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Ecgberht

Male Abt 769 - Abt 838  (~ 69 years)


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  • Name Ecgberht  
    Nickname Ecgbriht; 
    Born Abt 769  Wessex, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Christened King of, England, 829-838/9 Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Occupation 802 
    unknown 
    Christening 827  King of Wessex Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Occupation King of Wessex. Reigned 802-839. 
    Died Abt 19 Nov 838  Wessex, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Buried 839  Winchester Cathedral Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Address:
    Winchester
    Winchester, England
    United Kingdom 
    Notes 
    • {geni:about_me} '''Egbert of Wessex''' (also spelled Ecgberht, Ecgbert or Ecgbriht; 769 or 771 – 839) was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was Ealhmund of Kent. In the 780s Egbert was forced into exile by Offa of Mercia and Beorhtric of Wessex, but on Beorhtric's death in 802 Egbert returned and took the throne.

      Little is known of the first 20 years of Egbert's reign, but it is thought that he was able to maintain Wessex's independence against the kingdom of Mercia, which at that time dominated the other southern English kingdoms. In 825 Egbert defeated Beornwulf of Mercia and ended Mercia's supremacy at the Battle of Ellandun, and proceeded to take control of the Mercian dependencies in southeastern England. In 829 Egbert defeated Wiglaf of Mercia and drove him out of his kingdom, temporarily ruling Mercia directly. Later that year Egbert received the submission of the Northumbrian king at Dore. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle subsequently described Egbert as a bretwalda, or "Ruler of Britain".

      Egbert was unable to maintain this dominant position, and within a year Wiglaf regained the throne of Mercia. However, Wessex did retain control of Kent, Sussex and Surrey; these territories were given to Egbert's son Æthelwulf to rule as a subking under Egbert. When Egbert died in 839, Æthelwulf succeeded him; the southeastern kingdoms were finally absorbed into the kingdom of Wessex after Æthelwulf's death in 858.


      ===Sources===
      * English Wikipedia: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egbert_of_Wessex Egbert of Wessex]

      ===Further Reading
      *http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLAND,%20AngloSaxon%20&%20Danish%20Kings.htm#EcgberhtWessexB
      * http://faculty.history.wisc.edu/sommerville/123/123%207%20anglo-saxons%20v.htm
      * Official Website of the Royal Family - http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page16.asp
      * http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/adversaries/kingdoms/802.html
    • BIOGRAPHY Recorded as son of Ealhmund, King in Kent, he was expelled from England and sought refuge at the Frankish Court. There he met and married Raedburh (also known as Redburga), who may have been a niece of Charlemagne. Returned to England, he became Ki ng of Wessex in 802 after the death of King Beorhtric. Ostensibly he ruled in peace, as nothing was recorded until 825 when he defeated Beornwulf, King of Mercia. Egbert's son Aethelwulf drove King Baldred of Kent out of his kingdom. By 829, Egbert was regarded as king of all England. Peace did not prevail as the Cornish helped the invading Danes, only to be expelled by Egbert. He was probably in his sixties when he died in 839.
    • _P_CCINFO 1-2782
    • In the 780s Egbert was forced into exile by Offa of Mercia and Beorhtric of Wessex, but on Beorhtric's death in 802 Egbert returned and took the throne.
    • !SOURCES:
      1. Anglo-Saxon Bishops, Kings & Nobles, Eng. 104, p. 342-43
      2. The Royal Line of Succession, A16A225, p. 5-6
      3. Keiser und Koenig Hist., Gen. Hist. 25, pt 1, p. 96-97
      4. Hist. of the anglo-Saxons, Eng. 36, v. 1, p. 362-71
      !RESEARCH NOTES:
      1. Only one of the above sources (Gen. Hist. 25) shows Edith as a child in this family claiming her as a founder of a cloister. On 18 July 1941 another child by the name of Alice was sealed to this couple, it being claimed she was the wife of Louis III, King of France. None of the above sources indicate a child bythat name in this family, but even if there was she could not have been the wifeof Louis III, since he was born in 860 and died 22 years of age. It is not likely he would have married a woman some 45 to 50 years his senior. Even if she hadbeen born right after her father's death, she would still be 21 years older than Louis III.
    • Egbert (775?-839), king of Wessex (802-39), and the first Saxon king recognized as sovereign of all England (828-39). He was the son of a Kentish noble but claimed descent from Cerdic (reigned 519-34), founder of Wessex, the kingdom of the West Saxons in southern England. During the late 8th century, when King Offa of Mercia (reigned 757-96) ruled most of England, Egbert lived in exile at the court of Charlemagne. Egbert regained his kingdom in 802. He conquered the neighboring kingdoms of Kent, Cornwall, and Mercia, and by 830 he was also acknowledged as sovereign of East Anglia, Sussex, Surrey, and Northumbria and was given the title of Bretwalda (Anglo-Saxon, “ruler of the British”). During succeeding years Egbert led expeditions against the Welsh and the Vikings. The year before his death he defeated a combined force of Danes and Welsh at Hingston Down in Cornwall. He was succeeded by his son Ethelwulf, the father of Alfred."Egbert," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.
    • !SOURCES:
      1. Anglo-Saxon Bishops, Kings & Nobles, Eng. 104, p. 342-43
      2. The Royal Line of Succession, A16A225, p. 5-6
      3. Keiser und Koenig Hist., Gen. Hist. 25, pt 1, p. 96-97
      4. Hist. of the anglo-Saxons, Eng. 36, v. 1, p. 362-71
      !RESEARCH NOTES:
      1. Only one of the above sources (Gen. Hist. 25) shows Edith as a child in this family claiming her as a founder of a cloister. On 18 July 1941 another child by the name of Alice was sealed to this couple, it being claimed she was the wife of Louis III, King of France. None of the above sources indicate a child bythat name in this family, but even if there was she could not have been the wifeof Louis III, since he was born in 860 and died 22 years of age. It is not likely he would have married a woman some 45 to 50 years his senior. Even if she hadbeen born right after her father's death, she would still be 21 years older than Louis III.
    • King of England 802 - 839
    • King of England 802 - 839
    • King of England 802 - 839
    • King Egbert the First: First king of all England 827-836

      --Other Fields

      Ref Number: 328
    • [large-G675.FTW]

      REF: Univ of Hull db: The first King of all of England of the Anglo-Saxonline. Reigned 802-839, began reign as Ecbert III King of Wessex. In 800at the death of KIng Brithric, Egbert was called by the voice of hiscountrymen to assume the gov't. of Wessex, & he subsequently succeeded inreducing all the Kingdoms of the Heptarchy under his sway. His reign, along & glorious one, is memorable for the great victories he achievedover the Danes. He is known both as Ecbert, KIng of England, and EcbertIII, King of Wessex.

      REF: Fighting Kings of Wessex, Baker: When his maternal uncle EadberhtPraen of Kent revolted from Mercian control in 798, he was captured,blinded & mutilated by Ceonwulf of Mercia, leaving Ecgbert as sole heirof the Kentish throne (thus uniting the rival houses of Ceawlin of Wessex& Aethilbert of Kent). Upon Ceonwulf's invasion of Kent, Ecgbert tookrefuge in Gaul. When King Beorhtric of Wessex died (abt 802), Ecgbert hadno serious competitors to the throne of Wessex either & promptly returnedto England from the Continent. He waited on his claim to Kent, but on thevery day he was elevated to King of Wessex, the Mercians crossed theThames in force. They were met by Alderman of Wiltshire Weohstan & held.Thus, Ecgbert was poised & ready to assume sovereignity of England.

      From same: In 825 Ecgbert seized Cornwall, before he could get back toWessex, King Beornwulf of Mercia invaded Wessex. Ecgbert defeated him atEllandune, & thereby restored the ancient kingdom borders of Wessex ofIne, holding all of England S of the Thames. He then sent his sonAethilwulf into Kent to drive out Baldred, the Mercian regulus. Not onlyKent, Sussex & Surrey, but Essex too gave their submission to Aethilwulf.Suddenly Wessex was N of the Thames. Then the King of the East Anglesasked Ecgbert for protection vs. the Mercians; Beornwulf staked hischance on reducing East Anglia before Ecgbert could arrive; he failed.Ecgbert arrived & slew Beornwulf & was suddenly the master of 1/3 ofEngland. Four years of peace followed, then in 829 Ecgbert invaded &subdued Mercia and thus held all England up to the Humber; later in theyear he invaded Northumbria, who offered him acceptable terms. Thus inthree rapid, vigorous & complete campaigns, Ecgbert was master of all ofEngland. In 831, Ecgbert entered Wales & established some kind ofsupremacy or suzerainity. He allowed Wiglaf of Mercia to return & holdthe throne of Mercia. Ecgbert's hedgemony resulted in the unification ofEngland as a political unit. Although it would take a couple generationsto build, never agin did the separate English kingdoms of the heptarchyregain full sovereignity & independence. From this time forward, Englandwas one nation. His last campaign was to subdue Cornwall, which hadrevolted & joined the Danes in resistance to English rule. The A-SChronicle says he won a great victory, & to be sure the Danes neverreached Wessex nor any points of strategic import, but it is equally truethat Ecgbert never saw the Cornish Sea again.

      From same: We know nothing of Ecgbert's character other than hisactions. He seems to have been a man who acted strictly on the basis ofpracticalities, rather than passion. He tended to the business at hand &got it done accordingly. As the Danes began their Viking raids, Ecgberttransformed England from weakened & disunited to a strong & unitedkingdom in sympathy with the Frankish empire of Charlemagne & hissuccessors (& the last bastion of western Roman civilization) yetcompletely independent of it.
      Acceded 802-839.[large-G675.FTW]

      REF: Univ of Hull db: The first King of all of England of the Anglo-Saxonline. Reigned 802-839, began reign as Ecbert III King of Wessex. In 800at the death of KIng Brithric, Egbert was called by the voice of hiscountrymen to assume the gov't. of Wessex, & he subsequently succeeded inreducing all the Kingdoms of the Heptarchy under his sway. His reign, along & glorious one, is memorable for the great victories he achievedover the Danes. He is known both as Ecbert, KIng of England, and EcbertIII, King of Wessex.

      REF: Fighting Kings of Wessex, Baker: When his maternal uncle EadberhtPraen of Kent revolted from Mercian control in 798, he was captured,blinded & mutilated by Ceonwulf of Mercia, leaving Ecgbert as sole heirof the Kentish throne (thus uniting the rival houses of Ceawlin of Wessex& Aethilbert of Kent). Upon Ceonwulf's invasion of Kent, Ecgbert tookrefuge in Gaul. When King Beorhtric of Wessex died (abt 802), Ecgbert hadno serious competitors to the throne of Wessex either & promptly returnedto England from the Continent. He waited on his claim to Kent, but on thevery day he was elevated to King of Wessex, the Mercians crossed theThames in force. They were met by Alderman of Wiltshire Weohstan & held.Thus, Ecgbert was poised & ready to assume sovereignity of England.

      From same: In 825 Ecgbert seized Cornwall, before he could get back toWessex, King Beornwulf of Mercia invaded Wessex. Ecgbert defeated him atEllandune, & thereby restored the ancient kingdom borders of Wessex ofIne, holding all of England S of the Thames. He then sent his sonAethilwulf into Kent to drive out Baldred, the Mercian regulus. Not onlyKent, Sussex & Surrey, but Essex too gave their submission to Aethilwulf.Suddenly Wessex was N of the Thames. Then the King of the East Anglesasked Ecgbert for protection vs. the Mercians; Beornwulf staked hischance on reducing East Anglia before Ecgbert could arrive; he failed.Ecgbert arrived & slew Beornwulf & was suddenly the master of 1/3 ofEngland. Four years of peace followed, then in 829 Ecgbert invaded &subdued Mercia and thus held all England up to the Humber; later in theyear he invaded Northumbria, who offered him acceptable terms. Thus inthree rapid, vigorous & complete campaigns, Ecgbert was master of all ofEngland. In 831, Ecgbert entered Wales & established some kind ofsupremacy or suzerainity. He allowed Wiglaf of Mercia to return & holdthe throne of Mercia. Ecgbert's hedgemony resulted in the unification ofEngland as a political unit. Although it would take a couple generationsto build, never agin did the separate English kingdoms of the heptarchyregain full sovereignity & independence. From this time forward, Englandwas one nation. His last campaign was to subdue Cornwall, which hadrevolted & joined the Danes in resistance to English rule. The A-SChronicle says he won a great victory, & to be sure the Danes neverreached Wessex nor any points of strategic import, but it is equally truethat Ecgbert never saw the Cornish Sea again.

      From same: We know nothing of Ecgbert's character other than hisactions. He seems to have been a man who acted strictly on the basis ofpracticalities, rather than passion. He tended to the business at hand &got it done accordingly. As the Danes began their Viking raids, Ecgberttransformed England from weakened & disunited to a strong & unitedkingdom in sympathy with the Frankish empire of Charlemagne & hissuccessors (& the last bastion of western Roman civilization) yetcompletely independent of it.
      [large-G675.FTW]

      REF: Univ of Hull db: The first King of all of England of the Anglo-Saxonline. Reigned 802-839, began reign as Ecbert III King of Wessex. In 800at the death of KIng Brithric, Egbert was called by the voice of hiscountrymen to assume the gov't. of Wessex, & he subsequently succeeded inreducing all the Kingdoms of the Heptarchy under his sway. His reign, along & glorious one, is memorable for the great victories he achievedover the Danes. He is known both as Ecbert, KIng of England, and EcbertIII, King of Wessex.

      REF: Fighting Kings of Wessex, Baker: When his maternal uncle EadberhtPraen of Kent revolted from Mercian control in 798, he was captured,blinded & mutilated by Ceonwulf of Mercia, leaving Ecgbert as sole heirof the Kentish throne (thus uniting the rival houses of Ceawlin of Wessex& Aethilbert of Kent). Upon Ceonwulf's invasion of Kent, Ecgbert tookrefuge in Gaul. When King Beorhtric of Wessex died (abt 802), Ecgbert hadno serious competitors to the throne of Wessex either & promptly returnedto England from the Continent. He waited on his claim to Kent, but on thevery day he was elevated to King of Wessex, the Mercians crossed theThames in force. They were met by Alderman of Wiltshire Weohstan & held.Thus, Ecgbert was poised & ready to assume sovereignity of England.

      From same: In 825 Ecgbert seized Cornwall, before he could get back toWessex, King Beornwulf of Mercia invaded Wessex. Ecgbert defeated him atEllandune, & thereby restored the ancient kingdom borders of Wessex ofIne, holding all of England S of the Thames. He then sent his sonAethilwulf into Kent to drive out Baldred, the Mercian regulus. Not onlyKent, Sussex & Surrey, but Essex too gave their submission to Aethilwulf.Suddenly Wessex was N of the Thames. Then the King of the East Anglesasked Ecgbert for protection vs. the Mercians; Beornwulf staked hischance on reducing East Anglia before Ecgbert could arrive; he failed.Ecgbert arrived & slew Beornwulf & was suddenly the master of 1/3 ofEngland. Four years of peace followed, then in 829 Ecgbert invaded &subdued Mercia and thus held all England up to the Humber; later in theyear he invaded Northumbria, who offered him acceptable terms. Thus inthree rapid, vigorous & complete campaigns, Ecgbert was master of all ofEngland. In 831, Ecgbert entered Wales & established some kind ofsupremacy or suzerainity. He allowed Wiglaf of Mercia to return & holdthe throne of Mercia. Ecgbert's hedgemony resulted in the unification ofEngland as a political unit. Although it would take a couple generationsto build, never agin did the separate English kingdoms of the heptarchyregain full sovereignity & independence. From this time forward, Englandwas one nation. His last campaign was to subdue Cornwall, which hadrevolted & joined the Danes in resistance to English rule. The A-SChronicle says he won a great victory, & to be sure the Danes neverreached Wessex nor any points of strategic import, but it is equally truethat Ecgbert never saw the Cornish Sea again.

      From same: We know nothing of Ecgbert's character other than hisactions. He seems to have been a man who acted strictly on the basis ofpracticalities, rather than passion. He tended to the business at hand &got it done accordingly. As the Danes began their Viking raids, Ecgberttransformed England from weakened & disunited to a strong & unitedkingdom in sympathy with the Frankish empire of Charlemagne & hissuccessors (& the last bastion of western Roman civilization) yetcompletely independent of it.
      [large-G675.FTW]

      REF: Univ of Hull db: The first King of all of England of the Anglo-Saxonline. Reigned 802-839, began reign as Ecbert III King of Wessex. In 800at the death of KIng Brithric, Egbert was called by the voice of hiscountrymen to assume the gov't. of Wessex, & he subsequently succeeded inreducing all the Kingdoms of the Heptarchy under his sway. His reign, along & glorious one, is memorable for the great victories he achievedover the Danes. He is known both as Ecbert, KIng of England, and EcbertIII, King of Wessex.

      REF: Fighting Kings of Wessex, Baker: When his maternal uncle EadberhtPraen of Kent revolted from Mercian control in 798, he was captured,blinded & mutilated by Ceonwulf of Mercia, leaving Ecgbert as sole heirof the Kentish throne (thus uniting the rival houses of Ceawlin of Wessex& Aethilbert of Kent). Upon Ceonwulf's invasion of Kent, Ecgbert tookrefuge in Gaul. When King Beorhtric of Wessex died (abt 802), Ecgbert hadno serious competitors to the throne of Wessex either & promptly returnedto England from the Continent. He waited on his claim to Kent, but on thevery day he was elevated to King of Wessex, the Mercians crossed theThames in force. They were met by Alderman of Wiltshire Weohstan & held.Thus, Ecgbert was poised & ready to assume sovereignity of England.

      From same: In 825 Ecgbert seized Cornwall, before he could get back toWessex, King Beornwulf of Mercia invaded Wessex. Ecgbert defeated him atEllandune, & thereby restored the ancient kingdom borders of Wessex ofIne, holding all of England S of the Thames. He then sent his sonAethilwulf into Kent to drive out Baldred, the Mercian regulus. Not onlyKent, Sussex & Surrey, but Essex too gave their submission to Aethilwulf.Suddenly Wessex was N of the Thames. Then the King of the East Anglesasked Ecgbert for protection vs. the Mercians; Beornwulf staked hischance on reducing East Anglia before Ecgbert could arrive; he failed.Ecgbert arrived & slew Beornwulf & was suddenly the master of 1/3 ofEngland. Four years of peace followed, then in 829 Ecgbert invaded &subdued Mercia and thus held all England up to the Humber; later in theyear he invaded Northumbria, who offered him acceptable terms. Thus inthree rapid, vigorous & complete campaigns, Ecgbert was master of all ofEngland. In 831, Ecgbert entered Wales & established some kind ofsupremacy or suzerainity. He allowed Wiglaf of Mercia to return & holdthe throne of Mercia. Ecgbert's hedgemony resulted in the unification ofEngland as a political unit. Although it would take a couple generationsto build, never agin did the separate English kingdoms of the heptarchyregain full sovereignity & independence. From this time forward, Englandwas one nation. His last campaign was to subdue Cornwall, which hadrevolted & joined the Danes in resistance to English rule. The A-SChronicle says he won a great victory, & to be sure the Danes neverreached Wessex nor any points of strategic import, but it is equally truethat Ecgbert never saw the Cornish Sea again.

      From same: We know nothing of Ecgbert's character other than hisactions. He seems to have been a man who acted strictly on the basis ofpracticalities, rather than passion. He tended to the business at hand &got it done accordingly. As the Danes began their Viking raids, Ecgberttransformed England from weakened & disunited to a strong & unitedkingdom in sympathy with the Frankish empire of Charlemagne & hissuccessors (& the last bastion of western Roman civilization) yetcompletely independent of it.
    • SOURCE NOTES:
      http://home.att.net/~a.junkins/anglo1.html#X512
      http://www.afn.org/~lawson/d0012/g0000017.html#I2149
    • Kung i Wessex
    • Dates and places for all people (especially women) past this point are highly suspect and unverified.
    • From THE RUFUS PARKS PEDIGREE by Brian J.L. Berry, chart pg 45.

      !Arms ascribed to Egbert were: Azure a cross moline (sometimes a cross flory) argent.

