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Ecgfrith was king of Mercia from 29 July to December 796. He was the son of Offa, the greatest king of Mercia, and Cynethryth. In 787, Ecgfrith had been consecrated king, the first known consecration of an English king, probably arranged by Offa in imitation of the consecration of Charlemagne's sons by the pope in 781.〔〔 〕 According to the Croyland Chronicle "he (Ecgfrith) was seized with a malady, and departed this life." His reign lasted 141 days.〔Swanton, ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', p. 50.〕 Ecgfrith was succeeded by a distant relative, Cœnwulf, presumably because Offa had arranged the murder of nearer relatives in order to eliminate dynastic rivals. According to a contemporary letter from Alcuin of York, an English deacon and scholar who spent over a decade at Charlemagne's court as one of his chief advisors:〔Lapidge, "Alcuin of York", in Lapidge et al., "Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England", p. 24.〕 :That most noble young man has not died for his sins, but the vengeance for the blood shed by the father has reached the son. For you know how much blood his father shed to secure the kingdom upon his son.〔 Alcuin added: "This was not a strengthening of the kingdom, but its ruin."〔Letter of Alcuin to Mercian ealdorman Osbert, tr. in Whitelock, ''English Historical Documents'', p. 787〕 ==References== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ecgfrith of Mercia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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