Ælla or Ælle is the first known king of the Anglian kingdom of

Deira Deira ( ; Old Welsh/ or ; or ) was an area of Post-Roman Britain, and a later Anglian kingdom. Etymology The name of the kingdom is of Brythonic origin, and is derived from the Proto-Celtic , meaning 'oak' ( in modern Welsh), in which case ...

, which he ruled from around 560 until his death in 588.

Biography

The ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

'' records that Ælla became king in 560.

, s.a. 560 Anachronistically, the name of his kingdom is given as Northumbria, but the region was actually split between

and

Bernicia Bernicia () was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England. The Anglian territory of Bernicia was approximately equivalent to the modern English cou ...

at the time. Ælla's kingdom is identified by

Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...

as Deira - the use of Northumbria could be based on a tradition whereby the most powerful Anglian king in the region would claim that title. Venning Ælla was almost certainly a pagan - when Pope Gregory the Great encountered two pale-skinned English boys (Deirans) at a slave market in Rome he is said to have remarked that they were "not Angles, but

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

s, if they were Christian". (''Non Angli, sed angeli, si forent Christiani.'') Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2003), Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew.

Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains offi ...

. /

/ref> and upon learning that the king of Deira was Ælla he said "Alleluia should be sung in that land". #Cramp, Cramp There is some confusion regarding the time and manner of Ælla's death. The ''Chronicle'' reports that he "passed away" in 588, although a later source expands and says that he was killed by Æthelfrith, son of Æthelric, the former king of Bernicia. This account is contradicted by Bede, who says that Ælla was still king in 597 when

Augustine of Canterbury Augustine of Canterbury (early 6th century in England, 6th century – most likely 26 May 604) was a Christian monk who became the first archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English". Augustine ...

came to Britain. In either case, after Ælla's death his family were forced to flee as the rulers of Bernicia seized control of the kingdom.

Family

The ''Chronicle'' gives Ælla's father as Yffe, and gives a genealogy going back to

Woden Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Emp ...

. Cannon and Hargreaves, p. 33;

, s.a. 560 Two children of Ælla are identifiable from historical records - Edwin and Acha. Edwin went into exile upon his father's death but eventually became king of both Deira and Bernicia. Acha similarly went into exile, and she eventually married Æthelfrith of Bernicia. Ælla had at least one brother, Ælfric, and his successor as king, Æthelric, is variously identified as another brother or a son. Kirby, p. 57; Venning

References

Citations

Primary sources

* Accessed via

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

Secondary sources

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aella Of Deira Deiran monarchs 6th-century English monarchs Year of birth unknown