      Page 48:

      12. EGBERT, 775 - 19 Nov. 838+; after succeeding his father as ruler of Kent, fled to the protection of CHARLEMAGNE when Mercia invaded Kent 798. In 802 the throne of Wessex was vacated by the death of Behtric, and Egbert successfully claimed it. He ruled Wessex 802-27 and was King of all England
      827-36. The male line of English kings continued from to Edward the Confessor, the female line to the present time. EGBERT was a successful consolidator, having unified the West Saxon Kingdom as never before, and having gained the overlordship of Britain from the Channel to the Firth of Forth. Some regard him as the true Bretwalda (ruler of Britain), though his power and authority outside his own Kingdom of Wessex varied from time to time and place to place. He mar. RAEDBURH, said to have been a sister of a King of Franks, and by her had Ethelwulf and Athelstan. Ethelwulf ruled Kent, Sussex, and Surrey under his father from 829, while Athelstan ruled East Anglia. While heraldry did not bloom until the Middle ages, the heralds in the 13C assigned arms to earlier English kings. The Arms ascribed to Egbert were: Azure a cross moline (sometimes a cross flory) argent.

      Source: "Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists" by Frederick Lewis Weis.

      Page 2 line (1-13):

      13. Egbert, b. 775, c. after 19 Nov. 838, son of Eahlmund, first King of Kent. Egbert was King of Wessex, 802-827, and was the first king of all England, 827-836; m. Raedburh. The male line of kings descend from him to Edward the Confessor and the femalie line to present time. (ASC 800, 823, 825, 827, 828. 836; NSE, X 209-210; Searle, 342-43). (See: Harold W. Smith, Saxon England, gens.9-13. This ref. omits Cutha (1-6) in early portion of pedigree.)
    • [Lee-Lewis.FTW]

      [lovel.FTW]

      Custom Field:<_FA# Ruled 802-839[FAVthomas.FTW]

      Egbert was King of Wessex, 802-827, and was the first King of allEngland, 827-836. Egbert formed around Wessex a kingdom so powerful thatit eventually achieved the political unification of England (mid-10thcentury). In 789 Egbert was driven into exile on the Continent by theWest Saxon king Beorhtric and his ally, the powerful Mercian king Offa.Nevertheless, Egbert succeeded to Beorhtric's throne in 802. Heimmediately removed Wessex from the Mercian Confederation andconsolidated his power as an independent ruler. In 825 he decisivelydefeated Beornwulf, king of Mercia, at the Battle of Ellendune (nowWroughton, Wiltshire). This victory was a tuning point in English historybecause it destroyed Mercian ascendancy and left Wessex the strongest ofthe English kingdoms. By virtue of long-dormant hereditary claims, Egbertwas accepted as king in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Essex. In 829 heconquered Mercia itself, but he lost it in the following year to theMercian king, Wiglaf. A year before his death Egbert won a stunningvictory over Danish and Cornish Briton invaders at Hingston Down (now inCornwall).Ecgbert III, King of Wessex & England from 802 to 839
      Born about 775
      Died on February 4, 839 and interred at Winchester Cathedral, England
      Ecgbert reigned from 802 to 839. In 800 at the decline of the power ofKing Brithric (786 - 802), Egbert was called by the voice of hiscountrymen to assume the Government of Wessex, and he subsequentlysucceeded in reducing all the Kingdoms of the Heptarchy under his sway.His reign, a long and glorious one, is memorable for the great victorieshe achieved over the Danes.

      Ecgbert married to Redburga who is said to have been a sister of Kingof Franks, who would have been Charlemagne, but there is no real proof ofthis. Little is known about Redburga.
      Ecgbert and Redburga had the following children:

      Æthelwulf
      Editha, Abbess of Polesworth
      Athelstan, Sub King of Kent

      REF: Univ of Hull db: The first King of all of England of the Anglo-Saxonline. Reigned 802-839, began reign as Ecbert III King of Wessex. In 800at the death of KIng Brithric, Egbert was called by the voice of hiscountrymen to assume the gov't. of Wessex, & he subsequently succeeded inreducing all the Kingdoms of the Heptarchy under his sway. His reign, along & glorious one, is memorable for the great victories he achievedover the Danes. He is known both as Ecbert, KIng of England, and EcbertIII, King of Wessex.

      REF: Fighting Kings of Wessex, Baker: When his maternal uncle EadberhtPraen of Kent revolted from Mercian control in 798, he was captured,blinded & mutilated by Ceonwulf of Mercia, leaving Ecgbert as sole heirof the Kentish throne (thus uniting the rival houses of Ceawlin of Wessex& Aethilbert of Kent). Upon Ceonwulf's invasion of Kent, Ecgbert tookrefuge in Gaul. When King Beorhtric of Wessex died (abt 802), Ecgbert hadno serious competitors to the throne of Wessex either & promptly returnedto England from the Continent. He waited on his claim to Kent, but on thevery day he was elevated to King of Wessex, the Mercians crossed theThames in force. They were met by Alderman of Wiltshire Weohstan & held.Thus, Ecgbert was poised & ready to assume sovereignity of England.

      From same: In 825 Ecgbert seized Cornwall, before he could get back toWessex, King Beornwulf of Mercia invaded Wessex. Ecgbert defeated him atEllandune, & thereby restored the ancient kingdom borders of Wessex ofIne, holding all of England S of the Thames. He then sent his sonAethilwulf into Kent to drive out Baldred, the Mercian regulus. Not onlyKent, Sussex & Surrey, but Essex too gave their submission to Aethilwulf.Suddenly Wessex was N of the Thames. Then the King of the East Anglesasked Ecgbert for protection vs. the Mercians; Beornwulf staked hischance on reducing East Anglia before Ecgbert could arrive; he failed.Ecgbert arrived & slew Beornwulf & was suddenly the master of 1/3 ofEngland. Four years of peace followed, then in 829 Ecgbert invaded &subdued Mercia and thus held all England up to the Humber; later in theyear he invaded Northumbria, who offered him acceptable terms. Thus inthree rapid, vigorous & complete campaigns, Ecgbert was master of all ofEngland. In 831, Ecgbert entered Wales & established some kind ofsupremacy or suzerainity. He allowed Wiglaf of Mercia to return & holdthe throne of Mercia. Ecgbert's hedgemony resulted in the unification ofEngland as a political unit. Although it would take a couple generationsto build, never agin did the separate English kingdoms of the heptarchyregain full sovereignity & independence. From this time forward, Englandwas one nation. His last campaign was to subdue Cornwall, which hadrevolted & joined the Danes in resistance to English rule. The A-SChronicle says he won a great victory, & to be sure the Danes neverreached Wessex nor any points of strategic import, but it is equally truethat Ecgbert never saw the Cornish Sea again.

      From same: We know nothing of Ecgbert's character other than his actions.He seems to have been a man who acted strictly on the basis ofpracticalities, rather than passion. He tended to the business at hand &got it done accordingly. As the Danes began their Viking raids, Ecgberttransformed England from weakened & disunited to a strong & unitedkingdom in sympathy with the Frankish empire of Charlemagne & hissuccessors (& the last bastion of western Roman civilization) yetcompletely independent of it.

      Ruled 802-839 King of the English 827 Offa, King of Mercia, had beenstrong enough to banish the young Egbert, whose cousin, Beothtric, wasjealous of his claims to the throne of Wessex, but after the death ofBeorhtric, and after the extinction of the male line of the royal houseof Mercia, Egbert returned and was acclaimed king of the West Saxons. Formany years Egbert did not try to increase his power, but when he did hecarried all before him. The Mercians where defeated and had perforce toacknowledge him as lord; the Cornish, the Kentishmen and the EastAnglians each in turn had to bow the knee to the conqueror; and when in829 the somewhat moribound kingdom of Northumbria yielded to him, histriumph was complete: he was Bretwalda. Egbert's conquest was to be moreor less permanent, for his descendants, though they often sufferedreverses, were in name and in fact generally kings of England. Thetriumph of the house of Wessex was due less perhaps to Egbert's militaryskill than to the fact that he was the last male member of a rulingfamily left in England. So great was the veneration for royal blood,which in Saxon times was broadly defined as having descent from Cerdic,first king of the
      West Saxons, who died in 534, and so mystic was the conception ofkingship, as the surviving Coronation order of Egbert, Archbishop of York(732-66), illustrates, that less kings were very willing to acknowledgeEgbert as Bretwalda, their lord and protector. Date of death could alsobe February 4, 838/39.

      EGBERT (d. 839) was King of Wessex from 802 until 839. He claimed descentfrom Ingild, a brother of King Ine of Wessex. His father was a certainEalhmund who ruled briefly in Kent c. 784 in opposition to Offa ofMercia. When King Cynewulf of Wessex died in 786, Egbert disputed withBeorhtric for possession of the kingdom. Beorhtric, Offa's protégé, cameout on top and Egbert departed into exile at the Frankish court. OnBeorhtric's death in 802 Egbert returned and established himself as Kingof Wessex in a successful revolt against Mercian ascendancy.

      Egbert ruled an independent Wessex for the next twenty-three years, ofwhich we have little record. This was succeeded by a period of frenziedactivity. In 825 he defeated King Beornwulf of Mercia at the battle ofEllendun (probably Wroughton in Wiltshire) and immediately afterwardssend his son Ethelwulf eastwards to wrest Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essexfrom Mercian overlordship. He also received an appeal for protection fromthe East Anglians who had rebelled against the Mercians. The Mercianempire seemed to be falling apart as rival claimants contended forkingship over the next few years. In 829 Egbert conquered Mercia and wenton to lay waste part of Northumbria and exact submission and tribute fromits king Eanred. For a short period he was overlord of all the Englishkingdoms. But in 830 Mercia threw off West Saxon lordship and for therest of his reign Egbert's direct authority was restricted to Wessex andthe south east.

      In has sometimes been claimed that Egbert was the first 'King of allEngland.' But this is absurd. The notion is based upon the treatment ofEgbert in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, put together in the form in which wehave it at the court of Egbert's grandson Alfred and concerned above allelse to magnify the exploits of the West Saxon royal dynasty. Merciansupremacy did not end with Offa. Ninth-century Mercia may have becomesubject to dynastic instability---and which Anglo-Saxon kingdom hadnot?---but it could still produce some imposing rulers such as Cernwulf(796-821), Wiglaf [827-40] and Beorhtwulf [840-52]. Further to the norththe Northumbrian King Eanred [808-40] continued to rule a kingdomstretching from the Humber to the First of Forth: the submission toEgbert in 829 had no lasting effect.

      Nevertheless, Egbert's reign is an important one. In the first place, heconsolidated West Saxon domination over the remaining British princes ofthe south-west in a series of campaigns in 815, 825, 830 and 838.Secondly, his annexation of south-eastern England in 825 was to bepermanent. Kent became a dependency where West Saxon princes could learnthe business of kingship; just as Egbert entrusted Kent to his sonEthelwulf, so after his accession in 839 Ethelwulf placed his sonAthelstan in authority there. Egbert and Ethelwulf were at pains tocultivate good relations with the archbishops of Canterbury; they hadlearnt the lessons of Offa's failure in this respect. In particular, theytried to ensure that the See of Canterbury should be well-disposed notjust to individual kings of Wessex but to the dynasty as a whole; intheir own words in a charter of 838, 'that we and our heirs for everafterwards may have firm and unbroken friendship from the archbishop andall his successors.' They wanted to break free from the snares ofdynastic instability and discontinuity which plagued Mercia, Northumbriaand their Frankish neighbours over the Channel. That they succeeded indoing so no doubt owed much to luck, but also something to shrewdmanagement. Finally, Egbert showed that he could cope with new enemies,the Vikings. They ravaged the Island of Sheppey in 835, and defeated himat Carhampton in 836. But when in 838 they made common cause with theBritons of the south-west Egbert defeated them at Hingston Down inCornwall. In the last battle of his life, Egbert showed that the Daneswere vulnerable. [Who's Who is Roman Britain and Anglo-Saxon England,Richard Fletcher, Shepheard-Walwyn Publishers Ltd., London, 1989]

      ----------

      Egbert, also spelled ECGBERHT, or ECGBRYHT (d. 839), king of the WestSaxons from 802 to 839, who formed around Wessex a kingdom so powerfulthat it eventually achieved the political unification of England(mid-10th century).

      The son of Ealhmund, king in Kent in 784 and 786, Egbert was a member ofa family that had formerly held the West Saxon kingship. In 789 Egbertwas driven into exile on the European continent by the West Saxon kingBeorhtric and his ally, the powerful Mercian king Offa (d. 796).Nevertheless, Egbert succeeded to Beorhtric's throne in 802. Heimmediately removed Wessex from the Mercian confederation andconsolidated his power as an independent ruler. In 825 he decisivelydefeated Beornwulf, king of Mercia, at the Battle of Ellendune (nowWroughton, Wiltshire). The victory was a turning point in English historybecause it destroyed Mercian ascendancy and left Wessex the strongest ofthe English kingdoms. By virtue of long-dormant hereditary claims, Egbertwas accepted as king in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Essex. In 829 heconquered Mercia itself, but he lost it in the following year to theMercian king Wiglaf. A year before his death Egbert won a stunningvictory over Danish and Cornish Briton invaders at Hingston Down (now inCornwall). [Encyclopaedia Britannica CD, 1997, EGBERT]

      ----------

      NOTE: The official male line for British royalty starts with Egbert andextends to Edward the Confessor; the female line extends to the presenttime. [Roderick W. Stuart, Royalty for Commoners, 3rd ed., GenealogicalPublishing Company, Baltimore MD, 1998), p. 121, Line 233, Gen. 41]

      The Seven Kingdoms
      of the Heptarchy (Northunbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex,and Wessex)
      As a result of the Anglo-Saxon invasions of Britain, the country wasbroken up into a large number of tiny local "kingdoms", each with its ownking or sub-king, some of whom were really little more than tribalchieftans. The situation was chaotic. Eventually, seven main kingdomsevolved and smaller kingdoms were incorporated into these seven mainkingdoms; e.g., Bernicia and Deira became part of Northumbria. Thesituation, however, was far from stable. There was an unbroken successionof wars in which the various rulers sought to eclipse and dominate theirneighbours. Kings who achieved overall dominance are remembered as a“Bretwalda” or “Ruler of Britain”.
      The first recorded Bretwalda was Aelle of Sussex circa 490. Next cameCeawlin of Wessex, followed by Ethelbert of Kent and Rædwald of EastAnglia. The 7th century saw Northumbrian Bretwaldas; Mercian leadersachieved dominence in the 8th century; and in A.D. 828, Ecgbert of Wessexwas recognized as the most powerful Bretwalda to date as the “Overlord ofthe Seven Kingdoms of the Heptarchy”. The only kingdom that neverproduced a Bretwalda was Essex.

      In the late 9th century, King Alfred of Wessex (Alfred the Great)achieved a special status whereby he was the first king to be recognizedas a truly national leader. He did this be de Monstrating that a commonenemy, the terrifying Danes, could be fought and beaten. Alfred's greatgrandson Edgar the Peaceable was the first king of a truly unitedEngland; but towards the end of Edgar's reign, circa 970, it becamepossible for small groups of Viking adventurers to establish themselveson remote parts of the northern coast. Scarborough derives its name fromThorgils "Skarthi" or "hare-lipped"; and his brother Kormak "Fleinn" or"arrow" has his name preserved in Flamborough. At the time of Æthelred'saccession circa 980, the Danish King Harold "Bluetooth" Gormsson wasfirmly established in the north. King Harold's son was Sweyn Forkbeard,father of King Canute.

      The Danes were eventually victorious and King Canute (ruled 1016-1035)was a welcome surprise. This reformed Viking held up Edgar the Peaceableas his model, ordered the English to obey Edgar’s laws and gave them areign of national peace with honour excelling not only that of Edgar butof any previous English king.
      ---------------------------------------------
      Egbert of Wessex
      From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

      Egbert
      Rank: 1st
      Ruled: January, 802-July, 839
      Predecessor: Offa
      Date of Birth: circa775
      Place of Birth: Wessex, England
      Wife: Redburga
      Buried: Winchester Cathedral
      Date of Death: 839
      Parents: Ealhmund and his wife?

      Egbert, is regarded as the first King of England. He reigned from 802 to829 (839?). He was born about 775 and fled from his cousin Brethrick,taking refuse in the court of Charlemagne, where he stayed for abouttwelve years, serving as one of his captains. On the death of Brethrick,who was poisoned by his wife, Egbert returned to England. In 802 atWinchester he was crowned King of the West Saxons. He subdued West Wales,or Cornwall, defeated the King of Mercia at Ellandune, annexed Kent andin 829 he became overlord of all the English kings and gave the name ofEngland to the whole realm. There are still in existence some coinsstruck by Egbert, though these are now extremely rare. In 835 Egbertdefeated a formidable army of Danes at Hingston Down in Cornwall, whenthey attempted to invade England. He died in 839, and was buried atWestminster. He married Lady Readberga (Redburga). He was succeeded byhis son, Ethelwulf.
      Egbert (also Ecgberht or Ecgbert) (b. about 770, d. 839), king of theWest Saxons, succeeded to the throne in 802 on the death of Beorhtric.

      A somewhat difficult question has arisen as to the parentage of Egbert.Under the year 825 the Chronicle states that in his eastern conquestsEgbert recovered what had been the rightful property of his kin. Thefather of Egbert was called Ealhmund, and we find an Ealhmund, king inKent, mentioned in a charter dated 784, who is identified with Egbert'sfather in a late addition to the Chronicle under the date 784. It ispossible, however, that the Chronicle in 825 refers to some claim throughIne of Wessex from whose brother Ingeld Egbert was descended.

      It is said that at an earlier period in his life he had been driven outfor three years by Offa and Beorhtric. The accession of Egbert seems tohave brought about an invasion by Ælthelmund, earl of the Hwicce, who wasdefeated by Weoxtan, earl of Wiltshire.

      In 815 Ecgbert ravaged the whole of the territories of the West Welsh,which probably at this time did not include much more than Cornwall. Thenext important occurrence in the reign was the defeat of Beornwulf ofMercia at a place called Ellandun in 825. After this victory Kent,Surrey, Sussex and Essex submitted to Wessex; while the East Anglians,who slew Beornwulf shortly afterwards, acknowledged Ecgbert as overlord.In 829 the king conquered Mercia, and Northumbria accepted him asoverlord. In 830 he led a successful expedition against the Welsh. In 836he was defeated by the Danes, but in 838 he won a battle against them andtheir allies the West Welsh at Hingston Down in Cornwall.

      Egbert married Redburga, a Frankish princess (possibly a sister of theemperor Charlemagne), and had two sons and a daughter. Egbert died inabout 839, and was buried at Winchester. He was succeeded by his son,King Ethelwulf of Wessex.

      This entry was originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
    • AFNG70H-62

      AFN:G70H-62
    • Egbert (775?-839), king of Wessex (802-39), and the first Saxon king
      recognized as sovereign of all England (828-39). He was the son of a
      Kentish noble but claimed descent from Cerdic (reigned 519-34), founder of
      Wessex, the kingdom of the West Saxons in southern England. During the
      late 8th century, when King Offa of Mercia (reigned 757-96) ruled most of
      England, Egbert lived in exile at the court of Charlemagne. Egbert
      regained his kingdom in 802. He conquered the neighboring kingdoms of
      Kent, Cornwall, and Mercia, and by 830 he was also acknowledged as
      sovereign of East Anglia, Sussex, Surrey, and Northumbria and was given
      the title of Bretwalda (Anglo-Saxon, ruler of the British). During
      succeeding years Egbert led expeditions against the Welsh and the Vikings.
      The year before his death he defeated a combined force of Danes and Welsh
      at Hingston Down in Cornwall. He was succeeded by his son Ethelwulf
      (825-58), the father of Alfred.
    • !SOURCES:
      1. Anglo-Saxon Bishops, Kings & Nobles, Eng. 104, p. 342-43
      2. The Royal Line of Succession, A16A225, p. 5-6
      3. Keiser und Koenig Hist., Gen. Hist. 25, pt 1, p. 96-97
      4. Hist. of the anglo-Saxons, Eng. 36, v. 1, p. 362-71
      !RESEARCH NOTES:
      1. Only one of the above sources (Gen. Hist. 25) shows Edith as a child in this family claiming her as a founder of a cloister. On 18 July 1941 another child by the name of Alice was sealed to this couple, it being claimed she was the wife of Louis III, King of France. None of the above sources indicate a child by that name in this family, but even if there was she could not have been the wife of Louis III, since he was born in 860 and died 22 years of age. It is not likely he would have married a woman some 45 to 50 years his senior. Even if she had been born right after her father's death, she would still be 21 years older than Louis III.
    • Expelled from England "to the land of the Franks" by Offa, King ofMercia and Beorhtric, King of Wessex in 789?. Acknowledged in Kent,Surrey, Sussex, Essex and East Anglia after his victory over theMercians at Ellendun (near Wroughton, Wiltshire) in 825. ConqueredMercia in 829 and reckoned as the eighth Bretwalda (ruler of Britain).

