Age Of Charlemagne Mercia Guide

1. Age Of Charlemagne Mercia Guide
2. Total War Attila Age Of Charlemagne Mercia Guide
3. Age Of Charlemagne Mercia Guided

Kingdom of Mercia (Age of Charlemagne) 42. Westphalia (Age of Charlemagne) More factions: Royal Military Academy - Sitemaps Total War: Attila New!! The Danelaw (/ ˈ d eɪ n ˌ l ɔː /, also known as the Danelagh; Old English: Dena lagu; Danish: Danelagen), as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, was the part of England in which the laws of the Danes held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons.

Born: 742 at Paris? Died: 814, bur. Basilica of St. Mary, Aix-la-Chapelle Father: Pepin III 'the Short' (714-68) Mother: Bertrada, Countess of Laon (d783) Spouse1: Himiltrude (disowned 770, commoner) Spouse2: Desiderata, dau of Lombard king (m770, dau of Lombard king) Spouse3: Hildegard, Countess of Vinzgau (d783, Swabian nobility) Spouse4: Fastrada (m783 d794, E Frank, or German) Concub1: ? (mother of Rothaide) Spouse5: Liutgarda (m794 d800, Alemanni, no children) Concub2: Madelgard Concub3: Gersvinda (Saxon) Concub4: Regina Concub5: Adallinda Children: w/Hildegard Pepin (Pippen) 773-810 (born Carloman, bap. by Pope Hadrian 781 in Rome) King of Italy m. Bertha of Toulouse Louis I the Pious 778-840, bap. ' Charles d811 Rotrude Bertha Gisela w/Fastrada Theoderada Hiltrude w/unnamed concubine Rothaide w/Madelgard Ruothilde w/Gersvinda Adaltrude w/Regina Drogo Hugo w/Adallinda Theodoric At right top, a portrait from FHL book on The Netherlands, below a pic of a statue of Charlemagne on Clark's book cover (c1350 Reliquary, Aachen Cathedral Treasury) >>

tIoC cvr

9 Oct 1991 at Nijmegen Charlemagne's castle

by Albrecht Duerer c1512 Vintage, 2005, 226pp, Mustang

tIoC p39

tIoC p66

tIoC p104

France p68

From tIoC:
Few names in European history inspire greater thoughts of medieval romance and glory than Charlemagne. In fact, only mythical figures like King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, Robin Hood, and Charlemagne's own loyal servant Roland have inspired as many legends .. One reason is [his] historic role in establishing the traditions of European royalty and nobility. Another .. was his interest in education and the arts. He invited scholars and artists throughout Europe and England to work and live at his court, and he financed the finest library collections in the Western world. As a result, more written history has been preserved about this early medieval king than about many later rulers. About 830, Einhard, Charles' close friend, adviser, and administrator in his royal govt, wrote a biography entitled Vita Caroli (The Life of Charlemagne) .. Although the HRE that [he] founded began to crumble just 27 yrs after his death, his influence lived on in the military and cultural traditions of the European nobility [e.g. French, German, Italian]; in the secular power of the RCC; and in the restoration of art, literature, and education, which he began.'

Background: Charlemagne incorporated much romanitas, preserved in the form of descendants of Roman military commanders and governors who remained in Gaul long after the fall of Rome in 476 and were respected by the Germanic and Frankish leaders. The Great Migration (East to West) began at the fall of Rome (beginning 3 centuries of Lombard v. Byzantine struggle for Italy, the former winning by 568). Another Romanizing influence was the RCC, which especially influenced Clovis and the Merovingians. Admiring the heirarchy of the RCC (which had been adopted from the Roman aristocracy), Clovis 'built the first aristocratic Frankish govt, which became the dominant model for most European govts until the 20C' (13). The 5C Greek historian Procopius described the Frankish 'nation in matters of trust [as] the most treacherous in the world' (14), a reputation for bravery and ruthlessness they had already gained by the time of Clovis (481 AD). After Clovis, power flowed toward local counts and bishops in the 3 succeeding kingdoms (Austrasia, Neustria, Burgundy, i.e. centralized power 'was not part of Frankish culture' 15). This decentralized 'system of private govt and military service that began during the time of the weak [later] Merovingian kings [was called] feudalism (from feudum, the Latin word for fief .. a piece of land granted by one noble to another) .. In 613 the Merovingian king Clothar II awarded new titles to 2 powerful and wealthy Frankish families in Austrasia for their strong military and diplomatic support. The head of one of these families, Arnulf, was named Bishop of Metz, the richest and most important city in the realm. Pepin (I), the head of the other loyal family, was named mayor of the palace of Austrasia' (19) .. [both are] ggggfathers of Charlemagne .. When Arnulf's son Ansegisel m. Pepin's dau Begga, these 2 roots merged to form the trunk of Charlemagne's family tree (20) .. [Austrasian] Pepin II, the gson of both Arnulf and Pepin I, helped the Merovingian king Theuderic III gain control of all 3 Frankish realms [he was clearly in charge, the king was a mere figurehead] .. [But] when Pepin II d. 16 Dec 714 .. his fragile political alliances broke apart .. The house of Pepin might have faded into history .. had it not been for his bastard son, Charles Martel .. gfather of Charlemagne, was the first in his family line to bear the name Charles .. The name Martel, which means 'the hammer' in Latin, was added by later Carolingian historians to signify [his] military and political strength .. [tho built in part by giving church lands to (often immoral) political allies, angering the RCC and damaging it spiritually, he's also famous for repulsing the Muslim Moors at Tours 732, he d. 22 Oct 741] .. Although Charles had never assumed the title of king, most Franks apparently thought of him as their king .. when Merovingian king Theuderic d737, Charles didn't bother naming a successor .. Charles divided most of his kingdom between 2 sons, Carloman, the oldest, and Pepin III, aka 'the Short,' the father of Charlemagne .. [Charles' death sparked unrest by ambitious nobles, so his sons set up the puppet king Childeric III (found him in a monastery), Carloman and Boniface focused on church purity, Pepin on politics, Pepin in Nov 751 dethroned Childeric III and became the first Carolingian king after Carloman left politics for a monastery] .. This seemingly insignificant move was to have great implications for the politics of Europe for several centuries [i.e. succession needn't be hereditary, more merit-based, opening path to challengers, Pope legitimized Pepin in return for securing/donating 'Papal States' in Italy, remained to 1870!] .. In addition to the conquest of [previously independent] Aquitaine, Pepin led campaigns against Arab colonies in S France and against Saxon and Frisian barbarians in N Germany. As Pepin's fame and influence spread, so did the intl recognition of the Frankish kingdom, tho still remote and barbaric v. Byzantine and Arab civilizations .. [When Pepin III d. 24 Sep 768, he] divided his kingdom between his 2 sons' .. [uneasy alliance arranged by their mother Bertrada involving m. to Desiderata in 770, created peace, but Charles felt stifled, he rebelled 771, div. Desiderata, Carloman died suddenly 771 age 20].

