Eadberht of Northumbria

Eadberht
King of Northumbria
Reign	737 – 758
Predecessor	Ceolwulf
Successor	Oswulf
Died	20 August 768 York, England
Burial	York Minster
Issue	Oswulf, King of Northubria Oswine Osgifu
House	Idings
Father	Eata
Religion	Christianity

Eadberht (died 20 August 768) was king of Northumbria from 737 or 738 to 758. He was the brother of Ecgbert, Archbishop of York. His reign is seen as a return to the imperial ambitions of seventh-century Northumbria and may represent a period of economic prosperity. He faced internal opposition from rival dynasties and at least two actual or potential rivals were killed during his reign. In 758 he abdicated in favour of his son Oswulf and became a monk at York.

Eadberht became ruler of Northumbria following the second abdication of his cousin Ceolwulf, who entered the monastery at Lindisfarne. Unlike Ceolwulf's first abdication, which clearly involved force, his second, in favour of Eadberht, may have been voluntary.

Eadberht son of Eata was a descendant of Ida of Bernicia through either his son Ocga (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Anglian collection) or Eadric (Historia Brittonum). The genealogy gives Eadberht's father Eata the cognomen Glin Mawr.

Eadberht appears to have faced opposition from rival families throughout his reign. Eardwine, probably the son of King Eadwulf, and grandfather of the future king Eardwulf, was killed in 740. In 750 Offa, son of King Aldfrith was taken from the sanctuary of Lindisfarne and put to death after a siege, while Bishop Cynewulf of Lindisfarne, who had presumably supported Offa, was dethroned and detained in York. The importance of religious foundations in Northumbrian politic struggles and family feuds is apparent. Eardwine's family is associated with Ripon, Offa and Ceolwulf with Lindisfarne, and Hexham appears to have supported kings and noblemen opposed by the Lindisfarne community. Eadberht, however, as brother of the Archbishop of York, enjoyed the support of the greatest Northumbrian prelate.

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