Honoring King Osric of Deira, 634 ᛦ

King Osric of Deira

King Osric of Deira, the shortest-lived king of any of all the kings of the 7th century CE. King Osric reigned over a collection of kingdoms made up what is now, England. At the time, there were seven kingdoms, known as the Heptarchy. One of those kingdoms was Northumbria, which was originally divided into two kingdoms, Bernicia in the north and Deira to the south. These two kingdoms would first be united during the reign of King Aethelfrith, who reigned from 593 to 616 CE. The two kingdoms were in a near state of war with each other for centuries, which led to instability in the region.

To tell King Osric’s story, we first have to tell the story of King Edwin of Northumbria. King Edwin was the son of Aella, the first known king of Deira. Upon Aella’s death, a certain Aethelric assumed power in Deira. Who Aethelric was is unclear, but he may have been the father of Aethelfrith, who is listed as the King of All Northumbria by the year 604 CE. During the reign of Aethelfrith, for reasons unknown, King Edwin was sent into exile. He was fostered first in the kingdom of Gwynedd, modern day southern Wales. Later, he turned up around 616 CE in East Anglia, under the protection of King Raedwald. That same year, Aethelfrith was defeated in battle by Raedwald, who installed King Edwin as his client king in Northumbria. 

With the support of such a powerful overlord, King Edwin would go on to unite Northumbria again. This put the kingdom under the control of a native of Deira for the first time. King Edwin would go on to take over most of England with Raedwald until the death of Raedwald around 625 CE. 

After Raedwald’s death, Edwin sought the hand of Aethelburg, sister of Eadbald of Kent. Eadbald agreed on the condition that Edwin would convert to Christianity. Believing that doing so would convert the Northumbrians just as his parent’s marriage had converted Kent. Eadbald holds the dubious distinction of being the first Anglo-Saxon king to convert to Christianity. 

In this time of English history faith and religion were tumultuous. Christian monks were converting the kings and other nobility, to have all kings bend the knee to Christendom. Edwin was characterized as being unsure of conversion. Even after his marriage, he still sought the advice of his counselors. The account of this meeting by St. Bede is widely cited and includes the famous story of Coifi, a pagan priest. Coifi, when asked what he thought of the new faith and its rules, stated, “may be worthwhile, since no one has been more dedicated to the old gods, and he has gained no benefit from them.” Another counselor agrees, and Edwin makes his decision to convert. Coifi then destroys the old pagan temple, since he now knows the "true god" has given him knowledge, and doing so will set a good example to the public. He asks for a horse and a spear, rides to the doorway of the temple and profanes it by casting the spear into it. We aren’t given any insight into why this profaned the temple, but there were associations made by historians to connect it with the spear that pierced Jesus. 

King Edwin went on to become the most powerful king among the Anglo-Saxons, until the year 632 CE. One of his foster-brothers from Wales, Cadwallon, and the mighty Ásatrú king, Penda of Mercia, defeated his forces and killed him at the Battle of Hatfield Chase. This battle took place sometime in the autumn of 632 or 633 CE, sources are unsure. Shortly after his death, his vast kingdom was split up, with Northumbria divided. Bernicia would go to his nephew, Eanfrith, son of his sister, Acha. Deira would go to Osric, his cousin, son of his uncle, Aelfric. 

Autumn of 633 CE, King Osric and King Eanfrith ruled their respective sub-kingdoms, having superficially accepting the new faith. According to Bede and other historians, they promptly dropped the facade of being “good Christians,” and reverted back to their native faith, Ásatrú. Their rule would not last a year, with King Osric falling to the same Cadwallon that had helped to slay King Edwin, after he attempted to besiege him in a fortified town.  According to Bede, (Ecclesiastical History of the English People) Kings' Eanfrith and Osric ruled their sub-kingdoms so abhorrently because of their return to Ásatrú their reigns were effectively erased and added to the reign of King Oswald of Bernicia. King Oswald was a staunch convert and was later made a Saint. 

While we don’t know much about the life and thoughts of King Osric, we should still speak his name and remember him. At a time in our history when faith often was a matter of life and death, King Osric chose to spend the brief time that he had in power to reinstate the Æsir to their proper place. 

So let us remember King Osric of Deira, a short-lived champion of the Æsir, but a champion nonetheless!

Hail King Osric of Deira!

Hail the Honored Dead!

Hail Óðinn!