Editing Ecgberht, King of Wessex (section)

== Battle of Ellandun ==
[[File:Egbert of Wessex map.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A map of England during Ecgberht's reign]]

It was also in 825 that one of the most important battles in Anglo-Saxon history took place, when Ecgberht defeated Beornwulf of Mercia at [[Ellandun]]—now [[Wroughton]], near [[Swindon]]. This battle marked the end of the Mercian domination of southern England.<ref name = Stenton_231>Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 231.</ref> The ''Chronicle'' tells how Ecgberht 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 of Kent|Baldred]], the king of Kent, north over the [[Thames]], and according to the ''Chronicle'', the men of Kent, [[Kingdom of Essex|Essex]], Surrey and Sussex then all submitted to Æthelwulf "because earlier they were wrongly forced away from his relatives".<ref name = Swanton_58 /> This may refer to Offa's interventions in Kent at the time Ecgberht's father Ealhmund became king; if so, the chronicler's remark may also indicate Ealhmund had connections elsewhere in southeast England.<ref name = Kirby_186 />

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.<ref name = Kirby_189 /><ref name = CS_1267>{{cite web |url=http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=get&type=charter&id=1267 |title=Anglo-Saxons.net: S 1267 |publisher=Sean Miller |access-date=8 August 2007}}</ref> In Essex, Ecgberht expelled King [[Sigered of Essex|Sigered]], though the date is unknown. It may have been delayed until 829 since a later chronicler associates the expulsion with a campaign of Ecgberht's in that year against the Mercians.<ref name = Kirby_189 />

The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' does not say who was the aggressor at Ellandun, 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 to launch an attack would have been the threat of unrest or instability in the southeast: the dynastic connections with Kent made Wessex a threat to Mercian dominance.<ref name=Kirby_189 />

The consequences of Ellandun went beyond the immediate loss of Mercian power in the southeast. According to the ''Chronicle'', the [[Kingdom of East Anglia|East Anglians]] asked for Ecgberht'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 Ecgberht had terminated Wulfred's currency and had begun to mint his own, at Rochester and [[Canterbury]],<ref name = Kirby_189 /> and it is known that Ecgberht seized property belonging to Canterbury.<ref name = CampbellTAS_128 /> The outcome in East Anglia was a disaster for the Mercians, which confirmed West Saxon power in the southeast.<ref name = Kirby_189 />