Right-believing (Ruler) 7th century

Saint Oswald King and Martyr of Northumbria

c. 604 – 642

Also known as Oswald of Northumbria

A Christian king of Northumbria who, returning from exile, set up the Cross and led his people to victory and to the faith, and fell at last in battle against the heathen, calling on God for the souls of his men; venerated as a martyr.

Feast Day

August 5

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Commemorated as

The Holy Martyr Oswald, King of Northumbria

Life

Oswald was a seventh-century king of Northumbria, in the north of Anglo-Saxon England, who is venerated as a martyr and as a promoter of the Christian faith among his people. Born around 604, he was a son of King Aethelfrith of Bernicia; his mother, Acha, was a sister of King Edwin of Deira. He reigned over Northumbria from about 633 or 634 until his death in battle in 642, and is commemorated on August 5.

After his father was killed in battle, Oswald fled north with his family to the kingdom of Dal Riata and found refuge among the monks of Iona. There, during an exile that the sources reckon at some seventeen years, he was baptized into the Christian faith according to the usage of the Celtic Church and learned the Gaelic language. This formation among the Ionan monks shaped the character of his later reign, when he drew upon the same monastic community to evangelize his kingdom.

Oswald is remembered above all for two things: the Christian cast he gave to his rule and his death at the hands of the pagan king Penda of Mercia. The sources credit him with extending the recognition of his authority widely among the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, such that he was reckoned a 'Bretwalda,' an overlord of Britain, during the roughly eight years of his reign. His fall in battle, understood as a death suffered in defense of a Christian realm against a heathen adversary, led his people to honor him quickly as a martyr.

Timeline 5 moments Read Hide

c. 604 Birth Born a son of King Aethelfrith of Bernicia and Acha of Deira.
after his father's death Exile at Iona Fled to Dal Riata and was baptized among the monks of Iona, spending some seventeen years in exile.
c. 634 Battle of Heavenfield Set up a wooden cross, prayed with his army, and defeated Cadwallon to secure his kingdom.
c. 633–642 Reign over Northumbria Reigned as king and was reckoned a Bretwalda, inviting Aidan from Iona and granting him Lindisfarne.
August 5, 642 Martyrdom at Maserfield Fell in battle against Penda of Mercia; his body was dismembered and he came to be venerated as a martyr.

Contributions & Legacy

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The Cross at Heavenfield

On returning from exile to claim his kingdom, Oswald faced the British king Cadwallon, whose forces were the stronger. According to the tradition reported by the sources, before the engagement Oswald had a wooden cross set up, holding it in place himself while earth was packed into the hole to secure it, and then summoned his army to kneel and pray to the one true God for deliverance. The site of the battle, fought around 634, is remembered as Heavenfield. Oswald's victory there both secured his throne and was understood as a vindication of the faith he professed.

Having won his kingdom, Oswald did not turn to the Roman clergy established at Canterbury but instead sent to Iona for missionaries to preach to his subjects. The monk Aidan was sent in response, and Oswald granted him the island of Lindisfarne, off the Northumbrian coast, where Aidan founded a monastery ordered on the pattern of the Celtic communities. The sources relate that the king accompanied Aidan on his missionary journeys and, knowing the Gaelic tongue from his years in exile, translated the bishop's preaching for the people.

Charity, Death, and Veneration

Tradition associates Oswald with conspicuous generosity to the poor. One account relates that when the king gave away his own meal to those in need, Aidan took his hand and blessed it with the words that it should never perish; the hand was afterward said to have remained incorrupt. Oswald married Cyneburh, a daughter of King Cynegils of Wessex, and had a son named Aethelwald.

Oswald fell at the Battle of Maserfield on August 5, 642, at about the age of thirty-eight, fighting against Penda of Mercia, the same adversary he had earlier overcome. The sources relate that his body was dismembered and his head and limbs set upon stakes. He was soon venerated as a martyr; a well of healing was said to have arisen at the place where his arm came to rest, and the site became known as Oswestry, 'Oswald's Tree.' His relics were later gathered with those of Saints Aidan and Cuthbert, and his head is preserved at Durham Cathedral.

Notes

Pre-schism Western saint.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints