Coenred of Mercia

Coenred Of Mercia

Cœnred (also spelled Cenred; fl. 675–709) was king of Mercia, now part of England, from 704 to 709. He was a son of the Mercian king Wulfhere, whose brother Æthelred succeeded to the throne in 675 on Wulfhere's death. In 704, Æthelred abdicated in favour of Coenred to become a monk.

Cœnred's reign is poorly documented, but a contemporary source records that he faced attacks from the Welsh. Cœnred is not known to have married or had children, although later chronicles describe him as an ancestor of Wigstan, a 9th-century Mercian king. In 709, Cœnred abdicated and went on pilgrimage to Rome, where he remained as a monk until his death. In the view of his contemporary, Bede, Cœnred "who had ruled the kingdom of Mercia for some time and very nobly, with still greater nobility renounced the throne of his kingdom". Æthelred's son Ceolred succeeded Cœnred as king of Mercia.