The

kingdom of East Anglia la, Regnum Orientalium Anglorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the East Angles , common_name = East Anglia , era = , status = Great Kingdom , status_text = Independent (6th centu ...

(also known as the kingdom of the East Angles), was a small independent

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a 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-Saxons happened wit ...

kingdom that comprised what are now the

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

counties of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

and

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...

and perhaps the eastern part of the

Fens A fen is a type of wetland. Fen, Fenn, Fens, Fenns, may also refer to: People * Fen (name), a Chinese given name and surname * Fen Cresswell (1915–1966), New Zealand cricketer * Fen McDonald (1891–1915), Australian rules footballer * Kees ...

. The kingdom was one of the seven traditional members of the Anglo-Saxon

Heptarchy The Heptarchy were the seven petty kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England that flourished from the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain in the 5th century until they were consolidated in the 8th century into the four kingdoms of Mercia, Northumbria, Wess ...

. The East Angles were initially ruled (from the 6th century until 749) by members of the

Wuffingas The Wuffingas, Uffingas or Wiffings were the ruling dynasty of East Anglia, the long-lived Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. The Wuffingas took their name from Wuffa, an early East Anglian king. ...

dynasty, named after

Wuffa Wuffa (or Uffa, ang, Ƿuffa) is recorded in the Anglo-Saxon genealogies as an early king of East Anglia. If historical, he would have flourished in the 6th century. By tradition Wuffa was named as the son of Wehha and the father of Tytila, b ...

, whose name means 'descendants of the

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

'. The last king was

Guthrum II Guthrum II was, according to some reconstructions, a King of East Anglia in the early tenth century. He should not be confused with the earlier and better-known Guthrum, who fought against Alfred the Great. Background The only Viking ruler of the ...

, who ruled in the 10th century. After 749 East Anglia was ruled by kings whose genealogy is not known, or by sub-kings who were under the control of the kings 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 briefly recovered its independence after the death of

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 ...

in 796, but Mercian hegemony was soon restored by his successor,

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 ...

. Between 826 and 869, following an East Anglian revolt in which the Mercian king,

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 ...

, was killed, the East Angles again regained their independence. In 869 a

Danish army The Royal Danish Army ( da, Hæren, fo, Herurin, kl, Sakkutuut) is the land-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structur ...

defeated and killed the last native East Anglian king,

Edmund the Martyr Edmund the Martyr (also known as St Edmund or Edmund of East Anglia, died 20 November 869) was king of East Anglia from about 855 until his death. Few historical facts about Edmund are known, as the kingdom of East Anglia was devastated by t ...

. The kingdom then fell into the hands of the Danes and eventually formed part of the

Danelaw The Danelaw (, also known as the Danelagh; ang, Dena lagu; da, Danelagen) was the part of England in which the laws of the Danes held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. The Danelaw contrasts with the West Saxon law and the Mercian ...

. In 918 the East Anglian Danes accepted the overlordship of

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 ...

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 ...

. East Anglia then became part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. Many of the regnal dates of the East Anglian kings are considered unreliable, often being based upon computations. Some dates have presented particular problems for scholars: for instance, during the three-year-long period of

apostasy Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that ...

that followed the murder of

Eorpwald Eorpwald; also Erpenwald or Earpwald, (reigned from 624, assassinated c. 627 or 632), succeeded his father Rædwald as ruler of the independent Kingdom of the East Angles. Eorpwald was a member of the East Anglian dynasty known as the Wuffinga ...

, when it is not known whether any king ruled the East Angles. The main source of information about the early history of the kingdom's rulers is Bede's ''

Ecclesiastical History of the English People 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 b ...

''.

Chronological list

, - valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec" , height="50pt" , ''?''779 to 794. , Æthelberht II , Accession date is from a late mediaeval source; East Anglian independence indicated by ability of Æthelberht to mint his own coins. Executed at the command of

Offa 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 ...

. , - bgcolor="#ffffec" , rowspan=1, Mercian dynasty , height="50pt" , ,

, Ruled Mercia from 757 to July 796; jointly ruled with 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 ...

from 787 (who succeeded him and died after ruling for less than five months). Held dominion over the East Angles. , - , - bgcolor="#ffffec" , rowspan=1, East Anglian dynasty , ''c.'' 796 to ''c.'' 800. , Eadwald , Ancestry unknown; emerged as king during a period of instability following the death of Offa. , - , - bgcolor="#ffffec" , rowspan=3, Mercian dynasty , height="110pt" , ,

, Ruled Mercia from 796 to 821: held dominion over the East Angles after Eadwald's brief reign; no precise date is known for the start of his overlordship in East Anglia. , - valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec" , , Ceolwulf , Brother of Coenwulf; ruled Mercia from 821 to 823. , - valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec" , ,

, Of unknown origin; Ruled Mercia from 823. to 826; killed during an East Anglian revolt. , - , - bgcolor="#ffffec" , rowspan=3, East Anglian Dynasty , height="60pt" , 827 to 845. ,

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 ...

, May have led a revolt against the Mercians in 825. East Anglian independence re-established at his accession. , - valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec" , height="50pt" , ''c.''845 to 855. , Æthelweard , , - valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec" , height="100pt" , 855 to 869. , Edmund (Eadmund) , The last native East Anglian king; acceded at the age of 14 (according to

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 ...

); killed by the Vikings 20 November 869; canonised. Political organisation of East Anglia following the death of Edmund is uncertain. , - , - bgcolor="#ffffec" , rowspan=2, Kings under Norse suzerainty , ''c.'' 875. ,

Oswald Oswald may refer to: People *Oswald (given name), including a list of people with the name *Oswald (surname), including a list of people with the name Fictional characters *Oswald the Reeve, who tells a tale in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbur ...

, Underking, known only from

numismatic Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also incl ...

evidence. , - valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec" , ''c.'' 875. ,

Æthelred II Æthelred (; ang, Æþelræd ) or Ethelred () is an Old English personal name (a compound of ''wiktionary:æþele, æþele'' and ''wiktionary:ræd, ræd'', meaning "noble counsel" or "well-advised") and may refer to: Anglo-Saxon England * Æthel ...

, Underking, known only from numismatic evidence. , - bgcolor="#ffffec" , rowspan=4, Danish kingdom of East Anglia , height="50pt" , ''c.'' 879 to 890. ,

Guthrum Guthrum ( ang, Guðrum, c. 835 – c. 890) was King of East Anglia in the late 9th century. Originally a native of what is now Denmark, he was one of the leaders of the "Great Summer Army" that arrived in Reading during April 871 to join forces ...

, East Anglia was awarded to him in 879 as part of a peace settlement with

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 bo ...

of Wessex. , - valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec" , Ruled until 902. , Eohric , Killed in battle (along with Æthelwold) in December 902. , - valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec" , height="30pt" , 902. , Æthelwold , Sub-king of the Danes; killed in battle December 902. , - valign=top bgcolor="#ffffec" , height="150pt" , 902 to 918. ,

, Killed in battle 918. , - bgcolor="#ffffec" , colspan=4, East Anglia became part of England after 918. See

List of English monarchs This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself King of the Anglo-Sax ...

Footnotes

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Chronological list

See also

Footnotes

Sources

Further reading