Osred I (c. 697 – 716) was king of Northumbria from 705 until his death. He was the son of King Aldfrith of Northumbria. Aldfrith's only known wife was Cuthburh, but it is not known for certain whether Osred was her son. Osred did not directly succeed his father as Eadwulf I seized the throne, but held it for only a few months.
At the time that the usurper Eadwulf was overthrown, Osred was only a child, and the government was controlled by the powerful Bishop Wilfrid, presumably assisted by ealdormen such as Berhtfrith son of Berhtred. Osred was adopted as Wilfrid's son at this time. Wilfrid's death in 709 appears to have caused no instability at the time, which, together with the rapid rise and more rapid fall of Eadwulf, speaks to a degree of stability and continuity in early 8th century Northumbria which would not long outlast Osred's reign.
In 711 ealdorman Berhtfrith inflicted a crushing defeat on the Picts, in the area around the upper Forth, but the reign of Osred is otherwise unremarkable politically. Domestically, a variety of ecclesiastical sources portray Osred as a dissolute and debauched young man, and a seducer of nuns. While Bede positively referred to Osred as a new Josiah, Aethelwulf's early ninth-century poem De Abbatibus describes Osred as energetic in deeds and words, mighty in arms and bold in his own strength. Æthelwulf also refers to Osred as rash, foolish, and unable to control his desires (ll. 35–51) and also as a tyrant who forced many political enemies into monastic communities (ll. 49-51 and 65).
Osred reached his majority in 715 or 716, and within a very short period he was killed. The manner of his death is unclear. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states that he was killed "south of the border". David Rollason and N.J. Higham presume that the border in question is the southern Pictish border, and that the Picts slew Osred.
Referencesedit
Higham, N.J., The Kingdom of Northumbria AD 350–1100. Stroud: Sutton, 1993. ISBN978-0-86299-730-4
Rollason, David (2004). "Osred I (696x8–716)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/20903. Retrieved 2007-08-20. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
Campbell, Alistair. De abbatibus. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967.
osred, northumbria, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, uncle. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations February 2014 Learn how and when to remove this message This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Osred I of Northumbria news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2014 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message Osred I c 697 716 was king of Northumbria from 705 until his death He was the son of King Aldfrith of Northumbria Aldfrith s only known wife was Cuthburh but it is not known for certain whether Osred was her son Osred did not directly succeed his father as Eadwulf I seized the throne but held it for only a few months Osred IKing of NorthumbriaReign705 716PredecessorEadwulf I of NorthumbriaSuccessorCoenredBornc 697Died716 aged 18 19 FatherAldfrith of NorthumbriaMotherCuthburh At the time that the usurper Eadwulf was overthrown Osred was only a child and the government was controlled by the powerful Bishop Wilfrid presumably assisted by ealdormen such as Berhtfrith son of Berhtred Osred was adopted as Wilfrid s son at this time Wilfrid s death in 709 appears to have caused no instability at the time which together with the rapid rise and more rapid fall of Eadwulf speaks to a degree of stability and continuity in early 8th century Northumbria which would not long outlast Osred s reign In 711 ealdorman Berhtfrith inflicted a crushing defeat on the Picts in the area around the upper Forth but the reign of Osred is otherwise unremarkable politically Domestically a variety of ecclesiastical sources portray Osred as a dissolute and debauched young man and a seducer of nuns While Bede positively referred to Osred as a new Josiah Aethelwulf s early ninth century poem De Abbatibus describes Osred as energetic in deeds and words mighty in arms and bold in his own strength AEthelwulf also refers to Osred as rash foolish and unable to control his desires ll 35 51 and also as a tyrant who forced many political enemies into monastic communities ll 49 51 and 65 Osred reached his majority in 715 or 716 and within a very short period he was killed The manner of his death is unclear The Anglo Saxon Chronicle states that he was killed south of the border David Rollason and N J Higham presume that the border in question is the southern Pictish border and that the Picts slew Osred References editHigham N J The Kingdom of Northumbria AD 350 1100 Stroud Sutton 1993 ISBN 978 0 86299 730 4 Rollason David 2004 Osred I 696x8 716 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 20903 Retrieved 2007 08 20 Subscription or UK public library membership required Campbell Alistair De abbatibus Oxford Clarendon Press 1967 External links editOsred 1 at Prosopography of Anglo Saxon England Preceded byEadwulf King of Northumbria Succeeded byCoenred Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Osred I of Northumbria amp oldid 1219454309, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
