Editing Ecgberht, King of Wessex (section)

== Defeat of Mercia ==
[[File:Entry for 827 in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which lists the eight bretwaldas.gif|thumb|right|The entry for 827 in the C manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, listing the eight ''bretwaldas'']]

In 829 Ecgberht invaded Mercia and drove Wiglaf, the king of Mercia, into exile. This victory gave Ecgberht control of the [[Royal Mint|London Mint]], and he issued coins as King of Mercia.<ref name = "Kirby_189" /> It was after this victory that the West Saxon scribe described him as a ''bretwalda'', meaning 'wide-ruler' or perhaps 'Britain-ruler', in a famous passage in ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. The relevant part of the annal reads, in the C manuscript of the ''Chronicle'':<ref name="ASC_C">{{cite web |url=http://asc.jebbo.co.uk/c/c-L.html |title=Manuscript C: Cotton Tiberius C.i |publisher=Tony Jebson |access-date=12 August 2007}}</ref>

<blockquote>''⁊ þy geare geeode Ecgbriht cing Myrcna rice ⁊ eall þæt be suþan Humbre wæs, ⁊ he wæs eahtaþa cing se ðe Bretenanwealda wæs.''</blockquote>

In modern English:<ref name = "Swanton_60">Translation is based on Swanton; note that ''bretwalda'' (which Swanton translates as 'controller of Britain') in ms A appear as ''brytenwealda'' and variants in the other mss; here this is translated as 'wide-ruler', per Swanton. See Swanton, ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. 60–61.</ref>

<blockquote>And the same year King Egbert conquered the kingdom of Mercia, and all that was south of the Humber, and he was the eighth king who was 'Wide-ruler'.</blockquote>

The previous seven ''bretwaldas'' are also named by the Chronicler, who gives the same seven names that [[Bede]] lists as holding ''[[imperium]]'', starting with [[Ælle of Sussex]] and ending with [[Oswiu of Northumbria]]. The list is often thought to be incomplete, omitting as it does some dominant Mercian kings such as [[Penda]] and Offa. The exact meaning of the title has been much debated; it has been described as "a term of encomiastic poetry"<ref name = "Stenton_34">Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', pp. 34–35.</ref> but there is also evidence that it implied a definite role of military leadership.<ref name = "Kirby_17">Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 17.</ref>

Later in 829, according to ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', Ecgberht received the submission of the Northumbrians at Dore (now a suburb of [[Sheffield]]); the Northumbrian king was probably [[Eanred]].<ref name = "Kirby_197">Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 197.</ref> According to a later chronicler, [[Roger of Wendover]], Ecgberht invaded Northumbria and plundered it before Eanred submitted: "When Ecgberht had obtained all the southern kingdoms, he led a large army into Northumbria, and laid waste that province with severe pillaging, and made King Eanred pay [[Tribute#Western European notions of tribute in medieval times|tribute]]." Roger of Wendover is known to have incorporated Northumbrian annals into his version; the ''Chronicle'' does not mention these events.<ref name = "CampbellTAS139">P. Wormald, "The Ninth Century", p. 139, in Campbell ''et al.'', ''The Anglo-Saxons''.</ref> However, the nature of Eanred's submission has been questioned: one historian has suggested that it is more likely that the meeting at Dore represented a mutual recognition of sovereignty.<ref name = "Yorke_96">Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 96.</ref>

In 830, Ecgberht led a successful expedition against the [[List of Anglo-Welsh wars#8th century|Welsh]], almost certainly with the intent of extending West Saxon influence into the [[Wales|Welsh lands]] previously within the Mercian orbit. This marked the high point of Ecgberht's influence.<ref name = "Kirby_189" />