Æthelbald Of Mercia
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Æthelbald (also spelled Ethelbald or Aethelbald; died 757) was the King of Mercia, in what is now the
English Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefordshi ...
from 716 until he was killed in 757. Æthelbald was the son of Alweo and thus a grandson of King Eowa. Æthelbald came to the throne after the death of his cousin, King Ceolred, who had driven him into exile. During his long reign,
Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...
became the dominant kingdom of the
Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
, and recovered the position of pre-eminence it had enjoyed during the strong reigns of Mercian kings Penda and
Wulfhere Wulfhere or Wulfar (died 675) was King of Mercia from 658 until 675 AD. He was the first Christian king of all of Mercia, though it is not known when or how he converted from Anglo-Saxon paganism. His accession marked the end of Oswiu of Nort ...
between about 628 and 675. When Æthelbald came to the throne, both
Wessex The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886. The Anglo-Sa ...
and
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
were ruled by stronger kings, but within fifteen years the contemporary chronicler
Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...
describes Æthelbald as ruling all England south of the
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 River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Trent, Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms ...
estuary. 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 ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...
'' does not list Æthelbald as a
bretwalda ''Bretwalda'' (also ''brytenwalda'' and ''bretenanwealda'', sometimes capitalised) is an Old English word. The first record comes from the late 9th-century ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. It is given to some of the rulers of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from ...
, or "Ruler of Britain", though this may be due to the West Saxon origin of the ''Chronicle''. St. Boniface wrote to Æthelbald in about 745, reproving him for various dissolute and irreligious acts. The subsequent 747 council of Clovesho and a charter Æthelbald issued at Gumley in 749—which freed the church from some of its obligations—may have been responses to Boniface's letter. Æthelbald was killed in 757 by his bodyguards. He was succeeded briefly by Beornred, of whom little is known, but within a year,
Offa Offa ( 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death in 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of ...
, the grandson of Æthelbald's cousin Eanwulf, had seized the throne, possibly after a brief
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. Under Offa, Mercia entered its most prosperous and influential period.


Early life and accession

Æthelbald came of the Mercian royal line, although his father, Alweo, was never king. Alweo's father was Eowa, who may have shared the throne for some time with his brother, Penda. The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' does not mention Eowa; though it does date Penda's reign as the thirty years from 626 to 656, when Penda was killed at the
battle of the Winwaed The Battle of the Winwaed ( Welsh: ''Maes Gai''; ) was fought on 15 November 655 between King Penda of Mercia and Oswiu of Bernicia, ending in the Mercians' defeat and Penda's death. According to Bede, the battle marked the effective de ...
. Two later sources also name Eowa as king: the ''
Historia Brittonum ''The History of the Britons'' () is a purported history of early Britain written around 828 that survives in numerous recensions from after the 11th century. The ''Historia Brittonum'' is commonly attributed to Nennius, as some recensions ha ...
'' and 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 ...
''. The ''Annales Cambriae'' is the source for Eowa's death in 644 at the battle of Maserfield, where Penda defeated
Oswald of Northumbria Oswald (; c 604 – 5 August 641/642Bede gives the year of Oswald's death as 642. However there is some question of whether what Bede considered 642 is the same as what would now be considered 642. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology and H ...
. Details on Penda's reign are scarce, and it is a matter for speculation whether Eowa was an underking, owing allegiance to Penda, or if instead Eowa and Penda had divided Mercia between them. If they did divide the kingdom, it is likely that Eowa ruled northern Mercia, as Penda's son Peada was established later as the king of southern Mercia by the Northumbrian Oswiu, who defeated the Mercians and killed Penda in 656. It is possible that Eowa fought against Penda at Maserfield.Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 91. During Æthelbald's youth, Penda's dynasty ruled Mercia; Ceolred, a grandson of Penda and therefore a second cousin of Æthelbald, was king of Mercia from 709 to 716.See the genealogy in figure 8 of the appendix, in Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 227. An early source, Felix's ''Life of Saint Guthlac'', reveals that it was Ceolred who drove Æthelbald into exile.Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 129. Guthlac was a Mercian nobleman who abandoned a career of violence to become first a monk at Repton Abbey, and later a hermit living in a barrow at
Crowland Crowland (modern usage) or Croyland (medieval era name and the one still in ecclesiastical use; cf. ) is a town and civil parish in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated between Peterborough and Spalding. Crowland ...
, in the East Anglian fens.Campbell, ''The Anglo-Saxons'', p. 82. During Æthelbald's exile he and his men also took refuge in the Fens in the area, and visited Guthlac. Guthlac was sympathetic to Æthelbald's cause, perhaps because of Ceolred's oppression of the monasteries.Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', pp. 203–205. Other visitors of Guthlac's included Bishop Haedde of
Lichfield Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...
, an influential Mercian, and it may be that Guthlac's support was politically useful to Æthelbald in gaining the throne. After Guthlac's death, Æthelbald had a dream in which Guthlac prophesied greatness for him, and Æthelbald later rewarded Guthlac with a shrine when he had become king.Campbell, ''The Anglo-Saxons'', p. 94. When Ceolred died of a fit at a banquet, Æthelbald returned to Mercia and became ruler. It is possible that a king named Ceolwald, perhaps a brother of Ceolred, reigned for a short while between Ceolred and Æthelbald. Æthelbald's accession ended Penda's line of descent; Æthelbald's reign was followed, after a brief interval, by that of Offa, another descendant of Eowa. Other than his father, Alweo, little of Æthelbald's immediate family is known, although in the witness list of two charters a leading
ealdorman Ealdorman ( , )"ealdorman"
''Collins English Dictionary''. was an office in the Government ...
named Heardberht is recorded as his brother.


Mercian dominance

Æthelbald's reign marked a resurgence of Mercian power, which would last until the end of the eighth century.Hunter Blair, ''Roman Britain'', p. 168. With the exception of the short reign of Beornrad, who succeeded Æthelbald for less than a year, Mercia was ruled for eighty years by two of the most powerful Anglo-Saxon kings, Æthelbald and
Offa Offa ( 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death in 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of ...
.Beornrad was "put to flight" by Offa in one version of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''; according to another, he held the kingdom for "a little while, and unhappily". Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. 46–50. These long reigns were unusual at this early date; during the same period eleven kings reigned in
Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...
, many of whom died violent deaths.Hunter Blair, ''An Introduction'', p. 755. By 731, Æthelbald had all the English south of the Humber under his overlordship.Bede, p. 324, translated by Leo Sherley-Price. There is little direct evidence of the relationship between Æthelbald and the kings who were dependent on him. Generally, a king subject to an overlord such as Æthelbald would still be regarded as a king, but would have his independence curtailed in some respects.
Charter 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 ...
s are an important source of evidence for this relationship; these were documents which granted land to followers or to churchmen, and were witnessed by the kings who had power to grant the land.Hunter Blair, ''Roman Britain'', pp. 14–15.Campbell, ''The Anglo-Saxons'', pp. 95–98. A charter granting land in the territory of one of the subject kings might record the names of the king as well as the 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'' ( min ...
, for example. The titles given to the kings on these charters could also be revealing: a king might be described as a "subregulus", or underking.For 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 Campbell, ''The Anglo-Saxons'', p. 123. Enough information survives to suggest the progress of Æthelbald's influence over two of the southern kingdoms,
Wessex The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886. The Anglo-Sa ...
and
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
. At the start of Æthelbald's reign, both Kent and Wessex were ruled by strong kings; Wihtred and Ine, respectively. Wihtred of Kent died in 725, and Ine of Wessex, one of the most formidable rulers of his day, abdicated in 726 to go on a pilgrimage to Rome. According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', Ine's successor, Aethelheard, fought that year with an
ealdorman Ealdorman ( , )"ealdorman"
''Collins English Dictionary''. was an office in the Government ...
named Oswald, whom the ''Chronicle'' provides with a genealogy showing descent from Ceawlin, an early king of Wessex.Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. 42–43. Aethelheard ultimately succeeded in this struggle for the throne, and there are subsequent indications that he ruled subject to Mercian authority. Hence it may be that Æthelbald helped establish both Aethelheard and his brother, Cuthred, who succeeded Aethelheard in 739.Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 133. There is also evidence of South Saxon territory breaking away from West Saxon dominance in the early 720s, and this may indicate Æthelbald's increasing influence in the area, though it could have been Kentish, rather than Mercian, influence that was weakening West Saxon control.Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 131. As for Kent, there is evidence from Kentish charters that shows that Æthelbald was a patron of Kentish churches.Campbell, ''The Anglo-Saxons'', p. 95. There is no charter evidence showing Æthelbald's consent to Kentish land grants, and charters of Aethelberht and Eadberht, both kings of Kent, survive in which they grant land without Æthelbald's consent.Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 132. It may be that charters showing Æthelbald's overlordship simply do not survive, but the result is that there is no direct evidence of the extent of Æthelbald's influence in Kent. Less is known about events in Essex, but it was at about this time that London became attached to the kingdom of Mercia rather than that of Essex. Three of Æthelbald's predecessors— Æthelred, Coenred, and Ceolred—had each confirmed an East Saxon charter granting Twickenham to Waldhere, the
bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...
. From Kentish charters it is known that Æthelbald was in control of London, and from Æthelbald's time on, the transition to Mercian control appears to be complete; an early charter of Offa's, granting land near Harrow, does not even include the king of Essex on the witness list. For the South Saxons, there is very little charter evidence, but as with Kent, what there is does not show any requirement for Æthelbald's consent to land grants. The lack of evidence should not obscure the fact that Bede, who was after all a contemporary chronicler, summarized the situation of England in 731 by listing the bishops in office in southern England, and adding that "all these provinces, together with the others south of the Humber and their kings, are subject to Æthelbald, King of the Mercians." There is evidence that Æthelbald had to go to war to maintain his overlordship. In 733 Æthelbald undertook an expedition against Wessex and captured the royal manor of Somerton. The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' also tells how when Cuthred succeeded Aethelheard to the throne of Wessex, in 740, he "boldly made war against Aethelbald, king of Mercia".Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. 44–45. Three years later, Cuthred and Æthelbald are described as fighting against the Welsh. This could have been an obligation placed on Cuthred by Mercia; earlier kings had similarly assisted Penda and
Wulfhere Wulfhere or Wulfar (died 675) was King of Mercia from 658 until 675 AD. He was the first Christian king of all of Mercia, though it is not known when or how he converted from Anglo-Saxon paganism. His accession marked the end of Oswiu of Nort ...
, two strong seventh-century Mercian rulers. In 752, Æthelbald and Cuthred are again on opposite sides of the conflict, and according to one version of the manuscript, Cuthred "put him †thelbaldto flight" at Burford.Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. 46–47. Æthelbald seems to have reasserted his authority over the West Saxons by the time of his death, since a later West Saxon king, Cynewulf, is recorded as witnessing a charter of Æthelbald at the very beginning of his reign, in 757. In 740, a war between the Picts and the Northumbrians is reported. Æthelbald, who might have been allied with Óengus, the king of the Picts, took advantage of Eadberht's absence from Northumbria to ravage his lands, and perhaps burn
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
.


Titles and Bretwaldaship

Earlier in Bede's ''
Ecclesiastical History of the English People The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' (), 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 growth of Christianity. It was composed in Latin, and ...
'', he lists seven kings who governed the southern provinces of the English, with reigns dating from the late fifth to the late seventh century. Subsequently, the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''—another important source for the period—describes these seven as or , a title translated as "Britain-ruler" or "Wide-ruler".The different versions of the title, "bretwalda" and "brytenwalda", are in the A and E texts of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', in the entry for 827. Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. 60–61. The ''Chronicle'' adds just one king to the list:
Egbert of Wessex Ecgberht (died 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 Charlemagne's court i ...
, who reigned in the ninth century. The resulting list of eight omits several strong Mercian kings. It is possible that the chronicler was merely adding Egbert's name to Bede's original list of seven, rather than claiming that no other kings achieved similar powers in England. The chronicler was almost certainly a West Saxon, and since neither Æthelbald nor Offa were kings of Wessex it is possible the chronicler does not mention them out of regional pride.See comment and footnote 2 in Hunter Blair, ''An Introduction'', p. 201. The meaning of the term "bretwalda", and the nature of the power that these eight kings wielded, has had much academic scrutiny. One suggested interpretation is that since Bede was writing during Æthelbald's reign, the original seven he listed were essentially those kings who could be seen as prototypes of Æthelbald in their domination of England south of the Humber.Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 19. Further evidence of Æthelbald's power, or at least his titles, is provided by an important charter of 736, 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'' ( min ...
, which survives in a contemporary (and possibly original) copy. It starts by describing Æthelbald as "king not only of the Mercians but also of all the provinces which are called by the general name South English"; in the witness list he is further named "Rex Britanniae", "King of Britain".Fletcher, ''Who's Who'', pp. 98–100. One historian described this title as "a phrase which can only be interpreted as a Latin rendering of the English title "; but it may be that at that time these titles would not have been acknowledged much beyond Worcester, where this and other documents from the 730s that use similar titles were written.Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p.130.


Relations with the church

In 745–746, the leading Anglo-Saxon missionary in Germany,
Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of the church i ...
, along with seven other bishops, sent Æthelbald a scorching letter reproaching him for many sins—stealing ecclesiastical revenue, violating church privileges, imposing forced labour on the clergy, and fornicating with nuns. The letter implored Æthelbald to take a wife and abandon the sin of lust:
We therefore, beloved son, beseech Your Grace by Christ the son of God and by His coming and by His kingdom, that if it is true that you are continuing in this vice you will amend your life by penitence, purify yourself, and bear in mind how vile a thing it is through lust to change the image of God created in you into the image and likeness of a vicious demon. Remember that you were made king and ruler over many not by your own merits but by the abounding grace of God, and now you are making yourself by your own lust the slave of an evil spirit.
Boniface first sent the letter to Ecgberht, the archbishop of York, asking him to correct any inaccuracies and reinforce whatever was right; and he requested Herefrith, a priest whom Æthelbald had listened to in the past, to read and explain it to the king in person. Though Boniface's letter praises Æthelbald's faith and alms-giving, its criticisms have strongly coloured subsequent opinion of Æthelbald. A claim made in a ninth-century list of donations from the abbey of Gloucester that Æthelbald had "stabbed—or smitten" to death the kinsman of a Mercian abbess has also contributed negatively to his reputation.Kirby (''Earliest English Kings'', p. 134) cites two documents: Birch CS 535 (Sawyer 209), and Sawyer 1782. The CS 535 text can be seen in the original Latin at . See also: F.M. Stenton(1970). ''Anglo-Saxon England''. Oxford University Press; 3Rev Ed edition, 205. . Æthelbald may have influenced the appointment of successive archbishops of Canterbury in Tatwine, Nothelm, and
Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne () ( – 20 March 687) was a saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Hiberno-Scottish mission, Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monastery, monasteries of Melrose Abbey#Histo ...
, the last probably the former bishop of Hereford; and despite Boniface's strong criticisms, there is evidence of Æthelbald's positive interest in church affairs. A subsequent letter of Boniface's to Cuthbert, Archbishop of Canterbury, provided a good deal of information about Frankish
synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...
s, especially one held in 747, the decrees of which Boniface included in the letter. Boniface does not explicitly suggest to Cuthbert that he, too, should hold a synod, but it seems clear that this was Boniface's intent.Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', pp. 135–136. A council was, in fact, subsequently held at Clovesho (the location of which is now lost); Æthelbald attended and perhaps presided. The council was concerned with the relationship between the church and the secular world, and it condemned many excesses on the part of the clergy.Richard Fletcher (''Who's Who'', p. 100) says that Archbishop Cuthbert of Canterbury presided, though he adds that the council could not have been convened without royal sanction; James Campbell (''The Anglo-Saxons'', p. 78) says that Aethelbald presided. The council limited relations between monks and laymen and ruled that secular activities were impermissible for monks: secular business and secular songs were both forbidden, especially "ludicrous songs". Two years after this, in 749, at the synod of Gumley, Æthelbald issued a charter that freed
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