Previously....
Part the First: Offa of Mercia - Mercian King makes coins and dykes. Make up your own joke here.
Up next....
Part the Second: Egbert of Wessex (802-839)
After Offa was offed, Mercia went into a long decline. It was gradually eclipsed by the Kingdom of Wessex, ruled over some bloke named Egbert.
The guy we know as "Egbert of Wessex" was more properly "Ecgberht" (there's that wacky Old English spelling again), King of Kent, Sussex, Essex and Wessex. Not many people these days get to enjoy the copious amounts of -sex that Egbert did, and those that do, certainly aren't named "Egbert". (or if they are, they keep it very quiet).
Despite the dorky name, Egbert was quite a successful monarch of the Kingdom of Wessex, and succeeded in not only securing Wessex's independence from Mercia in a smashing victory at Ellendun, but also took over the place as well, soon adding Northumberland to his dominions.
He also started to beat up the Welsh, a diversionary pastime enjoyed by many, including the Welsh themselves.
Also, if this later depiction is to be believed, Egbert bore a striking resemblance to contemporary actor Tom Selleck.
There's not much else exciting about Egbert, and to prove this to you, check out his page on the Royal Family's website. Even his descendants can't think of anything longer than a paragraph to say about him.
Sucks for Egbert, I guess.
Posted by Quentin George at November 8, 2008 01:32 PMYou need to fix that link. You left a closing quotation mark at the end.
Posted by: Jan at November 8, 2008 03:34 PM