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<li id="toc-Early_history" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Early_history"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1</span> <span>Early history</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Early_history-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Penda_and_the_Mercian_Supremacy" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Penda_and_the_Mercian_Supremacy"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2</span> <span>Penda and the Mercian Supremacy</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Penda_and_the_Mercian_Supremacy-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Reign_of_Offa_and_rise_of_Wessex" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Reign_of_Offa_and_rise_of_Wessex"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.3</span> <span>Reign of Offa and rise of Wessex</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Reign_of_Offa_and_rise_of_Wessex-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Arrival_of_the_Danes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Arrival_of_the_Danes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4</span> <span>Arrival of the Danes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Arrival_of_the_Danes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Loss_of_independence" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Loss_of_independence"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.5</span> <span>Loss of independence</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Loss_of_independence-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Mercian_Old_English" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Mercian_Old_English"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Mercian Old English</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Mercian_Old_English-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Mercian_religion" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Mercian_religion"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Mercian religion</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Mercian_religion-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Subdivisions_of_Mercia" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Subdivisions_of_Mercia"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Subdivisions of Mercia</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Subdivisions_of_Mercia-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Modern_uses_of_the_name_Mercia" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Modern_uses_of_the_name_Mercia"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Modern uses of the name Mercia</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Modern_uses_of_the_name_Mercia-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Symbolism_and_attributed_heraldry" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Symbolism_and_attributed_heraldry"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Symbolism and attributed heraldry</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Symbolism_and_attributed_heraldry-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Sources" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Sources"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>Sources</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Sources-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Further_reading" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Further_reading"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>Further reading</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Further_reading-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">11</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercia</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 65 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-65" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">65 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-af mw-list-item"><a href="https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – Afrikaans" lang="af" hreflang="af" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="Afrikaans" data-language-local-name="Afrikaans" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Afrikaans</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ang mw-list-item"><a href="https://ang.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mierce" title="Mierce – Old English" lang="ang" hreflang="ang" data-title="Mierce" data-language-autonym="Ænglisc" data-language-local-name="Old English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Ænglisc</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7" title="مرسيا – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="مرسيا" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ast mw-list-item"><a href="https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinu_de_Mercia" title="Reinu de Mercia – Asturian" lang="ast" hreflang="ast" data-title="Reinu de Mercia" data-language-autonym="Asturianu" data-language-local-name="Asturian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Asturianu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-azb mw-list-item"><a href="https://azb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%A7" title="مرسیا – South Azerbaijani" lang="azb" hreflang="azb" data-title="مرسیا" data-language-autonym="تۆرکجه" data-language-local-name="South Azerbaijani" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>تۆرکجه</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bn mw-list-item"><a href="https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B6%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC%E0%A6%BE" title="মার্শিয়া – Bangla" lang="bn" hreflang="bn" data-title="মার্শিয়া" data-language-autonym="বাংলা" data-language-local-name="Bangla" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>বাংলা</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-min-nan mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh-min-nan.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – Minnan" lang="nan" hreflang="nan" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="閩南語 / Bân-lâm-gú" data-language-local-name="Minnan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>閩南語 / Bân-lâm-gú</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be mw-list-item"><a href="https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%81%D1%96%D1%8F" title="Мерсія – Belarusian" lang="be" hreflang="be" data-title="Мерсія" data-language-autonym="Беларуская" data-language-local-name="Belarusian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be-x-old mw-list-item"><a href="https://be-tarask.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D1%8D%D1%80%D1%81%D1%96%D1%8F" title="Мэрсія – Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" lang="be-tarask" hreflang="be-tarask" data-title="Мэрсія" data-language-autonym="Беларуская (тарашкевіца)" data-language-local-name="Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская (тарашкевіца)</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bg mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D1%8A%D1%80%D1%81%D0%B8%D1%8F" title="Мърсия – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Мърсия" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Български</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-br mw-list-item"><a href="https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – Breton" lang="br" hreflang="br" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="Brezhoneg" data-language-local-name="Breton" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Brezhoneg</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A8rcia" title="Mèrcia – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Mèrcia" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercie" title="Mercie – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Mercie" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cy mw-list-item"><a href="https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mersia" title="Mersia – Welsh" lang="cy" hreflang="cy" data-title="Mersia" data-language-autonym="Cymraeg" data-language-local-name="Welsh" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Cymraeg</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-da mw-list-item"><a href="https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – Danish" lang="da" hreflang="da" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="Dansk" data-language-local-name="Danish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Dansk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-et mw-list-item"><a href="https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – Estonian" lang="et" hreflang="et" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="Eesti" data-language-local-name="Estonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Eesti</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-el mw-list-item"><a href="https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%9C%CE%B5%CF%81%CE%BA%CE%AF%CE%B1" title="Μερκία – Greek" lang="el" hreflang="el" data-title="Μερκία" data-language-autonym="Ελληνικά" data-language-local-name="Greek" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Ελληνικά</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reino_de_Mercia" title="Reino de Mercia – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Reino de Mercia" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eu mw-list-item"><a href="https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – Basque" lang="eu" hreflang="eu" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="Euskara" data-language-local-name="Basque" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Euskara</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%A7" title="مرسیا – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="مرسیا" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercie" title="Mercie – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Mercie" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fy mw-list-item"><a href="https://fy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keninkryk_Mersia" title="Keninkryk Mersia – Western Frisian" lang="fy" hreflang="fy" data-title="Keninkryk Mersia" data-language-autonym="Frysk" data-language-local-name="Western Frisian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Frysk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ga mw-list-item"><a href="https://ga.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mersia" title="Mersia – Irish" lang="ga" hreflang="ga" data-title="Mersia" data-language-autonym="Gaeilge" data-language-local-name="Irish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Gaeilge</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gl mw-list-item"><a href="https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reino_de_Mercia" title="Reino de Mercia – Galician" lang="gl" hreflang="gl" data-title="Reino de Mercia" data-language-autonym="Galego" data-language-local-name="Galician" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Galego</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-got mw-list-item"><a href="https://got.wikipedia.org/wiki/%F0%90%8C%BC%F0%90%8C%B0%F0%90%8C%B9%F0%90%8D%82%F0%90%8C%BA%F0%90%8C%BE%F0%90%8C%B0" title="𐌼𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌺𐌾𐌰 – Gothic" lang="got" hreflang="got" data-title="𐌼𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌺𐌾𐌰" data-language-autonym="𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌹𐍃𐌺" data-language-local-name="Gothic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌹𐍃𐌺</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%A8%B8%EC%8B%9C%EC%95%84_%EC%99%95%EA%B5%AD" title="머시아 왕국 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="머시아 왕국" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hy mw-list-item"><a href="https://hy.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D5%84%D5%A5%D6%80%D5%BD%D5%AB%D5%A1" title="Մերսիա – Armenian" lang="hy" hreflang="hy" data-title="Մերսիա" data-language-autonym="Հայերեն" data-language-local-name="Armenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Հայերեն</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hr mw-list-item"><a href="https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraljevstvo_Mercija" title="Kraljevstvo Mercija – Croatian" lang="hr" hreflang="hr" data-title="Kraljevstvo Mercija" data-language-autonym="Hrvatski" data-language-local-name="Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Hrvatski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-is mw-list-item"><a href="https://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mers%C3%ADa" title="Mersía – Icelandic" lang="is" hreflang="is" data-title="Mersía" data-language-autonym="Íslenska" data-language-local-name="Icelandic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Íslenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regno_di_Mercia" title="Regno di Mercia – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Regno di Mercia" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%9E%D7%9C%D7%9B%D7%AA_%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%94" title="ממלכת מרסיה – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="ממלכת מרסיה" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ka mw-list-item"><a href="https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%83%9B%E1%83%94%E1%83%A0%E1%83%A1%E1%83%98%E1%83%90" title="მერსია – Georgian" lang="ka" hreflang="ka" data-title="მერსია" data-language-autonym="ქართული" data-language-local-name="Georgian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ქართული</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ku mw-list-item"><a href="https://ku.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – Kurdish" lang="ku" hreflang="ku" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="Kurdî" data-language-local-name="Kurdish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Kurdî</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-la mw-list-item"><a href="https://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – Latin" lang="la" hreflang="la" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="Latina" data-language-local-name="Latin" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Latina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lv mw-list-item"><a href="https://lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mersija" title="Mersija – Latvian" lang="lv" hreflang="lv" data-title="Mersija" data-language-autonym="Latviešu" data-language-local-name="Latvian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Latviešu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lt mw-list-item"><a href="https://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mersija" title="Mersija – Lithuanian" lang="lt" hreflang="lt" data-title="Mersija" data-language-autonym="Lietuvių" data-language-local-name="Lithuanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Lietuvių</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mk mw-list-item"><a href="https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%81%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0" title="Мерсија – Macedonian" lang="mk" hreflang="mk" data-title="Мерсија" data-language-autonym="Македонски" data-language-local-name="Macedonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Македонски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-arz mw-list-item"><a href="https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7" title="ميرسيا – Egyptian Arabic" lang="arz" hreflang="arz" data-title="ميرسيا" data-language-autonym="مصرى" data-language-local-name="Egyptian Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>مصرى</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mzn mw-list-item"><a href="https://mzn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%DB%8C%D9%90%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%87" title="میِرسه – Mazanderani" lang="mzn" hreflang="mzn" data-title="میِرسه" data-language-autonym="مازِرونی" data-language-local-name="Mazanderani" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>مازِرونی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mwl mw-list-item"><a href="https://mwl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reino_de_la_M%C3%A9rcia" title="Reino de la Mércia – Mirandese" lang="mwl" hreflang="mwl" data-title="Reino de la Mércia" data-language-autonym="Mirandés" data-language-local-name="Mirandese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Mirandés</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koninkrijk_Mercia" title="Koninkrijk Mercia – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Koninkrijk Mercia" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%9E%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B7%E3%82%A2%E7%8E%8B%E5%9B%BD" title="マーシア王国 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="マーシア王国" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konged%C3%B8mmet_Mercia" title="Kongedømmet Mercia – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Kongedømmet Mercia" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nn mw-list-item"><a href="https://nn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – Norwegian Nynorsk" lang="nn" hreflang="nn" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="Norsk nynorsk" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Nynorsk" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk nynorsk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nds mw-list-item"><a href="https://nds.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – Low German" lang="nds" hreflang="nds" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="Plattdüütsch" data-language-local-name="Low German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Plattdüütsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercja" title="Mercja – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Mercja" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reino_da_M%C3%A9rcia" title="Reino da Mércia – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Reino da Mércia" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%81%D0%B8%D1%8F" title="Мерсия – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Мерсия" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Simple English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sk mw-list-item"><a href="https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – Slovak" lang="sk" hreflang="sk" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="Slovenčina" data-language-local-name="Slovak" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenčina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%88%D0%B0" title="Мерша – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Мерша" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Српски / srpski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sh mw-list-item"><a href="https://sh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercija" title="Mercija – Serbo-Croatian" lang="sh" hreflang="sh" data-title="Mercija" data-language-autonym="Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски" data-language-local-name="Serbo-Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Suomi</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-th mw-list-item"><a href="https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%93%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%8C%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%8B%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%A2" title="ราชอาณาจักรเมอร์เซีย – Thai" lang="th" hreflang="th" data-title="ราชอาณาจักรเมอร์เซีย" data-language-autonym="ไทย" data-language-local-name="Thai" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ไทย</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%81%D1%96%D1%8F" title="Мерсія – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Мерсія" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vi mw-list-item"><a href="https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercia" title="Mercia – Vietnamese" lang="vi" hreflang="vi" data-title="Mercia" data-language-autonym="Tiếng Việt" data-language-local-name="Vietnamese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Tiếng Việt</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-wuu mw-list-item"><a href="https://wuu.