Offa of Mercia

From Includipedia, the inclusionist encyclopedia

Offa
King of Mercia
Reign	757 – July 796
Died	July 796
Predecessor	Beornrad
Successor	Ecgfrith
Issue	Ælfflæd Eadburh Æthelburh Æthelswith
Father	Thingfrith

Offa (died July 26/29, 796) was the King of Mercia from 757 until his death. Prior to the rise of Wessex in the 9th century, he was arguably the most powerful and successful of the Anglo-Saxon kings, effectively ruling much of Britain south of the River Humber during the latter part of his reign. His capital was based in Tamworth. Offa's Dyke is named after him.

Offa was the son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, the brother of King Penda, who had ruled over a hundred years before. Following the murder of his cousin King Æthelbald in 757, Offa defeated Beornrad, who fled, thus seizing the throne of Mercia. Offa took over a kingdom that had enjoyed supremacy over southern England during Æthelbald's reign, but this supremacy had been seriously weakened by Æthelbald's death and subsequent internal conflict. Offa thereafter endeavoured to reestablish Mercian power over the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

Contents 1 Background 2 Ancestry and family 3 Early reign, the midland territories, and the Middle and East Saxons 4 Kent and Sussex 5 East Anglia, Wessex and Northumbria 6 Wales and Offa's Dyke 7 The Church 8 European connections 9 Coinage, trade and government 10 Stature 11 Death and succession 12 Notes 13 References

Background

In the first half of the eighth century, King Æthelbald of Mercia was the dominant Anglo-Saxon ruler. According to the monk Bede, writing in 731, Æthelbald was the overlord of all the provinces south of the river Humber.^[1] Æthelbald was one of a sequence of strong Mercian kings from the mid-seventh century to the early ninth, and the period is sometimes referred to as the "Mercian supremacy" as a result; it was not until the reign of Egbert of Wessex in the ninth-century that Mercian power was decisively eclipsed.^[2]

The nature of Mercian kingship is not clear from the limited surviving sources. There are two main theories regarding the ancestry of Mercian kings of this period. One is that descendants of different lines of the royal family competed for the throne. In the mid-7th century, for example, Penda had placed royal kinsmen in control of conquered provinces.^[3] Alternatively, it may be that a number of kin-groups with local power-bases may have competed for the succession. The sub-kingdoms of the Hwicce, the Tomsæte, and the unidentified Gaini are examples of such power-bases. Marriage alliances could also have played a part. Competing magnates, those called in charters "dux" or "princeps" (that is, leaders), may have brought the kings to power. In this model, the Mercian kings are little more than leading noblemen.^[4]

Offa is regarded as the most powerful Anglo-Saxon ruler until the time of Alfred the Great, two centuries later.^[5] No contemporary biography survives of Offa,^[2] and the main literary source for the period, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, was a West Saxon production, and may not fully convey the extent of Offa's power.^[6] That power can be seen more usefully in charters dating from Offa's reign. Charters were documents which granted land to followers or to churchmen, and which were witnessed by the kings who had power to grant the land.^[7][8] 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 subking.^[9] The monument of Offa's Dyke, most of which was probably built in his reign, demonstrates the extensive resources Offa had at his command and, more importantly, his ability to organise these,^[10] as might also the somewhat problematic document known as Tribal Hidage.^[11] A significant corpus of letters dates from the period, especially from Alcuin. These in particular reveal Offa's relations with the continent, as does his coinage, which was based on Carolingian examples.^[12]

Ancestry and family

Offa's ancestry is given in the Anglian collection, a set of genealogies that include lines of descent for four Mercian kings. All four lines descend from Pybba. Offa's line comes through Pybba's son Eowa, and then through three more generations: Osmod, Eanwulf, and Offa's father, Thingfrith. Æthelbald, who ruled Mercia for most of the forty years before Offa, was also descended from Eowa according to the genealogies: Offa's grandfather, Eanwulf, was Æthelbald's second cousin.^[13] Æthelbald granted land to Eanwulf in the territory of the Hwicce, and it is possible that Offa and Æthelbald were from the same broad family grouping in the Mercian political landscape. In one charter, Offa refers to Æthelbald as his kinsman; and Headbert, Æthelbald's brother, continued to witness charters after Offa came to power.^[14][15]

