King Ida of Bernicia's reign as king began in 547, and records him as the son of Eoppa, grandson of Esa, and great-grandson of the God Ingui. He was one of the great pagan kings who paved the way for the creation of England. He and his descendants built the Bernician capital of Bamburgh Castle and forced the natives out of Southern Scotland and Northern England (though they didn’t have those names yet) so that our Engisc ancestors could settle there. His folk were also famous for many battles with the Northern Welsh kingdoms who constantly tried to get back into what was to become England. It is said that entire populations of Angles came across the North Sea flocking to Ida’s banner. It is thought that Ida more than any other ruler brought great numbers of his kin to England from the continent.
The genealogies of the Anglo-Saxon kings names Ida's "one queen" as Bearnoch and indicates that he had twelve sons, naming among them Adda, Æthelric, Theodric, Eadric, Theodhere, Osmere and Ealric. Several of these are listed as kings. One of them, Theodric, is noted for fighting against a Brittonic / Welsh coalition led by Urien Rheged and his sons and is named in old Welsh poetry.
The genealogical preface to Chronicon ex chronicis names six sons, Adda, Bealric, Theodric, Ethelric, Osmere, and Theodhere, born to his wife and six born to concubines, Ocga, Alric, Ecca, Oswald, Sogor and Sogothere. Ida's descendants would rule Bernicia and later Northumbria when the kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira came together and formed Northumbria. Ida was famed for his romantic adventures as much as he was for war, this being the subject of old English poetry.
At Yeavering, in Bernicia, excavations have uncovered evidence of a pagan shrine, animal sacrifice, and ritual burials. It is thought that this shrine was to The Gods Woden and Ingui. Ida’s descendants didn’t sell out their people and convert to xtianity until 627. King Edwin was the first king of Northumbria to convert though he was killed 5 years later and the people came back to Woden. Sadly this didn’t last long as greedy war lords and kings made alliances to take control from pagan rulers all across our land.
Bede famously wrote of Goodmanham, the site where the pagan high priest Coifi adviser to (King Edwin) destroyed the idols and advised that the temples be destroyed to to help forge a Frankish alliance so they might enjoy the power derived from it. It seems that the pope intervened and suggested that the pagan temples and their altars were turned into xtian ones rather than simply destroy them. Coifi "formally renounces his superstitions, and asked the king to give him arms and a stallion." Armed with both a sword and spear, Coifi rides Edwin's horse towards the idols, all within view of the crowd gathered to witness Edwin's conversion. Upon reaching the temple, Coifi "cast a spear into it and profaned it."
Whilst King Ida will go down in history as one of the great pagan kings of England it is fair to say that his grandson and his priest will be remembered for their betrayal of the Gods and our people, all for a few Frankish pieces of silver, a Frankish queen and soldiers from kent to support his rule………..
