Creoda of Mercia

Creoda (or Crida) (c. 540¹ - 593) was the first monarch of Mercia (c. 585 - 593).

Creoda is recorded as having been the son of Cynewald, the grandson of Cnebba, and the great-grandson of Icel; consequently, members of the Mercian royal line were known as Iclingas. Although this suggests that Creoda was only a fourth-generation descendant of the first Angles in England, the sources nevertheless record him as having been the first ruler of the Kingdom of Mercia. One explanation for this is that the Mercians had initially settled further east and only moved into the area of what became known as Mercia in the time of Creoda.

Like most of the early Anglo-Saxon kings, very little is known about his life. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records his death in the year 593.

Preceded by: —

King of Mercia c. 585 – c. 593

Succeeded by: Pybba

Notes

1. Or circa 520. Google returns 148 results for Creoda being born c. 540 and 136 results for his birth at c. 520 . c. 520 is relatively implausible given that his father, Cynewald, was born c. 512.