After the initial capture of York in November 866, the two rival Northumbrian kings — Osberht and Aelle — put aside their civil war and combined their forces to retake the city on 21 March 867 (Palm Sunday). They breached the walls but were overwhelmed fighting inside. Both kings were killed; Aelle's death was later associated with the "blood eagle" legend. This defeat ended the Northumbrian kingdom as an independent English realm.
Both Northumbrian kings killed; heavy Northumbrian losses
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