Ælla Of Northumbria - Wikipedia

King of Northumbria

Ælla
Ælle kills Ragnar Lothbrok, illustration by Hugo Hamilton
King of Northumbria
Reign	AD 862–867
Predecessor	Osberht
Successor	Ecgberht
Born	c. 815
Died	21 March 867 (aged 51–52)York, Northumbria
House	Northumbria

Ælla (or Ælle or Aelle, fl. 866; died 21 March 867) was King of Northumbria, a kingdom in early medieval England, during the middle of the 9th century. Sources on Northumbrian history in this period are limited, and so Ælla's ancestry is not known, and the dating of the beginning of his reign is questionable.

In addition to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Ælla is also mentioned in Scandinavian oral sources, such as the Norse sagas. According to the latter, Ælla captured the legendary Swedish-Danish Viking king Ragnar Lodbrok and put him to death in a pit of snakes. The historical invasion of Northumbria by the Great Heathen Army in 866 occurred in retaliation for Ragnar's execution, according to Ragnarssona þáttr (The Tale of Ragnar's Sons). While Norse sources claim that Ragnar's sons tortured Ælla to death by the method of the blood eagle, Anglo-Saxon accounts maintain that he died in battle at York on 21 March 867. Concerning the Norse claim, Roberta Frank reviewed the historical evidence for the ritual in her Viking Atrocity and Skaldic Verse: The Rite of the Blood-Eagle, where she writes: "By the beginning of the ninth century, the various saga motifs—eagle sketch, rib division, lung surgery, and 'saline stimulant'—were combined in inventive sequences designed for maximum horror."[1] She concludes that the authors of the sagas misunderstood alliterative kennings that alluded to leaving one's foes face down on the battlefield, their backs torn as carrion by scavenging birds. If this is to be believed, then it is easy to surmise that the mention of his death via the blood eagle is in fact a description of his death on the battlefield, which would make both accounts of his death consistent.

Anglo-Saxon accounts

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Ælla became king after Osberht (Osbryht) was deposed. The beginning of his reign is traditionally dated to 862 or 863 but evidence about Northumbrian royal chronology is unreliable prior to 867.[2] His reign may have begun as late as 866.[3] Almost nothing is known of Ælla's reign; Symeon of Durham states that Ælla had seized lands at Billingham, Ileclif, Wigeclif, and Crece, which belonged to the church.[4] While Ælla is described in most sources as a tyrant and an illegitimate king,[5] one source states that he was Osberht's brother.[6]

The Great Heathen Army, composed mostly of Danish, Norwegian and Frisian Vikings, landed in Northumbria in mid-866 and had captured York by 21 November.[7]

Subsequent events are described by historians such as Symeon of Durham, Asser and Æthelweard in accounts that vary only in detail. According to the Historia Regum Anglorum, following the invasion of the Danes, the previous "dissension" between Osberht and Ælla "was allayed by divine counsel" and other Northumbrian nobles. Osberht and Ælla "having united their forces and formed an army, came to the city of York" on 21 March 867.[8] A majority of the "shipmen" (Vikings) gave the impression of fleeing from the approaching Northumbrians. "The Christians, perceiving their flight and terror", attacked, but found that the Vikings "were the stronger party". Surrounded, the Northumbrians "fought upon each side with much ferocity" until both Osberht and Ælla were killed. The surviving Northumbrians "made peace with the Danes".[5]

After this, the Vikings appointed a puppet king of Northumbria, named Ecgberht.[9]

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle does not name the Viking leaders, but it does state that "Hingwar and Hubba" (probably Ivar and Ubba) later killed King Edmund of East Anglia.[10] Ubba was also named as a leader of the army in Northumbria by Abbo of Fleury and by the Historia de Sancto Cuthberto. Symeon of Durham lists the leaders of the Viking army as "Halfdene [Halfdann], Inguar [Ingvar], Hubba, Beicsecg, Guthrun, Oscytell [Ketill], Amund, Sidroc and another duke of the same name, Osbern, Frana and Harold."[11]

