View source for Eadric of Kent

{{Infobox royalty
| image= Kingdom of Kent.svg
| name= Eadric
| succession=[[King of Kent]]
| reign=  685?–686
| death_date= 686 or 687
| father=[[Ecgberht of Kent|Ecgberht]]
| 
}}

'''Eadric''' (died August 686/ 687?) was a King of [[Kingdom of Kent|Kent]] (685–686). He was the son of [[Ecgberht of Kent|Ecgberht I]].

==Historical context==

In the 7th century the Kingdom of Kent had been politically stable for some time. According to Bede:

{{quote|In the year of our Lord 640, [[Eadbald of Kent|Eadbald king of Kent]], departed this life, and left his kingdom to his son [[Eorcenberht of Kent|Eorcenberht]], which he most nobly governed twenty-four years and some months. |source={{harvnb|Bede|1910|loc=HE III.8}}}}

Eorcenberht was succeeded by his sons Ecgberht (664-673) and [[Hlothhere of Kent|Hlothhere]] (673-685).{{sfn|Williams|2007|p=193}} Ecgberht's court seems to have had many diplomatic and ecclesiastic contacts. He hosted [[Wilfrid]] and [[Benedict Biscop]], and provided escorts to Archbishop [[Theodore of Tarsus|Theodore]] and Abbot [[Adrian of Canterbury]] for their travels in [[Gaul]].{{sfn|Kirby|2000|p=99}} However, increasing dynastic tensions occurred at this time, when according to tradition Ecgberht had his cousins [[Æthelred and Æthelberht]] murdered, effectively removing them as they had a strong claim on the throne.{{sfn|Williams|2007|p=193}}

{{chart top|Eorcenberht's family tree<br/>(Date of reign)}}
{{Tree chart/start|align=center|summary=Kent Regnal list}}
{{Tree chart|||||||||Eorc|  | |Eorc=Eorcenberht<br/>(640–664)}}
{{Tree chart|||||| | | | |)|-|-|-|.| }}
{{Tree chart||||||| ||Eg | |Hl||Eg=Ecgberht<br/>(664-673)|Hl=Hlothhere<br/>(673-685)}}
{{Tree chart||||||,|-|-|-|(||||| | | }}
{{Tree chart|||||| Ea | | Wi| | |Ea='''Eadric'''<br/>(685?–686)|Wi=[[Wihtred]]<br/>({{circa|690}}-725)}}
{{Tree chart/end}}
{{chart bottom}}

==Joint ruler of Kent?==
Hlothhere succeeded his brother as ruler of Kent in 673.{{sfn|Stenton|1971|page=61}} It was not unusual for Kent to be divided between rulers at that time.{{sfn|Stenton|1971|page=61}} However although there has been some suggestion that Eadric jointly ruled with his uncle Hlothhere, there is no certain evidence for it.{{sfn|Kirby|2000|p=99}} The [[Law of Hlothhere and Eadric]] is a single [[law code]] that was issued in the name of Hlothhere and Eadric as joint rulers of Kent, but it may just have been a conflation of two earlier separate codes.{{efn|The three Kentish law codes are preserved in a twelfth-century law book, the ''[[Textus Roffensis]]'' (Rochester, Cathedral Library A.3.5)}}{{sfn|Kirby|2000|p=99}}{{sfn|Attenborough|1922|pages=18-23}}

In 679 Hlothhere granted land in [[Isle of Thanet|Thanet]] to Beorhtwald, abbot of [[Reculver]].{{efn|Charter S.8.{{sfn|Electronic Sawyer|2021}}}} In the charter document there is a statement noting the agreement of Archbishop Theodore and "Eadric, son of my brother". {{efn|''cum consensu archiepiscopi Theodori et Ędrico . filium fratris mei necnon et omnium principum’''{{sfn|Electronic Sawyer|2021}}}}

==Sole ruler==
The charter of 679 implies that, at that date, the relationship between Eadric and his uncle were not unfriendly, however in about 685 Eadric revolted against his uncle. With help from [[Æthelwealh of Sussex]] he raised a South Saxon army and defeated Hlothhere in battle. Hlothhere died of his wounds shortly after and  Eadric became sole ruler of Kent.{{sfn|Yorke|1990|pp=29-30}}{{sfn|Kirby|2000|p=99}} 

Eadric was a nephew of [[Wulfhere of Mercia]]. Wulfhere was in an alliance with the South Saxons, so it would have served the politics of the time for Æthelwealh to support Eadric's [[Coup d'état|coup]] against Hlothhere.{{sfn|Kirby|2000|p=99}}

