Editing Æthelbald of Mercia

{{Short description|King of Mercia from 716 to 757}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Æthelbald
| image = The Repton Stone- detail.JPG
| caption = The Repton Stone which may depict Æthelbald
| succession = [[King of Mercia]]
| reign = 716–757
| predecessor = [[Ceolred of Mercia|Ceolred]]
| successor = [[Beornred of Mercia|Beornred]]
| house = [[Iclingas]]
| house-type = House
| spouse = 
| issue = 
| father = Alweo
| birth_date = Unknown
| death_date = 757
| death_place  = [[Seckington]]
| place of burial = [[Repton]]
|}}

'''Æthelbald''' (also spelled '''Ethelbald''' or '''Aethelbald''';<ref>The spelling "Æthelbald" uses the [[Old English language#Orthography|Anglo-Saxon alphabet]], and so can be considered the most authentic; it has occasionally been modernised in secondary sources to "Ethelbald" or "Aethelbald".</ref> died 757) was the [[King of Mercia]], in what is now the [[English Midlands]] from 716 until he was killed in 757. Æthelbald was the son of Alweo and thus a grandson of King [[Eowa]]. Æthelbald came to the throne after the death of his cousin, King [[Ceolred]], who had driven him into exile. During his long reign, [[Mercia]] became the dominant kingdom of the [[Anglo-Saxons]], and recovered the position of pre-eminence it had enjoyed during the strong reigns of Mercian kings [[Penda]] and [[Wulfhere]] between about 628 and 675.

When Æthelbald came to the throne, both [[Wessex]] and [[Kingdom of Kent|Kent]] were ruled by stronger kings, but within fifteen years the contemporary chronicler [[Bede]] describes Æthelbald as ruling all England south of the [[Humber]] estuary. The ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' does not list Æthelbald as a [[bretwalda]], or "Ruler of Britain", though this may be due to the West Saxon origin of the ''Chronicle''.

[[Saint Boniface|St. Boniface]] wrote to Æthelbald in about 745, reproving him for various dissolute and irreligious acts. The subsequent 747 [[Councils of Clovesho#The Council of 747|council of Clovesho]] and a charter Æthelbald issued at [[Gumley]] in 749—which freed the church from some of its obligations—may have been responses to Boniface's letter. Æthelbald was killed in 757 by his bodyguards. He was succeeded briefly by [[Beornred]], of whom little is known, but within a year, [[Offa]], the grandson of Æthelbald's cousin Eanwulf, had seized the throne, possibly after a brief [[civil war]]. Under Offa, Mercia entered its most prosperous and influential period.

==Early life and accession==
[[File:Anglo-Saxon Chronicle - Aethelbald myrcnacing (British Library Cotton MS Tiberius A VI, folio 12r).jpg|thumb|A mention of Æthelbald, the Mercian king, in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'']]
Æthelbald came of the Mercian royal line, although his father, Alweo, was never king. Alweo's father was [[Eowa]], who may have shared the throne for some time with his brother, [[Penda]]. The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' does not mention Eowa; though it does date Penda's reign as the thirty years from 626 to 656, when Penda was killed at the [[battle of the Winwaed]]. Two later sources also name Eowa as king: the ''[[Historia Brittonum]]'' and the ''[[Annales Cambriae]]''. The ''Annales Cambriae'' is the source for Eowa's death in 644 at the [[battle of Maserfield]], where Penda defeated [[Oswald of Northumbria]]. Details on Penda's reign are scarce, and it is a matter for speculation whether Eowa was an underking, owing allegiance to Penda, or if instead Eowa and Penda had divided Mercia between them. If they did divide the kingdom, it is likely that Eowa ruled northern Mercia, as Penda's son Peada was established later as the king of southern Mercia by the Northumbrian [[Oswiu of Northumbria|Oswiu]], who defeated the Mercians and killed Penda in 656. It is possible that Eowa fought against Penda at Maserfield.<ref name=Kirby_91>Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 91.</ref>

[[File:Guthlac Roll - Æthelbald.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Guthlac appears to Æthelbald in a dream in this roundel from the ''Guthlac Roll'' (early 13th century).]]

