Ludeca of Mercia

Ludeca (died 827) was a Mercian nobleman and ealdorman. At the death of Beornwulf in 826 he became the King of Mercia. He ruled what was left of Mercia after Beornwulf's defeat by Egbert of Wessex at the Battle of Ellandun. He ruled Mercia until his own death, barely a year later.Frank Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England (Oxford University Press, 1971), p. 231

 King of Mercia 
In 824 two charters of King Beornwulf are witnessed by Ludeca, then a member of his court. His title on those charters is . Nothing else is known of Ludeca.Frank Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England (Oxford University Press, 1971), p. 231 note 5 At Beornwulf's death he became king. But the kingdom Ludeca now ruled was just Mercia, Lindsey, Middle Anglia and the Mercian provinces of the Hwicce and Magonsæte. All of southern England was in disorder. Egbert of Wessex now had control of Essex and Kent. He had instigated the revolt by the East Anglians that resulted in Beornwulf's death.Sharon Turner, The history of the Anglo-Saxons from the earliest period to the, Vol. I (Philadelphia: Carey & Hart, 1841), p. 280 The East Anglians saw this as a chance for their independence from Mercia.Mike Ashley, The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens (New york: Carroll & Graf, 1999), p. 261 A few months later Ludeca led his army against them but he was killed. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 825 (actual year 827) recorded: "In this year Ludecan, king of the Mercians, was slain, and his five aldormen [ealdormen] with him, and Wiglaf succeeded to the kingdom."

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 The Kings of Mercia 

Category:Year of birth unknown
Category:820s deaths
Category:Kings and Queens of Mercia