Cuthred or Cuþræd was the King of Wessex

Wessex

The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...

 from 740 (739 according to Simeon of Durham, 741 according to John of Worcester

John of Worcester

John of Worcester was an English monk and chronicler. He is usually held to be the author of the Chronicon ex chronicis.-Chronicon ex chronicis:...

) until 756. He succeeded Æthelheard, his relative and possibly his brother.

Cuthred inherited the kingdom while Mercia

Mercia

Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...

 was at its peak. The two kingdoms often fought, but it appears that Æthelbald of Mercia was Wessex's overlord, and that he compelled Cuthred to join him in fighting the Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 in 743.

Cuthred's reign was a troubled time. In 748, Cuthred's aetheling

Aetheling

Ætheling, also spelt Aetheling, Atheling or Etheling, was an Old English term used in Anglo-Saxon England to designate princes of the royal dynasty who were eligible for the kingship....

 Cynric, possibly his son, was killed (according to Henry of Huntingdon

Henry of Huntingdon

Henry of Huntingdon , the son of a canon in the diocese of Lincoln, was a 12th century English historian, the author of a history of England, Historia anglorum, "the most important Anglo-Norman historian to emerge from the secular clergy". He served as archdeacon of Huntingdon...

 in a mutiny

Mutiny

Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...

), while in 750 the ealdorman

Ealdorman

An ealdorman is the term used for a high-ranking royal official and prior magistrate of an Anglo-Saxon shire or group of shires from about the ninth century to the time of King Cnut...

 Æthelhun

Æthelhun

-References:* Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde Handbook of British Chronology 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961-External links:*...

 led an unsuccessful rebellion.

In 752, Cuthred led a successful rebellion against Æthelbald at Battle Edge

Battle Edge

Battle-Edge is a former field, located beside Sheep Street and Tanners Lane, in Burford in Oxfordshire, England where King Ethelbald of Mercia was defeated by King Cuthred of the West Saxons in 752 AD....

 in Burford

Burford

Burford is a small town on the River Windrush in the Cotswold hills in west Oxfordshire, England, about west of Oxford, southeast of Cheltenham and only from the Gloucestershire boundary...

 and secured independence from Mercia for the rest of his reign. He is also said to have fought the Cornish

Cornish people

The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...

in 753.