      Egbert (775?-839), king of Wessex (802-39), and the first Saxon kingrecognized as sovereign of all England (828-39). He was the son of aKentish noble but claimed descent from Cerdic (reigned 519-34),founder of Wessex, the kingdom of the West Saxons in southern England.During the late 8th century, when King Offa of Mercia (reigned 757-96)ruled most of England, Egbert lived in exile at the court ofCharlemagne. Egbert regained his kingdom in 802. He conquered theneighboring kingdoms of Kent, Cornwall, and Mercia, and by 830 he wasalso acknowledged as sovereign of East Anglia, Sussex, Surrey, andNorthumbria and was given the title of Bretwalda (Anglo-Saxon, rulerof the British). During succeeding years Egbert led expeditionsagainst the Welsh and the Vikings. The year before his death hedefeated a combined force of Danes and Welsh at Hingston Down inCornwall. He was succeeded by his son Ethelwulf (825-58), the fatherof Alfred.
    • 35th great grandfather
    • Konge. Født 775. Død 839.
      Konge av Wessex og Kent 802 - 839.
      Egbert var etterkommer til vestsaksernes høvding Cerdic.
      Han ble som ung jaget av kong Offa av Mercia og oppholdt seg i flere år hos Karl den StoreĐ. Egbert kom ca. 802 tilbake til England og ble konge.
      Kongen av Mercia gjorde et innfall i 825, men led nederlag. Deretter undertvang Egbert seg Kent, Sussex og Essex. Østanglerne underkastet seg også, og Mercia og Northumberland måtte i 829 anerkjenne ham som overherre. Dette år betegnes som de syv rikers forening.
      Egbert var gift med Redburh (Redburgia).
      De saksiske germanerne kom fra Sachsen i Tyskland ved slutten av 400-tallet og fordrev de keltiske brittene. Slekten skal visstnok kunne føre sine aner tilbake til Odin (Woden)! England ble oppdelt i kongerikene Northumbria, East Anglia, Mercia, Essex, Sussex, Wessex og Kent. På 600-tallet hadde Northumbria den ledende stillingen i England, mens Mercia dominerte på 700-tallet.
      Wessexslekten var konger av Wessex og Kent fra 519 til 927 og konger av England fra 927 til 1013 og fra 1042 til 1066. Etter et kort mellomspill med kong Harald Godwinson ble England erobret av Vilhelm ErobrerenĐ.

      Den første konge av England

      887136520. Kong Egbert EALDHMUNDSON Wessex (20865) was born in 775. (20866) He died in 839.(20867) He was a Konge in Wessex.(20868) han blev som ung jorjaget av kong Offa av Mercia, opholdt sig flere år hos Karl den Store. kom c 802 tilbake til England og blev konge. Kongen av Mercia gjorde infall 825, men led nederlag. Derefter undertvang Egbert Kent, Sussex og Essex. østangelerne underkastet sig, og Mericia og Northumberland måtte 829 anerkjenne ham som overherre. Dette år betegnes som de 7 rikers forening. han var efterkommer av vestsaksernes høvding Cederic og Redburgia.
    • King of Wessex 802-827 and the first king of all of England 827-836.Married Raedburh. The male line of kings descend from him to Edward theConfessor and the female line to the present time.
    • KING OF THE WEST SAXONS (WESSEX) 802-839; 1ST KING TO HOLD ALL OF ENGLAND UNDER
      HIS OVERLORDSHIP; INITIALLY EXPELLED FROM WESSEX AFTER CONTESTING BEORHTRIC'S
      CLAIM FOR THE THRONE, WHICH WAS SUPPORTED BY OFFA - WENT TO THE COURT OF
      CHARLEMAGNE AND ACCOMPANIED THE EMPORER IN HIS GERMAN WARS; CLAIMED THE THRONE
      OF ENGLAND ON THE DEATH OF BEORHTRIC; ACKNOWLEDGED IN KENT, SURREY, SUSSEX,
      ESSEX AND EAST ANGLIA AFTER HIS VICTORY OVER THE MERCIANS AT ELLENDUN (NEAR
      WROUGHTON, WILTSHIRE) IN 825; CONQUERED MERCIA IN 829 AND IS RECKONED AS THE
      8TH BRETWALDA (RULER OF BRITAIN)
    • BIOGRAPHY: Egbert king of Wessex (802-39), and the first Saxon king recognized as sovereign of all England . He was the son of a Kentish noble but claimed descent from Cerdic (reigned 519-34), founder of Wessex, the kingdom of the West Saxons in southern England. During the late 8th century, when King Offa of Mercia (reigned 757-96) ruled most of England, Egbert lived in exile at the court of Charlemagne. Egbert regained his kingdom in 802. He conquered the neighboring kingdoms of Kent, Cornwall, and Mercia, and by 830 he was also acknowledged as sovereign of East Anglia, Sussex, Surrey, and Northumbria and was given the title of Bretwalda (Anglo-Saxon, "ruler of the British"). During following years Egbert led expeditions against the Welsh and the Vikings. The year before his death he defeated a combined force of Danes and Welsh at Hingston Down in Cornwall. He was succeeded by his son Ethelwulf, the father of Alfred.

      -- http://www.begent.net/history
    • !SOURCES:
      1. Anglo-Saxon Bishops, Kings & Nobles, Eng. 104, p. 342-43
      2. The Royal Line of Succession, A16A225, p. 5-6
      3. Keiser und Koenig Hist., Gen. Hist. 25, pt 1, p. 96-97
      4. Hist. of the anglo-Saxons, Eng. 36, v. 1, p. 362-71
      !RESEARCH NOTES:
      1. Only one of the above sources (Gen. Hist. 25) shows Edith as a child in this family claiming her as a founder of a cloister. On 18 July 1941 another child by the name of Alice was sealed to this couple, it being claimed she was the wife of Louis III, King of France. None of the above sources indicate a child bythat name in this family, but even if there was she could not have been the wifeof Louis III, since he was born in 860 and died 22 years of age. It is not likely he would have married a woman some 45 to 50 years his senior. Even if she hadbeen born right after her father's death, she would still be 21 years older than Louis III.
    • Egbert (d. 839), king of Wessex from 802, the son of Ealhmund, a king of Kent, lived some thirteen years at Charles the Great�s court. He at first warred successfully against the Welsh of Devon and Cornwall, and then turned against the Mercians, and in 825 overthrew their king, Beornwulf, in the battle of Ellandune. Egbert spent the remaining years of his life attacking the Northmen. Consult Green�s The Conquest of England. [World Wide Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1935]

      Notes on Egbert King of the West Saxons
      The first of the Kings of Wessex and All England. For laying claim to the West Saxon kingship after the death of Cynegils in 786, he was expelled from England "to the land of the Franks" by Offa, King of Mercia and Beorhtric, King of Wessex in 789?. He spent his exile at Charlemagne�s court and returned in 802 to the throne of Wessex. Acknowledged in Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Essex and East Anglia after his victory over the Mercians at Ellandune (either near Wroughton, Wilts or near Winchester) in 825. Conquered Mercia in 829 and reckoned as the eighth Bretwalda (Ruler of Britain). In 835, Egbert was defeated by Scandinavian pirates in a battle in Dorset. In 837 he defeated at Hengestdune, near the Tamar in Somerset, a huge northern host allied with Cornish insurgents. {Extracts and comments Anglo-Saxon Chronicles and Chamber�s Biographical Dictionary} [GADD.GED]

      First King of the English, 828-839, Saxon Rulers of England. [ROWLEYHR.GED]

      Additional information: Britannia.com http://britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon1.html
    • RESEARCH NOTES:
      King of Wessex and Kent, England. succeeded to the West Saxon crown on the
      death of King Bithrick in 800. By 820 he had united the Saxon heptarchy
      under his rule. He was the 17th King of the West Saxons and the first King of
      all England
      lawson gives Hedwig/Edith of Saxony as daughter but dates inappropriate
      (Egbert 784-833; Hedwig 780-833)
    • AFNG70H-62

      AFN:G70H-62
    • BIOGRAPHY
      Recorded as son of Ealhmund, King in Kent, he was expelled from England and sought refuge at the Frankish Court. There he met and married Raedburh (also known as Redburga), who may have been a niece of Charlemagne. Returned to England, he became King of Wessex in 802 after the death of King Beorhtric.

      Ostensibly he ruled in peace, as nothing was recorded until 825 when he defeated Beornwulf, King of Mercia. Egbert's son Aethelwulf drove King Baldred of Kent out of his kingdom. By 829, Egbert was regarded as king of all England.

      Peace did not prevail as the Cornish helped the invading Danes, only to be expelled by Egbert. He was probably in his sixties when he died in 839.
    • He ruled Wessex from 828 on. In 829 he united England into one kingdom. He ruled until 839.
    • He ruled Wessex from 828 on. In 829 he united England into one kingdom. He ruled until 839.
    • Egbert (også skrevet Ecgbryht, Ecgberht og Ecgbert) (født ca. 770, død juli 839) var konge av Wessex fra 802 inntil sin død, og av Mercia fra 829 til 830. Han ble også regnet som bretwalda, angelsaksernes overherre. Han gjorde Wessex til det dominerende riket i England.

      Hans slektsforhold er noe uklare. I Den angelsaksiske krønike fortelles det under året 825 at han erobret områder i øst som hadde tilhørt hans slekt. Hans far het Eahlmund, og identifiseres i et sent tillegg til krøniken under 784 som Eahlmund av Kent, som også nevnes i et charter fra samme år. Men det er også mulig at områdene det er snakk om er noe han hadde krav på etter Ine av Wessex, ettersom han skal ha nedstammet fra Ines bror Ingeld.

      Etter mordet på kong Cynewulf i 786 kan Egbert ha krevd tronen, men Beorhtric, som var alliert med Offa av Mercia, tok den. I 789 ble Egbert tvunget i eksil hos frankerne av Beorhtric og Offa. Krøniken forteller at han var i eksil i tre år, men historikere har kommet til at det er mulig at denne perioden varte hele tretten år, frem til Beorhtrics død i 802. Han skal ha vært under Karl den stores beskyttelse.

      Beorhtrics rike var underlagt kongen av Mercia, først Offa og fra 796 Coenwulf. Egbert ønsket antagelig større uavhengighet, noe som preget hans styre. Samme dag som han fikk tronen i 802 ledet Æthelmund, jarl av Hwicce, et raid inn i Wessex. Ælthelmunds styrker ble slått, og han ble selv drept av Weoxtan, jarl av Wiltshire, som også falt i slaget.

      I 815 herjet Egbert de vestlige walisernes område, Dumnonia, som på dette tidspunkt ikke best av mer enn dagens Cornwall. Det er sannsynlig at området ble innlemmet i Wessex i løpet av Egberts tid som konge. I 825 seiret han over Beornwulf av Mercia i slaget ved Ellendun. Dette førte til at Kent, Surrey, Sussex og Essex underkastet seg. Østanglerne benyttet maktforskyvningen til å gjøre opprør mot Mercia, og drepte Beornwulf kort tid etter. De anerkjente så Egbert som sin overherre, og fra omkring 829 regnes han som bretwalda.

      Egbert ledet med hell et felttog mot waliserne i 830. Samme år fikk Mercia tilbake sin uavhengighet under Wiglaf. Det er usikkert om dette skjedde etter et opprør, eller om Egbert innsatte Wiglaf som lydkonge. I 836 ble Egbert slått av danene, men i 838 slo han danene og de vestlige waliserne i slaget ved Hingston Down i Cornwall.

      Han giftet seg med Redurga, en frankisk prinsesse som muligens var Karl den stores svigerinne. De fikk to sønner og en datter.

      Egbert døde i 839, og ble gravlagt i Winchester. Han ble etterfulgt av sin sønn Ethlwulf.
    • 1 NAME Egbert the Great of /Wessex/ 2 SOUR S033320 3 DATA 4 TEXT Date of Import: Jan 17, 2001 1 DEAT 2 DATE 4 FEB 838/39 2 PLAC ,Wessex, England 2 SOUR S033320 3 DATA 4 TEXT Date of Import: Jan 17, 2001


      [De La Pole.FTW]
      Sources: RC 233; Kings and Queens of Britain; AF; Some Prominent Virginia Families; Ancestral Roots 1-13; Kirby; Pfafman; Young; Kings, Queens, Bones, and Bastards by David Hilliam. Roots: Egbert, born 775, died after 19 Nov. 838, son of Eahlmund, King of Kent. King of Wessex, 802-827, and was the first king of all England, 827-836; married Raedburh. The male line of kings descends from him to Edward the Confessor and the female line to the present time.
      RC: King of Wessex 802-827. First King of England, 827-839. Male line of kings descends from him to Edward the Confessor and the female line to the present time (1992).
      VA Families: "He united the seven kingdoms of Britain, known as the Heptarchy, into the one Kingdom of England. Prior to that event he was King ofthe Saxon Kingdom of Wessex."
      K&Q: Egbert (III), King of Wessex 802.
      Kirby: Ecgberht. Young: Egbert, died 839, King of Wessex, later of England. Hilliam: Egbert, King of Wessex. Reigned 802-839. "The seven Saxon kingdoms each lasted for about three hundred years, until finally King Egbert of Wessex [West Saxony] was hailed as Bretwalda' or sole ruler of Britain' round about the year AD 825. For this reason, Egbert is generally recognised as the first English king..." See page 13.
      Note: In 825 Egbert annexed Kent, Surrey, Essex and Sussex. In 829 Mercia fell to Egbert and Northumbria soon acknowledged his lordship. As the overlord of all the English Kings he is considered the first King of England. "The Oxford History of Britain" Kenneth O. Morgan. The House of Wessex lineage traced from "The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy" John Cannon & Ralp Griffiths.
    • 'King Beorhtric passed away...and Egbert succeeded to the Kingdom of Wessex', the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle tells us. As a young man, Egbert must have evinced some aspirations which led Offa, King of Wessex, and his son-in-law Beorhtric, King of Wessex, to expel him from England. He took refuge at the Frankish court of Charlemagne and it was there apparently that he met and married his wife, Raedburh [more euphoniously written as Redburga], who was alleged to be a close relation [perhaps a niece] of Charlemagne, Egbert returned to England and seems to have succeeded to the throne peacefully.
      The Chronicle has nothing more to say of him for over twenty years, then in 825 he fought a battle at Ellendun, near Wroughton in Wiltshire, with Beornwulf, King of Mercia, in which he 'was victorious, and great slaughter was made there.' Following this victory, Egbert sent his son Ethelwulf into Kent 'with a great force, and they drove King Baldred north over Thames, and the Kentishmen submitted to him, and the men of Surry and Sussex and Essex... And the same year the King of the East Angles and the court turned to King Egbert as their protector and guardian against the fear of Mercian aggression; and...the East Angles slew Beornwulf, King of the Mercians.' Two more shadowy kings reigned in Mercia in quick succession then in 829Egbert 'conquered Mercia and all that was south of the Humber', thereby becoming acknowledged as the eighth Bretwalda or 'Ruler of Britain'. He also made incursions into Northumbria and Wales, both of which submitted to him and paid tribute.
      His final years were spent dealing with Danish invaders in the south and west, who allied themselves with the Cornish. The doughty old warrior put them to flight at Hingston Down. Egbert must have been well into his sixties when he died in the second half of 839 after a reign of 'thirty-seven years and seven months'. He was buried at Winchester.
      ______________________________________
      Britain's Royal Families by Alison Weir
    • Line 17225 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
      OCCU King of Wessex (802-)

      Line 17229 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
      DEAT DATE ca 836

      EGBERT (775?-839) was King of Wessex in England from 802 to his death. The King of Mercia drove him into exile in 789.
      Egbert lived in Gaul for three years, where he saw the expansion of Charlemagne's empire. After gaining the West Saxon throne, Egbert destroyed the supremacy of Mercia in England. By conquering Cornwall, Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, he enlarged Wessex and made his kingdom supreme. The Mercians, East Anglians, and Northumbrians recognized his rule. His reign foreshadowed the later growth of a united England.

      [The World Book]
    • (Research):Egbert Egbert, d. 839, king of Wessex (802-39). His name also appears as Ecgberht. He was descended from Cerdic and was apparently an unsuccessful aspirant for the crown of Wessex against Beohtric (reigned 786-802). He took refuge at the court of Offa of Mercia, but the alliance of Offa and Beohtric drove him to the Frankish court, where he may have spent three years. At Beohtric's death he became king of Wessex, apparently without opposition. In 815 he harried Cornwall, returning to defeat the Britons there again in 825. He also defeated King Beornwulf of Mercia at Ellandune (or Ellendun) in 825. He sent his son Æthelwulf and an army to Kent, which was then made a dependency of Wessex. East Anglia sought Egbert's protection and revolted against Mercia. Beornwulf was killed in battle, and Mercia submitted (828?) to Egbert. He then (829?) secured the nominal submission of Northumbria without a battle. Later historians called him the first king of England, an anachronistic title, for there was no conception of a kingdom of England in his day. The extent of his power varied from kingdom to kingdom and from year to year. After 834 he had to defend his realm against the Danes, and in his last battle (838) he again defeated the Britons of Cornwall, who had allied themselves with the Danes. Egbert was succeeded by his son, Ethelwulf. Source: http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/03972.html ====================================================== Ecgbert III of Wessex, King of Wessex Born: ABT 775 Acceded: 802 Died: 4 FEB 839 Interred: Winchester Cathedral,Winchester,England Notes: Reigned 802-839. In 800 at the decease of King Brithric, Egbert was called by the voice of his countrymen to assume the Government of Wessex, and he subsequently succeeded in reducing all the Kingdoms of the Heptarchy under his sway. His reign, a long and glorious one, is memorable for the great victories he achieved over the Danes. See Europäisch Stammtafeln Bund II tafel 58. Father: , Ealhmund of Kent, Under-King of Kent Mother: , Daughter of Kent Associated with , Redburga Child 1: , AEthelwulf, King of England, b. ABT 800 Child 2: , Editha, Abbess of Polesworth Child 3: , Athelstan, Sub King of Kent ============================================== Ecgbert III of Wessex, King of Wessex Born: ABT 775 Acceded: 802 Died: 4 FEB 839 Interred: Winchester Cathedral,Winchester,England Notes: Reigned 802-839. In 800 at the decease of King Brithric, Egbert was called by the voice of his countrymen to assume the Government of Wessex, and he subsequently succeeded in reducing all the Kingdoms of the Heptarchy under his sway. His reign, a long and glorious one, is memorable for the great victories he achieved over the Danes. See Europäisch Stammtafeln Bund II tafel 58. Father: , Ealhmund of Kent, Under-King of Kent Mother: , Daughter of Kent Associated with , Redburga Child 1: , AEthelwulf, King of England, b. ABT 800 Child 2: , Editha, Abbess of Polesworth Child 3: , Athelstan, Sub King of Kent
    • Source #1: Frederick Lewis Weis, "Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700" - Seventh Edition, with additions and corrections by Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr., assisted by Davis Faris (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co, 1995), p. 2

      King of Wessex, 802-827, and was the first king of all England, 827-836. The male line of kings descends from him to Edward the Confessor and the female line to the present time.
    • Name Suffix: King Of Wessex
    • Name Suffix: King Of Wessex
    • EGBERT (d. 839) was King of Wessex from 802 until 839. He claimed descent from Ingild, a brother of King Ine of Wessex. His father was a certain Ealhmund who ruled briefly in Kent c. 784 in opposition to Offa of Mercia. When King Cynewulf of Wessex died in 786, Egbert disputed with Beorhtric for possession of the kingdom. Beorhtric, Offa's protégé, came out on top and Egbert departed into exile at the Frankish court. On Beorhtric's death in 802 Egbert returned and established himselfas King of Wessex in a successful revolt against Mercian ascendancy.
      Egbert ruled an independent Wessex for the next twenty-three years, of which we have little record. This was succeeded by a period of frenzied activity. In 825 he defeated King Beornwulf of Mercia at the battle of Ellendun (probably Wroughton in Wiltshire) and immediately afterwards send his son Ethelwulf eastwards to wrest Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essex from Mercian overlordship. He also received an appeal for protection from the East Anglians who had rebelled against the Mercians. The Mercian empire seemed to be falling apart as rival claimants contended for kingship over the next few years. In 829 Egbert conquered Mercia and went on to lay waste part of Northumbria and exact submission and tribute from its king Eanred. For a short period he was overlord of all the English kingdoms. But in 830 Mercia threw off West Saxon lordship and for the rest of his reign Egbert's direct authority was restricted to Wessex and the south east.
      In has sometimes been claimed that Egbert was the first 'King of all England.' But this is absurd. The notion is based upon the treatment of Egbert in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, put together in the form in which we have it at the court of Egbert's grandson Alfred and concerned above all else to magnify the exploits of the West Saxon royal dynasty. Mercian supremacy did not end with Offa. Ninth-century Mercia may have become subject to dynastic instability---and which Anglo-Saxon kingdom had not?---but it could still produce some imposing rulers such as Cernwulf (796-821), Wiglaf [827-40] and Beorhtwulf [840-52]. Further to the north the Northumbrian King Eanred [808-40] continued to rule a kingdom stretching from the Humber to the First of Forth: the submission to Egbert in 829 had no lasting effect.
      Nevertheless, Egbert's reign is an important one. In the first place,he consolidated West Saxon domination over the remaining British princes of the south-west in a series of campaigns in 815, 825, 830 and 838. Secondly, his annexation of south-eastern England in 825 was to be permanent. Kent became a dependency where West Saxon princes could learn the business of kingship; just as Egbert entrusted Kent to his son Ethelwulf, so after his accession in 839 Ethelwulf placed his son Athelstan in authority there. Egbert and Ethelwulf were at pains to cultivate good relations with the archbishops of Canterbury; they had learntthe lessons of Offa's failure in this respect. In particular, they tried to ensure that the See of Canterbury should be well-disposed not just to individual kings of Wessex but to the dynasty as a whole; in their own words in a charter of 838, 'that we and our heirs for ever afterwards may have firm and unbroken friendship from the archbishop and all his successors.' They wanted to break free from the snares of dynastic instability and discontinuity which plagued Mercia, Northumbria and their Frankish neighbours over the Channel. That they succeeded in doing so no doubt owed much to luck, but also something to shrewd management. Finally, Egbert showed that he could cope with new enemies, the Vikings. They ravaged the Island of Sheppey in 835, and defeated him at Carhampton in 836. But when in 838 they made common cause with the Britons of the south-west Egbert defeated them at Hingston Down in Cornwall. In the last battle of his life, Egbert showed that the Daneswere vulnerable. [Who's Who is Roman Britain and Anglo-Saxon England,Richard Fletcher, Shepheard-Walwyn Publishers Ltd., London, 1989]
      ----------
      Egbert, also spelled ECGBERHT, or ECGBRYHT (d. 839), king of the WestSaxons from 802 to 839, who formed around Wessex a kingdom so powerful that it eventually achieved the political unification of England (mid-10th century).
      The son of Ealhmund, king in Kent in 784 and 786, Egbert was a memberof a family that had formerly held the West Saxon kingship. In 789 Egbert was driven into exile on the European continent by the West Saxonking Beorhtric and his ally, the powerful Mercian king Offa (d. 796).Nevertheless, Egbert succeeded to Beorhtric's throne in 802. He immediately removed Wessex from the Mercian confederation and consolidated his power as an independent ruler. In 825 he decisively defeated Beornwulf, king of Mercia, at the Battle of Ellendune (now Wroughton, Wiltshire). The victory was a turning point in English history because it destroyed Mercian ascendancy and left Wessex the strongest of the English kingdoms. By virtue of long-dormant hereditary claims, Egbert was accepted as king in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Essex. In 829 he conquered Mercia itself, but he lost it in the following year to the Mercian king Wiglaf. A year before his death Egbert won a stunning victory over Danish and Cornish Briton invaders at Hingston Down (now in Cornwall). [Encyclopaedia Britannica CD, 1997, EGBERT]
      ----------
      NOTE: The official male line for British royalty starts with Egbert and extends to Edward the Confessor; the female line extends to the present time. [Roderick W. Stuart, Royalty for Commoners, 3rd ed., Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore MD, 1998), p. 121, Line 233, Gen.41]
    • EGBERT (d. 839) was King of Wessex from 802 until 839. He claimed descent from Ingild, a brother of King Ine of Wessex. His father was a certain Ealhmund who ruled briefly in Kent c. 784 in opposition to Offa of Mercia. When King Cynewulf of Wessex died in 786, Egbert disputed with Beorhtric for possession of the kingdom. Beorhtric, Offa's protégé, came out on top and Egbert departed into exile at the Frankish court. On Beorhtric's death in 802 Egbert returned and established himselfas King of Wessex in a successful revolt against Mercian ascendancy.
      Egbert ruled an independent Wessex for the next twenty-three years, of which we have little record. This was succeeded by a period of frenzied activity. In 825 he defeated King Beornwulf of Mercia at the battle of Ellendun (probably Wroughton in Wiltshire) and immediately afterwards send his son Ethelwulf eastwards to wrest Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essex from Mercian overlordship. He also received an appeal for protection from the East Anglians who had rebelled against the Mercians. The Mercian empire seemed to be falling apart as rival claimants contended for kingship over the next few years. In 829 Egbert conquered Mercia and went on to lay waste part of Northumbria and exact submission and tribute from its king Eanred. For a short period he was overlord of all the English kingdoms. But in 830 Mercia threw off West Saxon lordship and for the rest of his reign Egbert's direct authority was restricted to Wessex and the south east.
      In has sometimes been claimed that Egbert was the first 'King of all England.' But this is absurd. The notion is based upon the treatment of Egbert in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, put together in the form in which we have it at the court of Egbert's grandson Alfred and concerned above all else to magnify the exploits of the West Saxon royal dynasty. Mercian supremacy did not end with Offa. Ninth-century Mercia may have become subject to dynastic instability---and which Anglo-Saxon kingdom had not?---but it could still produce some imposing rulers such as Cernwulf (796-821), Wiglaf [827-40] and Beorhtwulf [840-52]. Further to the north the Northumbrian King Eanred [808-40] continued to rule a kingdom stretching from the Humber to the First of Forth: the submission to Egbert in 829 had no lasting effect.
      Nevertheless, Egbert's reign is an important one. In the first place,he consolidated West Saxon domination over the remaining British princes of the south-west in a series of campaigns in 815, 825, 830 and 838. Secondly, his annexation of south-eastern England in 825 was to be permanent. Kent became a dependency where West Saxon princes could learn the business of kingship; just as Egbert entrusted Kent to his son Ethelwulf, so after his accession in 839 Ethelwulf placed his son Athelstan in authority there. Egbert and Ethelwulf were at pains to cultivate good relations with the archbishops of Canterbury; they had learntthe lessons of Offa's failure in this respect. In particular, they tried to ensure that the See of Canterbury should be well-disposed not just to individual kings of Wessex but to the dynasty as a whole; in their own words in a charter of 838, 'that we and our heirs for ever afterwards may have firm and unbroken friendship from the archbishop and all his successors.' They wanted to break free from the snares of dynastic instability and discontinuity which plagued Mercia, Northumbria and their Frankish neighbours over the Channel. That they succeeded in doing so no doubt owed much to luck, but also something to shrewd management. Finally, Egbert showed that he could cope with new enemies, the Vikings. They ravaged the Island of Sheppey in 835, and defeated him at Carhampton in 836. But when in 838 they made common cause with the Britons of the south-west Egbert defeated them at Hingston Down in Cornwall. In the last battle of his life, Egbert showed that the Daneswere vulnerable. [Who's Who is Roman Britain and Anglo-Saxon England,Richard Fletcher, Shepheard-Walwyn Publishers Ltd., London, 1989]
      ----------
      Egbert, also spelled ECGBERHT, or ECGBRYHT (d. 839), king of the WestSaxons from 802 to 839, who formed around Wessex a kingdom so powerful that it eventually achieved the political unification of England (mid-10th century).
      The son of Ealhmund, king in Kent in 784 and 786, Egbert was a memberof a family that had formerly held the West Saxon kingship. In 789 Egbert was driven into exile on the European continent by the West Saxonking Beorhtric and his ally, the powerful Mercian king Offa (d. 796).Nevertheless, Egbert succeeded to Beorhtric's throne in 802. He immediately removed Wessex from the Mercian confederation and consolidated his power as an independent ruler. In 825 he decisively defeated Beornwulf, king of Mercia, at the Battle of Ellendune (now Wroughton, Wiltshire). The victory was a turning point in English history because it destroyed Mercian ascendancy and left Wessex the strongest of the English kingdoms. By virtue of long-dormant hereditary claims, Egbert was accepted as king in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Essex. In 829 he conquered Mercia itself, but he lost it in the following year to the Mercian king Wiglaf. A year before his death Egbert won a stunning victory over Danish and Cornish Briton invaders at Hingston Down (now in Cornwall). [Encyclopaedia Britannica CD, 1997, EGBERT]
      ----------
      NOTE: The official male line for British royalty starts with Egbert and extends to Edward the Confessor; the female line extends to the present time. [Roderick W. Stuart, Royalty for Commoners, 3rd ed., Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore MD, 1998), p. 121, Line 233, Gen.41]
    • Egbert 'the Great', King of Wessex (M) b. between 769 and 780, d. 4 February 839, #102615d. 4 Feb 839|p10262.htm#i102615|Ealhmund, Subregulus of Kent|d. c 786|p10270.htm#i102696||||Eafa of Wessex||p10270.htm#i102697||||||||||');"Pedigree Last Edited=16 Aug 2003
      Egbert 'the Great', King of Wessex was the son of Ealhmund, Subregulus of Kent . He was born between 769 and 780.1 He married Redburga (?).1 He died on 4 February 839.2 He was buried at Winchester Cathedral, Winchester, Hampshire, England.2 He gained the title of Subregulus of Kent between 790 and 796.1 He gained the title of King Egbert of Wessex in 802.1 He gained the title of King Egbert of Mercia in 829.1 After the Romans left Britain in AD 407, the country was raided by Picts from Scotland, Angles and Saxons from Germany and Jutes from Denmark. Within 200 years most of England was under Anglo-Saxon rule, divided into seven Kingdoms: Kent (mostly Jutes), Essex, Sussex, Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria. As a guide, Wessex consisted of Hants, Dorset, Devon, Somerset and Wiltshire. Mercia's boundaries varied a great deal but could be said to lie between the Thames and Humber. The capital of Wessex was Winchester and important towns in Mercia were Lichfield, Repton and Tamworth. King Offa of Mercia was a powerful king of this period and built the dyke along the English/Welsh border. Although nominally King of England, really he was only accepted South of the Humber. He won a resounding victory over the Norsemen and Cornish at Hingston Down near Callington in Cornwall in 836 and also conquered Mercia in 829 but lost it again in 838. He paved the way for national political unification which was achieved by King Athelstan in the 10th century. Although Egbert was King, the remaining kingdoms retained sub-kings or Ealdormen.
      Children of Egbert 'the Great', King of Wessex and Redburga (?):
      Athelstan (?)+ d. c 851 Edith (?) Ethelwulf, King of Wessex + b. bt 795 - 810, d. a 13 Jan 858
      Citations
      [S11 ] Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy (London, U.K.: The Bodley Head, 1999), page 3. Hereinafter cited as Britain's Royal Family.
      [S11 ] Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Family, page 4.
      Redburga (?)1 (F) #102616 Last Edited=24 Mar 2002
      Redburga (?) married Egbert 'the Great', King of Wessex, son of Ealhmund, Subregulus of Kent .2
      Children of Redburga (?) and Egbert 'the Great', King of Wessex:
      Athelstan (?)+ d. c 851 Edith (?) Ethelwulf, King of Wessex + b. bt 795 - 810, d. a 13 Jan 858
      Citations
      [S11 ] Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy (London, U.K.: The Bodley Head, 1999), page 4. Hereinafter cited as Britain's Royal Family.
      [S11 ] Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Family, page 3.
    • Konge av Wessex og Kent 802 - 839.
      Egbert var etterkommer til vestsaksernes høvding Cerdic.
      Han ble som ung jaget av kong Offa av Mercia og oppholdt seg i flere år hos Karl ?den
      Store?. Egbert kom ca. 802 tilbake til England og ble konge.
      Kongen av Mercia gjorde et innfall i 825, men led nederlag. Deretter undertvang Egbert
      seg Kent, Sussex og Essex. Østanglerne underkastet seg også, og Mercia og Northumberland
      måtte i 829 anerkjenne ham som overherre. Dette år betegnes som de syv rikers forening.
      Egbert var gift med Redburh (Redburgia).
      De saksiske germanerne kom fra Sachsen i Tyskland ved slutten av 400-tallet og
      fordrev de keltiske brittene. Slekten skal visstnok kunne føre sine aner tilbake til Odin
      (Woden)! England ble oppdelt i kongerikene Northumbria, East Anglia, Mercia, Essex, Sussex,
      Wessex og Kent. På 600-tallet hadde Northumbria den ledende stillingen i England, mens
      Mercia dominerte på 700-tallet.
      Wessexslekten var konger av Wessex og Kent fra 519 til 927 og konger av England
      fra 927 til 1013 og fra 1042 til 1066. Etter et kort mellomspill med kong Harald Godwinson ble
      England erobret av Vilhelm ?Erobreren?.
    • Reigned 802 - 839.
      In 800 at the death of King Brithic, Egbert was called by the voice of hi s countrymen to assume the Government of Wessex. His reign was a long an d glorious one and he is remembered for his great victories over the Dane s.
      When Ecgbert becomes King of Wessex in 802, Wessex begins to supplant Mer cia as the dominate kingdom in England. In 825, this is completed as Ecgb ert defeats Mercia at the Battle of Ellandun. By 827, Ecgbert has becom e , in essence, the king of all England. In 836, he defeats an invasio n b y the Danes at Hingston Down.
      --------
      Known as the first King of All England, he was forced into a period of ex ile at the court of Charlemagne, by the powerful Offa, king of Mercia. Eg bert returned to England in 802 and was recognized as king of Wessex. H e defeated the rival Mercians at the battle of Ellendun in 825. In 829 , t he Northumbrians accepted his over-lordship and he was proclaimed "Br etwalda" or sole ruler of Britain.
      Source: www.britannia.com
    • EGBERT (d. 839) was King of Wessex from 802 until 839. He claimed descent from Ingild, a brother of King Ine of Wessex. His father was a certain Ealhmund who ruled briefly in Kent c. 784 in opposition to Offa of Mercia. When King Cynewulf of Wessex died in 786, Egbert disputed with Beorhtric for possession of the kingdom. Beorhtric, Offa's protégé, came out on top and Egbert departed into exile at the Frankish court. On Beorhtric's death in 802 Egbert returned and established himselfas King of Wessex in a successful revolt against Mercian ascendancy.
      Egbert ruled an independent Wessex for the next twenty-three years, of which we have little record. This was succeeded by a period of frenzied activity. In 825 he defeated King Beornwulf of Mercia at the battle of Ellendun (probably Wroughton in Wiltshire) and immediately afterwards send his son Ethelwulf eastwards to wrest Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essex from Mercian overlordship. He also received an appeal for protection from the East Anglians who had rebelled against the Mercians. The Mercian empire seemed to be falling apart as rival claimants contended for kingship over the next few years. In 829 Egbert conquered Mercia and went on to lay waste part of Northumbria and exact submission and tribute from its king Eanred. For a short period he was overlord of all the English kingdoms. But in 830 Mercia threw off West Saxon lordship and for the rest of his reign Egbert's direct authority was restricted to Wessex and the south east.
      In has sometimes been claimed that Egbert was the first 'King of all England.' But this is absurd. The notion is based upon the treatment of Egbert in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, put together in the form in which we have it at the court of Egbert's grandson Alfred and concerned above all else to magnify the exploits of the West Saxon royal dynasty. Mercian supremacy did not end with Offa. Ninth-century Mercia may have become subject to dynastic instability---and which Anglo-Saxon kingdom had not?---but it could still produce some imposing rulers such as Cernwulf (796-821), Wiglaf [827-40] and Beorhtwulf [840-52]. Further to the north the Northumbrian King Eanred [808-40] continued to rule a kingdom stretching from the Humber to the First of Forth: the submission to Egbert in 829 had no lasting effect.
      Nevertheless, Egbert's reign is an important one. In the first place,he consolidated West Saxon domination over the remaining British princes of the south-west in a series of campaigns in 815, 825, 830 and 838. Secondly, his annexation of south-eastern England in 825 was to be permanent. Kent became a dependency where West Saxon princes could learn the business of kingship; just as Egbert entrusted Kent to his son Ethelwulf, so after his accession in 839 Ethelwulf placed his son Athelstan in authority there. Egbert and Ethelwulf were at pains to cultivate good relations with the archbishops of Canterbury; they had learntthe lessons of Offa's failure in this respect. In particular, they tried to ensure that the See of Canterbury should be well-disposed not just to individual kings of Wessex but to the dynasty as a whole; in their own words in a charter of 838, 'that we and our heirs for ever afterwards may have firm and unbroken friendship from the archbishop and all his successors.' They wanted to break free from the snares of dynastic instability and discontinuity which plagued Mercia, Northumbria and their Frankish neighbours over the Channel. That they succeeded in doing so no doubt owed much to luck, but also something to shrewd management. Finally, Egbert showed that he could cope with new enemies, the Vikings. They ravaged the Island of Sheppey in 835, and defeated him at Carhampton in 836. But when in 838 they made common cause with the Britons of the south-west Egbert defeated them at Hingston Down in Cornwall. In the last battle of his life, Egbert showed that the Daneswere vulnerable. [Who's Who is Roman Britain and Anglo-Saxon England,Richard Fletcher, Shepheard-Walwyn Publishers Ltd., London, 1989]
      ----------
      Egbert, also spelled ECGBERHT, or ECGBRYHT (d. 839), king of the WestSaxons from 802 to 839, who formed around Wessex a kingdom so powerful that it eventually achieved the political unification of England (mid-10th century).
      The son of Ealhmund, king in Kent in 784 and 786, Egbert was a memberof a family that had formerly held the West Saxon kingship. In 789 Egbert was driven into exile on the European continent by the West Saxonking Beorhtric and his ally, the powerful Mercian king Offa (d. 796).Nevertheless, Egbert succeeded to Beorhtric's throne in 802. He immediately removed Wessex from the Mercian confederation and consolidated his power as an independent ruler. In 825 he decisively defeated Beornwulf, king of Mercia, at the Battle of Ellendune (now Wroughton, Wiltshire). The victory was a turning point in English history because it destroyed Mercian ascendancy and left Wessex the strongest of the English kingdoms. By virtue of long-dormant hereditary claims, Egbert was accepted as king in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Essex. In 829 he conquered Mercia itself, but he lost it in the following year to the Mercian king Wiglaf. A year before his death Egbert won a stunning victory over Danish and Cornish Briton invaders at Hingston Down (now in Cornwall). [Encyclopaedia Britannica CD, 1997, EGBERT]
      ----------
      NOTE: The official male line for British royalty starts with Egbert and extends to Edward the Confessor; the female line extends to the present time. [Roderick W. Stuart, Royalty for Commoners, 3rd ed., Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore MD, 1998), p. 121, Line 233, Gen.41]
    • Exiled 789.
      Battle of Ellendune 825: Defeated Beornwulf. King of Mercia. Conquered Mercia 829.
      ASC
      In 800 at the decease of King Brithric, Egbert was called by the voice of his countrymen to assume the Government of Wessex, and he subsequently succeeded in reducing all the Kingdoms of the Heptarchy under his sway. His reign, a long and glorious one, is memorable for the great victories he achieved over the Danes.
      784: At this time reigned Elmund king in Kent, the father of Egbert; and Egbert was the father of Athulf.
      800. This year was the moon eclipsed, at eight in the evening, on the seventeenth day before the calends of February; and soon after died King Bertric and Alderman Worr. Egbert succeeded to the West-Saxon kingdom; and the same day Ethelmund, alderman of the Wiccians, rode over the Thames at Kempsford; where he was met by Alderman Woxtan, with the men of Wiltshire, and a terrible conflict ensued, in which both the commanders were slain, but the men of Wiltshire obtained the victory.
      813. This year Archbishop Wulfred returned to his own see, with the blessing of Pope Leo; and King Egbert spread devastation in Cornwall from east to west.
      823. This year a battle was fought between the Welsh in Cornwall and the people of Devonshire, at Camelford; and in the course of the same year Egbert, king of the West-Saxons, and
      Bernwulf, King of Mercia, fought a battle at Wilton, in which Egbert gained the victory, but there was great slaughter on both sides. Then sent he his son Ethelwulf into Kent, with a large
      detachment from the main body of the army, accompanied by his bishop, Elstan, and his alderman, Wulfherd; who drove Baldred, the king, northward over the Thames. Whereupon the men of Kent immediately submitted to him; as did also the inhabitants of Surrey, and Sussex, and Essex; who had been unlawfully kept from their allegiance by his relatives. The same year also, the king of the East-Angles, and his subjects besought King Egbert to give them peace and protection against the terror of the Mercians; whose king, Bernwulf, they slew in the course of the same year.
      827. This year was the moon eclipsed, on mid-winter's mass-night; and King Egbert, in the course of the same year, conquered the Mercian kingdom, and all that is south of the Humber, being the eighth king who was sovereign of all the British dominions. Ella, king of the South-Saxons, was the first who possessed so large a territory; the second was Ceawlin, king of the West-Saxons: the third was Ethelbert, King of Kent; the fourth was Redwald, king of the East-Angles; the fifth was Edwin, king of the Northumbrians; the sixth was Oswald, who succeeded him; the seventh was Oswy, the brother of Oswald; the eighth was Egbert, king of the West-Saxons. This same Egbert led an army against the Northumbrians as far as Dore, where they met him, and offered terms of obedience and subjection, on the acceptance of which they returned home.
      828. This year Wiglaf recovered his Mercian kingdom, and Bishop Ethelwald departed this life. The same year King Egbert led an army against the people of North-Wales, and compelled them all to peaceful submission.
      833. This year fought King Egbert with thirty-five pirates at Charmouth, where a great slaughter was made, and the Danes remained masters of the field.
      835. This year came a great naval armament into West-Wales, where they were joined by the people, who commenced war against Egbert, the West-Saxon king. When he heard this, he proceeded with his army against them and fought with them at Hengeston, where he put to flight both the Welsh and the Danes.
      836. This year died King Egbert. Him Offa, King of Mercia, and Bertric, the West-Saxon king, drove out of England into France three years before [797] he was king [800]. Bertric assisted Offa
      because he had married his daughter. Egbert having afterwards returned, reigned thirty-seven winters and seven months. Then Ethelwulf, the son of Egbert, succeeded to the West-Saxon
      kingdom; and he gave his son Athelstan the kingdom of Kent, and of Essex, and of Surrey, and of Sussex.
    • Egbert (802-39 AD)

