Ecgberht (770/775 – 839), also spelled Egbert, Ecgbert, Ecgbriht, Ecgbeorht, and Ecbert, was
King of Wessex
This is a list of monarchs of Wessex until AD 886. For later monarchs, see the List of English monarchs. While the details of the later monarchs are confirmed by a number of sources, the earlier ones are in many cases obscure.
The names are give ...
from 802 until his death in 839. His father was King
Ealhmund of Kent
Ealhmund was King of Kent in 784. He is reputed to be the father of King Egbert who was King of Wessex and, later, King of Kent. Asser's ''The Life of King Alfred'' identifies him as the son of Eafa.
Biography
He is not known to have struck an ...
. In the 780s, Ecgberht was forced into exile to
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...
's court in the
Frankish Empire
Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...
by the kings
Offa of Mercia
Offa (died 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of Æth ...
and
Beorhtric of Wessex
Beorhtric (meaning "magnificent ruler"; also spelled Brihtric) (died 802) was the King of Wessex from 786 to 802, succeeding Cynewulf. During his rule, however, his wife and father-in-law had most of the power.
Early life
The names of his pa ...
, but on Beorhtric's death in 802, Ecgberht returned and took the throne.
Little is known of the first 20 years of Ecgberht's reign, but it is thought that he was able to maintain the independence of
Wessex
la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons
, common_name = Wessex
, image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg
, map_caption = S ...
against the kingdom of
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=
, y ...
, which at that time dominated the other southern English kingdoms. In 825, Ecgberht defeated
Beornwulf of Mercia
Beornwulf (died 826) was King of Mercia (roughly the Midlands of England) from 823 to 826. His short reign saw the collapse of Mercia's supremacy over the other kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy.
Biography
A man named Beornwulf is mention ...
, ended
Mercia's supremacy at the
Battle of Ellandun
The Battle of Ellendun or Battle of Wroughton was fought between Ecgberht of Wessex and Beornwulf of Mercia in September 825. Sir Frank Stenton described it as "one of the most decisive battles of English history". It effectively ended Mercian ...
, and proceeded to take control of the Mercian dependencies in southeastern England. In 829, he defeated
Wiglaf of Mercia
Wiglaf (died 839) was King of Mercia from 827 to 829 and again from 830 until his death. His ancestry is uncertain: the 820s were a period of dynastic conflict within Mercia and the genealogy of several of the kings of this time is unknown. Wigs ...
and drove him out of his kingdom, temporarily ruling Mercia directly. Later that year Ecgberht received the submission of the
Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
n king at
Dore. 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 A ...
'' subsequently described Ecgberht as a ''
bretwalda
''Bretwalda'' (also ''brytenwalda'' and ''bretenanwealda'', sometimes capitalised) is an Old English word. The first record comes from the late 9th-century ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. It is given to some of the rulers of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from ...
'' or 'wide-ruler' of Anglo-Saxon lands.
Ecgberht was unable to maintain this dominant position, and within a year Wiglaf regained the throne of Mercia. However, Wessex did retain control 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 ...
,
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...
, and
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
; these territories were given to Ecgberht's son
Æthelwulf to rule as a subking under Ecgberht. When Ecgberht died in 839, Æthelwulf succeeded him; the southeastern kingdoms were finally absorbed into the kingdom of Wessex after the death of Æthelwulf's son
Æthelbald in 860. Ecgbert's descendants ruled Wessex and, later, all of England continuously until 1013.
Family
Historians do not agree on Ecgberht's ancestry. The earliest version of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,'' the ''
Parker Chronicle,'' begins with a genealogical preface tracing the ancestry of Ecgberht's son Æthelwulf back through Ecgberht, Ealhmund (thought to be king Ealhmund of Kent), and the otherwise unknown Eafa and Eoppa to Ingild, brother of King
Ine of Wessex
Ine, also rendered Ini or Ina, ( la, Inus; c. AD 670 – after 726) was King of Wessex from 689 to 726. At Ine's accession, his kingdom dominated much of southern England. However, he was unable to retain the territorial gains of his predecesso ...
