Celtic Kingdoms of the British Isles

North Rheged (Romano-Britons)

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The capital of the north of Roman Britain was Eboracum (modern York), former territory of the Brigantes. From AD 197 it was the capital of the province of Britannia Inferior but, in the early fourth century, this was renamed Britannia Secunda and was reduced in size, roughly from the Humber to Hadrian's Wall. This created the concept of a 'Kingdom of Northern Britain' which would be preserved in oral and written traditions in Wales (see feature link for more).

It is this late Roman province which Coel Hen is traditionally assumed to have inherited at the end of the fourth century AD (see feature link). If that tradition has any basis in fact then Coel Hen was effectively the first post-Roman Governor of the north. According to the sources, out of this was formed the kingdom of Rheged, upon the death of St Ceneu ap Coel.

Two generations later, with the loss of Rheged's Meirchion Gul around 535, even that territory was divided. The Rhegedian capital of Caer Ligualid (Carlisle) was retained for North Rheged, while Caer Robais probably served South Rheged.

The northern kingdom's most famous king, Urien Rheged, also had a palace at Llwyfenydd (probably the River Lyvennet, close to Crosby Ravensworth in Cumbria), and probable dwellings at Caer Brogwm (Brougham) and Pen Rhionydd (possibly near Stranraer).

Caer Ligualid seems to have remained occupied as Roman authority faded. The headquarters building (principia), has been shown to have remained in use after the end of the fourth century. Similarly, buildings remained in use which were adjacent to the south side of the Via Principalis. Birdoswald on Hadrian's Wall also remained in use, with one of the granaries near the west gate being demolished at the end of the fourth century to be replaced by a timber hall.

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(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Edward Dawson, from The Landscape of King Arthur, Geoffrey Ashe, from Rheged: An Early Historic Kingdom near the Solway, Mike McCarthy, from the Annales Cambriae, James Ingram (taken from the Harleian manuscript, the earliest surviving version, London, Everyman Press, 1912), from History of the Kings of Britain, Geoffrey of Monmouth, from The Oxford History of England: The English Settlements, J N L Meyers, from the Historia Brittonum (The History of the Britons), Nennius (J A Giles, Ed & Trans, 1841, published as part of Six Old English Chronicles (Henry G Bohn, London, 1848)), from The Anglo-Saxon Age c.400-1042, D J V Fisher, from The Cambridge Historical Encyclopaedia of Great Britain and Ireland, Christopher Haigh (Ed), and from External Links: Mote of Mark (Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland), and 'Lost kingdom' linked to Galloway (BBC News), and The fiery demise of a vitrified hillfort in Scotland (Past Horizons, dead link), and The Realm of Rheged (Heavenfield).)

535 - c.570

Son of Meirchion of Rheged. First king of North Rheged.

547

To the east, the British kingdom of Bernaccia is seized by Angles who have been serving as laeti. The ruling king, Morgan Bulc is forced out.

He takes refuge with the Guotodin, shifting his power base there, but the loss leaves North Rheged's border exposed to the invaders. As one of the stronger northern kingdoms, Rheged develops into a key player in the task of keeping the Angles bottled up in their new capital.

This iron axe head was found in Denton Holme on the banks of the River Caldew, now a suburb of Carlisle but formerly an important city within the borders of Rheged

c.550

Galwyddel is invaded by North Rheged and is annexed to the kingdom. Its king is forced to flee with his family to Ynys Manau. How Rheged may have managed an invasion when it seemingly doesn't share a land border with Galwyddel is a simple matter to answer.

Caer-Guendoleu apparently stretches down to the head of the Solway Firth, blocking Rheged's land access to Galwyddel, but Guendoleu and Rheged are allies (they do not fight each other in the battle of AD 573).

Therefore there is no reason to suppose that Rheged's warband would not be permitted to pass through Guendoleu's territory to reach Galwyddel. Records are so lacking in detail though that Guendoleu's warband could ride with them and it will never be known.

