Editing Ælla of Deira (section)

==Biography==
The ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' records that Ælla became king in 560.<ref name="ASC560">[[#ASC|Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]], s.a. 560</ref> Anachronistically, the name of his kingdom is given as Northumbria, but the region was actually split between [[Deira]] and [[Bernicia]] at the time. Ælla's kingdom is identified by [[Bede]] as Deira - the use of Northumbria could be based on a tradition whereby the most powerful Anglian king in the region would claim that title.<ref name="V">[[#Venning|Venning]]</ref> Ælla was almost certainly a pagan - when [[Pope Gregory I|Pope Gregory the Great]] encountered two pale-skinned English boys (Deirans) at a slave market in Rome he is said to have remarked that they were "not [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]], but [[angel]]s, if they were Christian". (''Non Angli, sed angeli, si forent Christiani.'')<ref name="language">[[Ghil'ad Zuckermann|Zuckermann, Ghil'ad]] (2003), [[Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew]]. [[Palgrave Macmillan]]. {{ISBN|9781403917232}} / {{ISBN|9781403938695}} [http://www.palgrave.com/br/book/9781403917232]</ref>{{rp|117}} and upon learning that the king of Deira was Ælla he said "Alleluia should be sung in that land".<ref name="C">[[#Cramp|Cramp]]</ref><ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Ella |display=Ella s.v. Ella (d. 588) |volume=9 |page=288}}</ref>

There is some confusion regarding the time and manner of Ælla's death. The ''Chronicle'' reports that he "passed away" in 588, although a later source expands and says that he was killed by [[Æthelfrith]], son of [[Æthelric of Bernicia|Æthelric]], the former king of Bernicia.<ref name="V"/> This account is contradicted by Bede, who says that Ælla was still king in 597 when [[Augustine of Canterbury]] came to Britain. In either case, after Ælla's death his family were forced to flee as the rulers of Bernicia seized control of the kingdom.<ref name="C"/>