, who abdicated the throne in 726. It continues back to
Cerdic
Cerdic (; la, Cerdicus) is described in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' as a leader of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, being the founder and first king of Saxon Wessex, reigning from 519 to 534 AD. Subsequent kings of Wessex were each cla ...
, founder of the
House of Wessex
The House of Wessex, also known as the Cerdicings and the West Saxon dynasty, refers to the family, traditionally founded by Cerdic, that ruled Wessex in Southern England from the early 6th century. The house became dominant in southern England aft ...
. Ecgberht's descent from Ingild was accepted by
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 ...
, but not the earlier genealogy back to Cerdic. Heather Edwards in her Online ''
Dictionary of National Biography'' article on Ecgberht argues that he was of Kentish origin, and that the West Saxon descent may have been manufactured during his reign to give him legitimacy, whereas Rory Naismith considered a Kentish origin unlikely, and that it is more probable that "Ecgberht was born of good West Saxon royal stock".
Ecgberht's wife's name is unknown. A fifteenth-century chronicle now held by Oxford University names Ecgberht's wife as Redburga who was supposedly a relative of Charlemagne who he married when he was banished to
Francia
Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...
, but this is dismissed by academic historians in view of its late date. Æthelwulf is their only known child.
He is reputed to have had a half-sister
Alburga, later to be recognised as a saint for her founding of
Wilton Abbey
Wilton Abbey was a Benedictine convent in Wiltshire, England, three miles from Salisbury, probably on the site now occupied by Wilton House. It was active from the early tenth century until 1539.
History Foundation
Wilton Abbey is first reco ...
. She was married to
Wulfstan, ealdorman of Wiltshire
Weohstan (died 802) was the ealdorman of Wiltshire, part of the kingdom of Wessex, at the beginning of the ninth century. In 802 King Beorhtric died, and on the same day ealdorman Æthelmund of the Hwicce invaded Wiltshire. He was met by a Wilt ...
, and on his death in 802 she became a nun,
Abbess
An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey.
Description
In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Copt ...
of Wilton Abbey.
Political context and early life
![Egbert name in ASC C](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Egbert_name_in_ASC_C.jpg)
Offa of Mercia, who reigned from 757 to 796, was the dominant force in Anglo-Saxon England in the second half of the eighth century. The relationship between Offa and
Cynewulf
Cynewulf (, ; also spelled Cynwulf or Kynewulf) is one of twelve Old English poets known by name, and one of four whose work is known to survive today. He presumably flourished in the 9th century, with possible dates extending into the late 8th ...
, who was king of Wessex from 757 to 786, is not well documented, but it seems likely that Cynewulf maintained some independence from Mercian overlordship. Evidence of the relationship between kings can come from charters, which were documents which granted land to followers or to churchmen, and which were witnessed by the kings who had power to grant the land. In some cases a king will appear on a charter as a ''subregulus'', or "subking", making it clear that he has an overlord.
[Hunter Blair, ''Roman Britain'', pp. 14–15.][P. Wormald, "The Age of Bede and Æthelbald", in Campbell et al., ''The Anglo-Saxons'', pp. 95–98] Cynewulf appears as "King of the West Saxons" on a charter of Offa's in 772,
and in 779, he was defeated in
battle of Bensington
The Battle of Bensington was a major battle fought between Mercia, led by King Offa, and the West Saxons
la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons
, common_name = ...
by Offa, but there is nothing else to suggest Cynewulf was not his own master, and he is not known to have acknowledged Offa as overlord.
[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', pp. 208–210.] Offa did have influence in the southeast of the country: a charter of 764 shows him in the company of
Heahberht of Kent, suggesting that Offa's influence helped place Heahberht on the throne.
[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', pp. 165–169] The extent of Offa's control of Kent between 765 and 776 is a matter of debate amongst historians, but from 776 until about 784 it appears that the Kentish kings had substantial independence from Mercia.
[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 207.]
Another Ecgberht,
Ecgberht II of Kent, ruled in that kingdom throughout the 770s; he is last mentioned in 779, in a charter granting land at Rochester.
In 784 a new king of Kent, Ealhmund, appears in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. According to a note in the margin, "this king Ealhmund was Egbert's father
.e. Ecgberht of Wessex Egbert was Æthelwulf's father". This is supported by the genealogical preface from the A text of the ''Chronicle'', which gives Ecgberht's father's name as Ealhmund without further details. The preface probably dates from the late ninth century; the marginal note is on the F manuscript of the ''Chronicle'', which is a Kentish version dating from about 1100.
[Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. 58–63.]
Ealhmund does not appear to have long survived in power: there is no record of his activities after 784. There is, however, extensive evidence of Offa's domination of Kent during the late 780s, with his goals apparently going beyond overlordship to outright annexation of the kingdom,
and he has been described as "the rival, not the overlord, of the Kentish kings".
[Wormald, "Bede, the ''bretwaldas'' and the origins of the ''Gens Anglorum''", in Wormald et al., ''Ideal and Reality'', p. 113; quoted in Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 167., and n. 30.] It is possible that the young Ecgberht fled to Wessex in 785 or so; it is suggestive that the ''Chronicle'' mentions in a later entry that
Beorhtric, Cynewulf's successor, helped Offa to exile Ecgberht.
Cynewulf was murdered in 786. His succession was contested by Ecgberht, but he was defeated by Beorhtric, maybe with Offa's assistance.
[Fletcher, ''Who's Who'', p. 114.][Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 141.] The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' records that Ecgberht spent three years in Francia before he was king, exiled by Beorhtric and Offa. The text says "iii" for three, but this may have been a scribal error, with the correct reading being "xiii", that is, thirteen years. Beorhtric's reign lasted sixteen years, and not thirteen; and all extant texts of the ''Chronicle'' agree on "iii", but many modern accounts assume that Ecgberht did indeed spend thirteen years in Francia. This requires assuming that the error in transcription is common to every manuscript of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''; many historians make this assumption but others have rejected it as unlikely, given the consistency of the sources.
[E.g. Fletcher assumes that Ecgberht spent essentially all Beorhtric's reign in Francia; see Fletcher, ''Who's Who'', p. 114. Similarly, Swanton annotates "3 years" with "in fact thirteen years . . . this error is common to all MSS." See note 12 in Swanton, ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. 62–63. Naismith suggests that Ecgberht's exile may have occupied the thirteen-year period from 789, the year of Beorhtric's marriage with Offa's daughter, to 802, the year of his coming to power: see Naismith, p. 3. On the other hand, Stenton accepts the figure as three: see Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 220. Stenton adds in a footnote that "it is very dangerous to reject a reading which is so well attested".] In either case Ecgberht was probably exiled in 789, when Beorhtric, his rival, married the daughter of Offa of Mercia.
[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 220.]
At the time Ecgberht was in exile, Francia was ruled by Charlemagne, who maintained Frankish influence in Northumbria and is known to have supported Offa's enemies in the south. Another exile in Gaul at this time was Odberht, a priest, who is almost certainly the same person as
Eadberht, who later became king of Kent. According to a later chronicler,
William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as " ...
, Ecgberht learned the arts of government during his time in Gaul.
[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', pp. 176–177.]
Early reign
Beorhtric's dependency on Mercia continued into the reign of
Cenwulf, who became king of Mercia a few months after Offa's death.
Beorhtric died in 802, and Ecgberht came to the throne of Wessex, probably with the support of Charlemagne and perhaps also the papacy.
[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 186.] The Mercians continued to oppose Ecgberht: the day of his accession, the
Hwicce
Hwicce () was a tribal kingdom in 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 of th ...
(who had originally formed a separate kingdom, but by that time were part of Mercia) attacked, under the leadership of their
ealdorman,
Æthelmund
Æthelmund, an Anglo-Saxon noble, was Ealdorman of Hwicce in the late 8th and early 9th centuries. He was killed in 802 at the Battle of Kempsford by Ealdorman Weohstan and the levies of West Saxon Wiltshire.Williams, Smyth & Kirby, ''A Biograp ...
. Weohstan, a Wessex ealdorman, met him with men from Wiltshire;
according to a 15th-century source, Weohstan had married Alburga, Ecgberht's sister, and so was his brother-in-law.
[The source, a poem in the ''Chronicon Vilodunense'', is described by Yorke as "admittedly . . . far from ideal". See Barbara Yorke, "Edward as Ætheling", in Higham & Hill, ''Edward the Elder'', p. 36.] The Hwicce were defeated, though Weohstan was killed as well as Æthelmund.
Nothing more is recorded of Ecgberht's relations with Mercia for more than twenty years after this battle. It seems likely that Ecgberht had no influence outside his own borders, but on the other hand there is no evidence that he ever submitted to the overlordship of Cenwulf. Cenwulf did have overlordship of the rest of southern England, but in Cenwulf's charters the title of "overlord of the southern English" never appears, presumably in consequence of the independence of the kingdom of Wessex.
[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 225.]
In 815 the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' records that Ecgberht ravaged the whole of the territories of the remaining British kingdom,
Dumnonia
Dumnonia is the Latinised name for a Brythonic kingdom that existed in Sub-Roman Britain between the late 4th and late 8th centuries CE in the more westerly parts of present-day South West England. It was centred in the area of modern Devon, ...
, known to the author of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' as the West Welsh; their territory was about equivalent to what is now
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
.
[The border had been pushed back to the ]river Tamar
The Tamar (; kw, Dowr Tamar) is a river in south west England, that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east) and Cornwall (to the west). A part of the Tamar Valley is a World Heritage Site due to its historic mining activities.
T ...
, between Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
and Cornwall, by Ine of Wessex
Ine, also rendered Ini or Ina, ( la, Inus; c. AD 670 – after 726) was King of Wessex from 689 to 726. At Ine's accession, his kingdom dominated much of southern England. However, he was unable to retain the territorial gains of his predecesso ...
in 710. See Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p.125. Ten years later, a charter dated 19 August 825 indicates that Ecgberht was campaigning in Dumnonia again; this may have been related to a battle recorded in the ''Chronicle'' at
Gafulford
Gafulford (alternatively Gafulforda, Gafolforda or Gavelford) is the site of a battle in South West England known from the first entry in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' for 823 AD (usually corrected to 825 AD): "Her waes Weala gefeoht Def ...
in 823, between the men of Devon and the Britons of Cornwall.
[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', pp. 189–195.]
Battle of Ellandun
![Egbert of Wessex map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Egbert_of_Wessex_map.jpg)
It was also in 825 that one of the most important battles in Anglo-Saxon history took place, when Ecgberht defeated Beornwulf of Mercia at
Ellandun
The Battle of Ellendun or Battle of Wroughton was fought between Ecgberht of Wessex and Beornwulf of Mercia in September 825. Sir Frank Stenton described it as "one of the most decisive battles of English history". It effectively ended Mercian ...
—now
Wroughton
Wroughton is a large village and civil parish in northeast Wiltshire, England. It is part of the Borough of Swindon and lies along the A4361 between Swindon and Avebury; the road into Swindon crosses the M4 motorway between junctions 15 ...
, near
Swindon. This battle marked the end of the Mercian domination of southern England.
