Ceolwulf II of Mercia (841-879) was King of Mercia from 874 to 879, succeeding Burghred and preceding Aethelred.
Biography[]
Ceolwulf was born in 841, the son of King Wigmund of Mercia. He was a descendant of several previous kings of Mercia, including Ceolwulf I of Mercia. In 874, the Vikings invaded Mercia and forced King Burghred of Mercia into exile in Rome, where he died; Ceolwulf, the king's thegn, swore oaths to the Danes and became their puppet ruler of Mercia. He ruled over northern and western Mercia, while the rest of the kingdom was annexed by the Danes. Ceolwulf issued coinage and administered justice, but there were Danes in his council chamber, and he would do nothing that earned their wrath. In 878, Ceolwulf defeated and killed King Rhodri the Great of Gwynedd, but, three years later, Rhodri's sons would defeat the Mercians at the Battle of the Conwy. Ceolwulf refused to allow for King Alfred the Great of Wessex to have hegemony over Mercia, arguing that they were separate kingdoms; in response, Alfred decided to have his daughter Aethelflaed marry Ealdorman Aethelred Mucel's son Aethelred of Mercia, Ceolwulf's heir. Ceolwulf died in 879, and Aethelred succeeded him as King of Mercia.
Gallery[]
