Penda

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Penda (* around 605; † November 15, 655 in the Battle of Winwaed ) was king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia from around 626 to 655 . He led his empire within the heptarchy in several wars to the local great power.

Life

family

Penda was a son of King Pybba (593–606 / 615) from the Iclingas dynasty . His mother is unknown. Penda was probably married several times. Merewalh ( fl. 650), a sub-king of the Magonsæte , seems to come from an early marriage. Other children, who probably emerged from his marriage to Cynewise, were the sons Peada (655-656), Wulfhere (658-674 / 675) and Æthelred (674 / 675-704), who successively succeeded him as Kings of Mercias. His daughter Cyneburg was married to Ealhfrith (655–664), the sub-king of Deira .

Penda was related by marriage to Cenwalh , the king of the Gewissæ , through his sister who was not named, but who is identified by individual historians with Seaxburg . Another sister is said to have been married to Cadwallon ap Cadfan , King of Gwynedd .

Domination

Succession to the throne

Penda was the first historically established king of Mercias. He is said to have been the successor of King Ceorl . Beda Venerabilis mentions a certain Ceorl / Cearl as the first king of Mercias, but this is not mentioned in the traditional family tables .

The beginning of Penda's reign cannot be clearly determined. On the one hand, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle gives its survey for the year 626; on the other hand, Bede claims that Penda came into power in 633. The Historia Brittonum , commonly attributed to the Welsh monk Nennius from the 9th century, again mentions 642 as the year he took office. Some historians consider it possible that his brother Eowa was the dominant king in Mercia until 642 and ruled northern Mercia while Penda ruled only the southern areas. This would also explain why the Historia Brittonum Penda ascribes only 10 years of government, while Beda gives 22. Other historians see Pendas as a fellow king in Eowa.

Æthelfriths of Northumbria won an important victory over the Welsh kingdoms and probably also over Mercia at the Battle of Chester around 615 . It is possible that Æthelfrith put an end to Ceorl's rule around 616 and was able to rule even Mercia and the small empires that were dependent on it for a time, or set up sub-kings dominated by him. Mostly Ceorl's death is set for the year 626 and Penda is regarded as his direct successor.

War against the Gewissæ

Mercia and its neighboring empires in Penda's time

What can only be considered certain is that Penda had established himself as the ruler of Mercias in the second quarter of the 7th century and began to expand his rule further. Its main opponent was the Kingdom of Northumbria. It is not clear whether Penda waged war against Wessex on his own before he became king . In any case, he took part in a war against Wessex in 628, which culminated in the Battle of Cirencester . The then negotiated peace treaty apparently provided for the marriage of Cynegil's son Cenwalh to the sister of Pendas. The supremacy over the region around Cirencester in the Kingdom of Hwicce , where both Angles and Saxons settled, passed to Mercia. The creation of the Kingdom of Hwicce probably went back to the union of the Anglic North with the Saxon South by Penda. This seems to be one of the reasons for the southward expansion of the Gewissæ since then. This battle marked the beginning of the rivalry between Wessex and Mercia that lasted into the 9th century.

Relations with Northumbria

Battle of Hatfield Chase

In 633, Penda allied with the Welsh King Cadwallon ap Cadfan of Gwynedd and rebelled against King Edwin (616–633) of Northumbria. Together they brought together a sizable force that succeeded in destroying the Northumbrian army on October 12, 633 at the Battle of Hatfield Chase near Doncaster . Edwin fell in battle; likewise his son Osfrith. His son Eadfrith had to surrender and was later murdered by Penda. The immediate consequence of the defeat was the renewed division of Northumbria: while Osric (633-634), a relative of Edwin's, was able to hold on in southern Deira , northern Bernicia fell to Eanfrith (633 / 634-634), who had returned from exile , and with it back to the old dynasty there.

Penda may have been ousted from the throne around 635 by his brother Eowa (635? –642), who is considered by some historians to be the Northumbrian puppet king.

Battle of Maserfield

Penda's influence had expanded into western Wales. In the year 642 attacked the Northumbrian king Oswald (634-642) Penda, who was allied with the British king Cynddylan ap Cyndrwyn von Powys , and fell on August 5th in the battle of Maserfield (probably near Oswestry ), near the Welsh border . The immediate consequence of the defeat was the renewed division of Northumbria: In northern Bernicia Oswald's brother Oswiu (642-670) succeeded the throne, while in southern Deira with Oswine (642 / 643-651) the old dynasty there came back to the throne . The History Of The Britons and the Annales Cambriae following also Pendas brother Eowa fell in this battle.

