Article of the day for May 14, 2016
The Article of the day for May 14, 2016 is Eardwulf of Northumbria.
Eardwulf was king of Northumbria from 796 until at least 806. Northumbria in the last years of the eighth century was the scene of dynastic strife between several noble families, and in 790, Æthelred I attempted to have Eardwulf assassinated. Æthelred himself was assassinated in 796. The reign of his successor Osbald lasted only twenty-seven days before he was deposed, and Eardwulf became king on 14 May 796. In 798 Eardwulf fought a battle at Billington Moor against a nobleman named Wada, who had been one of those responsible for King Æthelred's death; Wada was defeated and driven into exile. In 801 Eardwulf led an army against Coenwulf of Mercia, perhaps because of Coenwulf's support for other claimants to the Northumbrian throne. Eardwulf was deposed in 806. According to a Frankish source, he returned to his kingdom in 808, but no record has survived of his death or the end of his reign. He was possibly buried at the Mercian royal monastery of Breedon on the Hill, which carries a dedication to Saint Mary and Saint Hardulph, identified as Eardwulf by several historians.
Eardwulf was king of Northumbria from 796 until at least 806. Northumbria in the last years of the eighth century was the scene of dynastic strife between several noble families, and in 790, Æthelred I attempted to have Eardwulf assassinated. Æthelred himself was assassinated in 796. The reign of his successor Osbald lasted only twenty-seven days before he was deposed, and Eardwulf became king on 14 May 796. In 798 Eardwulf fought a battle at Billington Moor against a nobleman named Wada, who had been one of those responsible for King Æthelred's death; Wada was defeated and driven into exile. In 801 Eardwulf led an army against Coenwulf of Mercia, perhaps because of Coenwulf's support for other claimants to the Northumbrian throne. Eardwulf was deposed in 806. According to a Frankish source, he returned to his kingdom in 808, but no record has survived of his death or the end of his reign. He was possibly buried at the Mercian royal monastery of Breedon on the Hill, which carries a dedication to Saint Mary and Saint Hardulph, identified as Eardwulf by several historians.
