Table of Contents
Acknowledgements 6
Introduction 7
Sources and Abbreviations 10
Chapter 1 Penda the Pagan King 13
Chapter 2 The Origins of the Mercian Kingdom 35
Chapter 3 The Sons of Penda 53
Chapter 4 Æthelbald the Elusive King 73
Chapter 5 Offa the Great 84
Chapter 6 The Forgotten Kings 102
Chapter 7 Burgred and Ceolwulf II: The Last Kings of Mercia 120
Chapter 8 The Lord and Lady of the Mercians 131
Chapter 9 The Formation of 'England': Mercia Fades 151
Chapter 10 Ælfhere, the Mad Blast from the Western Provinces 158
Chapter 11 Wulfric, Eadric and Leofwine: Mercian Wealth and Power 183
Chapter 12 The House of Leofric 201
Epilogue From Supremacy to Obscurity 216
Appendix I The Danes in Mercia 225
Appendix II The Shiring of Mercia 234
Notes 239
Bibliography 271
Index 282