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Ecgfrith (/ ˈ ɛ dʒ f r ɪ ð /; Old English: Ecgfrið [ˈedʒfrið]; c. 645 – 20 May 685) was the King of Northumbria from 670 until his death on 20 May 685. He ruled over Northumbria when it was at the height of its power, but his reign ended with a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Nechtansmere against the Picts of Fortriu in which he lost his life.
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 periods of division over the subsequent century, they remained so.
She was the second wife of Ecgfrith of Northumbria, [2] who was King of Deira (a sub-kingdom of Northumbria, 664 to 670) then King of Northumbria (670 to 685). They married after the dissolution of his unconsummated marriage to Æthelthryth , daughter of Anna of East Anglia and Sæwara. [ 3 ]
Historians do not agree on Ecgberht's ancestry. The earliest version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Parker Chronicle, begins with a genealogical preface tracing the ancestry of Ecgberht's son Æthelwulf back through Ecgberht, Ealhmund (thought to be king Ealhmund of Kent), and the otherwise unknown Eafa and Eoppa to Ingild, brother of King Ine of Wessex, who abdicated the throne in 726.
Bede states that after the death of King Cenwalh: "his under-rulers took upon them the kingdom of the people, and dividing it among themselves, held it ten years". [1] Bede's dismissal of Æscwine and Centwine as merely sub-kings may represent the views of the supporters of the King Ine, whose family ruled Wessex in Bede's time. [2]
Ecgfrith succeeded Oswiu as king of Northumbria in 670. Ecgfrith's kingdom was said to have been 'weak' on his ascent to the throne. In 671, word reached Ecgfrith that the Picts, under the command of the Verturian king Drest mac Donuel, were preparing to rebel and overthrow the Northumbrian hegemony. [6]
Also King of Northumbria (655–670). 15 Feb 670 ... and King of Wessex about 16 days later. 27 Oct 939 Eadgar: ... Ecgfrith King of Mercia r.796: Eadburh
The King left Wessex in the care of his oldest surviving son, Æthelbald, and the sub-kingdom of Kent to the rule of Æthelberht, and thereby confirmed that they were to succeed to the two kingdoms. [25] On the way the party stayed with Charles the Bald in Francia, where there were the usual banquets and exchange of gifts.