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%BA%A6%E8%A5%BF%E4%BA%9A%E7%8E%8B%E5%9B%BD" 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class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> <div id="mw-indicator-coordinates" class="mw-indicator"><div class="mw-parser-output"><span id="coordinates"><a href="/wiki/Geographic_coordinate_system" title="Geographic coordinate system">Coordinates</a>: <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1156832818">.mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct,.mw-parser-output .geo-inline-hidden{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}</style><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><a class="external text" href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Mercia&params=52.6_N_1.6_W_type:adm1st_region:GB"><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">52°36′N</span> <span class="longitude">1°36′W</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">52.6°N 1.6°W</span><span style="display:none"> / <span class="geo">52.6; -1.6</span></span></span></a></span></span></div></div> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">One of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy (527–918)</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">This article is about the Anglo-Saxon kingdom. For the Spanish city, see <a href="/wiki/Murcia" title="Murcia">Murcia</a>. For other uses, see <a href="/wiki/Mercia_(disambiguation)" class="mw-disambig" title="Mercia (disambiguation)">Mercia (disambiguation)</a>.</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1257001546">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1043282317">.mw-parser-output .ib-country{border-collapse:collapse;line-height:1.2em}.mw-parser-output .ib-country td,.mw-parser-output .ib-country th{border-top:1px solid #a2a9b1;padding:0.4em 0.6em 0.4em 0.6em}.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedtoprow .infobox-header,.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedtoprow .infobox-label,.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedtoprow .infobox-data,.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedtoprow .infobox-full-data,.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedtoprow .infobox-below{border-top:1px solid #a2a9b1;padding:0.4em 0.6em 0.2em 0.6em}.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedrow .infobox-label,.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedrow .infobox-data,.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedrow .infobox-full-data{border:0;padding:0 0.6em 0.2em 0.6em}.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedbottomrow .infobox-label,.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedbottomrow .infobox-data,.mw-parser-output .ib-country .mergedbottomrow .infobox-full-data{border-top:0;border-bottom:1px solid #a2a9b1;padding:0 0.6em 0.4em 0.6em}.mw-parser-output .ib-country .infobox-header{text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .ib-country .infobox-above{font-size:125%;line-height:1.2}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-names{padding-top:0.25em;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-name-style{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .ib-country .infobox-image{padding:0.5em 0}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-anthem{border-top:1px solid #a2a9b1;padding-top:0.5em;margin-top:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-map-caption{position:relative;top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-largest,.mw-parser-output .ib-country-lang{font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-ethnic,.mw-parser-output .ib-country-religion,.mw-parser-output .ib-country-sovereignty{font-weight:normal;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-fake-li{text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-fake-li2{text-indent:0.5em;margin-left:1em;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-website{line-height:11pt}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-map-caption3{position:relative;top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-fn{text-align:left;margin:0 auto}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-fn-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .ib-country-fn-num{margin-left:1em}</style><table class="infobox ib-country vcard"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above adr"><div class="fn org country-name">Kingdom of Mercia</div><div class="ib-country-names"><a href="/wiki/Old_English_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Old English language">Old English</a>: <i lang="ang">Miercna rīċe</i><br /><a href="/wiki/Latin_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Latin language">Latin</a>: <i lang="la">Merciorum regnum</i></div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-subheader">527–918</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="/wiki/File:Mercian_Supremacy_x_4_alt.png" class="mw-file-description" title="The Kingdom of Mercia (thick line) and the kingdom's greatest extent during the Mercian Supremacy (green shading)"><img alt="The Kingdom of Mercia (thick line) and the kingdom's greatest extent during the Mercian Supremacy (green shading)" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Mercian_Supremacy_x_4_alt.png/250px-Mercian_Supremacy_x_4_alt.png" decoding="async" width="250" height="204" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Mercian_Supremacy_x_4_alt.png/375px-Mercian_Supremacy_x_4_alt.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Mercian_Supremacy_x_4_alt.png/500px-Mercian_Supremacy_x_4_alt.png 2x" data-file-width="975" data-file-height="795" /></a></span><div class="ib-country-map-caption">The Kingdom of Mercia (thick line) and the kingdom's greatest extent during the <a href="/wiki/Mercian_Supremacy" title="Mercian Supremacy">Mercian Supremacy</a> (green shading)</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Status</th><td class="infobox-data">Independent kingdom (527–879)<br /><a href="/wiki/Client_state" title="Client state">Client state</a> of <a href="/wiki/Wessex" title="Wessex">Wessex</a> (879–918)</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Official languages</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Mercian_Old_English" class="mw-redirect" title="Mercian Old English">Mercian Old English</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Religion <div class="ib-country-religion"></div></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_paganism" title="Anglo-Saxon paganism">Paganism</a><span class="nowrap"> (before 7th century)</span><br /><a href="/wiki/Christianity_in_Anglo-Saxon_England" title="Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England">Christianity</a><span class="nowrap"> (after 7th century)</span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Demonym" title="Demonym">Demonym(s)</a></th><td class="infobox-data">Mercian</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/List_of_monarchs_of_Mercia" title="List of monarchs of Mercia">Monarch</a></th><td class="infobox-data"> </td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1257001546"></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• 527–<abbr title="circa">c.</abbr><span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 535</span> </div></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Icel_of_Mercia" title="Icel of Mercia">Icel</a> (first)</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• <abbr title="circa">c.</abbr><span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 626</span>–655 </div></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Penda_of_Mercia" title="Penda of Mercia">Penda</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• 658–675 </div></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Wulfhere_of_Mercia" title="Wulfhere of Mercia">Wulfhere</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• 716–757 </div></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/%C3%86thelbald_of_Mercia" title="Æthelbald of Mercia">Æthelbald</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• 757–796 </div></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Offa_of_Mercia" title="Offa of Mercia">Offa</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• 796–821 </div></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Coenwulf_of_Mercia" title="Coenwulf of Mercia">Coenwulf</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• 821–823 </div></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Ceolwulf_I_of_Mercia" title="Ceolwulf I of Mercia">Ceolwulf</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• 823–826 </div></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Beornwulf_of_Mercia" title="Beornwulf of Mercia">Beornwulf</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• 852–874 </div></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Burgred_of_Mercia" title="Burgred of Mercia">Burgred</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• 874-c.879 </div></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Ceolwulf_II_of_Mercia" title="Ceolwulf II of Mercia">Ceolwulf II</a></td></tr><tr style="display:none"><td colspan="2"> </td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Legislature</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Witan" title="Witan">Witan</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Historical era</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/History_of_Anglo-Saxon_England" title="History of Anglo-Saxon England">Anglo-Saxon England</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1257001546"></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• Established </div></th><td class="infobox-data">527</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="text-indent:-0.9em;margin-left:1.2em;font-weight:normal;">• Annexed by Wessex </div></th><td class="infobox-data">918</td></tr><tr style="display:none"><td colspan="2"> </td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Currency</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Sceat" title="Sceat">Sceat</a> <br /><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_English_penny_(c._600_%E2%80%93_1066)" title="History of the English penny (c. 600 – 1066)">Penny</a></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"> <table style="width:95%; text-align:center; margin:0 auto; display:inline-table;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="text-align:center; border:0; padding-bottom:0"><div id="before-after"></div> <b>Preceded by</b></td> <td style="text-align:center;border:0; padding-bottom:0;"><b>Succeeded by</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center; border:0;"> <table style="width:100%; text-align:center; margin:0 auto; border:0;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="border:0; padding:0; vertical-align:middle;"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d2/Blank.png" decoding="async" width="22" height="15" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="3" data-file-height="2" /></span></span> </td> <td style="border:0; padding:0; vertical-align:middle; text-align:left;"><a href="/wiki/Sub-Roman_Britain" title="Sub-Roman Britain">Sub-Roman Britain</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border:0; padding:0; vertical-align:middle;"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d2/Blank.png" decoding="async" width="22" height="15" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="3" data-file-height="2" /></span></span> </td> <td style="border:0; padding:0; vertical-align:middle; text-align:left;"><a href="/wiki/Hwicce" title="Hwicce">Hwicce</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="border:0; padding:0; vertical-align:middle;"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d2/Blank.png" decoding="async" width="22" height="15" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="3" data-file-height="2" /></span></span> </td> <td style="border:0; padding:0; vertical-align:middle; text-align:left;"><a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Lindsey" title="Kingdom of Lindsey">Kingdom of Lindsey</a> </td></tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center;border:0;"> <table style="width:92%; text-align:center; margin:0 auto; border:0;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="border:0; padding:0; vertical-align:middle; text-align:right;"><a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_England" title="Kingdom of England">Kingdom of England</a> </td> <td style="border:0; padding:0; vertical-align:middle;"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d2/Blank.png" decoding="async" width="22" height="15" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="3" data-file-height="2" /></span></span> </td></tr> </tbody></table> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Today part of</th><td class="infobox-data"><div class="collapsible-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align: left; border:none; padding:0;"> <div style="line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold;"><div><a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a></div></div> <ul class="mw-collapsible-content" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin-left: 0;"><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0">• <a href="/wiki/Bedfordshire" title="Bedfordshire">Bedfordshire</a></li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0">• <a href="/wiki/Berkshire" title="Berkshire">Berkshire</a></li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0">• <a href="/wiki/Buckinghamshire" title="Buckinghamshire">Buckinghamshire</a></li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0">• <a href="/wiki/Cheshire" title="Cheshire">Cheshire</a></li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0">• <a href="/wiki/Derbyshire" title="Derbyshire">Derbyshire</a></li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0">• <a href="/wiki/Herefordshire" title="Herefordshire">Herefordshire</a></li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0">• <a href="/wiki/Hertfordshire" title="Hertfordshire">Hertfordshire</a></li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0">• <a href="/wiki/Lancashire" title="Lancashire">Lancashire</a></li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0">• <a href="/wiki/Leicestershire" title="Leicestershire">Leicestershire</a></li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0">• <a href="/wiki/Lincolnshire" title="Lincolnshire">Lincolnshire</a></li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0">• <a href="/wiki/Oxfordshire" title="Oxfordshire">Oxfordshire</a></li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0">• <a href="/wiki/Shropshire" title="Shropshire">Shropshire</a></li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0">• <a href="/wiki/Staffordshire" title="Staffordshire">Staffordshire</a></li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0">• <a href="/wiki/Surrey" title="Surrey">Surrey</a></li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0">• <a href="/wiki/Warwickshire" title="Warwickshire">Warwickshire</a></li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0">• <a href="/wiki/Worcestershire" title="Worcestershire">Worcestershire</a></li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0">• <a href="/wiki/Yorkshire" title="Yorkshire">Yorkshire</a></li></ul> </div> <div class="collapsible-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align: left; border:none; padding:0;"> <div style="line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold;"><div><a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales">Wales</a></div></div> <ul class="mw-collapsible-content" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin-left: 0;"><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0">• <a href="/wiki/Denbighshire_(historic)" title="Denbighshire (historic)">Denbighshire</a></li><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0">• <a href="/wiki/Flintshire" title="Flintshire">Flintshire</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Mercia</b> (<span class="rt-commentedText nowrap"><span class="IPA nopopups noexcerpt" lang="en-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English">/<span style="border-bottom:1px dotted"><span title="/ˈ/: primary stress follows">ˈ</span><span title="'m' in 'my'">m</span><span title="/ɜːr/: 'ur' in 'fur'">ɜːr</span><span title="/ʃ/: 'sh' in 'shy'">ʃ</span><span title="/i/: 'y' in 'happy'">i</span><span title="/ə/: 'a' in 'about'">ə</span></span>,<span class="wrap"> </span>-<span style="border-bottom:1px dotted"><span title="/ʃ/: 'sh' in 'shy'">ʃ</span><span title="/ə/: 'a' in 'about'">ə</span></span>,<span class="wrap"> </span>-<span style="border-bottom:1px dotted"><span title="'s' in 'sigh'">s</span><span title="/i/: 'y' in 'happy'">i</span><span title="/ə/: 'a' in 'about'">ə</span></span>/</a></span></span>,<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Old_English_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Old English language">Old English</a>: <i lang="ang">Miercna rīċe</i>, "kingdom of the border people"; <a href="/wiki/Latin_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Latin language">Latin</a>: <i lang="la">Merciorum regnum</i>) was one of the three main <a href="/wiki/Angles_(tribe)" title="Angles (tribe)">Anglic</a> kingdoms founded after <a href="/wiki/Sub-Roman_Britain" title="Sub-Roman Britain">Sub-Roman Britain</a> was settled by <a href="/wiki/Anglo-Saxons" title="Anglo-Saxons">Anglo-Saxons</a> in an era called the <a href="/wiki/Heptarchy" title="Heptarchy">Heptarchy</a>. It was centred on the <a href="/wiki/River_Trent" title="River Trent">River Trent</a> and its tributaries, in a region now known as the <a href="/wiki/Midlands" title="Midlands">Midlands</a> of <a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a>. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Royal_court" title="Royal court">royal court</a> moved around the kingdom without a fixed capital city. Early in its existence <a href="/wiki/Repton" title="Repton">Repton</a> seems to have been the location of an important royal estate. According to the <i><a href="/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_Chronicle" title="Anglo-Saxon Chronicle">Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</a></i>, it was from Repton in 873–874 that the <a href="/wiki/Great_Heathen_Army" title="Great Heathen Army">Great Heathen Army</a> deposed the King of Mercia. Slightly earlier, <a href="/wiki/Offa_of_Mercia" title="Offa of Mercia">King Offa</a> seems to have favoured <a href="/wiki/Tamworth,_Staffordshire" title="Tamworth, Staffordshire">Tamworth</a>. It was there where he was crowned and spent many a Christmas. </p><p>For 300 years (between 600 and 900), known as <a href="/wiki/Mercian_Supremacy" title="Mercian Supremacy">Mercian Supremacy</a> or the "Golden Age of Mercia", having annexed or gained submissions from five of the other six kingdoms of the <a href="/wiki/Heptarchy" title="Heptarchy">Heptarchy</a> (<a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_East_Anglia" title="Kingdom of East Anglia">East Anglia</a>, <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Essex" title="Kingdom of Essex">Essex</a>, <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Kent" title="Kingdom of Kent">Kent</a>, <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Sussex" title="Kingdom of Sussex">Sussex</a> and <a href="/wiki/Wessex" title="Wessex">Wessex</a>), Mercia dominated England south of the <a href="/wiki/Humber" title="Humber">Humber</a> estuary. During <a href="/wiki/King_Offa" class="mw-redirect" title="King Offa">King Offa</a>'s reign, a <a href="/wiki/Offa%27s_Dyke" title="Offa's Dyke">dyke</a> was created as the boundary between Mercia and the Welsh kingdoms. <a href="/wiki/Nicholas_Brooks_(historian)" title="Nicholas Brooks (historian)">Nicholas Brooks</a> noted that "the Mercians stand out as by far the most successful of the various early Anglo-Saxon peoples until the later ninth century",<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and some historians, such as <a href="/wiki/Sir_Frank_Stenton" class="mw-redirect" title="Sir Frank Stenton">Sir Frank Stenton</a>, believe the unification of England south of the <a href="/wiki/Humber" title="Humber">Humber</a> estuary was achieved during Offa's reign.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><a href="/wiki/Peada_of_Mercia" title="Peada of Mercia">King Peada</a> converted to Christianity around 656. The <a href="/wiki/Diocese_of_Mercia" class="mw-redirect" title="Diocese of Mercia">Diocese of Mercia</a> was founded in this year, with the first bishop (<a href="/wiki/Diuma" title="Diuma">Diuma</a>) based at <a href="/wiki/Repton" title="Repton">Repton</a>. The religion was firmly established in the kingdom by the late 7th century. After 13 years at Repton, 669 AD, <a href="/wiki/Chad_of_Mercia" title="Chad of Mercia">Saint Chad</a> (the fifth bishop) moved the bishopric to <a href="/wiki/Lichfield" title="Lichfield">Lichfield</a> and, in 691 AD, the Diocese of Mercia became the <a href="/wiki/Diocese_of_Lichfield" title="Diocese of Lichfield">Diocese of Lichfield</a>. There has been a diocese based in the city ever since. For a brief period between 787 and 799 or 803 the diocese was an <a href="/wiki/Archbishop_of_Lichfield" class="mw-redirect" title="Archbishop of Lichfield">archbishopric</a>. The current bishop, <a href="/wiki/Michael_Ipgrave" title="Michael Ipgrave">Michael Ipgrave</a>, is the 99th since the diocese was established. </p><p>At the end of the 9th century, following the invasions of the <a href="/wiki/Vikings" title="Vikings">Vikings</a> and their <a href="/wiki/Great_Heathen_Army" title="Great Heathen Army">Great Heathen Army</a>, <a href="/wiki/Danelaw" title="Danelaw">Danelaw</a> absorbed much of the former Mercian territory. Danelaw at its height included London, all of East Anglia and most of the North of England. </p><p>The final Mercian king, <a href="/wiki/Ceolwulf_II_of_Mercia" title="Ceolwulf II of Mercia">Ceolwulf II</a>, died in 879 with the kingdom appearing to have lost its political independence. Initially, it was ruled by a lord or <a href="/wiki/Ealdorman" title="Ealdorman">ealdorman</a> under the overlordship of <a href="/wiki/Alfred_the_Great" title="Alfred the Great">Alfred the Great</a>, who styled himself "King of the Anglo-Saxons". The kingdom had a brief period of independence in the mid-10th century and in 1016, by which time it was viewed as a province with temporary independence. <a href="/wiki/Wessex" title="Wessex">Wessex</a> conquered and united all the kingdoms into the <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_England" title="Kingdom of England">Kingdom of England</a>. The kingdom became an <a href="/wiki/Earl_of_Mercia" title="Earl of Mercia">earldom</a> until 1071. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mercia&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: History"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Early_history">Early history</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mercia&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Early history"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Staffordshire_hoard_annotated.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Staffordshire_hoard_annotated.jpg/220px-Staffordshire_hoard_annotated.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Staffordshire_hoard_annotated.jpg/330px-Staffordshire_hoard_annotated.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Staffordshire_hoard_annotated.jpg/440px-Staffordshire_hoard_annotated.jpg 2x" data-file-width="964" data-file-height="723" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/Staffordshire_Hoard" title="Staffordshire Hoard">Staffordshire Hoard</a>, discovered in a field in <a href="/wiki/Hammerwich" title="Hammerwich">Hammerwich</a>, near <a href="/wiki/Lichfield" title="Lichfield">Lichfield</a> in July 2009, is perhaps the most important collection of <a href="/wiki/Anglo-Saxon" class="mw-redirect" title="Anglo-Saxon">Anglo-Saxon</a> objects found in <a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a></figcaption></figure> <p>Mercia's exact evolution at the start of the <a href="/wiki/Anglo-Saxons" title="Anglo-Saxons">Anglo-Saxon</a> era remains more obscure than that of <a href="/wiki/Northumbria" title="Northumbria">Northumbria</a>, <a href="/wiki/History_of_Kent" title="History of Kent">Kent</a>, or even <a href="/wiki/Wessex" title="Wessex">Wessex</a>. Mercia developed an effective political structure and was <a href="/wiki/Christianisation_of_Anglo-Saxon_England" title="Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England">Christianised</a> later than the other kingdoms.<sup id="cite_ref-Cambridge466_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Cambridge466-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Archaeological surveys show that <a href="/wiki/Angles_(tribe)" title="Angles (tribe)">Angles</a> settled the lands north of the <a href="/wiki/River_Thames" title="River Thames">River Thames</a> by the 6th century. The name "Mercia" is <a href="/wiki/Mercian_Old_English" class="mw-redirect" title="Mercian Old English">Mercian Old English</a> for "boundary folk" (see <a href="/wiki/Welsh_Marches" title="Welsh Marches">Welsh Marches</a>), and the traditional interpretation is that the kingdom originated along the frontier between the native <a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales">Welsh</a> and the Anglo-Saxon invaders. However, <a href="/wiki/Peter_Hunter_Blair" title="Peter Hunter Blair">Peter Hunter Blair</a> argued an alternative interpretation: that they emerged along the frontier between <a href="/wiki/Northumbria" title="Northumbria">Northumbria</a> and the inhabitants of the <a href="/wiki/River_Trent" title="River Trent">Trent river valley</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHunter_Blair1948119–121_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHunter_Blair1948119–121-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Although its earliest boundaries remain obscure, a general agreement persists that the territory that was called "the first of the Mercians" in the <a href="/wiki/Tribal_Hidage" title="Tribal Hidage">Tribal Hidage</a> covered much of south <a href="/wiki/Derbyshire" title="Derbyshire">Derbyshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Leicestershire" title="Leicestershire">Leicestershire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Nottinghamshire" title="Nottinghamshire">Nottinghamshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Northamptonshire" title="Northamptonshire">Northamptonshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Staffordshire" title="Staffordshire">Staffordshire</a> and northern <a href="/wiki/Warwickshire" title="Warwickshire">Warwickshire</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The earliest person named in any records as a <a href="/wiki/List_of_monarchs_of_Mercia" title="List of monarchs of Mercia">king of Mercia</a> is <a href="/wiki/Creoda_of_Mercia" title="Creoda of Mercia">Creoda</a>, said to have been the great-grandson of <a href="/wiki/Icel_of_Mercia" title="Icel of Mercia">Icel</a>. Coming to power around 584, he built a fortress at <a href="/wiki/Tamworth,_Staffordshire" title="Tamworth, Staffordshire">Tamworth</a> which became the seat of Mercia's kings.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> His son <a href="/wiki/Pybba" class="mw-redirect" title="Pybba">Pybba</a> succeeded him in 593. <a href="/wiki/Cearl_of_Mercia" title="Cearl of Mercia">Cearl</a>, a kinsman of Creoda, followed Pybba in 606; in 615, Cearl gave his daughter Cwenburga in marriage to <a href="/wiki/Edwin_of_Northumbria" title="Edwin of Northumbria">Edwin</a>, king of <a href="/wiki/Deira_(kingdom)" class="mw-redirect" title="Deira (kingdom)">Deira</a>, whom he had sheltered while he was an exiled prince.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The Mercian kings were the only Anglo-Saxon <a href="/wiki/Heptarchy" title="Heptarchy">Heptarchy</a> ruling house known to claim a direct family link with a pre-migration Continental Germanic monarchy.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Penda_and_the_Mercian_Supremacy">Penda and the Mercian Supremacy</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mercia&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Penda and the Mercian Supremacy"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Penda" class="mw-redirect" title="Penda">Penda</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wulfhere" class="mw-redirect" title="Wulfhere">Wulfhere</a>, <a href="/wiki/%C3%86thelbald_of_Mercia" title="Æthelbald of Mercia">Æthelbald of Mercia</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Mercian_Supremacy" title="Mercian Supremacy">Mercian Supremacy</a></div> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Kingdoms_in_England_and_Wales_about_600_AD.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Kingdoms_in_England_and_Wales_about_600_AD.svg/200px-Kingdoms_in_England_and_Wales_about_600_AD.svg.png" decoding="async" width="200" height="251" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Kingdoms_in_England_and_Wales_about_600_AD.svg/300px-Kingdoms_in_England_and_Wales_about_600_AD.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Kingdoms_in_England_and_Wales_about_600_AD.svg/400px-Kingdoms_in_England_and_Wales_about_600_AD.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="963" data-file-height="1210" /></a><figcaption>Mercia and the main Anglo-Saxon kingdoms at about 600</figcaption></figure> <p>The next Mercian king, <a href="/wiki/Penda_of_Mercia" title="Penda of Mercia">Penda</a>, ruled from about 626 or 633 until 655. Some of what is known about Penda comes from the hostile account of <a href="/wiki/Bede" title="Bede">Bede</a>, who disliked him – both as an enemy to Bede's own <a href="/wiki/Northumbria" title="Northumbria">Northumbria</a> and as a <a href="/wiki/Paganism" title="Paganism">pagan</a>. However, Bede admits that Penda freely allowed <a href="/wiki/Early_Christianity" title="Early Christianity">Christian</a> <a href="/wiki/Missionary" title="Missionary">missionaries</a> from <a href="/wiki/Lindisfarne" title="Lindisfarne">Lindisfarne</a> into Mercia and did not restrain them from preaching. In 633 Penda and his ally <a href="/wiki/Cadwallon_ap_Cadfan" title="Cadwallon ap Cadfan">Cadwallon of Gwynedd</a> defeated and killed Edwin, who had become not only ruler of the newly unified Northumbria, but <a href="/wiki/Bretwalda" title="Bretwalda">bretwalda</a>, or high king, over the southern kingdoms. When another Northumbrian king, <a href="/wiki/Oswald_of_Northumbria" title="Oswald of Northumbria">Oswald</a>, arose and again claimed overlordship of the south, he also suffered defeat and death at the hands of Penda and his allies – in 642 at the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Maserfield" title="Battle of Maserfield">Battle of Maserfield</a>. In 655, after a period of confusion in Northumbria, Penda brought 30 sub-kings to fight the new Northumbrian king <a href="/wiki/Oswiu_of_Northumbria" class="mw-redirect" title="Oswiu of Northumbria">Oswiu</a> at the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Winwaed" class="mw-redirect" title="Battle of Winwaed">Battle of Winwaed</a>, in which Penda in turn lost the battle and his life.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The battle led to a temporary collapse of Mercian power. Penda's son <a href="/wiki/Peada" class="mw-redirect" title="Peada">Peada</a>, who had converted to Christianity at <a href="/wiki/Repton" title="Repton">Repton</a> in 653, succeeded his father as king of Mercia; Oswiu set up Peada as an under-king; but in the spring of 656 he was murdered and Oswiu assumed direct control of the whole of Mercia. A Mercian revolt in 658 threw off Northumbrian domination and resulted in the appearance of another son of Penda, <a href="/wiki/Wulfhere_of_Mercia" title="Wulfhere of Mercia">Wulfhere</a>, who ruled Mercia as an independent kingdom (though he apparently continued to render tribute to Northumbria for a while) until his death in 675. Wulfhere initially succeeded in restoring the power of Mercia, but the end of his reign saw a serious defeat by Northumbria. The next king, <a href="/wiki/%C3%86thelred_of_Mercia" title="Æthelred of Mercia">Æthelred</a>, defeated Northumbria in the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Trent" title="Battle of the Trent">Battle of the Trent</a> in 679, settling once and for all the long-disputed control of the former <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Lindsey" title="Kingdom of Lindsey">kingdom of Lindsey</a>. Æthelred was succeeded by <a href="/wiki/Cenred_of_Mercia" class="mw-redirect" title="Cenred of Mercia">Cœnred</a>, son of Wulfhere; both these kings became better known for their religious activities than anything else, but the king who succeeded them in 709, <a href="/wiki/Ceolred_of_Mercia" title="Ceolred of Mercia">Ceolred</a>, is said in a letter of <a href="/wiki/Saint_Boniface" title="Saint Boniface">Saint Boniface</a> to have been a dissolute youth who died insane. So ended the rule of the direct descendants of Penda.<sup id="cite_ref-Cambridge466_5-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Cambridge466-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>At some point before the accession of <a href="/wiki/%C3%86thelbald_of_Mercia" title="Æthelbald of Mercia">Æthelbald</a> in 716 the Mercians conquered the region around <a href="/wiki/Wroxeter" title="Wroxeter">Wroxeter</a>, known to the Welsh as <a href="/wiki/Pengwern" title="Pengwern">Pengwern</a> or as "The Paradise of Powys". Elegies written in the persona of its <a href="/wiki/Cynddylan" title="Cynddylan">dispossessed rulers</a> record the sorrow at this loss.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEEvansFulton201941_12-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEEvansFulton201941-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Mercian_Supremacy_x_4.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Mercian_Supremacy_x_4.svg/500px-Mercian_Supremacy_x_4.svg.png" decoding="async" width="500" height="414" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Mercian_Supremacy_x_4.svg/750px-Mercian_Supremacy_x_4.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Mercian_Supremacy_x_4.svg/1000px-Mercian_Supremacy_x_4.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="2108" data-file-height="1746" /></a><figcaption>A series of maps that illustrate the increasing hegemony of Mercia during the 8th century</figcaption></figure><p>The next important king of Mercia, Æthelbald, reigned from 716 to 757. For the first few years of his reign he had to face two strong rival kings, <a href="/wiki/Wihtred_of_Kent" title="Wihtred of Kent">Wihtred of Kent</a> and <a href="/wiki/Ine_of_Wessex" title="Ine of Wessex">Ine of Wessex</a>. But when Wihtred died in 725, and Ine abdicated in 726 to become a monk in Rome, Æthelbald was free to establish Mercia's hegemony over the rest of the Anglo-Saxons south of the <a href="/wiki/Humber" title="Humber">Humber</a>. Æthelbald suffered a setback in 752, when the West Saxons under <a href="/wiki/Cuthred_of_Wessex" title="Cuthred of Wessex">Cuthred</a> defeated him, but he seems to have restored his supremacy over Wessex by 757.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In July 2009, the <a href="/wiki/Staffordshire_Hoard" title="Staffordshire Hoard">Staffordshire Hoard</a> of <a href="/wiki/Anglo-Saxons" title="Anglo-Saxons">Anglo-Saxon</a> gold was discovered by Terry Herbert in a field at Hammerwich, near Brownhills and close to <a href="/wiki/Lichfield" title="Lichfield">Lichfield</a> in Staffordshire.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Lichfield functioned as the religious centre of Mercia. The artefacts have tentatively been dated by Svante Fischer and Jean Soulat to around AD 600–800.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Whether the hoard was deposited by <a href="/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_paganism" title="Anglo-Saxon paganism">Anglo-Saxon pagans</a> or Christians remains unclear, as does the purpose of the deposit.<sup id="cite_ref-bbc_16-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-bbc-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Reign_of_Offa_and_rise_of_Wessex">Reign of Offa and rise of Wessex</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mercia&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Reign of Offa and rise of Wessex"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Anglo-Saxon_Chronicle_-_Myrcna.