Offa (died 29 July 796 AD) was
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
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=
, ye ...
, a kingdom of
Anglo-Saxon England
Anglo-Saxon England or Early Medieval England, existing from the 5th to the 11th centuries from the end of Roman Britain until the Norman conquest in 1066, consisted of various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms until 927, when it was united as the Kingdom o ...
, 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
Æthelbald. Offa defeated the other claimant,
Beornred
Beornred (Old English: ''Beornræd'') (?-757) was a Mercian Thane who was briefly King of Mercia in 757. Beornred ascended the throne following the murder of King Æthelbald. However, he was defeated by Offa and forced to flee the country, and ...
. In the early years of Offa's reign, it is likely that he consolidated his control of Midland peoples such as 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 the ...
and the
Magonsæte
Magonsæte was a minor sub-kingdom of the greater Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, thought to be coterminous with the Diocese of Hereford.
The British territory of Pengwern was conquered by Oswiu of Northumbria in 656, while he was overlord of t ...
. Taking advantage of instability in the
kingdom of Kent
la, Regnum Cantuariorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the Kentish
, common_name = Kent
, era = Heptarchy
, status = vassal
, status_text =
, government_type = Monarchy ...
to establish himself as overlord, Offa also controlled
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 English ...
by 771, though his authority did not remain unchallenged in either territory. In the 780s he extended
Mercian Supremacy
The Mercian Supremacy was the period of Anglo-Saxon history between c. 716 and c. 825, when the kingdom of Mercia dominated the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy in England. Sir Frank Stenton apparently coined the phrase, arguing that Offa of Mercia, who rul ...
over most of southern England, allying with
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 ...
, who married Offa's daughter
Eadburh
Eadburh ( ang, Ēadburh), also spelled Eadburg, ( fl. 787–802) was the daughter of King Offa of Mercia and Queen Cynethryth. She was the wife of King Beorhtric of Wessex, and according to Asser's ''Life of Alfred the Great'' she killed h ...
, and regained complete control of the southeast. He also became the overlord of
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
and had King
Æthelberht II of East Anglia
Æthelberht (Old English: ''Æðelbrihte'', ''ÆÞelberhte''), also called Saint Ethelbert the King (died 20 May 794 at Sutton Walls, Herefordshire), was an eighth-century saint and a king of East Anglia, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today in ...
beheaded in 794, perhaps for rebelling against him.
Offa was a Christian king who came into conflict with the Church, particularly with
Jænberht
Jænberht (died 12 August 792) was a medieval monk, and later the abbot, of St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury who was named Archbishop of Canterbury in 765. As archbishop, he had a difficult relationship with King Offa of Mercia, who at one point ...
, the
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
. Offa persuaded
Pope Adrian I
Pope Adrian I ( la, Hadrianus I; died 25 December 795) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 772 to his death. He was the son of Theodore, a Roman nobleman.
Adrian and his predecessors had to contend with periodic ...
to divide the archdiocese of
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
in two, creating a new
archdiocese of Lichfield. This reduction in the power of Canterbury may have been motivated by Offa's desire to have an archbishop consecrate his son
Ecgfrith Ecgfrith ( ang, Ecgfrið) was the name of several Anglo-Saxon kings in England, including:
* Ecgfrith of Northumbria, died 685
* Ecgfrith of Mercia
Ecgfrith was king of Mercia from 29 July to December 796. He was the son of Offa, one of the m ...
as king, since it is possible Jænberht refused to perform the ceremony, which took place in 787. Offa had a dispute with the
Bishop of Worcester
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, which was settled at the Council of
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
in 781.
Many surviving coins from Offa's reign carry elegant depictions of him, and the artistic quality of these images exceeds that of the contemporary Frankish coinage. Some of his coins carry images of his wife,
Cynethryth
Cynethryth (''Cyneðryð''; died after AD 798) was a Queen of Mercia, wife of King Offa of Mercia and mother of King Ecgfrith of Mercia. Cynethryth is the only Anglo-Saxon queen consort in whose name coinage was definitely issued.
Biography Ori ...
—the only
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
queen ever depicted on a coin. Only three gold coins of Offa's have survived: one is a copy of an
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
dinar of 774 and carries Arabic text on one side, with "Offa Rex" on the other. The gold coins are of uncertain use but may have been struck to be used as alms or for gifts to Rome.
Many historians regard Offa as the most powerful Anglo-Saxon king before
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...
. His dominance never extended to
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 ...
, though he gave his daughter
Ælfflæd in marriage to the Northumbrian king
Æthelred I
Æthelred (; ang, Æþelræd ) or Ethelred () is an Old English personal name (a compound of '' æþele'' and '' ræd'', meaning "noble counsel" or "well-advised") and may refer to:
Anglo-Saxon England
* Æthelred and Æthelberht, legendary pri ...
in 792. Historians once saw his reign as part of a process leading to a unified England, but this is no longer the majority view: in the words of historian
Simon Keynes
Simon Douglas Keynes, ( ; born 23 September 1952) is a British author who is Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon emeritus in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic at Cambridge University, and a Fellow of Trinity College.< ...
, "Offa was driven by a lust for power, not a vision of English unity; and what he left was a reputation, not a legacy."
[Simon Keynes, "Offa", in ''Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 340.] His son Ecgfrith succeeded him after his death, but reigned for less than five months before
Coenwulf of Mercia
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 ...
became king.
Background and sources
![Anglo-Saxon Chronicle - Offa Myrcna cyning](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Anglo-Saxon_Chronicle_-_Offa_Myrcna_cyning.jpg)
In the first half of the 8th century, the dominant Anglo-Saxon ruler was King
Æthelbald of Mercia
Æthelbald (also spelled Ethelbald or Aethelbald; died 757) was the King of Mercia, in what is now the English Midlands from 716 until he was killed in 757. Æthelbald was the son of Alweo and thus a grandson of King Eowa. Æthelbald came to t ...
, who by 731 had become the overlord of all the provinces south of the River
Humber
The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between th ...
.
[Bede, ''HE'', V, 23, p. 324.] Æthelbald was one of a number of strong Mercian kings who ruled from the mid-7th century to the early 9th, and it was not until the reign of
Egbert of Wessex
Ecgberht (770/775 – 839), also spelled Egbert, Ecgbert, Ecgbriht, Ecgbeorht, and Ecbert, was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was King Ealhmund of Kent. In the 780s, Ecgberht was forced into exile to Charlema ...
in the 9th century that Mercian power began to wane.
[Simon Keynes, "Mercia", in Lapidge, ''Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 307.]
