Wiglaf of Mercia - Ancestry

Ancestry

Wiglaf's ancestry is not known for certain. There are two main theories regarding the ancestry of Mercian kings of this period. One is that descendants of different lines of the royal family competed for the throne. In the mid-7th century, for example, Penda had placed royal kinsmen in control of conquered provinces. A Wigheard, who witnessed a charter in the late 7th century, was possibly a member of this line. The other theory is that a number of kin-groups with local power-bases may have competed for the succession. The sub-kingdoms of the Hwicce, the Tomsæte, and the unidentified Gaini are examples of such power-bases. Marriage alliances could also have played a part. Competing magnates, those called in charters "dux" or "princeps" (that is, leaders), may have brought the kings to power. In this model, the Mercian kings are little more than leading noblemen.

A medieval tradition preserved at Evesham records that Wiglaf's grandson Wigstan was a descendant of Coenred, who was a grandson of Penda. Wigstan's grandfathers were Wiglaf and Ceolwulf I; the tradition might be interpreted to mean that Wiglaf descended from Penda, but it might also be Wiglaf's wife, Cynethryth, who was descended from Penda. Cynethryth's name is known from two of Wiglaf's charters, dated 831 and 836, and historian Pauline Stafford notes that her name "seems to hark back to the kin of Coenwulf if not earlier royal lines", but as with Wiglaf himself, nothing certain is known of her ancestry. A different connection is mentioned in the medieval Life of St. Wigstan, which asserts that the "B" and "W" families were related.

Known descendants of Wiglaf include his son, Wigmund, and his grandson, Wigstan, both of whom share the "Wig-" at the start of his name; alliterative family names are frequent in Anglo-Saxon dynasties and are often thought to suggest possible kinship. Other possible descendants of Wiglaf include the last Mercian king, Ceolwulf II. A large number of duces or praefecti (ealdormen) with similar names are found as witnesses in Mercian charters of the late 8th and early 9th centuries, including Wigbald, Wigberht, Wigcga, Wigferth, and Wigheard, but there is no evidence that these nobles were related beyond the similarity of their names.