Guthred
{{for multi|the 10th-century king of Northumbria sometimes called Guthfrith|Gofraid ua Ímair|the name itself|Guðrøðr}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox royalty
| succession = King of Northumbria
| image =
| caption =
| reign = {{circa}} 883 – 24 August 895 (or perhaps 894)
| predecessor = Ecgberht II
| successor = Sigfroðr or Knútr (or both)
| house =
| issue =
| full name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date = 24 August 895 (or perhaps 894)
| date of burial =
| place of burial = York Minster, York
| religion = unknown, probably syncretic
| spouse =
| father = Hardacnut Sigurdsson
| mother =
}}
Guthred Hardacnutsson (Old Norse: Guðrøðr; {{langx|la|Guthfridus}}; born c. 844 – died 24 August 895 AD) was the second viking king of Northumbria from circa 883 until his death.
Life
=Kings of Northumbria in the Norse era=
The first known king of Viking York, Halfdan, was expelled in 877. In c. 883, Symeon of Durham's History of the Kings simply states, "Guthred, from a slave, was made king", but his History of the Church of Durham gives a longer account. Here he writes that after Halfdan was driven out:
During this time the [Viking] army, and such of the inhabitants as survived, being without a king, were insecure; whereupon the blessed Cuthbert himself appeared in a vision to abbot Eadred [of the monastery at Carlisle]...[and] addressed him in the following words:—"Go to the army of the Danes," he said, "and announce to them that you are come as my messenger; and ask where you can find a lad named Guthred, the son of Hardacnut, whom they sold to a widow. Having found him, and paid the widow the price of his liberty, let him be brought forward before the whole aforesaid army; and my will and pleasure is, that he be elected and appointed king at Oswiesdune, (that is, Oswin's hill), and let the bracelet be placed upon his right arm.Symeon of Durham, History of the Church of Durham, Chapter XXVIII.
It is not clear whether Guthred was a Christian, but his relations with the community of Saint Cuthbert, which was a major force in the former Bernicia, and which had lain outside the influence of Halfdan, whose authority was limited to the former Deira—approximately Yorkshire—were good. He granted much land between the River Tyne and the River Wear to the community. This had once belonged to the Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey, and formed the core lands of the church of Durham. Other lands, at the mouth of the River Tees, Guthred allowed Eadred to purchase for the church.Higham, Northern Counties, pp. 310–311.
Symeon recounts that Guthred faced a large invasion by the Scots, which was defeated with the aid of Saint Cuthbert.Symeon of Durham, History of the Church of Durham, Chapters XXVIII–XXIX.
Death
Guthred died on 24 August 895 (or perhaps 894) and was buried at York Minster.Stenton, pp. 262–263.
Æthelweard the 10th century historian, wrote in his Chronicon for 895:
{{blockquote|There also died Guthfrith. king of the Northumbrians, on the feast of the apostle St Bartholomew [24 August]; his body is entombed in the city of York in the chief church.{{Cite web |url=http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/sources/aethelweard.htm |title=The Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Aethelweard |access-date=23 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228002013/http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/sources/aethelweard.htm |archive-date=28 December 2008 }}}}
Cultural depictions
=Literature=
Guthred appears as a character in Bernard Cornwell's The Saxon Stories series, figuring particularly in The Lords of the North (2006).
=Television=
He is portrayed by Thure Lindhardt in the TV adaptation of Cornwell's novel series, The Last Kingdom.
= Video games =
In Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia, Guthred (spelled Guthfrid in the game) leads the playable faction of Northymbre.{{Citation|last=Total War|title=Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia – Northymbre Trailer|date=2018-03-15|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd-wkZfgZOw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/Cd-wkZfgZOw |archive-date=2021-12-15 |url-status=live|access-date=2018-03-15}}{{cbignore}}
Notes
{{reflist}}
References
{{refbegin}}
- {{citation |last=Downham |first=Clare |title=Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland: The Dynasty of Ívarr to A.D. 1014 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=Dunedin |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-903765-89-0 }}
- {{citation |last=Higham |first=N. J. |title=The Northern Counties to AD 1000 |location=Harlow |publisher=Longman |year=1986 |isbn=0-582-49276-9 }}
- {{citation |last=Higham |first=N. J. |title=The Kingdom of Northumbria AD 350–1100 |location=Stroud |publisher=Sutton |year=1993 |isbn=0-86299-730-5}}
- {{citation |last=Hudson |first=Benjamin|author-link=Benjamin Hudson |title=Viking Pirates and Christian Princes: Dynasty, Religion and Empire in the North Atlantic |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fH0mL0m95fsC |isbn=0-19-516237-4 |year=2005 |oclc=55286670 }}
- {{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VSADAAAAQAAJ |title=The Historical Works of Simeon of Durham |access-date=2007-01-27 |author1=Symeon of Durham |author-link=Symeon of Durham |translator=J. Stevenson |year=1855 |work=Church Historians of England, volume III, part II |publisher=Seeley's }}
- {{citation |last=Stenton |first=Frank M.|author-link=Frank Stenton |year=1971 |title=Anglo-Saxon England|edition=3rd |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-280139-2 |oclc=185499725}}
- {{citation |last=Woolf |first=Alex |author-link=Alex Woolf |title=From Pictland to Alba, 789–1070 |year=2007 |series=The New Edinburgh History of Scotland |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |location=Edinburgh |isbn=978-0-7486-1234-5}}
{{refend}}
External links
- {{PASE|13385|Guthfrith 3}}
{{Northumbrian Monarchs}}
{{Viking Invasion of England}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guthred, King of York}}
Category:Year of birth unknown