The power and prestige that Offa attained made him one of the most significant rulers in
Early Medieval
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
,
[Richard Fletcher (''Who's Who'', p. 100) describes him as "by common consent the most imposing Anglo-Saxon ruler before Alfred".] though no contemporary biography of him survives.
[ A key source for the period is 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 ...
'', a collection of annals in 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 ...
narrating the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The ''Chronicle'' was a West Saxon production, however, and is sometimes thought to be biased in favour of Wessex; hence it may not accurately convey the extent of power achieved by Offa, a Mercian.[Campbell, ''Anglo-Saxon State'', p. 144.] That power can be seen at work in charters
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
dating from Offa's reign. Charters were documents which granted land to followers or to churchmen and were witnessed by the kings who had the authority to grant the land.[Hunter Blair, ''Roman Britain'', pp. 14–15.][Campbell, ''The Anglo-Saxons'', pp. 95–98.] A charter might record the names of both a subject king and his overlord on the witness list appended to the grant. Such a witness list can be seen on the Ismere Diploma
The Ismere Diploma (London, British Library, Cotton Augustus ii. 3) is a charter of 736, in which Aethelbald of Mercia grants ten hides of land near Ismere to Cyneberht, his "venerable companion", for the foundation of a ''coenubium'' ( mins ...
, for example, where Æthelric, son of king Oshere of the Hwicce, is described as a "''subregulus''", or subking, of Æthelbald's.[Whitelock, ''English Historical Documents'', 67, pp. 453–454.][For a discussion showing the use of this in evidence in an account of the progression from Offa's overlordship of the Hwicce to suppression of the ruling dynasty, and consequent absorption of the kingdom into Mercia, see Patrick Wormald, "The Age of Offa and Alcuin", in Campbell et al., ''The Anglo-Saxons'', p. 123.] The eighth-century monk and chronicler the Venerable Bede
Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...
wrote a history of the English church called ''Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum
The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' ( la, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict be ...
''; the history only covers events up to 731, but as one of the major sources for Anglo-Saxon history it provides important background information for Offa's reign.[Roger Ray, "Bede", in Lapidge et al., ''Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England'', pp. 57–59.]
Offa's Dyke
Offa's Dyke ( cy, Clawdd Offa) is a large linear earthwork that roughly follows the border between England and Wales. The structure is named after Offa, the Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia from AD 757 until 796, who is traditionally believed to h ...
, most of which was probably built in his reign, is a testimony to the extensive resources Offa had at his command and his ability to organise them.[Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 117.] Other surviving sources include a problematic document known as the Tribal Hidage
Image:Tribal Hidage 2.svg, 400px, alt=insert description of map here, The tribes of the Tribal Hidage. Where an appropriate article exists, it can be found by clicking on the name.
rect 275 75 375 100 w:Elmet
rect 375 100 450 150 w:Hatfield Ch ...
, which may provide further evidence of Offa's scope as a ruler, though its attribution to his reign is disputed.[Peter Featherstone, provides a review of some theories about the origins of the ]Tribal Hidage
Image:Tribal Hidage 2.svg, 400px, alt=insert description of map here, The tribes of the Tribal Hidage. Where an appropriate article exists, it can be found by clicking on the name.
rect 275 75 375 100 w:Elmet
rect 375 100 450 150 w:Hatfield Ch ...
in "The Tribal Hidage and the Ealdormen of Mercia" in Brown & Farr, ''Mercia'', p. 29. A significant corpus of letters dates from the period, especially from Alcuin
Alcuin of York (; la, Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus; 735 – 19 May 804) – also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin – was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student o ...
, an English deacon and scholar who spent over a decade at 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 Holy ...
's court as one of his chief advisors, and corresponded with kings, nobles and ecclesiastics throughout England.Michael Lapidge Michael Lapidge, FBA (born 8 February 1942) is a scholar in the field of Medieval Latin literature, particularly that composed in Anglo-Saxon England during the period 600–1100 AD; he is an emeritus Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, a Fellow of ...
, "Alcuin of York", in Lapidge et al. ''Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 24. These letters in particular reveal Offa's relations with the continent, as does his coin
A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...
age, which was based on Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...
examples.[Patrick Wormald, "The Age of Offa and Alcuin", in Campbell et al., eds., ''The Anglo-Saxons'', pp. 110, 118.]
Ancestry and family
Offa's ancestry is given in the Anglian collection
''The Anglian collection'' is a collection of Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies and regnal lists. These survive in four manuscripts; two of which now reside in the British Library. The remaining two belong to the libraries of Corpus Christi College, ...
, a set of genealogies that include lines of descent for four Mercian kings. All four lines descend from Pybba
Pybba (570?–606/615) (also Pibba, Wibba, or Wybba) was an early King of Mercia. He was the son of Creoda and father of Penda and Eowa. Unusually, the names Pybba and Penda are likely of British Celtic, rather than Germanic, origin.
His dat ...
, who ruled Mercia early in the 7th century. Offa's line descends through Pybba's son Eowa and then through three more generations: Osmod, Eanwulf and Offa's father, Thingfrith. Æthelbald, who ruled Mercia for most of the forty years before Offa, was also descended from Eowa according to the genealogies: Offa's grandfather, Eanwulf, was Æthelbald's first cousin. Æthelbald granted land to Eanwulf in the territory of the Hwicce, and it is possible that Offa and Æthelbald were from the same branch of the family. In one charter Offa refers to Æthelbald as his kinsman, and Headbert, Æthelbald's brother, continued to witness charters after Offa rose to power.[Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 112.][
]
Offa's wife was Cynethryth
Cynethryth (''Cyneðryð''; died after AD 798) was a Queen of Mercia, wife of King Offa of Mercia and mother of King Ecgfrith of Mercia. Cynethryth is the only Anglo-Saxon queen consort in whose name coinage was definitely issued.
Biography Ori ...
, whose ancestry is unknown. The couple had a son, Ecgfrith Ecgfrith ( ang, Ecgfrið) was the name of several Anglo-Saxon kings in England, including:
* Ecgfrith of Northumbria, died 685
* Ecgfrith of Mercia
Ecgfrith was king of Mercia from 29 July to December 796. He was the son of Offa, one of the m ...
