The Kingdom of 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 an important state in the English Midlands

English Midlands

The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...

 from the 6th century to the 10th. For some two hundred years from the mid-7th century onwards it was the dominant member of the Heptarchy

Heptarchy

The Heptarchy is a collective name applied to the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of south, east, and central Great Britain during late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, conventionally identified as seven: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex and Wessex...

 and consequently the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxons

Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...

 kingdoms. During this period its rulers became the very first English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 monarchs to assume such wide ranging titles as King of Britain and King of the English.

Spellings varied widely in this period, even within a single document, and a number of variants exist for the names given below. For example, the sound th was usually represented with the Old English letters ð

Eth

Eth is a letter used in Old English, Icelandic, Faroese , and Elfdalian. It was also used in Scandinavia during the Middle Ages, but was subsequently replaced with dh and later d. The capital eth resembles a D with a line through the vertical stroke...

 or þ

Thorn (letter)

Thorn or þorn , is a letter in the Old English, Old Norse, and Icelandic alphabets, as well as some dialects of Middle English. It was also used in medieval Scandinavia, but was later replaced with the digraph th. The letter originated from the rune in the Elder Fuþark, called thorn in the...

.

For the Continental predecessors of the Mercians in Angeln

Angeln

Modern Angeln, also known as Anglia , is a small peninsula in Southern Schleswig in the northern Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, protruding into the Bay of Kiel...

, see List of kings of the Angles.

Kings of the Mercians

The traditional rulers of Mercia were known as the Iclings, descendants of the kings of the Angles

Angles

The Angles is a modern English term for a Germanic people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...

. When the Iclings became extinct in the male line, a number of other families, labelled B, C and W by historians, competed for the throne.

      Iclings (Icel and his male-line descendants)

      B-dynasty (so-called – a conjectural grouping based on names alone)

      C-dynasty (apparently descended from a sister of Penda)

      W-dynasty (Wiglaf and his descendants, later intermarried with C)

      Unknown dynastic affiliation

      Mercia under external occupation

      Æthelred II and family (recognising West Saxon overlordship)