Charlemagne: Our best source of info on him is Einhard's book, tho it is clearly hagiographic (Charlemagne and Louis rewarded Einhard richly as a trust friended and adviser). He took his Christian faith seriously and sought to uplift all his subjects in mind, body and spirit. Like Charles Martel and Pepin III, Charlemagne sought to build 'a powerful central govt in the style of the Romans' (48). He kept his nobles too busy to rebel by conducting constant warfare against foreign threats - real or imagined (48). Charlemagne most wanted to conquer Saxony, which had 'resisted colonization and Christianization since the time of the Romans .. still worshipped Othin [Odin, Woden => wood, wooden, Wednesday], the Germanic tree god' (51) .. 1rst Saxon campaign cut short by urgent call from Pope .. forces led by C and his uncle Bernhard [connection?] .. C's friendship w/Hadrian (met on 1rst visit to Rome) had lasting effects in binding RCC and Frank-led HRE, C 'fell in love w/Rome and its traditions, pledged to restore Rome to its original glory and prestige as capital of the great Roman Empire, no cause nearer to his heart' (53) .. 'The Saxons had long been natural enemies of the Franks. They represented the old Germanic tribal culture from which the Franks had evolved. Both .. had migrated west from N and C Europe during the Great Migration 3-5C. No significant boundaries separated them, so they had often fought for the same land' (54, C wanted to impose Frankish feudalism v. German tribalism, hmmm see br-oei) .. p/u at p57 ..

Age Of Charlemagne Mercia Guide

The romanticization of Charlemagne (see 'The Matter of France' in br-doka) 'became the model for later romances about King Arthur and his knights of the round table .. the basis for many medieval ideals of what a king is supposed to be and how he is supposed to act .. courage, loyalty, heroism, originality [v. dull routine] .. youth, adventure, interest, excitement, gossip, scandal .. a heartening man. To be near him was to be near the fire .. Before his day it was by no means a foregone conclusion that kingship would be a romantic tradition of high idealism and lofty devotion, of respect for law, care for religion and zeal for education. The man who made it this was [Charlemagne]. He designed and cut out the pattern of the perfect monarch, which was to guide the judgment of mankind at large for a thousand years to come .. The atheist and the republican today test bishops and kings, not by a rule of their own, but by [Charlemagne's] rule' (65-6, which is based on Christian ideals, we might add).

772 1rst Saxon campaign (cuts down Irminsul or holy tree at Paderborn)
773 Lombardia invaded, (capital) Pavia besieged
774 C's 1rst visit to Rome, Pavia falls, C declares himself King of Lombardia
775 invades Saxony, defeats Westphalians and Eastphalians
777 General Assembly at Paderborn declares annexation of Saxony
778 unsuccessful invasion of Spain, defeat at Roncesvaux (orig. of Roland legend), Witikind leads Saxon raids on Austrasian border
781 2nd visit to Rome, 2 sons bap., Pepin anointed K of Italy, Louis K of Aquitaine
782 mass execution of 4,500 Saxons at Verden
784 Saxony devastated, 10s of thousands d. of flooding, famine
785 Witikind surrenders
787 3rd visit to Rome, Bavaria invaded, Duke Tassilo submits
788 Tassilo condemned, Bavaria annexed
793 Failure of Karlsgruben canal project
795 Pepin conquers Ring of Avars in Hungary, Pope Hadrian III dies, Leo III elected
797 Wihmodia conquered, 50K Saxons deported
799 Conspiracy in Rome, Leo escapes to Paderborn to C's protection
800 Trial of Leo III, then C crowned HRE in Rome by Leo III
801 Louis captures Barcelona and other Spanish strongholds, est. Spanish March
806 C announces plan to partition empire among 3 sons
810 Pepin dies
813 C's Rhine bridge at Mainz burns, C falls ill
814 C dies, Louis becomes emperor
840 Louis the Pious dies
841 Battle of Fontenoy
843 Treaty of Verdun permanently breaks up HRE (see Lothar)

Will Durant's The Age of Faith (Volume IV in his 10-volume The Story of Civilization, Simon & Schuster, 1950, own) has a 10-page section on Charlemagne, 'the greatest of medieval kings .. of German blood and speech, and shar[ing] some characteristics of his people - strength of body, courage of spirit, pride of race, and a crude simplicity many centuries apart from the urbane polish [and cynical artifice] of the modern French .. [2yrs after becoming king, responded to an urgent appeal from Pope Hadrian II to defend the Italian papal states against the Lombard Desiderius, which he did] .. Returning to his capital at Aachen, he began a series of 53 campaigns - nearly all led in person - designed to round out his empire by conquering and Christianizing Bavaria and Saxony, destroying the troublesome Avars, shielding Italy from the raiding Saracens, and strengthening the defenses of Francia against the expanding Moors of Spain .. [responded to a 777 request at Paderborn by Ibn al-Arabi, Moslem governor of Barcelona, to help fight against his own caliph [HQ1 Baghdad, HQ2 Cordova] by invading the Basque region of NE Spain, but Arabi's promised raiding help failed to appear, forcing Charlemagne to retreat, which is when he lost the famous noble Hruodland (Roland) to a Basque attack] .. loved admin more than war, and had taken to the field to force some unity of govt and faith upon a Western Europe torn for centuries past by conflicts of tribe and creed .. [introduced many improvements in admin, greatly advancing civilization .. held parliament-like assemblies at] Worms, Valenciennes, Aachen, Geneva, Paderborn .. Barring his wars, Charlemagne's was the most just and enlightened govt that Europe had known since Theodoric the Goth .. [greatly supported Church, sholarship and learning] .. Palaces were built for [him] at Ingelhiem, Nijmegen, Aachen [his favorite capital .. bur. there under the dome of the cathedral, hmmm, same as St. Mary's at Aix-la-Chapelle?].' The next section on the Carolingian Decline discusses rising pressures from Vikings (N), Magyars (E) and Muslims (SE); 'In 846 - while the Saracens were attacking Rome - the Northmen conquered Frisia, burned Dordrecht, and sacked Limoges' (474). Durant notes that Louis I was 'so absorbed in piety as to seem unfit to govern a rough and treacherous world' (471). Similarly, 'the last Carolingian kings - Louis IV, Lothaire IV, Louis V (d987) - were well-meaning men, but they had not in their blood the iron needed to forge a living order out of the universal desolation [left by attacking Vikings]' (475). So when Louis V d. w/o issue in 987, the nobles chose one of their own, Hugh Capet.

