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S. OSWALD, KING AND MARTYR. 27
the appellation of a farmhold, and some dim traditions
yet cling to the Richmondshire hills, associating
the name of James the Deacon with the scene of his
life's labour and the place where he was laid in his
quiet grave.
But a great and decisive victory over heathendom
was at hand. When Ethelfrid, the king of Bemicia,
was defeated and slain by Edwin, his sons took refuge
in Scotland, where they remained during the reign of
the latter. In that country, as Bede tells us, they
were catechised after the manner of teaching practised
by the Scots, and regenerated by the grace of
baptism. 1
Eanfrid, the eldest, was, as we have seen,
one of Cadwallon's victims. Oswald, the second son,
became, by his brother's death, the rightful claimant
of the throne of Bernicia. Each, probably, had received
his Christian teaching in the monastery of
lona. As regards Oswald it may be affirmed with
certainty, for
the words of Bede expressly state that
during his exile he received the sacrament of baptism
among the seniors of the Scots, "by whom," says
Mr. Skene, " those of the monastery of lona are
meant.
Oswald was naturally anxious to regain the possession
of his kingdom, and took the field, with
an inferior force, against Cadwallon, who was encamped
on the heights overlooking the valley of the
Tyne. The position which the former chose for his
troops was selected with great military skill. It was
on high ground near Hexham, and was known by the
'
"Ecclesiastical History," iii. p. i.
^ "Celtic Scotland," ii. 4, p. 154.