Editing Penda of Mercia (section)

== Descent, beginning of reign, and battle with the West Saxons ==
Penda was a son of [[Pybba of Mercia]] and said to be an [[Iclingas|Icling]], with a lineage purportedly extending back to [[Wōden]]. The ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' gives his descent as follows:

<blockquote>Penda was Pybba's offspring, Pybba was [[Creoda of Mercia|Cryda]]'s offspring, Cryda Cynewald's offspring, Cynewald Cnebba's offspring, Cnebba Icel's offspring, Icel Eomer's offspring, Eomer [[Kings of the Angles#Angeltheow|Angeltheow]]'s offspring, Angeltheow [[Offa of Angel|Offa]]'s offspring, Offa [[Wermund]]'s offspring, Wermund [[Wihtlæg]]'s offspring, Wihtlæg Woden's offspring.<ref name="fn_3">''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', Manuscript A (ASC A), 626.<sup>[[#References|2]]</sup></ref></blockquote>

The ''[[Historia Brittonum]]'' says that Pybba had 12 sons, including Penda, but that Penda and [[Eowa of Mercia]] were those best known to its author.<ref>''[[Historia Brittonum]]'' (HB), Ch. 60.<sup>[[#References|3]]</sup></ref> (Many of these 12 sons of Pybba may merely represent later attempts to claim descent from him.<ref name="fn_5">Kirby, ''The Earliest English Kings'', p. 57.<sup>[[#References|4]]</sup></ref>) Besides Eowa, the pedigrees also give Penda a brother named Coenwalh from whom two later kings were said to descend, although this may instead represent his brother-in-law [[Cenwalh of Wessex]].<ref>Williams, Ann, ''Kingship and Government in Pre-Conquest England'', p. 29.</ref>

The time at which Penda became king is uncertain, as are the circumstances. Another Mercian king, [[Cearl of Mercia|Cearl]], is mentioned by [[Bede]] as ruling at the same time as the Northumbrian king [[Æthelfrith of Northumbria|Æthelfrith]], in the early part of the 7th century. Whether Penda immediately succeeded Cearl is unknown, and it is also unclear whether they were related, and if so how closely; [[Henry of Huntingdon]], writing in the 12th century, claimed that Cearl was a kinsman of Pybba.<ref>Henry of Huntingdon, ''Historia Anglorum'', Book II, 27.<sup>[[#References|5]]</sup></ref> It is also possible that Cearl and Penda were dynastic rivals.<ref name="fn_7">Ziegler, "The Politics of Exile in Early Northumbria", [https://www.mun.ca/mst/heroicage/issues/2/ha2pen2.htm#note39 note 39] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616074012/http://www.mun.ca/mst/heroicage/issues/2/ha2pen2.htm |date=16 June 2012}}.<sup>[[#References|6]]</sup></ref>

According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', Penda became king in 626, ruled for 30 years, and was 50 years old at the time of his accession.<ref name="fn_3" /> That he ruled for 30 years should not be taken as an exact figure,<ref name="fn_8">Brooks, "The Formation of the Mercian Kingdom", p.  165.<sup>[[#References|7]]</sup></ref> since the same source says he died in 655, which would not correspond to the year given for the beginning of his reign unless he died in the thirtieth year of his reign.<ref name="fn_9">Kirby, p. 67.<sup>[[#References|4]]</sup></ref> Furthermore, that Penda was truly 50 years old at the beginning of his reign is generally doubted by historians, mainly because of the ages of his children. The idea that Penda, at about 80 years of age, would have left behind children who were still young (his son [[Wulfhere of Mercia|Wulfhere]] was still just a youth three years after Penda's death, according to Bede) has been widely considered implausible.<ref name="fn_10">Kirby, p. 68.<sup>[[#References|4]]</sup></ref> The possibility has been suggested that the ''Chronicle'' actually meant to say that Penda was 50 years old at the time of his death, and therefore about 20 in 626.<ref name="fn_11">Brooks, p. 166.<sup>[[#References|7]]</sup></ref>

[[File:Britain peoples circa 600.svg|thumb|250px|right|alt=A map of England, Wales and southern Scotland. The Britons are shown in the southwest and northwest of England. In the northeast are the Northumbrians, with the Bernicians to the north of the Deirians. The Mercians are in the middle, with the Gainas, Lindisfaras, and Middle Angles to the east. A number of smaller tribes are shown in the south.|A map showing the general locations of the [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon peoples]] around the year 600.]]

Bede, in his ''[[Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum]]'', says of Penda that he was "a most warlike man of the royal race of the Mercians" and that, following Edwin of Northumbria's defeat in 633 (''see'' [[#Alliance with Cadwallon and the Battle of Hatfield Chase|below]]), he ruled the Mercians for 22 years with varying fortune.<ref>Bede, ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'', Book II, Ch. XX.<sup>[[#References|8]]</sup></ref> The noted 20th-century historian [[Frank Stenton]] was of the opinion that the language used by Bede "leaves no doubt that ... Penda, though descended from the royal family of the Mercians, only became their king after Edwin's defeat".<ref name="fn_13">Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 81.<sup>[[#References|1]]</sup></ref> The ''Historia Brittonum'' accords Penda a reign of only ten years,<ref name="fn_14">''HB'', Ch. 65.<sup>[[#References|3]]</sup></ref> perhaps dating it from the time of the Battle of Maserfield (''see'' [[#Maserfield|below]]) around 642, although according to the generally accepted chronology this would still be more than ten years.<ref name="fn_9" /> Given the apparent problems with the dates given by the ''Chronicle'' and the ''Historia'', Bede's account of the length of Penda's reign is generally considered the most plausible by historians. [[Nicholas Brooks (historian)|Nicholas Brooks]] noted that, since these three accounts of the length of Penda's reign come from three different sources, and none of them are Mercian (they are West Saxon, [[Northumbria]]n, and [[Welsh people|Welsh]]), they may merely reflect the times at which their respective peoples first had military involvement with Penda.<ref name="fn_8" />

The question of whether or not Penda was already king during the late 620s assumes greater significance in light of the ''Chronicle''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s record of a battle between Penda and the West Saxons under their kings [[Cynegils of Wessex|Cynegils]] and [[Cwichelm of Wessex|Cwichelm]] taking place at [[Cirencester]] in 628.<ref>Kirby was of the opinion that the battle "almost certainly" occurred a few years later than 628, but wrote that the battle "still reveals the wide-ranging character of Penda's early activities." (p. 68)<sup>[[#References|4]]</sup></ref> If he was not yet king, then his involvement in this conflict might indicate that he was fighting as an independent [[warlord]] during this period—as Stenton put it, "a landless noble of the Mercian royal house fighting for his own hand."<ref name="fn_16">Stenton, p. 45.<sup>[[#References|1]]</sup></ref> On the other hand, he might have been one of multiple rulers among the Mercians at the time, ruling only a part of their territory. The ''Chronicle'' says that after the battle, Penda and the West Saxons "came to an agreement."<ref>''ASC'' A, 628.<sup>[[#References|2]]</sup></ref>

It has been speculated that this agreement marked a victory for Penda, ceding to him Cirencester and the areas along the lower [[River Severn]].<ref name="fn_16" /> These lands to the southwest of Mercia had apparently been taken by the West Saxons from the [[Britons (Celtic people)|Britons]] in 577,<ref>''ASC'' A, 577.<sup>[[#References|2]]</sup></ref> and the territory eventually became part of the subkingdom of the [[Hwicce]]. Given Penda's role in the area at this time and his apparent success there, it has been argued that the subkingdom of the Hwicce was established by him; evidence to support this is lacking, although the subkingdom is known to have existed later in the century.<ref>Stenton argues (p. 45) for the likelihood that the subkingdom of the Hwicce was Penda's creation;<sup>[[#References|1]]</sup> Bassett ("In search of the origins of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms", p. 6<sup>[[#References|7]]</sup>) is more cautious, noting the lack of evidence.</ref>