Cuthred (
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
: ''Cuþræd'') was the King of Kent from 798 to 807.
After the revolt of
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 ...
under
Eadberht III Præn
Eadberht III Præn was the King of Kent from 796 to 798. His brief reign was the result of a rebellion against the hegemony of Mercia, and it marked the last time that Kent existed as an independent kingdom.
Offa of Mercia seems to have ruled Ken ...
was defeated in 798 by
Coenwulf
Coenwulf (; also spelled Cenwulf, Kenulf, or Kenwulph; la, Coenulfus) was the King of Mercia from December 796 until his death in 821. He was a descendant of King Pybba, who ruled Mercia in the early 7th century. He succeeded Ecgfrith, the son ...
, Cuthred was established as a
client king
A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite state, ...
. During Cuthred's reign, the Archbishopric of
Lichfield
Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west of B ...
was formally abolished at the
Council of Clovesho The Councils of Clovesho or Clofesho were a series of synods attended by Anglo-Saxon kings, bishops, abbots and nobles in the 8th and 9th centuries. They took place at an unknown location in the Kingdom of Mercia.
Location
The location of the pl ...
on 12 October 803, and the
Archbishopric of Canterbury
The Province of Canterbury, or less formally the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces which constitute the Church of England. The other is the Province of York (which consists of 12 dioceses).
Overview
The Province consist ...
thus regained the status of which
Offa of Mercia
Offa (died 29 July 796 AD) was List of monarchs of Mercia, King of Mercia, a kingdom of History of Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa of Mercia, Eowa, Offa came to ...
had sought to deprive it. Cuthred's reign also saw the first raids of Kent by the
Vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
. After his death in 807, Cœnwulf seems to have acted as King of Kent.
Cuthred died in 807, according to the ''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...
''. He issued coins and charters. His surviving charters are both dated 805, one precisely to 26 July 805, in the eighth year of his reign, so his accession fell between 27 July 797 and 26 July 798. In two charters issued by Cœnwulf, King of Mercia, he is described as brother of that king.
Family
Cuthred has been identified as one of three known sons of
Cuthberht of Mercia
Cuthberht was a 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
, eve ...
, his brothers were
Coenwulf
Coenwulf (; also spelled Cenwulf, Kenulf, or Kenwulph; la, Coenulfus) was the King of Mercia from December 796 until his death in 821. He was a descendant of King Pybba, who ruled Mercia in the early 7th century. He succeeded Ecgfrith, the son ...
(King of Mercia 796-821) and
Ceolwulf Ceolwulf, occasionally spelt Ceolwulph, may refer to:
* Ceolwulf I of Mercia, King of Mercia
*Ceolwulf II of Mercia, King of Mercia
*Ceolwulf of Northumbria (Saint Ceolwulf), King of Northumbria
*Ceolwulf of Wessex
Ceolwulf (died 611) was a Kin ...
(King of Mercia 821-823)
Cuthred has been identified as the father of Coenwald,
[Chrter S 39, Electronic Sawyer, Coenwald witnessed a charter of Cuthred, king of Kent, signing as "the son of the king", https://esawyer.lib.cam.ac.uk/charter/39.html#] and may also be the father of Cyneberht.
See also
List of monarchs of Kent
This is a list of the kings of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Kent.
The regnal dates for the earlier kings are known only from Bede. Some kings are known mainly from charters, of which several are forgeries, while others have been subjected to tampe ...
References
External links
*
{{Kentish Monarchs
807 deaths
Kentish monarchs
8th-century English monarchs
9th-century English monarchs
8th-century births