Deira was a kingdom in
Northern EnglandNorthern England, also known as the North of England, or simply The North is a cultural region or identity of England in the United Kingdom. It is not a government administrative region, but rather an amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the...
during the 6th century AD. It
extended from the
HumberThe Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal River Ouse and the tidal River Trent. From here to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire on the north bank...
to the
TeesThe Tees is a river in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the Pennines, and flows eastwards for about 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar. It drains an area of 708 square miles and subsumes no important tributaries...
, and from the sea to the western edge of the
Vale of YorkThe Vale of York is an area of flat land in the north-east of England. The vale is a major agricultural area and serves as the main north-south transport corridor for northern England....
. It
later merged with the kingdom of
BerniciaBernicia was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England....
to the north to form the kingdom of
NorthumbriaNorthumbria or Northhumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now north-east England and southern Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory: the Humber...
.
The name of the kingdom is of
BrythonicBritish or Brythonic was an ancient Brythonic language spoken throughout the island of Britain, south of the Firth of Forth....
origin, perhaps from
Deifr, meaning "waters", or from
Daru, meaning "oak", in which case it would mean "the people of the
DerwentThe Derwent is a river in Yorkshire in the north of England. It is used for water abstraction, leisure and sporting activities and effluent disposal as well as being of significant importance as the site of several nature reserves...
", a derivation also found in the Latin name for
MaltonMalton is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The town is the location of the offices of Ryedale District Council and has a population of around 4,000 people....
,
Derventio.
According to Simeon of Durham it extended from the
HumberThe Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal River Ouse and the tidal River Trent. From here to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire on the north bank...
to the
TyneThe River Tyne is a river in northeast England. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'....
, but the land was waste north of the
TeesThe Tees is a river in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the Pennines, and flows eastwards for about 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar. It drains an area of 708 square miles and subsumes no important tributaries...
.
Deira was a kingdom in
Northern EnglandNorthern England, also known as the North of England, or simply The North is a cultural region or identity of England in the United Kingdom. It is not a government administrative region, but rather an amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the...
during the 6th century AD. It
extended from the
HumberThe Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal River Ouse and the tidal River Trent. From here to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire on the north bank...
to the
TeesThe Tees is a river in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the Pennines, and flows eastwards for about 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar. It drains an area of 708 square miles and subsumes no important tributaries...
, and from the sea to the western edge of the
Vale of YorkThe Vale of York is an area of flat land in the north-east of England. The vale is a major agricultural area and serves as the main north-south transport corridor for northern England....
. It
later merged with the kingdom of
BerniciaBernicia was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England....
to the north to form the kingdom of
NorthumbriaNorthumbria or Northhumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now north-east England and southern Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory: the Humber...
.
The name of the kingdom is of
BrythonicBritish or Brythonic was an ancient Brythonic language spoken throughout the island of Britain, south of the Firth of Forth....
origin, perhaps from
Deifr, meaning "waters", or from
Daru, meaning "oak", in which case it would mean "the people of the
DerwentThe Derwent is a river in Yorkshire in the north of England. It is used for water abstraction, leisure and sporting activities and effluent disposal as well as being of significant importance as the site of several nature reserves...
", a derivation also found in the Latin name for
MaltonMalton is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The town is the location of the offices of Ryedale District Council and has a population of around 4,000 people....
,
Derventio.
According to Simeon of Durham it extended from the
HumberThe Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal River Ouse and the tidal River Trent. From here to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire on the north bank...
to the
TyneThe River Tyne is a river in northeast England. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'....
, but the land was waste north of the
TeesThe Tees is a river in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the Pennines, and flows eastwards for about 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar. It drains an area of 708 square miles and subsumes no important tributaries...
. After the Brythonic kingdom centered around
Eboracum, which may have been called
EbraucEbrauc is the suggested name for a Brythonic kingdom of sub-Roman Britain, based on the city of York. This city was called by the Brythonic name of Caer Ebrauc in Nennius’s Historia Britonum. It is derived from the Roman name, Eboracum...
