- Hussa of Bernicia
Hussa ruled from 585 to 592 and was the seventh known ruler of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of
Bernicia .It is not entirely certain whether Hussa was the son of
Ida , founder of the kingdom of Bernicia, or rather the leader of a rivalAnglian faction. Little is known of Hussa's life and reign, however. At some point during his reign, the coalition forces ofRheged and theBrythonic kingdoms ofStrathclyde ,Bernicia andElmet laid siege to Hussa and was almost successful in driving theAnglian Bernician kings out of Britain. It is thought this alliance ultimately failed due to arguments between the different British tribes culminating in the murder ofUrien , the king of Rheghed, around 590 by his former ally,Morcant .Nevertheless, there is some evidence from the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle that following Hussa's death, there was a schism between his family and that of Æthelfrith, Hussa's successor, for it states thatHering son of Hussa , ledÁedán mac Gabráin 's forces against Æthelfrith at theBattle of Degsastan in 603.The years of Hussa's reign are conjecture: the earliest authorities differ widely on the order and the regnal years of the kings between the death of Ida and the beginning of Æthelfrith's rule in 592/593.
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