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Edwin (Old English: Ēadwine; c. 586 – 12 October 632/633), also known as Eadwine or Æduinus, was the King of Deira and Bernicia – which later became known as Northumbria – from about 616 until his death.
Edwin was an Anglo-Saxon king of Northumbria from 616 to 633. He was the most powerful English ruler of his day and the first Christian king of Northumbria. The son of King Aelle of Deira, one of the two Northumbrian kingdoms, Edwin fled into exile when Aethelric, king of Bernicia, seized power in.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
A significant event happened in the life of St. Edwin in 616: with the support of his faithful friend, King Redwald, St. Edwin defeated and killed King Ethelfrith in battle at the River Idle, thus himself becoming King of Northumbria. But he remained a pagan all the same.
Edwin now became King of all Northumbria and proved to be a powerful warlord. The Battle of the River Idle in 616 CE was a turning point for Edwin but it was also a significant year in other parts of the island of Britain.
Learn about Edwin, the first king of all English peoples south of the Humber, who converted to Christianity and was killed in battle. Find sources, bibliography and feast day of this saint.
Although the Bernician line ultimately became the royal line of Northumbria, a series of Deiran under-kings continued after Oswald, including Oswine (a relation of Edwin murdered by Oswiu in 651), Œthelwald (killed in battle 655), and Aldfrith (son of Oswiu, who disappeared after 664).
Edwin was a prince of the Deiran Royal family from Yorkshire, the eldest son of King Aelle. After his father's death in AD 588, the kingdom was annexed by the armies of King Aethelfrith from adjoining Bernicia, Edwin was forced to flee and he "wandered secretly as a fugitive through many places and kingdoms".
