The Siege of Bebbanburg was a series of intermittent Scottish attacks on the Northumbrian-held town of Bebbanburg (Bamburgh Castle) which occurred throughout 910 AD. The Scots, aiming to conquer Northumbria for themselves, gradually chipped away at the strength of Bebbanburg's defenders in a series of border attacks.
Background[]
The Scots had been the ancestral enemies of the ruling Anglo-Saxon family of Bebbanburg for centuries, and Ealdorman Uhtred of Bebbanburg fought them off several times during the late 9th century AD. After Uhtred's death at the hands of the Vikings in 866 AD, his brother Aelfric of Bebbanburg usurped the castle from Uhtred's son and heir, also named Uhtred (as per family tradition), and plotted Uhtred's murder for decades. However, the young Uhtred was raised by his father's Danish killers, and he grew up to be a Norse pagan. Nonetheless, the younger Uhtred bore a determination to reclaim his birthright, and, even as he was entrapped into serving Kings Alfred the Great and Edward the Elder of Wessex in southern England, he always aimed to reclaim his home.
Siege[]
First attacks[]
A Scottish attack on Bebbanburg
By 910, Bebbanburg was in a vulnerable position. Aelfric had banished his son and sole heir Wihtgar, who had died on the Southern Seas a year earlier. Meanwhile, the Scots once again set about attacking Bebbanburg with the goal of gaining access to the rest of Northumbria. Aelfric and the garrison of Bebbanburg fought off numerous Scottish assaults on the beach, but the Northumbrian defenders gradually lost men.
The aftermath of an attack
In one particularly devastating attack, Aelfric and his men routed one Scottish force which fled up a hill, and, while pursuing this force, Aelfric discovered that another Scottish force was charging his men from behind. He was forced to order a retreat to the castle itself, and he and 40 of his men shut the gates before some of their fellow Northumbrian soldiers could make it into the castle, abandoning them to their deaths. The Scots killed all of the Northumbrian troops abandoned on the drawbridge before retreating back into Scotland, where they would inevitably be reinforced and launch another attack on the castle in force.
Seeking aid[]
By this point, Aelfric had lost half of his men and had only 40 men to defend the castle. He initially sent his steward Aidan to hire mercenaries to defend the castle, as none of the local lords would be willing to raise a fyrd to defend him. Aidan told him that no mercenary would fight for him, even with three times the silver they were usually paid, and Aidan instead suggested that Aelfric trade the heart of Saint Oswald (a Northumbrian treasure) for Mercian support. Aelfric initially refused, seeing the heart as a sign of his personal piety, but he ultimately relented once he discovered that Lord Aethelred of Mercia had sent two monks to purchase the heart from him. He decided to bleed the silver and buy the men, but, before this could happen, his long-lost son Wihtgar arrived with two ships of men. The prodigal son returned with men from all corners of the earth, volunteering them to help defend Bebbanburg.
Infiltration[]
The monks entering Bebbanburg
Meanwhile, Uhtred and his band sailed to Bebbanburg on a fishing boat, stopping at Grimsby so that Uhtred's son "Young Uhtred" could join the two monks on their journey to Bebbanburg, infiltrate the castle, and open the seagate. Young Uhtred succeeded after extensive begging, as the two monks were callous and cruel. Aelfric initially refused to let the three monks in, as he no longer required reinforcements, but Young Uhtred flattered Aelfric into letting him admire "the greatest fortress of the north" (although Aelfric had them stay in the slave quarters).
Assault[]
Aelfric's death
That night, Young Uhtred signalled Uhtred and the others by dropping a torch from the walls, so Uhtred and his party stealthily approached the gate and killed the guards. However, Young Uhtred was captured before he could open the gate, and he was brought to the courtyard to be brutally interrogated. Meanwhile, Uhtred had his men forcibly open the gates with an oar so that he could sneak under the gate and open it all the way, letting them into the castle. He saw that his son was being beaten up by the guard, and that the two monks had been executed by the interrogator, so he grabbed Aelfric from behind and threatened to cut his throat unless the defenders pledged allegiance to him, in return for which he would swear them an oath and be a better lord. He then asked Aidan if he recognized him, and if he would accept him as ruler. Aidan instead said that he supported the "rightful heir" and pointed up to Wihtgar, who aimed a crossbow at Uhtred and threatened to shoot him. Uhtred tried to persuade him to put down the crossbow, but he instead shot Aelfric in the eye and proclaimed himself the new ruler of Bebbanburg. He then threatened to shoot Uhtred, but Father Beocca attempted to intercede, suggesting that Aelfric's death could lead to a new beginning between the cousins, and that they should work together to fight off the Scots and restore peace. However, Wihtgar said that northerners had no interest in peace, saying that there could only be one heir; he then told Uhtred that he would first kill his son. When Wihtgar fired his crossbow at Young Uhtred, Beocca threw himself into its path, sacrificing his life to save his young friend. Uhtred, anguished and infuriated, proceeded to lash out at the guards, and he and his men slew several of them before Finan dragged Uhtred away from Beocca's body and had him come to their boat. They fled on their boat while dodging catapult fire, and they were forced to head south to recoup and recover.