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I was finally able to allocate some time to take another look at my family tree. I had created it quite a few years back – just where does the time go?
However, this comes with a cautionary note:
‘The oldest surviving royal genealogies in Europe go back to the sixth century… [CE] …for Gothic sovereigns, to the seventh century for their Irish, Lombardic, Visigothic, and Frankish counterparts, and to the eighth and ninth centuries for Anglo-Saxon and Carolingian kings.’
Source: François Weil, Chancellor of the Universities of Paris, ‘Family Trees’, Harvard University Press, 2013, pp. 10-11.
In creating our genealogy we have used religious sources from the canons of the Bible, Talmud, Qu’ran and from those faiths non-canonical sources. But is the Bible, and all its begats, fable, fiction or fact, can we accept that Adam lived for 930 years, Seth for 912 years, Noah for 950 years and Methusaleh for 969 years? If you take the first twenty-three individuals from the Bible’s genealogy , from Adam to Judah, they are reported to have had an average lifespan of 533 years. We know that its ‘forty days and forty nights’ simply means a long time, though forty did have other symbolism for the biblical peoples. But how are we to view those ages?
| Here is a selection of these we referenced: Bede’s Ecclesiastical History completed 731 – covers 597-731 Anglian Collection, composed 760s-770s Nennius’ work Historia Brittonum, 8th c Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, late 9th c John of Worcester’s Chronicon ex chronicis, Creation to 1042 Gesta Regum Anglorum [Deeds of the Kings of the English], William of Malmesbury 12th c Historia Regum Britanniae prepared by Geoffrey of Monmouth, 12th c Annals of Lindisfarne and Durham, 12th c Reginald of Durham’s works 1160s/1170s Annales Cambriae, 12th c Langfeðgatal, Icelandic 12th c The Prose Edda, 13th c Norse Flores Historianum, Roger of Wendover,13th c Annals of Ulster, 15th c, covers 431-1540 Annals of Clonmacnoise, Irish chronicle 1627 |
BREAKTHROUGH
This Summer (2022) I had a minor breakthrough when I found that Sims of Yetherham, the Elder, my GGF26 (born 935) was shown on one genealogical site as being the son of Earl Oswulfe of Northumbria (885-963). I have to confess that, to date, this is the only such reference, but if I accept and pursue it, then I can take my tree back fourteen generations to my GGF40 and to the year 515 at the very start of the sixth century.
That’s back forty-three generations and fifteen centuries!
This new material is grouped into four time periods:
Northumbrian Period: part 1 – part 2 – part 3
Norse Period: part 1 – part 2 – part 3
Trojan Period: part 1 – part 2
Biblical Period: part 1 – part 2 – part 3
To set the scene for the Northumbrian Period, it helps to appreciate just how confused Northumbria was from the 9th to the 11th centuries:
| List of rulers of Bamburgh and their reigns (useful for background/context): [emboldened individuals are mentioned in the Denton Family Bible] Eadwulf of Bamburgh (890– 913), ‘king of the north Saxons’ in the Annals of Ulster Ealdred I of Bamburgh (913 – c. 933), son of Eadwulf of Bamburgh. Æthelstan of England (c. 933 – 939), overlord of all Northumbria Adulf McEtulfe (died 934), named ‘King of the Northern Saxons’ by the Annals of Clonmacnoise Edmund I of England (939), possibly overlord of Northumbria Olaf Guthfrithson (939–941), possibly ruled all of Northumbria Amlaíb Cuarán (941–944), possibly ruled all of Northumbria Edmund I of England (944–946), possibly overlord of Northumbria Oswulfe I of Bamburgh (946–963) Eadwulf I ‘Evil-Child’ of Bamburgh (floruit 963–973) Waltheof of Bamburgh (c994), son of Oswulfe I of Bamburgh Uhtred ‘the Bold’ of Northumbria (1006–16), ruled all Northumbria, son of Waltheof of Bamburgh Eadwulf II ‘Cudel’ of Bamburgh (died 1019), son of Waltheof of Bamburgh Ealdred II of Bamburgh (died 1038) son of Uhtred ‘the Bold’ of Northumbria Eadwulf III of Bamburgh (died 1041) son of Uhtred ‘the Bold’ of Northumbria [Bernicia was then united into the rest of Northumbria from 1041–1065] Oswulfe II of Bamburgh (1065–67) son of Eadwulf III of Bamburgh |
