NORTHERN POWERHOUSE

During its turbulent four-century history, the kingdom of Northumbria clashed with Pictish warriors, Welsh kings and Viking raiders. Fiona Edmonds tells the story of an ambitious realm that changed the face of early medieval Britain

- Fiona Edmonds

On 20 May 685, Bishop (and future saint) Cuthbert was admiring the wonders of Carlisle, where he was visiting Queen Iurminburh, wife of King Ecgfrith of Northumbria. Touring this former Roman bastion, the cleric marvelled at a fountain that continued to flow many centuries after it was built. But then, we're told, Cuthbert became suddenly troubled. Leaning on his staff, he declared sorrowfully: "Now, the contest is decided!" Two days later, a Northumbrian warrior arrived from the north, relaying grave news: the king, Iurminburh's husband, was dead. Cuthbert's premonition had been proved correct.

Earlier that month, Ecgfrith had led his army north into the lands of the Picts. For many years, Northumbria had exacted tribute from some of the peoples living north of the Forth and Clyde estuaries. Now, Ecgfrith decided, it was time to enforce his overlordship. Friends had counselled against this expedition, not least Cuthbert - wise advice, as it transpired. On 20 May, the day of the bishop's dire pronouncement in Carlisle, a Pictish force launched a devastating ambush, killing King Ecgfrith and his elite retinue.

More than 1,300 years later, we're still unsure where Ecgfrith met his end. One thing seems certain, though: the clash now known as the battle of Nechtansmere (or Dún Nechtain) was fought in Pictish territory, deep in what's now Scotland. This demonstrates a key point that challenges widely held views. Northumbria has long been seen through the lens of English history: a kingdom whose future lay as a part of the English state. Yet clearly that's not how Ecgfrith saw it. In fact, the Northumbrians looked west and north as well as east and south.

Territorial ambitions

In its heyday in the late seventh century, the kingdom of Northumbria extended from the Humber and the river Mersey north to the Firth of Forth, deep in modern Scotland, and established extensive links across the Irish Sea.