Penda, King Edwin & the Battle of Hatfield Chase
Penda first enters British history around the year 630 AD. At this time, King Edwin of Northumbria, the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon rulers was at war with Cadwallon ap Cadfan the Welsh (or British) king of Gwynedd. In the early years of this struggle, Edwin had the upper hand, but then Cadwallon formed an alliance with Penda. Penda’s status at this time is unclear. He was certainly the leader of a great Mercian warband, but he was not king, and it is not clear if he had any relation to the then king of Mercia.
Together, the armies of Cadwallon and Penda defeated Edwin at the Battle of Hatfield Chase in 633. Although the war between Cadwallon and the kingdom of Northumbia continued, Penda once again disappears from History. He was not present at the battle in which Cadwallon was killed.
It is probable that during this time Penda was securing his own claim to the throne of Mercia, though how this came about is unknown.
Oswald & Maserfield
Penda next enters history in 642 at the battle of Maserfield where Penda again defeated the armies of Northumbria and killed their king Oswald. Oswald was a strong Christian ruler and his death at the hands of the pagan Penda probably had a lot to do with his later canonization.
With his victory at Maserfield, Penda elevated Mercia to the most powerful kingdom in Britain, and yet Penda does not appear in the lists of Bretwalda (The British Overlord). Perhaps his paganism meant he could only ever have an adversarial relationship with the other Saxon kingdoms. Whatever the reason, Penda’s military campaigns continued.
In 645 Penda drove the King of Wessex into exile. Less than a decade later, in 654 he fought and killed Anna, King of the East Anglians.
Oswiu and the Battle of Winwaed
Soon after in 655, Penda led his greatest campaign against Oswiu of Bernicia (a piece of the former Northumbria kingdom). Penda is said to have marched with thirty legions of troops and the support of numerous other kings. It is hard to say what exactly happened during this campaign, but it seems that at the crucial moment, Penda was betrayed by several of his commanders who left before or during the battle of Winwaed. During the battle of Winwaed, Penda was killed.
The history that exists regarding Penda is mainly written by his enemies, and he had many. During his life he was involved in battles that killed at least three Anglo-Saxon kings and the exile of another. His reign brought the kingdom of Mercia out of obscurity and made it one of the most important in Britain. He was also the last of the great pagan rulers in Britain. Although several of his descendants ruled Mercia for a time, they all converted to Christianity.
Source:
Anglo-Saxon England by Frank Stenton, Oxford University Press, 1971.
