And she is without her greatest warrior and champion, uhtred of bebbanburg. Mercia provides a detailed account of an obscure kingdom in english history from the. Cearl or ceorl was an early king of mercia who ruled during the early part of the 7th century, until about 626. Annie whitehead graduated in history having specialised in the dark ages and is a member of the royal historical society. Anglosaxons england mercia kingdom, anglosaxons, civilization, mercia kingdom history, mercia kingdom civilization, europe mercia kingdom publisher woonton. Kingdom of mercia series by jayne castel goodreads. He was somewhat of a despot, known for murdering rival kings. Books on mercia and the welsh marches logaston press. In this article, we outline the many kings and queens of mercia from icel in the early 500s all the way through to. List of monarchs of mercia simple english wikipedia, the. Discover the monarchs of the kingdom of mercia, from king icel in the early 500s all the way through to.
D, this is the story of merwenna, a village girl in mercia whose love goes off to war with king penda. His wife is a born leader, but no woman has ever ruled over an english kingdom. These are standalone novels set around the lives of actual mercian kings penda. Wessex historical kingdom, united kingdom britannica. Mercia wikipedia bahasa indonesia, ensiklopedia bebas. Annie whitehead traced the fortunes of mercia from penda, a king we know little enough about and that from his enemies. With stateoftheart contributions from experts in palaeography, art history, archaeology, numismatics and landscape as well as from historians this book establishes a new baseline for mercian scholarship, by covering the rise and fall of the kingdom, its major institutions, relations with other political entities as well as its visual and. It was established by invading angles in the 6th century ad in the border areas between the new anglosaxon settlements in the east and the celtic regions in the west.
But it became part of the heart of the country we know as england today. Most of it would not have been the first choice of anyone wishing to settle there. He went on to rule for 39 years and consolidated much of england and wales. The kingdom of mercia was a state in the english midlands from the 6th century to the 10th century. The hoard is thought to have been buried in the 6th or 7th centuries, dating to the time of the kingdom of mercia remarkable for its extraordinary craftsmanship as well as its size, the staffordshire hoard shines new light on the dark ages, including the transition from pagan to christian beliefs. The early history of mercia isnt a period ive personally looked into, but after reading ms whiteheads novel, cometh the hour which largely features the pagan penda, one of mercias earliest, influential kings i became intrigued, and realised this nonfiction work about the history of the mercian kingdom was exactly what i needed to read.
The early history of the kingdom is marked by frequent conflict with the neighboring kingdom of mercia which continued until the reign of king egbert also given as ecgberht, r. It was the kingdom of the midlands in central england. The might of penda challenged the territories around and he expanded the mercian borders. For example king penda was responsible for the deaths of five other kings before he too was killed in battle. The original kingdom of mercia had a variety of different kinds of land. Mercia a oa ur rouantelezh anglhasaoz er vro a reer ar midlands anezhi hiziv. May 01, 2019 annie whitehead has written a thoroughly absorbing chronological history of the kingdom of mercia from the 7th century through to the last of the mercian kings in the ninth century and onwards to its final demise as a separately identified region at the time of the norman conquest. Which name derived from the old english word mierce meaning border people. In 669 the bishop of mercia translated his see from repton to lichfield. Mercia provides a detailed account of an obscure kingdom in english history from the 7th through 10th century, a.
From 1963 to 1979 she was a teacher at the english language high school in sofia. The ruler of mercia is dying, leaving no apparent heir. Archaeological discoveries show the first anglian settlements were in the trent river valley. Offa, king of mercia, seemed to resent his own bishops paying allegiance to the archbishop of canterbury in kent who, while under offas control, was not of his own kingdom of mercia. A history of the british monarchysaxon rulersegbert. The rise and fall of the first great english kingdom chris peers on. In england in the eighth century, in the midst of the socalled dark ages, offa ruled mercia.
The rise and fall of the kingdom of mercia by john hunt around 731 ad, the northumbrian monk, bede, writing one of the most important texts in anglosaxon history, the ecclesiastical history of the english church and people, noted the reach of mercian power. Mercia was one of the great seven anglosaxon kingdoms of england, alongside east anglia, essex, kent, northumbria sussex and wessex. It faced internal discord, war with adjacent kingdoms, and viking invasions. History of the kingdom of northumbria englands north east. Oct 01, 2018 the subtitle is the rise and fall of a kingdom and in this telling we can see quite clearly how this is appropriate to mercia. Nov 23, 2018 the early history of the kingdom is marked by frequent conflict with the neighboring kingdom of mercia which continued until the reign of king egbert also given as ecgberht, r. It is what happened next which brings us onto the hoard and its significance to british history.