, and at least three daughters: Ælfflæd, Eadburh
Eadburh ( ang, Ēadburh), also spelled Eadburg, ( fl. 787–802) was the daughter of King Offa of Mercia and Queen Cynethryth. She was the wife of King Beorhtric of Wessex, and according to Asser's ''Life of Alfred the Great'' she killed h ...
and Æthelburh. It has been speculated that Æthelburh was the abbess who was a kinswoman of King Ealdred of the Hwicce, but there are other prominent women named Æthelburh during that period.[
]
Early reign, the midland territories and the Middle and East Saxons
Æthelbald, who had ruled Mercia since 716, was assassinated in 757. According to a later continuation of Bede's ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' (written anonymously after Bede's death) the king was "treacherously murdered at night by his own bodyguards," though the reason why is unrecorded. Æthelbald was initially succeeded by Beornred
Beornred (Old English: ''Beornræd'') (?-757) was a Mercian Thane who was briefly King of Mercia in 757. Beornred ascended the throne following the murder of King Æthelbald. However, he was defeated by Offa and forced to flee the country, and ...
, about whom little is known. The continuation of Bede comments that Beornred "ruled for a little while, and unhappily", and adds that "the same year, Offa, having put Beornred to flight, sought to gain the kingdom of the Mercians by bloodshed."[The "continuation of Bede" is by other hands than Bede's, though the first few entries may be by Bede himself. See ] It is possible that Offa did not gain the throne until 758, however, since a charter of 789 describes Offa as being in the thirty-first year of his reign.[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 163.]
The conflict over the succession suggests that Offa needed to re-establish control over Mercia's traditional dependencies, such as the Hwicce and the Magonsæte
Magonsæte was a minor sub-kingdom of the greater Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, thought to be coterminous with the Diocese of Hereford.
The British territory of Pengwern was conquered by Oswiu of Northumbria in 656, while he was overlord of t ...
. Charters dating from the first two years of Offa's reign show the Hwiccan kings as ''reguli'', or kinglets, under his authority; and it is likely that he was also quick to gain control over the Magonsæte, for whom there is no record of an independent ruler after 740.[Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 113.] Offa was probably able to exert control over the kingdom of Lindsey
The Kingdom of Lindsey or Linnuis ( ang, Lindesege) was a lesser Anglo-Saxon kingdom, which was absorbed into Northumbria in the 7th century. The name Lindsey derives from the Old English toponym , meaning "Isle of Lind". was the Roman name of th ...
at an early date, as it appears that the independent dynasty of Lindsey had disappeared by this time.[
Little is known about the history of the ]East Saxons
la, Regnum Orientalium Saxonum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the East Saxons
, common_name = Essex
, era = Heptarchy
, status =
, status_text =
, government_type = Monarch ...
during the 8th century, but what evidence there is indicates that both London and Middlesex, which had been part of the kingdom of Essex, were finally brought under Mercian control during the reign of Æthelbald. Both Æthelbald and Offa granted land in Middlesex and London as they wished; in 767 a charter of Offa's disposed of land in Harrow without a local ruler as witness.[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', pp. 204–205; the charter itself is translated in Whitelock, ''English Historical Documents'', 73, p. 461.] It is likely that both London and Middlesex were quickly under Offa's control at the start of his reign.[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 164.] The East Saxon royal house survived the 8th century, so it is probable that the kingdom of Essex retained its native rulers, but under strong Mercian influence, for most or all of the 8th century.[Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 50.]
It is unlikely that Offa had significant influence in the early years of his reign outside the traditional Mercian heartland. The overlordship of the southern English which had been exerted by Æthelbald appears to have collapsed during the civil strife over the succession, and it is not until 764, when evidence emerges of Offa's influence in Kent, that Mercian power can be seen expanding again.[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 206.]
Kent and Sussex
Offa appears to have exploited an unstable situation in Kent after 762.[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 165.] Kent had a long tradition of joint kingship, with east and west Kent under separate kings, though one king was typically dominant.[Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 32.] Prior to 762 Kent was ruled by Æthelberht II and Eadberht I; Eadberht's son Eardwulf is also recorded as a king. Æthelberht died in 762, and Eadberht and Eardwulf are last mentioned in that same year. Charters from the next two years mention other kings of Kent, including Sigered, Eanmund Eanmund was a Swedish prince of the Scylfing dynasty, whose existence is alleged in ''Beowulf''.''Beowulf'', lines 2612-2615.
Life according to ''Beowulf''
Unlike his relatives, Eanmund is only mentioned in Beowulf. Eanmund was the son of Ohther ...
and Heahberht. In 764, Offa granted land at Rochester
Rochester may refer to:
Places Australia
* Rochester, Victoria
Canada
* Rochester, Alberta
United Kingdom
*Rochester, Kent
** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area
** History of Rochester, Kent
** HM Prison ...
in his own name, with Heahberht on the witness list as king of Kent. Another king of Kent, Ecgberht, appears on a charter in 765 along with Heahberht; the charter was subsequently confirmed by Offa.[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', pp. 206–207.] Offa's influence in Kent at this time is clear, and it has been suggested that Heahberht was installed by Offa as his client.[ There is less agreement among historians on whether Offa had general overlordship of Kent thereafter. He is known to have revoked a charter of Ecgberht's on the grounds that "it was wrong that his thegn should have presumed to give land allotted to him by his lord into the power of another without his witness", but the date of Ecgberht's original grant is unknown, as is the date of Offa's revocation of it.][The evidence comes from a charter of ]Coenwulf of Mercia
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 ...
's in 799, in which he grants the land again, quoting the grounds on which Offa revoked it, but without giving any date. The charter is translated in Whitelock, ''English Historical Documents'', 80, p. 470. It may be that Offa was the effective overlord of Kent from 764 until at least 776. The limited evidence for Offa's direct involvement in the kingdom between 765 and 776 includes two charters of 774 in which he grants land in Kent; but there are doubts about their authenticity, so Offa's intervention in Kent prior to 776 may have been limited to the years 764–65.[Kirby quotes Stenton's comment that Ecgberht was "a mere dependant" of Offa's, and gives his opinion that there is "no certain evidence" of this. On the other hand, Keynes agrees with Stenton that Offa "]ook
Ook, OoK or OOK may refer to:
* Ook Chung (born 1963), Korean-Canadian writer from Quebec
* On-off keying, in radio technology
* Toksook Bay Airport (IATA code OOK), in Alaska
* Ook!, an esoteric programming language based on Brainfuck
* Ook, th ...
control of Kent in the 760s". Simon Keynes, "Offa", in Lapidge, ''Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 340; Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 207; Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', pp. 165–166.
