Alberht of East Anglia

Alberht, Ethaelbert or AEthelberht (I) was an eighth century ruler of East Anglia, who shared the kingdom with Beorna and possibly with a ruler named Hun in 749. He may still have been ruling in c 760.

Beorna: A doubtful medieval record confirmed

For many centuries Alberht has been known only from a unique statement in a late compilation of material (of which the "Flowers of History" of Roger of Wendover is one form) in the annal for 749, where it is stated that "Hunbeanna and Alberht divided the kingdom of the East Angles between themselves". Until about thirty years ago this record stood alone and unverifiable, with the exception of a single coin attributed to a ruler named Beonna and two other brief mentions of him. Since then well over a hundred coins of Beonna have been found, many in archaeologically secure contexts, so that it is now clear that a ruler named Beonna or Beorna did rule in East Anglia at that time. The 'Hun' element in the annal has therefore been detached from his name, having at some time been elided with it by scribal error.

This brought the realization that the exceedingly lean mediaeval references to Beonna or Beorna derived from authentic tradition, and greatly improved the status of the division of the kingdom described for 749 as an historical record. (M.M. Archibald cites a scholarly claim that this annal derives from records compiled by Byrhtferth of Ramsey, c1000 AD.) Alberht, therefore, also became a more substantial reality. This posed the question of the identity of these two (or possibly three) rulers, and why this division of power should have occurred when it did.

Historical context: the names Beorna and Alberht

King AElfwald died in 749 after a rule of thirty-six years of growth and stability, under the senior authority of King Aethelbald of Mercia (r 716-757). Since the East Anglian pedigree of the "Anglian Collection" was probably compiled for AElfwald, it does not show whether he had any descendants. Beorna is not a typical East Anglian Wuffing name, but might be connected with a powerful Mercian family. Alberht (on the other hand) allitterates suitably with the Wuffing names, and could be accepted as a shortened form of "AEthelberht". It is therefore possible that when AElfwald died a Wuffing heir (of his own family or a cadet line) upheld the dynastic continuity by accepting a division of power with a Mercian royal representative.

Beorna's seniority in this arrangement is suggested by the preponderance of his coins, and by the co-operation of an East Anglian army with Mercia in the Battle of Burford Bridge against Cuthred of Wessex in 752 (Henry of Huntingdon). Beorna may also be connected with (or even identical with) Beornred of Mercia, who ruled Mercia for a few months after the assassination of AEthelbald in 757.

Alberht's coinage

The confirmation of Alberht as a historical figure emerges from the discovery by controlled excavation of a single coin attributable to him. As this was found in a stratified deposit which also contained several varieties of late runic sceattas, Beonna coins, and others, its authenticity and date-horizon are not in doubt. The penny, of about 42 per cent silver, was struck on a module comparable to the larger flan which characterises the later strikes of Beonna's most prolific moneyer, Efe. The moneyer's name is shown as 'Tiaelred', and the obverse reads 'Ethaelbert', both entirely in runic lettering. The all-runic formula resembles the late strikes for Beonna of Wilred, but the confident lettering and beading more resembles the work of Efe. Stylistically, therefore, the coin is closely connected to the Beonna corpus.

The find came from a defensible estuary island site in a strategic position near Rendlesham, a known seat of Wuffing power.

Summary

On the basis of this evidence it is accepted that Alberht was a real historical figure, possibly an heir of AElfwald of the Wuffing house. At AElfwald's death in 749 he divided the kingdom with Beonna, possibly a Mercian, who took the lead in issuing regnal coinage and maintained a military alliance with AEthelbald. The kingdom was probably drawn into the affairs of 757, when Beornred ruled in Mercia, but after Offa seized power Beorna was still ruling in East Anglia. The coin of Ethaelbert having the larger flan used for Efe's late strikes indicates that Ethaelbert or Alberht was still in place after these events and indeed was gaining sufficient authority to issue his own coinage. However this degree of independence was soon eclipsed by the rapid growth of Offa's power in East Anglia.

Sources

* M.M. Archibald, 1985, The coinage of Beonna in the light of the Middle Harling hoard, "British Numismatic Journal" 55, 10-54.
* M.M. Archibald, V.H. Fenwick and M.R. Cowell, 1996, A sceat of Ethelbert I of East Anglia and recent finds of coins of Beonna, "British Numismatic Journal" 65, 1-19.
* J. Campbell (Ed.), "The Anglo-Saxons" (Oxford 1982).
* V.H. Fenwick, 1984, Insula de Burgh: Excavations at Burrow Hill, Butley, Suffolk 1978-1981, "Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History" 3, 35-54.
* J.A. Giles, "Roger of Wendover's Flowers of History" (Translation - 2 Vols.) (London 1849).
* P. Grierson and M. Blackburn, "Mediaeval European Coinage I: The Early Middle Ages" (Cambridge 1986).
* D.P. Kirby, "The Earliest English Kings" (London 1991).
* R.I. Page, "An Introduction to English Runes" (London 1973).
* S.J. Plunkett, "Suffolk in Anglo-Saxon Times" (Tempus, Stroud 2005).
* B. Yorke, "Kings and kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England" (London 1990).
* Website: Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge: Corpus of Early Mediaeval Coin Finds, and Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles (www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/coins/emc).