[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 231.] The ''Chronicle'' tells how Ecgberht followed up his victory: "Then he sent his son Æthelwulf from the army, and Ealhstan, his bishop, and Wulfheard, his ealdorman, to Kent with a great troop." Æthelwulf drove Baldred, the king of Kent, north over the Thames, and according to the ''Chronicle'', the men of Kent, Essex, Surrey and Sussex then all submitted to Æthelwulf "because earlier they were wrongly forced away from his relatives".
This may refer to Offa's interventions in Kent at the time Ecgberht's father Ealhmund became king; if so, the chronicler's remark may also indicate Ealhmund had connections elsewhere in southeast England.
The ''Chronicle''s version of events makes it appear that Baldred was driven out shortly after the battle, but this was probably not the case. A document from Kent survives which gives the date, March 826, as being in the third year of the reign of Beornwulf. This makes it likely that Beornwulf still had authority in Kent at this date, as Baldred's overlord; hence Baldred was apparently still in power.
In Essex, Ecgberht expelled King
Sigered, though the date is unknown. It may have been delayed until 829, since a later chronicler associates the expulsion with a campaign of Ecgberht's in that year against the Mercians.
The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' does not say who was the aggressor at Ellandun, but one recent history asserts that Beornwulf was almost certainly the one who attacked. According to this view, Beornwulf may have taken advantage of the Wessex campaign in Dumnonia in the summer of 825. Beornwulf's motivation to launch an attack would have been the threat of unrest or instability in the southeast: the dynastic connections with Kent made Wessex a threat to Mercian dominance.
The consequences of Ellandun went beyond the immediate loss of Mercian power in the southeast. According to the ''Chronicle'', the East Anglians asked for Ecgberht's protection against the Mercians in the same year, 825, though it may actually have been in the following year that the request was made. In 826 Beornwulf invaded East Anglia, presumably to recover his overlordship. He was slain, however, as was his successor,
Ludeca, who invaded East Anglia in 827, evidently for the same reason. It may be that the Mercians were hoping for support from Kent: there was some reason to suppose that
Wulfred
Wulfred (died 24 March 832) was an Anglo-Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury in medieval England. Nothing is known of his life prior to 803, when he attended a church council, but he was probably a nobleman from Middlesex. He was elected archbishop ...
, the
Archbishop of Canterbury, might be discontented with West Saxon rule, as Ecgberht had terminated Wulfred's currency and had begun to mint his own, at Rochester and Canterbury,
and it is known that Ecgberht seized property belonging to Canterbury.
The outcome in East Anglia was a disaster for the Mercians, which confirmed West Saxon power in the southeast.
Defeat of Mercia
![Entry for 827 in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which lists the eight bretwaldas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Entry_for_827_in_the_Anglo-Saxon_Chronicle%2C_which_lists_the_eight_bretwaldas.gif)
In 829 Ecgberht invaded Mercia and drove
Wiglaf
Wiglaf (Proto-Norse: *'' Wīga laibaz'', meaning "battle remainder"; ang, Wīġlāf ) is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem ''Beowulf''. He is the son of Weohstan, a Swede of the Wægmunding clan who had entered the service of Beowulf, kin ...
, the king of Mercia, into exile. This victory gave Ecgberht control of the
London Mint, and he issued coins as King of Mercia.
It was after this victory that the West Saxon scribe described him as a ''
bretwalda
''Bretwalda'' (also ''brytenwalda'' and ''bretenanwealda'', sometimes capitalised) is an Old English word. The first record comes from the late 9th-century ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. It is given to some of the rulers of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from ...
'', meaning 'wide-ruler' or perhaps 'Britain-ruler', in a famous passage in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. The relevant part of the annal reads, in the C manuscript of the ''Chronicle'':
''⁊ þy geare geeode Ecgbriht cing Myrcna rice ⁊ eall þæt be suþan Humbre wæs, ⁊ he wæs eahtaþa cing se ðe Bretenanwealda wæs.''