, was taken by Edwin, the city of
Eboracum became its capital and was called
Eoforwic (
boar-place) by the Angles. Before this it is likely that the capital would have been at or near
PocklingtonPocklington is a small market town and civil parish situated at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, approximately east of York....
.
The first Deiran
AnglianThe Angles is a modern English word for a Germanic-speaking people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...
king of whom we have any record is
ÆllaÆlla , is the first known king of Deira. One of his sons was Edwin of Northumbria and his daughter Acha married Æthelfrith of Bernicia....
, who flourished in the later 6th century after conquering the realm from the Britons in 581. After his death, Deira was subject to king Æthelfrith of Bernicia, who united the two kingdoms into Northumbria. Æthelfrith ruled until the accession of Ælla's son
EdwinSaint Edwin was the King of Deira and Bernicia - which would later become known as Northumbria - from about 616 until his death...
, in 616 or 617, who also ruled both kingdoms until 633.
OsricOsric was a King of Deira in northern England. He was a cousin of king Edwin of Northumbria, being the son of Edwin's uncle Aelfric...
, the nephew of Edwin, ruled Deira after Edwin, but his son
OswineOswine or Osuine was a King of Deira in northern England. He succeeded King Oswald of Northumbria, probably around the year 644, after Oswald's death at the Battle of Maserfield. Oswine was the son of Osric....
was put to death by
OswiuOswiu , also known as Oswy or Oswig , was King of Bernicia. His father, Æthelfrith of Bernicia, was killed in battle, fighting against Rædwald, King of the East Angles and Edwin of Deira at the River Idle in 616...
in 651. For a few years subsequently Deira was governed by Æthelwald son of Oswald of Bernicia.
BedeBede , also Saint Bede, the Venerable Bede, or Beda , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria.He is well known as an author and...
wrote of Deira in his
Historia EcclesiasticaThe Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum is a work in Latin by Bede on the history of the Church in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict between Roman and Celtic Christianity.It is considered to be one of the most important original references on Anglo-Saxon history...
.
Kings of Deira
| Reign |
Incumbent |
|
Notes |
| 559/560 to 589 |
Aella Ælla , is the first known king of Deira. One of his sons was Edwin of Northumbria and his daughter Acha married Æthelfrith of Bernicia....
(Aelli) |
ÆLLA YFFING DEIRA CYNING
ÆLLA REX DEIRA |
|
| 589/599 to 604 |
Aethelric Æthelric was supposedly a King of Deira . He is thought to have succeeded Ælla of Deira, but his existence is historically obscure....
(Aedilric) |
ÆÞELRIC IDING BERNICIA 7 DEIRA CYNING
ÆÞELRIC REX BERNICIA ET DEIRA |
|
| Bernician Dynasty |
| 593/604? to 616 |
Aethelfrith |
ÆÞELFERÞ ÆÞELRICING DEIRA CYNING
ÆÞELFERÞ REX DEIRA |
Killed in battle |
| Deira Dynasty |
| 616 to 12/14 October 632 - Asia :* Annular eclipse of the sun on January 27* December – Abu Bakr defeats Mosailima in the Battle of Akraba.* Queen Seondeok is crowned in Korea.* Yazdgird III starts to rule in Persia.* Ridda Wars begins- Religion :...
|
EdwinSaint Edwin was the King of Deira and Bernicia - which would later become known as Northumbria - from about 616 until his death...
|
EDVVIN ÆLLING BERNICIA 7 DEIRA CYNING
EDVVIN REX BERNICIA ET DEIRA |
Killed in battle by Cadwallon of Gwynedd Cadwallon ap Cadfan was the King of Gwynedd from around 625 until his death in battle. The son and successor of Cadfan ap Iago, he is best remembered as the King of the Britons who devastated Northumbria, defeating and killing its king, Edwin, prior to his own death in battle against Oswald of...
and Penda of MerciaPenda was a 7th-century King of Mercia, a kingdom in what is today the English Midlands. A pagan at a time when Christianity was taking hold in many of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Penda participated in the defeat of the powerful Northumbrian king Edwin at the Battle of Hatfield Chase in 633...
|
| late 633 to summer 634 |
Osric Osric was a King of Deira in northern England. He was a cousin of king Edwin of Northumbria, being the son of Edwin's uncle Aelfric...
