Wiglaf d. 839
| Lineage | Mercia |
| Sex | Male |
| Full name (at birth) | Wiglaf |
| Wiki-page | wikipedia:Wiglaf of Mercia |
Events
child birth: ♂ Wigmund of Mercia d. 841
839 death:
Notes
Not to be confused with Wiglaf who was a contemporary of Hamlet 3 centuries earlier
A medieval tradition preserved at Evesham records that Wiglaf's grandson Wigstan was a descendant of Coenred, who was a grandson of Penda. Wigstan's grandfathers were Wiglaf and Ceolwulf I; the tradition might be interpreted to mean that Wiglaf descended from Penda, but it might also be Wiglaf's wife, Cynethryth, who was descended from Penda. Cynethryth's name is known from two of Wiglaf's charters, dated 831 and 836,and historian Pauline Stafford notes that her name "seems to hark back to the kin of Coenwulf if not earlier royal lines", but as with Wiglaf himself, nothing certain is known of her ancestry. A different connection is mentioned in the medieval Life of St. Wigstan, which asserts that the "B" and "W" families were related.
Known descendants of Wiglaf include his son, Wigmund, and his grandson, Wigstan, both of whom share the "Wig-" at the start of his name; alliterative family names are frequent in Anglo-Saxon dynasties and are often thought to suggest kinship. Other descendants of Wiglaf include the last Mercian king, Ceolwulf II. It is to be noted that frequently the daughters of kings are omitted but their husbands are referred to as sons of their father in law. This is consistent with both Swythian and Anglo Saxon Genealogies.
The date of Wiglaf's death is not given directly in any of the primary sources, but it can be determined from the known chronology of his successors. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Burgred was driven out of Mercia by the Vikings in 874, after a reign of twenty-two years, and charter evidence indicates that Burgred succeeded in the first half of 852. A regnal list credits his predecessor, Beorhtwulf, with a reign of thirteen years, which is consistent with date references in his charters. Hence it would appear that Wiglaf's reign ended in 839.
Wiglaf was buried at Repton, in a crypt which still can be seen. The monastery church on the site at that time was probably constructed by Æthelbald of Mercia to house the royal mausoleum; other burials there include that of Wigstan, Wiglaf's grandson.
