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Kings of the Angles

(Redirected fromEomer of Anglia)

TheAngleswere a dominantGermanictribe in theAnglo-Saxonsettlement ofBritain,and gave their name to theEnglish,Englandand to the region ofEast Anglia.Originally fromAngeln,present-daySchleswig-Holstein,a legendarylist of their kingshas been preserved in the heroic poemsWidsithandBeowulf,and theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle.

Location of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes before their migrations to Britain.

Legendary kings of the Angles

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Further information:IclingsandList of monarchs of Mercia

According to Anglo-Saxon legends recounted inWidsithand other sources such asÆthelweard(Chronicon), their earliest named ancestor was a culture-hero namedSceaf,who was washed ashore as a child in an empty boat, bearing a sheaf ofcorn.This is said to have occurred on an island named Scani orScandza(Scania), and according toWilliam of Malmesbury(Gesta regum Anglorum) he was later chosen as King of the Angles, reigning fromSchleswig.His descendants became known as Scefings, or more usuallyScyldings(afterSceldwea).

TheAnglo-Saxon Chroniclederives the royal lines of theHeptarchyfrom a common ancestor,Woden,aeuhemerizedversion of theGermanic deity,and said to be a descendant of the aforementioned Sceaf. The senior line of this genealogy was that ofMercia,descended from the rulers of the Angles.

The historicalAnglo-Saxon invasion of Britaintook place during the 5th to 6th centuries. As historical records only set in the later 7th century, afterChristianisation,reliable information on the royal genealogies only extend to what was then in living memory, to the early 7th century.Bede(Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), writing in the early 8th century, has reliable information on the 7th century, but is silent on the 6th. The genealogies extending into the 6th or even 5th century and thence toWodenare now regarded as fabrications of the later Anglo-Saxon period.

The genealogies as presented in theAnglo-Saxon Chronicleincorporate various Germanic heroes of legend, such asWihtlæg,who defeated and killedAmleth,King of theJutes.UnderWermundthe Angles' fortress atSchleswigis said to have been captured by a branch of theSaxonsknown as theMyrgings,but was retaken byOffaabout whom many tales were told (and who is usually referred to as Offa of Angel to distinguish him from his supposed descendantOffa of Mercia). The legends give Offa as bride a daughter ofFreawine,governor of Schleswig, and upon becoming king he is said to have secured the Angles' southern border with the Saxons along theRiver Eider.

Like Offa, Freawine is made a descendant of Woden, and father ofWig,whose names were intruded into the pedigree of the kings ofBerniciawhen it was transferred to that of the kings ofWessex(ancestors of the kings ofEngland). Wihtlæg, Wermund and Offa also appear in a long list oflegendary Danish kingsgiven bySaxo Grammaticus(Gesta Danorum). All other sources name them as kings of the Angles,[1]though according toMatthew Paris(Vitae duorum Offarum) Offa and his line personally ruled over the West Angles, implying that other branches of the tribe had their own subordinate rulers (Offa is described inBeowulfas ruling an 'empire'). Whilst Offa's line went on to found theKingdom of Mercia,these putative cadet lines may eventually have engendered the ruling dynasties ofEast Anglia,Deiraand possiblyBernicia.As for the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, the kings ofLindseyappear to have been an offshoot of the Mercian line; those ofWessexclaimed descent from the aforementioned Freawine, though their subjects wereSaxons;those ofEssexandSussexwere Saxon; and those ofKentwereJutish.[2]

The genealogy connecting theIclingdynasty of the earliestkings of MerciawithWodenconsists of at least five generations in Angeln:

  1. Wihtlæg son, grandson or great-grandson of Woden,
  2. Wermund son of Wihtlæg,
  3. Offa son of Wermund,
  4. Angeltheow son of Offa,
  5. Eomer son of Angeltheow
  6. Icelson of Eomer, participated in theinvasion of Britain.

Gesta Danorum

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Some of these names have parallels in theGesta DanorumbySaxo Grammaticus.

Eomer

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Eomer (Ēomǣr) is the son of Angeltheow in the genealogy of theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle,but inBeowulfhe is the son of Offa and grandson of Wermund (v. 1958–1963):

...forþam Offa wæs
geofum and guðum gar-cene man,
wide geweorðod; wisdome heold
eðel sinne, þonon Eomær woc
hæleðum to helpe, Heminges mæg,
nefa Garmundes, niða cræftig.
...Hence Offa was praised
for his fighting and feeing by far-off men,
the spear-bold warrior; wisely he ruled
over his empire. Eomer woke to him,
help of heroes, Hemming's kinsman,
Grandson of Garmund, grim in war.(Gummere's translation)

The name of Eomer was used fora characterinJ. R. R. Tolkien'sThe Lord of the Rings. Tolkien based many of the names ofRohanon Mercian examples.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Munro Chadwick, H.The Origin of the English Nation(1907)ISBN0941694097
  2. ^Ashley, Mike.The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens(1999)ISBN0786706929
  3. ^Tom Shippey,The Road to Middle-earth, page 94
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