This would also seem a likely point for the reoccupation of an early hill fort at Rockcliffe, overlooking Rough Firth (the Urr Estuary) approximately twenty-five kilometres to the south-west of Dumfries. Today it is known as the Mote of Mark (after King Mark of Cornwall, perhaps due to a confusion - both he and Cynfarch Oer have fathers named Meirchion).

The Mote of Mark is an early hill fort at Rockcliffe, overlooking Rough Firth, which was occupied in the sixth century, presumably by Rheged's nobility

The fort is occupied from the sixth century and has a seaward side which falls sharply away to the water, while on the landward side is a rampart, a drystone wall in a timber frame, one of the few partial British parallels to Cadbury Castle.

This rampart does not go all the way around, and the protected enclosure is much smaller, just sixty-one metres by forty metres. Inside, fragments of metal and jewellery prove the presence of craftsmen and a rich patron.

559

This is the date upon which the Angles in Deywr pronounce the creation of their kingdom of Deira, perhaps with help from their kinsmen in Bernicia. The outcome is that Ebrauc suddenly faces a threat on two sides. The once formidably strong north is now showing cracks in its defences.

The third century Multangular Tower in York (Ebrauc) lies at the western corner of the legionary fortress, which was probably the military HQ of fifth century 'Northern Britain'. The tower's remains are now part of York's Museum Gardens

c.570 - 590

Son. Possible High King. The Arthurian 'King Uther of Gore'.

c.570

Urien Rheged is the most famous of all of the kingdom's rulers. He is mentioned both by Nennius and Taliesin as the victor of several encounters with the Bernicians. Taliesin also names him as the ruler of Rheged, and he is named more specifically as the ruler of Llwyfenydd (probably the River Lyvennet, close to Crosby Ravensworth in Cumbria), where he has a palace.

This places him squarely in North Rheged, while his exploits and authority make him a major figure in Romano-British history, so much so that he is a candidate for the office or role of high king, effectively the battle leader of the Britons.

573

Rheged gains the small northern Selgovae state of Caer-Guendoleu following one of the most pointless and destructive disputes of the period, King Guenddolau is killed in battle against Rhydderch Hen of Alt Clut, most probably for territorial reasons. Rhydderch is aided by Ebrauc and Dunoting. Upon gaining the territory, Urien places his two brothers in command of it, primarily, it would seem, to prevent it being captured by Rhydderch Hen.

At the start of this period, the Angle and Saxon kingdoms on the east and south coasts were firmly established. Many of the rapidly-formed Romano-British territories in those areas had been swept away in the late fifth century (click or tap on map to view full sized)

577 or 579

Urien fights King Theobald of fledgling Bernicia when he besieges the Angles at Metcaud (Lindisfarne in the northern part of the modern county of Northumberland). His son, Owain, kills Theobald in battle (presumably the Flamdwyn, or 'Flamebearer', of British literature) after the latter demands hostages which are refused. Urien also receives a mention for 586.

c.580

The Deirans have continued to gain ground on Ebrauc, and in this year the Annales Cambriae (see feature link) records that Ebrauc's king and his brother, Peredyr and Gwrgi, both die. It seems likely that this is in the last stages of the defence of the city, which now seems to fall to the Deirans.

Urien gains the territory of Catreath (generally accepted as Catterick in North Yorkshire), while the loss of Ebrauc to the Deirans leaves Elmet's long north-eastern border exposed, and also exposes Dunoting.

The rugged territory of Dunoting, which included Craven, was a relatively tough area in which to survive, and the population figures for Dunoting were probably quite low

590

Elmet and Rheged form a confederation of British kings, primarily based and operating in the north. The dispossessed Morcant Bulc of Guotodin and Rhiderch Hael of Alt Clut both join the confederation in operations against the Angles, and are present at the siege of Ynys Metcaut (Lindisfarne) in this year.

The Bernicians are almost driven out of Britain but the confederation falls apart when Morcant Bulc has Urien Rheged assassinated, fearing his great power should the Britons win the war against the invaders. His act fatally weakens the British cause in the north.

c.590 - c.597

Son. Last powerful king. Mentioned in 586 & 593.

