Fraser, James E (2009). From Caledonia to Pictland: Scotland to 795. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0748612321. Few histories of North-East England take the grand sweep of time selected by The Northumbrians and few have the range of sources, including poetry, song, art, film and television, analysed succinctly here. The book is arranged thematically rather than chronologically – a decision much to its benefit – and yet this composition still allows for a neat Bede to Brexit structure. Included are chapters on the North East’s medieval past; the martial, fighting tradition prevalent throughout the centuries; the work of the great inventors, scientists, engineers and tinkerers who formed the ‘Northumbrian Enlightenment’; the landscape and architecture (with a walking tour through the ‘Northumbrian Riviera’) of the region; its endemic sociability, hedonism and boisterous drinking culture; and, finally, the current political scene, where the old assumptions about a Labour-voting region are scrutinised. This was also a period of great debate about the kind of Christianity that should be practised in the North. In the reign of Edwin, Roman Christianity had been introduced to the North, but during Oswald’s reign a Celtic form of Christianity was preferred. This meant that Northumbria was out of touch with the rest of England and Europe.

Between the years of AD 737and 806, Northumbria had ten kings, [68] all of whom were murdered, deposed, or exiled or became monks. Between Oswiu, the first king of Northumbria in 654, and Eric Bloodaxe, the last king of Northumbria in 954, there were forty-five kings, meaning that the average length of reign during the entire history of Northumbria is only six and a half years. Of the twenty-five kings before the Danish rule of Northumbria, only four died of natural causes. Of those that did not abdicate for a holy life, the rest were either deposed, exiled, or murdered. Kings during the Danish rule of Northumbria (see Danelaw) were often either kings of a larger North Sea or Danish empire, or were installed rulers. [69] In 954 Illuib, King Constantine's son, captured Edinburgh, and Anglian power finally crumbled in Scotland when Malcolm II defeated the Northumbrians at the Battle of Carham in 1018 – taking the Scottish frontier to the Tweed. The macho-posturing associated with North East men may be seen today as one of the uglier aspects of the region’s historical hangovers, but learning, literacy and curiosity have also been part of its story through the ages. ‘The greatness of Northumbria in the Dark Ages was based less on its political power than on the distinctive Christian culture that flowered there in art and learning and religious piety’ (9). This emphasis on literacy, exemplified in the medieval period by the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Codex Amiatinus and the work of the Venerable Bede, filters through into the second golden age of Northumbrian history: the great era of the ‘Northumbrian Enlightenment’ and the extraordinary inventiveness of the Industrial Revolution. The macho-posturing associated with North East men may be seen today as one of the uglier aspects of the region’s historical hangovers, but learning, literacy and curiosity have also been part of its story through the ages. ‘The greatness of Northumbria in the Dark Ages was based less on its political power than on the distinctive Christian culture that flowered there in art and learning and religious piety’ (9). This emphasis on literacy, exemplified in the medieval period by the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Codex Amiatinus and the work of the Venerable Bede, filters through into the second golden age of Northumbrian history: the great era of the ‘Northumbrian Enlightenment’ and the extraordinary inventiveness of the Industrial Revolution.

