- Burgred of Mercia
Burgred or Burhred or Burghred was the king of
Mercia (852 - 874). He succeeded to the throne in 852, and in 852 or 853 called uponEthelwulf of Wessex to aid him in subduing northernWales . The request was granted and the campaign proved successful, the alliance being sealed by the marriage of Burgred to Aelthelswith, daughter of Ethelwulf. In 868 the Mercian king appealed toEthelred of Wessex and his brother,Alfred the Great for assistance against theDanes , who were in possession ofNottingham . The armies ofWessex and Mercia did no serious fighting, and the Danes were allowed to remain through the winter. In 874 the march of the Danes from Lindsey toRepton drove Burgred from his kingdom. [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Burgred 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica - Burgred] ] They appointed a Mercian ealdorman Ceolwulf to replace him, demanding oaths of loyalty to the Danes. ["The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle", s.a. 874] Burgred retired toRome and died there. He was buried, according to theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle , "in the church of Sancta Maria, in the school of the English nation" in Rome.Burgred is mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the years 852, 853, 868, and 874.
Coins from the reign of Burgred — all bearing the spelling "Burgred" — have been found in several hoards. In December, 2003, silver coins from the reign of King Burgred were found at a site in
Yorkshire , which may be the first actualViking ship burial in England proper.ee also
*
Kings of Mercia family tree References
Sources
*"The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: MS A v. 3", Janet Bately (ed.), Brewer, Rochester (NY) 1986, ISBN 0-8599-1103-9.
External links
* [http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/home/cs-museum/cs-museum-treasures-severnstoke.htm Burgred coins from Severn Stoke coin hoard]
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