
Oswald of East Anglia was King of East Anglia from 874 to 880, succeeding Aethelstan II. He was an ally of the Danes, marrying the Danish woman Valdis and cementing his power with the help of the Norwegian Viking Eivor in 873, slaying the rebellious Danish warlord Rued.
Biography[]
Oswald was born in Elmenham, East Anglia (present-day North Elmham, Norfolk, England) to a family of Anglo-Saxon nobility. He served as a counselor to King Edmund of East Anglia until Edmund's martyrdom in 869 AD, and, after Aethelstan II of East Anglia's death in battle at the hands of the Viking lord Rued in 874 AD, Oswald came to be the last East Anglian Saxon noble with any sway. As such, the Danish steward of East Engle, Finnr, offered Oswald the crown in exchange for his marriage to Halfdan Whiteshirt's cousin Valdis. Oswald agreed, but Valdis' brothers Broder and Brothir refused to let their sister marry Oswald due to his perceived feebleness; Oswald was an idealistic nobleman who sought to rule over both Danes and Saxons as a just king, but he was not seen as a great warrior or confident leader.
He later met the Norwegian Viking Eivor when Eivor arrived in Norwich to deal with Rued, who had recently ordered an attack on his settlement of Ravensthorpe. Eivor promised to help Oswald against Rued, and Oswald, in turn, promised to be a strong ally of Eivor. Eivor helped Oswald to find confidence, teaching him how to engage in flyting competitions and how to fight in a holmgang duel. Oswald gradually learned to be a confident leader and warrior, especially after he led the attack on Rued's coastal base at Serpent's Landing. However, he was overconfident in his ability to make peace, deciding to meet with Rued at Dunwich. There, Rued declined Oswald's peace offers and instead settled on a duel to the death for control of East Anglia. During the duel, Oswald was beaten down and nearly dropped from a ledge, only for him to pull Rued down with him. Both of them survived the fall into the North Sea, but Rued held Oswald as his prisoner, with East Anglia believing Oswald dead.
During the Battle of Burgh Castle, however, Eivor and the East Anglian fyrd found that Oswald had survived, and they celebrated this news. Eivor then defeated and captured Rued following a duel, and Oswald was freed from the prison and decided that Rued should be tried by a just court. Oswald proceeded to hold his wedding and coronation in Elmenham as planned, exchanging rings with Valdis in a happy wedding; the two of them fell in love for the first time. The wedding was interrupted when Rued broke free from his guards, and, while Oswald initially accepted Rued's challenge to a duel, Eivor decided to serve as Oswald's champion to ensure the king's survival, and Eivor then slew Rued in a duel. Eivor then bade farewell to Oswald, who thanked Eivor for his great service and assured him that he would be at Eivor's side when needed.