The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' records that "the Mercians and the inhabitants of Kent fought 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 776, but does not give the outcome of the battle. It has traditionally been interpreted as a Mercian victory, but there is no evidence for Offa's authority over Kent until 785: a charter from 784 mentions only a Kentish king named Ealhmund, which may indicate that the Mercians were in fact defeated at Otford.[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 207–208; Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 165.] The cause of the conflict is also unknown: if Offa was ruling Kent before 776, the battle of Otford was probably a rebellion against Mercian control.[ However, Ealhmund does not appear again in the historical record, and a sequence of charters by Offa from the years 785–89 makes his authority clear. During these years he treated Kent "as an ordinary province of the Mercian kingdom",][Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', pp. 166–167; Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', pp. 207–208.] and his actions have been seen as going beyond the normal relation of overlordship and extending to the annexation of Kent and the elimination of a local royal line. After 785, in the words of one historian, "Offa was the rival, not the overlord, of Kentish kings".[The quote is from Patrick Wormald, "Bede, the ''Bretwaldas'', and the origin of the ''Gens Anglorum''", in Wormald et al., ''Ideal and Reality'', p. 113, quoted in Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 167.] Mercian control lasted until 796, the year of Offa's death, when Eadberht Præn was temporarily successful in regaining Kentish independence.
Ealhmund was probably the father of Egbert of Wessex
Ecgberht (770/775 – 839), also spelled Egbert, Ecgbert, Ecgbriht, Ecgbeorht, and Ecbert, was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was King Ealhmund of Kent. In the 780s, Ecgberht was forced into exile to Charlema ...
, and it is possible that Offa's interventions in Kent in the mid-780s are connected to the subsequent exile of Egbert to Francia. The ''Chronicle'' claims that when Egbert invaded Kent in 825, the men of the southeast turned to him "because earlier they were wrongly forced away from his relatives".[Swanton, ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', p. 60.] This is likely to be an allusion to Ealhmund, and may imply that Ealhmund had a local overlordship of the southeastern kingdoms. If so, Offa's intervention was probably intended to gain control of this relationship and take over the dominance of the associated kingdoms.[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 168.]
The evidence for Offa's involvement in the kingdom of Sussex
la, Regnum Sussaxonum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the South Saxons
, capital =
, era = Heptarchy
, status = Vassal of Wessex (686–726, 827–860)Vassal of Mercia (771–796)
, governm ...
comes from charters, and as with Kent there is no clear consensus among historians on the course of events. What little evidence survives that bears on Sussex's kings indicates that several kings ruled at once, and it may never have formed a single kingdom. It has been argued that Offa's authority was recognised early in his reign by local kings in western Sussex, but that eastern Sussex (the area around Hastings) submitted to him less readily. Symeon of Durham
__NOTOC__
Symeon (or Simeon) of Durham (died after 1129) was an English chronicler and a monk of Durham Priory.
Biography
Symeon entered the Benedictine monastery at Jarrow as a youth. It moved to Durham in 1074, and he was professed in 1085 or ...
, a twelfth-century chronicler, records that in 771 Offa defeated "the people of Hastings", which may record the extension of Offa's dominion over the entire kingdom.[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 208; Whitelock, ''English Historical Documents'', p. 243.] However, doubts have been expressed about the authenticity of the charters which support this version of events, and it is possible that Offa's direct involvement in Sussex was limited to a short period around 770–71. After 772, there is no further evidence of Mercian involvement in Sussex until c. 790, and it may be that Offa gained control of Sussex in the late 780s, as he did in Kent.[Kirby gives details of the problems with the charters, and also suggests that the situation in Kent and Sussex at this time may be connected with the entry for 823 in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' which asserts that the southeastern kingdoms were "wrongly forced away" from the kinsmen of ]Egbert of Wessex
Ecgberht (770/775 – 839), also spelled Egbert, Ecgbert, Ecgbriht, Ecgbeorht, and Ecbert, was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was King Ealhmund of Kent. In the 780s, Ecgberht was forced into exile to Charlema ...
, who was the son of 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 any ...
. Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', pp. 167–168; see also Swanton, ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', p. 60.
East Anglia, Wessex and Northumbria
In East Anglia, Beonna Beonna is an Anglo-Saxon name, and may refer to:
* Beonna of East Anglia, King of East Anglia
* Saint Beonna of Glastonbury
Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset ...
probably became king in about 758. Beonna's first coinage predates Offa's own, and implies independence from Mercia. Subsequent East Anglian history is quite obscure, but in 779 Æthelberht II became king, and was independent long enough to issue coins of his own.[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', pp. 164, 166.] In 794, according to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', "King Offa ordered King Æthelberht's head to be struck off". Offa minted pennies in East Anglia in the early 790s, so it is likely that Æthelberht rebelled against Offa and was beheaded as a result.[Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 64.] Accounts of the event have survived in which Aethelberht is killed through the machinations of Offa's wife Cynethryth, but the earliest manuscripts in which these possibly legendary accounts are found date from the 11th and 12th centuries, and recent historians do not regard them with confidence.[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 210; Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 177; see also Zaluckyj & Zaluckyj, "The Age of Mercian Supremacy", in Zaluckyj et al., ''Mercia'', pp. 152–153, which gives the details of the earliest versions of the legend.] The legend also claims that Æthelberht was killed at Sutton St. Michael and buried to the south at Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
, where his cult flourished, becoming at one time second only to Canterbury as a pilgrimage destination.[Blair, ''Church in Anglo-Saxon Society'', p. 288.][Zaluckyj & Zaluckyj, "The Age of Mercian Supremacy", in Zaluckyj et al., ''Mercia'', p. 153.]
To the south of Mercia, 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 ...
came to the throne 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 ...
in 757 and recovered much of the border territory that Æthelbald had conquered from the West Saxons. Offa won an important victory over Cynewulf at the 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 = ...
(in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
) in 779, reconquering some of the land along the Thames.[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 209.] No indisputably authentic charters from before this date show Cynewulf in Offa's entourage,[ and there is no evidence that Offa ever became Cynewulf's overlord.][ In 786, after the murder of Cynewulf, Offa may have intervened to place Beorhtric on the West Saxon throne. Even if Offa did not assist Beorhtric's claim, it seems likely that Beorhtric to some extent recognised Offa as his overlord shortly thereafter.][Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 141.] Offa's currency was used across the West Saxon kingdom, and Beorhtric had his own coins minted only after Offa's death.[Blackburn & Grierson, ''Early Medieval Coinage'', pp. 281–282.] In 789, Beorhtric married Eadburh
Eadburh ( ang, Ēadburh), also spelled Eadburg, ( fl. 787–802) was the daughter of King Offa of Mercia and Queen Cynethryth. She was the wife of King Beorhtric of Wessex, and according to Asser's ''Life of Alfred the Great'' she killed h ...
