The seventh and last was the kingdom of the Mercians, or the Middle
Angles, founded by Cridda in 582; and contained Gloucestershire,
Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire,
Rutlandshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, Huntingdonshire,
Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, part of Berkshire, Oxfordshire,
Staffordshire, Shropshire, Nottinghamshire, and Cheshire; the
principal places being Lincoln, Nottingham, Warwick, Leicester,
Coventry, Litchfield, Northampton, Worcester, Gloucester, Derby,
Chester, Shrewsbury, Stafford, Oxford, and Bristol: it continued 292
years, and ended in 874; having been governed by 18 monarchs, of
whom four were Pagans, and the rest Christians.
_Egbert the Great, first King of England_.
In the year 829, Egbert, the 17th King of the West Saxons, became
sole monarch of all the seven kingdoms, and was crowned at
Winchester, in Hampshire, by the unanimous consent both of the
clergy and laity, King of England; and immediately afterwards a
proclamation was published, whereby it was ordered, that no future
distinctions should be kept up among the Saxon kingdoms; but that
they should all pass under the common name of England.
Though Egbert was a wise and fortunate Prince, and though the
English were a brave and numerous people, after the expulsion of the
Picts and Scots; yet no sooner was he well established on the
throne, but this island was exposed to new invasions.
In 832, the Danes, having made two descents before, landed a third
time with great force at the Isle of Sheppey, in Kent; and in some
few months afterwards at Charmouth, in Dorsetshire, with 18,000 men.
In 835, they landed again in Cornwall; but Egbert was then prepared
for them, and gave them a total defeat. They renewed their
depredations, however, in 836, but were again repulsed. Soon after
which, this Prince having reigned King of the West Saxons 36 years,
and sole monarch of England upwards of eight, died as great as he
lived, and was buried at Winchester, where he was crowned. He was
the father, in short, of the English monarchy, and therefore justly
entitled to the name of Egbert the Great.
_Ethelwulf, the Second King of England_.
Ethelwulf, the elder surviving son of Egbert, succeeded his father
in 836. Till he became a King, he had been only a priest, or, at
most, only bishop of Winchester. He obtained, however, a
dispensation from Pope Gregory IV. and assumed a secular life.
In the first year of his reign, the Danes landed at Southampton, in
Hampshire, but were routed with great slaughter. In 837, however,
they made a second descent upon Portland, in Dorsetshire, and
succeeded in their attempt.
In 838, they made another descent about Romney, in Kent, with such
success, and great slaughter, that they over-ran the country.
In short, they made fresh visits for several years afterwards
successively, for the sake of plunder only, without the least
intention of making a settlement in the kingdom.
Ethelwulf, however, in 852, assembled a numerous army, with the
assistance of his brother Athelstan, met them at Okely, in Surry
[sic]; and there, after a desperate engagement, proved so
victorious, that the slaughter of their enemies was almost
incredible.
In 855, Ethelwulf went to Rome, in order to pay a visit to the Pope
in person; and, on receiving his benediction, he not only gratified
the vanity of the papal see by his devotion, but satisfied likewise
its most avaricious expectations by his royal bounty.
In 857, after having reigned one and twenty years, he divided his
kingdom between his two eldest sons, Ethelbald and Ethelbert, and
soon after died, and was buried at Winchester.