Ruler	Reign	Biographical notes	Died
Icel	c.527 (or c.515)–?	Son of Eomer Eomer Eomer , also spelt Eomær, was the great-great-grandfather of Creoda, the first King of Mercia. He is considered the ancestor to the Kings of Mercia. Eomer himself was the son of Angeltheow... , last King of the Angles Angles The Angles is a modern English term for a Germanic people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...  in Angeln Angeln Modern Angeln, also known as Anglia , is a small peninsula in Southern Schleswig in the northern Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, protruding into the Bay of Kiel... . Led his people across the North Sea North Sea In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...  to Britain Great Britain Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles... .	?
Cnebba Cnebba Cnebba was the grandfather of Creoda of Mercia and the son of Icel. Cnebba's son was Cynewald.-See also:*Kings of Mercia family tree...	?	Son of Icel.	?
Cynewald Cynewald Cynewald was the father of Creoda of Mercia and the son of Cnebba. As such, he was an ancestor of the royal house of Mercia. However nothing is known of him beyond his name in genealogies. He is likely to have lived in the mid-6th century.-See also:...	?	Son of Cnebba.	?
Creoda Creoda of Mercia Creoda was the first monarch of Mercia, reigning from 584 to 593.Creoda is recorded as having been the son of Cynewald, the grandson of Cnebba, and the great-grandson of Icel; consequently, members of the Mercian royal line were known as Iclingas...	c.584–c.593	Son of Cynewald. Probable founder of the Mercian royal fortress at Tamworth Tamworth Tamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker... .	c.593
Pybba Pybba of Mercia Pybba was an early King of Mercia. He was the son of Creoda and father of Penda and Eowa....	c.593–c.606	Son of Creoda. Extended Mercian control into the western Midlands English Midlands The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important... .	c.606
Cearl Cearl of Mercia Cearl was an early king of Mercia who ruled during the early part of the 7th century, perhaps from about 606 to about 626. He is the first Mercian king mentioned by Bede in his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum.Cearl's ancestry is unknown...	c.606–c.626	No known relation to his predecessors. Possibly a usurper or distant kinsman.	c.626
Penda Penda of Mercia Penda was a 7th-century King of Mercia, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom in what is today the English Midlands. A pagan at a time when Christianity was taking hold in many of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Penda took over the Severn Valley in 628 following the Battle of Cirencester before participating in the...	c.626–655	Son of Pybba. Raised Mercia to dominant status amongst the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Last pagan ruler of Mercia. Killed in battle by Oswiu of Northumbria Oswiu of Northumbria Oswiu , also known as Oswy or Oswig , was a King of Bernicia. His father, Æthelfrith of Bernicia, was killed in battle, fighting against Rædwald, King of the East Angles and Edwin of Deira at the River Idle in 616... .	15 Nov 655
Eowa Eowa of Mercia Eowa was a son of the Mercian king Pybba and a brother of the Mercian king Penda; according to the Historia Brittonum and the Annales Cambriae. These two sources state that Eowa was a king of the Mercians himself at the time of the Battle of Maserfield , in which he was killed, on August 5 of what...	c.635–642	Son of Pybba. Co-ruler. Killed in battle.	5 Aug 642
Peada Peada of Mercia Peada , a son of Penda, was briefly King of southern Mercia after his father's death in November 655 until his own death in the spring of the next year.In about the year 653 Peada was made king of the Middle Angles by his father...	c.653–656	Son of Penda. Co-ruler in the south-east Midlands. Murdered.	17 Apr 656
Oswiu of Northumbria Oswiu of Northumbria Oswiu , also known as Oswy or Oswig , was a King of Bernicia. His father, Æthelfrith of Bernicia, was killed in battle, fighting against Rædwald, King of the East Angles and Edwin of Deira at the River Idle in 616...	655–658	Briefly took direct control of Mercia after the death of Penda. Also King of Northumbria (655–670).	15 Feb 670
Wulfhere Wulfhere of Mercia Wulfhere was King of Mercia from the end of the 650s until 675. He was the first Christian king of all of Mercia, though it is not known when or how he converted from Anglo-Saxon paganism. His accession marked the end of Oswiu of Northumbria's overlordship of southern England, and Wulfhere...	658–675	Son of Penda. Restored Mercian dominance in England. First Christian king of all Mercia.	675
Æthelred I	675–704	Son of Penda. Abdicated and retired to a monastery at Bardney Bardney Bardney is a village and Civil Parish east of Lincoln, sitting on the north side of the River Witham in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.-The village:... .	716
Cœnred	704–709	Son of Wulfhere. Abdicated and retired to Rome Rome Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half... .	?
Ceolred Ceolred of Mercia -Mercia at the end of the 7th century:By the end of the 7th century, England was almost entirely divided into kingdoms ruled by the Anglo-Saxons, who had come to Britain two hundred years earlier. The kingdom of Mercia occupied what is now the English Midlands, bordered by Northumbria to the...	709–716	Son of Æthelred I. Probably poisoned.	716
Ceolwald Ceolwald of Mercia Ceolwald may have been King of Mercia circa 716.King Ceolred of Mercia, a grandson of Penda died in 716 of a fit. Most Mercian king-lists have Ceolred succeeded by Æthelbald, who was not a descendant of Penda...	716	Presumed son of Æthelred I (may not have existed).	716
Æthelbald	716–757	Grandson of Eowa. Proclaimed himself King of Britain in 736. Murdered by his bodyguards.	757
Beornred	757	No known relation to his predecessors. Deposed by Offa. Possibly burnt to death in 769 in Northumbria.	769
