King egbert family tree
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Egbert of Wessex
Egbert (also spelt Ecgberht) (c. 769–839) was King of Wessex from 802 until 839. In the 780s Egbert was forced into exile by King Offa of Mercia and King Beorhtric of Wessex, but on Beorhtric's death in 802 Egbert returned and took the throne. He was the father of King Athelwulf of Wessex.
Early career
[change | change source]Egbert was the son of Ealhmund, King of Kent.[2] He was descended from Ingeld, brother of King Ine of Wessex.[3] In 786 he made a bid for the throne of Wessex after the death of King Cynewulf of Wessex.[4] Offa of Mercia however, made Beorhtric king instead. As a youth, Egbert was seen as a problem for Beorhtric who didn't want Egbert in England.[4] While Beorhtric was negotiating to marry Offa's daughter he asked that Egbert be handed over to him. While Offa was considering doing just that, Egbert fled Mercia and at some point left England.[a] He appears to have been welcomed at the court of Charlemagne for at least three years, but possibly up to thirteen years. This is at
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Ecgberht, King of Wessex
King of Wessex from 802 to 839
For the 7th century king of Kent, see Ecgberht of Kent.
Ecgberht (770/775 – 839), also spelled Egbert, Ecgbert, Ecgbriht, Ecgbeorht, and Ecbert, was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was King Ealhmund of Kent. In the 780s, Ecgberht was forced into exile to Charlemagne's court in the Frankish Empire by the kings Offa of Mercia and Beorhtric of Wessex, but on Beorhtric's death in 802, Ecgberht returned and took the throne.
Little is known of the first 20 years of Ecgberht's reign, but it is thought that he was able to maintain the independence of Wessex against the kingdom of Mercia, which at that time dominated the other southern English kingdoms. In 825, Ecgberht defeated Beornwulf of Mercia, ended Mercian Supremacy at the Battle of Ellandun, and proceeded to take control of the Mercian dependencies in southeastern England. In 829, he defeated Wiglaf of Mercia and drove him out of his kingdom, temporarily ruling Mercia directly. Later that year Ecgberht received the submission
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Egbert 827-839
Saxon King
Egbert, in Old English Ecgbehrt, the first King of all England, was born around 770-780. He was the son of Ealhmund, King of Kent, who is mentioned in a charter of 784.
Ealhmund was himself the son of Eafa, King of Wessex, by a Kentish princess. The House of Wessex boasted of a descent from no less a personage than the great Woden himself. The Anglo Saxon Chronicle records the descent of Egbert from Cerdic, a Saxon invader who landed on the south coast in 495. Following the murder of King Cynewulf, Egbert's kinsman, Beothric was elected to the vacant throne of Wessex in 786, but Egbert, who considered himself to have a better claim, contested his right.
Statue of Egbert from Lichfield CathedralEgbert was forced to take refuge at the court of the powerful Offa, King of the tribal kingdom of Mercia. Beothric responded by proposing an alliance between himself and Offa, which was to be cemented by his marriage to Offa's daughter Eadburgha. He further requested that Offa deliver the rebel Egbert to him. Offa accepted Beorthric's offer for his daughter's
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