In modern English:
[Translation is based on Swanton; note that ''bretwalda'' (which Swanton translates as 'controller of Britain') in ms A appears as ''brytenwealda'' and variants in the other mss; here this is translated as 'wide-ruler', per Swanton. See Swanton, ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. 60–61.]
And the same year King Egbert conquered the kingdom of Mercia, and all that was south of the Humber, and he was the eighth king who was 'Wide-ruler'.
The previous seven ''bretwaldas'' are also named by the Chronicler, who gives the same seven names that Bede lists as holding imperium, starting with
Ælle of Sussex
Ælle (also Aelle or Ella) is recorded in early sources as the first king of the South Saxons, reigning in what is now called Sussex, England, from 477 to perhaps as late as 514.
According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', Ælle and three of hi ...
and ending with
Oswiu of Northumbria
Oswiu, also known as Oswy or Oswig ( ang, Ōswīg; c. 612 – 15 February 670), was King of Bernicia from 642 and of Northumbria from 654 until his death. He is notable for his role at the Synod of Whitby in 664, which ultimately brought the ch ...
. The list is often thought to be incomplete, omitting as it does some dominant Mercian kings such as
Penda
Penda (died 15 November 655)Manuscript A of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' gives the year as 655. Bede also gives the year as 655 and specifies a date, 15 November. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology and History'', 1934) put forward the theor ...
and Offa. The exact meaning of the title has been much debated; it has been described as "a term of encomiastic poetry"
[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', pp. 34–35.] but there is also evidence that it implied a definite role of military leadership.
[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 17.]
Later in 829, according to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', Ecgberht received the submission of the Northumbrians at
Dore (now a suburb of
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
); the Northumbrian king was probably
Eanred.
[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 197.] According to a later chronicler,
Roger of Wendover
Roger of Wendover (died 6 May 1236), probably a native of Wendover in Buckinghamshire, was an English chronicler of the 13th century.
At an uncertain date he became a monk at St Albans Abbey; afterwards he was appointed prior of the cell o ...
, Ecgberht invaded Northumbria and plundered it before Eanred submitted: "When Ecgberht had obtained all the southern kingdoms, he led a large army into Northumbria, and laid waste that province with severe pillaging, and made King Eanred pay tribute." Roger of Wendover is known to have incorporated Northumbrian annals into his version; the ''Chronicle'' does not mention these events.
[P. Wormald, "The Ninth Century", p. 139, in Campbell ''et al.'', ''The Anglo-Saxons''.] However, the nature of Eanred's submission has been questioned: one historian has suggested that it is more likely that the meeting at Dore represented a mutual recognition of sovereignty.
[Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 96.]
In 830, Ecgberht led a successful expedition against the Welsh, almost certainly with the intent of extending West Saxon influence into the Welsh lands previously within the Mercian orbit. This marked the high point of Ecgberht's influence.
Reduction in influence after 829
![Coin of King Egbert of Wessex](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Coin_of_King_Egbert_of_Wessex.JPG)
In 830, Mercia regained its independence under Wiglaf—the ''Chronicle'' merely says that Wiglaf "obtained the kingdom of Mercia again",
but the most likely explanation is that this was the result of a Mercian rebellion against Wessex rule.
[Stenton cites the annal for 839, which says Æthelwulf "granted" or "gave" the kingdom of Kent to his son, as an example of the language that would have been used had Wiglaf been granted the kingdom by Ecgberht. See Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', pp. 233–235]
![Charter S 1438, Council of Kingston 838](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Charter_S_1438%2C_Council_of_Kingston_838.jpg)
Ecgberht's dominion over southern England came to an end with Wiglaf's recovery of power. Wiglaf's return is followed by evidence of his independence from Wessex. Charters indicate Wiglaf had authority in Middlesex and Berkshire, and in a charter of 836 Wiglaf uses the phrase "my bishops, ''duces'', and magistrates" to describe a group that included eleven bishops from the episcopate of Canterbury, including bishops of sees in West Saxon territory.