, a daughter of Offa;[ the ''Chronicle'' records that the two kings combined to exile Egbert 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 ...
for "three years", adding that "Beorhtric helped Offa because he had his daughter as his queen".[Swanton, ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', p. 62.] Some historians believe that the ''Chronicle''s "three years" is an error, and should read "thirteen years", which would mean Egbert's exile lasted from 789 to 802, but this reading is disputed.[E.g. Fletcher assumes that Egbert 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. 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".] Eadburh is mentioned by Asser
Asser (; ; died 909) was a Welsh monk from St David's, Dyfed, who became Bishop of Sherborne in the 890s. About 885 he was asked by Alfred the Great to leave St David's and join the circle of learned men whom Alfred was recruiting for his c ...
, a 9th-century monk who wrote a biography of Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...
: Asser says that Eadburh had "power throughout almost the entire kingdom", and that she "began to behave like a tyrant after the manner of her father".[Keynes & Lapidge, ''Alfred the Great'', p. 71.] Whatever power she had in Wessex was no doubt connected with her father's overlordship.[Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 147.]
If Offa did not gain the advantage in Wessex until defeating Cynewulf in 779, it may be that his successes south of the river were a necessary prerequisite to his interventions in the south-east. In this view, Egbert of Kent's death in about 784 and Cynewulf's death in 786 were the events that allowed Offa to gain control of Kent and bring Beorhtric into his sphere of influence. This version of events also assumes that Offa did not have control of Kent after 764–65, as some historians believe.
Offa's marital alliances extended to 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 ...
when his daughter Ælfflæd married Æthelred I of Northumbria
Æthelred (; c. 762 – 18 April 796), was the king of Northumbria from 774 to 779 and again from 790 until he was murdered in 796. He was the son of Æthelwald Moll and Æthelthryth and possibly became king while still a child after ...
at Catterick in 792.[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 154.] However, there is no evidence that Northumbria was ever under Mercian control during Offa's reign.[
]
Wales and Offa's Dyke
Offa was frequently in conflict with the various Welsh kingdoms. There was a battle between the Mercians and the Welsh at Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
in 760, and Offa is recorded as campaigning against the Welsh in 778, 784 and 796 in the tenth-century ''Annales Cambriae
The (Latin for ''Annals of Wales'') is the title given to a complex of Latin chronicles compiled or derived from diverse sources at St David's in Dyfed, Wales. The earliest is a 12th-century presumed copy of a mid-10th-century original; later ed ...
''.[Annales Cambriae, ''sub anno'' 760, 778 and 784.][Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', pp. 214–215.]
The best known relic associated with Offa's time is Offa's Dyke
Offa's Dyke ( cy, Clawdd Offa) is a large linear earthwork that roughly follows the border between England and Wales. The structure is named after Offa, the Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia from AD 757 until 796, who is traditionally believed to h ...
, a great earthen barrier that runs approximately along the border between England and Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. It is mentioned by the monk Asser
Asser (; ; died 909) was a Welsh monk from St David's, Dyfed, who became Bishop of Sherborne in the 890s. About 885 he was asked by Alfred the Great to leave St David's and join the circle of learned men whom Alfred was recruiting for his c ...
in his biography of Alfred the Great: "a certain vigorous king called Offa ... had a great dyke built between Wales and Mercia from sea to sea".[Asser, ''Alfred the Great'', ch. 14, p. 71.] The dyke has not been dated by archaeological methods, but most historians find no reason to doubt Asser's attribution.[Margaret Worthington, "Offa's Dyke", in Lapidge, ''Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 341.] Early names for the dyke in both Welsh and English also support the attribution to Offa.[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 213.] Despite Asser's comment that the dyke ran "from sea to sea", it is now thought that the original structure only covered about two-thirds of the length of the border: in the north it ends near Llanfynydd
Llanfynydd is a village, parish and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The community population at the 2011 census was 499. It lies some 10 miles (16 km) north-east of the county town, Carmarthen. Bordering it are the communities of Llansaw ...
, less than from the coast, while in the south it stops at Rushock Hill
Rushock is a small village in Herefordshire, England. It lies about 1 mile north-east of Kington. The population of the civil parish was 131 at the 2011 census.
Rushock was mentioned in the Domesday Book under the name of ''Ruiscop'', when th ...
, near Kington in Herefordshire, less than from the Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...
. The total length of this section is about . Other earthworks exist along the Welsh border, of which Wat's Dyke
Wat's Dyke ( cy, Clawdd Wat) is a linear earthwork running through the northern Welsh Marches from Basingwerk Abbey on the River Dee estuary, passing east of Oswestry and on to Maesbury in Shropshire, England. It runs generally parallel to ...
is one of the largest, but it is not possible to date them relative to each other and so it cannot be determined whether Offa's Dyke was a copy of or the inspiration for Wat's Dyke.[Margaret Worthington, "Wat's Dyke", in Lapidge et al., ''Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 468.]
The construction of the dyke suggests that it was built to create an effective barrier and to command views into Wales. This implies that the Mercians who built it were free to choose the best location for the dyke.[ There are settlements to the west of the dyke that have names that imply they were English by the 8th century, so it may be that in choosing the location of the barrier the Mercians were consciously surrendering some territory to the native Britons.][Stenton cites, for example, the village "Burlingjobb", in ]Powys
Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...
, not far from the south end of the dyke, as having a name unlikely to have risen as late as the 9th century. Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 214. Alternatively it may be that these settlements had already been retaken by the Welsh, implying a defensive role for the barrier. The effort and expense that must have gone into building the dyke are impressive, and suggest that the king who had it built (whether Offa or someone else) had considerable resources at his disposal. Other substantial construction projects of a similar date do exist, however, such as Wat's Dyke and Danevirke
The Danevirke or Danework (modern Danish spelling: ''Dannevirke''; in Old Norse; ''Danavirki'', in German; ''Danewerk'', literally meaning '' earthwork of the Danes'') is a system of Danish fortifications in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. This his ...
, in what is now Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
as well as such sites as Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...
from millennia earlier. The dyke can be regarded in the light of these counterparts as the largest and most recent great construction of the preliterate inhabitants of Britain.[Patrick Wormald, "Offa's Dyke", in James Campbell et al., ''The Anglo-Saxons'', pp. 120–121.]
Church
Offa ruled as a Christian king, but despite being praised by 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 Holy ...
's advisor, Alcuin
Alcuin of York (; la, Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus; 735 – 19 May 804) – also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin – was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student o ...
, for his piety and efforts to "instruct is people
In linguistics, a copula (plural: copulas or copulae; abbreviated ) is a word or phrase that links the subject of a sentence to a subject complement, such as the word ''is'' in the sentence "The sky is blue" or the phrase ''was not being'' i ...
in the precepts of God",[Whitelock, ''English Historical Documents'', 198, p. 783.] he came into conflict with Jænberht
Jænberht (died 12 August 792) was a medieval monk, and later the abbot, of St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury who was named Archbishop of Canterbury in 765. As archbishop, he had a difficult relationship with King Offa of Mercia, who at one point ...