Playing cards celebrate 4 great kings in history: Charlemagne is the king of hearts, David spades, Alexander the Great clubs, and Julius Caesar diamonds.

Jeff Sypeck's 2006 book Becoming Charlemagne: Europe, Baghdad, and the Empires of AD 800 (HarperCollins, Mustang) mentions the '9 worthies' compiled by Medieval scholars: 1 Joshua c1300 BC, 2 Hector [Troy] c1200 BC, 3 David c1000 BC, 4 AlexGrt d332 BC, 5 Judas Maccabeus 'the hammerer' c160s BC, 6 Julius Caesar 1C BC, 7 King Arthur c450-519 AD, 8 Charlemagne c750-814 and 9 Godfrey of Bouillon famous in 1st 1097 Crusade. i.e. they were all successful empire builders, mostly Christian but also classical or Jewish.

See Merovingians and Carolingians

See Smokykin page

Contemporary (8C) events (mostly from BN HT and CHME):
- cf Pepin2 for earlier events
- 700 Arabs capture Tunis (in today's Tunesia), N African Christianity nearly exterminated; Lindesfarne Gospels produced
- 702 Arabic made ofcl language of Egypt, Ethiopians attack Arabs in Red Sea
- 705 BE36 Justinian II 'Rhinotmetus' to 711 6yrs
- 707 Muslims capture Tangier (Algeria?), Ceuta (?) in 709
- 710 BE? Justinian II confirms papal privileges; Roderic, last Visigoth king in Spain to 711 1yr
- 711 Moors (Arabs and Berbers from Morocco) conquer Spain (and Portugal), Roderic defeated, 'Andalusia' begins; ldr (Berber) Tariq ibn Ziyad (came ashore at Gibraltar, name comes from Arabic 'Jebel al-Tariq' Hyby p94); BE37 Philippicus Bardanes to 713 2yrs
- 712 Muslims est. state in Sind (in today's Pakistan)
- 713 BE38 Anastasius II to 715 2yrs
- 715 BE39 Theodosius III to 717 2yrs; monk Eadfrith creates Lindisfarne Gospels (Hyby p94)
- 716 2nd Arab siege of Constantinople to 717, fails
- 717 BE40 Leo III to 741 24yrs, repelled 2nd Muslim siege of Constantinople
- 718 Visigoth prince Pelayo fnds kingdom of Asturias in Spanish mtns, but Moors now hold most of Spain and Portugal, advancing N. Christians defeat Moors in Spain at Battle of Covadonga; icon disputes begin 719 (CHME p50)
- 725 Christian Copts in Egypt rebel, volcano rocks Constantinople (Leo interprets as 'God's fury' for icon-worship, CHME p50); 1st record of a mechanical clock in Tang China (likely at capital city Chang'an [Xi'an] pop. 2M, little survives today (Hyby p93)
- 726 BE40 Leo III begins Iconoclast Movement (response to Islam?), but Pope Gregory II opposes him (excom's Leo in 730); K Ine of Wessex 1st levies 'Peter's Pence' tax to support a college in Rome
- 731 Brit monk Venerable Bede (d735) completes 'History of English Church'
- 732 Charles Martel defeats Moors at Tours, halting their N advance

Total War Attila Age Of Charlemagne Mercia Guide

- 733 Leo III w/d Byz provinces of S Italy from papal jurisdiction
- 735 Venerable Bede dies (b673 72yo), author of English Church History
- 737 Charles Martel again defeats Moors at Narbonne (France)
- 739 Another Coptic rebellion in Egypt
- 741 Pepin II 'the Short' succeeds his father, Charles Martel, as 'mayor of the palace' (i.e. real ruler of Franks); B41 Constantine V 'Copronymus' [? impolite 'horsey smell' ZHC p141] 741 < 1yr
- 742 BE42 Artabasdus < 1yr
- 743 BE43 Constantine V (again) to 775 32yrs
- 746 Greeks retake Cyprus from Arabs
- 749 [St] John of Damascus dies circa here (b. c650 99yo, Temp p112)
- 750 end of [660- 90yrs] Umayyad Dynasty (Damascus, last member escapes to Spain, est. emirate at Cordoba, Hyby p94), start of Abbasids of Baghdad (to 969 219yrs); Tiwanaku, Bolivia, a city in the Andes at its height (Hyby p94)
- 751 Arabs (led by new Abbasid caliph Abu al-Abbas, Hyby p94) defeat Chinese near Samarkand (at Talas River in today's Kyrgyzstan, Hyby p92); Pepin II crowned King, fnding Carolingian Dynasty (ending Merovingian); Lombards under Aistulf capture Ravenna from BE
- 754 St Boniface dies (martyred), English bishop and missionary to Frisians; 'Pepin's Donation' i.e. Pepin III (Charlemagne's dad) gave part of Italy ('the papal states') to the pope in return for the RCC's approval and a royal title; E council at Hiera near Chalcedon, icons condemened w/pro-iconers John of Damascus and Germanus (ZHC p141)
- 756 Papal States fnd'd in Italy (i.e. politically cntl'd by Vatican, after Pepin II leads an army to protect Pope Stephen III from Lombards); al-Rahman (desc. of) Muawiya est. Omayyad Dynasty at Cordoba, Spain
- 757 Offa, King of Mercia to 796 39yrs, builds Offa's Dyke v. Welsh
- 762 famous 'round city' of Baghdad built by Mansur, Haroun's gdad (cf br-70waw)
- 767-72 5yrs Yet another Coptic revolt in Egypt
- 771-814 Charlemagne (son of Pepin II) king of Franks (1st HRE 800-14)
- 772 Charlemagne subdues Saxons, (forcibly) converts them to Christianity
- 773 Charlemagne annexes Lombard kingdom (N Italy)
- 775 BE44 Leo IV to 780 5yrs
- 778 Moors and Basques defeat Franks at Roncesvalles in the Pyrenees (hmmm, origin of Roland tale?)
- 779 Offa of Mercia becomes King of all England
- c780 Bishop Timothy becomes patriarch of Eastern Christianity, based at Seleucia (near Baghdad, d823 in his 90s, cf br-lhc); BE45 Constantine VI 780-97 17yrs (his mother Irene was regent, banished 790, returned 792, see note below); 780-823 Nestorian monks spread gospel into India, Turkestan, China, Persia and Syria (CHME p60)
- 782 Alcuin (740-804 64yo), a 42yo [B&N 50yo?] scholar for Northumbria's K Athelred I L32 r774-9, leaves York for Francia, becomes Charlemagne's leading scholar, ldr of palace school at Aachen -> revival of learning in Europe (Sypeck p50, cf br-70waw)
- 786 Haroun al-Rashid becomes 5th Abbasid caliph (head of state), made Baghdad a cntr of learning, xlated anc Grk/Rom texts into Arabic, some '1001 Nights' stories relate to him (Hyby p95)
- 787 1st Danish (Viking) invasion of Britain (start of 'Viking Age' of invasions 800-1100); Haroun al-Rashid Caliph at Baghdad to 809 22yrs (zenith of Abbasid dynasty); 2nd Council of Nicaea (church's 7th, last general, called by Irene) denouced 'adoptionism' (the idea that Jesus is not God's Son by nature) and iconoclasts, allowing Christians to revere - but NOT worship - images (icons, controversial, some say they mandated worship of them)
- 788 Charlemagne annexes Bavaria
- 791 BE45 Constantine imprisons his mother Irene for her cruelty and assumes sole power
- 793 1st recorded Viking attack (at Lindisfarne), no warning, caused widespread horror and alarm (Hyby p95)
- 796 Offa dies, end of Mercian supremacy in England
- 797 BE46 [Empress] Irene to 802 5yrs, 1st Empress, son blinded and imprisoned, 22yr rule, 17 as regent for her minor son, Irene later deposed, had a doctrinal dispute w/Charlemagne when she tried to 'impose Byzantine image-reverence on the West, an idolatrous practice [to] the RCC' (AMF p41, Byz bk ends w/Irene)
- 800 Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne in Rome as 1st HRE of West; Vikings invade Germany; the 'Donation of Constantine' document surfaced c800, claimed REConst had given the pope pwr over all other bishops and large portions of Italy, later shown to be a forgery
- cf LouisItP for later events