595

Five years after Urien's assassination, North Rheged's borders are threatened as the Pennine kingdom of Dunoting falls to Bernicia. As a background to the military failures, this late sixth century period produces no Christian activity in three sites in Carlisle which are important in the seventh to ninth centuries (the cathedral, St Michael's Church, and the Workington & Dacre monastery site - see feature link for more).

This suggests that Christianity under the British Church is loosely enforced or encouraged, but that the later Anglian masters of Carlisle impose it more forcefully.

The isle of Lindisfarne, or Ynys Metcaut to the British, remained the fortress by which the Angles held onto their kingdom in the face of repeated British attacks, but Din Guayroi or Guarie (Bamburgh Castle) shown here may have been another

c.597

Morcant Bulc, dispossessed king of Bernaccia, attacks Rheged and kills Owain, fatally weakening the kingdom. Catreath is lost, prompting the Guotodin-led attack (described in The Gododdin poem) to try and retrieve it.

Rheged survives for a few more years with a ruler who's name is uncertain, although it is likely to be Owain's son, Elffin. There is the additional possibility that Llywarch Hen of South Rheged exercises his authority over the north. This theory is based on the existence of a castle overlooking the Nith estuary on the Solway Firth called Caerlaverock, which translates in Old Welsh as 'the fort of Llywarch'.

c.597 - c.616

Son. Ruled? Held the remains of the kingdom?

c.600s

The former Roman town of Luguvalium, capital of the Carvetii tribe of Brigantes, still survives into the seventh century, with a town council and a working aqueduct. The signs of severe decay which can be found in a great many Roman towns after up to a century of abandonment or limited occupation are missing here. The town remains an important stronghold in the north.

c.616

The remnants of North Rheged collapse after being overrun by Edwin of Bernicia, although there is the possibility that an enclave remains. The Mote of Mark fort in Galwyddel, reoccupied in the sixth century, is destroyed by fire in the seventh century, possibly during the collapse of North Rheged. Trusty's Hill Fort at Gatehouse of Fleet is also destroyed in the same period.

Excavations have discovered that Trusty's Hill Fort at Gatehouse of Fleet in Galloway was the seat of a royal court, probably that of the region's chieftains both before and after the occupation by Rheged, but was destroyed by fire during the Anglian takeover

c.616? - c.638?

Grandson of Urien Rheged via Rhun. Ruled?

c.638?

If Rhoedd map Rhun (son of Rhun, himself another son of Urien Rheged) does rule any remaining part of Rheged for any length of time, he is almost certainly the last to do so. The kingdom is not mentioned again in history or in verse.

654 - 664

Aldfrith is the son of Oswiu of Bernicia, king of a united Northumbria since 654. Aldfrith's mother had been, according to Nennius, Rienmelth, daughter of Royth (or Rhwyth), better known as Rhoedd map Rhun map Urien Rheged.

At the very least, Oswiu's marriage to Rienmelth is a dynastic union, albeit with a bride whose family has found themselves in severely reduced circumstances. It also solidifies his claim to rule all of the north, a land which he and his forebears have reunited so that it closely resembles the 'Kingdom of Northern Britain' over two hundred years prior to this.

The Britons of Rheged are not displaced by the legal union with Northumbria. Quite the opposite in fact. They appear to retain a strong cultural identity and infrastructure which is only destroyed in the ninth century, when the Vikings of York take control.

The Northumbrians seized the plain of Kyle following a heavy battle between its former owners, the Britons of Alt Clut, and the Picts - presumably this loss cut off the Britons from the southern territory of Cumbria

By the beginning of the tenth century, the Britons and Scots of Strathclyde control Cumbria. With Aldfrith's death, his sub-kingdom of Deira is apparently drawn fully within Northumbria to be ruled as a single kingdom. His daughter, Eahlflæd, becomes a nun while a smaller Northumbria is held by the Vikings until forcibly united with the rest of England.