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
. Jænberht had been a supporter of Ecgberht II of Kent, which may have led to conflict in the 760s when Offa is known to have intervened in Kent. Offa rescinded grants made to Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
by Egbert, and it is also known that Jænberht claimed the monastery of Cookham
Cookham is a historic River Thames, Thames-side village and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the north-eastern edge of Berkshire, England, north-north-east of Maidenhead and opposite the village of Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, Bourne ...
, which was in Offa's possession.[Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', pp. 116–117.]
In 786 Pope Adrian I
Pope Adrian I ( la, Hadrianus I; died 25 December 795) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 772 to his death. He was the son of Theodore, a Roman nobleman.
Adrian and his predecessors had to contend with periodic ...
sent papal legate
300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate.
A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...
s to England to assess the state of the church and provide canons (ecclesiastical decrees) for the guidance of the English kings, nobles and clergy. This was the first papal mission to England since Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman pr ...
had been sent by Pope Gregory the Great
Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregori ...
in 597 to convert the Anglo-Saxons.[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', pp. 215–216.] The legates were Bishop George of Ostia George was a Franco-papal diplomat who served as the bishop of Ostia (753–798) in the Papal State and bishop of Amiens (767–798) in Francia. He moved extensively between Italy and Francia, but his best recorded mission is the one he made to E ...
, and Theophylact, the bishop of Todi. They visited Canterbury first, and then were received by Offa at his court. Both 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 ...
, king of the West Saxons, attended a council where the goals of the mission were discussed. George then went to Northumbria, while Theophylact visited Mercia and "parts of Britain". A report on the mission, sent by the legates to Pope Adrian, gives details of a council held by George in Northumbria, and the canons issued there, but little detail survives of Theophylact's mission. After the northern council George returned to the south and another council was held, attended by both Offa and Jænberht, at which further canons were issued.[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 170.]
In 787, Offa succeeded in reducing the power of Canterbury through the establishment of a rival archdiocese at Lichfield. The issue must have been discussed with the papal legates in 786, although it is not mentioned in the accounts that have survived. The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' reports a "contentious synod" in 787 at Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
, which approved the creation of the new archbishopric. It has been suggested that this synod was the same gathering as the second council held by the legates, but historians are divided on this issue. Hygeberht
Hygeberht (died after 803) was the Bishop of Lichfield from 779 and Archbishop of Lichfield after the elevation of Lichfield to an archdiocese some time after 787, during the reign of the powerful Mercian king Offa. Little is known of Hygeberht ...
, already Bishop 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 ...
, became the new archdiocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
's first and only archbishop, and by the end of 788 he received the pallium
The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolit ...
, a symbol of his authority, from Rome.[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', pp. 217–218 & 218 notes 3 & 4.] The new archdiocese included the sees of Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
, Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
, Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
, Lindsey Lindsey may refer to :
Places Canada
* Lindsey Lake, Nova Scotia
England
* Parts of Lindsey, one of the historic Parts of Lincolnshire and an administrative county from 1889 to 1974
** East Lindsey, an administrative district in Lincolnshire, ...
, Dommoc
''Dommoc'' (or ''Domnoc''), a place not certainly identified but probably within the modern county of Suffolk, was the original seat of the Anglo-Saxon bishops of the Kingdom of East Anglia. It was established by Sigeberht of East Anglia for Sai ...
and Elmham
North Elmham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
It covers an area of and had a population of 1,428 in 624 households at the 2001 census, including Gateley and increasing slightly to 1,433 at the 2011 Census. For ...
; these were essentially the midland Anglian territories. Canterbury retained the sees in the south and southeast.[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 174.]
The few accounts of the creation of the new archbishopric date from after the end of Offa's reign. Two versions of the events appear in the form of an exchange of letters between 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 ...
, who became king of Mercia shortly after Offa's death, and Pope Leo III
Pope Leo III (died 12 June 816) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 26 December 795 to his death. Protected by Charlemagne from the supporters of his predecessor, Adrian I, Leo subsequently strengthened Charlemagne's position b ...
, in 798. Coenwulf asserts in his letter that Offa wanted the new archdiocese created out of enmity for Jænberht; but Leo responds that the only reason the papacy agreed to the creation was because of the size of the kingdom of Mercia.[Whitelock, ''English Historical Documents'', 204 & 205, pp. 791–794.] Both Coenwulf and Leo had their own reasons for representing the situation as they did: Coenwulf was entreating Leo to make London the sole southern archdiocese, while Leo was concerned to avoid the appearance of complicity with the unworthy motives Coenwulf imputed to Offa. These are therefore partisan comments. However, both the size of Offa's territory and his relationship with Jænberht and 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 ...
are indeed likely to have been factors in Offa's request for the creation of the new archdiocese.[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', pp. 169–170.] Coenwulf's version has independent support, with a letter from Alcuin to Archbishop Æthelheard giving his opinion that Canterbury's archdiocese had been divided "not, as it seems, by reasonable consideration, but by a certain desire for power".[Whitelock, ''English Historical Documents'', 203, pp. 788–790.] Æthelheard himself later said that the award of a pallium to 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 ...
depended on "deception and misleading suggestion".[Whitelock, ''English Historical Documents'', 210, pp. 799–800.]
Another possible reason for the creation of an archbishopric at Lichfield relates to Offa's son, Ecgfrith of Mercia
Ecgfrith was king of Mercia from 29 July to December 796. He was the son of Offa, one of the most powerful kings of Mercia, and Cynethryth, his wife. In 787, Ecgfrith was consecrated king, the first known consecration of an English king, prob ...
. After Hygeberht
Hygeberht (died after 803) was the Bishop of Lichfield from 779 and Archbishop of Lichfield after the elevation of Lichfield to an archdiocese some time after 787, during the reign of the powerful Mercian king Offa. Little is known of Hygeberht ...
became archbishop, he consecrated Ecgfrith as king; the ceremony took place within a year of Hygeberht's elevation.[Swanton, ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', sub anno 785, pp. 52–54.] It is possible that Jænberht
Jænberht (died 12 August 792) was a medieval monk, and later the abbot, of St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury who was named Archbishop of Canterbury in 765. As archbishop, he had a difficult relationship with King Offa of Mercia, who at one point ...
refused to perform the ceremony, and that Offa needed an alternative archbishop for that purpose.[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 173.] The ceremony itself is noteworthy for two reasons: it is the first recorded consecration of any English king, and it is unusual in that it asserted Ecgfrith's royal status while his father was still alive. Offa would have been aware that 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 Holy ...