During Æthelbald's youth, Penda's dynasty ruled Mercia; [[Ceolred]], a grandson of Penda and therefore a second cousin of Æthelbald, was king of Mercia from 709 to 716.<ref name=Kirby_227>See the genealogy in figure 8 of the appendix, in Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 227.</ref>  An early source, Felix's ''Life of Saint Guthlac'', reveals that it was Ceolred who drove Æthelbald into exile.<ref name=Kirby_129>Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 129.</ref> [[Saint Guthlac|Guthlac]] was a Mercian nobleman who abandoned a career of violence to become first a monk at [[Repton Abbey]], and later a hermit living in a [[tumulus|barrow]] at [[Crowland]], in the East Anglian fens.<ref name=Campbell_82>Campbell, ''The Anglo-Saxons'', p. 82.</ref> During Æthelbald's exile he and his men also took refuge in the Fens in the area, and visited Guthlac.<ref name=Kirby_129 /> Guthlac was sympathetic to Æthelbald's cause, perhaps because of Ceolred's oppression of the monasteries.<ref name=Stenton_203>Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', pp. 203–205.</ref> Other visitors of Guthlac's included Bishop Haedde of [[Lichfield]], an influential Mercian, and it may be that Guthlac's support was politically useful to Æthelbald in gaining the throne. After Guthlac's death, Æthelbald had a dream in which Guthlac prophesied greatness for him, and Æthelbald later rewarded Guthlac with a shrine when he had become king.<ref name=Kirby_129 /><ref name=Campbell_94>Campbell, ''The Anglo-Saxons'', p. 94.</ref>

When Ceolred died of a fit at a banquet,<ref name=Whitelock_177>{{cite book |last= Whitelock|first= Dorothy|title= English Historical Documents: Vol. 1 c. 500–1042|page=755|year= 1968|publisher= Oxford University Press}}</ref> Æthelbald returned to Mercia and became ruler. It is possible that a king named Ceolwald, perhaps a brother of Ceolred, reigned for a short while between Ceolred and Æthelbald.<ref name=Kirby_129 /><ref>{{cite book |last= Yorke|first= Barbara|title= Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England|page=111|year= 1990|publisher= Seaby|isbn=1-85264-027-8}}</ref> Æthelbald's accession ended Penda's line of descent; Æthelbald's reign was followed, after a brief interval, by that of Offa, another descendant of Eowa.<ref name=Kirby_227 />

Other than his father, Alweo, little of Æthelbald's immediate family is known, although in the witness list of two charters<ref>{{PASE|3933|Heardberht 1|access-date=2012-12-20}}</ref> a leading [[ealdorman]] named [[Heardberht]] is recorded as his brother.

==Mercian dominance==
[[File:British seventh century kingdoms.svg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|The kingdoms of Britain in the late seventh century, when Æthelbald was born.]]

Æthelbald's reign marked a resurgence of Mercian power, which would last until the end of the eighth century.<ref name=BlairRBaEE_168>Hunter Blair, ''Roman Britain'', p. 168.</ref>  With the exception of the short reign of [[Beornrad of Mercia|Beornrad]], who succeeded Æthelbald for less than a year, Mercia was ruled for eighty years by two of the most powerful Anglo-Saxon kings, Æthelbald and [[Offa]].<ref name=Swanton_46>Beornrad was "put to flight" by Offa in one version of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''; according to another, he held the kingdom for "a little while, and unhappily". Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. 46–50.</ref>  These long reigns were unusual at this early date; during the same period eleven kings reigned in [[Northumbria]], many of whom died violent deaths.<ref name=BlairAITASE_52>Hunter Blair, ''An Introduction'', p. 755.</ref>

