Bernicia ( ang, Bernice, Bryneich, Beornice; la, Bernicia) was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and North East England. The Anglian territory of Bernicia was approximately equivalent to the modern English counties of

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newc ...

, and

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

, as well as the Scottish counties of

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of t ...

and East Lothian, stretching from the Forth to the Tees. In the early 7th century, it merged with its southern neighbour,

Deira Deira ( ; Old Welsh/Cumbric: ''Deywr'' or ''Deifr''; ang, Derenrice or ) was an area of Post-Roman Britain, and a later Anglian kingdom. Etymology The name of the kingdom is of Brythonic origin, and is derived from the Proto-Celtic *''daru' ...

, to form the kingdom of

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

, and its borders subsequently expanded considerably.

Brittonic ''Bryneich''

Etymologies

Bernicia occurs in Old Welsh poetry as ''Bryneich'' or ''Brynaich'' and in the 9th-century ''

Historia Brittonum ''The History of the Britons'' ( la, Historia Brittonum) is a purported history of the indigenous British ( Brittonic) people that was written around 828 and survives in numerous recensions that date from after the 11th century. The ''Historia B ...

'', (§ 61) as ''Berneich'' or ''Birneich''. This was most likely the name of the native

Brittonic Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to: *Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain *Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic *Britons (Celtic people) The Br ...

kingdom , whose name was then adopted by the Anglian settlers who rendered it in

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

as ''Bernice'' or ''Beornice'' . The counter hypothesis suggesting these names represent a Brythonic adaption of an earlier English form is considered less probable . Local linguistic evidence suggests continued political activity in the area before the arrival of the Angles. Important Anglian centres in Bernicia bear names of British origin, or are known by British names elsewhere: Bamburgh is called ''Din Guaire'' in the ''Historia Brittonum''; Dunbar (where Saint Wilfrid was once imprisoned) represents ''Dinbaer''; and the name of Coldingham is given by Bede as ''Coludi urbs'' ("town of Colud"), where ''Colud'' seems to represent the British form, possibly for the hill-fort of St Abb's Head. Analysis of a potential derivation has not produced a consensus. The most commonly cited etymology gives the meaning as "Land of the Mountain Passes" or "Land of the Gaps" (tentatively proposed by

Kenneth H. Jackson Prof Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson CBE FRSE FSA DLitt (1 November 1909 – 20 February 1991) was an English linguistics, linguist and a translator who specialised in the Celtic languages. He demonstrated how the text of the Ulster Cycle of tales, wr ...

). An earlier derivation from the tribal name of the Brigantes has been dismissed as linguistically unsound. In 1997 John T. Koch suggested the conflation of a probable primary form *''Bernech'' with the native form *''Brïγent'' for the old ''civitas Brigantum'' as a result of Anglian expansion in that territory during the 7th century.

Political history and memory

The Brythonic kingdom of the area was formed from what had once been the southern lands of the Votadini, possibly as part of the division of a supposed 'great northern realm' of

Coel Hen Coel (Old Welsh: ''Coil''), also called ''Coel Hen'' (Coel the Old) and King Cole, is a figure prominent in Welsh literature and legend since the Middle Ages. Early Welsh tradition knew of a Coel Hen, a 4th-century leader in Roman or Sub-Roman ...

in c. AD 420. This northern realm is referred to by Welsh scholars as ''Yr

Hen Ogledd Yr Hen Ogledd (), in English the Old North, is the historical region which is now Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands that was inhabited by the Brittonic people of sub-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages. Its population sp ...

'' or, literally, "The Old North". The kingdom may have been ruled from the site that later became the English Bamburgh, which certainly features in Welsh sources as ''Din Guardi''. Near this high-status residence lay the island of Lindisfarne (formerly known, in Welsh, as ''Ynys Metcaut''), which became the seat of the Bernician bishops. It is unknown when the Angles finally conquered the whole region, but around 604 is likely.

