Person

Wulfhere of Mercia

d. 675 · 7th century

Wulfhere was king of Mercia from 658 to 675, a son of Penda. He threw off Northumbrian rule and made Mercia the dominant power in southern England, controlling Surrey, London and Essex. A Christian king, he gave the Isle of Wight to the South Saxon king Aethelwealh and supported the spread of the church in his lands.

Wulfhere of Mercia
Image: Sjwells53 (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 state histories

Kingdom of the Isle of WightKingdom of Surrey

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Wulfhere of Mercia. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/wulfhere-of-mercia
MLA
“Wulfhere of Mercia.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/wulfhere-of-mercia. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Wulfhere of Mercia.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/wulfhere-of-mercia.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Wulfhere of Mercia’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/wulfhere-of-mercia (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