List of monarchs of Mercia

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The Kingdom of Mercia was an important state in the English Midlands from the 6th century to the 10th. For some two hundred years from the mid 7th century onwards it was the dominant member of the Heptarchy and consequently the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. During this period its rulers became the very first English monarchs to assume such wide ranging titles as King of Britain and King of the English.

This was a time when spellings varied widely, even within a single document, and a number of variants exist for the names given below. For example, the sound th was usually represented with the Old English letters þ or ð.

Kings of the Mercians

For the Continental predecessors of the Mercians in Angeln, see List of kings of the Angles.

Iclings (House of Icel)

King	Reign	Biographical notes	Died
Icel	c.488-c.501	Son of Eomer, last King of the Angles in Europe. Led his people across the North Sea to Great Britain.	c.501
Cnebba	c.501-c.566	Son of Icel.	c.566
Cynewald	c.566-584	Son of Cnebba.	584
Creoda	584-593	Son of Cynewald. Probable founder of the Mercian royal fortress at Tamworth.	593
Pybba	593-606	Son of Creoda. Extended Mercian control into the western Midlands.	606
Ceorl	606-626	Possibly a brother or cousin of Pybba.	626
Penda	626-655	Son of Pybba. Raised Mercia to dominant status amongst the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Last pagan ruler of England. Killed in battle by Oswiu of Northumbria.	655
Eowa	c.635-642	Brother of Penda. Co-ruler. Killed in battle.	642
Peada	c.653-656	Son of Penda. Co-ruler in the south-east Midlands. Murdered.	656
655-658 Northumbrian occupation of Mercia under Oswiu of Northumbria
Wulfhere	658-675	Brother of Péada. Restored Mercian dominance in England.	675
Æthelred I	675-704	Brother of Wulfhere. Abdicated and retired to a monastery at Bardney.	716
Cœnred	704-709	Son of Wulfhere. Abdicated and retired to Rome.	?
Ceolred	709-716	Son of Æthelred I. Probably poisoned.	716
Ceolwald	716	Brother of Céolred. May not have existed.	716
Æthelbald	716-757	Grandson of Éowa. Proclaimed himself King of Britain in 746. Murdered by Beornred.	757

Usurper

King	Reign	Biographical notes	Died
Beornred	757	No known relation to his predecessors. Deposed by Offa. Possibly burnt to death in 769 in Northumbria.	769

Iclings (House of Offa)

King	Reign	Biographical notes	Died
Offa	757-796	Supposedly a great-great-grandson of Eowa. The greatest and most powerful of all Mercian kings, he proclaimed himself King of the English in 774, built Offa's Dyke, and introduced the silver penny.	26 or 29 July 796
Ecgfrith	787-796	Son of Offa. Co-ruler, died suddenly a few months after his father.	14 or 17 December 796

Iclings (House of Cœnwulf)

King	Reign	Biographical notes	Died
Cœnwulf	796-821	Claimed to be a seventh generation descendant of Pybba. Assumed the title of 'emperor'.	821
Cynehelm	812 or 821	Son of Cœnwulf. Co-ruler. Murdered and later canonised as St Kenelm.	812 or 821
Ceolwulf I	821-823	Brother of Cœnwulf. Deposed by Beornwulf.	?

Elected Kings

King	Reign	Biographical notes	Died
Beornwulf	823-826	Possible relation of Beornred. Chosen by the Mercian Witan. Died in battle.	826
Ludeca	826-827	Chosen by the Mercian Witan. Died in battle.	827
Wiglaf	827-829 & 830-840	Chosen by the Mercian Witan. Deposed by Ecgberht of Wessex. Later restored to the kingship, but from this time onwards Mercian dominance in England was lost.	840
829-830 West Saxon occupation of Mercia under Ecgberht of Wessex
Wigmund	c.840	Son of Wigláf, and son-in-law of Ceolwulf. Probably co-ruler.	c.840
Wigstan	840	Son of Wigmund. Declined the kingship and was later murdered by Béorhtwulf.	849
Beorhtwulf	840-852	Claimed to be a cousin of Wigstan. Chosen by the Mercian Witan.	852
Burgred	852-874	Chosen by the Mercian Witan. Fled to Rome in the face of a Danish invasion.	?
Ceolwulf II	874-883	Possibly a son of Wigmund. Set up by the Danes as a puppet ruler.	883
Æthelred II	883-911	Chosen by the Mercian Witan. Recognised Alfred of Wessex as his overlord. Sometimes listed as 'ealdorman' rather than 'king', especially by the West Saxons.	911

Ladies of the Mercians

Lady	Reign	Biographical notes	Died
Æthelflæd	911-918	Widow of Æthelred II and daughter of Alfred of Wessex.	12 June 918
Ælfwynn	918-919	Daughter of Æthelflæd and Æthelred II. Deposed by her uncle, Edward the Elder, who annexed Mercia to Wessex thus creating the Kingdom of England.	?

Ealdormen & Earls of Mercia

From the mid-10th century the chief Mercian magnate usually held the title of ealdorman, or earl from the early 11th century.

Ealdormen

Ealdorman	Reign	Biographical notes	Died
Wulfsige Maur	942-?	Granted large tracts of land in Mercia by Edmund after the latter had cleared the area of a Danish incursion. May have been ealdorman in all but name.	?
Ælfhere	c.956-983	Appointed by Edwy. In 957 he switched allegiance to Edwy's brother Edgar, who subsequently succeeded to the English throne.	983
Ælfric	983-985	Son (or in some sources brother-in-law) of Ælfhere. Unsuccessfuly rebelled against Ethelred the Unready, by whom he was then exiled.	?
Wulfric Spot	?-1004/1010	Probable son of Wulfsige Maur. He was the chief Mercian landowner, and is listed in some sources as either ealdorman or earl.	October 1010

Earls

Earl	Reign	Biographical notes	Died
Eadric Streona	1007-1017	Appointed by Ethelred the Unready (with the title 'ealdorman' until 1017 when it was upgraded to 'earl' by Canute). Later murdered by Canute for his treachery.	25 December 1017
Leofric	1017/1030-1057	Appointed by Canute. Certainly earl by c.1030, and possibly since 1017. Chiefly remembered for his famous wife, Godgifu (Lady Godiva).	31 August or 30 September 1057
Ælfgar	1057-1062	Son of Leofric. Married Ælfgifu, the god-daughter of Wulfric Spot.	1062
Eadwine	1062-1071	Son of Ælfgar. Submitted to William the Conqueror in 1066, but later rebelled, and was betrayed by his own men. Mercia was then broken up into smaller earldoms.	1071