|
OSRIC ÆLFRICING DEIRA CYNING
OSRIC REX DEIRA |
|
| 633 to 5 August 642 -Europe:* August 5—In the Battle of Maserfield, Penda, king of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald, king of Bernicia.* Batbayan succeeds Kubrat as ruler of the Bulgars .-Africa:...
|
OswaldOswald was King of Northumbria from 634 until his death, and is now venerated as a Christian saint. He was the son of Æthelfrith of Bernicia and came to rule after spending a period in exile; after defeating the British ruler Cadwallon ap Cadfan, Oswald brought the two Northumbrian kingdoms of...
|
OSVVALD BERNICIA 7 DEIRA CYNING
OSVVALD REX BERNICIA ET DEIRA |
Killed by Penda Penda was a 7th-century King of Mercia, a kingdom in what is today the English Midlands. A pagan at a time when Christianity was taking hold in many of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Penda participated in the defeat of the powerful Northumbrian king Edwin at the Battle of Hatfield Chase in 633...
, King of Mercia; Saint Oswald |
| 642 to 644 |
OswiuOswiu , also known as Oswy or Oswig , was King of Bernicia. His father, Æthelfrith of Bernicia, was killed in battle, fighting against Rædwald, King of the East Angles and Edwin of Deira at the River Idle in 616...
|
OSVVIO ÆÞELFRIÞING BERNICIA 7 DEIRA CYNING
OSVVIO REX BERNICIA ET DEIRA |
|
| 644 to 651 |
OswineOswine or Osuine was a King of Deira in northern England. He succeeded King Oswald of Northumbria, probably around the year 644, after Oswald's death at the Battle of Maserfield. Oswine was the son of Osric....
|
OSVVINE OSRICING DEIRA CYNING
OSVVINE REX DEIRA |
Murdered |
| summer 651 to late 654 or 655 |
Æthelwold Œthelwald was a King of Deira . He was the son of King Oswald of Northumbria, who was killed at the Battle of Maserfield in 642....
|
ÆÞELVVALD OSVVALDING DEIRA CYNING
ÆÞELVVALD REX DEIRA |
|
| 654 to 15 August 670 670 was a year of the 7th century.-Europe:* On the death of his brother Clotaire, Childeric II becomes king of all of the Frankish kingdoms .-Asia:* The Kingdom of Khotan is conquered by Tibet....
|
OswiuOswiu , also known as Oswy or Oswig , was King of Bernicia. His father, Æthelfrith of Bernicia, was killed in battle, fighting against Rædwald, King of the East Angles and Edwin of Deira at the River Idle in 616...
|
OSVVIO ÆÞELFERÞING NORÞANHYMBRA CYNING
OSVVIO REX NORÞANHYMBRA |
Restored |
| 656 to 664 |
Alchfrith Alhfrith or Ealhfrith was a son of King Oswiu of Northumbria and Rieinmelth of Rheged.In around 655 Alhfrith was appointed by his father as sub-king of Deira, the southern part of the Northumbrian kingdom. He replaced his cousin Æthelwold, who had supported Oswiu's enemy Penda of Mercia in the...
|
ALCHFRIÞ DEIRA CYNING
ALCHFRIÞ REX DEIRA |
|
| 670 to 679 |
Aelfwine Ælfwine was the King of Deira from 670 to 679. He was a son of Oswiu of Northumbria and a brother of Ecgfrith of Northumbria.After the succession of Ecgfrith as king of Northumbria in 670, he made Aelfwine king of the sub-kingdom of Deira. Aelfwine was still a boy at the time, and the title may...
|
ÆLFVVINE DEIRA CYNING
ÆLFVVINE REX DEIRA |
|
Further reading
- Geake, Helen & Joanthan Kenny (eds.) (2000). Early Deira: Archaeological studies of the East Riding in the fourth to ninth centuries AD. Oxford: Oxbow. ISBN 1-9001-8890-2
- Higham, N.J. (1993). The Kingdom of Northumbria AD 350-1100. Stroud: Sutton. ISBN 0-8629-9730-5