Oshere

Oshere (fl. 690s) was king of the Hwicce, an Anglo-Saxon tribe occupying land in what later became Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. A member of the royal house of Northumbria, Oshere was a sub-king to Æthelred, king of Mercia (d. c 709). Family From meagre sources, historians have tried to piece together the relationships between Oshere and other Hwiccian contemporaries—Osric, king of Hwicce (d. 729), and Oswald, founder of Pershore Abbey (689). There are various theories regarding the relationships among these figures. One is that Oshere was a brother of both Osric and Oswald; another, put forward by Bishop William Stubbs, was that Oshere was the son of Oswald, who was brother to Osric. Royal Historical Society president William Hunt favored the first theory and added that, if true, it would mean that Oshere was a nephew of Queen Osthryth, wife of King Æthelred of Mercia. Historians have felt on firmer ground identifying two sisters of Oshere: Ecgburg, second abbess of Gloucester, and Wethburg, a nun. Details of the family appear in a letter Ecgburg wrote to Bishop Wynfrith (Boniface) c. 716, lamenting the death of her brother and the long absence of her sister. Her sister, she had heard, was "Romana carcer inclusit," which historian Diane Watt translates as "in a Roman cell as a recluse" nun. He subsequently communicated with Wethburg, who responded by pointing out the dangers of traveling to Rome due to frequent Saracen attacks. In addition to Ecgburg and Wethburg, a third sister is also possible. To be specific, William Hunt identified Kyneburga, first abbess of Gloucester, as the sister of Ecgburg and, therefore, of King Oshere.