Wiglaf of Mercia - Historical Context

Historical Context

Mercia had been the dominant Anglo-Saxon kingdom for most of the 8th century, with Offa, who died in 796, the most powerful king of his time. Coenwulf, who took the Mercian throne shortly after Offa's death, was able to retain Mercian influence in the kingdoms of Kent, East Anglia and Essex, and made frequent incursions across Offa's Dyke into what is now Wales. However, Coenwulf's death, in 821, marked the beginning of a period in which the political map of England was dramatically redrawn. Although one eleventh-century source claims that Coenwulf's son, Cynehelm, briefly succeeded to the throne, it is more likely that Ceolwulf, Coenwulf's brother, was the next king. He reigned for only two years before being deposed.

The next king, Beornwulf, was of no known royal line, though it has been conjectured on the basis of the common initial letter B that he was connected to the later kings Beorhtwulf and Burgred. It was probably Beornwulf whose defeat of the kingdom of Powys and destruction of the fortress of Deganwy are recorded in a Welsh chronicle, the Brut y Tywysogion, in 823, and it is clear that Mercia was still a formidable military power at that time. However, in 825 Beornwulf was decisively defeated by Egbert of Wessex at the battle of Ellendun, and died the next year in an unsuccessful invasion of East Anglia. His successor, Ludeca, of unknown lineage, also invaded East Anglia, and like Beornwulf died while campaigning there, in 827. These defeats, in rapid succession, are likely to have exacerbated the apparent dynastic contention for Mercian royal authority. Outside Mercia, the power of the kingdom of Wessex, to the south, was strong and growing when Wiglaf came to the throne.