The Battle of Otford was a battle fought in 776 between the

Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879) Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era= Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ...

ns, led by Offa of Mercia, and the

Jutes The Jutes (), Iuti, or Iutæ ( da, Jyder, non, Jótar, ang, Ēotas) were one of the Germanic tribes who settled in Great Britain after the departure of the Romans. According to Bede, they were one of the three most powerful Germanic nation ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. The battle took place at

Otford Otford is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It lies on the River Darent, north of Sevenoaks. Otford's four churches are the Anglican Church of St Bartholomew in the village centre, the Otford Methodist Ch ...

, in the modern

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of

. The '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' recorded that the Mercians and the people of Kent fought at Otford, without giving the outcome, although it is considered significant that Kent was re-established as an independent kingdom after the battle.ASC 773
MS A of the ''Chronicle'' gives the year of the battle as 773. English translation a

Retrieved 4 February 2014 The kings of Kent continued to issue charters after 776, without any reference to Offa, so historians have deduced that Otford was a Kentish victory. The charters S 35 (dated 778), S 36 (dated 779) and S 37 (765 x 785) are in the name of

Egbert Egbert is a name that derives from old Germanic words meaning "bright edge", such as that of a blade. Anglo-Saxon variant spellings include Ecgberht () and Ecgbert. German variant spellings include Ekbert and Ecbert. People with the first name Mid ...

, while S 38 (dated 784) is in the name of King Ealhmund. The changeover between Ecgberht and Ealhmund cannot be dated more precisely than 779–784. Kent was struggling to remain independent against the growing power of Mercia. In the 770s, the kings of Kent were resisting their demotion to subkings. According to the

chronicler A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...

Henry of Huntingdon Henry of Huntingdon ( la, Henricus Huntindoniensis; 1088 – AD 1157), the son of a canon in the diocese of Lincoln, was a 12th-century English historian and the author of ''Historia Anglorum'' (Medieval Latin for "History of the English"), ...

, the Mercians were victorious at the battle near

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter main line railway into London. Sevenoaks is from Charing Cross, the traditio ...

. The historian

Frank Stenton Sir Frank Merry Stenton, FBA (17 May 1880 – 15 September 1967) was an English historian of Anglo-Saxon England, and president of the Royal Historical Society (1937–1945). The son of Henry Stenton of Southwell, Nottinghamshire, he was edu ...

argued that Egbert of Kent defeated Offa and that Kentish independence was restored for some years. Offa's victory over Wessex at Bensington, Mercian pressure resumed and Kent was absorbed into Mercia.

Notes

776 8th century in England Otford 776 Otford 776 Medieval Kent {{England-battle-stub