Wiglaf of Mercia

Wiglaf
Wiglaf's name in the 825 entry of the [C] manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
King of Mercia
Reign	827 – 829 (first time)
Predecessor	Ludeca
Successor	Egbert
Reign	830 – 839 (second time)
Predecessor	Egbert
Successor	Beorhtwulf
Died	839
Burial	Repton Abbey
Consort	Cynethryth
Issue	Wigmund

Wiglaf (died 839) was King of Mercia from 827 to 829 and again from 830 until his death. His ancestry is uncertain: the 820s were a period of dynastic conflict within Mercia and the genealogy of several of the kings of this time is unknown. Wigstan, his grandson, was later recorded as a descendant of Penda of Mercia, so it is possible that Wiglaf was descended from Penda, one of the most powerful seventh-century kings of Mercia.

Wiglaf succeeded Ludeca, who was killed campaigning against East Anglia. His first reign coincided with the continued rise of the rival Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex under Egbert. Egbert drove Wiglaf from the throne in 829, and ruled Mercia directly for a year. Wiglaf recovered the kingdom in 830, probably by force although it may be that Wiglaf remained subject to Egbert's overlordship. Mercia never regained the south-eastern kingdoms, but Berkshire and perhaps Essex came back into Mercian control. The causes of the fluctuating fortunes of Mercia and Wessex are a matter of speculation, but it may be that Carolingian support influenced both Egbert's ascendancy and the subsequent Mercian recovery. Although Wiglaf appears to have restored Mercia's independence, the recovery was short-lived, and later in the century Mercia was divided between Wessex and the Vikings. Wiglaf died in about 839, and was eventually succeeded by Beorhtwulf, though one tradition records his son, Wigmund as having reigned briefly. Wiglaf is buried at Repton, near Derby.

Mercia had been the dominant Anglo-Saxon kingdom for most of the 8th century, with Offa, who died in 796, the most powerful king of his time.Coenwulf, who took the Mercian throne shortly after Offa's death, was able to retain Mercian influence in the kingdoms of Kent, East Anglia and Essex, and made frequent incursions across Offa's Dyke into what is now Wales. However, Coenwulf's death, in 821, marked the beginning of a period in which the political map of England was dramatically redrawn. Although one eleventh-century source claims that Coenwulf's son, Cynehelm, briefly succeeded to the throne, it is more likely that Ceolwulf, Coenwulf's brother, was the next king. He reigned for only two years before being deposed.