==Invaded by Wessex==
Also, in 685  a West Saxon warband invaded Sussex under  the command of the [[Wessex]] prince [[Cædwalla of Wessex|Cædwalla]] and killed Æthelwealh. Cædwalla was subsequently driven out of Sussex by two of Æthelwealh's ealdormen, Berhthun and Andhun.
[[William of Malmesbury]] suggests that Eadric  became king of the South Saxon kingdom at that time.{{sfn|Welch|1978|p=32}} Then in 686,  Cædwalla, now king of Wessex, and his brother [[Mul of Kent|Mul]], removed Eadric from power  and made Mul king of Kent.{{efn|Bede HE VI.26 suggests that Mul arrived after Eadric's death.{{sfn|Story|2005|p=95 n.129}}}}{{sfn|Yorke|1990|pp=29-30}} 
{{quote|[Cædwalla's] hatred and hostility towards the South Saxons were inextinguishable, and he totally destroyed Edric [Eadric] the successor of Ethelwalch [Æthelwealh] who opposed him with renovated  boldness:....he also gained repeated victories over the people of Kent..|source={{harvnb|William of Malmesbury|1847|pages=30-31}}}}
There is a discussion on the actual date of Eadric's death.{{sfn|Story|2005|p=83 and p. 83 n.79}}
Bede lists his death, but does not provide a precise date,  however one of the Kent annals, suggest that he was buried on 31 August 686 and  another 31 August 687.{{sfn|Story|2005|p=83 and p. 83 n.79}}

==See also==
*[[List of monarchs of Kent]]
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==Citations==
{{reflist}}
==References==
* {{Cite book|last=Attenborough|first=F L|title=The Laws of the Earliest English Kings|chapter=Hlothere and Eadric|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/lawsofearliesten00grea#page/18/mode/2up|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|year=1922|isbn=9780404565459|oclc=877548400}}
* {{Cite wikisource|title =Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation|volume=III.8|author=Bede|year= 1910|wslink =Ecclesiastical_History_of_the_English_Nation_(Jane)/Book_3#115|editor=Lionel C. Jane|translator=John Stevens}}
* {{Cite web|author=Electronic Sawyer|title=The Electronic Sawyer|publisher=KCL|location=London|url=https://esawyer.lib.cam.ac.uk/charter/8.html|year=2021|access-date=20 February 2021}}
* {{Cite book|last=Kirby|first=D.P.|title=The Earliest English Kings|publisher=Routledge|year=2000|location=London|isbn=0-415-24211-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Stenton |first=F.&nbsp;M. |year=1971 |title=Anglo-Saxon England 3rd edition |publisher=OUP |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-280139-5}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Story|first=Joanna|title=The Frankish Annals of Lindisfarne and Kent|journal= Anglo-Saxon England|volume= 34|year=2005|pages= 59–109|doi=10.1017/S0263675105000037|jstor=44512356|s2cid=162210483|hdl=2381/2531|url=https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/10079975|hdl-access=free}}
* {{Cite book|editor-last=Williams|editor-first=John H|title=The Archaeology of Kent to AD 800|publisher=Boydell Press and Kent County Council|location=Woodbridge|isbn=978-0-85115-580-7|year=2007}}
* {{Cite book|author=William of Malmesbury|editor-last=Giles|editor-first=J.A|title=William of Malmesbury's Chronicle of the Kings of England|publisher=Henry G. Bohn|location=London|url=https://archive.org/details/williamofmalmesb1847will/page/30/mode/2up?q=edric|year=1847|oclc=	29078478}}
* {{Cite book|last=Welch|first=Martin G.|editor-last=Brandon|editor-first=Peter|year=1978|title=The South Saxons|publisher=Phillimore|location=Chichester|isbn=978-0-85033-240-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/southsaxons0000unse}}
* {{Cite book |last=Yorke |first=Barbara |title=''Kings and Kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England'' |location=London |publisher=Routledge |year=1990 |author-link=Barbara Yorke |isbn=0-415-16639-X}}

==External links==
*{{PASE|17633|Eadric 5}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Hlothhere of Kent|Hlothhere]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Kingdom of Kent|King of Kent]]|years=?–686|regent1=[[Hlothhere of Kent|Hlothhere]]|years1=?–685}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Mul of Kent|Mul]]}}
{{s-end}}



{{Kentish Monarchs}}

[[Category:Anglo-Saxon warriors]]
[[Category:Kentish monarchs]]
[[Category:686 deaths]]
[[Category:7th-century English monarchs]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]