Northumbria once stretched as far north as what is now southeast Scotland, including Edinburgh, and as far south as the Humber Estuary.

Conversely the use of true brass seems to have declined in Western Europe during this period in favour of gunmetals and other mixed alloys but by the end of the first Millennium AD brass artefacts are found in Scandinavian graves in Scotland, brass was being used in the manufacture of coins in Northumbria and there is archaeological and historical evidence for the production of brass in Germany and The Low Countries areas rich in calamine ore which would remain important centres of brass making throughout the medieval period, especially Dinant – brass objects are still collectively known as dinanterie in French.

It is likely that Causantín's ( Constantine I ) reign witnessed increased activity by Vikings, based in Ireland, in Northumbria and in northern Britain.

The instrument is also played in Great Britain ( Wales, East Anglia, Northumbria ) and the U. S., where its traditional use in folk music saw a notable revival in the late 20th Century.

According to John of Fordun, whose account is the original source of part at least of William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Malcolm's mother was a niece of Siward, Earl of Northumbria, but an earlier king-list gives her the Gaelic name Suthen.

* 655 – Battle of Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria.

There was a royal marriage between Prince ( later King ) Oswiu of Northumbria and the Rhegedian princess Riemmelth, granddaughter of Rum ( Rhun ), probably in 638, so it is probable that it was a peaceful takeover, both kingdoms being inherited by the same man.

* Edinburgh is founded by King Edwin of Northumbria.

* Æthelric becomes first King of Northumbria, after the kingdom is formed from the union of the two small Anglian kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira.

* Wilfrid, Bishop of Northumbria, is expelled to Mercia.

* England is divided into the earldoms of Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia and Northumbria.

* Wilfrid of York is expelled from Northumbria by Ecgfrith, and retires into Sussex.

* Jarrow Priory is established by Benedict Biscop in the Kingdom of Northumbria.

* September – The Synod of Whitby is held in Northumbria.

* October 1 – King Eadwig of England dies, and is succeeded by his brother Edgar, who effectively completes the unification of England when Northumbria finally submits to his rule.

Northumbria () was a mediæval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England.

The land once part of Northumbria at its peak is now divided by modern administrative boundaries:

Thus, Northumbria became not only part of modern England's far north, but also covered much of what is now the south-east of Scotland.

Northumbria has its own check or tartan, which is similar to many ancient tartans ( especially those from Northern Europe, such as one found near Falkirk and those discovered in Jutland that date from Roman times ( and even earlier ).

Apart from standard English, Northumbria has a series of closely related but distinctive dialects, descended from the early Germanic languages of the Angles, of which 80 % of its vocabulary is derived, and Vikings with a few Celtic and Latin loanwords.

Mercia's exact evolution at the start of the Anglo-Saxon era is more obscure than that of Northumbria, Kent, or even Wessex.

Some of what is known about Penda comes through the hostile account of Bede, who disliked him both for being an enemy king to Bede's own Northumbria and for being a pagan.

Bede ( ; ; 672 / 673 – 26 May 735 ), also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede (), was an English monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow ( see Monkwearmouth-Jarrow ), both in the Kingdom of Northumbria.

" According to Bede, Pope Boniface also sent letters to King Edwin of Northumbria in 625 urging him to embrace the Christian faith, and to the Christian Princess Æthelburg of Kent, Edwin's spouse, exhorting her to use her best endeavours for the conversion of her consort ( Bede, H. E., II, vii, viii, x, xi ).

Gregory also approved of the election of his successor, Nothhelm, while in 735 he agreed to the claims of the King of Northumbria, Ceolwulf of Northumbria, that Egbert the Bishop of York should be elevated to the rank of Archbishop.

Northumbria too succumbed to the Vikings, who founded the Kingdom of York, and the Kingdom of Strathclyde was also greatly affected.

It also had ties to churches in Northumbria, as seen in the reign of Nechtan mac Der Ilei.

Oswald's father Æthelfrith was a successful Bernician ruler who, after some years in power in Bernicia, also became king of Deira, and thus was the first to rule both of the kingdoms which would come to be considered the constituent kingdoms of Northumbria ( Bernicia in the northern part and Deira in the southern part ); it would, however, be anachronistic to refer to a " Northumbrian " people or identity at this early stage, when the Bernicians and the Deirans were still clearly distinct peoples.

Experts believe it may also yield clues as to the boundary of the ancient Anglo Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria.

Northern England was a disputed territory at this time, with the Scottish kings laying a traditional claim to Cumberland, and David also claiming Northumbria by virtue of his marriage to the daughter of the former Anglo-Saxon earl Waltheof.