The history of this kingdom is represented by a much more limited set of surviving sources when compared to wessex. Mercia, originally a pagan kingdom, converted to christianity in about 656 and the diocese of lichfield was established in. Offa came to rule more than 100 years after the anglosaxon interlopers drove the celts out in 6. The mercian trail is not only intended to make the staffordshire hoard available for display to the public, but it is also intended to highlight the history and archaeology of the anglosaxon kingdom of mercia, which was centred on the area corresponding to the modern county of staffordshire the exhibits of the treasure will attempt to relate. Award winning author annie whitehead so theres no doubt that readers can enjoy a narrative from the pen of a practiced storyteller. After the battle of nechtansmere, mercia was in an undisputed position as the most powerful english kingdom.
Bede was a northumbrian who was hostile to mercia, and historian robin fleming speculates that as ceorl means rustic in old english, his name may have been a joke. Mercia was the dominant kingdom of anglo saxon england for about 300 years. She is the author of historical novels and short stories on the anglosaxon period. It is likely that the anglian occupation of mercia saw the displacement of, or integration with, subroman british tribes. Kings and queens of wessex timeline of wessex historic uk. Ive tried a couple of times, admittedly im not a pro or anything, and i always seem to get curbstomped by vikings determined to form the kingdom. Based around its capital of tamworth, mercia went through rapid expansion throughout the 6th and 7th centuries to be one of the big three kingdoms of england along with northumbria and wessex. Ive also compiled a reading list of my favourite history books.
Mercia macdermott resided in bulgaria from 1962 to 1989 with brief interruptions. Mercia dominated anglosaxon politics in the late 7th and 8th cents. Annie whitehead has written a thoroughly absorbing chronological history of the kingdom of mercia from the 7th century through to the last of the mercian kings in the ninth century and onwards to its final demise as a separately identified region at the time of the norman conquest. A history of the british monarchysaxon rulersedward the. With state of theart contributions from experts in palaeography, art history, archaeology, numismatics and landscape as well as from historians this book establishes a new baseline for mercian scholarship, by covering the rise and fall of the kingdom, its major institutions, relations with other political entities as well as its visual and. The text is supplemented by some wonderful illustrations, colourful photographs of locations and buildings closely associated with mercias history, from the wellknown statue of. Aethelbald, king of the mercians from 716, who became the chief king of a confederation including all the anglosaxon kingdoms between the river humber and the english channel. Edward, leading a joint force from wessex and mercia, again encountered them in battle. Wessex, also known as the kingdom of the west saxons, was a large and influential anglosaxon kingdom from 519 to 927ad. The last kingdom is a british historical fiction television series based on bernard cornwells the saxon stories series of novels.
The kingdom of mercia was an important monarchy in the english midlands from the 6th century to the 10th. His predominance was made possible by the death of the strong king wihtred of kent 725 and the abdication of ine of. Many kings of mercia were warlords of anglo saxon mercia. Their neighbors included other angles, saxons and jutes all from germany. Wessex the kingdom of wessex or kingdom of the west saxons was an anglosaxon 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. Many people know about wessex, the last kingdom of the anglosaxons to fall to the northmen, but another kingdom, mercia, once enjoyed supremacy over not only wessex, but all of the anglosaxon kingdoms. Nov 26, 2018 books like mercia therefore can help up view the saxon kingdom in a different light.
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the anglosaxon heptarchy. A second series of eight episodes was aired on bbc two in the uk in march 2017, coproduced by netflix after the exit of bbc america. The kingdom of mercia and anglosaxon cheshire in anglosaxon times cheshire, derbyshire and lancashire formed part of the tribal kingdom of mercia. Edwins presence in mercia was a constant threat to aethelfrith. There is a possibility that some of these british christian communities survived the anglosaxon occupation. Kingdom of mercia is it even possible to repel the vikings and assert your glorious midlander dominance over england as mercia in the old gods start. History west midlands the rise and fall of the kingdom of.
He is the first mercian king mentioned by bede in his historia ecclesiastica gentis anglorum. Cynegils and his son cwichelm lost the provinces of the hwicce gloucestershire, worcestershire, and southwest warwickshire to penda of mercia. This is the story of the mercians, the kings, the queens, saints, sinners, earls and warrior women who governed the kingdom and shaped its. Gant danelaw ez eas neuze reter he zachenn har ar peurrest a yeas goustadig gant ur gwaz eus wessex. Saxon rulers jump to navigation jump to search egbert is often listed as the first name on lists or family trees of english kings, as his grandson alfred is considered to be the first king of the english and alfreds grandson athelstan. From the mid7th century until it ceased to exist as a kingdom, mercia was the most powerful of the anglosaxon kingdoms. Leicester university press, 2001 history 386 pages. Macdermott subsequently lectured on the bulgarian national liberation movement in the region of macedonia at sofia university s faculty of history. This was a time of great expansion for the kingdom of mercia, before northumbria rose to dominance.
