WESSEX Eafa

0732 - 0762  (~ 30 years)

• Name	WESSEX Eafa
  Birth	0732	Kingdom of Wessex
  Gender	Male
  Death	0762	Kingdom of Wessex
  Notes	Eafa (Eaba), King of West-Saxons (b. circa 730) was a member of the House of Wessex. Although a member of the direct male line from Cynric to Egbert, Eafa was never king due to usurpations by junior branches of the family (see House of Wessex family tree). His death date is unknown. Eafa appears in a family tree on Wikipedia's list of monarchs, where Eafa is shown as the son of Eoppa, the grandson of Ingild and great-grandson of Cenred, King of Wessex, born 640. [1] Wikipedia's material is derived from a the genealogical preface to the Winchester (Parker) Chronicle and also in the annual entry (covering years 855–859) describing the death of Æthelwulf as follows: [2] Ingild, brother of King Ine of Wessex and descendant of founder, Cerdic Eoppa Eafa Ealhmund King Egbert of Wessex. These are the only sources of Eafa's name and existence. Eafa appears in no contemporary records. The Wikipedia family tree shows Eafa as the father of Ealhmund, King of Kent, who ruled in 784. [1] Ealhmund, King of West Saxons had a claim to Kentish throne, which he duly occupied. Ealhmund was the father of Egbert of Wessex, the first King of England. Research Notes Uncertain Existence Historian Heather Edwards has suggested that the pedigree in which Eafa appears was forged. She suggests that Ealhmund was probably a Kentish royal scion, and that pedigree was forged to give Ealhmund's son Egbert the descent from Cerdic requisite to reigning in Wessex.[3] Charles Cawley has also expressed doubts about Ealhmund's ancestry, noting that: "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle names Ealhmund as son of Eafa, in a late passage which sets out the ancestry of Æthelwulf King of Wessex. However, Ealhmund's predecessor as king of Kent, and Ealhmund's own son, were both named Ecgberht, a name which was not particularly common in any of the Anglo-Saxon royal families. In view of the general practice of name inheritance within the ruling families, and the absence of the name "Ecgberht" from the house of Wessex as recorded in the traditional genealogies, it is not impossible that Ealhmund's origins lay in Kent and not in Wessex. This would of course mean that the usually represented ancestry of Ecgberht King of Wessex would require reconsideration. Mercian involvement in Kentish affairs appears to have increased again in 785-89. Presumably King Ealhmund was deposed as king of Kent by Offa King of Mercia as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states that "the Kentishmen … formerly … had been wrongly forced away from their allegiance to [Ecgberht King of Wessex's] kinsmen". This event may have taken place in 789, the date when King Ealhmund's son Ecgberht is later described as having been expelled from England by Beorhtric King of Wessex and Offa King of Mercia." [4] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle [5] Sources ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wikipedia: List_of_monarchs_of_Wessex Accessed 9/10/2019 jhd ↑ *Garmonsway, G.N. ed., The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, London: J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd. pp. xxxii, 2, 4. Cited by Wikipedia: Ealhmund_of_Kent Accessed 10/3/2019 jhd ↑ Edwards, Heather (2004). "Ecgberht [Egbert] (d. 839), king of the West Saxons". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8581. Retrieved 14 May 2014. (subscription or UK public library membership required) Cited by Wikipedia: Ealhmund_of_Kent Accessed 10/3/2019 jhd ↑ Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands: A Prosopography of Medieval European Noble and Royal Families, Online at Foundation for Medieval Genealogy Website. Anglo Saxon Danish Kings ↑ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Everyman Press Edition, London, 1912, translated from the Anglo-Saxon by Rev. James Ingram, London, 1823. Page 23 Accessed 9/14/2019 jhd See also: Anglo-Saxon Bishops, Kings & Nobles, Eng. 104, p. 339 Royal Line of Succession, A16A225, p. 5 Keiser und Koenig Hist., Gen. Hist. 25, pt 1, p. 95
  Person ID	I58610	Freeman-Smith
  Last Modified	27 Jan 2026

  
  

  Father	WESSEX Eoppa,   b. 0706, Kingdom of Wessex d. 0797, Kingdom of Wessex (Age ~ 91 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	UNKNOWN Unknown,   b. Abt 0710, Wessex, England d. 0780, Wessex, England (Age 70 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Marriage	Wessex, England
  Family ID	F26109	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	of KENT Unknown,   b. 0736, Kent, England d. 0800, Wessex, England (Age ~ 64 years)
  Children	1. WESSEX Ealmund,   b. Abt 0748   d. Aft 0784 (Age > 37 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
  Family ID	F26108	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	27 Jan 2026