By 731, Æthelbald had all the English south of the Humber under his overlordship.<ref name=Bede_PC_324>Bede, p. 324, translated by [[Leo Sherley-Price]].</ref>  There is little direct evidence of the relationship between Æthelbald and the kings who were dependent on him.<ref name=Stenton_203 />  Generally, a king subject to an overlord such as Æthelbald would still be regarded as a king, but would have his independence curtailed in some respects. [[Charter]]s are an important source of evidence for this relationship; these were documents which granted land to followers or to churchmen, and were witnessed by the kings who had power to grant the land.<ref name=BlairRBaEE_14>Hunter Blair, ''Roman Britain'', pp. 14–15.</ref><ref name=Campbell_95_2>Campbell, ''The Anglo-Saxons'', pp.&nbsp;95–98.</ref>  A charter granting land in the territory of one of the subject kings might record the names of the king as well as the overlord on the witness list appended to the grant; such a witness list can be seen on the [[Ismere Diploma]], for example. The titles given to the kings on these charters could also be revealing: a king might be described as a "subregulus", or underking.<ref name=Campbell_123>For an account of the progression from Offa's overlordship of the Hwicce to suppression of the ruling dynasty, and consequent absorption of the kingdom into Mercia, see Campbell, ''The Anglo-Saxons'', p. 123.</ref>

Enough information survives to suggest the progress of Æthelbald's influence over two of the southern kingdoms, [[Wessex]] and [[Kingdom of Kent|Kent]]. At the start of Æthelbald's reign, both Kent and Wessex were ruled by strong kings; [[Wihtred]] and [[Ine of Wessex|Ine]], respectively. Wihtred of Kent died in 725, and Ine of Wessex, one of the most formidable rulers of his day, abdicated in 726 to go on a pilgrimage to Rome. According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', Ine's successor, [[Aethelheard of Wessex|Aethelheard]], fought that year with an [[ealdorman]] named Oswald, whom the ''Chronicle'' provides with a genealogy showing descent from [[Ceawlin]], an early king of Wessex.<ref name=Swanton_42>Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. 42–43.</ref> Aethelheard ultimately succeeded in this struggle for the throne, and there are subsequent indications that he ruled subject to Mercian authority. Hence it may be that Æthelbald helped establish both Aethelheard and his brother, Cuthred, who succeeded Aethelheard in 739.<ref name=Kirby_133>Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 133.</ref>  There is also evidence of South Saxon territory breaking away from West Saxon dominance in the early 720s, and this may indicate Æthelbald's increasing influence in the area, though it could have been Kentish, rather than Mercian, influence that was weakening West Saxon control.<ref name=Kirby_131>Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 131.</ref>

As for Kent, there is evidence from Kentish [[Chartulary|charters]] that shows that Æthelbald was a patron of Kentish churches.<ref name=Campbell_95>Campbell, ''The Anglo-Saxons'', p. 95.</ref>  There is no charter evidence showing Æthelbald's consent to Kentish land grants, and charters of [[Aethelberht of Kent|Aethelberht]] and [[Eadbert I of Kent|Eadberht]], both kings of Kent, survive in which they grant land without Æthelbald's consent.<ref name=Kirby_132>Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 132.</ref> It may be that charters showing Æthelbald's overlordship simply do not survive, but the result is that there is no direct evidence of the extent of Æthelbald's influence in Kent.

Less is known about events in Essex, but it was at about this time that London became attached to the kingdom of Mercia rather than that of Essex. Three of Æthelbald's predecessors—[[Æthelred of Mercia|Æthelred]], [[Coenred of Mercia|Coenred]], and Ceolred—had each confirmed an East Saxon charter granting Twickenham to Waldhere, the [[bishop of London]]. From Kentish charters it is known that Æthelbald was in control of London, and from Æthelbald's time on, the transition to Mercian control appears to be complete; an early charter of Offa's, granting land near Harrow, does not even include the king of Essex on the witness list.<ref name=Stenton_203 /><ref name=Campbell_95 />  For the South Saxons, there is very little charter evidence, but as with Kent, what there is does not show any requirement for Æthelbald's consent to land grants.<ref name=Kirby_132 />   The lack of evidence should not obscure the fact that Bede, who was after all a contemporary chronicler, summarized the situation of England in 731 by listing the bishops in office in southern England, and adding that "all these provinces, together with the others south of the Humber and their kings, are subject to Æthelbald, King of the Mercians."<ref name=Bede_PC_324 />