The outcome of the raid

The synthesis of Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian and Christian and Pagan visual motifs within the Danelaw can be illustrated by an examination of stone sculpture. However, the tradition of mixing pagan and Christian motifs is not unique to the Danelaw, and examples of such synthesis can be seen in previous examples, such as the Franks Casket. The Franks Casket, believed to have been produced in Northumbria, includes depictions of Germanic legends and stories of the founding Roman and the Roman Church and is dated to the early eighth century. [113] The Gosforth Cross, dated to the early tenth century, stands at 14 feet (4.4m) and is richly decorated with carvings of mythical beasts, Norse gods, and Christian symbolism. [114] Stone sculpture was not a practice of native Scandinavian culture, and the proliferation of stone monuments within the Danelaw shows the influence that the English had on Viking settlers. On one side of the Gosforth Cross is a depiction of the Crucifixion; whilst on the other are scenes from Ragnarok. The melding of these distinctive religious cultures can further be seen in the depiction of Mary Magdalene as a valkyrie, with a trailing dress and long pigtail. [115] Although one can read the iconography as the triumph of Christianity over paganism, it is possible that in the process of gradual conversion the Vikings might have initially accepted the Christian god as an addition to the broad pantheon of pagan gods. [116] The inclusion of pagan traditions in visual culture reflects the creation of a distinctive Anglo-Scandinavian culture. Consequently, this indicates that conversion not only required a change in belief, but also necessitated its assimilation, integration, and modification into existing cultural structures. [117] Economy [ edit ] Silver sceatta of Aldfrith of Northumbria (686–705). OBVERSE: +AldFRIdUS, pellet-in-annulet; REVERSE: Lion with forked tail standing left. Few histories of North-East England take the grand sweep of time selected by The Northumbrians and few have the range of sources, including poetry, song, art, film and television, analysed succinctly here. The book is arranged thematically rather than chronologically – a decision much to its benefit – and yet this composition still allows for a neat Bede to Brexit structure. Included are chapters on the North East’s medieval past; the martial, fighting tradition prevalent throughout the centuries; the work of the great inventors, scientists, engineers and tinkerers who formed the ‘Northumbrian Enlightenment’; the landscape and architecture (with a walking tour through the ‘Northumbrian Riviera’) of the region; its endemic sociability, hedonism and boisterous drinking culture; and, finally, the current political scene, where the old assumptions about a Labour-voting region are scrutinised. Wood, Ian (2008). "Thrymas, Sceattas and the Cult of the Cross". Two Decades of Discovery. Studies in Early Medieval Coinage. Vol.1. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press. pp.23–30. ISBN 978-1-84383-371-0. The Venerable Bede (673–735) is the most famous author of the Anglo-Saxon Period, and a native of Northumbria. His Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum ( Ecclesiastical History of the English People, completed in 731) has become both a template for later historians and a crucial historical account in its own right, [102] and much of it focuses on Northumbria. [103] [104] He's also famous for his theological works, and verse and prose accounts of holy lives. [105] After the Synod of Whitby, the role of the European continent gained importance in Northumbrian culture. During the end of the eighth century, the scriptorium at Monkwearmouth–Jarrow was producing manuscripts of his works for high demand on the Continent. [106] Bridei is also recorded as having "destroyed" the Orkney Islands in 681, [12] at a time when the Northumbrian church was undergoing major religious reform. It had followed the traditions of the Columban church of Iona until the Synod of Whitby in 664 at which it pledged loyalty to the Roman Church. The Northumbrian diocese was divided and a number of new episcopal sees created. One of these was founded at Abercorn on the south coast of the Firth of Forth, and Trumwine was consecrated as Bishop of the Picts. Bridei, who was enthusiastically involved with the church of Iona, [13] is unlikely to have viewed an encroachment of the Northumbrian-sponsored Roman Church favourably. [14]

Foot, Sarah (12 July 2011). AEthelstan: The First King of England. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-12535-1.Bede (1898). Miller, Thomas (ed.). The Old English Version of Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Early English Text Society. Original series,no. 95-96, 110–111. London: Published for the Early English Text Society by Oxford University Press. hdl: 2027/yale.39002053190329.

Woodman, D.A. (March 2015). "Charters, Northumbria and the Unification of England in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries". Northern History. LII (1). OCLC 60626360.Parsons, Julie (4 May 2002). The First Battle for Scottish Independence: The Battle of Dunnichen, A.D.685 (MA thesis). East Tennessee State University. Succession in Northumbria was hereditary, [70] which left princes whose fathers died before they could come of age particularly susceptible to assassination and usurpation. A noteworthy example of this phenomenon is Osred, whose father Aldfrith died in 705, leaving the young boy to rule. He survived one assassination attempt early in his rule, but fell victim to another assassin at the age of nineteen. During his reign he was adopted by Wilfrid, a powerful bishop. [71] Ecclesiastical influence in the royal court was not an unusual phenomenon in Northumbria, and usually was most visible during the rule of a young or inexperienced king. Similarly, ealdorman, or royal advisors, had periods of increased or decreased power in Northumbria, depending on who was ruling at the time. [72] Angle power was in the ascendant. In 603 they defeated Aedan, Gaelic King of Dál Riata, at the battle of Degsastan. Stevenson, Joseph, ed. (1885). The Historical Works of Simeon of Durham. The Church Historians of England. Vol.3. London: London] Seeleys. pp.425–617.