
Uhtred of Bebbanburg (891-), known during his father's lifetime as Young Uhtred, was the eldest son of Uhtred of Bebbanburg and Gisela Harthacnutsdottir. Formerly a Catholic priest, he later reconciled with his father and joined him on his quest to retake Bebbanburg.
Biography[]
Uhtred was born in Coccham, Berkshire, England in 891, the eldest son of Ealdorman Uhtred of Bebbanburg and Gisela Harthacnutsdottir and the older brother of Stiorra and Osbert. As a toddler, his mother taught him that his father was a man who always fought to protect his loved ones and for nothing else, but he was torn from his father when King Alfred the Great of Wessex decreed that he was to be raised in the Catholic Church to spite Uhtred. Young Uhtred assumed the Christian name "Oswald" and became a monk, and he grew estranged from his father, whom he was taught was a priest-killer and a heathen.
Family reunion[]

Young Uhtred talking with his father
In 910, however, his father had him kidnapped from his community in order to help his father reclaim Bebbanburg for his line of the family. Young Uhtred was initially reluctant to help his father, but Father Beocca befriended the young Uhtred and convinced him that his father might become a Christian if Young Uhtred was to help him complete his quest to retake Bebbanburg from his uncle, Aelfric of Bebbanburg. Young Uhtred was sent into Bebbanburg with two monks and told to open the sea gate to his father and his company after signalling them with a torch at night, and, while Uhtred succeeded in signalling his father, he was captured before he could open the gate. The interrogator killed the two monks before Aelfric ordered that Young Uhtred also be executed.
Infiltration of Bebbanburg[]

Finan consoling Young Uhtred
Before Young Uhtred could be killed, Uhtred himself snuck into the courtyard and held Aelfric hostage, threatening to kill him unless the defenders recognized him as the true heir. However, Aelfric's own estranged son Wihtgar of Bebbanburg shot Aelfric in the eye with a crossbow and claimed to be the new Lord of Bebbanburg. He then told Uhtred that there could only be one heir to the castle, so he told Uhtred that he would make him watch his son die before his eyes. Wihtgar fired the crossbow, but Beocca stood in Young Uhtred's path and sacrificed himself. Young Uhtred then escaped with the others, but Uhtred was anguished by his father figure's death and was harsh to Young Uhtred. Finan the Agile later convinced Young Uhtred that his father was merely a bereaved, but good man, and he befriended Young Uhtred and swore on Young Uhtred's cross that his father was a selfless man. Young Uhtred later told his father that he shared his men's resolve to fight for him, as he remembered his mother's words and had faith in his father's goodness.
Accompanying his father[]

Father Pyrlig and Young Uhtred at the Siege of Winchester
Young Uhtred later fought alongside his father at the Battle of Tettenhall in August 910, killing his first men; he was saved by his father and by Father Pyrlig after nearly dying twice. He was then sent to Droitwich to keep watch over his siblings and Lady Aethelflaed's family while his father accompanied Aethelflaed to settle the Mercian succession crisis in Aylesbury, and he and the others then joined their father when he decided to move his band and the children to the safety of Chester. He later accompanied the others to Aylesbury, where Uhtred was rebaptized by Father Pyrlig and named Lord and Protector of Mercia by King Edward the Elder. Young Uhtred was upset with his father's lack of sincerity in accepting baptism, but he was surprised and touched when his father gave his throne to Lady Aethelflaed instead. Young Uhtred saw that his father was a good man, but he ultimately decided that his own true calling was to be a priest, so he told Pyrlig of his plans and went to Wessex to return to his parsonage. He briefly returned to his father's side during the Siege of Winchester, taking part in the assault on the city and helping the Saxons in reclaiming it. After the victory, he bade farewell to his father and joked that he was just as stubborn as him, and he then returned to being a monk.