Deira

Deira (Brittonic: Dubro or dyfr) was a kingdom in Northern England. The Anglian people living there were known as the Dere. Deira occupied the area that was later called the East Riding of Yorkshire. Deira was one of two early Anglian kingdoms north of the River Humber; the other being Bernicia, their northern neighbor. In the early 7th century they combined to become the kingdom of Northumbria.  


 Roman and early Anglian Deira 

In Roman Britain Deira was separated from Bernicia. The two had a broad area between them where no one lived. The Romans had small defensive works in this area to protect the route to Hadrian's Wall.Brian Foster, 'The Boundary between Deira and Bernicia', The Modern Language Review, Vol. 51, No. 4 (Oct., 19560, p. 565 It was a kind of no man's land after the Angles arrived. Deira first came under the control of the Angles in 560 under their leader Ella.Thomas Keightley, The history of England, Volume 1, ed. Joshua Toulmin Smith (Boston: Hilliard, Gray, and Co., 1840), P. 10 He conquered the Britons in Deira in 581. Deira was still blocked from northward expansion by Bernicia. To the west they were blocked by the last remaining British kingdom of any size, Elmet.Christopher A. Snyder, The Britons (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2003), p. 209 King Athelfrith of Bernicia united the kingdoms of Deira and Bernicia into Northumbria.Barbara Yorke, Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England (London; New York: Routledge, 1990), p. 74 In 617 Edwin of Deira defeated Elmet and expelled their king, Cerdic. Deira and Bernicia were separated again briefly after the death of King Oswald. His brother Oswiu of Northumbria inherited the kingship of Bernicia but did not control Deira until 651. From that time until 867, Deira was treated as a subkingdom of Northumbria. In 867 the Vikings took control of Deira.Mike Ashley, The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens (New york: Carroll & Graf, 1999), p. 272

Kings of Deira

 Aelle (–Mike Ashley, The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens (New york: Carroll & Graf, 1999), p. 271
 Athelric (–
 Athelfrith (604–616) Defeated Deira to form Northumbria
 Edwin (616–)
 Osric (–) Kingdom split back into Deira and Bernicia
 —no ruler— (634–635)
 Oswald (645–642) Reunited Northumbria
 Oswiu of Northumbria (642–670) From 654 he ruled Northumbria.Peter Hunter Blair, Roman Britain and Early England; 55 B.C.–A.D. 871 (New York; London: W. W. Norton & Company, 1966), p. 196 had several sub-kings who ruled Deira:
 Oswine (643–651)
 Athelwald (651–655) Only son of King Oswald.
 Alfrith (655–)
 Ecgfrith of Northumbria (664–670) Ruled Deira under his father OswiuD. P. Kirby, The Earliest English Kings, Revised Edition (London; New York: Routledge, 2000), p. 84
 Ecgfrith of Northumbria (670–685) Ruled Northumbria. Gave Deira to his brother:D. P. Kirby, The Earliest English Kings, Revised Edition (London; New York: Routledge, 2000), p. 81
Elfwine (670–679)
 Aldfrith (685–704) Ruled Northumbria including Deira

 Notes 

 References 

Category:Anglo-Saxons
Category:Petty kingdoms of England