Offa's wife was Cynethryth; her ancestry is unknown. They had a son, Ecgfrith, and four daughters: Ælfflæd, Eadburh, Æthelburh, and Æthelswith.^[16] Æthelburh became an abbess and it has been suggested that she was the same Æthelburh as an abbess of that name who was a kinswoman of King Ealdred of the Hwicce, but there are other prominent women named Æthelburh at that period, and the identification is only speculative.^[15]

Early reign, the midland territories, and the Middle and East Saxons

Æthelbald, who had ruled Mercia since 716, was assassinated in 757. According to a later continuation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History, Æthelbald was "treacherously murdered at night by his own bodyguards", though the reason why is unrecorded. Æthelbald was initially succeeded by Beornred, about whom little is known. The continuation of Bede comments that Beornred "ruled for a little while, and unhappily", and adds that "the same year, Offa, having put Beornred to flight, sought to gain the kingdom of the Mercians by bloodshed."^[17] It is possible that Offa did not gain the throne until 758, however, since a charter of 789 describes Offa as being in the thirty-first year of his reign.^[15]

The conflict over the succession suggests that Offa would have needed to re-establish control over Mercia's traditional dependencies, such as the Hwicce and the Magonsæte. Charters dating from the first two years of Offa's reign show the Hwiccan kings as reguli, or kinglets, under his authority; and it is likely that he was also quick to gain control over the Magonsæte, for whom there is no record of an independent ruler after 740.^[15][18][19] Offa was probably able to exert control over the kingdom of Lindsey at an early date, as it appears that the independent dynasty of the kings of Lindsey had disappeared by this time.^[18][20]

Little is known about the history of the East Saxons during the eighth century, but what evidence there is indicates that both London and Middlesex, which had been part of the kingdom of Essex, were finally brought under Mercian control during the reign of Æthelbald. Both Æthelbald and Offa granted land in Middlesex and London as they wished; in 767 a charter of Offa's disposed of land in Harrow without a local ruler as witness.^[21] It is likely that both London and Middlesex were quickly under Offa's control at the start of his reign.^[22] The East Saxon royal house survived the eighth century, so it is probable that the kingdom of Essex retained its native rulers, but under strong Mercian influence, for most or all of the eighth century.^[23]

It is unlikely that Offa had significant influence in the early years of his reign outside the traditional Mercian heartland. The overlordship of the southern English which had been exerted by Æthelbald appears to have collapsed during the civil strife over the succession, and it is not until 764, when evidence emerges of Offa's influence in Kent, that Mercian power can be seen expanding again.^[24]

Kent and Sussex

Offa appears to have been able to exploit an unstable situation in Kent after 762.^[25] Kent had long had a tradition of joint kingship, with east and west Kent under separate kings, though one king was typically dominant.^[26] Prior to 762 Kent was ruled by Æthelberht II and Eadberht I; Eadberht's son Eardwulf also is recorded as a king. Æthelbert died in 762, and Eadberht and Eardwulf are last mentioned in that same year. Charters over the next two years mention other kings of Kent, including Sigered, Eanmund and Heahberht. In 764, Offa granted land at Rochester in his own name, with Heahberht on the witness list as king of Kent. Another king of Kent, Egbert, appears on a charter in 765 along with Heahberht; the charter was subsequently confirmed by Offa.^[27] Offa's influence in Kent at this time is clear, and it has been suggested that Heahberht was installed by Offa as his client.^[25] There is less agreement among historians on whether Offa had general overlordship of Kent thereafter. Offa is known to have revoked a charter of Egbert's on the grounds that "it was wrong that his thegn should have presumed to give land allotted to him by his lord into the power of another without his witness", but the date of this grant of Egbert's is unknown.^[28] It may be that Offa was the effective overlord of Kent from 764 until at least 776; but there is limited evidence of his direct involvement in the kingdom after 765. There are two charters of 774 in which Offa grants land in Kent, but there are doubts about their authenticity; and so it may also be that Offa's intervention in Kent was limited to the years 764–765.^[29]

