wessex leads his army against the Northumbrians as far as Dore, where he clashes with King Eanred of Northumbria.source
  • 830Eardwulf, king of Northumbria (approximate date)source
  • 832The Flag of Scotland: According to legend, King Óengus II of Fortriu leads an army of Picts and Scots, against the invading Angles from Northumbria, near Athelstaneford.source
  • 844Rædwulf, king of Northumbria (approximate date)source
  • 850King Kenneth I (also called Kenneth MacAlpin) of Alba (modern Scotland) invades Northern Northumbria during the period of 850–858, burning Dunbar and Melrose.source
  • 850Eanred, king of Northumbria (approximate date)source
  • 862Æthelred II, king of Northumbriasource
  • 863King Osberht of Northumbria engages in a dispute for royal power, with a rival claimant named Ælla. After Osberht is replaced, Ælla wields power in Northumbria, but the civil war continues.source
  • 865Viking king Ragnar Lodbrok is captured by the Northumbrians in battle, and killed by being thrown into a pit filled with venomous snakes, on the orders of King Ælla of Northumbria.source
  • 866The Great Heathen Army of the Vikings rides north to Northumbria. The Northumbrians are preoccupied with a civil war, and the Danes enter York unopposed.source
  • 867Vikings or "Danes" (the two terms were often used interchangeably at the time), comprising the Great Heathen Army, advance northward from bases in the Kingdom of East Anglia, into the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria.source
  • 867March 21 – Ælla, king of Northumbriasource
  • 872Autumn – The Great Heathen Army returns to Northumbria, to put down a rebellion at York. King Ecgberht I and his archbishop, Wulfhere, are expelled by the Northumbrians and flee to Mercia.source
  • 873Ecgberht I, king of Northumbriasource
  • 874Autumn – The Great Heathen Army splits into two bands; Halfdan returns with his forces to Northumbria, along with his brother Ubba, where he establishes a new base on the River Tyne.source
  • 894The Vikings in Northumbria and East Anglia swear allegiance and hand over hostages to King Alfred the Great, but promptly break their truce by attacking the southwest of England. A Viking force returns from Exeter and sails along the coast, in an attempt to plunder Chichester. They are defeated by the Saxon garrison, losing many ships and men.source
  • 895August 24 – Guthred, king of Northumbriasource
  • 899Winter – Æthelwold's Revolt: Following the death of Alfred the Great, Æthelwold (youngest son of the late king Æthelred I) disputes the succession of Edward the Elder. He seizes the royal estates at Wimborne, the ancient symbolic burial place of West Saxon kings, and Christchurch. Edward set up his army camp at Badbury Rings. Æthelwold first declares that he will 'live or die' at Wimborne, but then flees to Northumbria.source

