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Above: St. Aidan's Statue, Holy Island, Northumberland. Photo courtesy of freefoto.com

Prime Minister Tony Blair and The Millennium History of North East England by David Simpson. Photo courtesy of The Northern Echo

 

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Timeline of North East History

THE IRISH NORWEGIANS 900AD - 945AD

By David Simpson

Most of the Vikings who settled in northern England before 900AD came from Denmark although there were a few who came direct from Norway to settle on the Yorkshire coast. A second wave of Vikings came after 900AD, but this time it was comprised of Norweg ians who had been living in Ireland for nearly a century and mixing with the local culture and language. They used Ireland as a launching pad to attack England, initially colonising Merseyside and Cumbria before turning their attentions to south Durham a nd the Durham coast.

903AD – IRISH EVICT NORWEGIANS
(Dublin and North-West)
Native Irish under the leadership of
the King of Leinster have expelled the Norwegians from their great fortress
at Dublin. They begin to cross the
Irish Sea and settle in Merseyside and Cumbria. Among the Cumbrian natives escaping the Vikings is an An glo Saxon noble called Alfred who has sought refuge in the Land of St Cuthbert between the Tyne and Tees.

905AD(Circa) – VIKINGS DUMP HOARD NEAR PRESTON
(North West)
A huge hoard of some 1,300 Viking items are dumped on the river bank at Cuerdale near Preston. The Ribble is part of a Viking trade route between Dublin and York.

911AD – NORMANS ARE FRENCH VIKINGS
(Europe)
Vikings settle in northern France and give their name to the Normans
(North men).

913AD – EARL OF NORTHUMBERLAND DIES
(North-East)
Eadwulf, the Anglo-Saxon Earl of Bernicia who ruled the land north of the Tees, has died.

914AD – IRISH-NORWEGIANS REGAIN DUBLIN
(Ireland)
Exiled Irish-Norwegians in Lancashire and Cumbria recapture Dublin under Sihtric.

914AD – DANES AND IRISH-NORWEGIANS ATTACK NORTH-EAST
(Corbridge)
Irish-Vikings under King Ragnald attack the North-East with the help of the Yorkshire Danes. The Bernicians fight in alliance with the Scots and defeat the Vikings at Corbridge.

918AD – IRISH-NORWEGIANS DEFEAT NORTHUMBRIANS AND DANES
(Corbridge)
Ragnald defeats a joint army of Northumbrians, Danes and Franks in a second battle at Corbridge. The Danes no longer support Ragnald.

918AD – NORTH RULED FROM DUBLIN
(York)
Ragnald has seized York and established Irish-Viking control in Yorkshire. York will now be ruled as a client kingdom of the great Norwegian Bhold of Dublin.

918AD – IRISH-NORWEGIANS SETTLE SOUTH AND EAST DURHAM
(County Durham)
Land in south and east Durham is seized by Ragnald and given to his army leaders Scula and Olaf Ball who share it out among their Irish-Viking followers. The land is the best farmland belonging to the Bishop of Chester-le-Street but he doesn't have the s trength to challenge them. Scula gets land in the south including Billingham and School Aycliffe (Scula Aycliffe). Olaf Ball gets the east coast from Hartlepool to Sunderland. Ragnald could have taken land in Yorkshire but many powerful landowners in Yor kshire are of Danish descent and could be a military threat to him in the long run.

921AD – SIHTRIC BECOMES KING OF YORK
(York)
Ragnald has been succeeded by his cousin Sihtric as King of York.

924AD – EDWARD THE ELDER DIES
(England)
Edward the Elder, King of Wessex, has died. He is regarded by the Viking rulers of the north as their superior and now Sihtric of York acknowledges Edward's successor, King Athelstan, as the 'over-king' of England.

927AD – KING GUTHFRITH
(York)
Sihtric, King of York, dies and is succeeded by Guthfrith, a Dublin Norwegian.

July 12, 927AD – ATHELSTAN MEETS NORTHERN KINGS IN CUMBRIA
(Eamont Bridge, Cumbria)
King Athelstan meets the kings of Strathclyde and Scotland at Eamont Bridge in Cumbria. The kings acknowledge Athelstan's superiority. Ealdred, Earl of Bamburgh, who rules the Anglo-Saxon territory of the North-East, also gives his support. No Viking kings are present.

927AD – KING OF YORK EXPELLED
(York)
King Athelstan captures York and Guthfrith, the Viking king, is expelled.

934AD – KING OF ENGLAND VISITS CHESTER-LE-STREET
(Chester-le-Street)
Athelstan, King of the English, has visited the shrine of St Cuthbert at Chester-le-Street and bestowed many great gifts. The gifts include a work by Bede entitled the Life of St Cuthbert which depicts Athelstan on the cover. He also gives Bishopwearmout h, Sunderland, to the Bishop of Chester-le-Street. It was part of the land taken by the Irish-Vikings in 918.

934AD – ATHELSTAN ATTACKS SCOTLAND
(Scotland)
Athelstan has severely ravaged Scotland to enforce his superiority in the north.

934AD – KING GRANTS RIPON SANCTUARY
(Ripon)
Athelstan has granted rights of sanctuary to the monastery at Ripon.

October 27, 937AD – ATHELSTAN DEFEATS IRISH-NORWEGIANS AND SCOTS
(North West)
Vikings from Dublin assisted by the Scots have been heavily defeated by King Athelstan in a bloody battle somewhere in the North West. Athelstan has destroyed the Danish fortress at York in order to completely suppress any further Viking rebellions.

October 27, 939AD – EDMUND BECOMES KING OF ENGLAND
(England)
Athelstan, King of Wessex and England, has died at Gloucester. He has been succeeded by his 18-year-old brother Edmund.

939AD – DUBLIN VIKING BECOMES KING OF YORK
(York)
Olaf Guthfrithson of Dublin, the son of Guthfrith, has become King of York after the people of Yorkshire rejected the claims of young Edmund.

942AD – BLACAIR IS NEW KING OF YORK AND DUBLIN
(Ireland)
Blacair Guthfrithson has become the new Viking King of York and Dublin following the death of his brother Olaf.

944AD – EDMUND TAKES YORK
(York)
Edmund, King of England, has seized York.

945AD – CUMBRIA CEDED TO SCOTS
(Cumbria)
Strathclyde and Cumbria are ceded to Malcolm, King of the Scots, by Edmund. The area once formed part of the kingdom of Northumbria but it has been extensively settled by Scots over the past 30 years.

THE IRISH NORWEGIANS (Viking period) other dates
900AD / 920AD / 940AD / 946-989AD

THE TIMELINE BY ERA

ROMAN PERIOD

ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD

VIKING PERIOD

NORMAN PERIOD

MEDIEVAL PERIOD

TUDOR AND STUART PERIOD

GEORGIAN PERIOD

VICTORIAN PERIOD

TWENTIETH CENTURY

 

THE MILLENNIUM HISTORY OF NORTH EAST ENGLAND

by David Simpson

Published by leighton in association with The Northern Echo

ISBN 0-9536984-3-2

The Millennium History of North East England by David Simpson is published by Leighton, The Teleport, Doxford International, Sunderland, SR3 3XD, Tel +44 (0) 191 5252400 Fax +44 (0) 520 1815 www.bepl.com. The book is a 322 page full colour hard back book covering the history of the region from Roman times to the present day. To order copies of the book you can e-mail Andrea.Murphy@bepl.com

Author David Simpson and Paul Callaghan, Managing Director of leighton at the book launch held at Lumley Castle, Durham December 1999

www.northeastengland.talktalk.net