There is evidence that Æthelbald had to go to war to maintain his overlordship. In 733 Æthelbald undertook an expedition against Wessex and captured the royal [[manorialism|manor]] of [[Somerton, Somerset|Somerton]]. The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' also tells how when [[Cuthred of Wessex|Cuthred]] succeeded Aethelheard to the throne of Wessex, in 740, he "boldly made war against Aethelbald, king of Mercia".<ref name=Swanton_44>Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. 44–45.</ref>  Three years later, Cuthred and Æthelbald are described as fighting against the Welsh. This could have been an obligation placed on Cuthred by Mercia; earlier kings had similarly assisted [[Penda]] and [[Wulfhere]], two strong seventh-century Mercian rulers.<ref name=Kirby_133 />  In 752, Æthelbald and Cuthred are again on opposite sides of the conflict, and according to one version of the manuscript, Cuthred "put him [Æthelbald] to flight" at [[Battle Edge|Burford]].<ref name=Swanton_46_2>Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. 46–47.</ref> Æthelbald seems to have reasserted his authority over the West Saxons by the time of his death, since a later West Saxon king, [[Cynewulf of Wessex|Cynewulf]], is recorded as witnessing a charter of Æthelbald at the very beginning of his reign, in 757.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+96 | title = Anglo-Saxons.net: S 96 | access-date=28 April 2007 }}</ref>

In 740, a war between the Picts and the Northumbrians is reported. Æthelbald, who might have been allied with [[Óengus I of the Picts|Óengus]],<ref name=Campbell_95 /> the king of the Picts, took advantage of [[Eadberht of Northumbria|Eadberht]]'s absence from Northumbria to ravage his lands, and perhaps burn [[York]].<ref>Anderson, ''Scottish Annals'', pp. 55–56.</ref>

==Titles and Bretwaldaship==
[[File:Aethelbald charter Cyneberht 736.jpg|thumb|upright|The ''[[Ismere Diploma]]'', a charter of King Æthelbald's to Ealdorman Cyneberht in 736.]]

Earlier in Bede's ''[[Ecclesiastical History of the English People]]'', he lists seven kings who governed the southern provinces of the English, with reigns dating from the late fifth to the late seventh century. Subsequently, the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''—another important source for the period—describes these seven as {{lang|ang|[[bretwalda]]s}} or {{lang|ang|brytenwaldas}}, a title translated as "Britain-ruler" or "Wide-ruler".<ref name=Swanton_60>The different versions of the title, "bretwalda" and "brytenwalda", are in the A and E texts of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', in the entry for 827. Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. 60–61.</ref>  The ''Chronicle'' adds just one king to the list: [[Egbert of Wessex]], who reigned in the ninth century. The resulting list of eight {{lang|ang|bretwaldas}} omits several strong Mercian kings. It is possible that the chronicler was merely adding Egbert's name to Bede's original list of seven, rather than claiming that no other kings achieved similar powers in England. The chronicler was almost certainly a West Saxon, and since neither Æthelbald nor Offa were kings of Wessex it is possible the chronicler does not mention them out of regional pride.<ref name=KL_11>See comment and footnote 2 in {{cite book|last= Keynes|first= Simon|author2= Lapidge, Michael|title= Alfred the Great: Asser's Life of King Alfred and other contemporary sources|pages= [https://archive.org/details/alfredgreatasser0000asse/page/11 11, 210]|year= 2004|publisher= Penguin Classics|isbn= 0-14-044409-2|url-access= registration|url= https://archive.org/details/alfredgreatasser0000asse/page/11}}</ref><ref name=BlairAITASE_201>Hunter Blair, ''An Introduction'', p. 201.</ref>  The meaning of the term "bretwalda", and the nature of the power that these eight kings wielded, has had much academic scrutiny. One suggested interpretation is that since Bede was writing during Æthelbald's reign, the original seven he listed were essentially those kings who could be seen as prototypes of Æthelbald in their domination of England south of the Humber.<ref name=Kirby_19>Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 19.</ref>

Further evidence of Æthelbald's power, or at least his titles, is provided by an important charter of 736, the [[Ismere Diploma]], which survives in a contemporary (and possibly original) copy. It starts by describing Æthelbald as "king not only of the Mercians but also of all the provinces which are called by the general name South English"; in the witness list he is further named "Rex Britanniae", "King of Britain".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=get&type=charter&id=89 | title = Anglo-Saxons.net: S 89 | access-date=27 April 2007 }}</ref><ref name=Fletcher_98>Fletcher, ''Who's Who'', pp.&nbsp;98–100.</ref> One historian described this title as "a phrase which can only be interpreted as a Latin rendering of the English title {{lang|ang|Bretwalda}}";<ref name=Stenton_203 /> but it may be that at that time these titles would not have been acknowledged much beyond [[Worcester, England|Worcester]], where this and other documents from the 730s that use similar titles were written.<ref name=Kirby_130>Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p.130.</ref>

