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EALHMUND, son of [EAFA & his wife ---] (-after 784, maybe after 801). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that "rex Ealhmundus" was "in Cantia rex" in 784, adding that "this king Ealhmund was the father of Egbert, the father of Æthelwulf"[1455]. He succeeded as EALHMUND King of Kent, in 784 or before. The generally accepted parentage of Ealhmund, according to which he was descended from Ingeld, brother of Ine King of Wessex, is open to debate. This supposed parentage is set out in a later passage, dated 855, in another manuscript of the Chronicle, which lists the ancestors of Æthelwulf King of Wessex, states that Ealhmund was "son of Eafa, son of Eoppa, son of Ingeld…brother of Ine king of Wessex", adds their alleged direct line of ancestors back to Cerdic, first King of Wessex, Cerdic´s mythical ancestry back to Woden, and even Woden´s alleged descent from Noah and "Adam the first man"[1456]. This is clearly one of the dubious lines of descent of the kings of Wessex which are discussed in the introduction to the Chapter. The problem is to decide the point at which fact gives way to fabrication. It is possible that this point occurs very early in the line of ancestry, and that there is doubt whether Ealhmund was even the son of "Eafa" as claimed in this passage. "Eafa" and his supposed father "Eoppa" are not named in any other sources which have so far been identified, although "Ingeld…brother of Ine" is noted in a single passage of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle dated 718 which records his death. The absence of any mention of Ealhmund´s parentage in the earlier passage in the Chronicle dated 784 certainly suggests doubt about the line of ancestry which is reported in 855. By the latter date, few people alive could have challenged Ealhmund´s reported parentage from personal acquaintance with his parents. This suggestion of course assumes that the Chronicle was a living document which was composed over time, with successive passages being added by different authors as time passed. This hypothesis is plausible, but is impossible to prove or disprove. If it is correct, it is possible that Ealhmund was not related to the family of the earlier kings of Wessex at all. Looking elsewhere for his possible ancestry, it is interesting to note that Ealhmund's predecessor as king of Kent was named Ecgberht, the name which Ealhmund gave to his own son, and which was a name not previously used in the royal families of Wessex, at least so far as can be ascertained from the surviving primary sources. If this speculation is correct, it would of course mean that the usually represented ancestry of Ecgberht King of Wessex would require reconsideration. "Ealmundus rex Canciæ" granted land at Sheldwich, Kent to Hwitrede abbot of Reculver by charter dated 784[1457]. Mercian involvement in Kentish affairs appears to have increased again in 785-789[1458]. Presumably King Ealhmund was deposed as King of Kent by Offa King of Mercia as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in a much later passage recalls that "the Kentishmen … formerly … had been wrongly forced away from their allegiance to his [Ecgberht King of Wessex's] kinsmen"[1459]. This event may have taken place in 789, the date when King Ealhmund's son Ecgberht is later described in the Chronicle as having been expelled from England by Beorhtric King of Wessex and Offa King of Mercia[1460]. "Ealhmund princeps" subscribed a charter of "Beorhtric rex" dated 801[1461], but this may be a different individual who has not been identified. If the identity of Ealhmund´s wife is as suggested below, the individual named in the 801 charter must certainly have been a different person from Ealhmund King of Kent. m ---. The name of Ealhmund's wife is not known. It is possible that she was ---, daughter of ---, who married secondly Alhmund [of Northumbria]. According to a manuscript which recounts the founding of Wilton Monastery, “Elburga, filia Alqmundi martyris, filii Alrudi regis Northumbrorum” was “soror Egberti Regis, ex parte regis”, clarifying that he was Ecgberht King of Wessex (“quia Egbertus fuit filius Alqmundi, filii Offæ Regis, de prosapia Inæ”)[1462]. As Alhmund of Northumbria´s death is dated to 800, Ealhmund of Wessex would have been her first husband. The reliability of this manuscript is not known. The document dates the founding of Wilton abbey by King Echberht to 773, which is clearly anachronistic, and shows that it cannot be relied upon entirely. It is probably safer to treat the narrative with caution until some other corroboration is found in another source. Ealhmund & his wife had one child:
a) ECGBERHT ([769/80]-839). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that "Egbert succeeded to the kingdom of Wessex" after the death of Beorhtric in 802, in a later passage describing him as Ecgberht as son of Ealhmund, and in another passage which setting out his complete ancestry from his son Æthelwulf King of Wessex[1463]. On Beorhtric's death, he established himself in 802 as ECGBERHT King of Wessex, rebelling against Mercian overlordship.
Karl
Held