's sons, Pippin
Pippin or Pepin may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Pippin (comics), ''Pippin'' (comics), a children's comic produced from 1966 to 1986
* Pippin (musical), ''Pippin'' (musical), a Broadway musical by Stephen Schwartz loosely based on the life ...
and Louis Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated terms
* Lewis ( ...
, had been consecrated as kings by Pope Adrian,[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', pp. 218–219.] and probably wished to emulate the impressive dignity of the Frankish court.[Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 115.] Other precedents did exist: Æthelred of Mercia
Æthelred (; died after 704) was king of Mercia from 675 until 704. He was the son of Penda of Mercia and came to the throne in 675, when his brother, Wulfhere of Mercia, died from an illness. Within a year of his accession he invaded Kent, wh ...
is said to have nominated his son Coenred as king during his lifetime, and Offa may have known of Byzantine examples of royal consecration.[
Despite the creation of the new archdiocese, ]Jænberht
Jænberht (died 12 August 792) was a medieval monk, and later the abbot, of St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury who was named Archbishop of Canterbury in 765. As archbishop, he had a difficult relationship with King Offa of Mercia, who at one point ...
retained his position as the senior cleric in the land, with Hygeberht conceding his precedence.[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 218.] When Jænberht died in 792, he was replaced by Æthelheard, who was consecrated by Hygeberht
Hygeberht (died after 803) was the Bishop of Lichfield from 779 and Archbishop of Lichfield after the elevation of Lichfield to an archdiocese some time after 787, during the reign of the powerful Mercian king Offa. Little is known of Hygeberht ...
, now senior in his turn. Subsequently, Æthelheard appears as a witness on charters and presides at synods without Hygeberht, so it appears that Offa continued to respect Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
's authority.[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 172.]
A letter from Pope Adrian 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 Holy ...
survives which makes reference to Offa, but the date is uncertain; it may be as early as 784 or as late as 791. In it Adrian recounts a rumour that had reached him: Offa had reportedly proposed to Charlemagne that Adrian should be deposed, and replaced by a Frankish pope. Adrian disclaims all belief in the rumour, but it is clear it had been a concern to him.[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 215.] The enemies of Offa and Charlemagne, described by Adrian as the source of the rumour, are not named. It is unclear whether this letter is related to the legatine mission of 786; if it predates it, then the mission might have been partly one of reconciliation, but the letter might well have been written after the mission.[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 171.]
Offa was a generous patron of the church, founding several churches and monasteries, often dedicated to St Peter
) (Simeon, Simon)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire
, death_date = Between AD 64–68
, death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire
, parents = John (or Jonah; Jona)
, occupation ...
.[Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 116.] Among these was St Albans Abbey, which he probably founded in the early 790s.[ He also promised a yearly gift of 365 ]mancus
Mancus (sometimes spelt ''mancosus'' or similar, from Arabic ''manqūsh'' منقوش) was a term used in early medieval Europe to denote either a gold coin, a weight of gold of 4.25g (equivalent to the Islamic gold dinar, and thus lighter than th ...
es to Rome; a mancus was a term of account equivalent to thirty silver pennies, derived from Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
gold coins that were circulating in 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 ...
at the time.[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England, p. 223.] Control of religious houses was one way in which a ruler of the day could provide for his family, and to this end Offa ensured (by acquiring papal privileges) that many of them would remain the property of his wife or children after his death.[ This policy of treating religious houses as worldly possessions represents a change from the early 8th century, when many charters showed the foundation and endowment of small minsters, rather than the assignment of those lands to laypeople. In the 770s, an abbess named Æthelburh (who may have been the same person as Offa's daughter of that name) held multiple leases on religious houses in the territory of 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 the ...
; her acquisitions have been described as looking "like a speculator assembling a portfolio". Æthelburh's possession of these lands foreshadows Cynethryth
Cynethryth (''Cyneðryð''; died after AD 798) was a Queen of Mercia, wife of King Offa of Mercia and mother of King Ecgfrith of Mercia. Cynethryth is the only Anglo-Saxon queen consort in whose name coinage was definitely issued.
Biography Ori ...
's control of religious lands, and the pattern was continued in the early 9th century by Cwoenthryth
Cwenthryth (also Quendreda, ang, Cwēnþrȳð) was a princess of Mercia, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in central England, who lived in the early 9th century.
She was the daughter of Coenwulf of Mercia and the sister of Saint Kenelm and also the siste ...
, the daughter of King 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 ...
.[Blair, ''Church in Anglo-Saxon Society'', pp. 129–30.]
Either Offa or 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 predecessor ...
is traditionally supposed to have founded the Schola Saxonum
Church of the Holy Spirit in the Saxon District (Italian: ''La chiesa di Santo Spirito in Sassia'') is a 12th-century titular church in Rome, Italy. It is in '' Borgo Santo Spirito'', a street which got its name from the church, placed in the sou ...
in Rome, in what is today the Roman rione
A (; plural: ) is a neighbourhood in several Italian cities. A is a territorial subdivision. The larger administrative subdivisions in Rome are the , with the being used only in the historic centre. The word derives from the Latin , the 14 su ...
, or district, of Borgo. The Schola Saxonum took its name from the militias of Saxons who served in Rome, but it eventually developed into a hostelry for English visitors to the city.[Keynes & Lapidge, ''Alfred the Great'', p. 244.]
European connections
Offa's diplomatic relations with Europe are well documented, but appear to belong only to the last dozen years of his reign.[ In letters dating from the late 780s or early 790s, ]Alcuin
Alcuin of York (; la, Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus; 735 – 19 May 804) – also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin – was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student o ...
congratulates Offa for encouraging education and greets Offa's wife and son, Cynethryth
Cynethryth (''Cyneðryð''; died after AD 798) was a Queen of Mercia, wife of King Offa of Mercia and mother of King Ecgfrith of Mercia. Cynethryth is the only Anglo-Saxon queen consort in whose name coinage was definitely issued.
Biography Ori ...
and Ecgfrith Ecgfrith ( ang, Ecgfrið) was the name of several Anglo-Saxon kings in England, including:
* Ecgfrith of Northumbria, died 685
* Ecgfrith of Mercia
Ecgfrith was king of Mercia from 29 July to December 796. He was the son of Offa, one of the m ...