      Known as the first King of All England, he was forced into exile at the court of Charlemagne, by the powerful Offa, King of Mercia. Egbert returned to England in 802 and was recognized as king of Wessex. He defeated the rival Mercians at the battle of Ellendun in 825. In 829, the Northumbrians accepted his overlordship and he was proclaimed "Bretwalda" or sole ruler of Britain.
    • Egbert of Wessex
      From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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      Egbert
      King of Wessex

      Egbert (also spelt Ecgberht) (died 839) was King of Wessex from 802 until 839. His father was Ealhmund of Kent. In the 780s Egbert was forced into exile by Offa of Mercia and Beorhtric of Wessex, but on Beorhtric's death in 802 Egbert returned and took the throne.

      Little is known of the first twenty years of Egbert's reign, but it is thought that he was able to maintain Wessex's independence against the kingdom of Mercia, which at that time dominated the other southernEnglish kingdoms. In 825 Egbert defeated Beornwulf of Mercia at the battle of Ellendun, and proceeded to take control of the Mercian dependencies in southeastern England. In 829 Egbert defeated Wiglaf of Mercia and drove him out of his kingdom, temporarily ruling Mercia directly. Later that year Egbert received the submission of the Northumbrian king at Dore, near Sheffield. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle subsequently described Egbert as a bretwalda, or "Ruler of Britain".

      Egbert was unable to maintain this dominant position, and within a year Wiglaf regained the throne of Mercia. However, Wessex did retain control of Kent, Sussex and Surrey; these territories were given to Egbert's son Æthelwulf to rule as a subking under Egbert. When Egbert diedin 839, Æthelwulf succeeded him; the southeastern kingdoms were finally absorbed into the kingdom of Wessex after Æthelwulf's death in 858.

      Contents [hide]
      1 Family
      2 Political context and early life
      3 Early reign
      4 The battle of Ellendun
      5 Defeat of Mercia
      6 Reduction in influence after 829
      7 Succession
      8 Notes
      9 References
      10 See also

      [edit] Family
      The son of Ealhmund of Kent and an unknown woman, he was born around 769 or 771. He is recorded as having one sibling who is called the half-sister of Egbert and this was Alburga, later to be recognised as a saint. Alburga had been married to Wulstan, Ealdorman of Wiltshire, buton his death she became a nun. [1]. Although neither date nor record exists, it is sometimes supposed that Egbert married Redburga, thoughtto have been either a sister, sister-in law or niece of the Frankish Emperor[2]. The theory for this is backed up by Egbert's strong ties to the Frankish royal court and his significant time spent there, however no evidence has yet been found for the existence of this queen.

      The number of Egbert's children is uncertain. Æthelwulf, who succeeded Egbert, having governed as Subregulus of Kent, Essex, Surry and Sussex, was his son. Some versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle call Æthelstan Egbert's son, but he was rather Egbert's grandson.[3] A number of writers after the Norman Conquest make Saint Edith (Eadgyth) of Polesworth a daughter of Egbert, but this is doubtful.[4]

      [edit] Political context and early life
      Offa of Mercia, who reigned from 757 to 796, was the dominant force in Anglo-Saxon England in the second half of the eighth century. The relationship between Offa and Cynewulf, who was king of Wessex from 757to 786, is not well-documented, but it seems likely that Cynewulf maintained some independence from Mercian overlordship. Evidence of the relationship between kings can come from charters, which were documentswhich granted land to followers or to churchmen, and which were witnessed by the kings who had power to grant the land. In some cases a king will appear on a charter as a subregulus, or "subking", making it clear that he has an overlord.[5][6] Cynewulf appears as "King of the West Saxons" on a charter of Offa's in 772;[7] and he was defeated by Offa in battle in 779 at Bensington, but there is nothing else to suggest Cynewulf was not his own master, and he is not known to have acknowledged Offa as overlord.[8] Offa did have influence in the southeast of the country: a charter of 764 shows him in the company of Heahberhtof Kent, suggesting that Offa's influence helped place Heahberht on the throne.[9] The extent of Offa's control of Kent between 765 and 776is a matter of debate amongst historians, but from 776 until about 784 it appears that the Kentish kings had substantial independence fromMercia.[9][10]

      Another Egbert, Egbert of Kent, ruled in that kingdom throughout the 770s; he is last mentioned in 779, in a charter granting land at Rochester.[9] In 784 a new king of Kent, Ealhmund, appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. According to a note in the margin, "this king Ealhmund was Egbert's father [i.e. Egbert of Wessex], Egbert was Æthelwulf's father". This is supported by the genealogical preface from the A text ofthe Chronicle, which gives Egbert's father's name as Ealhmund withoutfurther details. The preface probably dates from the late ninth century; the marginal note is on the F manuscript of the Chronicle, which is a Kentish version dating from about 1100.[11]

      Ealhmund does not appear to have long survived in power: there is no record of his activities after 784. There is, however, extensive evidence of Offa's domination of Kent during the late 780s, with his goals apparently going beyond overlordship to outright annexation of the kingdom,[9] and he has been described as "the rival, not the overlord, ofthe Kentish kings".[12] It is possible that the young Egbert fled to Wessex in 785 or so; it is suggestive that the Chronicle mentions in alater entry that Beorhtric, Cynewulf's successor, helped Offa to exile Egbert.[9]

      Cynewulf was murdered in 786. Egbert may have contested the succession, but Offa successfully intervened in the ensuing power struggle on the side of Beorhtric.[11][13] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Egbert spent three years in Francia before he was king, exiled by Beorhtric and Offa. The text says "iii" for three, but this may have been ascribal error, with the correct reading being "xiii", that is, thirteen years. Beorhtric's reign lasted sixteen years, and not thirteen; and all extant texts of the chronicle agree on "iii", but many modern accounts assume that Egbert did indeed spend thirteen years in Francia.This requires assuming that the error in transcription is common to every manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; many historians make this assumption but others have rejected it as unlikely, given the consistency of the sources.[14] In either case Egbert was probably exiled in 789, when Beorhtric, his rival, married the daughter of Offa of Mercia.[15]

      At the time Egbert was in exile, Francia was ruled by Charlemagne, who maintained Frankish influence in Northumbria and is known to have supported Offa's enemies in the south. Another exile in Gaul at this time was Odberht, a priest, who is almost certainly the same person as Eadberht, who later became king of Kent. According to a later chronicler, William of Malmesbury, Egbert learned the arts of government duringhis time in Gaul.[16]

      [edit] Early reign
      Beorhtric's dependency on Mercia continued into the reign of Cenwulf,who became king of Mercia a few months after Offa's death.[8] Beorhtric died in 802, and Egbert came to the throne of Wessex, probably withthe support of Charlemagne and perhaps also the papacy.[17] The Mercians continued to oppose Egbert: the day of his accession, the Hwicce (who had originally formed a separate kingdom, but by that time were part of Mercia) attacked, under the leadership of their ealdorman, Æthelmund. Weohstan, a Wessex ealdorman, met him with men from Wiltshire:[11] according to a fifteenth-century source, Weohstan had married Alburga, Egbert's sister, and so was Egbert's brother-in-law.[18] The Hwicce were defeated, though Weohstan was killed as well as Æthelmund.[11]Nothing more is recorded of Egbert's relations with Mercia for more than twenty years after this battle. It seems likely that Egbert had noinfluence outside his own borders, but on the other hand there is no evidence that he ever submitted to the overlordship of Cenwulf. Cenwulf did have overlordship of the rest of southern England, but in Cenwulf's charters the title of "overlord of the southern English" never appears, presumably in consequence of the independence of the kingdom ofWessex.[19]

      In 815 the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Egbert ravaged the whole of the territories of the remaining British kingdom, Dumnonia, known to the author of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as the West Welsh; theirterritory was about equivalent to what is now Cornwall.[11][20] Ten years later, a charter dated 19 August 825 indicates that Egbert was campaigning in Dumnonia again; this may have been related to a battle recorded in the Chronicle at Galford in 823, between the men of Devon and the Britons of Cornwall.[21]

      [edit] The battle of Ellendun

      A map of England during Egbert's reign.It was also in 825 that one ofthe most important battles in Anglo-Saxon history took place, when Egbert defeated Beornwulf of Mercia at Ellendun?now Wroughton, near Swindon. This battle marked the end of the Mercian domination of southern England.[22] The Chronicle tells how Egbert followed up his victory: "Then he sent his son Æthelwulf from the army, and Ealhstan, his bishop, and Wulfheard, his ealdorman, to Kent with a great troop." Æthelwulf drove Baldred, the king of Kent, north over the Thames, and according to the Chronicle, the men of Kent, Essex, Surrey and Sussex then all submitted to Æthelwulf "because earlier they were wrongly forced away from his relatives."[11] This may refer to Offa's interventions in Kent at the time Egbert's father Ealhmund became king; if so, the chronicler's remark may also indicate Ealhmund had connections elsewhere in southeast England,[17]

      The Chronicle's version of events makes it appear that Baldred was driven out shortly after the battle, but this was probably not the case.A document from Kent survives which gives the date, March 826, as being in the third year of the reign of Beornwulf. This makes it likely that Beornwulf still had authority in Kent at this date, as Baldred's overlord; hence Baldred was apparently still in power.[21][23] In Essex, Egbert expelled King Sigered, though the date is unknown. It may have been delayed until 829, since a later chronicler associates the expulsion with a campaign of Egbert's in that year against the Mercians.[21]

      The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle does not say who was the aggressor at Ellendun, but one recent history asserts that Beornwulf was almost certainly the one who attacked. According to this view, Beornwulf may have taken advantage of the Wessex campaign in Dumnonia in the summer of 825.Beornwulf's motivation would have been the threat of unrest or instability in the southeast: the dynastic connections with Kent made Wessexa threat to Mercian dominance.[21]

      The consequences of Ellendun went beyond the immediate loss of Mercian power in the southeast. According to the Chronicle, the East Anglians asked for Egbert's protection against the Mercians in the same year, 825, though it may actually have been in the following year that the request was made. In 826 Beornwulf invaded East Anglia, presumably to recover his overlordship. He was slain, however, as was his successor, Ludeca, who invaded East Anglia in 827, evidently for the same reason. It may be that the Mercians were hoping for support from Kent: there was some reason to suppose that Wulfred, the Archbishop of Canterbury, might be discontented with West Saxon rule, as Egbert had terminated Wulfred's currency and had begun to mint his own, at Rochester andCanterbury,[21] and it is known that Egbert seized property belongingto Canterbury.[24] The outcome in East Anglia was a disaster for the Mercians which confirmed West Saxon power in the southeast.[21]

      [edit] Defeat of Mercia

      The entry for 827 in the [C] manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,listing the eight bretwaldas.In 829 Egbert invaded Mercia and drove Wiglaf, the king of Mercia, into exile. This victory gave Egbert control of the London mint, and he issued coins as King of Mercia.[21] It was after this victory that the West Saxon scribe described him as a bretwalda, meaning "wide-ruler" or "Britain-ruler", in a famous passage in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The relevant part of the annal reads, inthe [C] manuscript of the Chronicle:[25]

      ? 7 þy geare geeode Ecgbriht cing Myrcna rice 7 eall þæt be suþan Humbre wæs, 7 he wæs eahtaþa cing se ðe Bretenanwealda wæs. ?

      In modern English:[26]

      ? And the same year King Egbert conquered the kingdom of Mercia, and all that was south of the Humber, and he was the eighth king who was 'Wide Ruler'. ?

      The previous seven bretwaldas are also named by the Chronicler, who gives the same seven names that Bede lists as holding imperium, starting with Ælle of Sussex and ending with Oswiu of Northumbria. The list is often thought to be incomplete, omitting as it does some dominant Mercian kings such as Penda and Offa. The exact meaning of the title has been much debated; it has been described as "a term of encomiastic poetry"[27] but there is also evidence that it implied a definite roleof military leadership.[28]

      Later in 829, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Egbert receivedthe submission of the Northumbrians at Dore (now a suburb of Sheffield); the Northumbrian king was probably Eanred.[29] According to a later chronicler, Roger of Wendover, Egbert invaded Northumbria and plundered it before Eanred submitted: "When Egbert had obtained all the southern kingdoms, he led a large army into Northumbria, and laid waste that province with severe pillaging, and made King Eanred pay tribute."Roger of Wendover is known to have incorporated Northumbrian annals into his version; the Chronicle does not mention these events.[30] However, the nature of Eanred's submission has been questioned: one historian has suggested that it is more likely that the meeting at Dore represented a mutual recognition of sovereignty.[31]

      In 830 Egbert led a successful expedition against the Welsh, almost certainly with the intent of extending West Saxon influence into the Welsh lands previously within the Mercian orbit. This marked the high point of Egbert's influence.[21]

      [edit] Reduction in influence after 829
      In 830, Mercia regained its independence under Wiglaf?the Chronicle merely says that Wiglaf "obtained the kingdom of Mercia again",[11] butthe most likely explanation is that this was the result of a Mercian rebellion against Wessex rule.[32]

      Egbert's dominion over southern England came to an end with Wiglaf's recovery of power. Wiglaf's return is followed by evidence of his independence from Wessex. Charters indicate Wiglaf had authority in Middlesex and Berkshire, and in a charter of 836 Wiglaf uses the phrase "my bishops, duces, and magistrates" to describe a group that included eleven bishops from the episcopate of Canterbury, including bishops of sees in West Saxon territory.[33] It is significant that Wiglaf was still able to call together such a group of notables; the West Saxons, even if they were able to do so, held no such councils.[24][34] Wiglaf may also have brought Essex back into the Mercian orbit during the years after he recovered the throne.[21][31] In East Anglia, King Æthelstan minted coins, possibly as early as 827, but more likely c. 830 after Egbert's influence was reduced with Wiglaf's return to power in Mercia. This demonstration of independence on East Anglia's part is not surprising, as it was Æthelstan who was probably responsible for the defeat and death of both Beornwulf and Ludeca.[21]

      Both Wessex's sudden rise to power in the late 820s, and the subsequent failure to retain this dominant position, have been examined by historians looking for underlying causes. One plausible explanation for the events of these years is that Wessex's fortunes were to some degreedependent on Carolingian support. The Franks supported Eardwulf when he recovered the throne of Northumbria in 808, so it is plausible thatthey also supported Egbert's accession in 802. At Easter 839, not long before Egbert's death, he was in touch with Louis the Pious, king of the Franks, to arrange safe passage to Rome. Hence a continuing relationship with the Franks seems to be part of southern English politics during the first half of the ninth century.[21]

      Carolingian support may have been one of the factors that helped Egbert achieve the military successes of the late 820s. However, the Rhenish and Frankish commercial networks collapsed at some time in the 820sor 830s, and in addition, a rebellion broke out in February 830 against Louis the Pious; the first of a series of internal conflicts that lasted through the 830s and beyond. These distractions may have prevented Louis from supporting Egbert. In this view, the withdrawal of Frankish influence would have left East Anglia, Mercia and Wessex to find abalance of power not dependent on outside aid.[21]

      Despite the loss of dominance, Egbert's military successes fundamentally changed the political landscape of Anglo-Saxon England. Wessex retained control of the south-eastern kingdoms, with the possible exception of Essex; and Mercia did not regain control of East Anglia.[21] Egbert's victories marked the end of the independent existence of the kingdoms of Kent and Sussex. The conquered territories were administered as a subkingdom for a while, including Surrey and possibly Essex.[35] Although Æthelwulf was a subking under Egbert, it is clear that he maintained his own royal household, with which he travelled around his kingdom. Charters issued in Kent described Egbert and Æthelwulf as "kings of the West Saxons and also of the people of Kent." When Æthelwulf died in 858 his will, in which Wessex is left to one son and the southeastern kingdom to another, makes it clear that it was not until after858 that the kingdoms were fully integrated.[36] Mercia remained a threat, however; Egbert's son Æthelwulf, established as king of Kent, gave estates to Christ Church, Canterbury, probably in order to counter any influence the Mercians might still have there.[21]

      In the southwest, Egbert was defeated in 836 at Carhampton by the Danes,[11] but in 838 he won a battle against them and their allies the West Welsh at Hingston Down in Cornwall. The Dumnonian royal line continued after this time, but it is at this date that the independence of the last British kingdom may be considered to have ended.[21] The details of Anglo-Saxon expansion into Cornwall are quite poorly recorded, but some evidence comes from place names.[37] The river Ottery, which flows east into the Tamar near Launceston, appears to be a boundary: south of the Ottery the placenames are overwhelmingly Cornish, whereas to the north they are more heavily influenced by the English newcomers.[38]

      [edit] Succession
      At a council at Kingston-upon-Thames in 838, Egbert and Æthelwulf granted land to the sees of Winchester and Canterbury in return for the promise of support for Æthelwulf's claim to the throne.[24][33][39] Thearchbishop of Canterbury, Ceolnoth, also accepted Egbert and Æthelwulf as the lords and protectors of the monasteries under Ceolnoth's control. These agreements, along with a later charter in which Æthelwulf confirmed church privileges, suggest that the church had recognized that Wessex was a new political power that must be dealt with.[21] Churchmen consecrated the king at coronation ceremonies, and helped to write the wills which specified the king's heir; their support had real value in establishing West Saxon control and a smooth succession for Egbert's line.[40] Both the record of the Council of Kingston, and another charter of that year, include the identical phrasing: that a condition of the grant is that "we ourselves and our heirs shall always hereafter have firm and unshakable friendships from Archbishop Ceolnoth and his congregation at Christ Church".[39][41][42]