==Relations with the church==
In 745–746, the leading Anglo-Saxon missionary in Germany, [[Saint Boniface|Boniface]], along with seven other bishops, sent Æthelbald a scorching letter reproaching him for many sins—stealing ecclesiastical revenue, violating church privileges, imposing forced labour on the clergy, and fornicating with nuns.<ref name=Fletcher_98 /> The letter implored Æthelbald to take a wife and abandon the sin of lust:

<blockquote>We therefore, beloved son, beseech Your Grace by Christ the son of God and by His coming and by His kingdom, that if it is true that you are continuing in this vice you will amend your life by penitence, purify yourself, and bear in mind how vile a thing it is through lust to change the image of God created in you into the image and likeness of a vicious demon. Remember that you were made king and ruler over many not by your own merits but by the abounding grace of God, and now you are making yourself by your own lust the slave of an evil spirit.<ref>Emerton, ''Letters'', p. 105.</ref></blockquote>

Boniface first sent the letter to [[Ecgbert, Archbishop of York|Ecgberht]], the archbishop of York, asking him to correct any inaccuracies and reinforce whatever was right; and he requested Herefrith, a priest whom Æthelbald had listened to in the past, to read and explain it to the king in person.<ref>Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 135; Emerton, ''Letters'', pp.&nbsp;108–109.</ref> Though Boniface's letter praises Æthelbald's faith and alms-giving, its criticisms have strongly coloured subsequent opinion of Æthelbald.<ref name=Fletcher_98 />  A claim made in a ninth-century list of donations from the abbey of Gloucester that Æthelbald had "stabbed—or smitten" to death the kinsman of a Mercian abbess has also contributed negatively to his reputation.<ref name=Kirby_134>Kirby (''Earliest English Kings'', p. 134) cites two documents: Birch CS 535 (Sawyer 209), and Sawyer 1782. The CS 535 text can be seen in the original Latin at {{cite web | url = http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=get&type=charter&id=209 | title = Anglo-Saxons.net: S 209 | access-date=28 April 2007 }}. See also: F.M. Stenton(1970). ''Anglo-Saxon England''. Oxford University Press; 3Rev Ed edition, 205. {{ISBN|0-19-821716-1}}.</ref>

Æthelbald may have influenced the appointment of successive archbishops of Canterbury in [[Tatwin]]e, [[Nothelm]], and [[Cuthbert, Archbishop of Canterbury|Cuthbert]], the last probably the former bishop of Hereford;<ref name=Kirby_132 />  and despite Boniface's strong criticisms, there is evidence of Æthelbald's positive interest in church affairs. A subsequent letter of Boniface's to Cuthbert, Archbishop of Canterbury, provided a good deal of information about Frankish [[synod]]s, especially one held in 747, the decrees of which Boniface included in the letter. Boniface does not explicitly suggest to Cuthbert that he, too, should hold a synod, but it seems clear that this was Boniface's intent.<ref name=Kirby_135_2>Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', pp. 135–136.</ref>  A council was, in fact, subsequently held at Clovesho (the location of which is now lost); Æthelbald attended and perhaps presided. The council was concerned with the relationship between the church and the secular world, and it condemned many excesses on the part of the clergy.<ref name=FC>Richard Fletcher (''Who's Who'', p. 100) says that Archbishop Cuthbert of Canterbury presided, though he adds that the council could not have been convened without royal sanction; James Campbell (''The Anglo-Saxons'', p. 78) says that Aethelbald presided.</ref>  The council limited relations between monks and laymen and ruled that secular activities were impermissible for monks: secular business and secular songs were both forbidden, especially "ludicrous songs".

