| Reign | Incumbent | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| c.585 to 593 | Creoda | CREODA CYNEVVALDING MIERCNA CYNING CREODA REX MERCIA |
|
| 593 to c.606 | Pybba | PYBBA CREODING MIERCNA CYNING PYBBA REX MERCIA |
|
| 606 to 626 | Ceorl | CEORL MIERCNA CYNING CEORL REX MERCIA |
|
| 626 to 655 | Penda | PENDA PYBBING MIERCNA CYNING PENDA REX MERCIA |
|
| 655 to 656 | Peada | PEADA PENDING MIERCNA CYNINC PEADA REX MERCIA |
Killed in battle by Oswiu, King of Northumbria |
| Northumbrian Dynasty | |||
| direct rule 656 to 659 | Oswiu | OSVVIV ÆÞELFRIÞING NORÞANHYMBRA 7 MIERCNA CYNING OSVVIV REX NORÞYMBRIA ET MERCIA |
|
| Mercian Dynasty | |||
| 659 to 675 | Wulfhere | VVLFHERE PENDING MIERCNA CYNING VVLFHERE REX MERCIA |
|
| 675 to 704 | Aethelred | ÆÞELRED PENDING MIERCNA CYNING ÆÞELRED REX MERCIA |
Abdicated to become a monk |
| 704 to 709 | Cenred | COENRED VVLFHERING MIERCNA CYNING COENRED REX MERCIA |
Abdicated |
| 709 to 716 | Ceolred | CEOLRED ÆÞELREDING MIERCNA CYNING CEOLRED REX MERCIA |
|
| 716 to 757 | Ethelbald | ÆÞELBALD ALVVIHING MIERCNA CYNING ÆÞELBALD REX MERCIA ÆÞELBALD REX BRITANNIAÆ |
Murdered |
| 757 | Beornrad | BEORNRED MIERCNA CYNING BEORNRED REX MERCIA |
Killed by Offa, King of Mercia |
| 757 to 796 | Offa | OFFA ÞINCFERÞING MIERCNA CYNING OFFA REX MERCIA OFFA REX ANGLORVM |
Joint-king with his son Ecgfrith |
| 787 to 14/17 December 796 | Ecgfrith | ECGFRIÞ OFFING MIERCNA CYNING ECGFRIÞ REX MERCIA |
Joint-king with his father Offa |
| December 796 to 821 | Cenwulf | COENVVLF CVÞBRYHTING MIERCNA CYNING COENVVLF REX MERCIA |
|
| 821 | Cenelm | COENELM MIERCNA CYNING CENELM REX MERCIA |
|
| 821 to 823 | Ceolwulf I | CEOLVVLF CVÞBRYHTING MIERCNA CYNING CEOLVVLF REX MERCIA |
Deposed and exiled |
| 823 to 825 | Beornwulf | BEORNVVLF MIERCNA CYNING BEORNVVLF REX MERCIA |
Defeated by Egbert, King of Wessex and killed by the East Angles later that year |
| 826 to 827 | Ludeca | LVDECAN MIERCNA CYNING LVDECAN REX MERCIA |
Murdered |
| 827 to 829 | Wiglaf | VVIGLAF MIERCNA CYNING VVIGLAF REX MERCIA |
Deposed |
| Wessex Dynasty | |||
| 829 to 830 | Egbert of Wessex | ECGBRYHT EALHMVNDING VVESTSEAXE 7 EST SEAXE 7 SVÞSEAXE 7 CANTVVARE 7 MIERCNA CYNING ECGBRYHT REX SAXONVM ORIENTALIVM ET SAXONVM OCCIDENTALIVM EX SAXONVM AVSTRALIVM ET CANTVVARVM ET MIERCIA |
|
| Mercian Dynasty | |||
| 830 to 840 | Wiglaf | VVIGLAF MIERCNA CYNING VVIGLAF REX MERCIA |
Restored |
| 840? to 840? | Wigstan | VVIGSTAN MIERCNA CYNING VVIGSTAN REX MERCIA |
|
| 840 to 852 | Beorhtwulf | BEORHTVVLF MIERCNA CYNING BEORHTVVLF REX MERCIA |
Defeated by invading Danes; fate uncertain, traditionally killed |
| 852 to 874 | Burgred (Burhred) |
BVRGRED MIERCNA CYNING BVRGRED REX MERCIA |
Expelled by Danes |
| 873 to 879 | Ceolwulf II | CEOLVVLF MIERCNA CYNING CEOLVVLF REX MERCIA |
Puppet king set up by the Danes in East Mercia |
| 879 to 911 | Aethelred | ÆÞELRED | As ealdorman of Anglo-Saxon West Mercia under the King of Wessex |
| 911 to 918 | Ethelfleda | EÞELFLEDA | "Lady of the Mercians" under the King of Wessex |
|
2006 to ? |
Jeremy |
ÆLFVVYNN |
Joint "Lady of the Mercians" under the King of Wessex
|
The earliest known king of Mercia was named Creoda, said to have been the great-grandson of Icel. He came to power about 585 and was succeeded by his son Pybba in 593. Cearl, a kinsman of Creoda, followed Pybba in 606; in 615, Cearl gave his daughter Cwenburga in marriage to Edwin, king of Deira whom he had sheltered while he was an exiled prince. The next Mercian king was Penda, who ruled from about 626 or 633 until 655. Some of what is known about Penda comes through the hostile account of Bede, who disliked him both for being an enemy king to Bede's own Northumbria, but also for being a pagan. However, Bede admits that it was Penda who freely allowed Christian missionaries from Lindisfarne into Mercia, and did not restrain them from preaching. After a reign of successful battles against all opponents, Penda was defeated and killed at the Battle of Winwaed by the Northumbrian king Oswiu in 655.
