Penda

Penda d. 654, king of Mercia (c.632-654). A noble of the Mercian royal house, he fought (629) the king of Wessex for lands along the Severn River. He then allied himself with Cadwallon of Wales, defeated (632) Edwin of Northumbria, and made himself king of Mercia. A great fighting king, he was the central figure in the history of Anglo-Saxon England for nearly a generation thereafter. He defeated and killed (641) Oswald of Northumbria and extended his power over Wessex and East Anglia. His Greater Mercia included all the Midlands. However, he still had an enemy in the new king of Northumbria, Oswy ; Penda attacked him in 654 and was killed in the battle. Penda himself remained heathen, but at the time of his son Peada's marriage he consented to that son's Christian baptism. Eight of Penda's descendants ruled Mercia, beginning with his son Wulfhere.

Penda (died 655) King of MERCIA in the first half of the 7th century. He sought to establish the supremacy of Mercia over the other English kingdoms. He drove the King of Wessex into exile, killed the ruler of East Anglia in battle, and, in alliance with CADWALLON, invaded NORTHUMBRIA. Edwin, its ruler, was defeated and killed in 633, as was his successor St OSWALD in 642. Although never a Christian, Penda allowed missionaries to preach in his kingdom. He was killed in battle by OSWY, King of Northumbria.

Penda (d. 655), king of Mercia, can in many ways be seen as the anti‐hero of Bede's Ecclesiastical History—a resolute pagan, responsible for the deaths of many Christian kings in battle, including that of St Oswald at Maserfield (642). Penda first appears in recorded history in 626 battling with rulers of the West Saxons for control of the province of the Hwicce. The Northumbrians apparently first encountered him in alliance with Cadwallon of Gwynedd at the battle of Heathfield in 633 and he also fought at least two major battles with the East Angles. Penda's energetic campaigns from his midland base greatly increased the territory under Mercian control. It was Oswiu of Bernicia's challenge to his authority which led to Penda's death at the battle of Winwæd in 655.