Editing Mercia (section)

===Arrival of the Danes===
[[File:Midland Map - 5 Boroughs 912 Ad.svg|thumb|right|300px|The Five Boroughs and English Mercia in the early 10th century<ref>{{harvp|Falkus|Gillingham|1989|p=52}}; {{harvp|Hill|1981}}</ref>]]

In 852, [[Burgred]] came to the throne, and with [[Ethelwulf of Wessex]] subjugated [[North Wales]]. In 868 Danish invaders occupied [[Nottingham]]. The Danes drove Burgred from his kingdom in 874 and [[Ceolwulf II of Mercia|Ceolwulf II]] took his place. In 877 the Danes seized the eastern part of Mercia, which became part of the [[Danelaw]].<ref>Frank Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', Oxford University Press, 1971, p. 254</ref> Ceolwulf, the last king of Mercia, left with the western half, reigned until 879.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first= Sean |last= Miller |title= Ceolwulf II (fl. 874–879), king of the Mercians | encyclopedia= Oxford Dictionary of National Biography | publisher= Oxford University Press |year= 2004 |url= http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/39145?docPos=1|doi= 10.1093/ref:odnb/39145 }} {{ODNBsub}}</ref> From about 883 until his death in 911 [[Æthelred, Ealdorman of Mercia|Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians]], ruled Mercia under the overlordship of Wessex. Alfred changed his title from 'king of the West Saxons' to 'king of the Anglo-Saxons' to reflect the acceptance of his overlordship of all southern England not under Danish rule. All coins struck in Mercia after the disappearance of Ceolwulf in {{circa | 879}} were in the name of the West Saxon king.<ref>Stewart Lyon, The coinage of Edward the Elder, in N. J. Higham & D.H. Hill, Edward the Elder 899–924, London 2001, p. 67.</ref> Æthelred had married [[Æthelflæd]] ({{circa}} 870 – 12 June 918), daughter of [[Alfred the Great]] of Wessex ({{reign | 871 | 899}}), and she assumed power when her husband became ill at some time in the last ten years of his life.<ref name=Costambeys>
{{cite encyclopedia
 |first= Marios |last= Costambeys
 |title= Æthelflæd (Ethelfleda) (d. 918), ruler of the Mercians
 |encyclopedia= Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
 |publisher= Oxford University Press |year= 2004
 |url= http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/8907/?back=,52311
 |doi= 10.1093/ref:odnb/8907
|isbn= 978-0-19-861412-8
 }}{{Dead link|date= October 2019 |bot= InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted= yes }} {{ODNBsub}}
</ref>

After Æthelred's death in 911 Æthelflæd ruled as "Lady of the Mercians", but Alfred's successor as King of the Anglo-Saxons, [[Edward the Elder]] ({{reign | 899 | 924}}), took control of [[London]] and [[Oxford]], which Alfred had placed under Æthelred's control. Æthelflæd and her brother continued Alfred's policy of building fortified [[burh]]s, and by 918 they had conquered the southern Danelaw in East Anglia and Danish Mercia.<ref name=Costambeys/>