Library Item - Mercia

Mercia was an area of England in the times of the Anglo-Saxons and was situated in the centre of country. In Saxon times the area we now know as England was divided up into seven regions with a powerful ruler controlling each. The other areas were Wessex, Sussex, Kent, Northumbria, Essex and East Anglia. These seven regions are known as the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. These separate kingdoms finally came under the control of one king in the reign of Edgar I who reigned from 959 until 975.

This map shows the areas of England in 1065 that the most important Earls controlled.

Year	Month	Event
865		The 'Great Army' invade
	A large army of Danes landed in East Anglia led by King Ivar the 'Boneless' and King Halfdan. No attempts were made to get rid of the invaders.[1]
867		Danes are attacked and move south
	Armies from Northumbria attacked the Danes at York but were defeated. The Danes moved south attacking Nottingham and taking the city. The king of Mercia asked Ethelred and Alfred for assistance and an army from Wessex went to help.[1]
868		Alfred marries Ealhswith
	Alfred marries the daughter of a Mercian nobleman.
	Autumn	A peaceful settlement is reached
	Ethelred and Alfred married Mercian noble women whilst assisting the King of Mercia with the Danes on his land. A peaceful settlement was reached with the Danes and a Danegeld was paid for them to leave.[1]
924	Jul 17	Edward the Elder dies
	Edward the Elder died (at Farndon in Mercia). He was succeeded by his son Athelstan.[2]
925	Sep	Athelstan becomes King of Wessex and Mercia
	At this point Aethelstan was not king of all England, and had to wait until 927 to become overlord of all other kings.
1013		Swein Fork-Beard and Canute attack England
	Swein Fork-Beard and his son Canute sailed from Denmark to attack England. Again London defended itself and the Vikings moved elsewhere, taking Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria.
1015	Qtr 3	Canute returns to England
	Canute invaded England taking control of Mercia and Northumbria. Aethelred was ill and England was in the hands of Edmund (Ironside).
1017	Dec	Death of Eadric Streona
	Canute had the treacherous Ealdorman Eadric Streona of Mercia killed.
1035	Nov 12	Canute dies
	King Canute died at Shaftesbury leaving the rule of the country in dispute between Harthacnut (the son of Emma) and Harold Harefoot (the son of Aelfgifu). The Earls of Northumbria and Mercia supported Harold's claim while Earl Godwine supported Harthacanute's.
1067	Mar	William returns to Normandy
	William returned to Normandy taking as guests Edgar the Aetheling (the grandson of Edmund Ironside), Stigand (Archbishop of Canterbury, the Earls of Mercia and Northumbria and the brothers Edwin and Morcar.[3]
1071		Dudley Castle Construction
	After Eadwin, the Earl of Mercia, was killed in the revolt against William his castle and lands at Dudley were given to William's Norman followers.[4]