In the late 640s, Penda again raided Northumbria and besieged the capital Bamburgh without success . In the early 650s, Penda embarked on another campaign and plundered Northumbria.

Alliances and Marriage Policy

Æthelwald (around 651 – around 655), who initially ruled as Oswius' sub-king in Deira, soon made himself independent, probably supported by Penda. The rivalry between Oswiu and Penda, both of whom were striving for hegemony, continued to grow. Penda tried to assert itself militarily, while Oswiu seemed more averse to open conflicts and took a more subtle path. Oswiu tried to solve his problems with Mercia through marriage policies: he married his son Ealhfrith, who later became the sub-king in Deira (655–664), with Cyneburg, a daughter of Pendas. Around the year 653 Oswiu married his daughter Ealhflæd to Peada , the king of the middle fishing rods and son of Pendas. Peada's conversion to Christianity was a prerequisite for marriage . Peada and his companions were baptized around 653 by Bishop Finan of Lindisfarne in Ad Murum (east of Hexham ). The missionaries Cedd , Adda, Betti and Diuma were given to him to convert the middle fishing rods. The pagan Penda tolerated the successful missionary endeavors.

Southern neighbors

Around 640 Penda attacked East Anglia . Sigebert (630/631 - around 637), who had abdicated a few years earlier and had the reputation of a famous and courageous military leader, was brought out of the monastery by the defeated Ostangeln to encourage the army in the following battle. Reluctantly and remembering his vows, he is said to have gone into battle, unarmed, only with a staff in hand, in the midst of the army. Sigebert and Ecgric (around 637 – around 640) fell in battle and the East Anglian army was either massacred or fled. East Anglia survived this defeat and the kingship passed to Anna (around 640-654). During his reign, Anna had to deal with the expansion efforts of the Penda of Mercia. In 645 Penda von Mercia attacked the Gewissæ again because, according to Beda Venerabilis, Cenwalh von Wessex had cast out his wife, a sister of Pendas. Cenwalh had to flee from Penda and lived in exile with Anna, from whom he was converted to Christianity, for three years. In 648 Cenwalh succeeded in regaining control of Wessex, but now Penda turned again against East Anglia. Around the year 650 Penda conquered East Anglia. Anna had to flee temporarily, but was able to regain royalty.

In the area of ​​the Mittelangeln, the territory between the Kingdom of the Eastern Angels and Mercia, around 653 Penda was able to appoint his son Peada, if probably not as king, at least as ruler or sub-king. Probably in order to consolidate his position Anna married his daughter Æthelthryth around 652 to Tondberht, the princeps Australium Gyruiorum ( Ealdorman of the South Gyrwier), a small, semi-autonomous tribe in the Fens on the border with Mercia. Around 654 Anna and his son Jurmin were killed in action against Penda at the Battle of Bulcamp, who conquered East Anglia a second time. Presumably Penda set Anna's brother Æthelhere (654–655) as subregulus (sub-king). Æthelhere of East Anglia was apparently largely dependent on Penda during his brief reign. In 654, Penda attacked the Kingdom of Essex and brought it under his suzerainty.

A stained glass window in Worcester Cathedral shows Penda's death

Death and succession

In alliance with Æthelwald of Deira, Æthelhere of East Anglia and the Welsh king Cadfael ap Cynfeddw of Gwynedd, Penda went on a campaign against the in 655 with an army that is said to have consisted of 30 legiones led by 30 Ealdormen ( duces regii ) Northumbrian King Oswiu and initially pushed him back to Scotland. Oswiu promised high tribute payments if Penda left the country, but he refused. Oswiu and his son Ealhfrith opposed Penda with significantly fewer troops. Æthelwald and Cadfael apparently left the army before the decisive battle of Winwaed near Loidis ( Leeds ) on November 15th. Penda and Æthelhere fell in battle. Presumably Æthelwald wanted to win back Oswius' favor with this maneuver, but the latter apparently deposed him and installed his son Ealhfrith as Æthelwald's successor. Æthelwald then disappeared from the springs; his further fate is unknown.

Even through Bede, who was not friendly to him, Penda, although a heather, was referred to as vir strenuissimus (man of the utmost energy). At the time of his death, he had largely gained supremacy over Northumbria and, according to Bede, was lord of the southern kingdoms. After Penda fell, Oswiu of Northumbria took over its role as the hegemonic power.

As a result of the outcome of this battle, Mercia came under the rule of Oswius of Northumbria and was divided into northern and southern halves. The north of Mercias went to Oswiu and the south to Penda's son Peada, while in East Anglia Æthelwald (655–664) followed Æthelhere.

