The Kings of Mercia were Hicklings
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arly pagan literature such as Beowulf supplemented by recent archaeological
discoveries provides insight into the beliefs of the Angles. There was a profound
respect for ancestors who remained their spirit guides and guardians during
this life. Years were measured by wintra,
winters, and during the æfanings,
evenings, by the long-house family hearth the heroic exploits of their fathers
and ancestors would be retold and embellished.
From surviving records it appears that Cridda was
the first Ickeling king of Mercia from 585 and Pibba his son succeeded him
reigning in 597. He was succeeded by his kinsman Cearl whose daughter Cuenburh
married Edwin k.of Northumbria. k.
Penda (582-654) was Icelingas and his
genealogy links him with the great ancestor-god Woden. Wednesday and Friday are
named after Woden and his spouse Freyr. Penda is reputed to have introduced the
<penny> coin. A formidable ruler he rivalled the power of the
Northumbrian kings. Penda and his wife
Cyneuise remained lifelong followers of their inherited beliefs at a time when
the conversion of the English to Christianity was proceeding apace . His faith
in his ancestors served him well against the Christian Northumbrian kings. He
defeated and killed Edwin in 633 and Oswald in 642. Only with great difficulty did Oswy manage to serve Penda the same
way at the battle of Winwaed on 15 november 654.
In 1997 Northamptonshire archaeologists excavated an
Anglian burial in the Nene Valley at Wollaston. It was that of an Anglian
nobleman, a contempory of Penda, at the side of a road leading to a Roman
vineyard. The most important content of the grave was a boar-crested helmet
like those referred to in Beowulf. The
boar symbolised strength represented the revered Freyr and would have been worn
by Ickeling leaders of the time.
Artist’s reconstruction of a long-house scene
and the boar-crested helmet found at Wollaston
“He was a
nobleman and the boar insignia on his helmet could mean that he was a prince.
He appears to have died when middle-aged, so he had probably become a war
leader by fighting many bloody battles in his youth.”(Prof. Cramp)
He would
have grown up in a village, living in a timber A-framed long-house with a
thatched roof and a ridge smoke ventilator.
“As an
aristocrat he would have learned how to fight with a spear and sword from an
early age. He would have honed his
skills hunting wild boar, deer, bear and wolf in the forests that covered the
country in 600.
“As he
grew older he would have carved out a name for himself leading bands of men
into war against rival tribes. After a hard day of hunting and pillaging he
would have come home to his wives and children. A goat, sheep or part of a cow would be thrown into the long
hut’s cauldron and his band would drink beer, mead or wine.
“The prince
would have led a very war-like lifestyle. Even when he died his sword was
buried with him to prepare him for a similar existence in the after-life.”(Prof. Cramp).
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OURCES: Bede:
Ecclesiastical History of the English
Nation The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Anglo-Saxon
England: Prof F M Stenton. Chronicon
ex Chronicis; Florence of Worcester.
The Lost Kingdom:
Anglo-Saxon Lindsey; K Leaby &
C M Coutts [ISBN 0947777091.1987]
Wollaston: The ‘Pioneer’ burial; Ian Meadows; Current Archaeology 154. Northampton Chronicle & Echo; 23 Apr 1997; Prof R Cramp of Durham
University.