One of the most prominent anglosaxon kings, offa of mercia in southern england, came to power upon the murder of his cousin, king aethelbald. Explore the anglo saxon kingdom of mercia historian and author, john hunt, explores the story of the kingdom of mercia in the first of a series of short videos to compliment his new book. Richard fletcher mentions much wenlock as a possible candidate. During this period, wessex was threatened first by northumbria and then by the growing midland kingdom of mercia. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Ive also compiled a reading list of my favourite history books via. King peada converted to christianity around 656, and christianity was firmly established in the kingdom by the late 7th century. Mercia, from old english merce, people of the marches or boundaries, one of the most powerful kingdoms of anglosaxon england. Historian and author, john hunt, explores the story of the kingdom of mercia in the first of a series of short videos to compliment his new book. Yet the true story of offas long reign and of the rise and fall of mercia are little. Kingdom of mercia article about kingdom of mercia by the. To the west were britons in powys and the kingdoms of southern wales. The middle trent valley was the heartland of the mercian kingdom, which included the modern counties of staffordshire.
It was to be an earldom after canute the greats conquest of 1016, from 1020 to 1066. The rise and fall of a kingdom by annie whitehead isbn. While dynastic accidents prevented mercian royalty from competing for the crown of all england, mercia was vital to the unification process. At the same time, mercia was yet again invaded, the danes advancing as far as the severn. Dec 11, 2018 the 1200 year old earthwork, offas dyke, runs along the once border between powys wales and mercia now united england cc bysa 2. At its peak, its territory included birmingham and london. Paul davis is an author and illustrator who has written many books on the architecture and history of medieval wales. A history of bulgaria 931885 by mercia macdermott and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read mercia. The kingdom of mercia is a series of historical romance novels set in anglosaxon england.
Mercians in positions of power under wessex and later english kings are given biographical treatment. Anglo saxon mercia mercia was the dominant kingdom of anglo saxon england for about 300 years. An empty throne leaves the kingdom exposed to rival west saxons and to the vikings, who are on a bloody rampage once more. Settled by angles, their name is the root of the name england. Controlling the english midlands south of the river humber to wales where the border was defined by offas dyke and incorporating london. Romance in anglosaxon england of the 7th century first in the kingdom of mercia series, set in england in 641 a.
Mercia bordered on northumbria, wessex, sussex, essex and east anglia. Offa took the kingdom to its greatest heights but then it began to founder with the emergence of alfred and wessex. It was established by invading angles in the 6th century ad in the border areas between the new anglosaxon settlements in the east and the celtic regions in. The diocese of mercia was founded in 656, with the first bishop, diuma, based at repton. Gouest e voe da virout he frankiz betek an aloubadeg viking er ix vet kantved. This book details the different mercian tribes and the emergence of the. The name mercians means the borderers and is thought to derive from their position between the anglosaxon settlements of the east coast and british kingdoms of the west. Ian walker attempts to redress this imbalance by providing a history of the mercian kingdom. Examining the conversion of the kingdom of mercia from the perspective of that kingdoms origins and development and its rulers interests and concerns will enable us to understand both resistance and conversion to christianity in seventhcentury england. The kingdom of mercia is a series of historical romance novels set in. The first series of eight episodes premiered on 10 october 2015 on bbc america, and on bbc two in the uk on 22 october 2015.
According to conventional historical beliefs, the vkings appointed a puppet king in mercia, as they had done further north in northumberland. True to history, princess alchflaed has no choice in her husband, but what makes this an unusual story is the fact that, under the guise of making peace with the marriage, her father plans for the. An unwise thane, a viking puppet or historical propaganda. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that. Mercia simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. A history of bulgaria 93 1885 by macdermott mercia abebooks. These are standalone novels set around the lives of actual mercian kings penda, paeda and wulfhere, from 641 ad.
A history of the british monarchysaxon rulersedward the elder. The rise and fall of a kingdom ebook written by annie whitehead. Darkest before dawn the kingdom of mercia, book 2 this book is packed with actual people who lived in a period of intense political violence. For some two hundred years from the mid7th century onwards it was the dominant member of the heptarchy and consequently the most powerful of the anglosaxon kingdoms. These kingdoms had something which mercia did not, however. Wessex, also known as the kingdom of the west saxons, was a large and influential.
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