Penda was the last pagan ruler of Mercia. As a result and under the influence of Northumbrian rule, Christianity was able to establish itself in Mercia. Penda did not prohibit the preaching of Christianity in Mercia, but neither did it promote it. After his death Christianization was forced.

swell

literature

  • John Insley:  Penda. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 22, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2003, ISBN 3-11-017351-4 , pp. 551-553.
  • Michael Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-631-22492-1 (in particular: Simon Keynes: Penda , pp. 361-362).
  • Michelle P. Brown, Carol Ann Farr (Eds.): Mercia: An Anglo-Saxon Kingdom In Europe . Continuum, 2005, ISBN 978-0-8264-7765-1 .
  • Nicholas J. Higham: An English Empire: Bede, the Britons, and the Early Anglo-Saxon Kings . Manchester University Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0-7190-4423-6
  • Steven Basset (Ed.): The Origins of Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms . Leicester University Press, Leicester 1989, ISBN 0-7185-1317-7 .
  • Ann Dornier: Mercian Studies. Leicester University Press, Leicester 1977, ISBN 0-7185-1148-4 .
  • David Dumville: The Anglian Collection of Royal Genealogies and Regnal Lists . In: Anglo Saxon England 5 (1976), p. 23-50
  • Nicholas J. Higham: The Kingdom of Northumbria. AD 350-1100 . Sutton, Stroud 1993, ISBN 0-86299-730-5 .
  • DP Kirby: The Earliest English Kings . Unwin Hyman, London a. a. 1991, ISBN 0-04-445691-3 .
  • Frank M. Stenton: Anglo-Saxon England . 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford 1971, ISBN 0-19-280139-2 .
  • Ian W. Walker: Mercia and the Making of England . Sutton, Stroud 2000 ISBN 0-7509-2131-5
  • Barbara Yorke : Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England . Routledge, London-New York 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 .
  • James Campbell (Ed.): The Anglo-Saxons , Phaidon, London 1982, ISBN 0-7148-2149-7 .
  • Margaret Gallyon: The Early Church in Wessex and Mercia. Terence Dalton, Lavenham 1980, ISBN 0-900963-58-1 .
  • Nicholas J. Higham: The Convert Kings: Power and Religious Affiliation in Early Anglo-Saxon England, Manchester University Press, Manchester 1997, ISBN 0-7190-4827-3 .
  • John M. Wallace-Hadrill: Early Germanic Kingship in England and on the Continent . Clarendon, Oxford 1971, ISBN 0-19-873011-X .

Web links

  • Penda in Foundation for Medieval Genealogy.
  • William Hunt:  Penda . In: Sidney Lee (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 44:  Paston - Percy. , MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1895, pp. 287 - 288 (English ,, (partly outdated state of research)).
  • Penda in earlybritishkingdoms.com

