Brythonic Deira Following the
Roman withdrawal from Britain a number of successor kingdoms rose in northern England, reflecting pre-Roman tribal territories. The area between
the Humber and
River Tees known as or corresponds to the tribal lands of the
Parisi, bordered to the west and north by the Brythonic kingdoms of
Elmet () and
Bernicia () respectively, and to the east by the
North Sea. Early Deira may have centred on
Petuaria (modern
Brough) and archaeological evidence shows that the town was refortified. Petuaria was a great tribal centre for the Parisi, but declined in importance from the mid-fourth century (possibly as the harbour silted up). After this period,
Derventio (modern
Malton) may have functioned as the region's capital. It is not known if Deira was ever an independent Brythonic kingdom, and no British king has been identified with the area from the surviving genealogies, poems or chronicles. However the area was subject to the same fractious inheritance traditions and changing power dynamic (following the Roman withdrawal) that allowed
Elmet and Bernicia to become independent hereditary kingdoms in the early fifth century. In
Welsh literature, Deira is part of the (The Old North) region, which was divided into many related kingdoms after the death of (Coel the Old).
Anglian Deira The kingdom, which was previously ruled by a British dynasty, was probably created in the third quarter of the fifth century when Anglian warriors invaded the
Derwent Valley. Anglian Deira's territory also extended from the
Humber to the
Tees, and from the sea to the western edge of the
Vale of York. It later merged with the kingdom of
Bernicia, its northern neighbour, to form the kingdom of
Northumbria. According to
Simeon of Durham (writing early in the 12th century), Deira extended from the
Humber to the
Tyne, but the land was waste north of the
Tees. The Brythonic kingdom centred on ("boar-place"), which may have also been called
Ebrauc. After the city was taken by King Edwin of the Angles, it became , the capital of the new Anglian kingdom. Archaeology suggests that the Anglian royal house was in place by the middle of the fifth century, but the first certainly recorded king is
Ælla in the late sixth century. After his death, Deira was subject to king
Æthelfrith of Bernicia, who united the two kingdoms into Northumbria. Æthelfrith ruled until the accession of Ælla's son
Edwin, in 616 or 617, who also ruled both kingdoms until 633.
Osric, the nephew of Edwin, ruled Deira after Edwin, but his son
Oswine was put to death by
Oswiu in 651. For a few years subsequently, Deira was governed by
Æthelwald son of
Oswald of Bernicia.
Bede wrote of Deira in his
Historia Ecclesiastica (completed in 731).
Anglian kings of Deira == Notes ==