Offa of mercia biography of alberta

Offa of Mercia Biography

Offa (died July 26, 796) was a King of Mercia (757 - 796). Prior to the rise of Wessex in the 9th century, he was arguably the most powerful and successful of the Anglo-Saxon kings.

Offa of Mercia Biography

He effectively ruled the whole of England south of the River Humber during the latter part of his reign.

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 and exiled Beornrad, Æthelbald's successor, 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 the subsequent internal conflict. Offa thereafter endeavored to reestablish Mercian power over the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

For much of his reign, Offa struggled to assert his authority over the Kingdom of Offa of Mercia facts for kids - Kids encyclopedia XUL