      Although nothing is known of any other claimants to the throne, it islikely that there were other surviving descendants of Cerdic (the supposed progenitor of all the kings of Wessex) who might have contended for the kingdom. Egbert died in 839, and his will, according to the account of it found in the will of his grandson, Alfred the Great, left land only to male members of his family, so that the estates should not be lost to the royal house through marriage. Egbert's wealth, acquired through conquest, was no doubt one reason for his ability to purchase the support of the southeastern church establishment; the thriftiness of his will indicates he understood the importance of personal wealth to a king.[40] The kingship of Wessex had been frequently contested among different branches of the royal line, and it is a noteworthy achievement of Egbert's that he was able to ensure Æthelwulf's untroubled succession.[40] In addition, Æthelwulf's experience of kingship, in the subkingdom formed from Egbert's southeastern conquests, would have been valuable to him when he took the throne.[43]

      Egbert was buried in Winchester, as were his son, Æthelwulf, his grandson, Alfred the Great, and Alfred's son, Edward the Elder. During theninth century, Winchester began to show signs of urbanization, and itis likely that the sequence of burials indicates that Winchester was held in high regard by the West Saxon royal line.[44]

      [edit] Notes
      ^ Farmer, D.H.: The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, p. 10
      ^ Weir, Alison, Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy (1989), p. 4.
      ^ Swanton, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, p. 63, note 11. This mistake is accepted at face value in some popular works, e.g. Weir, op. cit., p. 5.
      ^ Yorke, Nunneries and the Anglo-Saxon Royal Houses, p. 39, note 58, suggests Edith was Mercian princess; see also Thacker, "Kings, Saints and Monasteries", p. 19. Again, the claim that Edith was Egbert's daughter is repeated in some popular works, e.g. Weir, ibidem.
      ^ Hunter Blair, Roman Britain, pp. 14?15.
      ^ P. Wormald, "The Age of Bede and Æthelbald", in Campbell et al., The Anglo-Saxons, pp. 95?98
      ^ Anglo-Saxons.net: S 108. Sean Miller. Retrieved on 8 August, 2007.
      ^ a b Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 209?210.
      ^ a b c d e Kirby, Earliest English Kings, pp. 165?169
      ^ Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 207.
      ^ a b c d e f g h Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, pp. 58?63.
      ^ Wormald, "Bede, the bretwaldas and the origins of the Gens Anglorum", in Wormald et al., Ideal and Reality, p. 113; quoted in Kirby, Earliest English Kings, p. 167., and n. 30.
      ^ Fletcher, Who's Who, p. 114.
      ^ E.g. Fletcher assumes that Egbert spent essentially all Beorhtric'sreign in Francia; see Fletcher, Who's Who, p. 114. Similarly, Swantonannotates "3 years" with "in fact thirteen years . . . this error is common to all MSS." See note 12 in Swanton, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, pp.62?63. On the other hand, Stenton accepts the figure as three: see Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 220. Stenton adds in a footnote that "it is very dangerous to reject a reading which is so well attested".
      ^ Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 220.
      ^ Kirby, Earliest English Kings, pp. 176?177.
      ^ a b Kirby, Earliest English Kings, p. 186.
      ^ The source, a poem in the Chronicon Vilodunense, is described by Yorke as "admittedly . . . far from ideal". See Barbara Yorke, "Edward as Ætheling", in Higham & Hill, Edward the Elder, p. 36.
      ^ Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 225.
      ^ The border had been pushed back to the river Tamar, between Devon and Cornwall, by Ine of Wessex in 710. See Kirby, Earliest English Kings, p.125.
      ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Kirby, Earliest English Kings, pp. 189?195.
      ^ Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 231.
      ^ Anglo-Saxons.net: S 1267. Sean Miller. Retrieved on 8 August, 2007.
      ^ a b c P. Wormald, "The Age of Offa and Alcuin", p. 128, in Campbellet al., The Anglo-Saxons.
      ^ Manuscript C: Cotton Tiberius C.i. Tony Jebson. Retrieved on 12 August, 2007.
      ^ Translation is based on Swanton; note that "bretwalda" (which Swanton translates as "Controller of Britain") in ms A appears as "brytenwealda" and variants in the other mss; here this is translated as "Wide Ruler", per Swanton. See Swanton, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, pp. 60?61.
      ^ Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 34?35.
      ^ Kirby, Earliest English Kings, p. 17.
      ^ Kirby, Earliest English Kings, p. 197.
      ^ P. Wormald, "The Ninth Century", p. 139, in Campbell et al., The Anglo-Saxons.
      ^ a b Yorke, Kings and Kingdoms, p. 51.
      ^ Stenton cites the annal for 839, which says Æthelwulf "granted" or "gave" the kingdom of Kent to his son, as an example of the language that would have been used had Wiglaf been granted the kingdom by Egbert. See Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 233?235
      ^ a b Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 233?235
      ^ P. Wormald, "The Ninth Century", p. 138, in Campbell et al., The Anglo-Saxons.
      ^ Yorke, Kings and Kingdoms, p. 32.
      ^ Abels, Alfred the Great, p. 31.
      ^ Yorke, Kings and Kingdoms, p. 155.
      ^ Payton, Cornwall, p. 68.
      ^ a b Anglo-Saxons.net: S 1438. Sean Miller. Retrieved on 1 September, 2007.
      ^ a b c Yorke, Kings and Kingdoms, pp. 148?149.
      ^ Anglo-Saxons.net: S 281. Sean Miller. Retrieved on 8 August, 2007.
      ^ P. Wormald, "The Ninth Century", p. 140, in Campbell et al., The Anglo-Saxons.
      ^ Yorke, Kings and Kingdoms, pp. 168?169.
      ^ Yorke, Wessex, p. 310.

      [edit] References
      Primary sources
      Swanton, Michael (1996). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-92129-5.
      Egbert's charters at Anglo-Saxons.net
      Secondary sources
      Abels, Richard (2005). Alfred the Great: War, Kingship and Culture inAnglo-Saxon England. Longman. ISBN 0-582-04047-7.
      Campbell, James; Eric John & Patrick Wormald (1991). The Anglo-Saxons. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-014395-5.
      Fletcher, Richard (1989). Who's Who in Roman Britain and Anglo-Saxon England. Shepheard-Walwyn. ISBN 0-85683-089-5.
      Higham, N.J.; Hill, D.H. (2001). Edward the Elder. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-21496-3).
      Hunter Blair, Peter (1966). Roman Britain and Early England: 55 B.C.- A.D. 871. W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-00361-2.
      Kirby, D.P. (1992). The Earliest English Kings. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-09086-5.
      Payton, Philip (2004). Cornwall: A History. Cornwall Editions. ISBN 1-904880-00-2.
      Stenton, Frank M. (1971). Anglo-Saxon England. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-821716-1.
      Whitelock, Dorothy (1968). English Historical Documents v.l. c.500?1042. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode.
      Wormald, Patrick; Bullough, D. and Collins, R. (1983). Ideal and Reality in Frankish and Anglo-Saxon Society. ISBN 0631126619.
      Yorke, Barbara (1990). Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Seaby. ISBN 1-85264-027-8.
      Yorke, Barbara (1995). Wessex in the Early Middle Ages. London: Leicester University Press. ISBN 0-7185-1856-X.

      [edit] See also
      Descent of Elizabeth II from Egbert
      House of Wessex family tree
    • WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL VISIT
      SEPT 26,2004
      ROBERT HOENIG AND HIS SISTER KATHERINE BLACKWELL

      Series of Mortuary Chests containing bones of old Saxon and viking kings:

      King Cynegils 611-643AD
      King Cenwalh 643-672AD
      King Egbert 802-839AD
      King Ethelwulf 839-858AD
      King Canute 1016-1035AD
      +Queen Emma

      ==============================================

      Frederick Rose's Genealogy
      URL: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db=:1416850&id=I88739834
      ID: I98057178
      Name: (King) Egbert III OF WESSEX
      Given Name: (King) Egbert III
      Surname: of Wessex
      Sex: M
      Birth: 785 in Wessex, England
      Death: June, 839 in Wessex, England
      Note: Christianity was practised in the seven Kingdoms. In 802 Egbert became King of Wessex, and he and his successors are known as Kings of England. Egbert was the son of Ealhmund, King of Kent. Although nominally King of England, really he was only accepted South of the Humber. He won a resounding victory over the Norsemen and Cornish at Hingston Down near Callington in Cornwall in 836 and also conquered Mercia in 829 but lost it again in 838. He paved the way for national political unification which was achieved by King Athelstan in the 10th century. Although Egbert was King, the remaining kingdoms retained sub-kings or Ealdormen.

      Father: (King) Eahlmund OF KENT b: 758 in Wessex, England
      Mother: Radburgh b: in England

      Marriage 1 (Queen) Redburh OF WESSEX b: 788 in Wessex, England
      Children
      (King) Ethelwulf OF ENGLAND b: 806 in Wessex, England


      =====================================================================================================

      Human Family Project:
      Events
      --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      1. , 802-827
      Reigned As King Of Wessex, At The Death Of King Brithric (800), Called To Throne Of Wessex. Changed Wessex From Lack Of Unity & Vigor To A Wessex Of Greatness.

      2. , 827-836
      1st King Of All Of England (S. Of The Thames & Cotswalds) Of Anglo-Saxon Line.

      3. Education, 798-802
      Studied Statesmanship In Exile At The Court Of Charlemagne.

      4. Military
      Invaded Cornwall 815, Seized It 825. Defeated Mercians At Ellandune. Result: Restoration Of Ine's Wessex, Held All Land S Of The Thames.

      5. Education
      King Of England 827-838, King Of Wessex 802-827

      6. Notes
      Kingdom of Wessex from 802 to 829, and conquored the Kingdom of Mercia

      7. Notes
      New England Historical & Genealogical Register Vol CXI Jan 1957

      8. Notes
      Kings of England by Robert Glover and Thomas Milles, The Folio Society p. 1-4 He was the 1st King of England, but was also King of Wessex and Mercia

      ========================================================

      BRITAINNIA, MONARCHS OF BRITAIN
      URL: http://www.britannia.com/history/h6f.html

      Egbert (802-39 AD)
      ................................................................

      Known as the first King of All England, he was forced into exile at the court of Charlemagne, by the powerful Offa, King of Mercia. Egbert returned to England in 802 and was recognized as king of Wessex. He defeated the rival Mercians at the battle of Ellendun in 825. In 829, the Northumbrians accepted his overlordship and he was proclaimed "Bretwalda" or sole ruler of Britain
    • Egbert (802-39 AD)

      Known as the first King of All England, he was forced into exile at the court of Charlemagne, by the powerful Offa, King of Mercia. Egbert returned to England in 802 and was recognized as king of Wessex. He defeated the rival Mercians at the battle of Ellendun in 825. In 829, the Northumbrians accepted his overlordship and he was proclaimed "Bretwalda" or sole ruler of Britain.
    • In a time when each section had its own king, he alone could claim direct
      descent from the kings of migration time. He was heir of the last of the
      archaic dynasties who was able to make the king of Wessex supreme over all
      the other English peoples, and overlord to all the other kings of the area.
      His youngest grandson would make history as Alfred the Great. He was King of
      Wessex from 802-839, and declared Bretwalda, "ruler of the British", in 830
      after exiling to the court of Charlemagne in the late 8th century.
    • See: http://29.1911encyclopedia.org/E/EC/ECGBERT.htm as of 31 Jan 2004
    • See: http://29.1911encyclopedia.org/E/EC/ECGBERT.htm as of 31 Jan 2004
    • See: http://29.1911encyclopedia.org/E/EC/ECGBERT.htm as of 31 Jan 2004
    • Egbert of Wessex
      From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

      Egbert
      King of Wessex
      Reign 802 — 839
      Born c. 770
      Wessex, England
      Died 839
      Cornwall, England
      Buried Winchester, Hampshire
      Married Redburga
      Parents Ealhmund (father)

      Egbert (also Ecgberht or Ecgbert) (c. 770 — July 839) was King of Wessex from 802 until his death. Under Egbert, Wessex rose to become the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, overthrowing the supremacy of Mercia.

      A somewhat difficult question has arisen as to the parentage of Egbert. Under the year 825, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states that in his eastern conquests Egbert recovered what had been the rightful property of his kin. The father of Egbert was called Ealhmund, and we find an Ealhmund, king in Kent, mentioned in a charter dated 784, who is identified with Egbert's father in a late addition to the Chronicle under the date 784. It is possible, however, that the Chronicle in 825 refers to some claim through Ine of Wessex from whose brother Ingeld Egbert was descended.

      After the murder of King Cynewulf in 786, Egbert may have contested the succession, but the throne went to Beorhtric, an ally of Offa of Mercia. Starting probably in 789, Egbert went into exile after being expelled by Offa and Beorhtric. He spent this exile with the Franks on the continent, and although it is said to have lasted three years, some historians have suggested that this period may have actually lasted thirteen years (789–802), as this would account for Egbert's whereabouts during the whole period preceding Beorhtric's death.

      Beorhtric ruled subject to the Mercian kings (Offa and, from 796, Coenwulf), and Egbert probably sought greater independence for Wessex. He was acknowledged as king by the West Saxons following Beorhtric's death in 802, but on the same day as his accession to the throne, Ælthelmund, earl of the Hwicce, led a raid into Wessex. Ælthelmund was defeated and killed by Weoxtan, earl of Wiltshire, who also lost his life in the battle.

      In 815 Egbert ravaged the whole of the territories of the West Welsh, which probably at this time did not include much more than Cornwall; it is probably from his reign that Cornwall can be considered subject to Wessex. The next important occurrence in the reign was the defeat of Beornwulf of Mercia at a place called Ellandun in 825. After this victory, Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essex submitted to Wessex; while the East Anglians, who rose against Mercian rule and slew Beornwulf shortly afterwards, acknowledged Egbert as overlord. In 829 the king conquered Mercia, and Northumbria accepted him as overlord after refusing to fight his forces at Dore (now a suburb of Sheffield). In 830 he led a successful expedition against the Welsh, and it was in the same year that Mercia regained its independence under Wiglaf, although it is uncertain whether this was achieved through a rebellion or was the result of a grant by Egbert to Wiglaf. In 836 Egbert was defeated by the Danes, but in 838 he won a battle against them and their allies the West Welsh at Hingston Down in Cornwall.

      Egbert married Redburga, a Frankish princess (possibly a sister-in-law of the emperor Charlemagne), and had two sons and a daughter. Egbert died in about 839, and was buried at Winchester. He was succeeded by his son, King Ethelwulf of Wessex.


      This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain.

      Preceded by:
      Wiglaf King of Mercia
      Succeeded by:
      Wiglaf
      Preceded by:
      Beorhtric King of Wessex
      Succeeded by:
      Ethelwulf of Wessex
      Preceded by:
      Offa of Mercia Bretwalda
    • Egbert was born in the reign of King Cynewulf of Wessex. He was the son of Aelmund, a minor prince of the Royal House, descended from Ingeld, the brother of the late and great King Ine. Not much is known about his early life, but both he and his father appear to have become embroiled in political intrigues of the period. Egbert's mother was probably a daughter of King Aethelbert II of Kent and, hence, Aelmund was able to claim the joint-Kingship of Kent between AD 784-5. Soon afterward, Egbert made a play for the throne of Wessex, but his rebellion did not gain support and he was forced to flee the country.

      For almost twenty years, Egbert lived in exile at the Frankish Court of the Emperor Charlemagne. Only in AD 802, upon the death of King Bertric, was he finally able to return to England and seize the Wessex throne. His authority seems to have been accepted rather quickly, perhaps because of a lack of alternative heirs.

      The kingdom prospered for the next twenty-three years. Egbert used his time wisely, consolidating his position and building a powerful army. By AD 825, the power of Mercia was waning. The midland kingdom had seen four different monarchs in the space of two years and Egbert quickly recognised the opportunity which had presented itself. At Wroughton in Wiltshire, his armies clashed with the Mercians under King Beornwulf. The latter was thoroughly defeated at the Battle of Ellandon; and Egbert went on to press his home his advantage. His armies first ousted King Baldred from Kent and then turned on Cornish Dumnonia, whom they fought at Gafelford (either Galford in Devon or Camelford in Cornwall). The resulting kudos soon led to a major transfer of allegiance as Sussex, Surrey and Essex all submitted to West Saxon overlordship.

      Egbert gave his new south-eastern provinces to his eldest son, Aethelwulf, to rule, while he concentrated once more on attacking Mercia. The midland kingdom had now been further weakened by war by East Anglia and, in AD 828, Egbert's army was able to take over its lands with ease. King Wiglaf of Mercia fled and the Wessex armies moved still further north to threaten Northumbria. Their King, Enred, was defeated at the battle of the River Dore and forced to recognise Egbert as his overlord. He is thus recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as the eighth of the Bretwaldas.

      However, the control of Mercia direct from Wessex was an almost impossible task and, by AD 830, Wiglaf had already managed to re-establish his rule there. Egbert seems to have accepted the situation, probably still considering himself to be Wiglaf's overlord. In any case, he soon had his hands full dealing with a new opponent. For, in AD 836, the Vikings arrived in West Saxon North Devon and Somerset. Egbert's army fought them at the Battle of Carhampton, but things did not go well and he was forced to withdraw. Two years later, the threat became even more serious when the Cornish Dumnonians joined forces with the Northmen. This time, however, Egbert was the decisive victor at the Battle of Hingston Down.

      Egbert died the following year and he was buried in the Old Minster at Winchester. He had married a lady named Redburga and they had at least two children: Aethelwulf, who succeeded his father as King of the English, and St. Edith of Polesworth.
    • In a time when each section had its own king, he alone could claim direct
      descent from the kings of migration time. He was heir of the last of the
      archaic dynasties who was able to make the king of Wessex supreme over all
      the other English peoples, and overlord to all the other kings of the area.
      His youngest grandson would make history as Alfred the Great. He was King of
      Wessex from 802-839, and declared Bretwalda, "ruler of the British", in 830
      after exiling to the court of Charlemagne in the late 8th century.
    • Egbert of Wessex



      From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.



      Egbert [Egbert.jpg]

      Rank: 1st

      Ruled: January, 802-July, 839

      Predecessor: Offa

      Date of Birth: circa775

      Place of Birth: Wessex, England

      Wife: Redburga

      Buried: Winchester Cathedral

      Date of Death: 839

      Parents: Ealhmund and his wife?



      Egbert (also Ecgberht or Ecgbert) (b. about 770, d. 839), king of the West Saxons, succeeded to the throne in 802 on the death of Beorhtric.



      A somewhat difficult question has arisen as to the parentage of Egbert. Under the year 825 the Chronicle states that in his eastern conquests Egbert recovered what had been the rightful property of his kin. The father of Egbert was called
      Ealhmund, and we find an Ealhmund, king in Kent, mentioned in a charter dated 784 , who is identified with Egbert's father in a late addition to the Chronicle under the date 784. It is possible, however, that the Chronicle in 825 refers to some
      claim through Ine of Wessex from whose brother Ingeld Egbert was descended.



      It is said that at an earlier period in his life he had been driven out for three years by Offa and Beorhtric. The accession of Egbert seems to have brought about an invasion by Ælthelmund, earl of the Hwicce, who was defeated by Weoxtan, earl
      of Wiltshire.



      In 815 Ecgbert ravaged the whole of the territories of the West Welsh, which probably at this time did not include much more than Cornwall. The next important occurrence in the reign was the defeat of Beornwulf of Mercia at a place called
      Ellandun in 825. After this victory Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essex submitted to Wessex; while the East Anglians, who slew Beornwulf shortly afterwards, acknowledged Ecgbert as overlord. In 829 the king conquered Mercia, and Northumbria accepted
      him as overlord. In 830 he led a successful expedition against the Welsh. In 836 he was defeated by the Danes, but in 838 he won a battle against them and their allies the West Welsh at Hingston Down in Cornwall.



      Egbert married Redburga, a Frankish princess (possibly a sister of the emperor Charlemagne), and had two sons and a daughter. Egbert died in about 839, and was buried at Winchester. He was succeeded by his son, King Ethelwulf of Wessex.