On BE45 Constantine VI: 'Strange as it may seem to us today, [Charlemagne et. al.] did not think of the Roman Empire as a thing of the past. They viewed the Byzantine Empire .. as [its] continuation .. [standing for] civilization, stability, tradition .. [and] still regarded Constantine VI, the boy emperor, as the RE. Therefore, in 798 the West was shocked by news that the young emperor had been overthrown by his ambitious mother, Irene .. [Charlemagne] undoubtedly perceived Irene's revolt as a sign of weakness in the empire and .. [of] opportunity for himself' (tIoC p97 [cf Roman.html], i.e. set off a sequence of events leading to his crowning as 1st HRE, seen as a legit. continuation of RE, still disputed how much he himself was involved, key turning point as West ceased to see Byzantines as 'above' them, latter's own fault thru corruption, might've been different).

From ToN.html: Amy Chua's 2007 bk 'Day of Empire' looks at 'big 8' 'hyperpowers' 1 Persia [6-4C BC] 2 Rome [3C BC - 5C AD] 3 Tang China (r618-907 AD began w/Li Yuan, cf BWH) 4 Mongols [12C AD] 5 Spain [15C] 6 TDR [17C] 7 British [18-9C] and 8 USA, says 'tolerance' 1rst builds, then (angry reaction) undermines empires, and that 'in its [8C] heyday, Tang China was by far the greatest power in the world' (p81, Taizong r626-49, Ming Huang r712-56, at its zenith, China had 60M pop. v. [Damascus-based] Umayads 36M [+ Baghdad-based Abbasids pop.?], Byz 13M and [Trier-based] Franks 10M)

In theory, the HRE title made its holder the heir of the ancient Roman emperors and [thus] the ruler of the [old] Western [Roman] Empire. In reality, HREs only ruled portions of C Europe. German kings possessed the title from AD 962 to 1806, when Napoleon abolished it. Since the 5C the West had descended into (tribalism or) decentralized feudalism ('futilism' acc. to Calvin and Hobbes), and this was an attempt to re-ignite the empire and a higher level of civilization (CHME p48).

One reason Islam made such rapid progress in the East was that the Church (both RCC and Eastern Church) had already rejected N African (esp. Copts) and other Christians who held the '1-Nature' theology. So many of them viewed Islam as 'a better deal' and cooperated in changing their churches into Mosques. Also, Muslims generally respected other 'people of the book' (Christians and Jews), tho they were saddled w/some disadvantages. But perhaps even so many were treated better than under their former distant Christian rulers (CHME p50).

In 799 several Italian nobles wanted to control the RCC. Their candidate for pope was rejected [by RCC ldrs] in favor of Leo III. But the nobles were sore losers; they hired thugs to gouge out Leo's tongue. 2 Franks brought the injured bishop to Charlemagne's palace [at Trier], where Leo was warmly welcomed by Charlemagne. But the Italians were accusing Leo of misusing church funds. Leo would've appealed to the RE, but the West no longer had one! Empress Irene ruled in the East, but Leo refused to let a woman judge him. How to resolve? Aha! On 23 Dec 800 Charlemagne declares Leo innocent of all charges; 2 days later Leo crowns Charlemagne HRE (CHME p51-2, 1st time RCC had created an emperor).

The mandylion [likely the Shroud of Turin, which had come to Constantinople via Edessa in 944, and likely from Qumran before that. It was the #1 relic at Const.] was at the center of debate at the 787 Nicaea Council. Theodore, abbot of the Monastery of Studion in Constantinople, one of the most splendid centers of Byzantine culture .. was able to fight both intellectually and politically to reassert the need to worship [or at least venerate] images .. he was able to underline a perennially valid, timeless fact: Forbidding the cult of images can be very dangerous, for it lays the groundwork for the growth of heresies. Rejecting images in the name of religion made only of ideas and mental concepts prevents contact between believers and the human aspects of Jesus: This leaves believers exposed to the ever-lurking danger of taking Jesus Christ as nothing but a spiritual entity, a symbol of the possible contact between man and God (Temp 114-5).

get 'Christendom' quote from B&C Mar/Apr 2010 p20 (rats, I gave that issue away)

Charlemagne occupies an important place in Irvin Baxter's understanding of biblical prophecy i.e. his 800 AD coronation as the 1st 'Holy Roman Emperor' by Pope Leo III marked the 1st of the top 5 post-resurrection prophecy events.