Family

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Ælla has been identified as the brother of Osberht of Northumbria.[12] According to an Anglo-Norman genealogy, Ælla had a daughter named Æthelthryth and through her was the grandfather of Eadwulf of Bamburgh, "King of the Northern English" who died in 913.[13]

Norse sources

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According to Ragnarssona þáttr, the army that seized York in 866 was led by Hvitserk, Björn Ironside, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, Ivar the Boneless and Ubba, sons of Ragnar Lodbrok, who avenged his death by subjecting Ælla to the blood eagle.[14] However, Anglo-Saxon sources claim that Ælla and Osberht died in battle at York, with the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle stating that "both the kings were slain on the spot".[15]

Ivar the Boneless, who plays a major role in both Norse and Anglo-Saxon accounts, is sometimes associated with the Viking leader Ímar (Old Norse: Ívarr), a King of Dublin mentioned in the Irish annals. Scholar Dorothy Whitelock regards this association as unlikely, however, because Ímar's father is usually said to be Gofraid of Lochlann and his brothers are usually named as Amlaíb Conung and Auisle. As Dorothy Whitelock notes, the names Ívarr and Ímar were "not uncommon" in Norse societies.[16]

Other

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Hector Boece relates that two Northumbrian princes, Osbrecht and Ella, took the castle at Stirling.[17]

Cultural references

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Aella, King of Northumbria, has a major supporting role in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Man of Law's Tale.

Ælla was played by Frank Thring in the film The Vikings (1958) as the main antagonist.[18]

A character broadly based on Ælla is played by Ivan Kaye in the History Channel's drama series Vikings (2013), though it is set nearly 70 years before the real Ælla's reign.[19][20] The show gives no indication that this Ælla had usurped his throne, and he is shown to have reigned in Northumbria for more than 15 years. The show also gave Ælla a daughter, Judith, who takes the historical role of Osburh, as the mother of Alfred the Great. The character's name seems taken from Judith of Flanders, Alfred's stepmother, but doesn't share much more.[21] In the fourth season, he executes Viking leader Ragnar Lothbrok by throwing him into a pit of snakes, and he is executed in retaliation by Ragnar's sons via the blood eagle.

In The Last Kingdom, a historical novel by Bernard Cornwell, Ælla appears very briefly as a minor character at the beginning of the book. He, along with Osberht and Uhtred, a fictional Ealdorman of Bernicia, lead a Northumbrian army to repel invading Danes at York. The battle ends disastrously for the Northumbrians when the Norse army feigns a retreat, and Ælla dies on the field.[citation needed]

Notes

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1. ^ Frank 1984, p. 334
2. ^ Pagan, pp. 1–15
3. ^ Kirby, p. 196.
4. ^ Symeon of Durham, p. 654.
5. ^ a b Symeon of Durham, p. 470.
6. ^ Kirby, p. 197.
7. ^ Higham, pp. 178–179; ASC s.a. 867.
8. ^ Dated by Symeon of Durham, p. 654.
9. ^ Higham, p.179.
10. ^ ASC, s.a. 870.
11. ^ Symeon of Durham, p. 654. Whitelock, p. 227, discusses the leaders of the Great Army in various sources.
12. ^ Kirby, p. 197.
13. ^ McGuigan, pp. 24–25.
14. ^ Whitelock, p. 225ff.
15. ^ ASC, s.a. 867.
16. ^ Whitelock, p. 227.
17. ^ Nimmo, William; Gillespie, Robert (1880). The history of Stirlingshire. Glasgow: Thomas D. Morison. pp. 63–64. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
18. ^ IMDb: The Vikings: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052365/
19. ^ IMDb: Vikings: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2306299/
20. ^ "VIKINGS Tops The Ratings With 8.3 Million Viewers". Irish Film Board. 5 March 2013. Archived from the original on 28 March 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
21. ^ "Judith - Vikings Cast". HISTORY.

