Killing of Ælfwald I of Northumbria, 788

Who Fought

History & Significance

Æthelred (; c. 762 – 18 April 796), was the king of Northumbria from 774 to 779 and again from 790 until he was murdered in 796. He was the son of Æthelwald Moll and Æthelthryth and possibly became king while still a child after Alhred was deposed.

The origin of Æthelred's family isn't recorded, but his father Æthelwald, who was also called Moll, seems to have come from a noble background. Æthelwald first appears in the historical records in a letter written by Pope Paul I to king Eadberht, ordering him to return lands taken from an Abbot Fothred, which were given to his brother Moll. After the abdication of king Eadberht in 758, his son Oswulf took his place but despite his father's long reign and his powerful uncle Ecgbert, he was murdered just a year later in 759 at Market Weighton by his own bodyguards. The murder was possibly ordered by Æthelwald as he became king soon after. In 761 Oswulf's brother Oswine met Æthelwald in battle but Oswine was killed in the fighting at Eildon Hill on 6 August.

After his victory, Æthelwald married Æthelthryth at Catterick on 1 November 762. Æthelwald was deposed as king on 30 October 765, by a council of noblemen and prelates, and replaced by Alhred, the brother-in-law of Oswulf and Oswine.

After ruling for nearly ten years, the Northumbrians drove out King Alhred from York in 774. They then chose Æthelred as their king and he was "crowned with such great honour". In the year after his accession Æthelred, who may have been influenced by his father Æthelwald, ordered the killing of an Ealdorman, Eadwulf.

Æthelred was deposed as king and the throne passed on to Ælfwald, a grandson of Eadberht Eating.

Æthelred lived in exile during the reign of Ælfwald and his successor Osred II. However, in 788 or 789, Osred was deposed, forcibly tonsured and exiled and Æthelred was restored to the throne.

In 790, during Æthelred's second reign, the ealdorman Eardwulf was ordered to be killed by Æthelred but survived and later became king. Ælfwald's sons Ælf and Ælfwine were killed, probably on Æthelred's orders, in 791. The next year Osred attempted to regain the throne, but was defeated, captured and killed on 14 September 792. A year later, Lindisfarne was sacked by the Vikings with Alcuin's letters to Æthelred blaming this event on the sins of Æthelred and his nobility.

On 29 September 792 Æthelred married Ælfflæd the daughter of Offa of Mercia at Catterick.

While Æthelred was in Corbridge a group of conspiring nobles murdered him on 18 April 796. As a result, Osbald, an ealdorman and a friend of Alcuin, Æthelred's former adviser, became king, but within 27 days he abdicated.

The ground they fought on

The site of Killing of Ælfwald I of Northumbria, 788 lies on Yoredale Group, bedrock that formed in the Bashkirian. The rock here is limestone with subordinate sandstone and argillaceous rocks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scheduled Monuments near Killing of Ælfwald I of Northumbria, 788

Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the road to Simonburn and the field boundary east of Carrawburgh car park in wall miles 29, 30 and 31

Scheduled monument · ~1.2 mi

Hadrian's Wall is a Roman frontier barrier constructed in the second century AD under the Emperor Hadrian to mark and defend the northern boundary of the Roman province of Britannia. This section, spanning wall miles 29, 30 and 31 near Carrawburgh in Northumberland, preserves substantial remains…

Victuallers / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Romano-British farmstead, 210m south east of Walwick Fell

Scheduled monument · ~1.5 mi

Romano-British farmstead, 210m south east of Walwick Fell is a rural settlement dating to the Roman period in northern Britain. The site is located in Northumberland, positioned in the upland landscape south east of Walwick Fell, and represents the archaeological evidence of agricultural occupati…

Fishponds, 250m north west of Walwick Grange Farm

Scheduled monument · ~2.5 mi

Fishponds, located 250 metres north west of Walwick Grange Farm near Hexham in Northumberland, is a series of medieval water management features. The site comprises a series of interconnected pond systems, characteristic of medieval monastic or manorial agricultural practice, likely dating to the…

Simonburn Castle tower house

Scheduled monument · ~2.5 mi

Simonburn Castle is a tower house situated in the parish of Simonburn in Northumberland, likely constructed in the fourteenth or fifteenth century during the late medieval period. The structure represents a characteristic defensive residence of the Anglo-Scottish Border region, built at a time wh…

Les Hull / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Hillfort on Warden Hill, 1km north-west of High Warden

Scheduled monument · ~2.7 mi

Hillfort on Warden Hill is an ancient fortified settlement located approximately one kilometre north-west of High Warden in Northumberland. The site comprises a univallate hillfort, defined by a single defensive bank and ditch, characteristic of Iron Age fortifications in northern England, though…

Mike Quinn / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

The Roman fort, vicus, bridge abutments and associated remains of Hadrian's Wall at Chesters in wall mile 27

Scheduled monument · ~2.8 mi

Chesters is a auxiliary Roman fort constructed during the second century AD as part of Hadrian's Wall frontier system in northern Britain. The fort, positioned at wall mile 27 and strategically sited to command the crossing of the North Tyne River, functioned primarily as a cavalry installation g…

mattbuck (category) / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons

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• Æthelred I of Northumbria · Wikipedia
• Eardwulf of Northumbria · Wikipedia