Sources:
- tIoC = The Importance of Charlemagne, Timothy Levi Biel, Lucent Bks, 1997.
- Byz = Byzantium: The Early Centuries [to Irene], John Julius Norwich, pub?, yr?, Mustang.
- AMF = A Mighty Fortress [on Germany], Steven Ozment, pub?, yr?, Mustang.
- BN HT = History's Timeline, Barnes & Noble, 1981, own.
- CHME = Christian History Made Easy, Dr Timothy Paul Jones, Rose, 2005, own.
- Hyby = History Year by Year, DK, 2013, FHL.
- France = France: Enchantment of the World, Peter Moss and Thelma Palmer, Children's Press (Regensteiner), 1986, FHL.
- ZHC = Zondervan [HB to the] History of Christianity, Jonathan Hill, 2006, own.
- Temp = The Templars, Barbara Frale, Skyhorse, 2012, FHL.

Notes: DOKA (pp49-57) has several references to a Syagrius who lived in the later 5C (seems too late to be either of these, but possibly a descendent?). A Roman general named Aegidius established himself as an independent ruler of N Gaul c457. His son Syagrius succeeded him. Aegidius may be Geoffrey's model for Ambrosius Aurelius, son of parents who 'wore the purple and died in the devastation' (i.e. Roman sympathizers, possibly a Senator, 49). By 467, Aegidius has died and Syagrius 'dominated the North [Gaul], at some point, interestingly, adopting the title 'King of the Romans' (52). Possibly Syagrius received 'Arthur' on his arrival at the mouth of the Loire in France from Britain [to attack Saxons, smashing them near Angers, before being betrayed by Roman prefect Arvandus and then defeated by Euric the Visigoth c470]. Promised (by Syagrius) Roman troops who never came to help Arthur (Riotimus) would have come from Syagrius (56). Riotimus in Brittainy [Armorica], Ambrosius in Britain, Aegidius and Syagrius in N Gaul stood for Romanitas (57). The Franks had been on good relations w/Syagrius, but after Euric's victory, they turned against Syagrius 'and in 486 their next king, Clovis, captured his capital, Soissons [Syagrius killed?]. Clovis rose to supremacy in N Gaul and drove the Visigoths back toward Spain. Gaul became the land of the Franks - eventually France [might have been a revitalized 'Rome' had Arthur succeeded]' (57). Online (at www.smokykin.com, I think) was a reference to Deuteria, dau of Dux Syagrius 'king of Romans.' As Julius Caesar and Pompey were sparring (leading up to Pharsalus), Pompey's 2 able commanders in Spain were Lucius Afranius and Marcus Petreius (tIoJC p53, hmmm connected w/Afranius below?). tIoJC (see JuCaesar.html): Upon his return to Rome in July 46 BC (after defeating Juba the Numidian et al in N Africa; King Juba, Pompey's f-i-l General Metellus Scipio, Petreius d. fighting, Afranius executed (had been spared earlier in Spain), Pompey's sons Gnaeus and Sextus escaped to Spain, Marcus Cato committed suicide), Caesar began making reforms in Rome. Meanwhile Pompey's 2 sons [tried to regroup in Spain,] Caesar led his own army to Spain Nov 46, defeating them at Munda March 45' [terrible battle, 30K killed, 1K of Caesar's own k., he nearly lost his life, hardest and last battle of his life].

Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the English in the Anglo-Saxon era; one of the seven main kingdoms known to historians as the Heptarchy. Mercia was centred originally on the valley of the River Trent, but spread in the seventh century to encompass the whole of the Midlands.

Mercia's neighbours included Northumbria, Powys and the southern Welsh kingdoms, Wessex, Sussex, Essex and East Anglia.

• 9Modern uses of the term 'Mercia'
• 11References

Name

The kingdom was known in the time of its power as The Kingdom of the Mercian, or in Old English Miercna rice (and variant spellings), from its people, known as the Mierce or Myrce; a name meaning 'border people'.

The name used in Modern English, Mercia, is a Latinisation of Mierce. The name Myrcna land ('Land of the Mercians') also appears in Old English (in 918, at the moment the kingdom lost its independence)^[1] and Myrcland^[2], though most frequently the English sources refer to the people, not the land as such. The kings bore the title (with various spellings) Miercna cyning; 'King of the Mercians'.

The Mercians have left their name in places such as Markfield in Leicestershire ('Field of the Mercians'), though this folk's main legacy is spreading their name from the borderlands of their origin across the whole of the Midlands. The name Mercia has been revived in latter days for a wide range of organisations, including military units, public, commercial and voluntary bodies.

Early history

Mercia's exact evolution at the start of the Anglo-Saxon era is more obscure than that of Northumbria, Kent, or even Wessex. Bede tells us that Northumbria, East Anglia and Mercia were settled by the tribe known as the Angles, while south of them were the Saxons, though such a stark division by the tribes may be oversimplification. The Mercian kings claimed descent from King Icel of the Angles, who was believed to have ruled in Germany, and from Offa, the hero-king of Germanic legend.

The Mercians developed an effective political structure and adopted Christianity later than the other kingdoms.^[3] The name Mierce is from the Old English for 'border' and the traditional interpretation is that the kingdom originated along the frontier between the native Welsh and the Anglo-Saxon invaders, though P Hunter Blair argued an alternative interpretation: that they emerged along the frontier of Northumbria and the inhabitants of the Trent river valley.

While its earliest boundaries will never be known, there is general agreement that the territory that was called 'the first of the Mercians' in the Tribal Hidage covered much of south Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire and northern Warwickshire.^[4][5][6]

The earliest person named in any records as a King of the Mercians is Creoda, said to have been the great-grandson of King Icel. Creoda came to power around 584. His son Pybba succeeded him in 593. Cearl, a kinsman of Creoda, followed Pybba in 606. In 615, Cearl gave his daughter Cwenburh in marriage to Edwin, King of Deira whom he had sheltered while he was an exiled prince.

Penda and the Mercian Supremacy

Penda son of Pybba ruled from about 626 or 633 until 655. Some of what is known about Penda comes through the lengthy account given by Bede, who condemned Penda both for being an enemy to Northumbria and for being a pagan, though Bede admits that Penda freely allowed Christian missionaries from Lindisfarne into Mercia, and did not restrain them from preaching. Penda ruled at a time of changes in the balance of power between the kingdoms of Britain and in the influence of Christianity.

