Ecgric of East Anglia

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Ecgric (killed circa 636) was a king of East Anglia, the independent Anglo-Saxon kingdom that today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. He was a member of the ruling Wuffingas dynasty, but his relationship with other known members of the dynasty is not known with any certainty. Anna of East Anglia may have been his brother, or his cousin. It has also been suggested that he was identical with Æthelric, who married Hereswith and was the father of Ealdwulf of East Anglia. The primary source for the little that is known about Ecgric's life is Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum.

In the years that followed the reign of Rædwald and the murder of Rædwald's son (and successor) Eorpwald in around 627, East Anglia lost its dominance over other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Three years after Eorpwald's murder at the hands of a pagan, Ecgric's kinsman Sigeberht returned from exile and they ruled the East Anglians together, with Ecgric perhaps ruling the northern part of the kingdom. Sigeberht succeeded in re-establishing Christianity throughout East Anglia, but Ecgric may have remained a pagan, as Bede praises only Sigeberht for his accomplishments, and his lack of praise for his co-ruler is significant. Ecgric ruled alone after Sigeberht retired to his monastery at Beodricesworth in around 634: it has also been suggested that...
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