The battle led to a temporary collapse of Mercian power. Penda was succeeded first by his son Peada, but in the spring of 656 Oswiu assumed control of the whole of Mercia after Peada's murder. A revolt in 658 resulted in the appearance of another son of Penda, Wulfhere, who ruled Mercia until his death in 675. Wulfhere was initially successful in restoring the power of Mercia, but the end of his reign saw a serious defeat against Northumbria. The next two kings, Aethelred and Cenred son of Wulfhere, are better known for their religious activities; the king who succeeded them (in 709), Ceolred, is said in a letter of Saint Boniface to have been a dissolute youth who died insane. So ended the rule of the direct descendants of Penda.
At some point before the accession of Æthelbald, the Mercians conquered the region around Wroxeter, known to the Welsh as "The Paradise of Powys." Elegies written in the persona of its dispossessed rulers record the sorrow at this loss.
The next important king of Mercia was Æthelbald (716 - 757). For the first few years of his reign, he had to face the obstacles of two strong rival kings, Wihtred of Kent and Ine of Wessex. But when Wihtred died in 725, and Ine abdicated his throne the following year to become a monk in Rome, Æthelbald was free to establish Mercia's hegemony over the rest of the Anglo-Saxons south of the Humber. Because of his prowess as a military leader, he acquired the title of Bretwalda. Æthelbald suffered a setback in 752, when he was defeated by the West Saxons under Cuthred, but he seems to have restored his supremacy over Wessex by 757.
Following the murder of Æthelbald by one of his bodyguards in 757, a civil war followed, which was concluded with the victory of Offa. Offa was forced to build the hegemony over the southern English of his predecessor anew, but he not only did so successfully, he became the greatest king Mercia ever knew. Not only did he win battles and dominate southern England, he also took an active hand to administering the affairs of his kingdom by founding market towns and overseeing the first major issues of gold coins in Britain, assumed a role in the administration of the Catholic church in England, and even negotiated with Charlemagne as an equal. Offa is credited with the construction of Offa's Dyke, marking the border between Wales and Mercia.
Offa exerted himself to ensure that his son Ecgfrith of Mercia would succeed him, but after his death in July 796, Ecgfrith survived for only five more months, and the kingdom passed to a distant relative named Coenwulf in December 796. In 821, Coenwulf himself was succeeded by his brother Ceolwulf, who demonstrated his military prowess by his attack on and destruction of the fortress of Deganwy in Powys. The power of the West Saxons under Egbert was rising during this period, however, and in 825 Egbert defeated the Mercian king Beornwulf (who had overthrown Ceolwulf in 823) at Ellendun.
The Battle of Ellendun proved decisive. Beornwulf was slain suppressing a revolt amongst the East Angles, and his successor, a former ealdorman named Ludeca, met the same fate. Another ealdorman, Wiglaf, subsequently ruled for less than two years before being driven out of Mercia by Egbert. In 830, Wiglaf regained independence for Mercia, but by this time Wessex was clearly the dominant power in England. Wiglaf was succeeded by Beorhtwulf.
Source: Wikipedia