Kings of British Bryneich

There are several Old Welsh pedigrees of princely "

Men of the North ''Men of the North'' is a 1930 American Western film directed by Hal Roach and written by Richard Schayer from a story by Willard Mack. The film stars Gilbert Roland, Barbara Leonard, Arnold Korff, Robert Elliott and George Davis. The film wa ...

" (''Gwŷr y Gogledd'') that may represent the kings of the British kingdom in the area, which may have been called ''Bryneich''. John Morris surmised that the line of a certain

Morcant Bulc Morcant Bulc was a Britons (historical), Brythonic prince, probably a king, from Northern Sub-Roman Britain, Britain, during the period between the end of the Roman Empire and the establishment of an English people, English state during the early ...

referred to these monarchs, chiefly because he identified this man as the murderer of

Urien Rheged Urien (; ), often referred to as Urien Rheged or Uriens, was a late 6th-century king of Rheged, an early British kingdom of the Hen Ogledd (today's northern England and southern Scotland) of the House of Rheged. His power and his victories, ...

who was, at the time, besieging Lindisfarne.

English Bernicia

Some of the

Angles The Angles ( ang, Ængle, ; la, Angli) were one of the main Germanic peoples who settled in Great Britain in the post-Roman period. They founded several kingdoms of the Heptarchy in Anglo-Saxon England. Their name is the root of the name ...

of Bernicia ( ang, Beornice) may have been employed as mercenaries along Hadrian's Wall during the late Roman period. Others are thought to have migrated north (by sea) from

( ang, Derenrice or ''Dere'') in the early 6th century. The first Anglian king in the historical record is Ida, who is said to have obtained the throne and the kingdom about 547. His sons spent many years fighting a united force from the surrounding Brythonic kingdoms until their alliance collapsed into civil war.

A forcibly united Northumbria

Ida's grandson,

Æthelfrith Æthelfrith (died c. 616) was King of Bernicia from c. 593 until his death. Around 604 he became the first Bernician king to also rule the neighboring land of Deira, giving him an important place in the development of the later kingdom of Nor ...

(Æðelfriþ), united

with his own kingdom by force around the year 604. He ruled the two kingdoms (united as Northumbria) until he was defeated and killed by

Rædwald of East Anglia Rædwald ( ang, Rædwald, ; 'power in counsel'), also written as Raedwald or Redwald (), was a king of East Anglia, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom which included the present-day English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. He was the son of Tytila of East ...

(who had given refuge to Edwin, son of Ælle, king of Deira) around the year 616. Edwin then became king. The early part of Edwin's reign was possibly spent fighting enemies from the Brythonic exiles of the old British kingdom, operating out of

Gododdin The Gododdin () were a Brittonic people of north-eastern Britannia, the area known as the Hen Ogledd or Old North (modern south-east Scotland and north-east England), in the sub-Roman period. Descendants of the Votadini, they are best known ...

. After this, it is said that on Easter Day 627 that Edwin converted to Christianity in return for Elmet (a

Cumbric Cumbric was a variety of the Common Brittonic language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" in what is now the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland and northern Lancashire in Northern England and the souther ...

-speaking kingdom that once existed in the modern-day

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, near

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

), joining the kingdom of Northumbria; which drew him into direct conflict with Wales proper. Following the disastrous

Battle of Hatfield Chase The Battle of Hatfield Chase ( ang, Hæðfeld; owl, Meigen) was fought on 12 October 633 at Hatfield Chase near Doncaster (today part of South Yorkshire, England). It pitted the Northumbrians against an alliance of Gwynedd and Mercia. The Nort ...

on 12 October 633, in which Edwin was defeated and killed by

Cadwallon ap Cadfan Cadwallon ap Cadfan (died 634A difference in the interpretation of Bede's dates has led to the question of whether Cadwallon was killed in 634 or the year earlier, 633. Cadwallon died in the year after the Battle of Hatfield Chase, which Bede rep ...

of Gwynedd and

Penda of Mercia Penda (died 15 November 655)Manuscript A of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' gives the year as 655. Bede also gives the year as 655 and specifies a date, 15 November. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology and History'', 1934) put forward the theor ...