[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', pp. 233–235] It is significant that Wiglaf was still able to call together such a group of notables; the West Saxons, even if they were able to do so, held no such councils.
[P. Wormald, "The Age of Offa and Alcuin", p. 128, in Campbell ''et al.'', ''The Anglo-Saxons''.][P. Wormald, "The Ninth Century", p. 138, in Campbell ''et al.'', ''The Anglo-Saxons''.] Wiglaf may also have brought Essex back into the Mercian orbit during the years after he recovered the throne.
[Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 51.] In East Anglia, King
Æthelstan
Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ang, Æðelstān ; on, Aðalsteinn; ; – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his fir ...
minted coins, possibly as early as 827, but more likely c. 830 after Ecgberht's influence was reduced with Wiglaf's return to power in Mercia. This demonstration of independence on East Anglia's part is not surprising, as it was Æthelstan who was probably responsible for the defeat and death of both Beornwulf and Ludeca.
Both Wessex's sudden rise to power in the late 820s, and the subsequent failure to retain this dominant position, have been examined by historians looking for underlying causes. One plausible explanation for the events of these years is that Wessex's fortunes were to some degree dependent on Carolingian support. The Franks supported
Eardwulf Eardwulf or Eardulf is an Anglo-Saxon male name. Notable people with the name include:
* Eardwulf of Northumbria, (floruit late 8th/early 9th century), ruler of Northumbria
* Eardwulf of Kent (floruit middle 8th century), ruler of Kent
* Eardwulf, ...
when he recovered the throne of Northumbria in 808, so it is plausible that they also supported Ecgberht's accession in 802. At Easter 839, not long before Ecgberht's death, he was in touch with
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...
, king of the Franks, to arrange safe passage to Rome. Hence a continuing relationship with the Franks seems to be part of southern English politics during the first half of the ninth century.
Carolingian support may have been one of the factors that helped Ecgberht achieve the military successes of the late 820s. However, the Rhenish and Frankish commercial networks collapsed at some time in the 820s or 830s, and in addition, a rebellion broke out in February 830 against Louis the Pious—the first of a series of internal conflicts that lasted through the 830s and beyond. These distractions may have prevented Louis from supporting Ecgberht. In this view, the withdrawal of Frankish influence would have left East Anglia, Mercia and Wessex to find a balance of power not dependent on outside aid.
Despite the loss of dominance, Ecgberht's military successes fundamentally changed the political landscape of Anglo-Saxon England. Wessex retained control of the south-eastern kingdoms, with the possible exception of Essex, and Mercia did not regain control of East Anglia.
Ecgberht's victories marked the end of the independent existence of the kingdoms of Kent and Sussex. The conquered territories were administered as a subkingdom for a while, including Surrey and possibly Essex.
[Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 32.] Although Æthelwulf was a subking under Ecgberht, it is clear that he maintained his own royal household, with which he travelled around his kingdom. Charters issued in Kent described Ecgberht and Æthelwulf as "kings of the West Saxons and also of the people of Kent". When Æthelwulf died in 858 his will, in which Wessex is left to one son and the southeastern kingdom to another, makes it clear that it was not until after 858 that the kingdoms were fully integrated.
[Abels, ''Alfred the Great'', p. 31.] Mercia remained a threat, however; Ecgberht's son Æthelwulf, established as king of Kent, gave estates to Christ Church, Canterbury, probably to counter any influence the Mercians might still have there.
In the southwest, Ecgberht was defeated in 836 at
Carhampton
Carhampton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, to the east of Minehead.
Carhampton civil parish stretches from the Bristol Channel coast inland to Exmoor. The parish has a population of 865 (2011 census).
History
Iron Age occup ...
by the
Danes,
but in 838 he won a battle against them and their allies the West Welsh at the
Battle of Hingston Down in Cornwall. The Dumnonian royal line continued after this time, but it is at this date that the independence of one of the last British kingdoms may be considered to have ended.