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that "the Mercians and the inhabitants of Kent fought at Otford" in 776. The outcome was not recorded; it has traditionally been interpreted as a Mercian victory, but Stenton noted that there is no evidence that Offa exercised any authority over Kent during the years that immediately followed the battle, and a charter from 784 mentions only a Kentish king named Ealhmund, which may indicate that the Mercians were in fact defeated at Otford.^[30] The cause of the conflict is also unknown: if Offa ruled Kent before 776 it is likely to have been a rebellion against Mercian control.^[18] However, Ealhmund does not appear again in the historical record, and a sequence of charters by Offa from the years 785–789 make his authority clear. During these years he treated Kent "as an ordinary province of the Mercian kingdom",^[31] and his actions have been seen as going beyond the normal relation of overlordship and extending to the annexation of Kent and the elimination of a local royal line. After 785, in the words of one historian, "Offa was the rival, not the overlord, of Kentish kings".^[32] Mercian control lasted until 796, the year of Offa's death, when a rebellion under Eadbert Praen was temporarily successful in regaining Kentish independence.^[33]

The evidence for Offa's involvement in the kingdom of Sussex comes from charters, and as with Kent there is no clear consensus among historians on the course of events. Sussex, like Kent, had a tradition of joint kingship, and it has been argued that Offa's authority was recognized early in his reign by the local kings of western Sussex, but that eastern Sussex (the area around Hastings) submitted to him less readily. Simeon of Durham, a twelfth-century chronicler, records that in 771 Offa defeated "the people of Hastings", which may record the extension of Offa's dominion over the entire kingdom.^[34] However, doubts have been expressed about the authenticity of the charters which support this version of events, and it is possible that Offa's direct involvement in Sussex was limited to a short period around 770–771. After 772, there is no further evidence of Mercian involvement in Sussex until c. 790, and it may be that Offa gained control of Sussex in the late 780s, as he did in Kent.^[35]

East Anglia, Wessex and Northumbria

In East Anglia, Beonna probably became king in about 758. Beonna's first coinage predates Offa's own, and implies independence from Mercia. Subsequent East Anglian history is quite obscure, but in 779 Æthelberht II became king, and was independent long enough to issue coins of his own.^[36] In 794, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, "King Offa ordered King Æthelberht's head to be struck off". Offa minted pennies in East Anglia in the early 790s so it seems likely that Æthelberht rebelled against Offa and was beheaded as a result.^[37] Accounts of the event have survived in which Aethelbert is killed through the machinations of Offa's wife Cynethryth, but the earliest manuscripts in which these possibly legendary accounts are found date from the twelfth century and modern historians do not regard them with confidence.^[38]

To the south, Cynewulf, the king of Wessex, came to the throne in 757 and recovered much of the border territory that Æthelbald had conquered from the West Saxons. Offa won an important victory over the Cynewulf at the Battle of Bensington (in Oxfordshire) in 779, reconquering some of the land along the Thames.^[39] However, no indisputably authentic charters from before this date show Cynewulf in Offa's entourage,^[40] and there is no evidence that Offa ever became Cynewulf's overlord.^[39] In 786, after the murder of Cynewulf, Offa may have intervened to place Beorhtric on the West Saxon throne, possibly in opposition to a rival claimant, Egbert, who had links to the Kentish dynasty that opposed Mercian rule. Even if Offa did not assist Beorhtric's claim, it seems likely that Beorhtric to some extent recognized Offa as his overlord shortly thereafter. Offa's currency was used across the West Saxon kingdom, and Beorhtric had his own coins minted only after Offa's death.^[41] Beorhtric married Eadburh, a daughter of Offa, in 789,^[42] and the Chronicle records that the two kings combined to exile Egbert to Francia for three years. Egbert took the throne of Wessex after Beorhtric's death in 802, and it is thought by some (though not all) historians that the Chronicle's "three years" should read "thirteen years", which would place the likely date of exile in 789, the year of Beorhtric's and Eadburh's marriage.^[43] Asser, the ninth-century monk who wrote a biography of Alfred the Great, says that Eadburh had "power throughout almost the entire kingdom", and that she "began to behave like a tyrant after the manner of her father".^[44] Whatever power she had in Wessex was no doubt connected with her father's overlordship.^[45]