, Northumbria was divided back into Bernicia and Deira. Bernicia was then briefly ruled by Eanfrith, son of Æthelfrith, but after about a year he went to Cadwallon to sue for peace and was killed. Eanfrith's brother

Oswald Oswald may refer to: People *Oswald (given name), including a list of people with the name *Oswald (surname), including a list of people with the name Fictional characters *Oswald the Reeve, who tells a tale in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbur ...

then raised an army and finally defeated Cadwallon at the Battle of Heavenfield in 634. After this victory, Oswald appears to have been recognised by both Bernicians and Deirans as king of a properly united Northumbria. The kings of Bernicia were thereafter supreme in that kingdom, although Deira had its own sub-kings at times during the reigns of

Oswiu Oswiu, also known as Oswy or Oswig ( ang, Ōswīg; c. 612 – 15 February 670), was King of Bernicia from 642 and of Northumbria from 654 until his death. He is notable for his role at the Synod of Whitby in 664, which ultimately brought the chu ...

and his son Ecgfrith.

Rump of Northumbria, 866–973

After the decisive defeat of Northumbrian forces by the Viking

Great Heathen Army The Great Heathen Army,; da, Store Hedenske Hær also known as the Viking Great Army,Hadley. "The Winter Camp of the Viking Great Army, AD 872–3, Torksey, Lincolnshire", ''Antiquaries Journal''. 96, pp. 23–67 was a coalition of Scandin ...

, at York in 867, the united Kingdom of Northumbria disintegrated. Most of Bernicia remained a ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' independent kingdom called Bamburgh after the stronghold of its high-reeves. In 927 Ealdred accepted West Saxon overlordship, but Bamburgh periodically regained ''de facto'' independence in periods when Wessex lost control of the south Northumbrian Viking

Kingdom of York Scandinavian York ( non, Jórvík) Viking Yorkshire or Norwegian York is a term used by historians for the south of Northumbria (modern-day Yorkshire) during the period of the late 9th century and first half of the 10th century, when it was do ...

until England was permanently united in 954. In 973, Scots sovereignty over northern Bernicia, now known as Lothian, was acknowledged by Edgar of England.

Kings of Bernicia

(see also

List of monarchs of Northumbria Northumbria, a kingdom of Angles, in what is now northern England and south-east Scotland, was initially divided into two kingdoms: Bernicia and Deira. The two were first united by king Æthelfrith around the year 604, and except for occasional ...

) * Ida, son of Eoppa (547–559) * Glappa, possibly Ida's brother (559–560) * Adda, son of Ida (560–568) * Æthelric, son of Ida (568–572) * Theodric, son of Ida (572–579) * Frithuwald, possibly Adda's son (579–585) * Hussa, possibly Adda's son (585–593) *

, son of Æthelric (593–616) Under

n rule 616–633) *

Eanfrith of Bernicia Eanfrith (590–634Bede's dates are usually taken as he gives them, but some historians have treated these dates as being one year earlier, based on the idea that Bede did not start his years at the same time as modern years are started, so by thi ...

, son of Æthelfrith (633–634) Under Oswald son of Æthelfrith, Bernicia was united with

to form

from 634 onward until the

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

invasion of the 9th Century.

Notes

References

* Bede, '' Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum''. * Jackson, Kenneth H. (1953). ''Language and History in Early Britain''. Edinburgh University Press. * Jackson, Kenneth H. (1969). ''The Gododdin: The Oldest Scottish poem''. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. * Koch, John T. (1997). ''The Gododdin of Aneurin: Text and context from Dark-Age North Britain''. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. * Rollason, David W. (2003). ''Northumbria, 500–1100: Creation and Destruction of a Kingdom''. Cambridge. .