Ceolwulf I was King 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 ...

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

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 ...

, from 821 to 823. He was the brother of

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 ...

, his predecessor, and was deposed by

Beornwulf 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 ...

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 " ...

declared that, after Cœnwulf: "the kingdom of the Mercians declining, and if I may use the expression, nearly lifeless, produced nothing worthy of historical commemoration." Actually, Mercia did have a moment of glory that William was unaware of. Indicating the year 822, the ''

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 ...

'' states: "The fortress of Degannwy (in

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, an ...

) is destroyed by the Saxons and they took the

kingdom of Powys The Kingdom of Powys ( cy, Teyrnas Powys; la, Regnum Poysiae) was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. It very roughly covered the northern t ...

into their own control." A later charter depicts a disturbed state of affairs during Ceolwulf's reign: "After the death of Cœnwulf, king of the Mercians, many disagreements and innumerable disputes arose among leading persons of every kind – kings, bishops, and ministers of the churches of God – concerning all manner of secular affairs". In 823, sometime after 26 May, on which date he granted land to Archbishop

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 ...

in exchange for a gold and silver vessel, Ceolwulf was overthrown. His replacement was Beornwulf, whose pedigree is not known. Ceolwulf ruled Kent directly – in his two charters, he is styled as "King of the Mercians and of the men of Kent".

Family

Ceolwulf was the son of

Cuthberht of Mercia Cuthberht was a Mercian of the 8th century who may have been the same person as an ealdorman of that name who witnessed charters during the reign of Offa.Yorke, Barbara (1990). ''Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England''. London: Seaby. , ...

and the brother 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 ...

(d.821) and

Cuthred of Kent Cuthred (Old English: ''Cuþræd'') was the King of Kent from 798 to 807. After the revolt of Kent under Eadberht III Præn was defeated in 798 by Coenwulf, Cuthred was established as a client king. During Cuthred's reign, the Archbishopric of ...

(d.807). Coenwulf ruled as king of Mercia from 796 until his death in 821. In 798 Coenwulf installed his brother Cuthred as king of Kent in 798. Cuthred ruled there until his death in 807, after which Kent reverted back to Mercia. Upon Coenwulf's death in 821 he was succeeded by Ceolwulf. The name of Ceolwulf's wife is not recorded, however, they had one known child, a daughter: *

Ælfflæd of Mercia Ælfflæd was a daughter of Offa of Mercia and Cynethryth. She may have witnessed a charter with her father, mother, and brother Ecgfrith in the 770s. She certainly witnessed a charter in 787 with her mother, father, brother, and two sisters; ...

, died circa 840. According to a tradition preserved at

Evesham Evesham () is a market town and parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon. It lies within the Vale of Eves ...

, Ceolwulf's daughter

Ælfflæd Ælfflæd is a name of Anglo-Saxon England meaning Ælf (Elf) and flæd (beauty). It may refer to: * Saint Ælfflæd of Whitby (654–714) * Ælfflæd of Mercia, daughter of Offa, wife of King Æthelred I of Northumbria * Ælfflæd, wife of Edward ...

married Wigmund, the son of Wiglaf, King of Mercia 827-839. Wiglaf was succeeded by

Beorhtwulf Beorhtwulf (, meaning "bright wolf"; also spelled ''Berhtwulf''; died 852) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 839 or 840 to 852. His ancestry is unknown, though he may have been connected to Beornwulf, who ruled Mercia i ...

and his son Berhtfrith sought to marry King Wigmund's widow so that he could become king. This was opposed by Wigstan, the son of Wigmund and Ælfflæd, and Berhtfrith slew Wigstan in 849. However, there is no record outside this Evesham tradition that Wigmund was ever king. Alfred Smyth suggests that Ceolwulf II, who became king following the Viking expulsion of King

Burgred Burgred (also Burhred or Burghred) was an Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia from 852 to 874. Family Burgred became king of Mercia in 852, and may have been related to his predecessor Beorhtwulf. After Easter in 853, Burgred married Æthelswith, daughte ...

in 874, may have been another son of Ælfflæd, and thus a grandson of Ceolwulf I.

References

External links

* , - Mercian monarchs 9th-century English monarchs 823 deaths Year of birth unknown {{England-bio-stub

Family

See also

References

External links