[[File:Repton crypt.jpg|thumb|left|A 19th-century engraving of the crypt at [[St Wystan's Church, Repton]] where Æthelbald was interred]]

Two years after this, in 749, at the synod of [[Gumley]], Æthelbald issued a charter that freed [[ecclesiastical]] lands from all obligations except the requirement to build forts and bridges—obligations which lay upon everyone, as part of the ''[[trinoda necessitas]]''. This charter was witnessed only by Mercian bishops, and it is possible it had no effect outside Mercia, but it is also possible that it was essentially part of a reform programme inspired by Boniface and instigated at Clovesho.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=get&type=charter&id=92 | title = Anglo-Saxons.net: S 92 | access-date=28 April 2007 }}</ref><ref name=Campbell_100>Campbell, ''The Anglo-Saxons'', p. 100.</ref>

==Death==
[[File:The Repton Stone, Derby Museum, Derby.jpg|thumb|upright|The mounted figure on the Repton Stone in [[Derby Museum and Art Gallery|Derby Museum]] has been identified as Æthelbald.]]
In 757, Æthelbald was killed at [[Seckington]], [[Warwickshire]], near the royal seat of [[Tamworth, Staffordshire|Tamworth]]. According to a later continuation of [[Bede]]'s ''Ecclesiastical History'', he was "treacherously murdered at night by his own bodyguards", though the reason is unrecorded.<ref name=CCEL>The "continuation of Bede" is by other hands than Bede's, though the first few entries may be by Bede himself. See {{cite web | url = http://www.ccel.org/ccel/bede/history.v.v.xxiii.html| title = Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England: Christian Classic Ethereal Library | access-date=3 June 2007 }}</ref>  He was succeeded, briefly, by [[Beornrad of Mercia|Beornrad]]. Æthelbald was buried at [[St Wystan's Church, Repton]], in a crypt which still can be seen; a contemporary is reported to have seen a vision of him in hell, reinforcing the impression of a king not universally well-regarded.<ref name=Kirby_134_2>Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 134.</ref>  The monastery church on the site at that time was probably constructed by Æthelbald to house the royal mausoleum; other burials there include that of [[Wigstan]].<ref name=Fletcher_98 /><ref name=Swanton_48>Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. 48–49.</ref><ref name=Fletcher_116>Fletcher, ''Who's Who'', p. 116.</ref>

A fragment of a cross shaft from Repton includes on one face a carved image of a mounted man which, it has been suggested, may be a memorial to Æthelbald. The figure is of a man wearing mail armour and brandishing a sword and shield, with a [[diadem]] bound around his head. If this is Æthelbald, it would make it the earliest large-scale pictorial representation of an English monarch.<ref name="ASE">{{cite journal |last1=Biddle |first1=Martin |title=The Repton Stone |journal=[[Anglo-Saxon England (journal)|Anglo-Saxon England]] |date=1985 |volume=14 |pages=233–292 |doi=10.1017/S0263675100001368 |s2cid=162992853 |access-date=1 December 2020|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/anglo-saxon-england/article/abs/repton-stone/1E90EB77A4B1F5BA836DEFBFB7E79356}}</ref><ref name=Blackwell_Repton>{{cite book |last=Lapidge|first=Michael|title=The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England|page=392|year=1999|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|isbn=0-631-22492-0}}</ref>

