Copy Book Archive

King Edwin and the Hand of Destiny Forced from his throne and threatened with murder, Edwin makes a curious bargain for his deliverance.

In two parts

604-616
Anglo-Saxon Britain 410-1066
Music: George Frideric Handel

© Paul Buckingham, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0. Source

About this picture …

New day, new hopes... sunrise over Ross Back Sands, with Bamburgh Castle silhouetted against the skyline. The castle is originally Norman, substantially rebuilt in the 19th century, but Bamburgh was the capital of Bernicia in the days of Æthelfrith, and later Edwin.

King Edwin and the Hand of Destiny

Part 1 of 2

Deprived of his throne in about 604, King Edwin of Deira and Bernicia — later known as Northumbria — fled York and went south to Mercia, only to find his usurper, brother-in-law and mortal enemy, Æthelfrith, still pursuing him to the death. But a night-time visitor gave him a new hope, and a curious sign to remember it by.

EDWIN should have inherited the crown of Deira from his father Ælle. Instead, Edwin’s brother-in-law Æthelfrith, King of neighbouring Bernicia, emerged as King of a new and powerful joint kingdom called Northumbria, and Edwin was driven out.*

Edwin escaped to East Anglia and the protection of King Rædwald, but there he learnt that Æthelfrith had threatened invasion if Rædwald did not have his royal guest murdered.

As Edwin brooded anxiously in his bedchamber, he glanced up and was surprised to see a man standing before him. ‘What reward would you give’ the man asked ‘to the one who could deliver you from your troubles, make you the greatest of English kings, and give you the wisest counsel for this life and the next?’

Edwin assured him that he would give that man his complete trust and do whatever he asked. The man laid his hand gently on Edwin’s head. ‘Remember this sign’ he said, ‘and your promise.’ Then he vanished.

Jump to Part 2

Deira corresponds roughly to an area from the Humber estuary to the River Tees; Bernicia to the north then stretched from the Tees to the Firth of Forth in what is now Scotland. Edwin had been displaced by Æthelfrith by about 604.

Précis

After he was forced off the throne of Deira in the 7th century, Edwin was murderously pursued by his rival, Æthelfrith. An unexpected visitor, however, promised to help Edwin regain his crown, in exchange for a promise of absolute trust, to be redeemed later - the sign would be a hand laid upon his head. (55 / 60 words)

Part Two

© Richard Webb, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0. Source

About this picture …

Looking down from the ancient Hill Fort on Yeavering Bell near Alnwick. King Edwin maintained a royal residence named Ad Gefrin in these fields, a mixture of impressive wooden halls, busy markets, stabling, and houses. Paulinus spent 36 days baptizing and catechising ordinary Northumbrians here in the River Glen.

RÆDWALD’s queen convinced her husband that Æthelfrith’s demands were intolerable. He took the fight to Æthelfrith, who was slain in battle in 616, and Edwin succeeded to the throne of Northumbria.

Now one of England’s great kings, Edwin sought the hand of Ethelberga, sister to Eadbald of Kent. Ethelberga’s family, however, was Christian, and she refused to marry a pagan. Her chaplain, Paulinus, and even Pope Boniface piled on the pressure. But Edwin wavered.

Edwin was still wavering when Paulinus paid him a visit. He rested his hand gently on Edwin’s head, and asked him whether the sign meant anything to him?

The memory of his bedchamber in Rædwald’s palace, and his promises of gratitude and obedience, came flooding back to Edwin. The mighty King sank trembling to his knees before Paulinus. He entrusted himself at last to Ethelberga and to Christ, and was baptized on 12th April 627, Easter Day, in the Church of St Peter in York.

Copy Book

A similar story of hesitation and an unyielding princess is told of the conversion of Vladimir the Great, Prince of Kiev, in 988, three centuries later. See The Conversion of Vladimir the Great.

Précis

Edwin regained his throne in 616, and at once sought an alliance with the Kingdom of Kent by marriage. But he baulked at princess Ethelberga’s demand that he share her Christian faith, until her chaplain, Paulinus, showed him the secret sign of obedience he had long ago agreed. Chastened, the King gave way and was baptized the following Easter. (58 / 60 words)

Source

Based on ‘History of the English Church and People’, by St Bede of Jarrow (early 8th century).

Suggested Music

1 2

Keyboard Suite in D Minor HWV 436

Aria (Lento)

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)

Played by Ragna Schirmer.

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Keyboard Suite in G Major HWV 441

Air

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)

Played by Ragna Schirmer.

Media not showing? Let me know!

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