      This entry was originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
    • [elen.FTW]

      [Brøderbund WFT Vol. 3, Ed. 1, Tree #4579, Date of Import: Jun 15, 2003]

      Egbert was King of Wessex, 802-827, and was the first king of all England, 827-836.
      Egbert, King of Wessex & the English
      (Died AD 839)
      Egbert was born in the reign of King Cynewulf of Wessex. He was the son of Aelmund, a minor prince of the Royal House, descended from Ingeld, the brother of the late and great King Ine. Not much is known about his early life, but both he and his father appear to have become embroiled in political intrigues of the period. Egbert's mother was probably a daughter of King Aethelbert II of Kent and, hence, Aelmund was able to claim the joint-Kingship of Kent between AD 784-5. Soon afterward, Egbert made a play for the throne of Wessex, but his rebellion did not gain support and he was forced to flee the country.

      For almost twenty years, Egbert lived in exile at the Frankish Court of the Emperor Charlemagne. Only in AD 802, upon the death of King Bertric, was he finally able to return to England and seize the Wessex throne. His authority seems to have been accepted rather quickly, perhaps because of a lack of alternative heirs.

      The kingdom prospered for the next twenty-three years. Egbert used his time wisely, consolidating his position and building a powerful army. By AD 825, the power of Mercia was waning. The midland kingdom had seen four different monarchs in the space of two years and Egbert quickly recognised the opportunity which had presented itself. At Wroughton in Wiltshire, his armies clashed with the Mercians under King Beornwulf. The latter was thoroughly defeated at the Battle of Ellandon; and Egbert went on to press his home his advantage. His armies first ousted King Baldred from Kent and then turned on Cornish Dumnonia, whom they fought at Gafelford (either Galford in Devon or Camelford in Cornwall). The resulting kudos soon led to a major transfer of allegiance as Sussex, Surrey and Essex all submitted to West Saxon overlordship.

      Egbert gave his new south-eastern provinces to his eldest son, Aethelwulf, to rule, while he concentrated once more on attacking Mercia. The midland kingdom had now been further weakened by war by East Anglia and, in AD 828, Egbert's army was able to take over its lands with ease. King Wiglaf of Mercia fled and the Wessex armies moved still further north to threaten Northumbria. Their King, Enred, was defeated at the battle of the River Dore and forced to recognise Egbert as his overlord. He is thus recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as the eighth of the Bretwaldas.

      However, the control of Mercia direct from Wessex was an almost impossible task and, by AD 830, Wiglaf had already managed to re-establish his rule there. Egbert seems to have accepted the situation, probably still considering himself to be Wiglaf's overlord. In any case, he soon had his hands full dealing with a new opponent. For, in AD 836, the Vikings arrived in West Saxon North Devon and Somerset. Egbert's army fought them at the Battle of Carhampton, but things did not go well and he was forced to withdraw. Two years later, the threat became even more serious when the Cornish Dumnonians joined forces with the Northmen. This time, however, Egbert was the decisive victor at the Battle of Hingston Down.

      Egbert died the following year and he was buried in the Old Minster at Winchester. He had married a lady named Redburga and they had at least two children: Aethelwulf, who succeeded his father as King of the English, and St. Edith of Polesworth.
    • In a time when each section had its own king, he alone could claim direct
      descent from the kings of migration time. He was heir of the last of the
      archaic dynasties who was able to make the king of Wessex supreme over all
      the other English peoples, and overlord to all the other kings of the area.
      His youngest grandson would make history as Alfred the Great. He was King of
      Wessex from 802-839, and declared Bretwalda, "ruler of the British", in 830
      after exiling to the court of Charlemagne in the late 8th century.
    • King of England
      836 - The army of King Egbert of Wessex is defeated by invading
      Vikings at the Battle of Carhampton.
      838 - The British of Dumnonia join forces with the Vikings and
      attack Wessex. King Egbert defeats them at the Battle of Hingston
      Down.
    • Biography of King Egbert
    • In a time when each section had its own king, he alone could claim direct
      descent from the kings of migration time. He was heir of the last of the
      archaic dynasties who was able to make the king of Wessex supreme over all
      the other English peoples, and overlord to all the other kings of the area.
      His youngest grandson would make history as Alfred the Great. He was King of
      Wessex from 802-839, and declared Bretwalda, "ruler of the British", in 830
      after exiling to the court of Charlemagne in the late 8th century.
    • In a time when each section had its own king, he alone could claim direct
      descent from the kings of migration time. He was heir of the last of the
      archaic dynasties who was able to make the king of Wessex supreme over all
      the other English peoples, and overlord to all the other kings of the area.
      His youngest grandson would make history as Alfred the Great. He was King of
      Wessex from 802-839, and declared Bretwalda, "ruler of the British", in 830
      after exiling to the court of Charlemagne in the late 8th century.
    • The male line of kings descends from Egbert to Edward the Confessor and the female line to the present time.

      Christianity was practised in the seven Kingdoms. In 802 Egbert became King of Wessex, and he and his successors are known as Kings of England. Egbert was the son of Ealhmund, King of Kent. Although nominally King of England, really he was only accepted South of the Humber. He won a resounding victory over the Norsemen and Cornish at Hingston Down near Callington in Cornwall in 836 and also conquered Mercia in 829 but lost it again in 838. He paved the way for national political unification which was achieved by King Athelstan in the 10th century. Although Egbert was King, the remaining kingdoms retained sub-kings or Ealdormen. Egbert was born c770 and died in 839.
    • DESCENT: Frederick Lewis Weis and Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr., Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700, (7th ed., 1992) at 2. Line 1-13.
    • Egbert was King of Wessex from 802 until 839. He claimed descent from Ingild, a brother of King Ine of Wessex. His father was a certain Ealhmund who ruled briefly in Kent c. 784 in opposition to Offa of Mercia. When King Cynewulf of Wessex died in 786, Egbert disputed with Beorhtric for possession of the kingdom. Beorhtric, Offa's protâegâe, came out on top and Egbert departed into exile at the Frankish court. On Beorhtric's death in 802 Egbert returned and established himself as King of Wessex in a successful revolt against Mercian ascendancy.
      Egbert ruled an independent Wessex for the next twenty-three years, of which we have little record. This was succeeded by a period of frenzied activity. In 825 he defeated King Beornwulf of Mercia at thebattle of Ellendun (probably Wroughton in Wiltshire) and immediately afterwards sent his son ¥thelwulf eastwards to wrest Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essex from Mercian overlordship. He also received an appeal for protection from the East Anglians who had rebelled against the Mercians.The Mercian empire seemed to be falling apart as rival claimants contended for kingship over the next few years. In 829 Egbert conquered Mercia and went on to lay waste part of Northumbria and exact submission and tribute from its king Eanred. For a short period he was overlord of all the English kingdoms. But in 830 Mercia threw off West Saxon lordship and for the rest of his reign Egbert's direct authority was restricted to Wessex and the south east.
      It has sometimes been claimed that Egbert was the first 'King of all England'. But this is absurd. The notion is based upon the treatment of Egbert in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, put together in the form in which we have it at the court of Egbert's grandson Alfred and concerned above all else to magnify the exploits of the West Saxon royal dynasty. Mercian supremacy did not end with Offa. Ninth-century Mercia may have been subject to dynastic instability (and which Anglo-Saxon kingdom was not?) but it could still produce some imposing rulers such as Cenwuif(796-821), Wiglaf (827-40) and Beorhtwulf (840-52).
      Further to the north the Northumbrian King Eanred (808-40) continued to rule a kingdom stretching from the Humber to the Firth of Forth: the submission to Egbert in 829 had no lasting effect.
      Nevertheless, Egbert's reign is an important one. In the first place, he consolidated West Saxon domination over the remaining British princes of the south-west in a series of campaigns in 815, 825, 830 and838. Secondly, his annexation of south-eastern England in 825 was to be permanent. Kent became a dependency where West Saxon princes could learn the business of kingship: just as Egbert entrusted Kent to his son ¥thelwulf, so after his accession in 839 ¥thelwulf placed his son¥thelstan in authority there. Egbert and ¥thelwulf were at pains to cultivate good relations with the archbishops of Canterbury; they had learnt the lessons of Offa's failure in this respect. In particular, they tried to ensure that the see of Canterbury should be well-disposed not just to individual kings of Wessex but to the dynasty as a whole; in their own words in a charter of 838, 'that we and our heirs for ever afterwards may have firm and unbroken friendship from the archbishop and all his successors.' They wanted to break free from the snares of dynastic instability and discontinuity which plagued Mercia, Northumbria and their Frankish neighbours over the Channel. That they succeeded in doing so no doubt owed much to luck, but also something to shrewd management. Finally, Egbert showed that he could cope with new enemies, the Vikings. They ravaged the Island of Sheppey in 835, and defeated him at Carhampton in 836. But when in 838 they made common cause with the Britons of the south-west Egbert defeated them at Hingston Down in Cornwall. In the last battle of his life Egbert showed that the Danes were vulnerable.

      angelcyn@hrofi.demon.co.uk.
    • http://www.peterwestern.f9.co.uk/maximilia/pafg70.htm#859
      Egbert 1 1st Saxon King [Parents] [scrapbook] was born 770. He died 1 838. Egbert married Redburga. Egbert was baptized 2 in Reigned 802-839.
      1 NAME Ecgbert III of Wessex, King of/Wessex/
      (Egbert 111 King of Kent)
      EGBERT (775?-839) was king of Wessex in England from 802 to his death. The king of Mercia drove him into exile in 789 (see ANGLO-SAXONS). Egbert lived in Gaul for three years, where he saw the expansion of Charlemagne's empire. After gaining the West Saxon throne, Egbert destroyed the supremacy of Mercia in England. By conquering Cornwall, Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, he enlarged Wessex and made his kingdom supreme. The Mercians, East Anglians, and Northumbrians recognized his rule. His reign foreshadowed the later growth of a united England.
      1 "The Royal Families of England Scotland & Wales by Burkes Peerage.".
      2p. 39. "Collins Gem Kings & Queens.".
      scrapbook: http://www.peterwestern.f9.co.uk/maximilia/images/sb35b.htm
      Egbert reigned 802-839, after exile 789 at Charlemagne's court. Egbert succeeded his cousin and made Wessex the leading kingdom in England, laying a basis for her future unification. His are the earliest-surviving Wessex coins (c825). By the Wansdyke he may have built, Egbert defeated King Beornwulf of Mercia (Reigned 840-853, succeeded Wiglaf as king and endured a period of sustained Viking attacks. He was finally routed in 852 when over 350 ships stormed London & Canterbury and he died a year later. He was succeeded by his son Burgred.) at the Battle of Ellandune (south of Swindon, Wilts.) in 825, ending Mercia's power over Wessex and occupying Mercia in 829. Egbert annexed Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, and his armies crushed Cornish and Danish forces in the south-west (815, at Galford in person 825, and 838), latterly in person at Hengist Down (near Plymouth). Briefly, he ruled all England south of the River Humber, but never conquered Northumbria. His mainly outstanding descendants (by Redburga) would rule England for more than 150 years.
      Egbert was an Anglo-Saxon king who ruled Wessex from AD 802 to 839. We use him to mark the division between the dark ages and medieval times because he is the first Anglo-Saxon king to achieve the semblance of a United England.
      The three most powerful kingdoms in England during Anglo-Saxon times were Wessex, Northumbria, and Mercia. At one time, Offa of Mercia forced Egbert to flee to France and take refuge with Charlemagne (the great Frankish general who ruled an empire that looked much like modern France). He later returned to Wessex, where he was recognized as king. He gave battle to the Mercians and defeated them in 825. In 829, the Northumbrians also conceded that he would be their overlord. He was given the title of "Bretwalda," or king of All England.
      Northumbria and Mercia maintained their own dynasties for a while, however. That wouldn't end until King Edgar in AD 959, who became the sole ruler of all three realms.
      Edgar was the great-grandfather of Edward the Confessor, the Anglo-Saxon king who declared William the Conqueror heir to the throne of England.
    • EGBERT, KING OF WESSEX (r. 802-839)

      As King of Wessex, Egbert inherited the mantle of 'bretwalda' - an Anglo-Saxon term meaning a ruler with overall superiority to other rulers - after the decline of Mercian power under Offa. He came to power in 802 and died in 839, but little else is known about his brief reign.
    • Expelled from England "to the land of the Franks" by Offa, King ofMerc ia
      and Beorhtric, King of Wessex in 789?. Acknowledged in Kent, Surrey,
      Sussex, Essex and East Anglia after his victory over the Mercians atEl lendun
      (near Wroughton, Wilts) in 825. Conquered Mercia in 829 and reckoned asthe
      eighth Bretwalda (Ruler of Britain).
    • The following is from the Brian Tompsett online royal genealogy, (Aug 4. 98), http://www.dcs.ac.uk/cgi-bin/gedlkup:

      "Reigned 802-839. In 800 at the decease of King Brithric, Egbert was called by the voice of his countrymen to assume the Government of Wessex, and he subsequently succeeded in reducing all the Kingdoms of the Heptarchy under his sway. His reign, a long and glorious one, is memorable for the great victories he achieved over the Danes. See Europaish Stammtafeln Bund II tafel 58."
    • The following is from the Brian Tompsett online royal genealogy, (Aug 4. 98), http://www.dcs.ac.uk/cgi-bin/gedlkup:

      "Reigned 802-839. In 800 at the decease of King Brithric, Egbert was called by the voice of his countrymen to assume the Government of Wessex, and he subsequently succeeded in reducing all the Kingdoms of the Heptarchy under his sway. His reign, a long and glorious one, is memorable for the great victories he achieved over the Danes. See Europaish Stammtafeln Bund II tafel 58."
    • [3013] COLVER31.TXT file, b. abt 775, d. 839

      BIRTH: Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, king of Wessex 802-39

      "Ancestral Roots of 60 Colonists", b 775, d. aft 19 Nov 838; first king of all England 827-836

      AUREJAC.GED file, d 4 Feb 839, Roi de Wessex & Anglo-Saxons

      WSHNGT.ASC file (Geo Wash Ah'tafel) # 4463726640 = 14714952, b abt 784

      "Anglo Saxon Chronicle", Part 1: A.D. 495. 'Then succeeded Egbert to the kingdom, and held it seven and thirty winters, and seven months.'

