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Oswald, King of Northumbria died in battle 642 Oswald was king of Northumbria from 634 to 642. He was one of the first Christian kings in England. Bede, in his Eccleiastical History writes of him: As soon as he became king, Oswald greatly wished that all the people whom he ruled should be imbued with the grace of the Christian faith, of which he had received such signal proof in his victory over the heathen. |
Oswald was not born a Christian. At the age of 12, following the death of his father when a rival king seized the kingdom of Northumbria, Oswald and his brothers fled to Scotland where they found refuge with the monks of St Columba on Iona. During this time he was converted to the Christian faith and spent time preparing for the day when he would be able to return to Northumbria and reclaim his crown.
To secure the kingdom he had to fight the pagan king Cadwallon. As he prepared for battle, Oswald had a large wooden cross erected and he ordered his soldirs to pray. The battle was won and the field where it took place was named Heavenfield.
Once settled, Oswald sent to Iona for missionaries to come and teach Christianity to his subjects. A gentle and encouraging Irish monk named Aidan was sent and Oswald worked with him, acting as interpretor. Many Northumbrians were baptised and it became a Christian kingdom with churches established and the island of Lindisfarne given over to Aidan as a monastic base.
Oswald was known for his generosity to the poor. There is a legend that on one occasion a poor man came to the castle at Bamburgh asking for food. Oswald sent out food on a silver plate and insisted that when the man had eaten, he should sell the plate and use the money to buy what his family needed.
Oswald united peoples of the large area of Northumbria (literally the lands north of the Humber) in faith and politically. However holding onto a kingdom in those times was difficult and kings frequently had to go out and fight for their security. Oswald was killed in battle with the pagan king Penda of Mercia. However the Christian faith of his kingdom continued to flourish through the ministry of Aidan and his successors.
At his death, Oswald's body was dismembered and taken as trophies of Penda's victory to various places. Oswald's head is buried in Durham Cathedral next to the body of Cuthbert another of the great northern saints, who became Bishop of Lindisfarne just 2 years after Oswald's death.