References

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• Frank, Roberta (1 April 1984). "Viking atrocity and Skaldic verse: The Rite of the Blood-Eagle". The English Historical Review. XCIX (CCCXCI): 332–343. doi:10.1093/ehr/XCIX.CCCXCI.332. ISSN 0013-8266. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
• Kirby, D.P., The Earliest English Kings. London: Unwin, 1991. ISBN 0-04-445692-1
• Higham, N.J., The Kingdom of Northumbria AD 350-1100. Stroud: Sutton, 1993. ISBN 0-86299-730-5
• McGuigan, Neil (2015). "Ælla and the descendants of Ivar: politics and legend in the Viking Age". Northern History. 52 (1): 20–34. doi:10.1179/0078172X14Z.00000000075. S2CID 161252048. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
• Pagan, H. E. (1969). "Northumbrian numismatic chronology in the ninth century" (PDF). British Numismatic Journal. 38: 1–15. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
• Symeon of Durham (1855). "The Historical Works of Simeon of Durham". Church Historians of England, volume III, part II. Translated by Stevenson, J. Seeley's. Retrieved 27 January 2007.
• Whitelock, Dorothy (1969). "Fact and Fiction in the Legend of St. Edmund". Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology 31. Archived from the original on 4 September 2006. Retrieved 27 January 2007.

External links

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• Ælle 3 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
• The Tale of Ragnar's sons in translation by Tunstall at Northvegr

Regnal titles
Preceded byOsberht	King of Northumbria 866–867	Succeeded byEcgberht I

v t e Monarchs of Northumbria
Kings of Bernicia547–670	Ida Glappa Adda Æthelric Theodric Frithuwald Hussa Æthelfrith Edwin Eanfrith Oswald Oswiu
Kings of Deira560–679	Ælla Æthelric Æthelfrith Edwin Osric Oswald Oswiu Oswine Œthelwald Alhfrith Ælfwine
Kings of Northumbria642–867	Oswiu Ecgfrith Ealdfrith Eadwulf I Osred I Coenred Osric Ceolwulf Eadberht Oswulf Æthelwald Moll Ealhred Æthelred I Ælfwald I Osred II Osbald Eardwulf Ælfwald II Eanred Æthelred II Redwulf Osberht Ælla
Kings of Viking Northumbria867–954	Ecgberht Ricsige Halfdan I Guthfrith I Siefredus Cnut Æthelwold Airdeconut Eowils Halfdan II Ingwær Ragnall I Sitric I Caech Guthfrith II Olaf I Guthfrithson Sitric II Olaf II Cuaran Ragnall II Guthfrithson Eric Bloodaxe

‹ The template below (Rulers of medieval England) is being considered for deletion. See templates for discussion to help reach a consensus. ›

