List of monarchs of Mercia
A list of the Kings etc. of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Mercia
This was a time when spellings varied widely, even within a document. A number of variations of the details below exist. Amongst these are the preference between þ and ð (hard and soft 'th').
The character '7' was used as the ampersand '&' in contemporary Anglo-Saxon writings. The era pre-dates the emergence of forms of writing accepted today, notably minuscule, and the letters 'W' and 'U'. Where W was followed by U this was generally rendered as 'VV' (which was also used for 'W' alone).
Kings, Ealdormen and Ladies of the Mercians
The first dynasty of the Mercians was called Iclingas after Icel, father of Cynewald, grandfather of Cnebba, and great-grandfather of Creoda of Mercia.
| 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 |
| 918 to 919 | Aelfwynn | ÆLFVVYNN | Joint "Lady of the Mercians" under the King of Wessex |
| The Heptarchy |
|---|
| East Anglia | Essex | Kent | Mercia | Northumbria | Sussex | Wessex |
