Eowa (or Eawa) was a son of the Mercian king Pybba and a brother of the Mercian king Penda; according to the Historia Brittonum¹ and the Annales Cambriae,² Eowa was a king of the Mercians himself at the time of the Battle of Maserfield (or Cogwy), in which he was killed, on August 5 of what was probably the year 642 (see note). The later Mercian kings Ethelbald, Offa and Ecgfrith were descended from Eowa; the period of their rule began in 716 following the death of Penda's grandson Ceolred and ended with Ecgfrith's death in December 796. Mercia, sometimes spelled Mierce, was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy, in what is now England, in the region of the Midlands, with its heart in the valley of the River Trent and its tributary streams. ... Pybba (570?–606/15) (also Pibba, Wibba, Wybba) was an early King of Mercia. ... A map showing the general locations of the Anglo-Saxon peoples around the year 600 Penda (died November 15, 6551) was a 7th-century King of Mercia, a kingdom in what is today the English Midlands. ... The Historia Britonum, or The History of the Britons, is a historical work that was first written sometime shortly after AD 820, and exists in several recensions of varying difference. ... Annales Cambriae, or The Annals of Wales, is a compendium of events thought to be significant occurring during the year they were recorded. ... The Battle of Maserfield (or Maserfeld) was fought on August 5, 642, between the Anglo-Saxon kings Oswald of Northumbria and Penda of Mercia, ending in Oswalds defeat, death, and dismemberment. ... August 5 is the 217th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (218th in leap years), with 148 days remaining. ... Events August 5 - In the Battle of Maserfield, Penda king of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald, king of Bernicia. ... Ethelbald (or Æthelbald) (died 757) was the King of Mercia in England from 716 until his death. ... Offa (died July 26/29, 796) was the King of Mercia from 757 until his death. ... Ecgfrith (died December 796) was a King of Mercia who briefly ruled in the year 796. ... Events April 19 - The monastery on the Island of Iona celebrates Easter on the Roman date. ... Ceolred (d. ... Events December - Coenwulf becomes king of Mercia. ...

It was in the battle of Maserfield that Oswald of Northumbria was defeated and killed by the Mercians under Penda. Eowa also died in this battle, although little is known about this. It has been suggested that Eowa may have been a co-ruler of the Mercians alongside Penda, or possibly even superior in status to Penda at this time (if so, this could explain why the Historia Brittonum seems to date Penda's reign from the battle of Maserfield), and that he may have been subject to Oswald and fighting as his ally in the battle.³ The nature of kingship among the Mercians prior to Eowa's death is obscure; it is possible that it was customary for there to be more than one king, and Penda and Eowa may have ruled over the southern and northern Mercians respectively.⁴ Oswald (c. ...

Neither Bede, in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, nor the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle mention Eowa's participation or death at Maserfield, or his previously being a Mercian king, although the Chronicle later mentions him when tracing the descent of Ethelbald and Offa. Depiction of Bede from the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493 Bede (Latin Beda), also known as Saint Bede or, more commonly, the Venerable Bede (c. ... The Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (in English: Ecclesiastical History of the English People) is a work in Latin by the Venerable Bede on the history of the Christian church in England, and of England generally. ... The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of (mainly) secondary source documents narrating the history of the Anglo-Saxons and their settlement in Britain. ...

Nicholas Brooks wrote that, if Eowa is considered to have ruled during the period between roughly 635 and Maserfield, this could account for a obscure recorded Welsh raid into Mercian territory, during which it is said that no mercy was shown to "book-holding monks". Brooks noted that if Eowa was a Northumbrian puppet, there would be the possibility that Oswald may have made moves to promote Christianity in Mercia at this time, thus accounting for the presence of monks in what was still a pagan kingdom. Since Penda is known to history as an ally of the Welsh, this along with the presence of monks makes it seem unlikely that the raid could have taken place during his rule.³ Events Saint Aidan founds Lindisfarne in Northumbria, England Nestorian China Births Pippin of Herstal, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia (approximate date) 23 May - Chan Bahlum II, king of Palenque Deaths Categories: 635 ...

In recording the lineage of Eowa's grandson Ethelbald, who ruled from 716 until 757, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle gives Eowa's ancestors and descendants: Events March 9 - A major earthquake strikes Palestine and Syria Offa becomes king of Mercia. ...

Aethelbald was Alweo's offspring, Alweo Eawa's offspring, Eawa Pybba's offspring...

Later, it gives the lineage of Eowa's great-great-grandson Offa, who ruled from 757 to 796 and was descended from Eowa's son Osmod rather than Eowa's son Alweo. The descent purportedly extends back to Woden: A god of the Anglo-Saxon /Early English tribes brought with them from continental Europe, around the 5th and 6th centuries until conversion to Christianity in the 8th and 9th centuries CE. Woden is the carrier-off of the dead, but not necessarily with the attributes of his Norse equivalent...

That Offa was Thingfrith's offspring, Thingfrith Eanwulf's offspring, Eanwulf Osmod's offspring, Osmod Eawa's offspring, Eawa Pybba's offspring, Pybba Creoda's offspring, Creoda Cynewald's offspring, Cynewald Cnebba's offspring, Cnebba Icel's offspring, Icel Eomer's offspring, Eomer Angeltheow's offspring, Angeltheow Offa's offspring, Offa Wermund's offspring, Wermund Wihtlaeg's offspring, Wihtlaeg Woden's offspring.

The Historia Brittonum says that Pybba had 12 sons, but that Penda and Eowa were the ones best known to him.⁵

References

1. Historia Brittonum, Chapter 65: "[Penda] fought the battle of Cocboy, in which fell Eawa, son of Pybba, his brother, king of the Mercians, and Oswald, king of the North-men, and he gained the victory by diabolical agency."
2. Annales Cambriae, 644: "The battle of Cogfry in which Oswald king of the Northmen and Eawa king of the Mercians fell." (The date is given as 644, contrary to both Bede and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.)
3. Brooks, Nicholas, "The Formation of the Mercian Kingdom", in S. Bassett, The Origins of Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms (1989), page 166.
4. Kirby, D. P. The Earliest English Kings (1991). Chapter five: "The northern Anglian hegemony in the seventh century". ("The reign of Oswald".)
5. Historia Brittonum, Chapter 60: "This Pubba had twelve sons, of whom two are better known to me than the others, that is Penda and Eawa."