If Offa did not gain the advantage in Wessex until defeating Cynewulf in 779, it may be that his successes south of the river were a necessary prerequisite to his interventions in the southeast. In this view, Egbert of Kent's death in about 784 and Cynewulf's death in 786 were the events that allowed Offa to gain control of Kent and bring Beorhtric into his sphere of influence. This version of events also assumes that Offa did not have control of Kent after 764–765, as some historians believe.^[46]

Offa's marital alliances extended to Northumbria when his daughter Ælfflæd married Æthelred I of Northumbria at Catterick in 792.^[47] However, there is no evidence that Northumbria was ever under Mercian control during Offa's reign.^[18]

Wales and Offa's Dyke

Like all Mercian rulers of the period, Offa was often in conflict with the various Welsh kingdoms. There was a battle between the Mercians and the Welsh at Hereford in 760, and Offa is recorded as campaigning against the Welsh in 778, 784 and 796 in the Annales Cambriae.^[48][49]

The best known relic of Offa's time is perhaps Offa's Dyke, a great earthen barrier that runs approximately along the border between England and Wales. It is mentioned by the monk Asser in his biography of Alfred the Great; he says "a certain vigorous king called Offa…had a great dyke built between Wales and Mercia from sea to sea".^[50] The dyke has not been dated by archaeological methods, but it is generally thought that Asser's attribution is correct.^[51] Early names for the dyke in both Welsh and English also support the attribution to Offa.^[52] Despite Asser's comment that the dyke ran "from sea to sea", it is now thought that the original structure only covered about two-thirds of the length of the border: in the north it ends near Llanfynydd, less than five miles from the coast, while in the south it stops at Rushock Hill, near Kington in Herefordshire, less than fifty miles from the Bristol Channel. The total length of this section is about sixty-four miles.^[51] Other earthworks exist along the Welsh border, of which Wat's Dyke is one of the largest, but it is not possible to date them relative to each other and so it cannot be determined whether Offa's Dyke was a copy of or the inspiration for Wat's Dyke.^[53]

The construction of the dyke suggests that it was built both to create an effective barrier and to keep a good view into Wales. This implies that the Mercians who built it were free to choose the best location for the dyke.^[51] However, there are settlements to the west of the dyke that have names that imply they were English by the eighth century, so it may be that in choosing the location of the barrier the Mercians were consciously surrendering some territory to the native Britons.^[54] Alternatively it may be that these settlements had already been retaken by the Welsh, implying a defensive role for the barrier.^[55]

The effort and expense that must have gone into building the dyke are impressive, and imply that the king who had it built (whether Offa or someone else) had considerable resources at his command. Other substantial construction projects of a similar date do exist, however, such as Wat's Dyke and the Danevirke, in what is now Denmark, as well as such sites as Stonehenge from millennia earlier. The dyke can be regarded in the light of these counterparts as the largest and most recent great construction of the preliterate inhabitants of Britain.^[55]

The Church

Offa ruled as a Christian king, but despite being praised by Alcuin for his piety and efforts to "instruct [his people] in the precepts of God",^[56] he came into conflict with Jaenberht, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Jaenberht had been a supporter of Egbert II of Kent, which may have led to conflict in the 760s when Offa is known to have intervened in Kent. Offa rescinded grants made to Canterbury by Egbert, and it is also known that Jaenberht claimed the monastery of Cookham, which was in Offa's possession.^[57]

In 786 Pope Adrian I sent papal legates to England to assess the state of the church and provide canons (ecclesiastical decrees) for the guidance of the English kings, nobles and clergy. The legates were George, the Bishop of Ostia, and Theophylact, the Bishop of Todi. They visited Canterbury first, and then were received by Offa at his court. Both Offa and Cynewulf, king of the West Saxons, attended a council where the goals of the mission were discussed. George then went to Northumbria, while Theophylact visited Mercia and "parts of Britain". A report on the mission, sent by the legates to Pope Adrian, gives details of a council held by George in Northumbria, and the canons issued there, but little detail survives of Theophylact's mission. After the northern council George returned to the south and another council was held, attended by both Offa and Jaenberht, at which further canons were issued.^[58]

