Person

Ælla of Northumbria

d. 867 · 9th century

Ælla (died 867) was king of Northumbria in the 860s, having displaced King Osberht. When the Great Heathen Army seized York in 866, the rival kings made peace and attacked the city together in March 867, but both were killed. Later Norse sagas made Ælla the slayer of the legendary Viking Ragnar Lodbrok and told of his gruesome death at the hands of Ragnar's sons.

Ælla of Northumbria
Image: Hugo Hamilton (1802–1871) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ælla of Northumbria. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/aella-of-northumbria
MLA
“Ælla of Northumbria.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/aella-of-northumbria. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Ælla of Northumbria.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/aella-of-northumbria.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ælla of Northumbria’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/aella-of-northumbria (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