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Nicholas Brooks : Anglo-Saxon Myths: State and Church, 400-1066 , Hambledon & London, 1998, ISBN 978-1-85285-154-5 , The Kentish Origin Myth , pp. 70-72.
  2. ↑ John Cannon, Anne Hargreaves: The Kings and Queens of Britain, Oxford University Press, 2009 (2nd revised ed.), ISBN 978-0-19-955922-0 , pp. 44-45.
  3. ↑ a b Simon Keynes: Penda . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-631-22492-1 , pp. 361-362.
  4. ^ Barbara Yorke: Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England. Routledge, London-New York 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 , p. 82.
  5. ↑ Guida M. Jackson: Women Rulers Throughout the Ages: An Illustrated Guide , ABC-Clio, 1999. ISBN 978-1-57607-091-8 , p. 357.
  6. ↑ Jane Williams: A History of Wales: Derived from Authentic Sources , Cambridge University Press, 2010, ISBN 978-1-108-02085-5 , p. 104. cf. Geoffrey of Monmouth : History of the Kings of Britain , 12:14
  7. ↑ Beda: HE 2,14
  8. ↑ ASC , s. a. 626
  9. ↑ a b c Beda: HE 2.20
  10. ↑ Nennius, HB , c. 25th
  11. ^ DP Kirby, The Earliest English Kings (1991, 2000), pp. 76f.
  12. ^ Nicholas Brooks: The Formation of the Mercian Kingdom . In S. Bassett, The Origins of Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms (1989), p. 166.
  13. ^ Barbara Yorke: Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England . Routledge, London-New York 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 , p. 112.
  14. ^ Nicholas J. Higham: An English Empire: Bede, the Britons, and the Early Anglo-Saxon Kings . Manchester University Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0-7190-4423-6 , p. 78.
  15. ^ Nicholas J. Higham: An English Empire: Bede, the Britons, and the Early Anglo-Saxon Kings . Manchester University Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0-7190-4423-6 , pp. 146-147.
  16. ↑ John Cannon, Anne Hargreaves: The Kings and Queens of Britain, Oxford University Press, 2009 (2nd revised edition), ISBN 978-0-19-955922-0 , p. 44.
  17. ^ FM Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England , p. 45
  18. ↑ probably a little later, see: DP Kirby: The Earliest English Kings , Routledge, London-New York 2000, ISBN 978-0-415-24211-0 , p. 68.
  19. ^ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 628
  20. ^ Frank Merry Stenton: Anglo-Saxon England , Oxford University Press, 2001 (3rd ed.), ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5 , pp. 44-45.
  21. ↑ Barbara Yorke: Cynegils  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.oxforddnb.com   (paid registration required). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved November 13, 2011
  22. ↑ Barbara Yorke: Wessex in the early Middle Ages (Studies in the Early History of Britain) , Continuum, 1995, ISBN 978-0-7185-1856-1 , p. 57.
  23. ^ A b Philip Holdsworth: Edwin, King of Northumbria . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-631-22492-1 , pp. 163-164.
  24. ^ Nicholas Brooks: Anglo-Saxon Myths: State and Church, 400-1066 , Hambledon & London, 1998, ISBN 978-1-85285-154-5 , The Kentish Origin Myth , pp. 73-74.
  25. ↑ DP Kirby, The Earliest English Kings , p. 76 f.
  26. ↑ Michelle Ziegler: The Politics of Exile in Early Northumbria ( Memento January 10, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (Memorial University of Newfoundland)
  27. ↑ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 642
  28. ↑ Simon Keynes: Kings of the Northumbrians . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-631-22492-1 , pp. 502-505.
  29. ↑ Nennius: Historia Brittonum 65
  30. ↑ Annales Cambriae to the year 644.
  31. ^ A b Barbara Yorke: Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England. Routledge, London-New York 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 , p. 78.
  32. ↑ Nicholas J. Higham: The convert kings: power and religious affiliation in early Anglo-Saxon England , Manchester University Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0-7190-4828-9 , p. 240.
  33. ↑ a b Beda: HE 3,21
  34. ^ Philip Holdsworth: Oswiu . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-631-22492-1 , p. 349.
  35. ^ A b Richard Hoggett: The Archeology of the East Anglian Conversion (Anglo-Saxon Studies) , Boydell & Brewer, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84383-595-0 , pp. 31-32.
  36. ↑ a b Beda: HE 3,18
  37. ↑ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 645
  38. ↑ Beda: HE 3.7
  39. ^ Anna in Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
  40. ↑ ASC , s. a. 652
  41. ↑ Janet Fairweather: Liber Eliensis. A History of the Isle of Ely from the Seventh Century to the Twelfth, compiled by a Monk of Ely in the Twelfth Century , Boydell, 2005, ISBN 978-1-84383-015-3 , p. 17.
  42. ^ Peter M. Warner: The origins of Suffolk, Manchester University Press, 1996, ISBN 978-0-7190-3817-4 , p. 142.
  43. ↑ Frank Merry Stenton (author), Doris Mary Stenton (ed.): Preparatory to Anglo-Saxon England: Being the Collected Papers of Frank Merry Stenton (Oxford Scholarly Classics), Oxford University Press, 2001, ISBN 978-0-19- 822314-6 , p. 400.
  44. ^ A b c d Richard Hoggett: The Archeology of the East Anglian Conversion (Anglo-Saxon Studies), Boydell & Brewer, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84383-595-0 , p. 33.
  45. ^ A b Nicholas J. Higham: The convert kings: power and religious affiliation in early Anglo-Saxon England , Manchester University Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0-7190-4828-9 , p. 234.
  46. ↑ ASC , s. a. 655; Beda: HE 3.24 ; According to other theories and sources, the Battle of Winwaed could have taken place in 654, 656, or 657.
  47. ↑ a b Beda: HE 3.24
  48. ↑ Beda: HE 2.23
  49. ↑ M. Gallyon, The Early Church in Wessex and Mercia ff, p 83rd
predecessor Office successor
Ceorl ? King of Mercia
626–655 		Peada
personal data
SURNAME Penda
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of Mercia
DATE OF BIRTH 6th century or 7th century
DATE OF DEATH November 15, 655
Place of death Battle of the Winwaed