Æthelred of Mercia
Æthelred was king of Mercia from 675 until 704. He was known as a pious and devout Christian king. During his reign Theodore, the Archbishop of Canterbury, reorganized the church’s diocesan structure. He is buried at Bardney, a monastery which he had founded with his wife.
About Æthelred of Mercia in brief
Æthelred was king of Mercia from 675 until 704. He was known as a pious and devout Christian king. During his reign Theodore, the Archbishop of Canterbury, reorganized the church’s diocesan structure, creating several new sees in Mercia and Northumbria. His wife, Osthryth, was a daughter of King Oswiu, one of the dominant 7th-century Northumbrian kings. In 704 he abdicated, leaving the throne to Wulfhere’s son Coenred. Ceolred, who was Æthel red’s son, became king after Coen red. He is buried at Bardney, a monastery which he had founded with his wife, and was buried there. The origin of the kingdom is not recorded, but royal genealogies agree that the royal houses were descended from a founder named Icel; the Mercian royal house is hence known as the Iclingas. By the 7th century, England was almost entirely divided into kingdoms ruled by the Anglo-Saxons who had come to Britain two hundred years before. The larger neighbouring kingdoms included Northumbira to the north, East Anglia to the east, and Wessex, the kingdom of the West Saxons, to the south. According to Ecclesiastical History of the English People, there were seven early Anglo- Saxon rulers who held imperium, or overlordship, over the other kingdoms. The main source for this period is Bede’s History, completed in about 731.
Despite this work’s focus on the church, Bede also provides valuable information about the early-Saxon history of the kingdoms except for Northumbrias, which was ruled by Aethelwulf, a son of Penda, the son of Oswa. In 642 Penda killed Oswald at the battle of Maserfield, and Northumberland was divided into Bernicia and Deira. A coup in 658 threw off the Northumbrians’ overlordships over all the kingdoms, except for Mercia. A year later Oswald, Edwin’s nephew, killed Cadwallon and reunited the kingdoms. Within a year Oswald, Oswald’s son Oswiu succeeded to the throne of Bernicia, and Osine to Deira, the southern of the two kingdoms. In 655, Penda defeated and killed Peada, as king of southern Mercia, as well as Oswa, and ruled the northern half of all Mercia after Oswa was murdered in 656. After Oswa’s death, Oswiu took direct control of allMercia and established Wulfheres as king. By 670, Wulfhen had become the most powerful king in southern Britain, with an effective hegemony over the southern parts of the country. He killed Penda at the Battle of the Winwaed in 679, and established Mercia’s direct control over the northern parts of Britain. He died in 697, and in 704, his son Coinred became king.
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This page is based on the article Æthelred of Mercia published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 23, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