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Anglo-Saxon_Chronicle_-_Myrcna.jpg" decoding="async" width="176" height="62" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="176" data-file-height="62" /></a><figcaption>A mention of Mercia in the <i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</i></figcaption></figure> <p>After the murder of Æthelbald by one of his bodyguards in 757, a civil war broke out which concluded with the victory of <a href="/wiki/Offa_of_Mercia" title="Offa of Mercia">Offa</a>, a descendant of Pybba. Offa (reigned 757 to 796) had to build anew the hegemony which his predecessor had exercised over the southern English, and he did this so successfully that he became the greatest king Mercia had ever known. Not only did he win battles and dominate <a href="/wiki/Southern_England" title="Southern England">Southern England</a>, but also he took an active hand in administering the affairs of his kingdom, founding <a href="/wiki/Market_town" title="Market town">market towns</a> and overseeing the first major issues of gold <a href="/wiki/Coin" title="Coin">coins</a> in Britain; he assumed a role in the administration of the Catholic Church in England (sponsoring the short-lived <a href="/wiki/Archbishopric_of_Lichfield" class="mw-redirect" title="Archbishopric of Lichfield">archbishopric of Lichfield</a>, 787 to 799), and even negotiated with <a href="/wiki/Charlemagne" title="Charlemagne">Charlemagne</a> as an equal. Offa is credited with the construction of <a href="/wiki/Offa%27s_Dyke" title="Offa's Dyke">Offa's Dyke</a>, which marked the border between Wales and Mercia.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Offa exerted himself to ensure that his son <a href="/wiki/Ecgfrith_of_Mercia" title="Ecgfrith of Mercia">Ecgfrith of Mercia</a> would succeed him, but after Offa's death in July 796 Ecgfrith survived for only five months, and the kingdom passed to a distant relative named <a href="/wiki/Coenwulf_of_Mercia" title="Coenwulf of Mercia">Coenwulf</a> in December 796. In 821 Coenwulf's brother <a href="/wiki/Ceolwulf_I_of_Mercia" title="Ceolwulf I of Mercia">Ceolwulf</a> succeeded to the Mercian kingship; he demonstrated his military prowess by his attack on and destruction of the fortress of <a href="/wiki/Deganwy" title="Deganwy">Deganwy</a> in <a href="/wiki/Gwynedd" title="Gwynedd">Gwynedd</a>. The power of the <a href="/wiki/Wessex" title="Wessex">West Saxons</a> under <a href="/wiki/Egbert_of_Wessex" class="mw-redirect" title="Egbert of Wessex">Egbert</a> (King of Wessex from 802 to 839) grew during this period, however, and in 825 Egbert defeated the Mercian king <a href="/wiki/Beornwulf_of_Mercia" title="Beornwulf of Mercia">Beornwulf</a> (who had overthrown Ceolwulf in 823) at <a href="/wiki/Ellendun" class="mw-redirect" title="Ellendun">Ellendun</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The Battle of Ellendun proved decisive. At this point, Mercia lost control of <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Kent" title="Kingdom of Kent">Kent</a>, <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Sussex" title="Kingdom of Sussex">Sussex</a>, <a href="/wiki/Surrey#Formation_of_Surrey" title="Surrey">Surrey</a>, and possibly also <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Essex" title="Kingdom of Essex">Essex</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Beornwulf was slain while suppressing a revolt amongst the East Angles, and his successor, a former <a href="/wiki/Ealdorman" title="Ealdorman">ealdorman</a> named <a href="/wiki/Ludeca_of_Mercia" title="Ludeca of Mercia">Ludeca</a> (reigned 826–827), met the same fate. Another ealdorman, <a href="/wiki/Wiglaf_of_Mercia" title="Wiglaf of Mercia">Wiglaf</a>, subsequently ruled for less than two years before Egbert of Wessex drove him out of Mercia. In 830 Wiglaf regained independence for Mercia, but by this time Wessex had clearly become the dominant power in England. <i>Circa</i> 840 <a href="/wiki/Beorhtwulf_of_Mercia" title="Beorhtwulf of Mercia">Beorhtwulf</a> succeeded Wiglaf.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Arrival_of_the_Danes">Arrival of the Danes</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mercia&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Arrival of the Danes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Midland_Map_-_5_Boroughs_912_Ad.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/Midland_Map_-_5_Boroughs_912_Ad.svg/300px-Midland_Map_-_5_Boroughs_912_Ad.svg.png" decoding="async" width="300" height="253" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/Midland_Map_-_5_Boroughs_912_Ad.svg/450px-Midland_Map_-_5_Boroughs_912_Ad.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/Midland_Map_-_5_Boroughs_912_Ad.svg/600px-Midland_Map_-_5_Boroughs_912_Ad.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="581" data-file-height="490" /></a><figcaption>The Five Boroughs and English Mercia in the early 10th century<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></figcaption></figure> <p>In 852, <a href="/wiki/Burgred" class="mw-redirect" title="Burgred">Burgred</a> came to the throne, and with <a href="/wiki/Ethelwulf_of_Wessex" class="mw-redirect" title="Ethelwulf of Wessex">Ethelwulf of Wessex</a> subjugated <a href="/wiki/North_Wales" title="North Wales">North Wales</a>. In 868 Danish invaders occupied <a href="/wiki/Nottingham" title="Nottingham">Nottingham</a>. The Danes drove Burgred from his kingdom in 874 and <a href="/wiki/Ceolwulf_II_of_Mercia" title="Ceolwulf II of Mercia">Ceolwulf II</a> took his place. In 877 the Danes seized the eastern part of Mercia, which became part of the <a href="/wiki/Danelaw" title="Danelaw">Danelaw</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Ceolwulf, the last king of Mercia, left with the western half, reigned until 879.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> From about 883 until his death in 911 <a href="/wiki/%C3%86thelred,_Ealdorman_of_Mercia" class="mw-redirect" title="Æthelred, Ealdorman of Mercia">Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians</a>, ruled Mercia under the overlordship of Wessex. Alfred changed his title from 'king of the West Saxons' to 'king of the Anglo-Saxons' to reflect the acceptance of his overlordship of all southern England not under Danish rule. All coins struck in Mercia after the disappearance of Ceolwulf in <abbr title="circa">c.</abbr><span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 879</span> were in the name of the West Saxon king.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Æthelred had married <a href="/wiki/%C3%86thelfl%C3%A6d" title="Æthelflæd">Æthelflæd</a> (<abbr title="circa">c.</abbr> 870 – 12 June 918), daughter of <a href="/wiki/Alfred_the_Great" title="Alfred the Great">Alfred the Great</a> of Wessex (<span style="white-space:nowrap;"><abbr title="reigned">r.</abbr> 871–899</span>), and she assumed power when her husband became ill at some time in the last ten years of his life.<sup id="cite_ref-Costambeys_25-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Costambeys-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>After Æthelred's death in 911 Æthelflæd ruled as "Lady of the Mercians", but Alfred's successor as King of the Anglo-Saxons, <a href="/wiki/Edward_the_Elder" title="Edward the Elder">Edward the Elder</a> (<span style="white-space:nowrap;"><abbr title="reigned">r.</abbr> 899–924</span>), took control of <a href="/wiki/London" title="London">London</a> and <a href="/wiki/Oxford" title="Oxford">Oxford</a>, which Alfred had placed under Æthelred's control. Æthelflæd and her brother continued Alfred's policy of building fortified <a href="/wiki/Burh" title="Burh">burhs</a>, and by 918 they had conquered the southern Danelaw in East Anglia and Danish Mercia.<sup id="cite_ref-Costambeys_25-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Costambeys-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Loss_of_independence">Loss of independence</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mercia&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Loss of independence"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>When Æthelflæd died in 918, Ælfwynn, her daughter by Æthelred, succeeded as "Second Lady of the Mercians", but within six months Edward had deprived her of all authority in Mercia and taken her to Wessex.<sup id="cite_ref-Costambeys_25-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Costambeys-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Edward was succeeded as king of the Anglo-Saxons by his eldest son <a href="/wiki/%C3%86thelstan" title="Æthelstan">Æthelstan</a> (<span style="white-space:nowrap;"><abbr title="reigned">r.</abbr> 924–939</span>), who had been brought up in Mercia, and he was immediately accepted as king, but not in Wessex until the following year. In 927 he conquered Northumbria and thus became the first king of all England.<sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Mercia briefly regained a political existence separate from Wessex in 955–959, when Edgar became king of Mercia, and again in 1016, when <a href="/wiki/Cnut" title="Cnut">Cnut</a> and <a href="/wiki/Edmund_Ironside" title="Edmund Ironside">Edmund Ironside</a> divided the English kingdom between themselves, with Cnut taking Mercia.<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Mercia maintained its separate identity as an earldom until the <a href="/wiki/Norman_Conquest" title="Norman Conquest">Norman Conquest</a> in 1066.<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Mercian_Old_English">Mercian Old English</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mercia&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Mercian Old English"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Mercian_Old_English" class="mw-redirect" title="Mercian Old English">Mercian Old English</a>, <a href="/wiki/Old_English" title="Old English">Old English</a>, <a href="/wiki/Anglic_languages" class="mw-redirect" title="Anglic languages">Anglic languages</a>, and <a href="/wiki/AB_language" title="AB language">AB language</a></div> <p>The name 'Mercia' is a <a href="/wiki/Latinisation_(literature)" class="mw-redirect" title="Latinisation (literature)">Latinisation</a> of an <a href="/wiki/Old_English" title="Old English">Old English</a> word derived from the <a href="/wiki/Mercian_Old_English" class="mw-redirect" title="Mercian Old English">Mercian Old English</a>, <span title="Old English (ca. 450-1100)-language text"><i lang="ang">Merce</i></span>, meaning "borderland".<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The dialect thrived between the 8th and 13th centuries and was referred to by <a href="/wiki/John_Trevisa" title="John Trevisa">John Trevisa</a>, writing in 1387:<sup id="cite_ref-Elmes_30-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Elmes-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1244412712">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}</style><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>For men of the est with men of the west, as it were undir the same partie of hevene, acordeth more in sownynge of speche than men of the north with men of the south, therfore it is that Mercii, that beeth men of myddel Engelond, as it were parteners of the endes, understondeth better the side langages, northerne and southerne, than northerne and southerne understondeth either other...</p></blockquote> <p><a href="/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien" title="J. R. R. Tolkien">J. R. R. Tolkien</a> is one of many scholars who have studied and promoted the Mercian dialect of <a href="/wiki/Old_English" title="Old English">Old English</a> and introduced various Mercian terms into his <a href="/wiki/Tolkien%27s_legendarium" title="Tolkien's legendarium">legendarium</a> – especially in relation to the <a href="/wiki/Rohan_(Middle-earth)" class="mw-redirect" title="Rohan (Middle-earth)">Kingdom of Rohan</a>, otherwise known as the <i>Mark</i> (a name cognate with <i>Mercia</i>). The Mercian dialect is the basis of Tolkien's language of Rohan,<sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and a number of its kings are given the same names as monarchs who appear in the Mercian royal genealogy, e.g., Fréawine, Fréaláf and <a href="/wiki/%C3%89omer" title="Éomer">Éomer</a> (see <a href="/wiki/List_of_kings_of_the_Angles" class="mw-redirect" title="List of kings of the Angles">List of kings of the Angles</a>).<sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Mercian_religion">Mercian religion</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mercia&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Mercian religion"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Religion_in_Mercia" title="Religion in Mercia">Religion in Mercia</a>, <a href="/wiki/Chad_of_Mercia" title="Chad of Mercia">Chad of Mercia</a>, <a href="/wiki/Cedd" title="Cedd">Cedd</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wulfhere" class="mw-redirect" title="Wulfhere">Wulfhere</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Merewalh" title="Merewalh">Merewalh</a></div><figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:The_Lichfield_Angel.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/The_Lichfield_Angel.jpg/180px-The_Lichfield_Angel.jpg" decoding="async" width="180" height="240" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/The_Lichfield_Angel.jpg/270px-The_Lichfield_Angel.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/The_Lichfield_Angel.jpg/360px-The_Lichfield_Angel.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1536" data-file-height="2048" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/Lichfield_Angel" title="Lichfield Angel">Lichfield Angel</a> carving</figcaption></figure><p>The first kings of Mercia were pagans, and they resisted the encroachment of Christianity longer than other kingdoms in the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy.<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Mercian rulers remained resolutely pagan until the reign of Peada in 656, although this did not prevent them joining coalitions with Christian Welsh rulers to resist Northumbria. The first appearance of Christianity in Mercia, however, had come at least thirty years earlier, following the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Cirencester" title="Battle of Cirencester">Battle of Cirencester</a> of 628, when Penda incorporated the formerly West Saxon territories of Hwicce into his kingdom.<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The conversion of Mercia to Christianity occurred in the latter part of the 7th century, and by the time of Penda's defeat and death, Mercia was largely surrounded by Christian states. <a href="/wiki/Diuma" title="Diuma">Diuma</a>, an Irish monk and one of Oswiu's missionaries, was subsequently ordained a bishop – the first to operate in Mercia. Christianity finally gained a foothold in Mercia when Oswiu supported Peada as sub-king of the Middle Angles, requiring him to marry Oswiu's daughter, Alchflaed, and to accept her religion.<sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Decisive steps to Christianise Mercia were taken by <a href="/wiki/Chad_of_Mercia" title="Chad of Mercia">Chad</a> (Latinised by Bede as <i>Ceadda</i>), the fifth<sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> bishop to operate in Mercia. This controversial figure was given land by King Wulfhere to build a monastery at <a href="/wiki/Lichfield" title="Lichfield">Lichfield</a>. Evidence suggests that the <a href="/wiki/Lichfield_Gospels" title="Lichfield Gospels">Lichfield Gospels</a> were made in Lichfield around 730. As in other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, the many small monasteries established by the Mercian kings allowed the political/military and ecclesiastical leadership to consolidate their unity through bonds of kinship.<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Subdivisions_of_Mercia">Subdivisions of Mercia</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mercia&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Subdivisions of Mercia"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Kingdom_of_Mercia.PNG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Kingdom_of_Mercia.PNG/250px-Kingdom_of_Mercia.PNG" decoding="async" width="250" height="269" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Kingdom_of_Mercia.PNG/375px-Kingdom_of_Mercia.PNG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Kingdom_of_Mercia.PNG/500px-Kingdom_of_Mercia.PNG 2x" data-file-width="1278" data-file-height="1373" /></a><figcaption>Subdivisions of Mercia</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Mercia_map.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Mercia_map.svg/250px-Mercia_map.svg.png" decoding="async" width="250" height="272" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Mercia_map.svg/375px-Mercia_map.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Mercia_map.svg/500px-Mercia_map.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1945" data-file-height="2115" /></a><figcaption>Mercian monasteries</figcaption></figure> <p>For knowledge of the internal composition of the Kingdom of Mercia, we must rely on a document of uncertain age (possibly late 7th century), known as the <i><a href="/wiki/Tribal_Hidage" title="Tribal Hidage">Tribal Hidage</a></i> – an assessment of the extent (but not the location) of land owned (reckoned in <a href="/wiki/Hide_(unit)" title="Hide (unit)">hides</a>), and therefore the military obligations and perhaps taxes due, by each of the Mercian tribes and subject kingdoms by name. This hidage exists in several manuscript versions, some as late as the 14th century. It lists a number of peoples, such as the <a href="/wiki/Hwicce" title="Hwicce">Hwicce</a>, who have now vanished, except for reminders in various placenames. The major subdivisions of Mercia were as follows:<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <ul><li><b>South Mercians</b></li></ul> <dl><dd>The Mercians dwelling south of the River Trent. Folk groups within included the <i><a href="/wiki/Tomsaete" title="Tomsaete">Tomsæte</a></i> around <a href="/wiki/Tamworth,_Staffordshire" title="Tamworth, Staffordshire">Tamworth</a> and the <i><a href="/wiki/Pencers%C3%A6te" title="Pencersæte">Pencersæte</a></i> around <a href="/wiki/Penkridge" title="Penkridge">Penkridge</a> (roughly corresponding to southern <a href="/wiki/Staffordshire" title="Staffordshire">Staffordshire</a> and northern <a href="/wiki/Warwickshire" title="Warwickshire">Warwickshire</a>).</dd></dl> <ul><li><b>North Mercians</b></li></ul> <dl><dd>The Mercians dwelling north of the River Trent (roughly corresponding to eastern <a href="/wiki/Staffordshire" title="Staffordshire">Staffordshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Derbyshire" title="Derbyshire">Derbyshire</a> and <a href="/wiki/Nottinghamshire" title="Nottinghamshire">Nottinghamshire</a>).