Ecgberht of Wessex Penny December 18, 2020 December 26, 2020 Peter 0 Comments. Ecgberht (771/775 – 839), also spelled Egbert, Ecgbert, or Ecgbriht, Ecgbeorht, was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. Ecgberht, King of Wessex primary name: Egbert other name: Ecgberht other name: Egbercht Details individual; ruler; royal/imperial; English; Anglo-Saxon; Male . Kent defeated Mercia in battle c. 776 CE under the reign of Egbert II and maintained its independence through the reign of Eahlmund but King Offa of Mercia (r. 757-796 CE) reasserted his power in 785 CE and again took control of the kingdom. Burgred. Reasonator; PetScan; Scholia; Statistics; Search depicted; Subcategories. Ancient History Encyclopedia Limited is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. His father was Ealhmund of Kent.In the 780s Ecgberht was forced into exile to Charlemagne's court in the Frankish Empire by Offa of Mercia & Beorhtric of Wessex, but on Beorhtric's death in 802 Ecgberht famous and took a throne. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. fled from his cousin Beorhtric, taking refuge in the court of Charlemagne, returning when Beorhtric died, poisoned by his wife. Egbert, also spelled Ecgberht, or Ecgbryht, (died 839), king of the West Saxons from 802 to 839, who formed around Wessex a kingdom so powerful that it eventually achieved the political unification of England (mid-10th century). Even so, contrary to the claims of a number of scholars, it is not as though Wessex declined in power after 830 CE. In 829 he conquered Mercia itself, but he lost it in the following year to the Mercian king Wiglaf. Ecgberht, King of WessexVue d'ensemble. Books By c. 830 CE, Wessex controlled resources & trade from the south of Britain all the way through to the north. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. Then sent he his son, Aethelwulf into Kent with a large detachment from the main body of the army, accompanied by his bishop, Elstan, and his alderman, Wulfherd; who drove Baldred, the king, northward over the Thames. … This characterization is possibly drawn from the historical Egbert’s initiatives in consolidating his kingdom but is largely fictionalized and without any detailed historical basis. Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including Oxford University and Michigan State University and University of Missouri. The victory was a turning point in English history because it destroyed Mercian ascendancy and left Wessex the strongest of the English kingdoms. Egbert (Ecgberht in Anglo Saxon) king of Wessex (802-39), and the first Saxon king recognized as sovereign of all England . A freelance writer and former part-time Professor of Philosophy at Marist College, New York, Joshua J. Even so, Charlemagne did nothing at this time to upset Offa’s plans in Wessex – possibly because Beorhtric had a legitimate claim to the throne which superseded Egbert’s. Although there are also no records of any military build-up in Wessex in Egbert’s early reign, this must have been where he concentrated his efforts because, between c. 815-820 CE, he could effectively campaign in Dumnonia and in 825 CE he was able to mount an effective offense against Mercia itself. Charlemagne seems to have disliked Offa as it is said he was outraged when Offa proposed an alliance which would be sealed by the marriage of Offa’s son Ecgfrith (r. 796 CE) to one of Charlemagne’s daughters, Bertha. Egbert was the first king of Wessex to completely subdue Mercia and the stability he provided allowed for further development of the kingdom as well as the resources to withstand the Viking raids. Other dates 769-771-839 (birth date uncertain) Biography King of the West Saxons;. Egbert of Wessex was born circa 769 to Ealhmund of Kent and died 839 of unspecified causes. Æthelbald (died 860) was King of Wessex from 855 to 860. Although Egbert would retain control of the north, his grasp on Mercia slipped in 830 CE when Wiglaf returned from exile and regained his throne. The empire of the Franks was secure under the reign of Charlemagne but, when he died in 814 CE, he was succeeded by his son Louis the Pious (r. 814-840 CE) who had greater difficulty managing his enormous realm. Ecgberht (771/775 – 839), also spelled Egbert, Ecgbert, or Ecgbriht, was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. Written by Joshua J. $40.00 0 Bids 17h 2m. Egbert remained in exile in Francia at this time but, when Beorhtric died in 802 CE, Charlemagne seems to have supported Egbert’s bid for power and he became king of Wessex. Kingship, a worldwide phenomenon, can be elective, as in medieval Germany, but is usually hereditary; it may be absolute or constitutional and…. It’s a Ecgberht of Wessex penny, who reigned … He established his rule over Kent, Essex, Sussex, Cornwall, much of modern Wales, and set his sights on Mercia, the erstwhile though oft-contested dominant power in Britain. The kingdom he stabilized and developed would pass to his successors until it was elevated to its height under the reign of Albert the Great and became the birthplace of the Kingdom of England; that would not have been possible without the contribution of Egbert of Wessex. Ealhmund's wife is not known, however, he is identified as the father of: Ecgberht, King of Wessex Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). In 828 CE he conquered North-Wales and in 829 CE he accepted the submission of the Kingdom of Northumbria and, at the same time, drove Wiglaf from his throne and took direct control of Mercia. During the late 8th century, when King Offa of Mercia (reigned 757-96) ruled most of England, Egbert … By c. 830 CE, he was the most powerful king in the land and Wessex controlled resources and trade from the south of Britain all the way through to the north. These campaigns were probably encouraged by Dumnonia’s lucrative ports and trade contacts, skill in metalworking, and other resources Egbert would require to enlarge and equip an army. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 19 Nov 2018. This achievement should not be seen as a true unification of the kingdoms it was as fleeting in historical terms, as the supremacy of the Mercian Kings, Ethelbald and Offa. Mercia had lost territory, power, and prestige but was still ruled by Mercian kings. https://www.ancient.eu/King_Egbert_of_Wessex/. Ancient History Encyclopedia. In 815 the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that he sent an army to fight the Dumnonia, who ruled an area roughly equivalent to Cornwall. The new coin may be described as follows: Obv. ANGLO-SAXON, Kings of Mercia. The entry in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles for 825 CE reads: Egbert, king of the West-Saxons, and Beornwulf, king of Mercia, fought a battle at Wilton [modern day Wiltshire], in which Egbert gained the victory, but there was great slaughter on both sides. He was the son of a Kentish noble but claimed descent from Cerdic (reigned 519-34), founder of Wessex, the kingdom of the West Saxons in southern England. In the 780s Egbert was forced into exile by Offa of Mercia and Beorhtric of Wessex, but on Beorhtric's death in 802 Egbert returned and took the throne. "King Egbert of Wessex." Egbert was possibly born in Kent, “the son of the short-lived ruler of that kingdom called Eahlmund r. 784-785 CE” (Collins,196). Beorhtric was supported by Offa, however, who sealed a contract with Wessex by marrying his daughter Eadburh to Beorhtric; Egbert was driven into exile and fled to Francia. None of these events has any historical basis but the seamless succession of Aethelwulf, with the support of the church, is the probable historical inspiration. This assault was easily repelled by the Shore Guard because the Vikings were surprised by the resistance they met; but they would return later in greater force and be far better prepared. This is long enough to establish an academic consensus against the spelling, and Ecgberht is now much the most common … Æthelwulf. "King Egbert of Wessex." What exactly the Vikings did after the Battle of Charmouth is unknown but there is no doubt they remained in the region because, in 838 CE, they and the army of Dumnonia met Egbert and his army at the Battle of Hingston Down. The … Whereupon the men of Kent submitted to him; as did also the inhabitants of Surrey and Sussex, and Essex. Ecbert appreciates that the Roman gods allowed them rule the world and grasps the implications of that notion. In 850, Æthelbald's elder brother Æthelstan defeated the Vikings in the first recorded sea battle in English history, but he is not recorded afterwards and … Mark has lived in Greece and Germany and traveled through Egypt. In the TV series Vikings, Egbert is seen granting land to Viking settlers he will later betray, sending Aethelwulf to slaughter the Viking settlement, and later granting land to other Vikings when he has earlier secretly abdicated rule to Aethelwulf. 796-821. Egbert of Wessex dies; succeeded by son Aethelwulf. The Vikings appear to have made a treaty with the Cornish people of Dumnonia, who had been subject to Wessex since Egbert’s campaigns in c. 815 CE. Baldred was the client-king of Kent under Beornwulf and his loss would have been significant to Mercia. Between 825-829 CE, Egbert continued expanding his realm at Mercia’s expense. Although the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles claim 827 CE as the year of Wessex’s complete supremacy, this date has been challenged by archeological and literary evidence. His Kentish origin is supported by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles but has been called into question by recent scholarship claiming he was originally from Wessex. When Ecgberht, King of Wessex was born in 0775, in Wessex, his father, Ealhmund of Kent, was 25 and his mother, Princess of Kent name unknown, was 13. Mark, published on 19 November 2018 under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Crowned at … He was expelled from his kingdom [826] [230] . Related Content Instead, in c 815 CE, Egbert led his armies west to conquer the region of Dumnonia (modern Cornwall) on his border. He maintained Mercian superiority in the region and Wessex operated as more or less his puppet kingdom. Just as the Vikings were easily defeated by the Shore Guard of West Francia in 820 CE, it is likely that Egbert was defeated in 836 CE for the same reason: he had no idea what to expect from his opponents. See Details. Mark, Joshua J. Our latest articles delivered to your inbox, once a week: Our mission is to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. Egbert (also spelt Ecgberht) (c. 775 –839) was King of Wessex from 802 until 839. The nobleman Cenwulf of Mercia (r. 798-821 CE) took the throne (probably after assassinating Ecgfrith) and continued Offa’s policies regarding Wessex and its king. Fils du roi Ecgberht, il devient le souverain du Kent et des autres royaumes du sud-est de l'Angleterre en 825, après la victoire de son père à la bataille d'Ellendun. License. Cite This Work By the time Egbert was born in c. 770 CE, Mercia was the dominant power and was ruling Kent through client-kings (as they had, on and off, from as early as 664 CE). +AECCBEAFLH" … Ecgberht, King of Wessex. His current state is unknown, but is presumed dead along with the rest of his family. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Egbert, The Catholic Encyclopedia - Biography of Egbert. At his death, he was so powerful that the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles refer to him as Ruler of Britain, not just King of Wessex. Egbert was a warrior King of Wessex who managed briefly to dominate the other kingdoms between 802-839 when he died. His defeat in 836 CE, sometimes attributed to a lack of resources or support from Louis the Pious, could as easily have been caused by lack of preparation and surprise. Clash Royale CLAN TAG #URR8PPP For the 7th century king of Kent, see Ecgberht of Kent. 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