A Traveler's guide to Anglish Theatre
New Kyoto Press
Heiwa 17/ 2003,
Chapter 3: Anglish Medieval Theatre
The second of Albercht Lichfield’s plays set in the medieval period is “Aedwine and Ecgfrith” or sometimes called “The Brother Kings” It deals with the two title characters. Ecgfrith is the teenaged king of Northumbria and the son of the hero of Lichfield’s earlier play “the Battle of the Winwaed” and the king’s half-brother Aedwine, who also serves as Ecgfrith’s regent until he comes of age. Aedwine is the primary focus of the play and is variously portrayed as both hero and villain. From the pair’s coronation at the beginning of the play Aedwine battles valiantly against the Mercians at the battle of the Trent, introduces great reforms in Northumbria that would become the basis of the law in the fledgling Angland and strengthens the position of the Anglish Church. He’s also portrayed as cruel, petty, insecure and scheming. He is the son of Oswine and a servant and as an illegitimate child he has no fortune of his own and his only power comes from being appointed regent. He dreads the day when Ecgfrith will come of age and fears he will lose all his power and standing. He sees it variously as a rising tide or an oncoming storm.
To this end, Aedwine seeks out three witches who grant him a potion made from Ecgfrith’s blood (left on a glove when the young king fell from his horse) to sap Ecgfrith’s life, vitality and spirit. Aedwine hopes this means this will mean he will not be able to rule and Aedwine will remain regent. He also sends enemies and potential threats into pointless battles or has them named enemies of the church. Even his great reforms are his desperate attempt to put his mark on history. Meanwhile Ecgfrith is a weak and frail man and avoids the pressure of ruling and retreats into books and prayer, hallucinating angels and saints. Aedwine puts him at risk in ways to gain new sources of Ecgfrith’s blood for the potions that control the king. In the end the cumulative potions kill the king and Aedwine is wracked with guilt. He climbs to the top of Dunholm castle (proposed and built earlier in the play as a symbol of Northumbrian power but also Aedwine moving the king away from the courts at Bamburgh and Eorforwic. He has a vision of his father Oswine (by the time of the play, Saint Oswine) who both chastises him and implores him to continue his works to strengthen the Kingdom. The play ends with the aging Aedwine pledging his loyalty to the infant king Aethelfrith.
This play goes through a lot of themes of power vs duty, the divine right of kings and mortality. In reality, although Aedwine may have been acting to strengthen his position and make his mark on history dispite his birth there is no evidence he schemed against the king. Ecgfrith was a sickly man throughout his life as well as more driven to spiritual and artistic matters (he is recorded in Bede’s history of Angland as being a close friend of the Archbishop of Lindisfarne and a sponsor of many church projects, notably Dunholm Abbey). Aedwine would remain regent past Ecgfrith’s death in 681CE and served Aethelfrith until his own death in 709 at the age of 51.
Excerpt from “A History for Schools” by Adelbert Steiner
Sovereign press, 1936
Having soundly defeated the Mercians at the battle of the Trent and put a peaceable king on the Mercian throne. Prince Aedwine the noble, in his role as regent of Northumbria, set about reforming the government of Northumbria. Between putting down Pictish barbarians in the north and being at war with Mercia for almost three generations, Northumbria finally had a period of lasting peace. Aedwine was far from the poisoner of plays and drama who sapped the life of his half-brother King Ecgfrith so he might stay on as regent beyond Ecgfrith’s eighteen birthday. In reality Ecgfrith was a quiet, religious figure who had more interest in the arts and scripture than matters of state. Aedwine was a bold man and a great reformer.
In 688AD Aedwine published the earliest thing that could be called a constitution or code of law for Angland quite specifically called the Code of Aedwine (or incorrectly, the code of The Prince) and although it was not a fixed code of law it set out guidelines that all nobles, ministers and other servants of the kingdom should follow.
The main rules were roughly as follows.
- Obey the scripture and the teachings of Christ and of the Saints above all else. Being a code of Anglish law he correctly placed the authority of Lindisfarne over that of Rome and Aedwine makes many references to the teachings of Aidan, Oswine and other Anglish Saints.
- Remain meek and humble in all things. Aedwine sought to dissuade great displays of wealth by servants of the Kingdom. ` (2) This was also one of the earliest mention of the divinity of the king as a representative of god or at least touched by god as both the king’s father and grandfather had been made saints by the Holy church at Lindisfarne.
- No decision should be made by one man alone. This would become the basis of later reforms under Aedwine and Ecgfrith’s successors.
- Each man should tend to his own duties and excel in his own role. This was mostly a guidance against nobles who sought to increase their own influence
- Seek peace but be ready for war and be gracious in victory and learn from defeats. “Turn the other cheek but keep your sword within sight”
- Royal commands are to be obeyed and royal will is the greatest outside of scripture
- Peace and order is to be sought and wanton opposition is to be avoided.
Although only a rough guide, this book would inspire successive generations of kings and servants of state. Aedwine would also introduce the seven levels of servant within the kingdom to bring some order to the competing sub kingdoms. From the Royal advisers and Generals (First) to scribes and kitchen servants (Seventh) it helped bring order to the kingdom and help people recognise their role and subservience to the kingdom.
- I’m trying to make this text as biased as hell
- Its more because Aedwine lacked the inherited wealth of those of full noble blood, but humble-ness isn’t bad