Egbert

Egbert (c. 775-839), King of Wessex (802-839), and the first Saxon king recognized as sovereign of all England (828-839). He was the son of a Kentish noble but claimed descent from Cerdic (reigned 519-534), founder of Wessex, the kingdom of the West Saxons in southern England. During the late 8th century, when King Offa of Mercia (reigned 757-796) ruled most of England, Egbert lived in exile at the court of Charlemagne. Egbert regained his kingdom in 802. He conquered the neighbouring kingdoms of Kent, Cornwall, and Mercia, and by 830 he was also acknowledged as sovereign of East Anglia, Sussex, Surrey, and Northumbria and was given the title of Bretwalda (Anglo-Saxon, “ruler of the British”). During succeeding years Egbert led expeditions against the Welsh and the Vikings. The year before his death he defeated a combined force of Danes and Welsh at Hingston Down in Cornwall. He was succeeded by his son Ethelwulf, the father of Alfred.