10th century

  • 909Edward the Elder despatches an Anglo-Saxon army to attack the Northumbrian Vikings, and ravages Scandinavian York.source
  • 910August 5 – Eowils and Halfdan, kings of Northumbriasource
  • 913Eadwulf II, ruler (high-reeve) of Northumbriasource
  • 918Battle of Corbridge: High-Reeve Ealdred I persuades King Constantine II of Scotland to help him reclaim his position in Bernicia. They mount an invasion of his now Norse controlled lands. The Vikings under Ragnall ua Ímair (or Rægnald) defeat the Scots and their allies at Corbridge (Northern Northumbria), but take heavy casualties themselves.source
  • 919Ragnall ua Ímair, a Viking chief from Ireland, takes control of the Norse Kingdom of York (also referred to as Jórvik) and the English-ruled Earldom of Northumbria. He establishes himself as king at York.source
  • 920High-Reeve Ealdred I, ruler of the former kingdom of Bernicia (Northumbria), and his brother Uhtred, submit to the overlordship of King Edward the Elder (approximate date).source
  • 921Ragnall ua Ímair, Viking king of Northumbriasource
  • 926King Æthelstan of Wessex and Mercia annexes Northumbria, and forces Wales and Strathclyde to accept his sovereignty along with the Picts and the Scots (approximate date).source
  • 939October 27 – King Æthelstan dies at Gloucester after a 15-year reign. He is buried at Malmesbury Abbey and succeeded by his half-brother, Edmund I ("the Magnificent"). After Æthelstan's death Olaf Guthfrithson (or his cousin, Anlaf Cuaran) a Viking leader who rules Dublin, is proclaimed king of York (south of Northumbria).source
  • 941Olaf Guthfrithson, a Norse-Irish chieftain, is killed while raiding an ancient Anglian church at Tyninghame (Northern Northumbria). He is succeeded by his cousin Olaf Sigtryggsson as ruler of Jórvik (modern Yorkshire).source
  • 944King Edmund I regains (with the help of Danish settlers) the territory he ceded to Olaf Guthfrithson. He conquers Northumbria and cedes Cumberland to Malcolm I, king of the 'Picts and Scots'.source
  • 948King Eadred ravages Northumbria and burns down St. Wilfrid's church at Ripon. On his way home, he sustains heavy losses at Castleford. Eadred manages to check his rivals, and the Northumbrians are forced to pay him compensation.source
  • 954King Eric I (Bloodaxe) is killed at Stainmore allowing King Eadred to recover York, reuniting Northumbria with that of All England. High-Reeve Osulf I of Bamburgh is appointed ealdorman ("earl") of Northumbria.source
  • 957Mercia and Northumbria rebel against King Eadwig and switch their allegiance to his brother Edgar. The English nobles (in support of the church) agree to divide the kingdom along the Thames River, with Eadwig keeping Wessex and Kent in the south and Edgar ruling in the north. Edgar's advisers recall Dunstan from Flanders (see 956).source
  • 959October 1 – King Eadwig dies after a 4-year reign. He is succeeded by his 16-year-old brother Edgar I (the Peaceful), who effectively completes the unification of England, when Northumbria submits to his rule.source
  • 995Uhtred (the Bold), a son of Ealdorman Waltheof I of Northumbria, establishes an episcopal see at Durham and moves the monastic community of Chester-le-Street there.source

11th century

  • 1003King Sweyn I (Forkbeard) lands with a Danish Viking fleet in East Anglia, ravaging the countryside. Northumbria surrenders to him (approximate date).source
  • 1006Ælfhelm of York, ealdorman (dux) of Northumbriasource
  • 1013Summer – Danish Viking raiders led by Sweyn Forkbeard (accompanied by his son Cnut) sail from Denmark to attack England. Again London defends itself and the Vikings move elsewhere, plundering Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria. King Æthelred the Unready sends his sons Edward and Alfred to Normandy. Æthelred retreats to the Isle of Wight and follows them later into exile.source
  • 1015Summer – King Cnut the Great of Denmark launches an invasion of Mercia and Northumbria in England.source
  • 1017Cnut divides England into four earldoms: Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia and Northumbria.source
  • 1026Tostig Godwinson, earl of Northumbria (approximate date)source
  • 1035November 12 – King Cnut the Great dies at Shaftesbury, leaving the rule of England in dispute between his sons Harthacnut and Harold Harefoot. The earls of Northumbria and Mercia support Harold's claim, while Godwin (Earl of Wessex) supports Harthacnut. Harold is elected as regent (or joint ruler) of England. Cnut is buried in the Old Minster, in Winchester.source
  • 1054July 27 – Siward, earl of Northumbria, invades Scotland, to support King Malcolm III against Macbeth, who has usurped the Scottish throne from Malcolm's father, Duncan I. Macbeth is defeated at Dunsinane.source
  • 1055Edward the Confessor gives Tostig Godwinson (upon the death of Earl Siward) the important position as earl of Northumbria and the difficult mission of bringing the northern state under control.source
  • 1055Siward (or Sigurd), earl of Northumbriasource
  • 1076May 31 – Waltheof, earl of Northumbria (executed)source
  • 1080May 14 – Walcher, bishop of Durham, is killed by rebel Northumbrians. King William the Conqueror sends a punitive expedition led by his half-brother Odo of Bayeux to pacify Northumbria.source
  • 1089Northumbria is divided by King William II into the counties of Northumberland, County Palatine of Durham, Yorkshire, Westmorland and Lancashire.source

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