The details of Anglo-Saxon expansion into Cornwall are quite poorly recorded, but some evidence comes from place names.
[Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 155.] The
River Ottery
The River Ottery ( kw, Otri) is a small river in northeast Cornwall, United Kingdom. The river is about long from its source southeast of Otterham to its confluence with the River Tamar at Nether Bridge, northeast of Launceston.
The headw ...
, which flows east into the
Tamar near Launceston, appears to be a boundary: south of the Ottery the placenames are overwhelmingly Cornish, whereas to the north they are more heavily influenced by the English newcomers.
[Payton, ''Cornwall'', p. 68.]
Succession
![Winchestercathedralburialchestegbert](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Winchestercathedralburialchestegbert.jpg)
At a council at
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable ...
in 838, Ecgberht and Æthelwulf granted land to the sees of Winchester and Canterbury in return for the promise of support for Æthelwulf's claim to the throne.
The archbishop of Canterbury,
Ceolnoth
Ceolnoth or Ceolnoþ (; died 870) was a medieval English Archbishop of Canterbury. Although later chroniclers stated he had previously held ecclesiastical office in Canterbury, there is no contemporary evidence of this, and his first appearance i ...
, also accepted Ecgberht and Æthelwulf as the lords and protectors of the monasteries under Ceolnoth's control. These agreements, along with a later charter in which Æthelwulf confirmed church privileges, suggest that the church had recognised that Wessex was a new political power that must be dealt with.
Churchmen consecrated the king at coronation ceremonies, and helped to write the wills which specified the king's heir; their support had real value in establishing West Saxon control and a smooth succession for Ecgberht's line.
[Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', pp. 148–149.] Both the record of the Council of Kingston, and another charter of that year, include the identical phrasing: that a condition of the grant is that "we ourselves and our heirs shall always hereafter have firm and unshakable friendships from Archbishop Ceolnoth and his congregation at Christ Church."
[P. Wormald, "The Ninth Century", p. 140, in Campbell ''et al.'', ''The Anglo-Saxons''.]
Although nothing is known of any other claimants to the throne, it is likely that there were other surviving descendants of Cerdic (the supposed progenitor of all the kings of Wessex) who might have contended for the kingdom. Ecgberht died in 839, and his will, according to the account of it found in the will of his grandson,
Alfred the Great, left land only to male members of his family, so that the estates should not be lost to the royal house through marriage. Ecgberht's wealth, acquired through conquest, was no doubt one reason for his ability to purchase the support of the southeastern church establishment; the thriftiness of his will indicates he understood the importance of personal wealth to a king.
The kingship of Wessex had been frequently contested among different branches of the royal line, and it is a noteworthy achievement of Ecgberht's that he was able to ensure Æthelwulf's untroubled succession.
In addition, Æthelwulf's experience of kingship, in the subkingdom formed from Ecgberht's southeastern conquests, would have been valuable to him when he took the throne.
[Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', pp. 168–169.]
Ecgberht was buried in Winchester, as were his son, Æthelwulf, his grandson,
Alfred the Great, and his great-grandson,
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder (17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin ...
. During the ninth century, Winchester began to show signs of urbanisation, and it is likely that the sequence of burials indicates that Winchester was held in high regard by the West Saxon royal line.
[Yorke, ''Wessex'', p. 310.]
Notes
References
Primary sources
*
Egbert's chartersat Anglo-Saxons.net
Secondary sources
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Edwards, Heather (2004) ''Ecgberht'', Oxford Online Dictionary of National Biography*
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecgberht, King of Wessex
770s births
839 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
9th-century English monarchs
Burials at Winchester Cathedral
Anglo-Saxon warriors
Founding monarchs
House of Wessex
Kentish monarchs
Mercian monarchs
West Saxon monarchs