</dd></dl> <ul><li><b>Outer Mercia</b></li></ul> <dl><dd>An early phase of Mercian expansion, possibly 6th century (roughly corresponding to southern <a href="/wiki/Lincolnshire" title="Lincolnshire">Lincolnshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Leicestershire" title="Leicestershire">Leicestershire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Rutland" title="Rutland">Rutland</a>, <a href="/wiki/Northamptonshire" title="Northamptonshire">Northamptonshire</a> and <a href="/wiki/Oxfordshire" title="Oxfordshire">Oxfordshire</a>).</dd></dl> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Lindsey" title="Kingdom of Lindsey">Lindsey</a></b></li></ul> <dl><dd>Once a kingdom in its own right, disputed with <a href="/wiki/Northumbria" title="Northumbria">Northumbria</a> in the 7th century before finally coming under Mercian control (roughly corresponding to the historic riding of Lindsey in <a href="/wiki/Lincolnshire" title="Lincolnshire">Lincolnshire</a>).</dd></dl> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Middle_Angles" title="Middle Angles">Middle Angles</a></b></li></ul> <dl><dd>A collection of many smaller folk groups under Mercian control from the 7th century, including the <i><a href="/wiki/Spaldingas" title="Spaldingas">Spaldingas</a></i> around <a href="/wiki/Spalding,_Lincolnshire" title="Spalding, Lincolnshire">Spalding</a>, the <i>Bilmingas</i> and <i>Wideringas</i> near <a href="/wiki/Stamford,_Lincolnshire" title="Stamford, Lincolnshire">Stamford</a>, the <i>North <a href="/wiki/Gyrwas" title="Gyrwas">Gyrwe</a></i> and <i>South Gyrwe</i> near <a href="/wiki/Peterborough" title="Peterborough">Peterborough</a>, the <i>West Wixna</i>, <i>East Wixna</i>, <i>West Wille</i> and <i>East Wille</i> near <a href="/wiki/Ely,_Cambridgeshire" title="Ely, Cambridgeshire">Ely</a>, the <i>Sweordora</i>, <i>Hurstingas</i> and <i>Gifle</i> near <a href="/wiki/Bedford" title="Bedford">Bedford</a>, the <i>Hicce</i> around <a href="/wiki/Hitchin" title="Hitchin">Hitchin</a>, the <i><a href="/wiki/Cilterns%C3%A6te" title="Cilternsæte">Cilternsæte</a></i> in the <a href="/wiki/Chilterns" class="mw-redirect" title="Chilterns">Chilterns</a> and the <i>Feppingas</i> near <a href="/wiki/Thame" title="Thame">Thame</a> (roughly corresponding to <a href="/wiki/Cambridgeshire" title="Cambridgeshire">Cambridgeshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Bedfordshire" title="Bedfordshire">Bedfordshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Hertfordshire" title="Hertfordshire">Hertfordshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Buckinghamshire" title="Buckinghamshire">Buckinghamshire</a> and southern <a href="/wiki/Oxfordshire" title="Oxfordshire">Oxfordshire</a>).</dd></dl> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Hwicce" title="Hwicce">Hwicce</a></b></li></ul> <dl><dd>Once a kingdom in its own right, disputed with <a href="/wiki/Wessex" title="Wessex">Wessex</a> in the 7th century before finally coming under Mercian control. Smaller folk groups within included the <i><a href="/wiki/Stoppingas" title="Stoppingas">Stoppingas</a></i> around <a href="/wiki/Warwick" title="Warwick">Warwick</a> and the <i>Arosæte</i> near <a href="/wiki/Droitwich" class="mw-redirect" title="Droitwich">Droitwich</a> (roughly corresponding to <a href="/wiki/Gloucestershire" title="Gloucestershire">Gloucestershire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Worcestershire" title="Worcestershire">Worcestershire</a> and southern <a href="/wiki/Warwickshire" title="Warwickshire">Warwickshire</a>).</dd></dl> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Magons%C3%A6te" title="Magonsæte">Magonsæte</a></b></li></ul> <dl><dd>A people of the Welsh border, also known as the Westerna, under Mercian control from the 7th century. Smaller folk groups within included the <i>Temersæte</i> near <a href="/wiki/Hereford" title="Hereford">Hereford</a> and the <i>Hahlsæte</i> near <a href="/wiki/Ludlow" title="Ludlow">Ludlow</a> (roughly corresponding to <a href="/wiki/Herefordshire" title="Herefordshire">Herefordshire</a> and southern <a href="/wiki/Shropshire" title="Shropshire">Shropshire</a>).</dd></dl> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Wreocens%C3%A6te" title="Wreocensæte">Wreocansæte</a></b></li></ul> <dl><dd>A people of the Welsh border under Mercian control from the 7th century. Smaller folk groups within included the <i>Rhiwsæte</i> near <a href="/wiki/Wroxeter" title="Wroxeter">Wroxeter</a> and the <i>Meresæte</i> near <a href="/wiki/Chester" title="Chester">Chester</a> (roughly corresponding to northern <a href="/wiki/Shropshire" title="Shropshire">Shropshire</a>, <a href="/wiki/Flintshire" title="Flintshire">Flintshire</a> and <a href="/wiki/Cheshire" title="Cheshire">Cheshire</a>).</dd></dl> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Pecsaetan" title="Pecsaetan">Pecsæte</a></b></li></ul> <dl><dd>An isolated folk group of the <a href="/wiki/Peak_District" title="Peak District">Peak District</a>, under Mercian control from the 7th century (roughly corresponding to northern <a href="/wiki/Derbyshire" title="Derbyshire">Derbyshire</a>).</dd></dl> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Lancashire" title="Lancashire">Land Between Ribble and Mersey</a></b></li></ul> <dl><dd>A disorganised region under Mercian control from the 7th century (roughly corresponding to <a href="/wiki/Merseyside" title="Merseyside">Merseyside</a>, <a href="/wiki/Greater_Manchester" title="Greater Manchester">Greater Manchester</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Lancashire" title="Lancashire">Lancashire</a> south of the <a href="/wiki/River_Ribble" title="River Ribble">River Ribble</a>). It was the most northern extent of the kingdom, and at certain times was claimed by <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Northumbria" class="mw-redirect" title="Kingdom of Northumbria">Northumbria</a> and <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_York" class="mw-redirect" title="Kingdom of York">Danelaw</a>.</dd></dl> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Middlesex" title="Middlesex">Middle Saxons</a></b></li></ul> <dl><dd>Taken over from <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Essex" title="Kingdom of Essex">Essex</a> in the 8th century, including London (roughly corresponding to <a href="/wiki/Greater_London" title="Greater London">Greater London</a>, <a href="/wiki/Hertfordshire" title="Hertfordshire">Hertfordshire</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Surrey" title="Surrey">Surrey</a>).</dd></dl> <p>After Mercia was annexed by Wessex in the early 10th century, the West Saxon rulers divided it into <a href="/wiki/Shire" title="Shire">shires</a> modelled after their own system, cutting across traditional Mercian divisions. These shires survived mostly intact until 1974, and even today still largely follow their original boundaries. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Modern_uses_of_the_name_Mercia">Modern uses of the name Mercia</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mercia&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Modern uses of the name Mercia"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The term "midlands" is first recorded (as <i>mydlonde-shiris</i>) in 1475.<sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-39"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>39<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> John Bateman, writing in 1876 or 1883, referred to contemporary <a href="/wiki/Cheshire" title="Cheshire">Cheshire</a> and <a href="/wiki/Staffordshire" title="Staffordshire">Staffordshire</a> landholdings as being in Mercia.<sup id="cite_ref-Bateman_40-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Bateman-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The most credible source for the idea of a contemporary Mercia is <a href="/wiki/Thomas_Hardy" title="Thomas Hardy">Thomas Hardy</a>'s <a href="/wiki/Wessex" title="Wessex">Wessex</a> novels. The first of these appeared in 1874 and Hardy himself considered it the origin of the conceit of a contemporary Wessex. <a href="/wiki/Bram_Stoker" title="Bram Stoker">Bram Stoker</a> set his 1911 novel <i><a href="/wiki/The_Lair_of_the_White_Worm" title="The Lair of the White Worm">The Lair of the White Worm</a></i> in a contemporary Mercia that may have been influenced by Hardy, whose secretary was a friend of Stoker's brother. Although 'Edwardian Mercia' never had the success of 'Victorian Wessex', it was an idea that appealed to the higher echelons of society. In 1908 Sir Oliver Lodge, Principal of <a href="/wiki/Birmingham_University" class="mw-redirect" title="Birmingham University">Birmingham University</a>, wrote to his counterpart at <a href="/wiki/Bristol" title="Bristol">Bristol</a>, welcoming a new university worthy of "...the great Province of Wessex whose higher educational needs it will supply. It will be no rival, but colleague and co-worker with this university, whose province is Mercia...".<sup id="cite_ref-Cottle_&_Sherborne_41-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Cottle_&_Sherborne-41"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>41<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/British_Army" title="British Army">British Army</a> has made use of several regional identities in naming larger, amalgamated formations. After the Second World War, the infantry regiments of <a href="/wiki/Cheshire" title="Cheshire">Cheshire</a>, Staffordshire and <a href="/wiki/Worcestershire" title="Worcestershire">Worcestershire</a> were organised in the <a href="/wiki/Mercian_Brigade" title="Mercian Brigade">Mercian Brigade</a> (1948–1968). Today, "Mercia" appears in the titles of two regiments, the <a href="/wiki/Mercian_Regiment" title="Mercian Regiment">Mercian Regiment</a>, founded in 2007, which recruits in Cheshire, <a href="/wiki/Derbyshire" title="Derbyshire">Derbyshire</a>, Nottinghamshire, Worcestershire, and parts of Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, and the <a href="/wiki/Royal_Mercian_and_Lancastrian_Yeomanry" title="Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry">Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry</a>, founded in 1992 as part of the <a href="/wiki/Army_Reserve_(United_Kingdom)" title="Army Reserve (United Kingdom)">Territorial Army</a>. In 1967, the police forces of <a href="/wiki/Herefordshire" title="Herefordshire">Herefordshire</a>, Shropshire and Worcestershire were combined into the <a href="/wiki/West_Mercia_Constabulary" class="mw-redirect" title="West Mercia Constabulary">West Mercia Constabulary</a>, which changed its name to West Mercia Police in 2009.<sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-42"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Telephone directories across the Midlands include a large number of commercial and voluntary organisations using "Mercia" in their names, and in 2012 a new football league was formed called the <a href="/wiki/Shropshire_Premier_League" title="Shropshire Premier League">Mercian Regional Football League</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>43<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><a href="/wiki/Hits_Radio_Coventry_%26_Warwickshire" title="Hits Radio Coventry & Warwickshire">Hits Radio Coventry & Warwickshire</a>, a commercial radio station, was originally launched in 1980 as <b>Mercia Sound</b>, later becoming <b>Mercia FM</b>, and then <b>Mercia</b>.<sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-44"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>44<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Symbolism_and_attributed_heraldry">Symbolism and attributed heraldry</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mercia&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Symbolism and attributed heraldry"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><span class="anchor" id="Flag_of_Mercia"></span> </p> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Flag_of_Mercia_(2014).svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/Flag_of_Mercia_%282014%29.svg/250px-Flag_of_Mercia_%282014%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="250" height="150" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/Flag_of_Mercia_%282014%29.svg/375px-Flag_of_Mercia_%282014%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/Flag_of_Mercia_%282014%29.svg/500px-Flag_of_Mercia_%282014%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="600" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Saint_Alban%27s_Cross" title="Saint Alban's Cross">Cross of St Alban</a></figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:UK_COA_St_Albans.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/UK_COA_St_Albans.png/137px-UK_COA_St_Albans.png" decoding="async" width="137" height="150" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/UK_COA_St_Albans.png/206px-UK_COA_St_Albans.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/UK_COA_St_Albans.png/274px-UK_COA_St_Albans.png 2x" data-file-width="1249" data-file-height="1372" /></a><figcaption>Arms of <a href="/wiki/St_Albans" title="St Albans">St Albans</a> City Council</figcaption></figure> <p>There is no authentic indigenous Mercian heraldic device, as <a href="/wiki/Heraldry" title="Heraldry">heraldry</a> did not develop in any recognizable form until the <a href="/wiki/High_Middle_Ages" title="High Middle Ages">High Middle Ages</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-45"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>45<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Saltire" title="Saltire">saltire</a> as a symbol of Mercia may have been in use since the time of <a href="/wiki/Offa" class="mw-redirect" title="Offa">King Offa</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-autogenerated1_46-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-autogenerated1-46"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>46<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> By the 13th century, the saltire had become the <a href="/wiki/Attributed_arms" title="Attributed arms">attributed arms</a> of the Kingdom of Mercia.<sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-47"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>47<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Coat_of_arms" title="Coat of arms">arms</a> are <a href="/wiki/Blazon" title="Blazon">blazoned</a> <i>Azure, a saltire Or</i>, meaning a gold (or yellow) saltire on a blue field. The arms were subsequently used by the <a href="/wiki/St_Albans_Cathedral" title="St Albans Cathedral">Abbey of St Albans</a>, founded by King Offa of Mercia. With the dissolution of the Abbey and the incorporation of the borough of <a href="/wiki/St_Albans" title="St Albans">St Albans</a> the device was used on the town's corporate seal and was officially recorded as the arms of the town at an <a href="/wiki/Heraldic_visitation" title="Heraldic visitation">heraldic visitation</a> in 1634.<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-48"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>48<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The saltire is used as both a flag and a coat of arms. As a flag, it is flown from <a href="/wiki/Tamworth_Castle" title="Tamworth Castle">Tamworth Castle</a>, the ancient seat of the Mercian Kings, to this day.<sup id="cite_ref-autogenerated1_46-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-autogenerated1-46"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>46<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Mercia_flag.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Mercia flag created by community groups hung over the motte of Tamworth castle to celebrate Athelstan 1100" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/Mercia_flag.jpg/250px-Mercia_flag.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="188" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/Mercia_flag.jpg/375px-Mercia_flag.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/Mercia_flag.jpg/500px-Mercia_flag.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4032" data-file-height="3024" /></a><figcaption>Giant Mercia flag on Tamworth castle created by community groups in 2024</figcaption></figure> <p>The flag also appears on street signs welcoming people to <a href="/wiki/Tamworth,_Staffordshire" title="Tamworth, Staffordshire">Tamworth</a>, the "ancient capital of Mercia". It was also flown outside <a href="/wiki/Council_House,_Birmingham" title="Council House, Birmingham">Birmingham Council House</a> during 2009 while the <a href="/wiki/Staffordshire_Hoard" title="Staffordshire Hoard">Staffordshire Hoard</a> was on display in the city before being taken to the <a href="/wiki/British_Museum" title="British Museum">British Museum</a> in London. The cross has been incorporated into a number of <a href="/wiki/Coat_of_arms" title="Coat of arms">coats of arms</a> of Mercian towns, including <a href="/wiki/Tamworth,_Staffordshire" title="Tamworth, Staffordshire">Tamworth</a>, <a href="/wiki/Leek,_Staffordshire" title="Leek, Staffordshire">Leek</a> and <a href="/wiki/Blaby" title="Blaby">Blaby</a>. It was recognised as the Mercian flag by the <a href="/wiki/Flag_Institute" title="Flag Institute">Flag Institute</a> in 2014.<sup id="cite_ref-49" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-49"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>49<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The silver double-headed eagle surmounted by a golden three-pronged Saxon crown has been used by several units of the <a href="/wiki/British_Army" title="British Army">British Army</a> as a heraldic device for Mercia since 1958, including the <a href="/wiki/Mercian_Regiment" title="Mercian Regiment">Mercian Regiment</a>. It is derived from the <a href="/wiki/Attributed_arms" title="Attributed arms">attributed arms</a> of <a href="/wiki/Leofric,_Earl_of_Mercia" title="Leofric, Earl of Mercia">Leofric, Earl of Mercia</a> in the 11th century.<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-50"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>50<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Leofric is sometimes attributed a black, single-headed eagle instead.<sup id="cite_ref-51" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-51"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>51<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Wyvern" title="Wyvern">wyvern</a>, a type of <a href="/wiki/European_dragon" title="European dragon">dragon</a>, came to have a strong association with Mercia in the 19th century. The <a href="/wiki/Midland_Railway" title="Midland Railway">Midland Railway</a>, which used a white (silver) wyvern <i>sans legs</i> (legless) as its crest, having inherited it from the <a href="/wiki/Leicester_and_Swannington_Railway" title="Leicester and Swannington Railway">Leicester and Swannington Railway</a>, asserted that the "wyvern was the standard of the Kingdom of Mercia", and that it was "a quartering in the town arms of Leicester".