Post by Gandalf on Jul 17, 2023 5:29:48 GMT -5
By reckoning of the Christians, it is the 600th year since the birth of their Christ God.
In the Old North, norþ of the Hymbre, a great tumult has come to the Englisc folc and their cyningas - from all sides have they been besieged by their Wealhisc neighbors, time and time again, who have plotted and campaigned to run them into the sea. Just a few years ago, all their lords invaded and nearly destroyed Beornice, until infighting took the life of their leader, Urien of Rheged.
In the aftermath, the cyning of Beornice, Hussa, was slain and overthrown by the son of one of his predecessors, an æþeling by the name of Æþelfriþ. The latter had taken exile in the Derena rīċe, and there had married the daughter of the cyning of Dere, and thus struck up a powerful alliance. Æþelfriþ then returned with allies and supporters and overthrew his kinsman, seizing the throne of the Beornicna rīċe.
Now, the unexpected has happened - Æþelfriþ, perhaps unsatisfied with his rule of Beornice, has begun a gamble for the throne of his brother-in-law, Æþelric of Dere.
Hosts of the two Englisc cyningas will soon meet in battle to decide the fate of their two realms - in the face of so many enemies, they are stronger together than divided..
A Brief Introduction to Britain in 600 AD
Our story takes place in part of what is now, in modern times, northern England - specifically within the later medieval counties of Yorkshire, Durham, and Northumberland. This land came to be called in Old English as Norþanhymbre, an adjective meaning "north of the River Humber," which is Latinized as Northumbria. The time is the turn of the 7th century, starting at 600 AD.
The Roman Empire and it legions have long abandoned Britannia (modern UK), since at least 450 AD. Gaul (modern France) is now known as Frankia, and is ruled by the powerful but quarreling Frankish kings, long-haired and Christian. Hispania is controlled the Visigoths, while Italy is split between the Lombards and the surviving eastern half of the Roman Empire. The well-known "Viking" period has yet to begin, though Germanic and Celtic peoples of the North Sea have conducted seaborne raids against each other since time immemorial.
Christianity across Europe has entered its Chalcedonian phase since 451, and the "Great Church" has not yet undergone a schism into western Catholicism and eastern Orthodoxy.
The Celtic peoples of Britannia, commonly called Britons, are largely Christian at this point, with a majority in communion with the Great Church. The Celtic peoples of far northern Britannia, known as the Picts, and the peoples of Ireland (Hibernia in Latin), known as the Gaels or Scots, however, follow what we call "Insular Christianity" and may not necessarily follow what the Great Church in Europe has accepted as orthodox doctrine.
"Paganism" (which comes from Latin pāgānus, an adjective meaning rural or rustic) in Britannia then largely remains amongst its Germanic populations - Saxons, Angles, Jutes, Frisians, and so forth. These people still follow the "pagan" traditions and beliefs of their ancestors, passed down orally in the form of stories and rituals. Much of what we know about Germanic paganism has been taken from 13th century texts written by Icelandic Christians about Old Norse deities and legends. Thus we cannot say necessarily that the Woden worshipped by the Old English had only one eye, or that Thunor carries a hammer like Thor. These beliefs would be manifold and diverse, with an eclectic mix of conflicting myths, ancestor worship, and a strong superstition towards sorcery and fate.
Christianity has not yet taken hold among these "Anglo-Saxon" peoples inhabiting Britain, though there may have certainly been exceptions to the rule. Historically, Roman Christian missionaries would arrive in the Jutish kingdom of Kent in southern Britain in 597 and Gaelic Christian missionaries would come to the Angle kingdom of Northumbria in 634. These Church missions brought with them connections to foreign Christian powers and set themselves up as effective allies for any ruler who would convert and accept Christ as their savior.
Northumbria, "north of the Humber", has not yet been formed as a single kingdom, and is actually a description applicable of two English kingdoms - Bernicia and Deira (Beornice and Dere respectively in Old English). Deira is likely the older of the two, though both kingdoms are considerably younger than any of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms south of the Humber. Deira was likely originally a British kingdom by the name of Deywr or Deifr, while Bernicia was likely originally a British kingdom by the name of Bryneich. Angle settlers probably arrived in Deifr in the late 400s via the Derwent Valley in modern Yorkshire, but settlement north of the North York Moors and the River Tees - ie, within Bryneich - is unlikely until the early 500s. Both kingdoms were taken over by speakers of Old English by the mid 500s at the latest, and medieval chronicles and Welsh poems inform us of many struggles between the two English kingdoms and their many British neighbors.
Norþanhymbrisċ landes (Northumbrian lands)
Beornicna rīċe (Bernician realm)
Beornice (BAY-or-nee-cha) has its origins on the island of Lindisfarena, so-named because it was settled by Englisc travelers led by Benoc from the lands of Lindesege far to the south, beyond the Hymbre. Benoc’s sixth generation descendant, Ida, conquered and created Beornice, becoming its first cyning. Ida’s seat of power was the fortress of Bebbanburh, with another center a day’s ride west at Gefrin; he had twelve sons, and the Bret-wealas called him “Fyrbora”, or Flame-bearer, for he and his sons wreaked destruction and doom upon the wealas who opposed them.
Just a few years ago, the Brettas formed a large alliance, invaded Beornice, and nearly destroyed the realm, besieging Ida’s descendant Hussa on Lindisfarena until their foul alliance turned to infighting. It was not long before the Englisc scattered their invaders and regained their rīċe.
The cynecynn of Beornice claim descent from the twelve sons of Ida, son of Eoppa, grandson of Esa, great-grandson of Benoc, who claimed descent from the great and powerful Ing, who many worship as a god.
Derena rīċe (Deiran realm)
Dere (DAY-reh) is named for the river Derwent which runs through its central vale, where Englisc folc have been residing for over a century at Mæþeltūn and Fīflēas. To the south-west lies Eoforwic, a Wealhisċ ruin mostly surrendered to the flooded fenlands of the Hymbre.
The Derena folc are well protected by moors on the northern side of the realm and fenland and rivers on the south side.
The cynecynn of Dere claim descent from Yffe, grandson of Uscfrea, great-grandson of Wilgils, who claimed descent from the hero Sigegar, bearer of the treasure of the gods and fire-leaper.