The Kings of Chapter I

Ludeca

A historic King of Mercia from 826-827. Little is known of him, and he appears to have come from outside the royal family. He was killed during an invasion of East Anglia (827) after the later had revolted against the Mercian ‘overlords’ (“Mercian meddling”).

Beornwulf

This character is partly historic and partly fictional. There is a king by this name listed in both the linages of Mercia and East Anglia. Both men die within the same basic timeframe with little known about their backgrounds. It is likely they are one and the same – being both the King of Mercia and overlord of East Anglia. The name was used here because of the story timeframe, the necessity for both the Anglican and Mercian kings to die, and because the last part of the name, ‘wulf,’ maintained the idea of the East Anglican dynasty.

Wiglaf

A historic King of Mercia from 827 – 839, he followed the death of Ludeca; however, his family linage is not fully documented. He was king of Mercia twice. He was deposed after being defeated by Egbert of Wessex, but fought back and regained his kingdom. His ‘second reign’ (Twuwa-Cyning . . . twice-king) brought prosperity back to Mercia (Venning, 2013 & Yorke, 2013). Wiglaf is buried in Repton in St Wystan’s [or Wigstan’s] Church. Wigstan was Wiglaf’s grandson.

“Wiglaf, nephew to the king on his mother’s side…”: In Anglo-Norse society, succession to the throne was often through the maternal side. The ‘luck’ and power, as well as the religious or divine connections, were often made through the female. Thus many Anglo-Saxon Kings married the widow of the former king. Many married their brother’s – the dead king’s – widow (occurring as late as Henry VIII of England). This even extended to a son marrying the widow of his father: King Cnut married Emma, widow of Aethelred the Unreadly; Halfdan the Black inherits his throne through his mother; King Radger marries his father’s widow (although – not necessary his mother); Judith, 9th century queen of Wessex, was also married to her step-son, Athelbald, after his father’s death (Chaney, 1999, pp. 25-30). So, although this statement seems innocent enough, it lays important groundwork for Chapter IX The Ealderboc, and Book III’s Rex Draconis. It also gives the reader a hint about Wiglaf’s future and brings it full-circle to the opening of Chapter I.

The time frame of 827 is not only historic, but is important to the story. The scop, Morganna, tells us that the ‘Sword of Kings’ had been lost for 200 years before being given to Wiglaf. Her story of The White Hart . . . the tale of Talymar . . . ends in 627.