.[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 175.][Whitelock, ''English Historical Documents'', 195, pp. 779–780.] In about 789, or shortly before, 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 Holy ...
proposed that his son Charles marry one of Offa's daughters, most likely Ælfflæd. Offa countered with a request that his son Ecgfrith Ecgfrith ( ang, Ecgfrið) was the name of several Anglo-Saxon kings in England, including:
* Ecgfrith of Northumbria, died 685
* Ecgfrith of Mercia
Ecgfrith was king of Mercia from 29 July to December 796. He was the son of Offa, one of the m ...
should also marry Charlemagne's daughter Bertha: Charlemagne was outraged by the request, and broke off contact with Britain, forbidding English ships from landing in his ports. Alcuin's letters make it clear that by the end of 790 the dispute was still not resolved, and that Alcuin was hoping to be sent to help make peace. In the end diplomatic relations were restored, at least partly by the agency of Gervold, the abbot of St Wandrille.[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 220.][Whitelock, ''English Historical Documents'', 20, p. 313.]
Charlemagne sought support from the English church at the council of Frankfurt
The Council of Frankfurt, traditionally also the Council of Frankfort, in 794 was called by Charlemagne, as a meeting of the important churchmen of the Frankish realm. Bishops and priests from Francia, Aquitaine, Italy, and Provence gathered in ''F ...
in 794, where the canons passed in 787 at the Second Council of Nicaea
The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by the Old Catholics, the Anglican Communion, and ...
were repudiated, and the heresies of two Spanish bishops, Felix
Felix may refer to:
* Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name
Places
* Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen
* Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...
and Elipandus
Elipandus (717–805) was a Spanish theologian and the archbishop of Toledo from 782. He was condemned by the Catholic Church as an Adoptionist.
Six letters written by Elipandus survive, including one to Migetius and another on behalf of the bi ...
, were condemned.[Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 219.] In 796 Charlemagne wrote to Offa; the letter survives and refers to a previous letter of Offa's to Charlemagne. This correspondence between the two kings produced the first surviving documents in English diplomatic history.[ The letter is primarily concerned with the status of English pilgrims on the continent and with diplomatic gifts, but it reveals much about the relations between the English and the ]Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
.[ Charlemagne refers to Offa as his "brother", and mentions trade in black stones, sent from the continent to England, and cloaks (or possibly cloths), traded from England to the Franks.][Whitelock, ''English Historical Documents'', 198, pp. 782–784.] Charlemagne's letter also refers to exiles from England, naming Odberht, who was almost certainly the same person as Eadberht Praen, among them. Egbert of Wessex
Ecgberht (770/775 – 839), also spelled Egbert, Ecgbert, Ecgbriht, Ecgbeorht, and Ecbert, was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was King Ealhmund of Kent. In the 780s, Ecgberht was forced into exile to Charlema ...
was another refugee from Offa who took shelter at the Frankish court. It is clear that Charlemagne's policy included support for elements opposed to Offa; in addition to sheltering Egbert and Eadberht he also sent gifts to Æthelred I of Northumbria
Æthelred (; c. 762 – 18 April 796), was the king of Northumbria from 774 to 779 and again from 790 until he was murdered in 796. He was the son of Æthelwald Moll and Æthelthryth and possibly became king while still a child after ...
.[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', pp. 176–177.]
Events in southern Britain to 796 have sometimes been portrayed as a struggle between Offa and Charlemagne, but the disparity in their power was enormous. By 796 Charlemagne had become master of an empire which stretched from the Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
to the Great Hungarian Plain
The Great Hungarian Plain (also known as Alföld or Great Alföld, hu, Alföld or ) is a plain occupying the majority of the modern territory of Hungary. It is the largest part of the wider Pannonian Plain. (However, the Great Hungarian plain ...
, and Offa and then 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 ...
were clearly minor figures by comparison.
Government
The nature 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=
, ye ...
n kingship is not clear from the limited surviving sources. There are two main theories regarding the ancestry of Mercian kings of this period. One is that descendants of different lines of the royal family competed for the throne. In the mid-7th century, for example, 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 ...
had placed royal kinsmen in control of conquered provinces.[Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', pp. 119–120] Alternatively, it may be that a number of kin-groups with local power-bases may have competed for the succession. The sub-kingdoms of 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 the ...
, the Tomsæte
The Tomsaete or Tomsæte (dwellers of the Tame valley) were a tribe or clan in Anglo-Saxon England living in the valley of the River Tame in the West Midlands of England from around 500 and remaining around Tamworth throughout the existence of ...
and the unidentified Gaini
The Gaini were an Anglo-Saxon tribe which occupied part of the kingdom of Mercia.
The Gaini are only recorded in Asser's life of King Alfred the Great, written in 893, which stated that in 868, before he became king, Alfred married Ealhswith, daug ...
are examples of such power-bases. Marriage alliances could also have played a part. Competing magnates, those called in charters "dux" or "princeps" (that is, leaders), may have brought the kings to power. In this model, the Mercian kings are little more than leading noblemen. Offa seems to have attempted to increase the stability of Mercian kingship, both by the elimination of dynastic rivals to his son Ecgfrith, and the reduction in status of his subject kings, sometimes to the rank of ealdorman.[Yorke, ''Anglo-Saxons'', pp. 43–44.] He was ultimately unsuccessful, however; Ecgfrith Ecgfrith ( ang, Ecgfrið) was the name of several Anglo-Saxon kings in England, including:
* Ecgfrith of Northumbria, died 685
* Ecgfrith of Mercia
Ecgfrith was king of Mercia from 29 July to December 796. He was the son of Offa, one of the m ...
only survived in power for a few months, and 9th century 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=
, ye ...
continued to draw its kings from multiple dynastic lines.[Simon Keynes, "Mercia and Wessex in the Ninth Century", in Brown & Farr, ''Mercia'', p. 314.]
There is evidence that Offa constructed a series of defensive ''burh
A burh () or burg was an Old English fortification or fortified settlement. In the 9th century, raids and invasions by Vikings prompted Alfred the Great to develop a network of burhs and roads to use against such attackers. Some were new constru ...
s'', or fortified towns; the locations are not generally agreed on but may include Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
, Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
, Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
, Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and Stamford. In addition to their defensive uses, these ''burhs'' are thought to have been administrative centres, serving as regional markets and indicating a transformation of the Mercian economy away from its origins as a grouping of midland peoples. The ''burhs'' are forerunners of the defensive network successfully implemented by Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...
a century later to deal with the Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
invasions.[Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 3.][ Alan Vince, "Market Centres and Towns in the Mercian Hegemony", in Brown & Farr, ''Mercia'', p. 192.] However, Offa did not necessarily understand the economic changes that came with the ''burhs'', so it is not safe to assume he envisioned all their benefits.[ In 749, ]Æthelbald of Mercia
Æthelbald (also spelled Ethelbald or Aethelbald; died 757) was the King of Mercia, in what is now the English Midlands from 716 until he was killed in 757. Æthelbald was the son of Alweo and thus a grandson of King Eowa. Æthelbald came to t ...
had issued a charter that freed