TheIclingas (alsoIclings orHouse of Icel) were a dynasty ofMercian kings during the 7th and 8th centuries,named forIcel or Icil, great-grandson ofOffa of Angel, a legendary or semi-legendary figure of theMigration Period who is described as a descendant of the godWoden by theAnglo-Saxon royal genealogies.^[1][2][3][4]

The Iclingas reached the height of their power underOffa of Mercia (r. 757–796), who achieved hegemony over the other Anglo-Saxon states, and proclaimed himself "King of the English", but the dynasty lost control of Mercia soon after his death.Penda, who became king of Mercia in about 626 and is the first king named in the regnal lists of theAnglian collection, and at the same time the lastpagan king of Mercia, gave rise to a dynasty that supplied at least eleven kings to the throne of Mercia. Four additional monarchs were given an Icling pedigree in latergenealogical sources but are now believed to have descended from the family by way of Penda's sister.

Icel himself is of debatable historicity; according toNicholas Brooks, if historical he would have lived sometime between 450 and 525^[5] and was probably considered the founder of the dynasty because he was the first of his line inBritain.^[5] Despite the Icelingas' claims of ties with the rulers and mythic heroes of continentalAngeln and with the war-god Woden, Brooks suggests that the Icelingas were, before Penda's rise in prominence, no more and no less royal than any of the other ruling houses of the small Midlands peoples as recorded in theTribal Hidage and assessed as having between 300 and 600hides of land.^[5]Icel's ancestry in genealogical tradition is as follows: Icel son of Eomer son of Angeltheow son of Offa son of Wermund son of Wihtlæg son, grandson or great-grandson of Woden.In this tradition, Icel is the leader of the Angles who migrated to Britain. Icel is then separated from the establishment ofMercia by three generations: Icel's son wasCnebba, whose son wasCynewald, whose son wasCreoda, first king of Mercia.

Matthew Paris s.a. 527 reports, "pagans came fromGermania and occupied East Anglia... some of whom invaded Mercia and fought many battles with the British[.]" This date, however, should perhaps be amended to 515.^[6]TheVita Sancti Guthlaci ("Life of Saint Guthlac") reportsGuthlac of Crowland to have been son of Penwalh, a Mercian who could trace his pedigree back to Icel.^[7]

Several place names in England have been suggested as derived from the name of Icel or the Iclingas, includingIcklingham,Ickleford,Ickleton andIxworth.^[1][5][8][9]Norman Scarfe noted that theIcknield Way had early spellingsIcenhylte weg andIcenhilde weg and suggested a connection betweenIcklingham and theIceni, although Warner (1988) has cast doubt on the identification.^[8][9] The nameIclinga survives as "Hickling" and several similar spellings.

The following are Iclinga kings of Mercia whose historicity is certain.Creoda of Mercia is of uncertain historicity (if historical, he would date to the end of the 6th century).Cearl of Mercia who ruled during the early 7th century was probably not an Icling.

• List of monarchs of Mercia
• Kings of the Angles
• Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies
• Wuffingas

• Mercian monarchs
• Anglish people
• Iclingas

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• Short description matches Wikidata