Oswald of Northumbria
Oswald | |
---|---|
Ethelfrith | |
Mother | Acha of Deira |
Religion | Christianity |
Oswald (Old English pronunciation: [ˈoːzwɑɫd]; c 604 – 5 August 641/642[1]) was King of Northumbria from 634 until his death, and is venerated as a saint,[2] of whom there was a particular cult in the Middle Ages.[3]
Oswald was the son of
Background, youth, and exile
Oswald's father Æthelfrith was a successful Bernician ruler who, after some years in power in Bernicia, also became king of Deira, and thus was the first to rule both of the kingdoms which would come to be considered the constituent kingdoms of Northumbria. It would, however, be anachronistic to refer to a "Northumbrian" people or identity at this early stage, when the Bernicians and the Deirans were still clearly distinct peoples.[4] Oswald's mother, Acha of Deira, was a member of the Deiran royal line whom Æthelfrith apparently married as part of his acquisition of Deira or consolidation of power there.[5] Oswald was apparently born in or around the year 604, since Bede says that he was killed at the age of 38 in 642;[6] Æthelfrith's acquisition of Deira is also believed to have occurred around 604.[7]
Æthelfrith, who was for years a successful war-leader, especially against the native British, was eventually killed in the
Victory over Cadwallon
After Cadwallon ap Cadfan, the king of Gwynedd, in alliance with the pagan Penda of Mercia, killed Edwin of Deira in battle at Hatfield Chase in 633 (or 632, depending on when the years used by Bede are considered to have begun), Northumbria was split into its constituent kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira. Oswald's brother Eanfrith became king of Bernicia, but he was killed by Cadwallon in 634 (or 633) after attempting to negotiate peace. Subsequently, Oswald, at the head of a small army[8] (possibly with the aid of allies from the north, the Scots and/or the Picts[11]), met Cadwallon in battle at Heavenfield, near Hexham. Before the battle, tradition says Oswald had a wooden cross erected; he knelt down, holding the cross in position until enough earth had been thrown in the hole to make it stand firm. He then prayed and asked his army to join in.[12]
Be strong and act manfully. Behold, I will be with thee.[13] This coming night go out from your camp into battle, for the Lord has granted me that at this time your foes shall be put to flight and Cadwallon your enemy shall be delivered into your hands and you shall return victorious after battle and reign happily.
Oswald described his vision to his council and all agreed that they would be baptised and accept Christianity after the battle.[14] In the battle that followed, the Welsh (Brytons) were routed despite their superior numbers; Cadwallon himself was killed.[8]
Overlordship
Following the victory at Heavenfield, Oswald reunited Northumbria and re-established the Bernician supremacy which had been interrupted by Edwin. Bede says that Oswald held imperium for the eight years of his rule (both Bede and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle say that Oswald's reign was actually considered to be nine years, the ninth year being accounted for by assigning to Oswald the year preceding his rule, "on account of the heathenism practised by those who had ruled that one year between him and Edwin"[15]), and was the most powerful king in Britain. In the 9th-century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle he is referred to as a Bretwalda. Adomnán describes Oswald as "ordained by God as Emperor of all Britain".[16]
Oswald seems to have been widely recognized as overlord, although the extent of his authority is uncertain. Bede makes the claim that Oswald "brought under his dominion all the nations and provinces of Britain", which, as Bede notes, was divided by language among the English, Britons, Scots, and Picts; however, he seems to undermine his own claim when he mentions at another point in his history that it was Oswald's brother Oswiu who made tributary the Picts and Scots.[17] An Irish source, the Annals of Tigernach, records that the Anglo-Saxons banded together against Oswald early in his reign; this may indicate an attempt to put an end to Oswald's overlordship south of the Humber, which presumably failed.[18]
The Mercians, who participated in Edwin's defeat in 633, seem to have presented an obstacle to Oswald's authority south of the Humber, although it has been generally thought that Oswald dominated Mercia to some degree after Heavenfield. It may have been to appease Oswald that Penda had Eadfrith, a captured son of Edwin (and thus a dynastic rival of Oswald), killed, although it is also possible that Penda had his own motives for the killing.[19]
Oswald apparently controlled the Kingdom of Lindsey, given the evidence of a story told by Bede regarding the moving of Oswald's bones to a monastery there; Bede says that the monks rejected the bones initially because Oswald had ruled over them as a foreign king. To the north, it may have been Oswald who conquered the Gododdin. Irish annals record the siege of Edinburgh, thought to have been the royal stronghold of the Gododdin, in 638, and this seems to mark the end of the kingdom; that this siege was undertaken by Oswald is suggested by the apparent control of the area by his brother Oswiu in the 650s.[20]
Oswald seems to have been on good terms with the
Christianity
Although Edwin had previously converted to
Although Oswald could be interpreted as a martyr for his death in battle, Bede puts a clear emphasis on Oswald being saintly as a king. Bede does not focus on his martyrdom as being primary to his sainthood—indeed, it has been noted that Bede never uses the word "martyr" in reference to Oswald. Bede's portrayal of Oswald stands out as unusual as a king regarded as saintly for his life while ruling, in contrast to a king who gives up the kingship in favour of religious life, or who is venerated because of the manner of his death.[24] Bede recounts Oswald's generosity to the poor and to strangers, and tells a story highlighting this characteristic: on one occasion, at Easter, Oswald was sitting at dinner with Aidan, and had "a silver dish full of dainties before him", when a servant, whom Oswald "had appointed to relieve the poor", came in and told Oswald that a crowd of the poor were in the streets begging alms from the king. Oswald, according to Bede, then immediately had his food given to the poor and even had the dish broken up and distributed. Aidan was greatly impressed and seized Oswald's right hand, stating: "May this hand never perish." Accordingly, Bede reports that the hand and arm remained uncorrupted after Oswald's death.[25]
Downfall
It was a conflict with the pagan Mercians under Penda that proved to be Oswald's undoing. He was killed in 642,[1] by the Mercians at the Battle of Maserfield, in Oswestry (although other candidates for the location of the battle have been suggested)[26] and his body was dismembered. Bede mentions the story that Oswald "ended his life in prayer": he prayed for the souls of his soldiers when he saw that he was about to die. Oswald's head and limbs were placed on stakes.[27]
The traditional identification of the battle site with Oswestry, probably in the territory of
Veneration and legacy
Saint Oswald of Northumbria | |
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Martyr | |
Born | c. 604 Pre-Congregation |
Major shrine | Bardney Abbey, Lincolnshire, England; relics later translated to St Oswald's Priory, Gloucester, England |
Feast | 5 August |
Attributes | king in crown, carrying sceptre and orb, ciborium, sword, palm-branch, and/or with his raven |
Oswald soon came to be regarded as a saint. Bede says that the spot where he died came to be associated with miracles, and people took dirt from the site, which led to a hole being dug as deep as a man's height.[6] Reginald of Durham recounts another miracle, saying that his right arm was taken by a bird (perhaps a raven) to an ash tree, which gave the tree ageless vigour; when the bird dropped the arm onto the ground, a spring emerged from the ground. Both the tree and the spring were, according to Reginald, subsequently associated with healing miracles.[30][31] Aspects of the legend have been considered to have pagan overtones or influences[31]—this may represent a fusion of his status as a traditional Germanic warrior-king with Christianity. The name of the site, Oswestry, or "Oswald's Tree", is generally thought to be derived from Oswald's death there and the legends surrounding it.[26] His feast day is 5 August. The cult surrounding him even gained prominence in parts of continental Europe; cf. Ožbalt in Slovenia.
Bede mentions that Oswald's brother
In the early 10th century, Bardney was in Viking territory, and in 909, following a combined West Saxon and Mercian raid led by
Oswald's head was interred in
Several churches bear the name of St Oswald, including
Some English place names record his reign, for example it has been claimed that Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, meaning the twistle of Oswald, is linked to the saint, although it's more likely to be the name of the owner of the land. Kirkoswald in Cumbria is so named because it is believed that his body was taken there after his death. The local church is ascribed to him. Another Kirkoswald in Scotland also commemorates him.[37]
Oswald is remembered in the Church of England with a Lesser Festival on 5 August.[38]
Notes
- ^ a b Bede gives the year of Oswald's death as 642, however there is some question as to whether what Bede considered 642 is the same as what would now be considered 642. R. L. Poole (Studies in Chronology and History, 1934) put forward the theory that Bede's years began in September, and if this theory is followed (as it was, for instance, by Frank Stenton in his notable history Anglo-Saxon England, first published in 1943), then the date of the Battle of Heavenfield (and the beginning of Oswald's reign) is pushed back from 634 to 633. Thus, if Oswald subsequently reigned for eight years, he would have actually been killed in 641. Poole's theory has been contested, however, and arguments have been made that Bede began his year on 25 December or 1 January, in which case Bede's years would be accurate as he gives them.
- ^ "Search results". The Church of England. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
- ^ Craig, "Oswald"
- ^ Stancliffe, "Oswald", p. 36.
- ^ Kirby, p. 60.
- ^ Historia Ecclesiastica, Book III, chapter 9.
- ^ Kirby, p. 57.
- ^ a b c Bede, Book III, chapter 1.
- ^ Kirby, p. 73.
- ^ Berresford Ellis, p.89
- ^ a b Ziegler.
- ^ Bede, Book III, chapter 2.
- ^ Quoting the Book of Joshua, 1:9.
- ^ Adomnán, Book I, Chapter 1.
- ^ Bede, Book III, chapter 1; ASC, manuscript E, year 634. The quote is from the ASC.
- ^ Adomnán, Book I, chapter I.
- ^ For the mention of Oswald's power over Britain, see H. E., Book III, chapter 6; for the mention of Oswiu making the Scots and Picts tributary, see Book II, chapter 5. See Kirby, , p. 70, for how this indicates Bede was defining Oswald's supremacy in excessive terms.
- ^ Stancliffe, "Oswald", p. 60. According to Stancliffe, "Oswald would scarcely have been remembered as an effective overlord in so many Southhumbrian kingdoms if his power had been checked this early in his career." The report is given under the year 637 in the Annals of Tigernach.
- ^ Stancliffe, "Oswald", pp. 54 and 71–75. Stancliffe mentions Penda's possible reasons for independently having Eadfrith killed, and expresses doubt that Bede would have regarded Oswald as such a saintly figure if he had known Oswald was responsible for Eadfrith's death.
- ^ Stancliffe, "Oswald", p. 58.
- ^ Bede, Book III, chapter 7.
- ^ Tudor, p. 187, note 57.
- ^ Bede, Book III, chapters 3 and 5.
- ^ Stancliffe, "Oswald", pp. 41–42.
- ^ Bede, Book III, chapter 6.
- ^ a b Stancliffe, "Where Was Oswald Killed?"
- ^ a b For Bede's mention of Oswald's dying prayer (which he cautiously reports as hearsay) and Oswald's dismemberment, the placing of his body-parts on stakes, and Oswiu's later recovery of those boody-parts and burial of them at Bardney, Lindisfarne and Bamburgh, see H. E., Book III, chapter 12.
- ^ Stancliffe, "Where Was Oswald Killed?", argues in favour of the traditional identification of the site with Oswestry. For Stancliffe's argument regarding Bede's portrayal of Oswald as fighting only just wars, Bede's attempt to portray Maserfield as being part of a just war (being fought pro patria), and his omission of previous aggressive warfare Oswald is thought to have engaged in, see p. 93.
- ^ Brooks.
- ^ Tudor, p. 190.
- ^ a b Rollason, p. 170.
- ^ Bede, Book III, chapter 11.
- ^ Wood, Michael (13 August 2013). "Lady of the Mercians". King Alfred and the Anglo Saxons. BBC.
- ^ Heighway, p. 108.
- ^ Karkov, pp. 77–79
- ^ Bailey.
- ^ "Kirkoswald". Gazetteer for Scotland.
- ^ "The Calendar". The Church of England. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
References
- Adomnán, Life of Saint Columba translated and edited Richard Sharpe. ISBN 0-14-044462-9
- ISBN 978-0-14-044565-7.)
- Bailey, Richard N., "St Oswald's Heads", in C. Stancliffe and E. Cambridge (eds), Oswald: Northumbrian King to European Saint (1995, 1996). ISBN 1-871615-51-8
- Berresford Ellis, Peter Celt and Saxon BCA London 1993
- Brooks, Nicholas, "The formation of the Mercian kingdom", in S. Bassett (ed.), The Origins of Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms (1989).
- Craig, D. J. (2004). "Oswald [St Oswald]". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/20916. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Heighway, Carolyn (2001). "Gloucester and the new minster of St Oswald". In Higham, N. J.; Hill, D. H. (eds.). Edward the Elder 899–924. Routledge.
- Karkov, Catherine E. (2004). The Ruler Portraits of Anglo-Saxon England. The Boydell Press. ISBN 1-84383-059-0.
- Kirby, D.P., The Earliest English Kings (1991, 2000). ISBN 0-04-445692-1
- Rollason, David, "St Oswald in Post-Conquest England", in C. Stancliffe and E. Cambridge (eds), Oswald: Northumbrian King to European Saint (1995, 1996).
- Stancliffe, Clare, "Oswald, 'Most Holy and Most Victorious King of the Northumbrians'", in C. Stancliffe and E. Cambridge (eds), Oswald: Northumbrian King to European Saint (1995, 1996).
- Stancliffe, Clare, "Where Was Oswald Killed?", in C. Stancliffe and E. Cambridge (eds), Oswald: Northumbrian King to European Saint (1995). ISBN 1-871615-51-8
- Tudor, Victoria, "Reginald's Life of St Oswald", in C. Stancliffe and E. Cambridge (eds), Oswald: Northumbrian King to European Saint (1995, 1996). ISBN 1-871615-51-8
- Ziegler, Michelle, "The Politics of Exile in Early Northumbria", The Heroic Age, Issue 2, Autumn/Winter 1999.
Further reading
- Adams, Max (2013), The King in the North: The Life and Times of Oswald of Northumbria. ISBN 1781854181
- Ælfric of Eynsham (1881). . Ælfric's Lives of Saints. London, Pub. for the Early English text society, by N. Trübner & co.
- Parker, Stanislaus Anselm (1911). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
- Pelteret, David A.E. "Oswald: d. 642," Reader's Guide to British History (London: Routledge, 2003) online in Credo Reference. Historiography
- Stephens, Samuel J. "Heavensfield." Illuminations of the Fantastic Online Magazine. Poetry.
External links
- Oswald 1 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
- "St. Oswald, King and Martyr". Butler's Lives of the Saints. 12 January 2023.