Egbert

King of England (r. 802-839)

• Born: c. 770
• Birthplace: Wessex (now in England)
• Died: 839
• Place of death: Wessex (now in England)

Egbert restored the fortunes of Wessex and established the political foundation of the future English state that, under Alfred the Great, would successfully resist Scandinavian dominance in the ninth century.

Early Life

Egbert was born into the royal family of the southern British kingdom of Wessex at a time when it had for more than half a century been under the overlordship of the midland kingdom of Mercia. His father, Ealhmund, may have been a descendant of both Hengist of Kent and Cerdic of Wessex, fifth century founders of their respective states. The royal line of Wessex, however, had passed to another branch of the family by the eighth century. Ealhmund therefore served under Mercian dominance as a subking of Kent (784-786). When both Ealhmund and Cynegils, the West Saxon king, died around 786, the Mercian king, Offa, feared that Egbert would unite the kingdoms of Kent and Wessex in opposition to Mercia. In alliance with a new Wessex king, Beorhtric, Offa exiled Egbert. The date and duration of Egbert’s exile are uncertain, though he may have been banished as early as 789, when Beorhtric married Offa’s daughter. Most sources suggest a three-year exile, though some historians contend that he was away from Britain for thirteen years.

Egbert found refuge and tutelage in Frankfurt at the court of Charlemagne, who, as the greatest European ruler of the time, may have assisted in securing Mercian acceptance of Egbert’s return to England. With Beorhtric’s death, Egbert ascended the throne of Wessex in 802. For the next twenty-three years, the only evidence of his reign is The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (compiled c. 890 to c. 1150) report of the 815 subjugation of Cornwall. During this gap in the historical record, Egbert probably was preparing Wessex and its army for the campaigns of 825 to 830, which would make him famous.

Life’s Work

In 825, Egbert launched a series of military campaigns that within five years brought most of England under his indirect control. Egbert first crushed a rebellion in western Wales (modern Cornwall). He then wheeled northward to meet the forces of Mercia, which had taken advantage of the Welsh revolt to invade Wessex. In 825 in the Ellendun region, near modern Swindon, Egbert slaughtered a force led by the Mercian king, Beornwulf, a battle commemorated in popular verse by reference to its “river of blood.” Immediately after the battle, he dispatched Ethelwulf, his son; Ealhstan, the bishop of Sherborne; Wulfheard, his aldermen; and a large army to regain the kingdom of Kent, which his father had previously ruled. There the Mercian under-king, Baldred, was driven north across the Thames River, forcing Kent into submission.

After the fall of Kent, the states of Sussex, Surrey, and Essex also submitted to Egbert. Finally, Egbert led his warriors in defense of the East Angles, who accepted Egbert’s overlordship in return for protection from Mercia. In a single year, Egbert had enlarged Wessex, dramatically weakened Mercia, and become overlord of Cornwall, Essex, and East Anglia, positioning himself to challenge the larger kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria.

By 829, after regrouping and utilizing the resources of his new territories, Egbert again repelled a Mercian attack led by the Mercian king Wiglaf on the East Angles; he then invaded Mercia itself, conquering all Britain south of the Humber River. In his honor, Egbert had coins stamped proclaiming him Rex Merciorum, king of the Mercians. He then led his army toward Northumbria. At Dore (near modern Sheffield), the Northumbrians submitted to the overlordship of Egbert. In 830, Egbert led an army against the north Welsh (in the area of present-day Wales), and in one of his last major campaigns gained their submission, consolidating his dominance of Britain south of Scotland.

This did not mean that Egbert was the king of England in the modern sense. His direct rule extended only to Wessex and a few adjacent regions. As was common at the time, Egbert ruled through subkings who acknowledged the overlordship of Wessex. He even restored Wiglaf to the throne of Mercia under such conditions in 830, probably in order to forestall further Welsh rebellions.

The kingdom of Kent also was maintained separately because of its unique position. It had been ruled by his father and might therefore have been brought within the strict boundaries of Wessex, but it was also the seat of ecclesiastical government in England and was the area of England closest to the European continent. As a result, Egbert made his son, Ethelwulf, king of Kent, probably in 828. Whereas the Mercians had tried to suppress the authority of the Church and of the archbishop of Canterbury, Egbert supported them, thus gaining an important political and social ally. At the Council of Kingston in 838, Egbert and Ethelwulf agreed to a perpetual alliance with the Church, guaranteeing election rights and providing assurances of peace and protection.

