Make Mercia Great Again
Max Adams explains why he wants us to rediscover the glory of the early Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia
The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Mercia played an important role in the development of England. Although it was sandwiched between the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Northumbria and Wessex, unlike those two places, it lacks a great historical chronicle. And, according to Max Adams, this means it's been somewhat overlooked in the story of the birth of the Anglo-Saxon state. Talking to David Musgrove, Max explains why we ought to know more about Mercia.
Max Adams is the author of The Mercian Chronicles: King Offa and the Birth of the Anglo-Saxon State, AD 630–918 (Bloomsbury, 2025).
Authors
David Musgrove is content director of the HistoryExtra.com website and podcast, plus its sister print magazines BBC History Magazine and BBC History Revealed. He has a PhD in medieval landscape archaeology and is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.