Editing Northumbria (section)

====Unification of Bernicia and Deira====
The Anglo-Saxon states of Bernicia and Deira were often in conflict before their eventual semi-permanent unification in 651. Political power in Deira was concentrated in the East Riding of [[Yorkshire]], which included [[York]], the North York Moors, and the Vale of York.<ref>{{harvnb|Rollason|2003|pp=45–48}}</ref> The political heartlands of Bernicia were the areas around Bamburgh and [[Lindisfarne]], [[Monkwearmouth]] and [[Jarrow]], and in [[Cumbria]], west of the [[Pennines]] in the area around [[Carlisle, Cumbria|Carlisle]].<ref>{{harvnb|Rollason|2003|pp=48–52}}</ref> The name that these two states eventually united under, Northumbria, might have been coined by Bede and made popular through his ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People''.<ref>{{harvnb|Yorke|1990|p=74}}</ref>

Information on the early royal genealogies for Bernicia and Deira comes from Bede's ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' and Nennius' ''[[Historia Brittonum]]''. According to Nennius, the Bernician royal line begins with [[Ida of Bernicia|Ida]], son of [[Eoppa of Bernicia|Eoppa]].<ref>{{harvnb|Nennius|2005}} para 57, 59</ref> Ida reigned for twelve years (beginning in 547) and was able to annex Bamburgh to Bernicia.<ref>{{harvnb|Nennius|2005}} para 59</ref> In Nennius' genealogy of Deira, a king named Soemil was the first to separate Bernicia and Deira, which could mean that he wrested the kingdom of Deira from the native British.<ref name="Yorke1990p79">{{harvnb|Yorke|1990|p=79}}</ref> The date of this supposed separation is unknown. The first Deiran king to make an appearance in Bede's {{Lang|la|Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum}} is [[Ælla of Deira|Ælla]], the father of the first Christian Northumbrian king [[Edwin of Northumbria|Edwin]].<ref>{{harvnb|Bede|2008}} Book II, Chapter 1</ref>

A king of Bernicia, Ida's grandson [[Æthelfrith]], was the first ruler to unite the two polities under his rule. He exiled the Deiran Edwin to the court of King [[Rædwald of East Anglia]] in order to claim both kingdoms, but Edwin returned in approximately 616 to conquer Northumbria with Rædwald's aid.<ref>{{harvnb|Bede|2008}} Book II, Chapter 12</ref><ref name="Rollason2003p7">{{harvnb|Rollason|2003|p=7}}</ref> Edwin, who ruled from approximately 616 to 633, was one of the last kings of the Deiran line to reign over all of Northumbria. Oswald's brother [[Oswiu]] eventually succeeded him to the Northumbrian throne despite initial attempts on Deira's part to pull away again.<ref name="Rollason2003p7"/> The last independent king of Deira was [[Oswine of Deira|Oswine]]. He was murdered by Oswiu in 651, and Northumbria was thereafter united under Bernician rule.{{sfn|Holdsworth|2014|p=340}}

While violent conflicts between Bernicia and Deira played a significant part in determining which line ultimately gained supremacy in Northumbria, marriage alliances also helped bind these two territories together. [[Æthelfrith]] married Edwin's sister [[Acha of Deira|Acha]], although this marriage did little to prevent future squabbles between the brothers-in-law and their descendants. The second intermarriage was more successful, with [[Oswiu]] marrying [[Edwin of Northumbria|Edwin]]'s daughter and his own cousin [[Eanflæd]] to produce [[Ecgfrith of Northumbria|Ecgfrith]], the beginning of the Northumbrian line. However, Oswiu had another relationship with an Irish woman named Fina which produced the problematic Aldfrith.<ref name="Rollason2003p7"/> In his ''Life and Miracles of St. [[Cuthbert]],'' Bede declares that Aldfrith, known as Fland among the Irish, was illegitimate and therefore unfit to rule.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bede |title=The Life and Miracles of St. Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne |url=http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/bede-cuthbert.asp |accessdate=23 March 2023 |website=Internet History Sourcebook |publisher=Fordham University: The Jesuit University of New York|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625103657/https://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/bede-cuthbert.asp|archivedate=25 June 2016|url-status=dead|at=Chapter XXIV}}</ref>