Who was the historical Coelwulf who is the main character in The Last King/The Mercian Ninth Century series?

The ‘historical’ Coelwulf

The hero of the Mercian Ninth Century Series, King Coelwulf, has not been treated kindly by history.

He appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (the main narrative source for the period) as a ‘foolish king’s thegn’ (in the ASC E Version, although not in the older A version) and not actually a king at all.

´Here the raiding army went from Lindsey to Repton and took winter-quarters there, and [[874] drove the king Burhred across the sea 22 years after he had the kingdom; and conquered all that land…And the same year they granted the kingdom of Mercia to be held by a foolish king’s thegn, and he swore them oaths and granted hostages, that it should be ready for them whichever day they might want it, and he himself should be ready with all who would follow him, at the service of the raiding-army. (A) 874 [873]

´Here the raiding-army went from Lindsey to Repton, and there took winter quarters, and drove the king Burhred across the sea 22 years after he had the kingdom, and conquered all that land. And he went to Rome and settled there, and his body lies at St Mary’s church in the English Quarter. And the same year they granted the kingdom of Mercia to be held by Ceolwulf, a foolish king’s thegn.’ (E)874 [873] (Both quotes from M Swanton ed. and trans. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles).

His ‘reign’ has been explained as being entirely dependent on Viking overlords who really ruled Mercia, from their ‘base’ at Repton. He was a ‘puppet king,’ a sop to assist the independent Mercians as they struggled to come to terms with their new warlords.

The survival of two charters, carrying Coelwulf’s name, and witnessed by the ealdormen and bishops of Mercia, have not been given the attention they deserve because they suggest a different interpretation to that of King Alfred (the Great) single-handedly defeating the Vikings, and making ‘England,’ as does the discovery of the Watlington Hoard of coins which suggests that Coelwulf and Alfred were ruling jointly.

So, if we put aside the problems of what Coelwulf did, or didn’t achieve, who might he actually be, and why might he have been named as king?

Coelwulf’s name leads historians of the period to suggest he was a member of a branch of the Mercian royal family whose last ruler was King Coelwulf I, who ruled in Mercia from AD821-823. He succeeded his brother, Coenwulf, who ruled from AD796-821. They were descended from the brother of the mighty seventh-century king, Penda, most famously known for being pagan, warlike and terrorising the Northumbrian kingdom during its ‘Golden Age.’ (Read about Penda and the Northumbrian kingdom in my Gods and Kings trilogy). He was therefore a member of a long-lived ruling dynasty that could trace its descendants all the way back to the early 600s.

This identification of Coelwulf helps to explain why he was accepted as king following King Burgred’s abdication. He was no foolish king’s thegn. He was a member of a ruling dynasty, who, for one reason or another, were no longer the ruling family in Mercia in the 870’s. (And what was happening in Mercia before the 870’s is just as fascinating as what came after it – you can read about that in The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles).