Onanthroponymic grounds, Ceolwulf is thought to belong to theC dynasty of Mercian kings, a family which claimed descent fromPybba of Mercia. TheC dynasty, beginning withCoenwulf, may have had ties to the ruling family ofHwicce in south-west Mercia.[4]
Ceolwulf's immediate ancestry is unknown, but he is thought to be a descendant ofCeolwulf I through his daughterÆlfflæd. Ælfflæd was first married toWigmund, son of KingWiglaf, and then to Beorhtfrith, son of KingBeorhtwulf. Far from being "an unwise king's thane", it is clear that Ceolwulf was a descendant of previous kings. A number ofthegns who witnessed charters under Burgred witnessed charters under Ceolwulf, and his charters were witnessed by Mercian bishops, testifying to his acceptance in Mercia.[5]
This year went the army [i.e., theGreat Heathen Army] from theKingdom of Lindsey toRepton, and there took up their winter-quarters, drove the king [of Mercia], Burgred, over sea, when he had reigned about two and twenty winters, and subdued all that land. He then went toRome, and there remained to the end of his life. And his body lies in the church of Sancta Maria, in the school of the English nation. And the same year they gave Ceolwulf, an unwise king's thane, the Mercian kingdom to hold; and he swore oaths to them, and gave hostages, that it should be ready for them on whatever day they would have it; and he would be ready with himself, and with all those that would remain with him, at the service of the army.[6]
TheChronicle was compiled on the orders ofAlfred the Great, brother-in-law of King Burgred. This account is considered to be biased and politically motivated, written with a view of strengthening the claims of Alfred andEdward the Elder to the overlordship of Mercia, evidenced by a 2015 find ofAnglo-Saxon Imperial coins dated to around 879, nearLeominster, presumed to have been buried by retreating Vikings.[7] The coins depict both Ceolwulf as a king as well as Alfred, leading some experts to indicate that the two were equals.[8][9] According to Gareth Williams of theBritish Museum, "these coins enable us to reinterpret our history at a key moment in the creation of England as a single kingdom."[10]
Ceolwulf's kingdom is presumed to have been reduced to the northern and western parts of Mercia.[11]
In 878, KingRhodri Mawr ofGwynedd was killed in battle against the English. As Alfred was then occupied fighting the Vikings, and Mercia traditionally claimed hegemony over Wales, the English leader was probably Ceolwulf. In 881 Rhodri's sons defeated the Mercians at theBattle of the Conwy, a victory described in Welsh annals as "revenge of God for Rhodri". The Mercian leader was Edryd Long-Hair, almost certainly Ceolwulf's successor as Mercian ruler,Æthelred.[12]
Coin of King Ceolwulf II of Mercia, Two-Emperor type, suggesting an alliance with Alfred the Great
Three types ofsilver penny have been found which were issued in Ceolwulf's name. The bulk of them were minted at London and of the type designated as "Cross-and-Lozenge", which was also in use byAlfred of Wessex.[13] Ceolwulf's coinage appears to be closely related to that of Alfred of Wessex, and it has been suggested on this basis that the two kings co-operated against the Vikings.[14]
Simon Keynes and the numismatistMark Blackburn initially suggested that in about 875, Alfred was the sole recognised ruler in London, while Ceolwulf's involvement would have come about only towards the end of his reign, 879.[15] However, in 1998, the same year that their discussion was published, anotherCross-and-Lozenge penny struck in Ceolwulf's name came to light, which appears to be contemporary with Alfred's earliest coinage.[16]
In 2015, a metal-detectorist uncovereda hoard of Viking Age coins, jewellery and silver ingots nearWatlington,Oxfordshire. The find, dating to the late 870s, included thirteen examples of the rare ‘Two Emperors’ penny which depict Alfred and Ceolwulf seated side by side.[17]
^The tie to Pybba was through an unknown son named Cenwalh. Pybba's daughter marriedCenwalh of Wessex. Later genealogists may have turned a son by marriage into a son of the blood; Woolf, pp. 151–152. The alternative is that the relationship is contrived and theC dynasty descended from the royal house of theHwicce; Zalockyj, p. 228.
^Walker, pp. 59–60, 208, Table 1; Zaluckiyj, p. 236, fig. 3, & p.247, sets out the theory whereby Ceolwulf is taken to be a younger brother ofWigstan of Mercia.
^Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, trans. James Ingram, sub anno 874.
^"Detectorists stole Viking hoard that 'rewrites history'".BBC News. 21 November 2019. Retrieved24 November 2019."These coins enable us to re-interpret our history at a key moment in the creation of England as a single kingdom," according to Gareth Williams, curator of early medieval coins at the British Museum.
^Keynes, "King Alfred and the Mercians." pp. 12-19, and Blackburn, "The London Mint during the Reign of Alfred." pp. 116-120.
^Mark Blackburn revisits the issue in his "Alfred's coinage reforms in context." InAlfred the Great. Papers from the Eleventh Century Conference, ed. T. Reuter and D. Hinton. Aldershot, 2003. 199-215.
Blackburn, M.A.S. "The London Mint during the Reign of Alfred." InKings, Currency, and Alliances. History and Coinage of Southern England in the Ninth Century, ed. M.A.S. Blackburn and D.N. Dumville. Studies in Anglo-Saxon History 9. Woodbridge, 1998. 105-23.
Charles-Edwards, Thomas (2013).Wales and the Britons 350–1064. Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-821731-2.
Keynes, Simon. "King Alfred and the Mercians." InKings, Currency, and Alliances. History and Coinage of Southern England in the Ninth Century, ed. M.A.S. Blackburn and D.N. Dumville. Studies in Anglo-Saxon History 9. Woodbridge, 1998. 1-45.
Kirby, D. P. (2000).The Earliest English Kings (Revised ed.). Routledge.ISBN0-415-24211-8.
Walker, Ian (2000).Mercia and the Making of England. Stroud: Sutton.ISBN0-7509-2131-5.
Williams, Ann (1991). "Ceolwulf II, king of Mercia 874-879". In Ann Williams; Alfred P. Smyth; D. P. Kirby (eds.).A Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain. Seaby.
^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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