Ecgberht II (Kent)

Ecgberht II. (Also: Ecberht, Ecgberhtus, Egcberth ) was a king of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Kent from 764 to 779/784 .

The coin of King Ecgberht II minted by the mintmaster Babba in Canterbury.

Life

Around the year 764 the kings Sigered (West Kent) and Eanmund (East Kent) disappeared from the sources when Offa (757–796), the King of Mercia , gained supremacy over Kent. Offa set Ecgberht II (around 764-779 / 784) in western Kent and Heahberht in eastern Kent as vassal kings. This constellation meant that Heahberht had to agree to the donation of land by the Kentish king Ecgberht II. Ecgberht donated lands to Bishop Eardwulf of Rochester in 765 . In addition to the consent of his fellow-king Heahberht, the licentia (permission) Offas as a representative of the hegemonic power was required. In 772 Ecgberht attested to a donation of land from Offa. At least Ecgberht seems to have had considerable support in Kent and was not entirely dependent on Offa.

The coin of King Ecgberht II minted by the mintmaster Udd in Canterbury.

Ecgberht and his fellow-king Heahberht turned against the supremacy of Mercia. Both had new coins minted in Canterbury based on the model of Carolingian denarii . In addition to their mercantile function, the coins were also a political symbol against mercian hegemony. Archbishop Jænberht of Canterbury (765–792) seems to have recognized the desire for autonomy of the two Kentish kings. Heahberht was soon no longer mentioned in the sources. Ecgberht won a victory over Offa at the Battle of Otford in 776 and presumably ruled all of Kent as an independent king for the next few years. At the latest since 778 Ecgberht could sovereignly dispose of its lands. Transfers to Bishop Deora of Rochester did not require the approval of a co-king or overlord. Ecgberht's sphere of influence likely extended to Surrey and parts of Essex and Sussex .

With the last charter issued in 779, Ecgberht disappeared from tradition. In the year 784 Ealhmund , who was possibly his brother, is recorded as his successor. Perhaps Ealhmund had been co-king or sub-king of Ecgberht as early as the 770s. Around 784/785 Kent came under the control of Offa again, who ruled the country himself until his death in 796. He revoked the “unauthorized” orders made by Ecgberht, which he regarded as unlawful.

swell

• Charter S34
• Charter S35
• Charter S36
• Charter S37
• Charter S108
• Charter S155

literature

• Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 .
• DP Kirby: The Earliest English Kings , Routledge, 2000, ISBN 978-0415242110 .
• Barbara Yorke : Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England . Routledge, London-New York 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 . PDF (6.2 MB)

Web links

• Ecgberht 9 in Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (PASE)
• Ecgberht in Foundation for Medieval Genealogy

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Simon Keynes: Kings of Kent . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 , pp. 501-502.
2. ↑ Barbara Yorke: Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England , Routledge, 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 , p. 31.
3. ↑ p37
4. ↑ P34
5. ↑ P108
6. ↑ DP Kirby: The Earliest English Kings , Routledge, 2000, ISBN 978-0415242110 , p. 136.
7. ^ Joanna Story: Carolingian connections: Anglo-Saxon England and Carolingian Francia, c. 750-870 , Ashgate, 2003, ISBN 978-0-7546-0124-1 , pp. 192-193.
8. ↑ S35 (778), S36 (779)
9. ↑ DP Kirby: The Earliest English Kings , Routledge, 2000, ISBN 978-0415242110 , p. 139.
10. ^ ^{A b} Julia Barrow , Andrew Wareham (eds.): Myth, Rulership, Church and Charters: Essays in Honor of Nicholas Brooks , Ashgate, 2008, ISBN 978-0-7546-5120-8 , p. 79.
11. ^ DP Kirby: The Earliest English Kings , Routledge, 2000, ISBN 978-0415242110 , p. 138.

predecessor	Office	successor
Sigered (West Kent) Heahberht (East Kent)	King of Kent 764 / 765-779 / 784	Ealhmund