Offa Offa of Mercia Offa was the King of Mercia from 757 until his death in July 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of Æthelbald after defeating the other claimant Beornred. In the early years of Offa's reign it is likely...	757–796	Great-great-grandson of Eowa. The greatest and most powerful of all Mercian kings, he proclaimed himself King of the English in 774, built Offa's Dyke Offa's Dyke Offa's Dyke is a massive linear earthwork, roughly followed by some of the current border between England and Wales. In places, it is up to wide and high. In the 8th century it formed some kind of delineation between the Anglian kingdom of Mercia and the Welsh kingdom of Powys... , and introduced the silver penny Penny A penny is a coin or a type of currency used in several English-speaking countries. It is often the smallest denomination within a currency system.-Etymology:... .	26 or 29 Jul 796
Ecgfrith Ecgfrith of Mercia Ecgfrith was a King of Mercia who briefly ruled in the year 796. He was the son and heir of King Offa of Mercia and his wife Cynethryth. In 787, Offa had Ecgfrith crowned as co-ruler. He succeeded his father in July 796, but despite Offa's efforts to secure his son's succession, it is recorded...	787–796	Son of Offa. Co-ruler, died suddenly a few months after his father.	14 or 17 Dec 796
Cœnwulf Coenwulf of Mercia Coenwulf was King of Mercia from December 796 to 821. He was a descendant of a brother of King Penda, who had ruled Mercia in the middle of the 7th century. He succeeded Ecgfrith, the son of Offa; Ecgfrith only reigned for five months, with Coenwulf coming to the throne in the same year that Offa...	796–821	Seventh generation descendant of Pybba, probably through a sister of Penda. Assumed the title of 'emperor'.	821
Cynehelm	c.798–812	Son of Cœnwulf. Co-ruler. Allegedly murdered, and later canonised (St Kenelm).	812
Ceolwulf I Ceolwulf I of Mercia Ceolwulf I was King of Mercia and Kent, from 821 to 823. He was the brother of Cœnwulf, his predecessor, and was deposed by Beornwulf.-External links:* http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+186...	821–823	Brother of Cœnwulf. Deposed by Beornwulf.	?
Beornwulf Beornwulf of Mercia Beornwulf was King of Mercia from 823 to 825. His short reign saw the collapse of the Mercia's supremacy over the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy....	823–826	Conjectured kinsman of Beornred. Killed in battle against the East Anglians.	826
Ludeca Ludeca of Mercia Ludeca was King of Mercia, from 826 to 827. He became king after the death of Beornwulf in battle against the rebellious East Angles, but he too was killed in another failed attempt to subjugate them in the next year....	826–827	No known relation to his predecessors. Killed in battle against the East Anglians.	827
Wiglaf Wiglaf of Mercia Wiglaf was King of Mercia from 827 to 829 and again from 830 until his death. His ancestry is uncertain: the 820s were a period of dynastic conflict within Mercia and the genealogy of several of the kings of this time is unknown... (1st reign)	827–829	No known relation to his predecessors. Deposed by Ecgberht of Wessex Egbert of Wessex Egbert was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was Ealhmund of Kent... .	839
Ecgberht of Wessex Egbert of Wessex Egbert was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was Ealhmund of Kent...	829–830	Briefly took direct control of Mercia after the deposition of Wiglaf. Also King of Wessex (802–839).	4 Feb 839
Wiglaf Wiglaf of Mercia Wiglaf was King of Mercia from 827 to 829 and again from 830 until his death. His ancestry is uncertain: the 820s were a period of dynastic conflict within Mercia and the genealogy of several of the kings of this time is unknown... (2nd reign)	830–839	Restored. Although Mercia regained its independence, its dominance in England was lost.	839
Wigmund Wigmund of Mercia Wigmund may have briefly reigned in Mercia in about 840, in succession to his father, Wiglaf of Mercia. He may, on the other hand, have predeceased his father and never been anything more than a co-ruler with him. He was himself the father of Wigstan of Mercia....	c.839–c.840	Son of Wiglaf and son-in-law of Ceolwulf I. Probably co-ruler.	c.840
Wigstan Wigstan of Mercia Wigstan , also known as Saint Wystan, was the son of Wigmund of Mercia and Ælfflæd, daughter of King Ceolwulf I of Mercia.Wigstan may have been sub-king, or ealdorman, of the Hwicce, and may have ruled Mercia briefly in 840, before resigning the throne. Wigstan was killed by his successor,...	840	Son of Wigmund. Declined the kingship and was later murdered by Beorhtwulf. Canonised (St Wystan).	849
Ælfflæd Ælfflæd of Mercia (II) Ælfflæd was the daughter of Ceolwulf I of Mercia, and later married Wigmund of Mercia. Their son, Wigstan of Mercia, inherited the throne in 840 but, declining the kingship, appointed his mother as regent. She was deposed from this position by Beorhtwulf of Mercia. Ælfflæd should not be confused... (Queen)	840	Daughter of Ceolwulf I, wife of Wigmund and mother of Wigstan. Appointed regent by Wigstan.	?
Beorhtwulf Beorhtwulf of Mercia Beorhtwulf was King of the Mercians from 839 or 840 to 852. His ancestry is unknown, though he may have been connected to Beornwulf, who ruled Mercia in the 820s...	840–852	Claimed to be a cousin of Wigstan. Usurped the kingship and forced Ælfflæd to marry his son, Beorhtfrith.	852
Burgred Burgred of Mercia Burgred or Burhred or Burghred was the king of Mercia .-Rule:Burgred succeeded to the throne in 852, and in 852 or 853 called upon Ethelwulf of Wessex to aid him in subduing northern Wales. The request was granted and the campaign proved successful, the alliance being sealed by the marriage of...	852–874	Conjectured kinsman of Beorhtwulf. Fled to Rome in the face of a Danish invasion.	?
Ceolwulf II Ceolwulf II of Mercia Ceolwulf II was the last king of the Mercians. He succeeded Burgred of Mercia who was deposed in 874.-Dynastic background:...	874–c.883	Possibly a son or grandson of Wigmund and Ælfflæd. Set up by the Danes as a puppet ruler in western Mercia.	c.883
Æthelred II	c.883–911	Recognised Alfred of Wessex Alfred the Great Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...  as his overlord. Sometimes listed as 'ealdorman' rather than 'king'.	911
Æthelflæd (Lady)	911–918	Wife of Æthelred II, daughter of Alfred of Wessex and niece of Burgred. Reconquered eastern Mercia.	12 Jun 918
Ælfwynn (Lady)	918	Daughter of Æthelred II and Æthelflæd. Deposed by her uncle, Edward the Elder Edward the Elder Edward the Elder was an English king. He became king in 899 upon the death of his father, Alfred the Great. His court was at Winchester, previously the capital of Wessex...  (4 Dec 918), who annexed Mercia to Wessex, creating the Kingdom of England Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England... .	?

