Downfall and Legacy
In 975, not long after the death of King Edgar, Oslac was banished from England. No reason is given by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle's report of his expulsion. Version C of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle describes the events thus:
The valiant Oslac was driven from the country, over the tossing waves, the gannet's bath, the tumult of the waters, the homeland of the whale; a grey-haired man, wise and skilled in speech, he was bereft of his lands
The historian Richard Fletcher guesses that Oslac's downfall may have been the result of opposing the succession of Edward the Martyr.
Oslac is said by the Historia Eliensis to have had a son named Thorth, that is, Thored. His successor was indeed a man named Thored, but it is not clear whether this was Thored Oslac's son or Thored son of Gunner; historians tend to favour the idea that Thored the successor was son of Gunner.
The Gesta Herwardi tells us that his great-great granddaughter, Aedeva (Edith), was Hereward's mother.
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Osulf of Bamburgh |
Ealdorman of York c. 966–975 |
Succeeded by Thored |
Read more about this topic: Oslac Of York
Famous quotes containing the words downfall and/or legacy:
“Children demand that their heroes should be fleckless, and easily believe them so: perhaps a first discovery to the contrary is less revolutionary shock to a passionate child than the threatened downfall of habitual beliefs which makes the world seem to totter for us in maturer life.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)
“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)