Æthelheard was the king of
Hwicce
Hwicce () was a kingdom in Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon England. According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', the kingdom was established in 577, after the Battle of Deorham. After 628, the kingdom became a client or sub-kingdom of Mercia as a result ...
, he reigned jointly with his presumed brothers
Æthelweard Æthelweard, also spelled Ethelweard, Aethelweard, Athelweard, etc., is an Anglo-Saxon male name. It may refer to:
* King Æthelweard of the Hwicce (''fl''. 7/8th century)
* King Æthelweard of East Anglia (''fl.'' mid-9th century)
* Æthelweard ( ...
,
Æthelberht and
Æthelric. It is probable that they were all sons of
Oshere
Oshere (fl. 690s) was king of the Hwicce, an Anglo-Saxon tribe occupying land in what later became Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. A member of the royal house of Northumbria, Oshere was a sub-king to Æthelred, king of Mercia (d. c 709).
F ...
, although the paternity of Æthelheard and Æthelberht is not explicitly stated in surviving documents.
In 692, together with Æthelweard, he issued a charter to Abbess Cuthswith,
and also witnessed a charter of
Æthelred, King of Mercia,
together with Æthelweard, Æthelberht, and Æthelric. In 693 the four brothers witnessed a charter issued by their father Oshere.
The only time that he is styled ''rex'' appears to be in the possibly genuine witness list attached to a spurious charter attributed to
Cenred,
King of Mercia
The Kingdom of Mercia was a state in the English Midlands from the 6th century to the 10th century. For some two hundred years from the mid-7th century onwards it was the dominant member of the Heptarchy and consequently the most powerful of the ...
in 709
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aethelheard of Hwicce
Hwiccan monarchs
8th-century English monarchs