      "Britain's Royal Families ..." by Alison Weir p 4: d 4 Feb 839 (or after June), bur
    • Known as the first King of All England, he was forced into exile at the court of Charlemagne, by the powerful Offa, King of Mercia. Egbert returned to England in 802 and was recognized as king of Wessex. He defeated the rival Mercians at the battle of Ellendun in 825. In 829, the Northumbrians accepted his overlordship and he was proclaimed "Bretwalda" or sole ruler of Britain.
    • With whom authentic Saxon history begins, was the first King of all England. He began his reign in Wessex and Sussex AD 800; conquered Kent in 818, Essex in 824, and finished the conquest of the other kingdoms in 827. He died AD 836. He is twenty-first in descent from Woden of the kingdom of Kent about AD 455.
    • Known as the first King of all England.
    • Egbert (also spelled Ecgberht) (died 839) was King of Wessex from 802 until 839. His father was Ealhmund of Kent. In the 780s Egbert was forced into exile by Offa of Mercia and Beorhtric of Wessex, but on Beorhtric's death in 802 Egbert returned and took the throne.
      Little is known of the first twenty years of Egbert's reign, but it is thought that he was able to maintain Wessex's independence against the kingdom of Mercia, which at that time dominated the other southern English kingdoms. In 825 Egbert defeated Beornwulf of Mercia at the battle of Ellendun, and proceeded to take control of the Mercian dependencies in southeastern England. In 829 Egbert defeated Wiglaf of Mercia and drove him out of his kingdom, temporarily ruling Mercia directly. Later that year Egbert received the submission of the Northumbrian king at Dore, near Sheffield. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle subsequently described Egbert as a bretwalda, or "Ruler of Britain."
      Egbert was unable to maintain this dominant position, and within a year Wiglaf regained the throne of Mercia. However, Wessex did retain control of Kent, Sussex and Surrey; these territories were given to Egbert's son Æthelwulf to rule as a subking under Egbert. When Egbert died in 839, Æthelwulf succeeded him; the southeastern kingdoms were finally absorbed into the kingdom of Wessex after Æthelwulf's death in 858.
      The earliest version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Parker Chronicle, begins with a genealogical preface tracing the ancestry of Egbert's son Æthelwulf back through Egbert, Ealhmund (thought to be Ealhmund of Kent), and the otherwise unknown Eoppa and Eafa to Ingild, brother of king Ine of Wessex, who abdicated the throne in 726. It continues back to Cerdic, founder of the House of Wessex. Egbert was born around 769 or 771. He is reputed to have had a half-sister Alburga, later to be recognized as a saint. She was married to Wulstan, Ealdorman of Wiltshire, and on his death she became a nun. The only source for the wife of Egbert is a later medieval manuscript at Trinity College, Oxford, which relates that Egbert married Redburga, regis Francorum sororia, thought to indicate sister, sister-in law or niece of the Frankish Emperor. This seems consistent with Egbert's strong ties to the Frankish royal court and his exile there, but lacks contemporary support.
      The number of Egbert's children is uncertain. Æthelwulf, who succeeded Egbert, having governed as Subregulus of Kent, Essex, Surrey and Sussex, was his son. Some versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (e.g. the Worcester and Laud Chronicles) call Æthelstan Egbert's son, but the Parker Chronicle shows Æthelstan as son of Æthelwulf and hence Egbert's grandson, and this reconstruction is generally preferred. A number of writers after the Norman Conquest make Saint Edith (Eadgyth) of Polesworth a daughter of Egbert, but this is doubtful.
      Offa of Mercia, who reigned from 757 to 796, was the dominant force in Anglo-Saxon England in the second half of the eighth century. The relationship between Offa and Cynewulf, who was king of Wessex from 757 to 786, is not well-documented, but it seems likely that Cynewulf maintained some independence from Mercian overlordship. Evidence of the relationship between kings can come from charters, which were documents which granted land to followers or to churchmen, and which were witnessed by the kings who had power to grant the land. In some cases a king will appear on a charter as a subregulus, or "subking", making it clear that he has an overlord. Cynewulf appears as "King of the West Saxons" on a charter of Offa's in 772; and he was defeated by Offa in battle in 779 at Bensington, but there is nothing else to suggest Cynewulf was not his own master, and he is not known to have acknowledged Offa as overlord. Offa did have influence in the southeast of the country: a charter of 764 shows him in the company of Heahberht of Kent, suggesting that Offa's influence helped place Heahberht on the throne. The extent of Offa's control of Kent between 765 and 776 is a matter of debate amongst historians, but from 776 until about 784 it appears that the Kentish kings had substantial independence from Mercia.
      Another Egbert, Egbert of Kent, ruled in that kingdom throughout the 770s; he is last mentioned in 779, in a charter granting land at Rochester. In 784 a new king of Kent, Ealhmund, appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle According to a note in the margin, "this king Ealhmund was Egbert's father [i.e. Egbert of Wessex], Egbert was Æthelwulf's father". This is supported by the genealogical preface from the A text of the Chronicle, which gives Egbert's father's name as Ealhmund without further details. The preface probably dates from the late ninth century; the marginal note is on the F manuscript of the Chronicle, which is a Kentish version dating from about 1100.
      Ealhmund does not appear to have long survived in power: there is no record of his activities after 784. There is, however, extensive evidence of Offa's domination of Kent during the late 780s, with his goals apparently going beyond overlordship to outright annexation of the kingdom, and he has been described as "the rival, not the overlord, of the Kentish kings". It is possible that the young Egbert fled to Wessex in 785 or so; it is suggestive that the Chronicle mentions in a later entry that Beorhtric, Cynewulf's successor, helped Offa to exile Egbert.
      Cynewulf was murdered in 786. Egbert may have contested the succession, but Offa successfully intervened in the ensuing power struggle on the side of Beorhtric. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Egbert spent three years in Francia before he was king, exiled by Beorhtric and Offa. The text says "iii" for three, but this may have been a scribal error, with the correct reading being "xiii", that is, thirteen years. Beorhtric's reign lasted sixteen years, and not thirteen; and all extant texts of the chronicle agree on "iii", but many modern accounts assume that Egbert did indeed spend thirteen years in Francia. This requires assuming that the error in transcription is common to every manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; many historians make this assumption but others have rejected it as unlikely, given the consistency of the sources. In either case Egbert was probably exiled in 789, when Beorhtric, his rival, married the daughter of Offa of Mercia.
      At the time Egbert was in exile, Francia was ruled by Charlemagne, who maintained Frankish influence in Northumbria and is known to have supported Offa's enemies in the south. Another exile in Gaul at this time was Odberht, a priest, who is almost certainly the same person as Eadberht, who later became king of Kent. According to a later chronicler, William of Malmesbury, Egbert learned the arts of government during his time in Gaul.
      Beorhtric's dependency on Mercia continued into the reign of Cenwulf, who became king of Mercia a few months after Offa's death. Beorhtric died in 802, and Egbert came to the throne of Wessex, probably with the support of Charlemagne and perhaps also the papacy. The Mercians continued to oppose Egbert: the day of his accession, the Hwicce (who had originally formed a separate kingdom, but by that time were part of Mercia) attacked, under the leadership of their ealdorman, Æthelmund. Weohstan, a Wessex ealdorman, met him with men from Wiltshire: according to a fifteenth-century source, Weohstan had married Alburga, Egbert's sister, and so was Egbert's brother-in-law. The Hwicce were defeated, though Weohstan was killed as well as Æthelmund. Nothing more is recorded of Egbert's relations with Mercia for more than twenty years after this battle. It seems likely that Egbert had no influence outside his own borders, but on the other hand there is no evidence that he ever submitted to the overlordship of Cenwulf. Cenwulf did have overlordship of the rest of southern England, but in Cenwulf's charters the title of "overlord of the southern English" never appears, presumably in consequence of the independence of the kingdom of Wessex.
      In 815 the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Egbert ravaged the whole of the territories of the remaining British kingdom, Dumnonia, known to the author of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as the West Welsh; their territory was about equivalent to what is now Cornwall. Ten years later, a charter dated 19 August 825 indicates that Egbert was campaigning in Dumnonia again; this may have been related to a battle recorded in the Chronicle at Galford in 823, between the men of Devon and the Britons of Cornwall.
      It was also in 825 that one of the most important battles in Anglo-Saxon history took place, when Egbert defeated Beornwulf of Mercia at Ellendun now Wroughton, near Swindon. This battle marked the end of the Mercian domination of southern England. The Chronicle tells how Egbert followed up his victory: "Then he sent his son Æthelwulf from the army, and Ealhstan, his bishop, and Wulfheard, his ealdorman, to Kent with a great troop." Æthelwulf drove Baldred, the king of Kent, north over the Thames, and according to the Chronicle, the men of Kent, Essex, Surrey and Sussex then all submitted to Æthelwulf "because earlier they were wrongly forced away from his relatives."This may refer to Offa's interventions in Kent at the time Egbert's father Ealhmund became king; if so, the chronicler's remark may also indicate Ealhmund had connections elsewhere in southeast England.
      The Chronicle's version of events makes it appear that Baldred was driven out shortly after the battle, but this was probably not the case. A document from Kent survives which gives the date, March 826, as being in the third year of the reign of Beornwulf. This makes it likely that Beornwulf still had authority in Kent at this date, as Baldred's overlord; hence Baldred was apparently still in power. In Essex, Egbert expelled King Sigered, though the date is unknown. It may have been delayed until 829, since a later chronicler associates the expulsion with a campaign of Egbert's in that year against the Mercians.
      The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle does not say who was the aggressor at Ellendun, but one recent history asserts that Beornwulf was almost certainly the one who attacked. According to this view, Beornwulf may have taken advantage of the Wessex campaign in Dumnonia in the summer of 825. Beornwulf's motivation would have been the threat of unrest or instability in the southeast: the dynastic connections with Kent made Wessex a threat to Mercian dominance.
      The consequences of Ellendun went beyond the immediate loss of Mercian power in the southeast. According to the Chronicle, the East Anglians asked for Egbert's protection against the Mercians in the same year, 825, though it may actually have been in the following year that the request was made. In 826 Beornwulf invaded East Anglia, presumably to recover his overlordship. He was slain, however, as was his successor, Ludeca, who invaded East Anglia in 827, evidently for the same reason. It may be that the Mercians were hoping for support from Kent: there was some reason to suppose that Wulfred, the Archbishop of Canterbury, might be discontented with West Saxon rule, as Egbert had terminated Wulfred's currency and had begun to mint his own, at Rochester and Canterbury, and it is known that Egbert seized property belonging to Canterbury. The outcome in East Anglia was a disaster for the Mercians which confirmed West Saxon power in the southeast.
      In 829 Egbert invaded Mercia and drove Wiglaf, the king of Mercia, into exile. This victory gave Egbert control of the London mint, and he issued coins as King of Mercia. It was after this victory that the West Saxon scribe described him as a bretwalda, meaning "wide-ruler" or "Britain-ruler", in a famous passage in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The relevant part of the annal reads, in the [C] manuscript of the Chronicle:
      “ 7 þy geare geeode Ecgbriht cing Myrcna rice 7 eall þæt be suþan Humbre wæs, 7 he wæs eahtaþa cing se ðe Bretenanwealda wæs. ”
      In modern English:
      “And the same year King Egbert conquered the kingdom of Mercia, and all that was south of the Humber, and he was the eighth king who was 'Wide Ruler'.”
      The previous seven bretwaldas are also named by the Chronicler, who gives the same seven names that Bede lists as holding imperium, starting with Ælle of Sussex and ending with Oswiu of Northumbria. The list is often thought to be incomplete, omitting as it does some dominant Mercian kings such as Penda and Offa. The exact meaning of the title has been much debated; it has been described as "a term of encomiastic poetry" but there is also evidence that it implied a definite role of military leadership.
      Later in 829, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Egbert received the submission of the Northumbrians at Dore (now a suburb of Sheffield); the Northumbrian king was probably Eanred. According to a later chronicler, Roger of Wendover, Egbert invaded Northumbria and plundered it before Eanred submitted: "When Egbert had obtained all the southern kingdoms, he led a large army into Northumbria, and laid waste that province with severe pillaging, and made King Eanred pay tribute." Roger of Wendover is known to have incorporated Northumbrian annals into his version; the Chronicle does not mention these events. However, the nature of Eanred's submission has been questioned: one historian has suggested that it is more likely that the meeting at Dore represented a mutual recognition of sovereignty.
      In 830 Egbert led a successful expedition against the Welsh, almost certainly with the intent of extending West Saxon influence into the Welsh lands previously within the Mercian orbit. This marked the high point of Egbert's influence.
      In 830, Mercia regained its independence under Wiglaf-the Chronicle merely says that Wiglaf "obtained the kingdom of Mercia again", but the most likely explanation is that this was the result of a Mercian rebellion against Wessex rule.
      Egbert's dominion over southern England came to an end with Wiglaf's recovery of power. Wiglaf's return is followed by evidence of his independence from Wessex. Charters indicate Wiglaf had authority in Middlesex and Berkshire, and in a charter of 836 Wiglaf uses the phrase "my bishops, duces, and magistrates" to describe a group that included eleven bishops from the episcopate of Canterbury, including bishops of sees in West Saxon territory. It is significant that Wiglaf was still able to call together such a group of notables; the West Saxons, even if they were able to do so, held no such councils. Wiglaf may also have brought Essex back into the Mercian orbit during the years after he recovered the throne. In East Anglia, King Æthelstan minted coins, possibly as early as 827, but more likely c. 830 after Egbert's influence was reduced with Wiglaf's return to power in Mercia. This demonstration of independence on East Anglia's part is not surprising, as it was Æthelstan who was probably responsible for the defeat and death of both Beornwulf and Ludeca.
      Both Wessex's sudden rise to power in the late 820s, and the subsequent failure to retain this dominant position, have been examined by historians looking for underlying causes. One plausible explanation for the events of these years is that Wessex's fortunes were to some degree dependent on Carolingian support. The Franks supported Eardwulf when he recovered the throne of Northumbria in 808, so it is plausible that they also supported Egbert's accession in 802. At Easter 839, not long before Egbert's death, he was in touch with Louis the Pious, king of the Franks, to arrange safe passage to Rome. Hence a continuing relationship with the Franks seems to be part of southern English politics during the first half of the ninth century.
      Carolingian support may have been one of the factors that helped Egbert achieve the military successes of the late 820s. However, the Rhenish and Frankish commercial networks collapsed at some time in the 820s or 830s, and in addition, a rebellion broke out in February 830 against Louis the Pious; the first of a series of internal conflicts that lasted through the 830s and beyond. These distractions may have prevented Louis from supporting Egbert. In this view, the withdrawal of Frankish influence would have left East Anglia, Mercia and Wessex to find a balance of power not dependent on outside aid.
      Despite the loss of dominance, Egbert's military successes fundamentally changed the political landscape of Anglo-Saxon England. Wessex retained control of the south-eastern kingdoms, with the possible exception of Essex; and Mercia did not regain control of East Anglia. Egbert's victories marked the end of the independent existence of the kingdoms of Kent and Sussex. The conquered territories were administered as a subkingdom for a while, including Surrey and possibly Essex. Although Æthelwulf was a subking under Egbert, it is clear that he maintained his own royal household, with which he travelled around his kingdom. Charters issued in Kent described Egbert and Æthelwulf as "kings of the West Saxons and also of the people of Kent." When Æthelwulf died in 858 his will, in which Wessex is left to one son and the southeastern kingdom to another, makes it clear that it was not until after 858 that the kingdoms were fully integrated. Mercia remained a threat, however; Egbert's son Æthelwulf, established as king of Kent, gave estates to Christ Church, Canterbury, probably in order to counter any influence the Mercians might still have there.
      In the southwest, Egbert was defeated in 836 at Carhampton by the Danes, but in 838 he won a battle against them and their allies the West Welsh at Hingston Down in Cornwall. The Dumnonian royal line continued after this time, but it is at this date that the independence of the last British kingdom may be considered to have ended. The details of Anglo-Saxon expansion into Cornwall are quite poorly recorded, but some evidence comes from place names. The river Ottery, which flows east into the Tamar near Launceston, appears to be a boundary: south of the Ottery the placenames are overwhelmingly Cornish, whereas to the north they are more heavily influenced by the English newcomers.
      At a council at Kingston-upon-Thames in 838, Egbert and Æthelwulf granted land to the sees of Winchester and Canterbury in return for the promise of support for Æthelwulf's claim to the throne. The archbishop of Canterbury, Ceolnoth, also accepted Egbert and Æthelwulf as the lords and protectors of the monasteries under Ceolnoth's control. These agreements, along with a later charter in which Æthelwulf confirmed church privileges, suggest that the church had recognized that Wessex was a new political power that must be dealt with. Churchmen consecrated the king at coronation ceremonies, and helped to write the wills which specified the king's heir; their support had real value in establishing West Saxon control and a smooth succession for Egbert's line. Both the record of the Council of Kingston, and another charter of that year, include the identical phrasing: that a condition of the grant is that "we ourselves and our heirs shall always hereafter have firm and unshakable friendships from Archbishop Ceolnoth and his congregation at Christ Church".
      Although nothing is known of any other claimants to the throne, it is likely that there were other surviving descendants of Cerdic (the supposed progenitor of all the kings of Wessex) who might have contended for the kingdom. Egbert died in 839, and his will, according to the account of it found in the will of his grandson, Alfred the Great, left land only to male members of his family, so that the estates should not be lost to the royal house through marriage. Egbert's wealth, acquired through conquest, was no doubt one reason for his ability to purchase the support of the southeastern church establishment; the thriftiness of his will indicates he understood the importance of personal wealth to a king. The kingship of Wessex had been frequently contested among different branches of the royal line, and it is a noteworthy achievement of Egbert's that he was able to ensure Æthelwulf's untroubled succession. In addition, Æthelwulf's experience of kingship, in the subkingdom formed from Egbert's southeastern conquests, would have been valuable to him when he took the throne.
      Egbert was buried in Winchester, as were his son, Æthelwulf, his grandson, Alfred the Great, and Alfred's son, Edward the Elder. During the ninth century, Winchester began to show signs of urbanization, and it is likely that the sequence of burials indicates that Winchester was held in high regard by the West Saxon royal line.
    • [Egbert (802-39 AD)

      Known as the first King of All England, he was forced into exile at the court of Charlemagne, by the powerful Offa, King of Mercia. Egbert returned to England in 802 and was recognized as king of Wessex. He defeated the rival Mercians at the battle of Ellendun in 825. In 829, the Northumbrians accepted his overlordship and he was proclaimed "Bretwalda" or sole ruler of Britain.

      Source: Britannia.com

      Weis gives 11 additional generations of ancestors for Egbert, back to Cerdic who died 534.

      "King of the West Saxons, 519-534, was a Saxon Earldorman who founded a settlement on the coast of Hampshire, England, in 495, assumed the title of King of the West Saxons in 519, and became the ancestor of the English royal line."
    • Egbert of Wessex
      From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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      Egbert
      King of Wessex

      Reign
      802 — 839
      Born
      c. 770
      Wessex, England
      Died
      839
      Cornwall, England
      Buried
      Winchester, Hampshire
      Married
      Redburga
      Parents
      Ealhmund (father)
      Egbert (also Ecgbehrt or Ecgbert) (c. 770 — July 839) was King of Wessex from 802 until his death. Under Egbert, Wessex rose to become the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, overthrowing the supremacy of Mercia.
      A somewhat difficult question has arisen as to the parentage of Egbert. Under the year 825, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states that in his eastern conquests Egbert recovered what had been the rightful property of his kin. The father of Egbert was called Ealhmund, and we find an Ealhmund, king in Kent, mentioned in a charter dated 784, who is identified with Egbert's father in a late addition to the Chronicle under the date 784. It is possible, however, that the Chronicle in 825 refers to some claim through Ine of Wessex from whose brother Ingeld Egbert was descended.
      After the murder of King Cynewulf in 786, Egbert may have contested the succession, but the throne went to Beorhtric, an ally of Offa of Mercia. Starting probably in 789, Egbert went into exile after being expelled by Offa and Beorhtric. He spent this exile with the Franks on the continent, and although it is said to have lasted three years, some historians have suggested that this period may have actually lasted thirteen years (789–802), as this would account for Egbert's whereabouts during the whole period preceding Beorhtric's death.
      Beorhtric ruled subject to the Mercian kings (Offa and, from 796, Coenwulf), and Egbert probably sought greater independence for Wessex. He was acknowledged as king by the West Saxons following Beorhtric's death in 802, but on the same day as his accession to the throne, Æthelmund, earl of the Hwicce, led a raid into Wessex. Æthelmund was defeated and killed by Weoxtan, earl of Wiltshire, who also lost his life in the battle.
      In 815 Egbert ravaged the whole of the territories of the West Welsh, which probably at this time did not include much more than Cornwall; it is probably from his reign that Cornwall can be considered subject to Wessex. The next important occurrence in the reign was the defeat of Beornwulf of Mercia at a place called Ellandun in 825. After this victory, Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essex submitted to Wessex; while the East Anglians, who rose against Mercian rule and slew Beornwulf shortly afterwards, acknowledged Egbert as overlord. In 829 the king conquered Mercia, and Eanred of Northumbria accepted him as overlord after refusing to fight his forces at Dore (now a suburb of Sheffield). In 830 he led a successful expedition against the Welsh, and it was in the same year that Mercia regained its independence under Wiglaf, although it is uncertain whether this was achieved through a rebellion or was the result of a grant by Egbert to Wiglaf. In 836 Egbert was defeated by the Danes, but in 838 he won a battle against them and their allies the West Welsh at Hingston Down in Cornwall.
      Egbert married Redburga, a Frankish princess (possibly a sister-in-law of the emperor Charlemagne), and had two sons and a daughter. Egbert died in about 839, and was buried at Winchester. He was succeeded by his son, King Ethelwulf of Wessex.
      The image of Egbert is an imaginary portrait drawn by an unknown artist.
      [edit]

      References
      • This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
    • [Jeremiah Brown.FTW]

      [from Ancestry.com 139798.GED]

      In 800 at the death of King Brithric, Egbert's cousin, Egbert was called by the voice of his countrymen to assume the Government of Wessex and he subsequently succeeded in reducing all the Kingdoms of the Heptarchy under his sway. His reign, a long and glorious one, is memorable for the great victories he achieved over the Danes [See Europsch Stammtafeln, Bund II, tafel 58]

      Offa, king of Mercia, forced Egbert into exile at the court of Charlemagne. However, Egbert returned to England in 802 and was recognized as king of Wessex. He defeated the Mercians at the battle of Ellendun in 825, and in 829 the Northumbrians accepted his overlordship and he was proclaimed "Bretwalda" or sole ruler of Britain. Egbert is regarded as the first King of England. In 835 Egbert defeated a formidable army of Danes at Hingston Down in Cornwall when they attempted to invade England.
    • [The Saxon & Norman Kings, by Christopher Brooke] (802-839). [Brit.
      Enc.] says he reigned from 802-825. He died 834. A descendant of Cerdic.
      Egbert 1st king of Wessex.
      [Alan Wilson , qoting Weis 7th ed., 1992,
      and others] ..abt 784 - after 19 Nov 838.
      [unknown gedcom from D. Pettit to R. Demaray May '96] Elgbeoth (801-839).
      Egbert, is regarded as the first King of England. He reigned from 802 to
      829 (839?). He was born about 775 and fled from his cousin Brethrick,
      taking refuse in the court of Charlemagne, where he stayed for about
      twelve years, serving as one of his captains. On the death of Brethrick,
      who was poisoned by his wife, Egbert returned to England. In 802 at
      Winchester he was crowned King of the West Saxons. He subdued West Wales,
      or Cornwall, defeated the King of Mercia at Ellandune, annexed Kent and
      in 829 he became overlord of all the English kings and gave the name of
      England to the whole realm. There are still in existence some coins
      struck by Egbert, though these are now extremely rare. In 835 Egbert
      defeated a formidable army of Danes at Hingston Down in Cornwall, when
      they attempted to invade England. He died in 839, and was buried at
      Westminster. He married Lady Readberga (Redburga). He was succeeded by
      his son, Ethelwulf.[Kopi av ROYALS.FTW]

      Reign: 802-839Reign: 802-839
      Reign: 802-839
    • Egbert (802-39 AD)

      Known as the first King of All England, he was forced into exile at the court of Charlemagne, by the powerful Offa, King of Mercia. Egbert returned to England in 802 and was recognized as king of Wessex. He defeated the rival Mercians at the battle of Ellendun in 825. In 829, the Northumbrians accepted his overlordship and he was proclaimed "Bretwalda" or sole ruler of Britain.

      Another version:

      Since his family had once held the kingdom of West Saxons, he posed a threat to Beorhtric, the West Saxon king. Beorhtric and his ally the Mercian king Offa drove Ecgbert into exile in 789. When Beorhtric died, Ecgbert succeeded to the throne. Among his first acts was to extricate Wessex from the Mercian confederation and consildate his power as an independent king. After more than twenty years as king, Ecgbert defeated Beornwulf, king of Mercia, at Ellendune in 825. This halted the ascendancy of Mercia, and signaled the growing power of Wessex. Ecgbert revived ancient claims and was accepted as king of Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Essex, and in 829 he conquered Mercia itself but the Mercians under king Wiglaf retook their homeland the following year. In 838 at Kingston Down(now Cornwall) Ecgbert acheived a great victory over invading Danes and Cornish Britons.
    • [alfred_ancestors10generations_fromrootsweb_bartont.FTW]

      "Egbert was King of Wessex, 802-827, and was the first king of all England, 828-836; m. Readburh. Th male line of kings descend from him to Edward the Confessor and the female line to the present time. (ASC 800,823, 826, 827, 828, 836; NSE X 209-210; Searle, 342-43.) (See; Harold W. Smith, Saxon England, gens, 9-13. This ref. omits Cutha (1-6) in early po--tion of pedigree.)" (Weis, 1-12, note).
    • tomb; Royalty for Commoners - Stuart, p.121 has 839
    Person ID I6000000002142373595  Ancestors of Donald Ross
    Last Modified 19 Feb 2021 

    Father Ealhmund,   b. Abt 758, Wessex Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aft 786, Wessex Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 29 years) 
    Married 775  Wessex, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F4586191489450011851  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Rædburh,   b. Abt 788,   d. Between 839 and 871  (Age ~ 51 years) 
    Children 
     1. Æþelwulf,   b. Abt 795, Wessex Kingdom, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 13 Jan 858, Stamridge, Wessex Kingdom Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 63 years)
    Last Modified 14 Mar 2021 
    Family ID F6000000000297354129  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart