King peada converted to christianity around 656, and christianity was firmly established in the kingdom by the late 7th century. A comment by wendy davies at a conference on mercia which had been held in leicester in 1975 is collated with others in a book called mercian studies. Mercia originally comprised the border areas modern staffordshire, derbyshire. The last kingdom the pale horseman the lords of the north sword song cornwells latest series focuses on the anglosaxon kingdom of wessex, england during the 9thcentury reign of alfred the great, his fierce opposition to the danes vikings, and his determination to unite england as one country.
Heres that and ten other the last kingdom book events that didn. Discover the monarchs of the kingdom of mercia, from king icel in the early 500s all the way through to. Dec 09, 2016 historian and author, john hunt, explores the story of the kingdom of mercia in the first of a series of short videos to compliment his new book. Kingdom of mercia article about kingdom of mercia by the. Those interested in the period will surely have heard of penda, offa, and.
Explore the anglo saxon kingdom of mercia historian and author, john hunt, explores the story of the kingdom of mercia in the first of a series of short videos to compliment his new book. They converted to christianity and settled on the land in east anglia. Anglo saxon england was divided into kingdoms, small and large. Anglosaxon england was early medieval england, existing from the 5th to the 11th centuries from the end of roman britain until the norman conquest in 1066.
Lindsey kingdom simple english wikipedia, the free. The kingdom of mercia 3 book series by jayne castel. Those interested in the period will surely have heard of penda, offa, and aethelflaed, lady of the mercians but remarkably there is no single book that tells their story in its entirety, the story of the great kingdom of the midlands. Darkest before dawn the kingdom of mercia, book 2 this book is packed with actual people who lived in a period of intense political violence. In 878 the vikings in mercia were attacked and defeated by king alfred of wessex. The might of penda challenged the territories around and he expanded the mercian borders. The tribal hidage and the ealdormen of mercia peter featherstone. The kingdom of mercia is a series of historical romance novels set in. Mercias exact evolution at the start of the anglosaxon era is more obscure than that of northumbria, kent, or even wessex. The dyke, parts of which still stand, roughly follows the border between mercia and welsh settlements to the west. Northumbria, mercia, east anglia, essex, kent, sussex, and wessex, their christianisation during the 7th. Annie whitehead traced the fortunes of mercia from penda, a king we.
It became part of the shortlived north sea empire of cnut the great, a personal. The cultural life and the political unity of northumbria were destroyed by the arrival of the danes. History west midlands explore the anglo saxon kingdom of mercia. These kingdoms had something which mercia did not, however. The name mercians means the borderers and is thought to derive from their position between the anglosaxon settlements of the east coast and british kingdoms of the west. Mercia provides a detailed account of an obscure kingdom in english history from the 7th through 10th century, a. The kingdom of mercia is a series of historical romance novels set in anglosaxon england.
Anglosaxon history thus begins during the period of subroman britain following the end of roman control, and traces the establishment of anglosaxon kingdoms in the 5th and 6th centuries conventionally identified as seven main kingdoms. Mercia provides a detailed account of an obscure kingdom in english history from the. Although the volume focuses on the eighth and ninth centuries when mercian power was at its height, it also looks back to the origins of the kingdom and forward to the. The kingdom best remembered for offa and his famous dyke was not only a dominant power on the island of britain in the eighth century, but also a significant player in early medieval european politics and culture. This book details the different mercian tribes and the emergence of the. Repton is a village and civil parish in the south derbyshire district of derbyshire, england, located on the edge of the river trent floodplain, about 4. Historian and author, john hunt, explores the story of the kingdom of mercia in the first of a series of short videos to compliment his new book. The main four were wessex, northumberland, east anglia and mercia. The rise and fall of the kingdom of mercia by john hunt around 731 ad, the northumbrian monk, bede, writing one of the most important texts in anglosaxon history, the ecclesiastical history of the english church and people, noted the reach of mercian power.
Anglosaxons, history, accessible book, protected daisy. Mercia dominated anglosaxon politics in the late 7th and 8th cents. These are standalone novels set around the lives of actual mercian kings penda, paeda and wulfhere, from 641 ad. To the south, the power of mercia checked further expansion of the kingdom. The middle trent valley was the heartland of the mercian kingdom, which included the modern counties of. Anglosaxons, history, accessible book, protected daisy, civilization. As uhtreds decision to accept the rule of mercia takes an unexpected turn, the drama deftly fills in where historical evidence is limited. Lindsey seems to have been an independent kingdom with its own celtic rulers for a time. Repton is close to the county boundary with neighbouring staffordshire and about 4. Many people know about wessex, the last kingdom of the anglosaxons to fall to the northmen, but another kingdom, mercia, once enjoyed supremacy over not only wessex, but all of the anglosaxon kingdoms.
During this period its rulers became the first english monarchs to assume such wideranging. Mercians in positions of power under wessex and later english kings are given biographical treatment. Anglosaxons england mercia kingdom, anglosaxons, civilization, mercia kingdom history, mercia kingdom civilization, europe mercia kingdom publisher woonton. Although be warned this is the type of book where you need to find yourself a couple of. Yet the true story of offas long reign and of the rise and fall of mercia are little known although this is. Heres that and ten other the last kingdom book events that. Wessex, also known as the kingdom of the west saxons, was a large and influential anglosaxon kingdom from 519 to 927ad. The diocese of mercia was founded in 656, with the first bishop, diuma, based at repton. Historically, the records are in two halves, pre and postviking, in the way they have been preserved. Mercia, the rise and fall of a kingdom by annie whitehead 15092018 15092018 sharon bennett connolly many people know about wessex, the last kingdom of the anglosaxons to fall to the northmen, but another kingdom, mercia, once enjoyed supremacy over not only wessex, but all of the anglosaxon kingdoms. Settled by angles, their name is the root of the name england.
The population taken at the 2001 census was 2,707, increasing to 2,867 at the 2011 census. At its zenith mercia controlled what is now birmingham and london. Mercia, from old english merce, people of the marches or boundaries, one of the most powerful kingdoms of anglosaxon england. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read mercia. While wessex would become the most important and come to essentially rule them all, the history of saxon england is a history of multiple kingdoms which were often at odds with each other. Sep 15, 2018 the early history of mercia isnt a period ive personally looked into, but after reading ms whiteheads novel, cometh the hour which largely features the pagan penda, one of mercias earliest, influential kings i became intrigued, and realised this nonfiction work about the history of the mercian kingdom was exactly what. The danish great army captured york in 866, and many of its members settled in that area.
Offa took the kingdom to its greatest heights but then it began to founder with the emergence of alfred and wessex. Mercia kingdom 25 works search for books with subject mercia kingdom. For some two hundred years from the mid7th century onwards it was the dominant member of the heptarchy and consequently the most powerful of the anglosaxon kingdoms. A handbook of mercian joseph biddulph not in library. Aug 23, 2009 the last kingdom the pale horseman the lords of the north sword song cornwells latest series focuses on the anglosaxon kingdom of wessex, england during the 9thcentury reign of alfred the great, his fierce opposition to the danes vikings, and his determination to unite england as one country. Their vast reserves of land in the fertile english midlands and mercian control of the.
Their neighbors included other angles, saxons and jutes all from germany. Nov 26, 2018 anglo saxon england was divided into kingdoms, small and large. The shire was part of the anglosaxon kingdom of mercia one of the many fractured states of medieval england. Lindsey was an anglosaxon kingdom but it had a strong celtic population. Aethelflaed, lady of the mercians ancient history encyclopedia.
The ninth century saw the decline of mercia as a kingdom. Amongst other comments, ms davies mentions from the analysis of various early documents that there is an invasion from east anglia into what becomes mercia in the early sixth century exactly at. The subtitle is the rise and fall of a kingdom and in this telling we can see quite clearly how this is appropriate to mercia. The book is meticulously researched and very wellwritten, providing conclusions reached by sifting through the scant resources available to produce a timeline of mercian rulers and their history. Northumbria historical kingdom, england britannica.
Jan 25, 2017 the foundation of the power of mercia the dominant power of anglo saxon england was its access to wealth. Mercia was centered on the valley of the river trent and its tributaries. One of the most prominent anglosaxon kings, offa of mercia in southern england, came to power upon the murder of his cousin, king aethelbald. Mercia was an anglosaxon kingdom in the english midlands. He was a son of the mercian king wulfhere, whose brother. Oct 01, 2018 the subtitle is the rise and fall of a kingdom and in this telling we can see quite clearly how this is appropriate to mercia. The foundation of the power of mercia the dominant power of anglo saxon england was its access to wealth. The rise and fall of a kingdom ebook written by annie whitehead. Mercia was one of the great seven anglosaxon kingdoms of england, alongside east anglia, essex, kent, northumbria sussex and wessex. Early in the 10th century other scandinavians entered and settled western. Based around its capital of tamworth, mercia went through rapid expansion throughout the 6th and 7th centuries to be one of the big three kingdoms of england along with northumbria and wessex. Mercians in positions of power under wessex and later english kings are. Offa came to rule more than 100 years after the anglosaxon interlopers drove the celts out in 6. Nov 30, 2014 the shire was part of the anglosaxon kingdom of mercia one of the many fractured states of medieval england.
True to history, princess alchflaed has no choice in her husband, but what makes this an unusual story is the fact that, under the guise of making peace with the marriage, her father plans for the. This is the story of the mercians, the kings, the queens, saints, sinners, earls and warrior women who governed the kingdom and shaped its. Kingdom of mercia series by jayne castel goodreads. The kingdom of mercia was a state in the english midlands from the 6th century to the 10th century. Mercia simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. With state of theart contributions from experts in palaeography, art history, archaeology, numismatics and landscape as well as from historians this book establishes a new baseline for mercian scholarship, by covering the rise and fall of the kingdom, its major institutions, relations with other political entities as well as its visual and. Leicester university press, 2001 history 386 pages. Mercia was one of the anglosaxon kingdoms of the heptarchy.
Its history emerges from obscurity with the reign of penda penda, d. Mercia developed an effective political structure and adopted christianity later than the other kingdoms. It was in the region now known as the english midlands. The achievements of offa of mercia include building offas dyke, an earthwork that stretched for 270 km 169 miles, from the river severn to the dee estuary between england and wales.
913 1062 617 805 223 729 734 76 753 352 576 1285 1468 977 489 906 1217 1112 645 100 997 223 897 569 846 1482 1232 47 1442 1246 153 1573 1153 994 1170 1180 930 1577 89 1062 361 136 402 1236 168 1256 841 937 876 1062 1251