Ecgric of East Anglia - Wuffingas Identity

Wuffingas Identity

Ecgric was a member of the Wuffingas royal family, but his exact descent is not known, as the only information historians have is from Bede, who named him as Sigeberht's cognatus or 'kinsman'. The 12th century English historian William of Malmesbury contradicts Bede, stating that Sigeberht was Rædwald's stepson. The name Sigeberht is not of East Anglian, but of Frankish origin. Rædwald may have exiled his step-son, so as to protect the inheritance of his son Ecgric, who was of his own blood-line.

It has been suggested by Sam Newton that Ecgric may in fact be identical to Eni's son Æthelric, whose descendants became kings of East Anglia. Æthelric's son Ealdwulf ruled from about 664 to 713. After Ecgric's death, three other sons of Eni ruled in succession before Ealdwulf, an indication that Raedwald's line was extinct. Æthelric's marriage to Hereswith suggests that it was expected that he would rule East Anglia and he may have been promoted by Edwin before 632. Æthelric was apparently dead by 647, at which time Anna was already ruling and Hereswith had gone to Gaul to lead a religious life. It has therefore been argued that Æthelric and Ecgric were in fact the same person, a suggestion that is disputed by the historian Barbara Yorke, who notes that the two names are too distinct to be compatible.

Ecgric/Æthelric placed as the son of Rædwald or the son of Eni