Beornhæth was an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

nobleman in

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

in the reign of King Ecgfrith (ruled 671–685). He was the first of his family to come to notice. Eddius's ''Life of Saint

Wilfrid Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and beca ...

'', recounting Ecgfrith's campaign against the

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples in what is now Scotland north of the Firth of Forth, in the Scotland in the early Middle Ages, Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and details of their culture can be gleaned from early medieval texts and Pic ...

in 671 or 672, states that he was accompanied by the "sub-king" Beornhæth. It is presumed that Beornhæth ruled a part of northern

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 ...

, perhaps in modern

Lothian Lothian (; ; ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, while other signific ...

where there was a major Northumbrian fortress at

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the Anglo–Scottish border, English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and ...

. Beornhæth's son Berhtred (died c. 698), also called Berht, commanded King Ecgfrith's

punitive expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong beha ...

to kingdom of Brega, in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, in 684. Beorhtred's paternity is known from the notice of his death in the

Irish annals A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over ti ...

, where he is called the son of Beornhæth. Historians presume that Berhtfrith, "a nobleman second in rank only to Osred">Osred_I_of_Northumbria.html" ;"title="ing Osred I of Northumbria">Osred, was a son of Berhtred. Berhtfrith was largely responsible for the defeat of the would-be King Eadwulf, and the installation of Aldfrith">Eadwulf I of Northumbria">Eadwulf, and the installation of Aldfrith's son Osred on the throne as child-king in 705. Berhtfrith appears to have achieved this by making peace between Osred's supporters, and those of Bishop

.''VW'', c. 59; Kirby, p. 145; Yorke, pp. 92 –171.

Notes

References

* (''VW'') Eddius Stephanus, ''The Life of Saint Wilfrid'' in Webb & Farmer (eds), ''The Age of Bede''. London: Penguin, 1983. * Alan Orr Anderson, Anderson, Alan Orr, ''Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500–1286, volume 1.'' Reprinted with corrections. Stamford: Paul Watkins, 1990. * Kirby, D.P., ''The Earliest English Kings.'' London: Unwin Hyman, 1991. * Yorke, Barbara, ''Kings and Kingdoms in Early Anglo-Saxon England.'' London: Seaby, 1990. {{DEFAULTSORT:Beornhaeth Northumbrian people Anglo-Saxon ealdormen 685 deaths Year of birth unknown