Osric was a king of the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

kingdom of the

Hwicce Hwicce () was a tribal kingdom in Anglo-Saxon England. According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', the kingdom was established in 577, after the Battle of Deorham. After 628, the kingdom became a client or sub-kingdom of Mercia as a result of the ...

in the late

7th century The 7th century is the period from 601 ( DCI) through 700 ( DCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Common Era. The spread of Islam and the Muslim conquests began with the unification of Arabia by Muhammad starting in 622. After Muh ...

, perhaps reigning jointly with his presumed brother

Oshere Oshere (fl. 690s) was king of the Hwicce, an Anglo-Saxon tribe occupying land in what later became Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. A member of the royal house of Northumbria, Oshere was a sub-king to Æthelred, king of Mercia (d. c 709) ...

. Osric was probably a son of

Eanhere Eanhere was a possible ruler of Hwicce, one of the Anglo Saxon kingdoms of England, maybe reigning jointly with his brother Eanfrith. His niece, Eanfrith's daughter Eafe, married King Æðelwealh of Sussex. Unfortunately, the sole source o ...

, a previous King of the Hwicce, by

Osthryth Osthryth (died 697), queen of the Mercians, was the wife of King Æthelred and daughter of King Oswiu of Northumbria and his second wife Eanflæd. She probably married Æthelred before 679 and was murdered by the nobles of Mercia. Osthryth was ...

, daughter of

Oswiu of Northumbria Oswiu, also known as Oswy or Oswig ( ang, Ōswīg; c. 612 – 15 February 670), was King of Bernicia from 642 and of Northumbria from 654 until his death. He is notable for his role at the Synod of Whitby in 664, which ultimately brought the chur ...

. The only marriage recorded for Osthryth is that to

Æthelred of Mercia Æthelred (; died after 704) was king of Mercia from 675 until 704. He was the son of Penda of Mercia and came to the throne in 675, when his brother, Wulfhere of Mercia, died from an illness. Within a year of his accession he invaded Kent, wh ...

, but an earlier marriage to Eanhere would explain why Osric and his brother Oswald are described as Æthelred's ''nepotes'' — usually translated as nephews or grandsons, but here probably meaning stepsons. Osric is claimed as the founder of two monastic houses, one at Bath (now

Bath Abbey The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Bath Abbey, is a parish church of the Church of England and former Benedictine monastery in Bath, Somerset, England. Founded in the 7th century, it was reorganised in the 10th ...

) and the other at

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

(now

Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishment of a minster dedicated to S ...

). In 676 Osric granted lands to

Abbess Bertana An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

to found a convent at Bath. The charter attesting this grant has been queried on several grounds of later editing and interpolation, but probably has an authentic basis. The foundation charter of Gloucester Abbey survives in a medieval register of the abbey. It is not straightforward, but again is considered to have an authentic basis. The charter was apparently issued in the 670s by Æthelred, king of Mercia, and records his grant of lands at Gloucester and

Pershore Pershore is a market town in the Wychavon district in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Avon. The town is part of the West Worcestershire parliamentary constituency. At the 2011 census, the population was 7,125. The town i ...

to two of his thegns, noblemen of the Hwicce, Osric and his brother Oswald. Osric's share was at Gloucester, and he sought permission from Æthelred to found a monastery there. The story of the abbey's foundation continues in the register with the claim that Osric granted the land for the abbey to his sister Kyneburge (Cyneburh), the first abbess. H.P.R. Finberg however speculates that the Cyneburh in question was the widow of

Oswald of Northumbria Oswald (; c 604 – 5 August 641/642Bede gives the year of Oswald's death as 642, however there is some question as to whether what Bede considered 642 is the same as what would now be considered 642. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology an ...

. Oswald was the elder brother of Oswiu and therefore the uncle of Queen Osthryth, who is said to have encouraged her aunt Cyneburh to enter a nunnery many years after Oswald's death. Cyneburgh would therefore be the great-aunt of Osric, rather than his sister. Though the charter of Gloucester treats Osric as a subordinate of Æthelred, the charter of Bath describes him as king of the Hwicce. He is also so described by

Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...

. He may possibly be the Osric who witnessed a doubtful charter of Frithuwold, King of

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, dated 675. Osric was buried at Gloucester Abbey beside Cyneburh, before the altar of St Petronilla;''Historia et Cartularium Monasterii Sancte Petri Gloucestriae'' ed. W.H. Hunt (Rolls Series), vol.1 (1863), p.6. his remains now lie in a medieval tomb in the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

. He seems to have been survived by his brother

, and succeeded by a possible son

Æthelmod Æthelmod was possibly a King of Hwicce, perhaps a son of Osric, reigning jointly with his uncle Oshere Oshere (fl. 690s) was king of the Hwicce, an Anglo-Saxon tribe occupying land in what later became Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. ...

(mentioned in charte
S 1167
.

References

External links

* {{PASE, 1737, Osric 2 Hwiccan monarchs 7th-century English monarchs