The Kingdom of Mercia
The middle-Saxon kingdom of Mercia with its capital at Tamworth was to become, from the mid 8th century, the dominant political mover in England south of the Humber. This was achieved in part by the subjugation of the Kingdoms of Kent[LINK] and East Anglia[LINK] and by a marital alliance with the Kingdom of Wessex [LINK]. These achievements were largely a product of the pragmatic and sometimes ruthless exploits of Offa, whose descendents inherited the primacy of the majority of the country.
It was Offa who introduced the broad-flan penny, which for the first time in English coinage exuded a more regal character. The impetus for the development of the coinage came from continental Europe and the Carolingian Empire in particular; a consistent weight standard was introduced based on Charlamagne’s ‘novus denarius’ from the 790’s onward. This factor contributed to the economic stability in the south-east and thus the stage was set for a trans-channel mercantile economy to blossom.
The supremacy of Mercia would come to an end under the brief reign of Beornwulf where defeat at the hands of the Wessex monarchy set the tone for the ensuing period which would see the south-western kingdom as the principal mover in the fate of middle-Saxon England.
| Name | Reigned from | Reigned to |
|---|---|---|
757 |
796 |
|
796 |
821 |
|
821 |
823 |
|
823 |
825 |
|
825 |
827 |
|
827/29 |
830/840 |
|
840 |
882 |
|
852 |
874 |
|
874 |
880 |