Edwin of Northumbria had become ruler not only of the newly unified Northumbria, but bretwalda, or high king, over the English kingdoms, and Penda was determined to overthrown Northumbrian lordship. Allied to Cadwallon ap Cadfan, King of Gwynedd, Penda defeated and slew Edwin in 633 at Hatfield Chase. Cadwallon bore the title 'King of Britain' and sought to make the paper title a reality in Northumbria, for according to chroniclers he ravaged that land as if to drive the English out and restore Britain to the Britons. At this point Oswald (later known as St Oswald) came to take up the Northumbrian throne and defeated and slew Cadwallon at Heavensfield; when he marched against Penda though in 642, he also was defeated and killed, at the Battle of Maserfield (by Oswestry). In 655, after a period of confusion in Northumbria, Penda brought 30 sub-kings to fight the new Northumbrian king, Oswiu, at the Battle of Winwæd, but on this field Penda was defeated and slain.^[7] Penda was the last pagan king of the Mercians.

Winwæd led to a temporary collapse of Mercian power. Penda's son Peada converted to Christianity at Repton in 653 and was placed on the Mercian throne by Oswiu as an under-king, but in the spring of 656 he was murdered and so Oswiu assumed direct control. A revolt in 658 threw off Northumbrian rule and another son of Penda, Wulfhere, ruled Mercia independently until his death in 675. Wulfhere was initially successful in restoring the power of Mercia, and it may be he who drove the Mercian border decisively westward beyond the River Severn. A charter by King Frithuwald of Surrey, acknowledging Wulfhere's overlordship, show that his power extended south of the Thames.

King Æthelred succeeded and defeated Northumbria at the Battle of the Trent in 679, settling once and for all the long-disputed control of the former kingdom of Lindsey. Æthelred was succeeded by Cœnred son of Wulfhere, and both these kings are better known for their religious activities than anything else, but the king who succeeded them (in 709), Ceolred, is said in a letter of Saint Boniface to have been a dissolute youth who died insane. So ended the rule of the direct descendants of Penda.^[3]

At some point before the accession of Æthelbald, possibly under Wulfhere, the Mercians conquered the region around Wroxeter, known to the Welsh as Pengwern or 'The Paradise of Powys', which advance left the Britons with only that mountain fastness we now know as Wales. Elegies written in the persona of its dispossessed rulers record the sorrow at this loss.

King Æthelbald (716–757) faced opposition from two strong rivals; Wihtred of Kent and Ine of Wessex, but when Wihtred died in 725, and Ine abdicated to become a monk, Æthelbald re-established Mercia's hegemony over all the English south of the Humber. In 752 Æthelbald was defeated by the West Saxons under Cuthred, but he seems to have restored his supremacy over Wessex by 757.

In July 2009, the Staffordshire Hoard of gold was discovered in a field near Lichfield in Staffordshire, the religious centre of Mercia. With more gold than was found at Sutton Hoo, the Staffordshire Hoard is one of the most important Anglo-saxon treasures ever found, and though it lacks the great variety and context of Sutton Hoo, it shows something of the artistic genius of the Mercian in the Middle Saxon period. The artefacts have tentatively been dated to around AD 600–800. Aoe 2 full version. Whether the hoard was deposited by Anglo-Saxon pagans or Christians is debated, as is the purpose of the deposit.^[8]

Offa and rise of Wessex

Æthelbald was murdered by one of his bodyguards in 757, and a civil war broke out which was concluded with the victory of Offa, a king bearing the name of the ancient hero king of the English when they lived in Germany. Offa was forced to build anew the hegemony over the southern English, and he did this so successfully that he became the greatest king Mercia had ever known. Not only did he win battles and dominate the south, also he took an active hand in administering the affairs of his kingdom by founding market towns and overseeing the first major issues of gold coins in Britain; he assumed a role in the administration of the Church in England (sponsoring the short-lived archbishopric of Lichfield), and negotiated with Charlemagne as an equal. Offa indeed took the title 'Emperor of Britain', and this may have inspired Charlemagne to take the title of Roman Emperor, perhaps on the urging of his adviser, Alcuin of York, a Northumbrian.

Offa is credited with the construction of Offa's Dyke, marking the border between the Welsh kingdoms and the Mercian kingdom.

Offa exerted himself to ensure that his son Ecgfrith of Mercia would succeed him, but after his death in July 796, Ecgfrith survived for only five more months, and the kingdom passed to a distant relative named Coenwulf in December 796. In 821, Coenwulf was succeeded by his brother Ceolwulf, who demonstrated his military prowess by his attack on and destruction of the fortress of Deganwy in Powys. This was the last of Mercian power though: in 823 at Ellandun, Egbert of Wessex defeated the Mercian king Beornwulf (who had overthrown Ceolwulf in 823). The East Angles rebelled and Beornwulf was slain in battle, as was his successor, a former ealdorman named Ludeca. Another ealdorman, Wiglaf, ruled for less than two years before Egbert drove him out.Though Wiglaf regained independence for Mercia in 830, Wessex had become the dominant power over all the English.

In 852, Burgred came to the throne and with Ethelwulf of Wessex subjugated North Wales.

Arrival of the Danes

In 868, Danish Vikings occupied Nottingham. They and drove Burgred from his kingdom in 874 and Ceolwulf II took his place. In 877 the Danes occupied the whole of the east of the kingdom^[9] and Ceolwulf clung on in the west until 879. Coelwulf II was the last king of the Mercians.^[10]

From about 883 until 911 Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians ruled Mercia under the overlordship of Wessex. All coins struck in Mercia after the disappearance of Ceolwulf in c.879 were in the name of the West Saxon king.^[11] Æthelred had married Æthelflæd, daughter of Alfred the Great of Wessex, and she assumed power when her husband became ill at some time in the last ten years of his life.^[12]

After Æthelred's death 911 Æthelflæd ruled as 'Lady of the Mercians' but Edward took control of London and Oxford, which had been under Æthelred's control. She and her brother continued Alfred's policy of building fortified burhs, and in 917-18 they were able to conquer the southern Danelaw in East Anglia and Danish Mercia.^[12]

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Loss of independence

When Æthelflæd died in 918, Ælfwynn, her daughter by Æthelred, succeeded to power but within six months Edward had deprived her of all authority in Mercia and taken her into Wessex.^[12]

References to Mercia and the Mercians continue through the annals recording the reigns of Æthelstan and his successors. In 975 King Edgar is described as 'friend of the West Saxons and protector of the Mercians'.

A separate political existence from Wessex was briefly restored in 955–959, when Edgar in rebellion against his brother became king of the Mercians, and again in 1016, when the Kingdom of the English was divided between Cnut and Edmund Ironside, Cnut taking Mercia and Northumbria.