==Legend of Alfred III, King of Mercia==
[[File:Alfred the Third, King of Mercia, visiting William d'Albanac (Michel, after West).jpeg|thumb|''Alfred the Third, King of Mercia, visiting William d'Albanac'', engraving after [[Benjamin West]]'s painting (1782)]]
According to a story recorded by the 16th-century antiquarian [[John Leland (antiquary)|John Leland]], and derived by him from a now lost book in the possession of the [[Earls of Rutland]] at [[Belvoir Castle]], there was once a King Alfred III of Mercia, who reigned in the 730s.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wCPVQe8J5_MC&q=%22alfred+iii+of+mercia%22&pg=PA300|title=Anglo-Saxon England|first1=Michael|last1=Lapidge|first2=Malcolm|last2=Godden|first3=Simon|last3=Keynes|date=22 June 2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521652032|via=Google Books}}</ref> Though no Mercian king was ever named Alfred, let alone three, if this story has any historical basis (which Leland himself rejected) it must presumably relate to Æthelbald. The legend states that Alfred III had occasion to visit a certain William de Albanac, alleged ancestor of the Earls of Rutland, at his castle near [[Grantham]], and took a fancy to William's three comely daughters. It was the king's intention to take one as his mistress, but William threatened to kill whichever he chose rather than have her dishonoured in this way, whereupon Alfred "answerid that he meant to take one of them to wife, and chose Etheldrede that had fat bottoks, and of her he had Alurede that wan first all the Saxons the monarchy of England." A painting of this supposed incident was commissioned in 1778 by the [[Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland|Duke of Rutland]], but was destroyed in a fire in 1816.<ref>[http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/sdk13/histpaint/ashistpaint.html#alfthird1 Images of Anglo-Saxon England (Simon Keynes)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713202532/http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/sdk13/histpaint/ashistpaint.html |date=2009-07-13 }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Kings of Mercia family tree]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==References==
===Primary sources===
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last=Anderson |first=Alan Orr |year=1908 |title=Scottish Annals from English Chroniclers A.D. 500–1286. |url=https://archive.org/details/scottishannalsf00andegoog |location=London |publisher=D. Nutt |oclc=1248209}} (1991 edition: {{ISBN|1-871615-45-3}})
*[[Bede]], ''[[Ecclesiastical History of the English People]].'' Translated by [[Leo Sherley-Price]], revised [[R.E. Latham]], ed. D.H. Farmer. London: Penguin, 1990. {{ISBN|0-14-044565-X}}
*{{cite book |last=Emerton |first=Ephraim |editor=Noble, Thomas F.X |year=2000| orig-year=1940 |title=The Letters of St. Boniface: With a New Introduction and Bibliography |location=New York |publisher= Columbia University Press |isbn=0-231-12093-1}}
*{{cite book |last= Swanton|first= Michael|title= The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle|year= 1996| location=New York|publisher= Routledge|isbn=0-415-92129-5}}
{{Refend}}

===Secondary sources===
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last= Hunter Blair|first= Peter|title= An Introduction to Anglo-Saxon England|year= 1960|location=Cambridge|publisher= Cambridge University Press}} (2003 edition: {{ISBN|0-521-83085-0}})
*{{cite book |last= Hunter Blair|first= Peter|title= Roman Britain and Early England: 55 B.C.&nbsp;– A.D. 871|year= 1966|publisher= W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=0-393-00361-2}}
*{{cite book |last= Campbell|first= James|title= The Anglo-Saxons|author2=John, Eric |author3=Wormald, Patrick|year= 1991|location=London|publisher= Penguin Books|isbn=0-14-014395-5}}
*{{cite book |last= Fletcher|first= Richard|title= Who's Who in Roman Britain and Anglo-Saxon England|year= 1989|location=London|publisher= Shepheard-Walwyn|isbn=0-85683-089-5}}
*{{cite book |last=Hill |first=David |author2=Margaret Worthington |year=2005 |title=Aethelbald and Offa: two eighth-century kings of Mercia |location=Oxford |publisher=Archaeopress |isbn=1-84171-687-1| series=British Archaeological Reports, British series, ''383''}}
*{{cite book |last= Kirby|first= D. P.|title= The Earliest English Kings|year= 1992 |location=London |publisher= Routledge |isbn=0-415-09086-5}}
*{{cite book |last=Stenton |first= Frank M.| author-link = Frank Stenton |title= Anglo-Saxon England|year= 1971| location=Oxford|publisher= Clarendon Press|isbn=0-19-821716-1}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
*{{PASE|3683|Æthelbald 4}}
*{{cite web|url= http://www.ccel.org/ccel/bede/history.pdf |title=Bede's Ecclesiastical History and the Continuation of Bede }}, at [http://www.ccel.org CCEL], tr. A.M. Sellar
*[http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=show&page=Charters Anglo-Saxon charters], at [http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/ Anglo-Saxons.net].

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{{succession box|
 before=[[Ceolred of Mercia|Ceolred]]|
 title=[[List of monarchs of Mercia|King of Mercia]]|
 years=716–757|
 after=[[Beornred of Mercia|Beornred]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Bretwalda}}
{{Kings of Mercia}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aethelbald Of Mercia}}
[[Category:757 deaths]]
[[Category:Anglo-Saxon warriors]]
[[Category:Mercian monarchs]]
[[Category:Burials at St. Wystan's Church, Repton]]
[[Category:8th-century English monarchs]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Iclingas]]