Beorhtric (meaning "magnificent ruler"; also spelledBrihtric) (died 802) was theKing ofWessex from 786 to 802, succeedingCynewulf. During his rule, however, his wife and father-in-law had most of the power.[1][2]
Offa, the King of Mercia who supported Beorhtric's succession to the throne
Either with the help of his close allyOffa, theKing of Mercia, or quickly coming under his influence, Beorhtric became King of Wessex in 786, but he had to still contend the throne withEcgberht whom Beorhtric and Offa drove to exile.[2][5]
In 787, Beorhtric held theSynod of Chelsea jointly with Offa, and in 789, he married one of Offa's daughters,Eadburh.[4]
Also in 789, it was during Beorhtric's reign that theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded the firstViking raids in England.[4] The Vikings landed on theDorset coast, near theIsle of Portland, where they killed a royal official,Beaduheard, the shirereeve, as he is said to have thought that they were traders.
Land that had traditionally been on the borders of Mercia and Wessex was administered by the Mercian court, as is seen inCharters of Offa, and his sonEcgfrith. West Saxons seem to have used Offa's currency: a recent[when?] survey of early medieval single coin finds reveals a trail of Offapennies running from the UpperThames toWareham, a site connected with Beorhtric.
Coin of Beorhtric, probably minted at Winchester c. 795
After Offa died in 796,Mercian power over England was weakened, and Beorhtric may have exercised more independence during this period. The only two West Saxon coins to have survived from Beorhtric's reign were produced at this time, suggesting that he had established a new mint. One of these coins was found in 1854, two miles outside ofAndover.[6] Within a few years, Offa's successor,Coenwulf, had restored Mercia's position. After 799, Beorhtric's relationship with the Mercians seems to have been similar to the situation before Offa's death.
In later years,Asser, a scholar atAlfred the Great's court, recorded the story that Beorhtric had died from being accidentally poisoned by his wife, Eadburh. She fled to a nunnery inFrancia, from which she was later ejected after being found with a man. The provenance of this story is dubious. TheAnglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Beorhtric was buried atWareham in 802, possibly at the church ofLady St. Mary.[7] Beorhtric was succeeded byEcgberht who was recalled from exile.[2]
^Keynes, Simon (2014). "Appendix I: Rulers of the English, c.450–1066". InLapidge, Michael (ed.).The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.ISBN978-0-470-65632-7.
^Kirby, D. P.The Earliest English Kings. London and New York: Routledge.ISBN978-0-4152-4211-0.
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