<sup id="cite_ref-52" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-52"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>52<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The symbol appeared on numerous stations and other company buildings in the region, and was worn as a silver badge by all uniformed employees. However, in 1897 the <i>Railway Magazine</i> noted that there appeared "to be no foundation that the wyvern was associated with the Kingdom of Mercia".<sup id="cite_ref-53" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-53"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>53<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It has been associated with <a href="/wiki/Leicester" title="Leicester">Leicester</a> since the time of <a href="/wiki/Thomas,_2nd_Earl_of_Lancaster" title="Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster">Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster and Leicester</a> (c. 1278–1322), the most powerful lord in the Midlands, who used it as his personal crest, and was recorded in a heraldic visitation of the town in 1619.<sup id="cite_ref-54" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-54"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>54<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In <a href="/wiki/Bram_Stoker" title="Bram Stoker">Bram Stoker</a>'s 1911 novel <i><a href="/wiki/The_Lair_of_the_White_Worm" title="The Lair of the White Worm">The Lair of the White Worm</a></i>, explicitly set in Mercia (see above), the Mercian white wyvern <i>sans legs</i> of the Midland Railway was transformed into a monstrous beast, the eponymous worm of the title. The word "worm" is derived from <a href="/wiki/Old_English" title="Old English">Old English</a> <i>wyrm</i> and originally referred to a dragon or serpent. "Wyvern" derives from <a href="/wiki/Old_Saxon" title="Old Saxon">Old Saxon</a> <i>wivere</i>, also meaning serpent, and is etymologically related to <a href="/wiki/Viperidae" class="mw-redirect" title="Viperidae">viper</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-55" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-55"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>55<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The ultimate source for the symbolism of white dragons in England would appear to be <a href="/wiki/Geoffrey_of_Monmouth" title="Geoffrey of Monmouth">Geoffrey of Monmouth</a>'s fictional work, <i>The History of the Kings of Britain</i> (c. 1136), which recounts an incident in the life of Merlin where a red dragon is seen fighting a white dragon and prevailing. The red dragon was taken to represent the Welsh and their eventual victory over the Anglo-Saxon invaders, symbolised by the white dragon.<sup id="cite_ref-56" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-56"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>56<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The philologist and Tolkien scholar <a href="/wiki/Tom_Shippey" title="Tom Shippey">Tom Shippey</a> has suggested that the Middle Kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's <i><a href="/wiki/Farmer_Giles_of_Ham" title="Farmer Giles of Ham">Farmer Giles of Ham</a></i>, a story dominated by a dragon, is based on Mercia, the part of England where Tolkien grew up. This dragon, <a href="/wiki/Chrysophylax_Dives" class="mw-redirect" title="Chrysophylax Dives">Chrysophylax</a>, though mostly hostile, eventually helps Giles found a realm of his own, the Little Kingdom. Shippey states further that "the Mark", the land of the <a href="/wiki/Riders_of_Rohan" class="mw-redirect" title="Riders of Rohan">Riders of Rohan</a> – all of whom have names in the Mercian dialect of Old English – was once the usual term for central England, and it would have been pronounced and written "marc" rather than the West Saxon "mearc" or the Latinized "Mercia".<sup id="cite_ref-57" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-57"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>57<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mercia&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239009302">.mw-parser-output .portalbox{padding:0;margin:0.5em 0;display:table;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:175px;list-style:none}.mw-parser-output .portalborder{border:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1);padding:0.1em;background:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa)}.mw-parser-output .portalbox-entry{display:table-row;font-size:85%;line-height:110%;height:1.9em;font-style:italic;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .portalbox-image{display:table-cell;padding:0.2em;vertical-align:middle;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .portalbox-link{display:table-cell;padding:0.2em 0.2em 0.2em 0.3em;vertical-align:middle}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .portalleft{clear:left;float:left;margin:0.5em 1em 0.5em 0}.mw-parser-output .portalright{clear:right;float:right;margin:0.5em 0 0.5em 1em}}</style><ul role="navigation" aria-label="Portals" class="noprint portalbox portalborder portalright"> <li class="portalbox-entry"><span class="portalbox-image"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Peterborough_Chronicle_cropped.jpg/23px-Peterborough_Chronicle_cropped.jpg" decoding="async" width="23" height="28" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Peterborough_Chronicle_cropped.jpg/35px-Peterborough_Chronicle_cropped.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Peterborough_Chronicle_cropped.jpg/47px-Peterborough_Chronicle_cropped.jpg 2x" data-file-width="297" data-file-height="355" /></span></span></span><span class="portalbox-link"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Anglo-Saxon_England" title="Portal:Anglo-Saxon England">Anglo-Saxon England portal</a></span></li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lichfield" title="Lichfield">Lichfield</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_monarchs_of_Mercia" title="List of monarchs of Mercia">List of monarchs of Mercia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Anglo-Saxon_Mercians" title="List of Anglo-Saxon Mercians">List of Anglo-Saxon Mercians</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mercian_Old_English" class="mw-redirect" title="Mercian Old English">Mercian Old English</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mercian_Trail" title="Mercian Trail">Mercian Trail</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Old_English" title="Old English">Old English</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Repton_Abbey" title="Repton Abbey">Repton Abbey</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Staffordshire_Hoard" title="Staffordshire Hoard">Staffordshire Hoard</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tamworth,_Staffordshire" title="Tamworth, Staffordshire">Tamworth, Staffordshire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wessex" title="Wessex">Wessex</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mercia&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style 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class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Roach & Hartman, eds. (1997) <i>English Pronouncing Dictionary</i>, 15th edition. (Cambridge University Press). p. 316; see also J.C. 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September 2001<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">3 October</span> 2020</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Mercian%2C+n.+and+adj.&rft.btitle=Oxford+English+Dictionary&rft.edition=3rd&rft.date=2001-09&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.oed.com%2Fview%2FEntry%2F116678&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBrooks1989" class="citation encyclopaedia cs1">Brooks, N. (1989). "The formation of the Mercian kingdom". In Bassett, Steven (ed.). <i>The Origins of Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms</i>. 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BookSurge Publishing. p. 135. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1419680120" title="Special:BookSources/978-1419680120"><bdi>978-1419680120</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Ancestral+Secrets+of+Knighthood&rft.pages=135&rft.pub=BookSurge+Publishing&rft.date=2007&rft.isbn=978-1419680120&rft.aulast=Starr&rft.aufirst=Brian+Daniel&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DyIdG9MbuK38C%26pg%3DPA135&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Jolliffe, J. E. 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Oxford University Press. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F39145">10.1093/ref:odnb/39145</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Ceolwulf+II+%28fl.+874%E2%80%93879%29%2C+king+of+the+Mercians&rft.btitle=Oxford+Dictionary+of+National+Biography&rft.pub=Oxford+University+Press&rft.date=2004&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F39145&rft.aulast=Miller&rft.aufirst=Sean&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oxforddnb.com%2Fview%2Farticle%2F39145%3FdocPos%3D1&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span> <span style="font-size:0.95em; font-size:95%; color: var( --color-subtle, #555 )">(subscription or <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.oxforddnb.com/help/subscribe#public">UK public library membership</a> required)</span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-24">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Stewart Lyon, The coinage of Edward the Elder, in N. J. Higham & D.H. Hill, Edward the Elder 899–924, London 2001, p. 67.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Costambeys-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Costambeys_25-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Costambeys_25-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Costambeys_25-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCostambeys2004" class="citation encyclopaedia cs1">Costambeys, Marios (2004). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/8907/?back=,52311">"Æthelflæd (Ethelfleda) (d. 918), ruler of the Mercians"</a>. <i>Oxford Dictionary of National Biography</i>. Oxford University Press. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F8907">10.1093/ref:odnb/8907</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-861412-8" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-19-861412-8"><bdi>978-0-19-861412-8</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=%C3%86thelfl%C3%A6d+%28Ethelfleda%29+%28d.+918%29%2C+ruler+of+the+Mercians&rft.btitle=Oxford+Dictionary+of+National+Biography&rft.pub=Oxford+University+Press&rft.date=2004&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F8907&rft.isbn=978-0-19-861412-8&rft.aulast=Costambeys&rft.aufirst=Marios&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oxforddnb.com%2Fview%2Farticle%2F8907%2F%3Fback%3D%2C52311&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span><sup class="noprint Inline-Template"><span style="white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot" title="Wikipedia:Link rot"><span title=" Dead link tagged October 2019">permanent dead link</span></a></i><span style="visibility:hidden; color:transparent; padding-left:2px">‍</span>]</span></sup> <span style="font-size:0.95em; font-size:95%; color: var( --color-subtle, #555 )">(subscription or <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.oxforddnb.com/help/subscribe#public">UK public library membership</a> required)</span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-26"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-26">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFFoot2011" class="citation encyclopaedia cs1">Foot, Sarah (2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/833?docPos=2">"Æthelstan (Athelstan) (893/4–939), king of England"</a>. <i>Oxford Dictionary of National Biography</i>. Oxford University Press. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F833">10.1093/ref:odnb/833</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">28 August</span> 2021</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=%C3%86thelstan+%28Athelstan%29+%28893%2F4%E2%80%93939%29%2C+king+of+England&rft.btitle=Oxford+Dictionary+of+National+Biography&rft.pub=Oxford+University+Press&rft.date=2011&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F833&rft.aulast=Foot&rft.aufirst=Sarah&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oxforddnb.com%2Fview%2Farticle%2F833%3FdocPos%3D2&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-27">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110926225350/http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/sources/knytlinga.htm">"Knut's Invasion of England in 1015–16, according to the Knytlinga Saga"</a>. De Re Militari. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/sources/knytlinga.htm">the original</a> on 26 September 2011<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">17 October</span> 2011</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Knut%27s+Invasion+of+England+in+1015%E2%80%9316%2C+according+to+the+Knytlinga+Saga&rft.pub=De+Re+Militari&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.deremilitari.org%2Fresources%2Fsources%2Fknytlinga.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-28">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWilliams2004" class="citation encyclopaedia cs1">Williams, Ann (2004). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-178">"Ælfgar, earl of Mercia (d. 1062?)"</a>. <i>Oxford Dictionary of National Biography</i>. Oxford University Press. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F178">10.1093/ref:odnb/178</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-861412-8" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-19-861412-8"><bdi>978-0-19-861412-8</bdi></a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">26 September</span> 2021</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=%C3%86lfgar%2C+earl+of+Mercia+%28d.+1062%3F%29&rft.btitle=Oxford+Dictionary+of+National+Biography&rft.pub=Oxford+University+Press&rft.date=2004&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F178&rft.isbn=978-0-19-861412-8&rft.aulast=Williams&rft.aufirst=Ann&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.oxforddnb.com%2Fview%2F10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F9780198614128.001.0001%2Fodnb-9780198614128-e-178&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-29">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Mercia">"Mercia | historical kingdom, England"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Encyclopedia_Britannica" class="mw-redirect" title="Encyclopedia Britannica">Encyclopedia Britannica</a></i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">28 December</span> 2018</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Encyclopedia+Britannica&rft.atitle=Mercia+%7C+historical+kingdom%2C+England&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.britannica.com%2Fplace%2FMercia&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Elmes-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Elmes_30-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFElmes2005">Elmes (2005)</a><sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources"><span title="This citation requires a reference to the specific page or range of pages in which the material appears (September 2019)">pages needed</span></a></i>]</sup></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-31"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-31">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFTolkien2005" class="citation book cs1">Tolkien, J. R. R. (2005). <i><a href="/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings" title="The Lord of the Rings">The Lord of the Rings</a></i>. Houghton-Mifflin. pp. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780618640157/page/1133">1133–1138</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-618-64561-9" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-618-64561-9"><bdi>978-0-618-64561-9</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Lord+of+the+Rings&rft.pages=1133-1138&rft.pub=Houghton-Mifflin&rft.date=2005&rft.isbn=978-0-618-64561-9&rft.aulast=Tolkien&rft.aufirst=J.+R.+R.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span> For more on Tolkien's "translation" of the language of Rohan into <a href="/wiki/Old_English" title="Old English">Old English</a>, see especially page 1136.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-32">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFShippey2005" class="citation book cs1">Shippey, Prof. Tom (2005). <i>The Road to Middle Earth</i>. HarperCollins. pp. 139–140. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-261-10275-3" title="Special:BookSources/0-261-10275-3"><bdi>0-261-10275-3</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Road+to+Middle+Earth&rft.pages=139-140&rft.pub=HarperCollins&rft.date=2005&rft.isbn=0-261-10275-3&rft.aulast=Shippey&rft.aufirst=Prof.+Tom&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span> Shippey notes that Tolkien uses 'Mercian' forms of Anglo-Saxon, e.g., "<i><a href="/wiki/Saruman" title="Saruman">Saruman</a></i>, <i><a href="/w/index.php?title=Hasufel&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Hasufel (page does not exist)">Hasufel</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/Herugrim" class="mw-redirect" title="Herugrim">Herugrim</a></i> for 'standard' [Anglo-Saxon] <i>Searuman</i>, <i>Heasufel</i> and <i>Heorugrim</i>" Footnote page 140</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-33">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBede" class="citation book cs1">Bede. <i>Ecclesiastical History of the English People</i>. pp. Book 3, chapter 21.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Ecclesiastical+History+of+the+English+People&rft.pages=Book+3%2C+chapter+21&rft.au=Bede&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-34"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-34">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBradbury2004" class="citation book cs1">Bradbury, Jim (2004). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=3FRsBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA137"><i>The Routledge Companion to Medieval Warfare</i></a>. Routledge. p. 137. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0415221269" title="Special:BookSources/978-0415221269"><bdi>978-0415221269</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Routledge+Companion+to+Medieval+Warfare&rft.pages=137&rft.pub=Routledge&rft.date=2004&rft.isbn=978-0415221269&rft.aulast=Bradbury&rft.aufirst=Jim&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3D3FRsBgAAQBAJ%26pg%3DPA137&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-35"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-35">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBede" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Bede" title="Bede">Bede</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Ecclesiastical_History_of_the_English_People" title="Ecclesiastical History of the English People">Ecclesiastical History of the English People</a></i>. Book 3, chapter 21.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Ecclesiastical+History+of+the+English+People&rft.pages=Book+3%2C+chapter+21&rft.au=Bede&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-36"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-36">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBede" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Bede" title="Bede">Bede</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Ecclesiastical_History_of_the_English_People" title="Ecclesiastical History of the English People">Ecclesiastical History of the English People</a></i>. Book 3, chapter 24.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Ecclesiastical+History+of+the+English+People&rft.pages=Book+3%2C+chapter+24&rft.au=Bede&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-37"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-37">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFFletcher1997" class="citation book cs1">Fletcher, Richard (1997). <i>The Conversion of Europe</i>. HarperCollins. pp. 172–174, 181–182. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-00-255203-5" title="Special:BookSources/0-00-255203-5"><bdi>0-00-255203-5</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Conversion+of+Europe&rft.pages=172-174%2C+181-182&rft.pub=HarperCollins&rft.date=1997&rft.isbn=0-00-255203-5&rft.aulast=Fletcher&rft.aufirst=Richard&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-38"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-38">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFZaluckyjFeryok2001">Zaluckyj & Feryok (2001)</a><sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources"><span title="This citation requires a reference to the specific page or range of pages in which the material appears (September 2019)">pages needed</span></a></i>]</sup></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-39"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-39">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/118201?redirectedFrom=midlands#eid">"Midland", <i>Oxford English Dictionary</i></a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Bateman-40"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Bateman_40-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFBateman1971">Bateman (1971)</a><sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources"><span title="This citation requires a reference to the specific page or range of pages in which the material appears (September 2019)">pages needed</span></a></i>]</sup></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Cottle_&_Sherborne-41"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Cottle_&_Sherborne_41-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFCottleSherborne1951">Cottle & Sherborne (1951)</a><sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources"><span title="This citation requires a reference to the specific page or range of pages in which the material appears (September 2019)">pages needed</span></a></i>]</sup></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-42"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-42">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20201001155246/https://www.shropshirearchives.org.uk/collections/police-records/">"Police Records"</a>. Shropshire Archives. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.shropshirearchives.org.uk/collections/police-records/">the original</a> on 1 October 2020<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">21 May</span> 2020</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Police+Records&rft.pub=Shropshire+Archives&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.shropshirearchives.org.uk%2Fcollections%2Fpolice-records%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-43"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-43">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151126130741/http://full-time.thefa.com/Index.do?divisionseason=448491932">"The Sportsjam Regional Football League"</a>. The Football Association. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://full-time.thefa.com/Index.do?league=287177213">the original</a> on 26 November 2015<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">26 November</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=The+Sportsjam+Regional+Football+League&rft.pub=The+Football+Association&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Ffull-time.thefa.com%2FIndex.do%3Fleague%3D287177213&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-44"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-44">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/local-radio-lost-great-man-11378825">"<span class="cs1-kern-left"></span>'Local radio has lost a great man' - tributes made to founder of Mercia Sound"</a>. Coventry Telegraph. 25 May 2016<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">27 March</span> 2022</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=%27Local+radio+has+lost+a+great+man%27+-+tributes+made+to+founder+of+Mercia+Sound&rft.pub=Coventry+Telegraph&rft.date=2016-05-25&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.coventrytelegraph.net%2Fnews%2Fcoventry-news%2Flocal-radio-lost-great-man-11378825&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-45"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-45">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFFox-Davies1909">Fox-Davies (1909)</a>, pp. 1–18</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-autogenerated1-46"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-autogenerated1_46-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-autogenerated1_46-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-12991778">"Photo-gallery: Saxon trail across Mercian Staffordshire"</a>. BBC News. 7 April 2011.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Photo-gallery%3A+Saxon+trail+across+Mercian+Staffordshire&rft.date=2011-04-07&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fuk-england-stoke-staffordshire-12991778&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-47"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-47">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">College of Arms Ms. L.14, dating from the reign of <a href="/wiki/Henry_III_of_England" title="Henry III of England">Henry III</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-48"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-48">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081016085818/http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk/herts.html">"Civic heraldry of England and Wales – Hertdordshire"</a>. civicheraldry.co.uk. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk/herts.html">the original</a> on 16 October 2008<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">15 January</span> 2008</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Civic+heraldry+of+England+and+Wales+%E2%80%93+Hertdordshire&rft.pub=civicheraldry.co.uk&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.civicheraldry.co.uk%2Fherts.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-49"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-49">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/flags/mercia/">Flag Institute: Mercia, St Alban's Cross</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-50"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-50">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">A.L. Kipling and H.L. King, <i>Head-dress Badges of the British Army</i>, Vol. 2, reprinted, Uckfield, 2006</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-51"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-51">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080628051751/http://www.ngw.nl/int/gbr/c/coventry.htm">"Heraldry of the world - Coventry"</a>. ngw.nl. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ngw.nl/int/gbr/c/coventry.htm">the original</a> on 28 June 2008<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">17 May</span> 2008</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Heraldry+of+the+world+-+Coventry&rft.pub=ngw.nl&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ngw.nl%2Fint%2Fgbr%2Fc%2Fcoventry.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-52"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-52">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Geoffrey Briggs, <i>Civic & Corporate Heraldry</i>, London 1971<br />C. W. Scot-Giles, <i>Civic Heraldry of England and Wales</i>, 2nd edition, London, 1953<br />A. C. Fox-Davies, <i>The Book of Public Arms</i>, London 1915<br />Cuthbert Hamilton Ellis, <i>The Midland Railway</i>, 1953<br />Frederick Smeeton Williams, <i>The Midland Railway: Its rise and progress: A narrative of modern enterprise</i>, 1876<br /><i>The Railway Magazine</i>, Vol. 102, 1897<br /><a href="#CITEREFDow1973">Dow (1973)</a><sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources"><span title="This citation requires a reference to the specific page or range of pages in which the material appears (September 2019)">pages needed</span></a></i>]</sup><br />Clement Edwin Stretton, <i>History of The Midland Railway</i>, 1901</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-53"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-53">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>The Railway Magazine</i>, Vol. 102, 1897</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-54"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-54">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190826100948/http://www.thiswasleicestershire.co.uk/2012/09/what-is-origin-of-leicester-wyvern.html">"Leicestershire History: What is the Origin of the Leicester Wyvern?"</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.thiswasleicestershire.co.uk/2012/09/what-is-origin-of-leicester-wyvern.html">the original</a> on 26 August 2019<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">12 June</span> 2019</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Leicestershire+History%3A+What+is+the+Origin+of+the+Leicester+Wyvern%3F&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thiswasleicestershire.co.uk%2F2012%2F09%2Fwhat-is-origin-of-leicester-wyvern.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-55"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-55">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://lccn.loc.gov/13026102">"The lair of the white worm"</a> (1st ed). LC Online Catalog. <a href="/wiki/Library_of_Congress" title="Library of Congress">Library of Congress</a> (loc.gov). Retrieved 2016-09-16.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-56"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-56">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGeoffrey_of_Monmouth1973" class="citation book cs1">Geoffrey of Monmouth (1973). <i>The History of the Kings of Britain</i>. Penguin. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780140441703" title="Special:BookSources/9780140441703"><bdi>9780140441703</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+History+of+the+Kings+of+Britain&rft.pub=Penguin&rft.date=1973&rft.isbn=9780140441703&rft.au=Geoffrey+of+Monmouth&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-57"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-57">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFShippey2005" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Tom_Shippey" title="Tom Shippey">Shippey, Tom</a> (2005) [1982]. <i><a href="/wiki/The_Road_to_Middle-Earth" title="The Road to Middle-Earth">The Road to Middle-Earth</a></i> (Third ed.). Grafton (HarperCollins). pp. 111, 139–140. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780261102750" title="Special:BookSources/9780261102750"><bdi>9780261102750</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Road+to+Middle-Earth&rft.pages=111%2C+139-140&rft.edition=Third&rft.pub=Grafton+%28HarperCollins%29&rft.date=2005&rft.isbn=9780261102750&rft.aulast=Shippey&rft.aufirst=Tom&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Sources">Sources</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mercia&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Sources"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBateman1971" class="citation book cs1">Bateman, John (1971). <i>The Great Landowners of Great Britain and Ireland</i>. Leicester University Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-391-00157-4" title="Special:BookSources/0-391-00157-4"><bdi>0-391-00157-4</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Great+Landowners+of+Great+Britain+and+Ireland&rft.pub=Leicester+University+Press&rft.date=1971&rft.isbn=0-391-00157-4&rft.aulast=Bateman&rft.aufirst=John&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCottleSherborne1951" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Basil_Cottle" title="Basil Cottle">Cottle, Basil</a>; Sherborne, J.W. (1951). <i>The Life of a University</i>. University of Bristol. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/490908616">490908616</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Life+of+a+University&rft.pub=University+of+Bristol&rft.date=1951&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F490908616&rft.aulast=Cottle&rft.aufirst=Basil&rft.au=Sherborne%2C+J.W.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDow1973" class="citation book cs1">Dow, George (1973). <i>Railway Heraldry: and other insignia</i>. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0715358962" title="Special:BookSources/978-0715358962"><bdi>978-0715358962</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Railway+Heraldry%3A+and+other+insignia&rft.place=Newton+Abbot&rft.pub=David+and+Charles&rft.date=1973&rft.isbn=978-0715358962&rft.aulast=Dow&rft.aufirst=George&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFElmes2005" class="citation book cs1">Elmes, Simon (2005). <i>Talking for Britain: A Journey Through the Nation's Dialects</i>. Penguin. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-14-051562-3" title="Special:BookSources/0-14-051562-3"><bdi>0-14-051562-3</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Talking+for+Britain%3A+A+Journey+Through+the+Nation%27s+Dialects&rft.pub=Penguin&rft.date=2005&rft.isbn=0-14-051562-3&rft.aulast=Elmes&rft.aufirst=Simon&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFEvansFulton2019" class="citation book cs1">Evans, Geraint; Fulton, Helen (2019). <i>The Cambridge History of Welsh Literature</i>. Cambridge University Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1107106765" title="Special:BookSources/978-1107106765"><bdi>978-1107106765</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Cambridge+History+of+Welsh+Literature&rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&rft.date=2019&rft.isbn=978-1107106765&rft.aulast=Evans&rft.aufirst=Geraint&rft.au=Fulton%2C+Helen&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFFalkusGillingham1989" class="citation book cs1">Falkus, Malcolm; Gillingham, John (1989). <i>Historical Atlas of Britain</i>. Kingfisher. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-86272-295-0" title="Special:BookSources/0-86272-295-0"><bdi>0-86272-295-0</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Historical+Atlas+of+Britain&rft.pub=Kingfisher&rft.date=1989&rft.isbn=0-86272-295-0&rft.aulast=Falkus&rft.aufirst=Malcolm&rft.au=Gillingham%2C+John&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFFox-Davies1909" class="citation book cs1">Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1909). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/completeguidetoh00foxdrich"><i>A Complete Guide to Heraldry</i></a>. London: T.C. & E.C. Jack. <a href="/wiki/LCCN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="LCCN (identifier)">LCCN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://lccn.loc.gov/09023803">09023803</a> – via Internet Archive.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=A+Complete+Guide+to+Heraldry&rft.place=London&rft.pub=T.C.+%26+E.C.+Jack&rft.date=1909&rft_id=info%3Alccn%2F09023803&rft.aulast=Fox-Davies&rft.aufirst=Arthur+Charles&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fcompleteguidetoh00foxdrich&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHunter_Blair1948" class="citation book cs1">Hunter Blair, Peter (1948). <i>The Northumbrians and their Southern Frontier. Archaeologia Aeliana, 4th series 26</i>. pp. 98–126.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Northumbrians+and+their+Southern+Frontier.+Archaeologia+Aeliana%2C+4th+series+26&rft.pages=98-126&rft.date=1948&rft.aulast=Hunter+Blair&rft.aufirst=Peter&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span> DOI: <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://doi.org/10.5284/1060107">https://doi.org/10.5284/1060107</a></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFThacker2005" class="citation book cs1 cs1-prop-long-vol">Thacker, Alan (2005). "England in the Seventh Century". In Fouracre, Paul (ed.). <i>The New Cambridge Medieval History</i>. Vol. c. 500 – c. 700. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0521362917" title="Special:BookSources/978-0521362917"><bdi>978-0521362917</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=England+in+the+Seventh+Century&rft.btitle=The+New+Cambridge+Medieval+History&rft.place=Cambridge&rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&rft.date=2005&rft.isbn=978-0521362917&rft.aulast=Thacker&rft.aufirst=Alan&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFZaluckyjFeryok2001" class="citation book cs1">Zaluckyj, Sarah; Feryok, Marge (2001). <span class="id-lock-registration" title="Free registration required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/merciaanglosaxon0000zalu"><i>Mercia: The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Central England</i></a></span>. Logaston. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-873827-62-8" title="Special:BookSources/1-873827-62-8"><bdi>1-873827-62-8</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Mercia%3A+The+Anglo-Saxon+Kingdom+of+Central+England&rft.pub=Logaston&rft.date=2001&rft.isbn=1-873827-62-8&rft.aulast=Zaluckyj&rft.aufirst=Sarah&rft.au=Feryok%2C+Marge&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fmerciaanglosaxon0000zalu&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> <p><br /> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mercia&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBaxter2007" class="citation book cs1">Baxter, Stephen (2007). <i>The earls of Mercia: lordship and power in late Anglo-Saxon England</i>. Oxford University Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0199230983" title="Special:BookSources/978-0199230983"><bdi>978-0199230983</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+earls+of+Mercia%3A+lordship+and+power+in+late+Anglo-Saxon+England&rft.pub=Oxford+University+Press&rft.date=2007&rft.isbn=978-0199230983&rft.aulast=Baxter&rft.aufirst=Stephen&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBrownFarr2005" class="citation book cs1">Brown, Michelle; Farr, Carol, eds. (2005). <i>Mercia: An Anglo-Saxon Kingdom in Europe</i>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0826477658" title="Special:BookSources/0826477658"><bdi>0826477658</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Mercia%3A+An+Anglo-Saxon+Kingdom+in+Europe&rft.date=2005&rft.isbn=0826477658&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGelling1989" class="citation encyclopaedia cs1">Gelling, Margaret (1989). "The Early History of Western Mercia". In Bassett, S. (ed.). <i>The Origins of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms</i>. pp. 184–201. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0718513177" title="Special:BookSources/978-0718513177"><bdi>978-0718513177</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=The+Early+History+of+Western+Mercia&rft.btitle=The+Origins+of+the+Anglo-Saxon+Kingdoms&rft.pages=184-201&rft.date=1989&rft.isbn=978-0718513177&rft.aulast=Gelling&rft.aufirst=Margaret&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWalker2000" class="citation book cs1">Walker, Ian W. (2000). <i>Mercia and the Making of England</i>. Sutton. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7509-2131-5" title="Special:BookSources/0-7509-2131-5"><bdi>0-7509-2131-5</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Mercia+and+the+Making+of+England&rft.pub=Sutton&rft.date=2000&rft.isbn=0-7509-2131-5&rft.aulast=Walker&rft.aufirst=Ian+W.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span> Also published as <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWalker2000" class="citation book cs1">Walker, Ian W. (2000). <i>Mercia and the Origins of England</i>. Sutton. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0750921315" title="Special:BookSources/0750921315"><bdi>0750921315</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Mercia+and+the+Origins+of+England&rft.pub=Sutton&rft.date=2000&rft.isbn=0750921315&rft.aulast=Walker&rft.aufirst=Ian+W.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMercia" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Mercia&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.btinternet.com/~simonmarchini/History/History_Measham.htm">Mercian History: History Project</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070621175054/http://www.btinternet.com/~simonmarchini/History/History_Measham.htm">Archived</a> 21 June 2007 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/library/oe/texts/hidage.html">Recensions of manuscripts of the "Hidage"</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20040414144817/http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/library/oe/texts/hidage.html">Archived</a> 14 April 2004 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.staffordshirehoard.org.uk/">The Staffordshire Hoard</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120902013039/http://www.staffordshirehoard.org.uk/">Archived</a> 2 September 2012 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · 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abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Heptarchy" title="Template:Heptarchy"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Heptarchy" title="Template talk:Heptarchy"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Heptarchy" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Heptarchy"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Anglo-Saxon_heptarchy" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Anglo-Saxons" title="Anglo-Saxons">Anglo-Saxon</a> <a href="/wiki/Heptarchy" title="Heptarchy">heptarchy</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Kingdoms</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_East_Anglia" title="Kingdom of East Anglia">East Anglia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Essex" title="Kingdom of Essex">Essex</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Kent" title="Kingdom of Kent">Kent</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Mercia</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Hwicce" title="Hwicce">Hwicce</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Lindsey" title="Kingdom of Lindsey">Lindsey</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Middle_Saxons" title="Middle Saxons"> Middel Seaxe</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Northumbria" title="Northumbria">Northumbria</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bernicia" title="Bernicia">Bernicia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Deira" title="Deira">Deira</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Sussex" title="Kingdom of Sussex">Sussex</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wessex" title="Wessex">Wessex</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Monarchs</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bretwalda" title="Bretwalda">Bretwalda</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Iclingas" title="Iclingas">Iclingas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Frithuwald_of_Bernicia" title="Frithuwald of Bernicia">Frithuwald</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wiglaf_of_Mercia" title="Wiglaf of Mercia">Wiglaf of Mercia</a></li> <li>Lists of monarchs <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_monarchs_of_East_Anglia" title="List of monarchs of East Anglia">East Anglia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_monarchs_of_Essex" class="mw-redirect" title="List of monarchs of Essex">Essex</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_monarchs_of_Kent" title="List of monarchs of Kent">Kent</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_monarchs_of_Mercia" title="List of monarchs of Mercia">Mercia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_monarchs_of_Northumbria" title="List of monarchs of Northumbria">Northumbria</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_monarchs_of_Sussex" title="List of monarchs of Sussex">Sussex</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_monarchs_of_Wessex" title="List of monarchs of Wessex">Wessex</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Regiones" title="Regiones">Regiones</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><b>East Anglia:</b> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Norfolk" title="Norfolk">Norfolk</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Suffolk" title="Suffolk">Suffolk</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Isle_of_Ely" title="Isle of Ely"> Elge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Cambridgeshire" title="History of Cambridgeshire">Gywre</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cambridge" title="Cambridge">Herstingas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Icklingham" title="Icklingham">Ikelgas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Fens" title="The Fens"> Spalda (Spalding)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Fens" title="The Fens"> Bilmingas (part of south Lincolnshire)</a></li></ul></li> <li><b>Essex:</b> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Brahhingas" title="Brahhingas">Brahhingas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bedfordshire#History" title="Bedfordshire"> Beda</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dengie" title="Dengie">Daenningas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Canvey_Island" title="Canvey Island"> Caningaege</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ingatestone" title="Ingatestone">Gegingas</a></li></ul></li> <li><b>Surrey</b> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Ealing" title="Ealing">Gillingas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Surrey#The_Saxon_tribes_and_the_sub-kingdom" title="Surrey">Godhelmingas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Havering-atte-Bower" title="Havering-atte-Bower">Haueringas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Rodings" title="The Rodings">Hroðingas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hackney,_London#Place_name_origin" title="Hackney, London"> Haka</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Middle_Saxons" title="Middle Saxons">Middle Saxons</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Harringay" title="Harringay"> Haering</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Surrey#The_formation_of_Surrey" title="Surrey">Nox-gaga and Oht-gaga</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Surrey#The_formation_of_Surrey" title="Surrey">Tetingas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tewingas" title="Tewingas">Tewingas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Waeclingas" title="Waeclingas">Waeclingas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tooting" title="Tooting">Tota</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Surrey#The_Saxon_tribes_and_the_sub-kingdom" title="Surrey">Woccingas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Paddington" title="Paddington"> Pæding-tun</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Surrey#Identified_sub-kings_of_Surrey" title="Surrey"> Frithuwald's Sūþrīge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maldon" title="Maldon">Dæningas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dengie" title="Dengie">Deningei</a></li></ul></li> <li><b>Kent:</b></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Newenden" title="Newenden">Andredsley</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Newenden" title="Newenden"> Andredes Leag</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Canterbury" title="Canterbury">Boroware</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kent" title="Kent">Cantware</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rochester,_Kent" title="Rochester, Kent"> Ceasterware </a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sandwich,_Kent" title="Sandwich, Kent">Eastorege</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Limenwara" title="Limenwara">Lympne</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Limenwara" title="Limenwara">Limenwara</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mottingham" title="Mottingham"> Modingahema</a></li> <li><b>Mercia:</b> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Alvingham" title="Alvingham">Ælfingas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/%C3%86bbingas" title="Æbbingas">Æbbingas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Aros%C3%A6te" title="Arosæte">Arosæte</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Banbury" title="History of Banbury">Banesbyrig</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Beormingas" title="Beormingas">Beormingas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bils%C3%A6te" title="Bilsæte">Bilsæte</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cilterns%C3%A6te" title="Cilternsæte">Cilternsæte</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Duddeston" title="Duddeston">Duddensæte</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gaini" title="Gaini">Gaini</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gyrwas" title="Gyrwas">Gyrwas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Glastonbury" title="Glastonbury"> Glestinga</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Husmerae" title="Husmerae">Husmerae</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lindisfaras" title="Lindisfaras">Lindisfaras</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Magons%C3%A6te" title="Magonsæte">Magonsæte</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Middle_Angles" title="Middle Angles">Middle Angles</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nottinghamshire" title="Nottinghamshire">North Engle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Peak_District" title="Peak District"> Pecset</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pecsaetan" title="Pecsaetan">Pecsæte</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pencers%C3%A6te" title="Pencersæte">Pencersæte</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Repton" title="Repton">Reagesate</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thames_Valley" title="Thames Valley"> South Engele</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Snotingas" title="Snotingas">Snotingas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Southumbrians" title="Southumbrians">Southumbrians</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spaldingas" title="Spaldingas">Spaldingas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Stoppingas" title="Stoppingas">Stoppingas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sweordora" title="Sweordora">Sweordora</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tomsaete" title="Tomsaete">Tomsæte</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Oundle" title="Oundle">Undaium</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Weogoran&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Weogoran (page does not exist)">Weogoran</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Westerne" title="Westerne">Westerne</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wreocens%C3%A6te" title="Wreocensæte">Wreocensæte</a></li></ul></li> <li><b>Northumbria:</b> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Elmet" title="Elmet">Elmetsæte</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sunderland" title="Sunderland">Beodarsæte</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Leeds" title="Leeds"> Loidis</a></li></ul></li> <li><b>Sussex:</b> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Haestingas" title="Haestingas">Haestingas</a></li></ul></li> <li><b>Wessex:</b> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Arlingham" title="Arlingham">Eorlingas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Basingas" title="Basingas">Basingas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bristol" title="Bristol">Brycgstowl</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dorchester,_Dorset" title="Dorchester, Dorset">Dornsaete</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gewisse" title="Gewisse">Gewisse</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Glastening" title="Glastening">Glastening</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Meonwara" title="Meonwara">Meonwara</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Readingas" title="Readingas">Rēadingas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sumorsaete" title="Sumorsaete">Sumorsaete</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Somerset" title="Somerset"> Sumortūnsǣte and Glestinga</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sunningas" title="Sunningas">Sunningas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wiltshire" title="Wiltshire">Wiltsaete</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wihtwara" title="Wihtwara">Wihtwara</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/New_Forest#History" title="New Forest">Ytenes</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">See also</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_settlement_of_Britain" title="Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain">Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_Chronicle" title="Anglo-Saxon Chronicle">Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Burghal_Hidage" title="Burghal Hidage">Burghal Hidage</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Danelaw" title="Danelaw">Danelaw</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mercian_Supremacy" title="Mercian Supremacy">Mercian Supremacy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tribal_Hidage" title="Tribal Hidage">Tribal Hidage</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1038841319">.mw-parser-output .tooltip-dotted{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox authority-control" aria-labelledby="Authority_control_databases_frameless&#124;text-top&#124;10px&#124;alt=Edit_this_at_Wikidata&#124;link=https&#58;//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105092#identifiers&#124;class=noprint&#124;Edit_this_at_Wikidata" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><div id="Authority_control_databases_frameless&#124;text-top&#124;10px&#124;alt=Edit_this_at_Wikidata&#124;link=https&#58;//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105092#identifiers&#124;class=noprint&#124;Edit_this_at_Wikidata" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Help:Authority_control" title="Help:Authority control">Authority control databases</a> <span class="mw-valign-text-top noprint" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105092#identifiers" title="Edit this at Wikidata"><img alt="Edit this at Wikidata" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png" decoding="async" width="10" height="10" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/20px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="20" data-file-height="20" /></a></span></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">International</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://viaf.org/viaf/132584935">VIAF</a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">National</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://d-nb.info/gnd/4115104-5">Germany</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><span class="rt-commentedText tooltip tooltip-dotted" title="Mercia (Kingdom)"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://id.loc.gov/authorities/n85068448">United States</a></span></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb14483128f">France</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://data.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb14483128f">BnF data</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://olduli.nli.org.il/F/?func=find-b&local_base=NLX10&find_code=UID&request=987007555466805171">Israel</a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.idref.fr/066836158">IdRef</a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <p><span class="geo-inline-hidden noexcerpt"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1156832818">.mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct,.mw-parser-output .geo-inline-hidden{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}</style><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><a class="external text" href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Mercia&params=52.6_N_1.6_W_type:adm1st_region:GB"><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">52°36′N</span> <span class="longitude">1°36′W</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">52.6°N 1.6°W</span><span style="display:none"> / <span class="geo">52.6; -1.6</span></span></span></a></span></span> </p>    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