In 787, Offa succeeded in reducing the power of Canterbury through the establishment of a rival archdiocese at Lichfield. The issue must have been discussed with the papal legates in 786, although it is not mentioned in the account that has survived. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports a "contentious synod" in 787 at Chelsea, which approved the creation of the new archbishopric. It has been suggested that this synod was the same one recorded as second council held by the legates, but historians are divided on this issue. Hygeberht, already Bishop of Lichfield, became the new archdiocese's first and only archbishop, and by the end of 788 he received the pallium, a symbol of his authority, from Rome.^[59] The new archdiocese included the sees of Worcester, Hereford, Leicester, Lindsey, Dommoc and Elmham; these were essentially the midland Anglian territories. Canterbury retained the sees in the south and south-east.^[60]

Few accounts have survived of the creation of the new archbishopric date from after the end of Offa's reign. Two versions of the events appear in the form of an exchange of letters between Cenwulf, who became king of Mercia shortly after Offa's death, and Pope Leo III, in 798. Cenwulf asserts in his letter that Offa wanted the new archdiocese created out of enmity for Jaenberht; but Leo responds that the only reason the papacy agreed to the creation was because of the size of the kingdom of Mercia.^[61] Both Cenwulf and Leo had their own reasons for representing the situation as they did: Cenwulf was entreating Leo to make London the sole southern archdiocese, while Leo was concerned to avoid the appearance of complicity with the unworthy motives Cenwulf imputed to Offa. These are therefore partisan comments. However, both the size of Offa's territory and his relationship with Jaenberht and Kent are indeed likely to have been factors in Offa's request for the creation of the new archdiocese.^[62] Cenwulf's version does have independent support, with a letter from Alcuin to Archbishop Æthelheard giving his opinion that Canterbury's archdiocese had been divided "not, as it seems, by reasonable consideration, but by a certain desire for power".^[63] Æthelheard himself later said that the award of a pallium to Lichfield depended on "deception and misleading suggestion".^[64]

Another possible reason relates to Offa's son, Ecgfrith. After Hygeberht became archbishop, he consecrated Ecgfrith as king; the ceremony took place within a year of Hygeberht's elevation.^[65] It is possible that Jaenberht refused to perform the ceremony, and that Offa's efforts for Lichfield were in order to create an archbishop who would not object to the consecration.^[66] The ceremony itself is noteworthy for two reasons: it is the first recorded instance of consecration of any English king, and it is unusual in that it asserted Ecgfrith's royal status while his father was still alive. Offa would have been aware that Charlemagne's sons, Pippin and Louis, had been consecrated as kings by Pope Adrian,^[67] and probably wished to emulate the impressive dignity of the Frankish court.^[68] Other precedents did exist: for example Æthelbald is said to have nominated his son Coenred as king during his lifetime, and there were Byzantine examples of royal consecration that Offa may have known of.^[66]

Despite the creation of the new archdiocese, Jaenberht retained his position as the senior cleric in the land, with Hygeberht conceding his precedence.^[69] When Jaenberht died in 792, he was replaced by Æthelheard, who was consecrated by Hygeberht, now senior in his turn. Subsequently Æthelheard appears as a witness on charters and presides at synods without Hygeberht, so it appears that Offa continued to respect Canterbury's authority.^[70]

A letter from Pope Adrian to Charlemagne survives which makes reference to Offa, but the date is uncertain; it may be as early as 784 or as late as 791. In it Adrian recounts a rumour that had reached him: Offa had reportedly proposed to Charlemagne that Adrian should be deposed, and replaced by a Frankish pope. Adrian disclaims all belief in the rumour, but it is clear it had been a concern to him.^[71] The enemies of Offa and Charlemagne, described by Adrian as the source of the rumour, are not named. It is unclear whether this letter is related to the legatine mission of 786; if it predates it then the mission might have been part of a mission of reconciliation, but the letter might well have been written after the mission.^[72]

Offa was a generous patron of the church, founding several churches and monasteries, often dedicated to St Peter.^[73] Among these was St Albans Abbey, which he probably founded in the early 790s.^[18] He also promised a yearly gift of 365 mancuses to Rome. Control of religious houses was one way in which a ruler of the day could provide for his family, and to this end Offa ensured (by acquiring papal privileges) that many of them would remain the property of his wife or children after his death.^[73]

European connections

Offa's diplomatic relations with Europe are well documented, but appear to belong only to the last dozen years of his reign.^[71] Letters from Alcuin to Offa, from the late 780s or early 790s, show Alcuin congratulating the king on his encouragement of education, and greeting Offa's wife and son, Cynethryth and Ecgfrith.^[74][75] Charlemagne sought support from the English church at the council of Frankfurt in 794, where the canons passed in 787 at the second council of Nicaea were repudiated, and the heresies of two Spanish bishops, Felix and Elipandus, were condemned.^[76]

In about 789, or shortly before, Charlemagne proposed that his son Charles should marry one of Offa's daughters: it is not certain which daughter this was, but it is most likely to have been Ælfflæd. Offa countered with a request that his son Ecgfrith should also marry Charlemagne's daughter Bertha: Charlemagne was outraged by the request, and broke off contact with Britain, forbidding English ships from landing on the continent. Alcuin's letters make it clear that by the end of 790 the dispute was still not resolved, but that Alcuin was hoping to be sent to help make peace. In the end diplomatic relations were restored, at least partly by the agency of Gervold, the abbot of St Wandrille.^[77][78]

In 796, Charlemagne wrote to Offa; the letter survives and refers to a previous letter of Offa's to Charlemagne. This correspondence between the two kings has been referred to as the beginnings of the materials of English diplomatic history.^[71] The letter is primarily concerned with the status of English pilgrims on the continent and with diplomatic gifts, but it reveals much about the relations between the English and the Franks.^[77] Charlemagne refers to Offa as his "brother", and mentions trade in black stones, sent from the continent to England, and cloaks (or possibly cloths), traded from England to the Franks.^[56] Charlemagne's letter also refers to exiles from England, naming Odberht, who was almost certainly the same person as Eadberht Praen, among them. Egbert of Wessex was another refugee from Offa who took shelter at the Frankish court. It is clear that Charlemagne's policy included support for elements opposed to Offa; in addition to Egbert and Eadberht he also sent gifts to Æthelred I of Northumbria.^[79]

Events in southern Britain to 796 have sometimes been portrayed as a struggle between Offa and Charlemagne, but the disparity in their power was enormous. By 796 Charlemagne had become master of an empire which stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Hungarian Plain, and Offa and then Cenwulf were clearly minor figures by comparison.^[80]

Coinage, trade and government

At the start of the eighth century, sceattas were the primary circulating coinage. These were small silver pennies, which often did not bear the name of either the moneyer or the king for whom they were produced. To contemporaries these were probably known as pennies, and are probably the coins referred to in the laws of Ine of Wessex.^[81][82][83] This light coinage (in contrast to the heavier coins of Offa's later coinage) can probably be dated to the late 760s and early 770s. A second, medium-weight coinage can be identified after the light coinage but before the early 790s.^[84] The new coins were heavier, broader, and thinner than the pennies they replaced,^[81] and were prompted by the contemporary reform of the Carolingian coinage.^[74] The new pennies almost invariably carried both Offa's name and the name of the moneyer from whose mint the coins came.^[81] The reform in the coinage appears to have extended beyond Offa's own mints: the kings of East Anglia, Kent and Wessex all produced coins of the new heavier weight in this period.^[85]

Some coins from Offa's reign bear the names of the archbishops of Canterbury, Jaenberht and, after 792, Æthelheard. Jaenberht's coins all belong to the light coinage, rather than the later medium coinage. There is also evidence that coins were issued by Eadberht, who was bishop of London in the 780s and possibly before. Offa's dispute with Jaenbert may have led him to allow Eadberht coining rights, which may then have been revoked when the see of Lichfield was elevated to an archbishopric.^[86]

These medium weight coins often carry designs of high artistic quality, exceeding that of the contemporary Frankish coinage.^[84] Many of the coins carry portraits, which have been described as "showing a delicacy of execution which is unique in the whole history of the Anglo-Saxon coinage".^[87] Offa's queen, Cynethryth, was the first and only Anglo-Saxon queen ever named or portrayed on the coinage, in a remarkable series of pennies struck by the moneyer Eoba. These are probably derived from contemporary coins from the reign the Byzantine emperor Constantine VI, who minted a series of coins showing a portrait of his mother, the later Empress Irene.^[88]

Around the time of Jaenberht's death and replacement with Æthelheard in 792-3 the silver currency was reformed a second time: in this "heavy coinage" the weight of the pennies was increased, and a standardised non-portrait design was introduced at all mints. None of Jaenberht's or Cynethryth's coins occur in this coinage, whereas all of Æthelheard's coins are of the new, heavier weight.^[89]

There are also surviving gold coins from Offa's reign. One is a copy of an Abbasid dinar struck in 774 by Caliph Al-Mansur.^[90] with "Offa Rex" centred on the reverse. It is clear that the moneyer had no understanding of Arabic as the Arabic text contains many errors. The coin may have been produced in order to trade with Islamic Spain; or it may be part of the annual payment of 365 mancuses that Offa promised to Rome. There are other Western copies of Abbasid dinars of the period, but it is not known whether they are English or Frankish. Two other English gold coins of the period exist, from two moneyers, Pendraed and Ciolheard: the former is thought to be from Offa's reign but the latter may belong to Offa's reign or to Cenwulf, who came to the throne in 796. Nothing definite is known about their use, but they may have been struck to be used as alms.^[91][92]

Although many of the coins bear the name of a moneyer, there is no indication of the mint where each coin was struck. As a result the number and location of mints used by Offa is uncertain. Current opinion is that there were four mints, in Canterbury, Rochester, East Anglia and London.^[91]

There is evidence that Offa constructed a series of defensive burhs, or fortified towns; the locations include Bedford, Hereford, Northampton, Oxford, and Stamford. In addition to their defensive uses, these burhs are thought to have been administrative centres, serving as regional markets and indicating a transformation of the Mercian economy away from its origins as a grouping of midland peoples. The burhs are forerunners of the defensive network successfully implemented by Alfred the Great a century later to deal with the Danish invasions.^[93] However, Offa did not necessarily understand the economic changes that came with the burhs, and so it is not safe to assume he envisioned all their benefits.^[10]

Offa issued laws in his name, but no details of them have survived. They are known only from a mention by Alfred the Great, in the preface to Alfred's own law code. Alfred included in his code those laws of Offa, Ine of Wessex and Æthelberht of Kent which he found "most just".^[94] The laws may have been an independent lawcode, but it is also possible that Alfred is referring to the report of the legatine mission in 786, which issued statutes that the Mercians undertook to obey.^[95]

Stature

In Anglo-Saxon England, Stenton argued that Offa was perhaps the greatest king of the English kingdoms, arguing that "no other Anglo-Saxon king ever regarded the world at large with so secular a mind or so acute a political sense".^[96] Offa's achievements are generally regarded as second only to Alfred the Great among the Anglo-Saxon kings.^[97] However, recent historians have pointed out that Offa's reign cannot be regarded as just another step towards the formation of England. In the words of Simon Keynes, "Offa was driven by a lust for power, not a vision of English unity; and what he left was a reputation, not a legacy."^[18]

The title Offa used on most of his charters was "rex Merciorium", or "king of the Mercians", though this was occasionally extended to "king of the Mercians and surrounding nations".^[98] Some of his charters use the title "Rex Anglorum", or "King of the English", and this has been seen as a sweeping statement of his power. There is debate on this point, however, as several of the charters in which Offa is named "rex Anglorum" are of doubtful authenticity. They may represent later forgeries of the 10th century, when this title was standard for kings of England.^[60] The best evidence for Offa's use of this title comes from coins, not charters: there are some pennies with "Of ℞ A" inscribed, but it is not regarded as definite that this stood for "Offa Rex Anglorum".^[86] It is now believed that Offa thought of himself as "King of the Mercians", and that his military successes were part of the transformation of Mercia from an overlordship of midland peoples into an powerful and aggressive kingdom.^[18][99]

Death and succession

Offa died in 796, on either the 26th or 29th of July.^[96][100] He was succeeded by his son, Ecgfrith, but according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Ecgfrith died after a reign of only 141 days.^[101] A letter written by Alcuin in 797 to a Mercian ealdorman named Osbert makes it apparent that Offa had gone to great lengths to ensure that his son Ecgfrith would succeed him. Alcuin's opinion is that Ecgfrith "has not died for his own sins; but the vengeance for the blood his father shed to secure the kingdom has reached the son. For you know very well how much blood his father shed to secure the kingdom on his son."^[102] It is apparent that in addition to Ecgfrith's consecration in 787, Offa had eliminated dynastic rivals; no close male relatives of Offa or Ecgfrith are recorded, and Cenwulf, Ecgfrith's successor, was only distantly related to Offa's line.^[103]

Notes

References

Primary sources

• Medieval Sourcebook: The Annales Cambriae (Annals of Wales). Annales Cambriae. College of Staten Island, City University of New York. Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
• Keynes, Simon; Lapidge, Michael (2004). Alfred the Great: Asser's Life of King Alfred and other contemporary sources. Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-140-44409-2. 
• Bede (1991). Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Translated by Leo Sherley-Price, revised R.E. Latham, ed. D.H. Farmer, London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-044565-X. 
• Offa 7 (Male). Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England. King's College London. Retrieved on 2007-04-06.
• Swanton, Michael (1996). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-92129-5. 
• Whitelock, Dorothy (1968). English Historical Documents v.l. c.500–1042. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode. 

Secondary sources

• Blackburn, Mark & Grierson, Philip, Medieval European Coinage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, reprinted with corrections 2006. ISBN 0-521-03177-X
• Lapidge, Michael (1999). The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 0-631-22492-0. 
• Campbell, James (2000). The Anglo-Saxon State. Hambledon and London. ISBN 0-85285-176-7. 
• Campbell, John; John, Eric & Wormald, Patrick (1991). The Anglo-Saxons. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-014395-5. 
• Featherstone, Peter, "The Tribal Hidage and the Ealdormen of Mercia", in Brown, Michelle P.; Farr, Carole A. (2001). Mercia: An Anglo-Saxon kingdom in Europe. Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-7765-8. 
• Fletcher, Richard (1989). Who's Who in Roman Britain and Anglo-Saxon England. Shepheard-Walwyn. ISBN 0-85683-089-5. 
• Keynes, Simon, "Mercia and Wessex in the Ninth Century", in Brown, Michelle P.; Farr, Carole A. (2001). Mercia: An Anglo-Saxon kingdom in Europe. Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-7765-8. 
• Kirby, D.P. (1992). The Earliest English Kings. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-09086-5. 
• Nelson, Janet, "Carolingian Contacts", in Brown, Michelle P.; Farr, Carole A. (2001). Mercia: An Anglo-Saxon kingdom in Europe. Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-7765-8. 
• Stenton, Frank M. (1971). Anglo-Saxon England. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-821716-1. 
• Williams, Gareth, "Mercian Coinage and Authority", in Brown, Michelle P.; Farr, Carole A. (2001). Mercia: An Anglo-Saxon kingdom in Europe. Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-7765-8. 
• Wormald, Patrick; Bullough, D. & Collins, R. (1983). Ideal and Reality in Frankish and Anglo-Saxon Society. 
• Yorke, Barbara (1990). Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England. London: Seaby. ISBN 1-85264-027-8. 

</div>

<tr><td colspan="1" style="text-align:center;width:100%;font-size:95%;">Icel • Cnebba • Cynewald • Creoda • Pybba • Ceorl • Penda • Eowa • Peada • Oswiu of Northumbria • Wulfhere • Æthelred I • Cœnred • Ceolred • Ceolwald • Æthelbald • Beornred • Offa* • Ecgfrith • Cœnwulf* • Cynehelm • Ceolwulf I* • Beornwulf** • Ludeca • Wiglaf • Ecgberht of Wessex • Wiglaf (again) • Wigmund • Wigstan • Beorhtwulf • Burgred • Ceolwulf II • Æthelred II*** • Æthelflæd*** • Ælfwynn***
* also king of Kent and king of East Anglia
** also king of East Anglia
*** deputies for Alfred the Great and Edward the Elder</td></tr>

v • d • e</div></span> Kings of Mercia

Template:Kings of East Angliaar:الملك اوفا bg:Офа cy:Offa, brenin Mercia de:Offa von Mercien es:Offa de Mercia fr:Offa de Mercie it:Offa di Mercia he:אופה האדיר lb:Offa vu Mercien nl:Offa no:Offa av Mercia pl:Offa (król Mercji) sk:Offa (Mercia)