Little is known of Egbert’s domestic policy. There is some evidence to suggest that he strengthened ties between the bishops and the shires and that he organized local military forces, enabling the West Saxons to offer effective resistance to Scandinavian invaders. His final years were spent in trying to consolidate the extensive gains made during the 820’. Scandinavian raiders plundered coastal territories in both 834 and 835. These setbacks led the West Welsh to join an invasion of Wessex by the Scandinavians, but in 837, Egbert routed them at Hingston Down (Hengestdune). Two years later, he died and was succeeded by his son, Ethelwulf.

Significance

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle refers to Egbert as the eighth bretwalda, an informal title denoting a ruler of Britain and suggesting a measure of authority that he did not truly possess. Nevertheless, over a period of five years, Egbert did establish for the first time a single political framework for most of what is modern-day England. Although Wessex would later temporarily lose control of some the territories Egbert conquered, his work of consolidation was never wholly undone, and it proved to be a turning point in the process of English political unification. Three previously independent states, Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, would never be separated from the Saxon monarchy. More important was Egbert’s temporary overlordship of Northumbria, which previously had been far removed from “southern” concerns. Egbert’s thrust northward foreshadowed the eventual unity of the country against the Danes and prepared England for future military and political success as the idea of the modern nation-state developed.

The true accomplishment of Egbert may best be seen in the success of his successors. Ethelwulf, who had inherited a strong Wessex state, was succeeded by his fifth son, Alfred (later Alfred the Great), in 871. Alfred the Great stood on the political and social foundations laid during Egbert’s thirty-seven-year rule as he defended England from the relentless pressure of the Danes. Had the Anglo-Saxons been less prepared, and the Danes successful in their conquest, the development of the English state would have been profoundly altered.

Anglo-Saxon Kings of England, 802-1016

Reign

• Ruler

802-839

• Egbert

839-856

• Æthelwulf

856-860

• Æthelbald

860-866

• Æthelbert

866-871

• Ethelred (Æthelred) I

871-899

• Alfred the Great

899-924

• Edward the Elder (with sister Æthelflæd)

924-939

• Æthelstan

939-946

• Edmund the Magnificent

946-955

• Eadred

955-959

• Eadwig (Edwy) All-Fair

959-975

• Edgar the Peaceable

975-978

• Edward the Martyr

978-1016

• Ethelred (Æthelred) II, the Unready

1016

• Edmund II Ironside

1016

• Ascendancy of Canute the Great (Danish line begins)

Bibliography

Brooke, Christopher. The Saxon and Norman Kings. 3d ed. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2001. Useful for its demonstration of the limits of modern knowledge of early Saxon kings, including Egbert.

Campbell, James, Eric John, and Patrick Wormald, eds. The Anglo-Saxons. New York: Penguin Books, 1991. A good if sometimes difficult narrative. Readers will benefit from its profuse illustrations and useful bibliography.

Dutton, Leonard. The Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms: The Power Struggle from Hengist to Ecgberht. Hanley Swan, England: SPA, 1993. Discusses the political struggles between the various kingdoms during the Anglo-Saxon period.

Helm, P. J. Alfred the Great. New York: Crowell, 1965. Provides a simple introduction to Egbert’s lineage and its importance to the future accomplishments of Alfred the Great.

Hodgkin, R. H. A History of the Anglo-Saxons. 2 vols. 3d ed. London: Oxford University Press, 1959. A comprehensive evaluation of Egbert’s influences, career, and accomplishments. Includes a good map illustrating Egbert’s supremacy.

Jones, Gwyn. A History of the Vikings. Rev. ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1984. A very good introduction to Viking culture in Scandinavia and its expansion into Britain, providing valuable insights into the political realities of Egbert’s age.

Loyn, H. R. The Governance of Anglo-Saxon England, 500-1087. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1984. Treats the development and nature of royal government in the period. Extremely useful for separating early medieval concepts of kingship and rule from later conceptions.

Stenton, F. M. Anglo-Saxon England. 3d ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. Provides an explanation of the events preceding Egbert’s reign and a detailed account of his military campaigns.

Whitelock, Dorothy, David C. Douglas, and Susie I. Tucker, eds. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 2d ed. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1989. Includes translations of all versions of The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. An important primary source relating to Egbert’s reign.