v t e Rulers of medieval England

Territories/dates[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Northumbria Mercia Wessex Sussex Kent Essex East Anglia 450–600 Sub-Roman Britain Kingdom of BerniciaEsa · Eoppa · Ida · Glappa · Adda · Æthelric · Theodric · Frithuwald · Hussa Kingdom of DeiraÆllaÆthelric Kingdom of MerciaIcelCnebbaCynewaldCreodaPybbaCearlPendaEowaPeada Kingdom of the GewisseCerdicCynricCeawlinCeolCeolwulfCynegilsCwichelmCenwalh Kingdom of the South SaxonsÆlleCissaÆthelwealh Kingdom of the KentishHengestHorsaOiscOctaEormenricÆðelberht IEadbald EorcenberhtEormenredEcgberht IHlothhere Kingdom of the East SaxonsÆscwineSleddSæberhtSexredSæwardSigeberht the LittleSigeberht the GoodSwithhelmSighereSæbbiSigeheardSwæfredOffaSaelredSwæfberhtSwithredSigericSigered Kingdom of the East AnglesWehhaWuffaTytilaRædwaldEorpwaldRicberhtSigeberhtEcgricAnnaÆthelhereÆthelwoldEaldwulfÆlfwaldBeonnaAlberhtÆthelred IÆthelberht II 600–616 Æthelfrith 616–632 Edwin 632–634 Eanfrith Osric 633–644 Oswald Oswiu 645–648 Oswiu Oswine Penda 648–651 CenwalhSeaxburhCenfusÆscwineCentwineKingdom of the West SaxonsCædwallaIneÆthelheardCuthredSigeberhtCynewulfBeorhtricEcgberht 651–654 Œthelwald 655–658 Kingdom of NorthumbriaOswiu · Ecgfrith · Aldfrith · Eadwulf I · Osred I · Coenred · Osric · Ceolwulf · Eadberht · Oswulf · Æthelwald Moll · Alhred · Æthelred I · Ælfwald I · Osred II · Æthelred I · Osbald · Eardwulf · Ælfwald II · Eardwulf · Eanred · Æthelred II · Rædwulf · Æthelred II · Osberht · Ælla · Osberht Oswiu 658–685 WulfhereÆthelred ICœnredCeolredCeolwaldÆthelbaldBeornredOffaEcgfrithCoenwulfKenelmCeolwulf IBeornwulfLudecaWiglaf 685–686 Eadric 686–771 Ecgwald · Berthun · Andhun · Nothhelm · Watt · Bryni · Osric · Æthelstan · Æthelbert Mul · Swæfheard · Swæfberht · Oswine · Wihtred · Alric · Eadbert I · Æðelbert II Eardwulf · Eadberht II · Sigered · Eanmund · Heabert · Ecgbert II · Ealhmund 771–785 Offa 785–794 Offa 794–796 Offa 796–800 Eadberht III PrænCuthred Eadwald 800–807 CoenwulfCeolwulf IBeornwulf 807–823 Coenwulf · Ceolwulf I · Beornwulf 823–825 Ecgberht 825–826 Ecgberht 826–829 ÆthelstanÆthelweardEdmundOswaldÆthelred IIGuthrumEohricÆthelwoldGuthrum II 829–830 Ecgberht Sigeric II 830–837 WiglafWigmundWigstanÆlfflædBeorhtwulfBurgredCeolwulf IIÆthelredÆthelflædÆlfwynn 837–839 EcgberhtÆthelwulfÆthelbaldÆthelberhtÆthelred IAlfred the Great 867–872 Northern NorthumbriaEcgberht I Southern NorthumbriaMilitary conquest by the Great Heathen Army 872–875 Ricsige 875–886 EcgberhtEadwulf II Halfdan Ragnarsson · Guthred · Siefredus · Cnut · Æthelwold · Eowils and Halfdan 886–910 Kingdom of EnglandAlfred the GreatEdward the Elder 910–918 Eadwulf II · Ealdred I 918–927 Ealdred IAdulf mcEtulfe Ragnall ua Ímair · Sitric Cáech · Gofraid ua Ímair Edward the ElderÆthelstan 927–934 Æthelstan 934–939 Æthelstan 939–944 Olaf Guthfrithson · Amlaíb Cuarán · Sitric II · Ragnall Guthfrithson Edmund IEadred 944–946 Edmund I 947–954 Osulf I Eric Bloodaxe · Amlaíb Cuarán · Eric Bloodaxe 955–1066 Eadwig · Edgar · Edward the Martyr · Æthelred the Unready · Sweyn Forkbeard · Æthelred the Unready · Edmund Ironside · Cnut · Harold Harefoot · Harthacnut · Edward the Confessor · Harold Godwinson 1066 Norman Conquest Rulers of medieval Wales ^ Rulers with names in italics are considered fictional ^ Mackenzie, E; Ross, M (1834). An Historical, Topographical, and Descriptive View of the County Palatine of Durham. Vol. I. Newcastle upon Tyne: Mackenzie and Dent. p. xi. Retrieved 28 February 2012. ^ Downham, Clare (2007), Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland: The Dynasty of Ívarr to A.D. 1014, Edinburgh: Dunedin, ISBN 978-1-903765-89-0, OCLC 163618313 ^ Woolf, Alex (2007), From Pictland to Alba, 789–1070, The New Edinburgh History of Scotland, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, ISBN 978-0-7486-1234-5, OCLC 123113911 ^ Zaluckyj, Sarah & Feryok, Marge. Mercia: The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Central England (2001) ISBN 1-873827-62-8 ^ Barbara Yorke (1995), Wessex in the early Middle Ages, A & C Black, ISBN 071851856X; pp 79-83; table p. 81 ^ Kelly, S. E. (2004). "Kings of the South Saxons (act. 477–772)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/52344. Retrieved 3 February 2017. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.) ^ Keynes, Simon (2014). "Appendix I: Rulers of the English, c.450–1066". In Lapidge, Michael (ed.). The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-65632-7. ^ Kirby, D. P. The Earliest English Kings. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-4152-4211-0. ^ Lapidge, M.; et al., eds. (1999). "Kings of the East Angles". The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England. London: Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1. ^ Searle, W. G. 1899. Anglo-Saxon Bishops, Kings and Nobles. ^ Yorke, B. 1990. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. ^ Carpenter, Clive. Kings, Rulers and Statesmen. Guinness Superlatives, Ltd. ^ Ross, Martha. Rulers and Governments of the World, Vol. 1. Earliest Times to 1491. ^ Ashley, Michael (1998). British Monarchs: the Complete Genealogy, Gazetteer, and Biographical Encyclopedia of the Kings & Queens of Britain. London: Robinson. ISBN 978-1-8548-7504-4.

v t e Viking activity in Great Britain
Anglo-Saxon	Major monarchs Offa of Mercia (757–796) Ælla of Northumbria (unk–867) Edmund the Martyr of East Anglia (855–869) Æthelred the Unready (978–1013, 1014–1016) Wessex: Ecgberht (802–839) Æthelwulf (839–858) Alfred the Great (871–899) Edward the Elder (899–924) Æthelstan (924–939) Eadred (946–954 Major leaders Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians (c. 881–911) Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians (911–918) Odda, Ealdorman of Devon (878) Wulfhere, Ealdorman of Wiltshire (855–?877)
Viking	Monarchs Knýtlinga Harthacnut (1035–1042) Cnut (1016–1035) Harold Harefoot (1035–1040) Svein Knutsson (1030–1035) Northumbria Guthred (883–895) Eric Bloodaxe (947–948, 952–954) Amlaíb Cuarán (941–944) Gofraid ua Ímair (921–934) Olaf Guthfrithson (939–941) Ragnall ua Ímair (c. 914–921) England Sweyn Forkbeard (1013–1014) Ecgberht I of Northumbria (867–872) Burgred of Mercia (852–874) Ceolwulf II of Mercia (874–880) Eohric of East Anglia (917–927) Major leaders Ivar the Boneless (865–870) Halfdan Ragnarsson (865–877) Ubba (865–878) Hvitserk (865–870) Guthrum (874–890) Hastein (892–896) Thorkell the Tall (c. 970–1024)
Battles	Viking raids: 793–850 Lindisfarne (793) Isle of Sheppey (835) Battle of Hingston Down (838) Battle of Rochester (842) Carhampton (843) Battle of Aclea (851) First invasion 865–896 Great Heathen Army(865–78) Battle of York (867) Siege of Nottingham (867) Battle of Englefield (870) Battle of Ashdown (871) Battle of Meretun (871) Battle of Basing (871) Battle of Reading (871) Sea Battle near Swanage (877) Battle of Chippenham (878) Battle of Cynwit (878) Battle of Edington (878) Battle of London (886) Siege of Exeter (893, 1001) Battle of Fearnhamme (893) Battle of Benfleet (894) The Danelaw Buttington (893) First Stamford (894) The Holme (902) Tettenhall (910) Tempsford (917) Derby (917) Second Stamford (918) Corbridge (918) Brunanburh (937) Stainmore (954) Second invasion: 980–1012 The Danelaw Maldon (991) Battle of Pinhoe (1001) First Alton (1001) St Brice's Day (1002) Ringmere (1010) Cnut's invasion (1015–1016) Brentford Assandun Harald's invasion (1066) Fulford (1066) Stamford Bridge (1066)
Places	Viking settlements Danelaw (865–896) Jorvik (866–954) North Sea Empire English petty kingdoms Wessex (519–927) Kent (410–825) Northumbria (653–954) Mercia (527–918) East Anglia (c. 550–918)
Treaties	Treaty of Wedmore (886) Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum (c. 890)
Culture	"Battle of Brunanburh" (poem) Cuerdale Hoard England runestones Furness Hoard List of English words of Old Norse origin Norse–Gaels Old Norse Ragnar Lodbrok Nordic and Scandinavian diaspora in the United Kingdom Silverdale Hoard Vale of York Hoard