Adda of Bernicia
Deceased Person
– 0568
Who was Adda of Bernicia?
Adda was the third known ruler of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Bernicia.
Adda was one of several sons born to Ida, the first ruler of Bernicia, as was his successor Æthelric.
Adda may have been the Bernician commander at the battle of Caer Greu, where the British kings Peredur and Gwrgi of Ebrauc were killed. There is some confusion here because of a conflict between sources. The Annales Cambriae state that the Battle of Caer Greu took place in 580. The evidence for Adda being the Bernician king in question is that the Welsh Triads identify that leader as Ida. Since the sources agree that Ida died in 559, it is assumed that the Triads have named Ida by mistake, and that Adda—the only son with a name similar to Ida's -- was meant. However, the Historia Brittonum states that Adda only reigned for 8 years after Ida, in which case either the Bernician leader must have been one of Adda's successors, or else one of the sources has the dates confused. It is also possible that Ælle of Deira led the Angles at Caer Greu—certainly, Ebrauc ceased to exist as a British kingdom after the battle, with Deira taking over its territory. Since, however, the surviving northern British kingdoms subsequently combined to launch a vigorous campaign directed against Bernicia rather than Deira, this suggests that Bernicia was the original combatant.
We need you!
Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!
Citation
Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Adda of Bernicia." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/adda_of_bernicia>.
Discuss this Adda of Bernicia biography with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In