Titular kings following Mercia's annexation

Ruler	Reign	Biographical notes	Died
Æthelstan	924	Son of Edward the Elder and nephew of Æthelflæd. Became King of Mercia on Edward's death (Jul 924), and King of Wessex about 16 days later.	27 Oct 939
Eadgar	957–959	Nephew of Æthelstan. Seized control of Mercia and Northumbria in May 957, before succeeding to the reunited English throne in Oct 959.	8 Jul 975

Ealdormen and Earls of the Mercians

The chief magnate of Mercia as an English province held the title of 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...

 until 1023/32, and earl

Earl

An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...

 thereafter. Both offices were royal appointments, but the latter in effect became hereditary.

      Ealdormen of the Mercians (non-dynastic)

      Earls of the Mercians (descendants of Leofwine)

Ruler	Reign	Biographical notes	Died
Ælfhere Ælfhere, Ealdorman of Mercia Ælfhere was ealdorman of Mercia. His family, along with those of Æthelstan Half-King and Æthelstan Rota, rose to greatness in the middle third of the 10th century. In the reign of Edward the Martyr, Ælfhere was a leader of the anti-monastic reaction and an ally of Edward's stepmother Queen Dowager...	957–983	Appointed ealdorman, or 'prince' of the Mercians in 957 by Eadgar, when the English kingdom was disunited.	983
Ælfric Cild Ælfric Cild Ælfric Cild was a wealthy Anglo-Saxon nobleman from the east Midlands, ealdorman of Mercia between 983 and 985, and possibly brother-in-law to his predecessor Ælfhere...	983–985	Brother-in-law of Ælfhere. Deposed by Æthelred the Unready in 985. Killed in battle against the Danes in 1016.	18 Oct 1016
Wulfric Spot Wulfric Spot Wulfric , called Wulfric Spot or Spott, was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman. His will is an important document from the reign of King Æthelred the Unready...	?–1004	Possibly ealdorman, or 'count' of the Mercians after the deposition of Ælfric Cild.	22 Oct 1004
Eadric Streona Eadric Streona Eadric Streona was an ealdorman of the English Mercians. His name a loose translation of the Anglo-Saxon "the Grasper." Streona is historically regarded as the greatest traitor of the Anglo-Saxon period in English history....	1007–1017	Appointed by Æthelred. A notorious turncoat, he was later murdered by Cnut for his treachery.	25 Dec 1017
Leofwine	1017–1023/32	Possibly appointed by Cnut as ealdorman of the Mercians, he was also ealdorman of the Hwicce Hwicce The Hwicce were one of the peoples of Anglo-Saxon England. The exact boundaries of their kingdom are uncertain, though it is likely that they coincided with those of the old Diocese of Worcester, founded in 679–80, the early bishops of which bore the title Episcopus Hwicciorum... .	1023/32
Leofric Leofric, Earl of Mercia Leofric was the Earl of Mercia and founded monasteries at Coventry and Much Wenlock. Leofric is remembered as the husband of Lady Godiva.-Life and political influence:...	1023/32–1057	Son of Leofwine, appointed by Cnut as earl. Chiefly remembered for his famous wife, Godgifu (Lady Godiva Lady Godiva Godiva , often referred to as Lady Godiva , was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who, according to legend, rode naked through the streets of Coventry in order to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation imposed by her husband on his tenants... ).	31 Aug or 30 Sep 1057
Ælfgar Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia Ælfgar was son of Leofric, Earl of Mercia,by his well-known wife Godgifu . He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on the latter's death in 1057....	1057–1062	Son of Leofric. Had previously been Earl of East Anglia until succeeding his father to Mercia.	1062
Eadwine Edwin, Earl of Mercia Edwin was the elder brother of Morcar, Earl of Northumbria, son of Ælfgār, Earl of Mercia and grandson of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on Ælfgār's death in 1062...	1062–1071	Son of Ælfgar. Submitted to William the Conqueror William I of England William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...  in 1066, but later rebelled, and was betrayed by his own men. Mercia was then broken up into smaller earldoms.	1071

Earls of March

The title Earl of March (etymologically identical to 'Earl of Mercia') was created in the western Midlands for Roger Mortimer in 1328. It has fallen extinct, and been recreated, three times since then, and exists today as a subsidiary title of the Duke of Richmond and Lennox

Duke of Richmond and Lennox

Since 1623 the same person has usually held the dukedoms of Richmond and of Lennox. Since 1734 he has held the dukedom of Aubigny. Since 1876 he has also held the dukedom of Gordon.See:*Duke of Richmond*Duke of Lennox*Duke of Aubigny*Duke of Gordon...

.