The last Chronicle reference to Mercia by name is in the annal for 1017, when Eadric Streona was awarded the government of Mercia by Cnut. The later earls, Leofric, Ælfgar and Edwin, ruled over a territory broadly corresponding to historic Mercia, but the Chronicle does not identify it by name. The Mercians as a people are last mentioned in the annal for 1049. However in the Laws of Henry I it was recognised that England was divided into three parts and the common law of England likewise, namely of the West Saxons, the Mercians and the Danes.^[13]

Mercian dialect

The dialect thrived between the 8th and 13th centuries and was referred to by John Trevisa, writing in 1387:^[14]

J R R Tolkien is one of many scholars who have studied and promoted the Mercian dialect of Old English, and introduced various Mercian terms into his legendarium – especially in relation to the Kingdom of Rohan, otherwise known as the Mark (a name cognate with Mercia). Not only is the language of Rohan actually represented as^[15] the Mercian dialect of Old English, but a number of its kings are given the same names as monarchs who appear in the Mercian royal genealogy, e.g. Fréawine, Fréaláf and Éomer.^[16]

Divisions of Mercia

For knowledge of the internal composition of the Kingdom of Mercia, we must rely on a document of uncertain age (possibly late 7th century), known as the Tribal Hidage – an assessment of the extent (but not the location) of land owned (reckoned in hides), and therefore the military obligations and perhaps taxes due, by each of the Mercian tribes and subject kingdoms by name. This hidage exists in several manuscript versions, some as late as the 14th century. It lists a number of peoples, such as the Hwicce, who have now vanished, except for reminders in various placenames such as '@ under Wychwood'. The major divisions of Mercia listed in the Tribal Hidage were as follows:^[17]

• South Mercians

Those Mercians dwelling south of the River Trent. Folk groups within included the Tomsæte around Tamworth and the Pencersæte around Penkridge (approx. S. Staffordshire & N. [Warwickshire]]).

• North Mercians

Those dwelling north of the River Trent (approx. N. Staffordshire, S. Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire).

• Outer Mercia

Approx. S. Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire. & N. Oxon.).

Once a kingdom in its own right, disputed with Northumbria in the 7th century.

• Middle Angles

A collection of many smaller folk groups under Mercian control from the 7th century, including the Spaldingas around Spalding, the Bilmingas and Wideringas near Stamford, the North Gyrwe and South Gyrwe near Peterborough, the West Wixna, East Wixna, West Wille and East Wille near Ely, the Sweordora, Hurstingas and Gifle near Bedford, the Hicce around Hitchin, the Cilternsæte in the Chilterns and the Feppingas near Thame (approx. Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire & S. Oxfordshire).

Once a kingdom in its own right, apparently of Welsh or mixed Welsh-English stock and Christian before St Augustine's day. This petty kingdom was disputed with Wessex in the 7th century before finally coming under Mercian control. Smaller folk groups within included the Stoppingas around Warwick and the Arosæte possibly near Droitwich (approx. Gloucestershire, Worcestershire & S. Warwickshire).

• Magonsæte

A people of the western border, perhaps the same as or adjacent to those known as the Westerna, under Mercian control from the 7th century. Smaller folk groups within included the Temersæte near Hereford and the Hahlsæte near Ludlow (approx. Herefordshire & S. Shropshire).

• Wreocansæte

A people of the Welsh border under Mercian control from the 7th century, their name from Old Welsh, from the Wrekin or the older Viroconium. Smaller folk groups within included the Rhiwsæte near Wroxeter and the Meresæte near Chester (approx. N. Shropshire, Flintshire & Cheshire).

• Pecsæte

An isolated folk group of the Peak District, under Mercian control from the 7th century (approx. N. Derbyshire).

Taken over from Essex in the 8th century.

After Mercia was annexed by Wessex in the early 10th century, the West Saxon rulers divided it into shires modelled after their own system. It is not known how these reated to the older tribal boundaries, if those survived, but the Mægesæte are mentioned as late as 1016, perhaps as a byname for Herefordshire.^[18]

Modern uses of the term 'Mercia'

The term 'Midlands' is first recorded (as 'mydlande') in 1555.^[19]

John Bateman, writing in 1876 or 1883, referred to contemporary Cheshire and Staffordshire landholdings as being in Mercia.^[20] The most credible source for the conceit of a contemporary Mercia is Thomas Hardy's Wessex novels. The first of these appeared in 1874 and Hardy himself considered it the origin of the conceit of a contemporary Wessex. Bram Stoker set his 1911 novel, The Lair of the White Worm, in a contemporary Mercia that may have been influenced by Hardy, whose secretary was a friend of Stoker's brother. Although 'Edwardian Mercia' never had the success of 'Victorian Wessex', it was an idea that appealed to the higher echelons of society. In 1908 Sir Oliver Lodge, Principal of Birmingham University, wrote to his counterpart at Bristol, welcoming a new university worthy of:

the great Province of Wessex whose higher educational needs it will supply. It will be no rival, but colleague and co-worker with this university, whose province is Mercia….^[21]

The British Army has made use of regional identities in naming larger formations. After the Second World War, the infantry regiments of Cheshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire were organised in the Mercian Brigade (1948–1968). Today 'Mercia' appears in the titles of two regiments, the new Mercian Regiment (which recruits in Cheshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire) and the Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry.

The West Mercia Constabulary was created in 1967, combining the police forces of Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire.

In 2012 a new football league was formed called the Mercian Regional Football League.

Symbols

The Kingdom of Mercia predated the emergence of heraldry, so there is no authentic Mercian heraldic device. However, later generations have ascribed a variety of devices to the rulers of Mercia or to the land itself.

As a flag, the Cross of St Alban is flown from Tamworth Castle, the ancient seat of the Mercian Kings, to this day. It was also flown outside Birmingham Council House during 2009 while the Staffordshire Hoard was on display in the city before being taken to the British Museum in London. The cross has been incorporated into a number of coats of arms of Mercian towns, such as Tamworth, Leek and Blaby.

The saltire had become the attributed arms of the Kingdom of Mercia by the 13th century.^[22] The arms are blazoned Azure, a saltire Or, meaning a gold (or yellow) saltire on a blue field. The arms were subsequently used by the Abbey of St Albans, founded by King Offa of Mercia. With the dissolution of the Abbey and the incorporation of the borough of St Albans the device was used on the town's corporate seal and was officially recorded as the arms of the town at an heraldic visitation in 1634.^[23]

A silver double-headed eagle surmounted by a golden three-pronged Saxon crown has been used by several units of the Army as a heraldic device for Mercia since 1958, derived from the attributed arms of Leofric, Earl of Mercia in the 11th century.^[24]

The wyvern, a dragon with two heads, has since its adoption as an emblem by the Midland Railway in the mid-19th century,^[25] having been first adopted by its predecessor the Leicester and Swannington Railway, which opened in 1832. The latter adopted the wyvern as it forms the crest of the Borough of Leicester recorded at the heraldic visitation of Leicestershire in 1619: a wyvern sans legs argent strewed with wounds gules, wings expanded ermine.^[26][27][28] The Midland Railway company asserted that the 'wyvern was the standard of the Kingdom of Mercia', and that it was a 'a quartering in the town arms of Leicester'.^{[29][30][31][32]}

However, in 1897 the Railway Magazine noted that there appeared 'to be no foundation that the wyvern was associated with the Kingdom of Mercia'.^[30] The wyvern in Leicester's crest was derived from that of Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, who was executed in 1327.^[33]

A similar theme was later taken up by Bram Stoker in his 1911 novel, The Lair of the White Worm, which was explicitly set in Mercia. The word 'worm', derived from Old English wyrm, originally referred to a dragon or serpent. 'Wyvern' is derived from Old Saxon wivere, also meaning serpent.

The cap badge of the 2nd Mercian Battalion of the Territorial Army in the 1980s was a wyvern.

Outside links

References

Age Of Charlemagne Mercia Guided

1. ↑Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Parker Chronicle (918) 7 him cierde to eall se þeodscype on Myrcna lande þe Æþelflæde ær underþeoded wæs
2. ↑Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Peterborough / Worcester Chronicle (911) Her bræc se here þone frið on Norðhymbrum, 7 forsawon ælc riht þe Eadweard cyning 7 his witan him budon, 7 hergodon ofer Myrcland.
3. ↑ ^3.03.1Fouracre, Paul ed. The New Cambridge Mediæval History v.I, Cambridge (2005) pg. 466
4. ↑Brooks, Nicholas Anglo-Saxon myths: state and church, 400–1066
5. ↑Hill, D. Atlas of Anglo-Saxon England, Oxford (1981), map 136
6. ↑Hooke, Della Anglo-Saxon Territorial Organisation: The Western Margins of Mercia, University of Birmingham, Dept. of Geography, Occasional Paper 22 (1986) pp.1–45
7. ↑Fouracre, Paul ed. The New Cambridge Mediæval History v.I, Cambridge (2005) p. 465
8. ↑'Huge Anglo-Saxon gold hoard found'. BBC News. 24 September 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staffordshire/8272058.stm. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
9. ↑Frank Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, Oxford University Press, 1971, p. 254
10. ↑{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation|CitationClass=encyclopaedia}} (subscription or UK public library membership required)
11. ↑Stewart Lyon, The coinage of Edward the Elder, in N. J. Higham & D.H. Hill, Edward the Elder 899–924, London 2001, p. 67.
12. ↑ ^12.012.112.2{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation|CitationClass=encyclopaedia}} (subscription or UK public library membership required)
13. ↑Regnum Anglie triphariam diuiditur, in Westsexiam et Mircenos et Danorum prouinciam. .. Legis etiam Anglice trina est partition ad superiorem modum, alia enim Westsexie, alia Mircena, alia Denelaga est.
14. ↑Elmes (2005)
15. ↑Tolkien, J. R. R. (2005). The Lord of the Rings. Houghton-Mifflin. pp. 1133–1138. ISBN 978-0-618-64561-9. For more on Tolkien's 'translation' of the language of Rohan into Old English, see especially page 1136.
16. ↑Shippey, Prof. Tom (2005 (1982)). The Road to Middle Earth. HarperCollins. pp. 139–140. ISBN 0-261-10275-3. Shippey notes that Tolkien uses 'Mercian' forms of Anglo-Saxon, e.g. 'Saruman, Hasufel, Herugrim for 'standard' [Anglo-Saxon] Searuman, Heasufel and Heorugrim' Footnote page 140
17. ↑Sarah Zaluckyj & Marge Feryok. Mercia: The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Central England (2001) ISBN 1-873827-62-8
18. ↑Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Laud Chronicle (1016) Ða dyde Eadric ealdormann swa he oftor ær dyde. astealde þone fleam ærest mid Magesæton. 7 swa aswac his cynehlaforde (The Edric the governor, as oft he had done before, caused the flight, first with the Magesæte.
19. ↑McWhirter (1976)
20. ↑Bateman (1971)
21. ↑Cottle & Sherborne (1951)
22. ↑College of Arms Ms. L.14, dating from the reign of Henry III
23. ↑Civic Heraldry of England and Wales – Hertfordshire, accessed 15 January 2008
24. ↑A.L. Kipling and H.L. King, Head-dress Badges of the British Army, Vol. 2, reprinted, Uckfield, 2006
25. ↑Cuthbert Hamilton Ellis, The Midland Railway, 1953
26. ↑Geoffrey Briggs, Civic & Corporate Heraldry, London 1971
27. ↑C. W. Scot-Giles, Civic Heraldry of England and Wales, 2nd edition, London, 1953
28. ↑A. C. Fox-Davies, The Book of Public Arms, London 1915
29. ↑Frederick Smeeton Williams, The Midland Railway: Its rise and progress: A narrative of modern enterprise, 1876
30. ↑ ^30.030.1The Railway Magazine, Vol. 102, 1897
31. ↑Dow (1973)
32. ↑Clement Edwin Stretton, History of The Midland Railway, 1901
33. ↑John Hewitt, Ancient Arms in Modern Europe, Vol II: The Fourteenth Century, 1860

Books

• Ian W. Walker. Mercia and the Making of England (2000) ISBN 0-7509-2131-5 (also published as Mercia and the Origins of England (2000) ISBN 0-7509-2131-5)
• Sarah Zaluckyj & Marge Feryok. Mercia: The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Central England (2001) ISBN 1-873827-62-8
• Michelle Brown & Carol Farr (eds). Mercia: An Anglo-Saxon Kingdom in Europe (2005) ISBN 0-8264-7765-8
• Margaret Gelling. 'The Early History of Western Mercia'. (p. 184–201; In: The Origins of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms. S. Bassett. 1989)
• Simon Schama. A History of Britain: At the Edge of the World? – 3000 BC–AD 1603 Vol 1 BBC Books 2003
• Elmes, Simon: Talking for Britain: A Journey Through the Nation's Dialects (Penguin, 2005, ISBN 0-14-051562-3
• Baxter, Stephen: The Earls of Mercia: lordship and power in late Anglo-Saxon England (Oxford University Press, 2007), ISBN 0-19-923098-6
• Bateman, John: The Great Landowners of Great Britain and Ireland (Leicester University Press, 1971), ISBN 391 00157 4