Geographically, a Viking Age may be assigned not only to Scandinavian lands ( modern Denmark, Norway and Sweden ), but also to territories under North Germanic dominance, mainly the Danelaw, including Scandinavian York, the administrative centre of the remains of the Kingdom of Northumbria, parts of Mercia, and East Anglia.

William also inherited the title of Earl of Northumbria in 1152 from his father, Henry of Huntingdon.

The local Environment Agency office, located in Newcastle Business Park, also uses the term Northumbria to describe its patch.

: See also: List of monarchs of Northumbria and Timeline of Northumbria

Columba's founding Iona within the bounds of Dál Riata ensured that the kingdom would be of great importance in the spread of Christianity in northern Britain, not only to Pictland, but also to Northumbria, via Lindisfarne, to Mercia, and beyond.

Cuthbert's cult had appealed to the converted Danes who now made up much of the population of Northumbria, and was also adopted by the Normans when they took over England.

Following Cadwallon's death in battle the following year, his successor Cadafael ap Cynfeddw also allied himself with Penda against Northumbria but thereafter Gwynedd, like the other Welsh kingdoms, was mainly engaged in defensive warfare against the growing power of Mercia.

:" Since the Dorians were regarded as uncivilised by the Athenians, ' Doric ' came to mean ' rustic ' in English, and was applied particularly to the language of Northumbria and the Lowlands of Scotland and also to the simplest of the three orders in architecture.

The succeeding variety of Early northern Middle English spoken in southeastern Scotland, also known as Early Scots, began to diverge from that of Northumbria due to twelfth and thirteenth century immigration of Scandinavian-influenced Middle English-speakers from the North and Midlands of England.

Experts think the rediscovered site, which lies amidst the old oaks of an area known as the Birklands in Sherwood Forest, may also yield clues as to the boundary of the ancient Anglo Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria.

After Cadwallon ap Cadfn, the king of Gwynedd, in alliance with the pagan Penda of Mercia, killed Edwin of Deira in battle at Hatfield Chase in 633 ( or 632, depending on when the years used by Bede are considered to have begun ), Northumbria was split between its constituent kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira.

In the early part of the 12th century, John of Worcester had reason to believe that Eric ( Yrcus ) was of royal Scandinavian stock ( Danica stirpe progenitum, a phrase used earlier for the Hiberno-Norse ruler of Northumbria, Sihtric Cáech ).

Lothian's distinction from Northumbria is indicated in the survival of its original Brythonic Celtic name, used even by English Chroniclers.

Over time and due to various factors the language of the Lothians and the former Kingdom of Northumbria, a northern variety of Middle English, also known as Early Scots or Inglis, came to displace Gaelic as the language of all of lowland Scotland and over time adopted for itself the name " Scottis " (" Scots ") which had previously been used to refer to Gaelic, which later became known as " Erse " (" Irish ") — now considered derogatory.

The church in Northumbria had traditionally used the former calculation, and that was the date observed by King Oswiu.

These old tables were used in Northumbria until 664, and by isolated monasteries as late as 931.

Scandinavian York or Kingdom of Jórvík or Kingdom of York is a term used by historians for the kingdom of Northumbria for the period of the late 9th century and first half of the 10th century, when it was dominated by Norse warrior-kings ; in particular, used to refer to the city controlled by these kings.

An XREP projectile was controversially used by British police during the 2010 Northumbria Police manhunt It subsequently transpired that the XREP has never been officially approved for use in the United Kingdom and the weapon system was provided unrequested to the police at the scene directly by the civilian company which distributes Taser International's products in the UK.

It is related to the rapper sword dance of Northumbria, but the character is fundamentally different as it uses rigid metal or wooden swords, rather than the flexible spring steel rappers used by its northern relation.

The River Sheaf on its western border used to be the boundary between the parishes of Sheffield and Norton ; and formerly the boundary between Yorkshire and Derbyshire ; and before that, the boundary between the Anglo-Saxon states of Mercia and Northumbria.

Most of those present, including Hilda, accepted the King's decision to adopt the method of calculating Easter currently used in Rome, establishing Roman practice as the norm in Northumbria.

* In Northumbria university, pennying is not permitted, so the variant known as " two-peeing " must be used.

* comparison of the second-element naming pattern used for the children of King Oswy in Northumbria, Alhfrith, Egcrith, Alhflaed and Aelflaed, with the series Cenwalh, Æthelwealh, Centwine and Aethelwine,