Osred I of Northumbria

Osred (born c. 697, died 716) was king of Northumbria from 705 until his death. He was the son of Aldfrith of Northumbria. He did not directly succeed his father as Eadwulf seized the throne, but held it for only a few months. The manner of Osred's death is unknown.

After the overthrow of the usurper Eadwulf, Osred was only a child, and the government was exercised by the overmighty Bishop Wilfrid, presumably assisted by ealdormen such as Berhtfrith son of Berhtred. Wilfrid's death in 709 appears to have caused no instability at the time, which, together with the rapid rise and more rapid fall of Eadwulf, speaks to a degree of stability and continuity in early 8th century Northumbria which would not long outlast Osred's reign.

In 711 ealdorman Berhtfrith inflicted a crushing defeat on the Picts, in the area around the upper Forth, but the reign of Osred is otherwise unremarkable politically. Domestically, a variety of eccelsiatical sources portray Osred as a dissolute and debauched young man, and a seducer of nuns. More positively, Aethelwulf's De Abbatibus describes Osred as energetic in deeds and words, mighty in arms and bold in his own strength.

Osred reached his majority in 715 or 716, and within a very short period he was killed. The manner of his death is unclear. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states only

Her Osred Norðanhymbra cininga wærð ofslagen be suðan gemære.

N.J. Higham presumes that the border is question is the southern Pictish border, and that the Picts slew Osred. Henry of Huntingdon appears to write that he died in a war with Mercia, which is on Northumbria's southern frontier. William of Malmesbury claims he died as result of "the hostility of his relations" and John of Fordun, writing much later, expands on this, telling that Osred was slain by Coenred, who succeeded him, and Osric, said by Symeon of Durham to be another son of Aldfrith. Bede says little, but he wrote in the reign of Coenred's brother.

Whatever the manner of his life, Osred's death can be seen in hindsight as the beginning of a long time of troubles for Northumbria, which would last until the Vikings ended the kingdom in 867.

Osred I of Northumbria

Further reading