| List of Kings of Northumbria: (Bernicia – northern area) – showing their reigns: [emboldened individuals are mentioned in the Denton Family Bible] Ida ‘the Flamethrower’ (547-560), built Bamburgh as a stockade and rampart Aelle (561-588) Aethelric (588-593), son of Ida Aetherlfrith ‘the Fierce’ (593- ) son of Aetheleric, expanded the realm, killed in battle with Raedwald, king of East Angles, championing the cause of Eadwine, son of Aelle Eadwine (617-633) son of Aelle Eanfrith (634-635) son of Aetherlfrith, returned from exile, murdered Oswald (635-641) killed in battle Oswiu (or Oswine) (642-670), brother of Oswald Ecgfrith (670-685) son of Oswiu, killed at battle of Nechtansmere Aldfrith (685-704) died from long-term illness Eadwulf I (704-705) Osred (705-716) son of Aldfrith Coenred (716-718) Osric (718-729) son of Aldfrith, brother or half-brother to Osred, comets seen at time of his death Ceolwulf (729-737) brother to Coenred Eadberht (738-758), abdicated in favour of his son Oswulf Oswulf (758-759) murdered by members of his household Aethelwald Moll (759-765), deposed Alhred (765-774), deposed and exiled Aethelred (774-779) son of Aethelwald Moll Aelfwald I (779-788) Osred II (789-790) son of Alhred, deposedto bringback Aethelred Aethelred (790-796) second term, murdered at Corbridge Eardwulf (796-806 deposed, restored 808-810) Aelfwald II (808-810) Eanred (810-841), son of Eardwulf Aethelred II (841-844 and 854-862) son of Eanred, deposed Raedwulf (844-848) Usurper, killed in battle Osbehrt (848/9-862/3 and 867-21 Mar 867) killed by the Danes at York Aella (862/3-21 Mar 867) Usurper, Killed by the Danes at York Ecgbert I (867-873) puppet king for the Danes, expelled Ricsige (873-876) Ecgbert II (876-878) Eadwulf II (?-913) Ealdred I (913-933) ceded the crown to Aethelstan as king of the English in 927 Adulf McEtulfe (933-934) Edmund of Wessex (944-946) ruled as king of the English, with Eadmund as administrator Notes: At various times the Vikings ruled the south of Northumbria: – while Ecgbert I was in power there were Ricsige, Halfdan Ragnarsson and Guthred – during Eadwulf II‘s reign there was Siefried, Cnut, Aethlewald, Halfdan and Eowils – during Ealdred I‘s reign there was Raegnald, Sigtrygg, Guthfrith and Aethelstan – during Adulf McEtulfe‘s reign there was Aethelstan The Vikings also ruled both regions under: – Olaf Guthfrithson (939-941) – Olaf Sihtricson (941-944 and 949-952) – Sitric II (942) – Ragnall Guthfrithson (943-4) – Eric Bloodaxe (947-8 and 952-4)] |
| List of Earls of Northumbria: [emboldened individuals are mentioned in the Denton Family Bible] Uhtred the Bold (1006–1016), ealdorman of all Northumbria Eric of Hlathir (1016–1023), appointed by Cnut after Uhtred’s killing Siward (1031–1055), without underlings in Bernicia from 1041 Tostig (1055–1065) Morcar (1065–1066) Copsi (1067) Oswulfe II (1067) Gospatric (1067–1068), given lands in Scotland, his heirs became earls of Dunbar Robert Comine (1068–1069) [Vacant during the ‘Harrying of the North’] Gospatric (1070–1072) Waltheof II (1072–1075) William Walcher (1075–1080), also prince-bishop of Durham Aubrey de Coucy (1080–1086) Robert de Mowbray (1086–1095) [Vacant until Stephen was pressured by David of Scotland into granting it to:] Henry of Scotland (1139–1152) William of Scotland (1152–1157) [Then the title and lands were vested into Henry II of England from 1157] |
Click here to take a look at those, which I have entitled The Dentons’ Northumbrian period, though of course the family tree did revisit this area in the 19th century too.
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