History Tellers

The Battle of Ellandun has been dubbed one of “The most decisive Battle of English History” by many. It completely changed the face and politics of Saxon Britian and ensured King Egbert (Ecgbehrt) of Wessex made the history books. More information on Egbert can be found on my previous blog, “From exile to First King of England”.  The Battle of Ellandun ended Mercian Supremcy.  This blog probably isn’t going to be very long, the reason being is because the Battle of Ellandun was not recorded, or if it was recorded then these records got lost.  However I wanted to do a blog on it as it was such a important battle in Saxon Britian and it was, as previously mentioned, the battle which put King Egbert in the history books.  Location  Due to no records being recorded, or the records being lost, the exact location of the Battle is unknown and very much debatable. However, we know it was near Swindon. Evidence and research suggests that it was likely to have taken place...

Egbert (Ecgberht) was a Saxon King, and arguably the first monarch of England. Egbert’s reign lasted from around 802AD until 839AD.  Egbert was the first monarch to establish a stable and extensive rule over all of England. Egbert was born in Wessex or Kent in 770AD, He had two children Athelwulf and Athelstan with his wife, Redburga. Athelwulf succeeded his father, Egbert, when he died in 839AD. Egbert is buried in Winchester.  Wessex or Kent?  I have done a lot of reading on where Egbert was born, there is a lot of disagreement. Some say Wessex others say Kent. The reason this is so debatable is because very little, if anything, is known about his youth.  We know that his father was Eahlmund, a short lived ruler of Kent, Eahlmund reigned over Kent between 784AD until 785AD. There is also a claim that he can trace his ancestry back to Cerdic. Cerdic was the founder and first King of Wessex. However this claim was written by scribes of Wessex but not until after Egbe...