Deira

Deira (/ˈdaɪərə/ or /ˈdɛərə/)[1] (Old English: Derenrice or Dere) was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom[2] in Northern England.

Kingdom of Deira
c. 450–654
Capital	York
Common languages	Old English, Common Brittonic
Government	Monarchy
Historical era	Early Medieval
• Established	c. 450
• Shared crown with Bernicia	604
• merged with Bernicia	654
Preceded by Succeeded by Sub-Roman Britain Northumbria

History

The kingdom was previously inhabited by Britons and was probably created in the third quarter of the fifth century when Anglian warriors invaded the Derwent Valley.[3] Deira's territory extended from the Humber to the Tees, and from the sea to the western edge of the Vale of York. It later merged with the kingdom of Bernicia, its northern neighbour, to form the kingdom of Northumbria.

The name of the kingdom is of Brythonic origin from the Proto-Celtic *daru, meaning "oak", (derw in modern Welsh) in which case it would mean "the people of the Derwent", a derivation also found in the Latin name for Malton, Derventio.[4] It is cognate with the modern Irish doire (pronounced [ˈd̪ˠɛɾˠə]); The origin of the name for County Londonderry and city of Derry stems from this word.[5][6]

According to Simeon of Durham (writing early in the 12th century), it extended from the Humber to the Tyne, but the land was waste north of the Tees. After the Brythonic kingdom centred on Eboracum, which may have been called Ebrauc, was taken by King Edwin, the city of Eboracum became its capital, and Eoforwic ("boar-place") was taken by the Angles.[7]

Archaeology suggests that the Deiran royal house was in place by the middle of the fifth century, but the first certainly recorded king is Ælla in the late sixth century.[8] After his death, Deira was subject to king Æthelfrith of Bernicia, who united the two kingdoms into Northumbria. Æthelfrith ruled until the accession of Ælla's son Edwin, in 616 or 617, who also ruled both kingdoms until 633.[9]

Osric, the nephew of Edwin, ruled Deira after Edwin, but his son Oswine was put to death by Oswiu in 651. For a few years subsequently, Deira was governed by Æthelwald son of Oswald of Bernicia.[10]

Bede wrote of Deira in his Historia Ecclesiastica (completed in 731).[11]

Kings of Deira

Reign	Incumbent		Notes
559/560 to 589	Ælla (Aelli)	ÆLLA YFFING DEIRA CYNING ÆLLA REX DEIRA
589/599 to 604	Æthelric (Aedilric)	ÆÞELRIC IDING BERNICIA 7 DEIRA CYNING ÆÞELRIC REX BERNICIA ET DEIRA
Bernicia Dynasty
593/604? to 616	Æthelfrith	ÆÞELFERÞ ÆÞELRICING DEIRA CYNING ÆÞELFERÞ REX DEIRA	Killed in battle
Deira Dynasty
616 to 12/14 October 632	Edwin	EDVVIN ÆLLING BERNICIA 7 DEIRA CYNING EDVVIN REX BERNICIA ET DEIRA	Killed in battle by Cadwallon of Gwynedd and Penda of Mercia
late 633 to summer 634	Osric	OSRIC ÆLFRICING DEIRA CYNING OSRIC REX DEIRA
Bernicia Dynasty
633 to 5 August 642	Oswald	OSVVALD BERNICIA 7 DEIRA CYNING OSVVALD REX BERNICIA ET DEIRA	Killed by Penda, King of Mercia; Saint Oswald
642 to 644	Oswiu	OSVVIO ÆÞELFRIÞING BERNICIA 7 DEIRA CYNING OSVVIO REX BERNICIA ET DEIRA
Deira Dynasty
644 to 651	Oswine	OSVVINE OSRICING DEIRA CYNING OSVVINE REX DEIRA	Murdered
Bernicia Dynasty
summer 651 to late 654 or 655	Æthelwold	ÆÞELVVALD OSVVALDING DEIRA CYNING ÆÞELVVALD REX DEIRA
654 to 15 August 670	Oswiu	OSVVIO ÆÞELFERÞING NORÞANHYMBRA CYNING OSVVIO REX NORÞANHYMBRA	Restored
656 to 664	Alchfrith	ALCHFRIÞ DEIRA CYNING ALCHFRIÞ REX DEIRA
664 to 670	Ecgfrith	ECGFRIÞ DEIRA CYNING ECGFRIÞ REX DEIRA
670 to 679	Ælfwine	ÆLFVVINE DEIRA CYNING ÆLFVVINE REX DEIRA

Notes

1. A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer, Or, Geographical Dictionary of the World, 1880
2. McCarthy, Mike. "An Early Historic Celtic Kingdom near the Solway". 2014. The History Files. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
3. Higham, p. 98
4. Higham, p. 81
5. Library Ireland Archived 8 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine – Sketches of Olden Days in Northern Ireland
6. Mills 2003, p. 430.
7. Malam 2011, p. 24.
8. Higham, pp. 77-78
9. Garmonsway, G. N. (1954). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. London: Dent. pp. 26–27. ISBN 0460106244.
10. D. P. Kirby, The Earliest English Kings (1991, 2000), page 78.
11. Bede 1910, Book III.

References

• Bede (1910). Lionel C. Jane (ed.). Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation . Translated by John Stevens – via Wikisource.
• Higham, N.J. (1993). The Kingdom of Northumbria AD 350–1100. Stroud: Sutton. ISBN 0-86299-730-5
• Mackenzie, E.; Ross, M. (1834). An Historical, Topographical, and Descriptive View of the County Palatine of Durham. Vol. I. Newcastle upon Tyne: Mackenzie and Dent. p. xi.
• Malam, John (2011). Yorkshire, A Very Peculiar History. Book House. ISBN 978-1907184574.

• Mills, Anthony David (2003). A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-852758-9.

Further reading

• Geake, Helen & Kenny, Jonathan (eds.) (2000). Early Deira: Archaeological studies of the East Riding in the fourth to ninth centuries AD. Oxford: Oxbow. ISBN 1-900188-90-2