Offa of Angel

For the later king of Mercia, see Offa of Mercia.

Uffe den Spake, by Peter Nicolai Arbo.

Offa (also Uffo, Uffe, and Uffi) (late 5th century) Offa was the son of Wermund, and the father of Angeltheow. He was, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the 4th-great-grandfather of Creoda of Mercia, and was reputed to be a great-grandson of Woden.

Offa appears to have been a famous hero of the Old English, those descended from the Angles (Anglii in Latin). He may have been well-known to the Saxons and Jutes as well (he is referred to in Saxo, as, Uffi of Jutland). Based on the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle's genealogy of Creoda it was Offa's descendants who migrated to Britain as leaders of the Angles in the early 5th century and helped forge the new Ængla-lande (currently England), and specifically Mercia, part of the agglomeration of Germanic kingdoms that developed in the that period with the removal of Roman forces from Britain after 410 CE. He is said by the Old English poem Widsith to have ruled over Angel, In Saxo he seems related to the Jutish kingdom or tribe as well as the Danish. The Old English poem Widsith refers briefly to his victorious single combat, a story which is related at length by the Danish historians Saxo and Svend Aagesen. A modern novel on Offa the First, entitled: Offa: Rise of the Englisc Warrior by S. A. Swaffington is also available. He is likely referred to in, Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Old English poem Widsith, Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum, the Vitae duorum Offarum, Sven Aggesen's, Brief History of the Kings of Denmark, the Annales Ryenses, and Vita Offae Primi.

According to Widsith and the Danish sources Offa successfully conquered the Myrgings, possibly a clan of Saxon origin, and incorporated their land into Angel or Danish lands, by slaying two Myrging princes in single combat and installing himself as their king. The Myrgings were then absorbed by the Angles within a century though this new title as 'King' was soon abolished by Angeltheow a son of Offa.

Single combat

Offa is said to have been dumb or silent during his early years. His aged and blind father, King Wermund believed him to be a simpleton and in order to preserve his son's position as king had him marry the daughter of Freawine (a neighbouring warlord/king) so that Freawine would assist Offa when he became king. However, the plans did not come to pass, as Freawine was killed by a marauding Viking warlord (a Swede called Atisl). Wermund subsequently raised Freawine's sons Ket and Wig as his own. The two would eventually cause great dishonour to the Angles when they ambushed Atisl in a forest as he walked alone and slew him. The surrounding peoples began to mock the Angles, accusing them of cowardice and dishonour. Eventually the neighbouring Saxons decided that Wermund was too weak to resist their requests for him to surrender his kingdom, and they sent their emissaries to Wermund's court. There they proceeded to mock the blind man, prompting Wermund to challenge their king to a duel — but the king stated that he would not fight a blind man. It was then that Offa regained his speech, and revealed that his silence had been caused by the great dishonour involved in Atisl's death. He promptly challenged the prince of the Saxons and one of his champions to a duel in order to regain the honour of the Angles.

Offa's combat took place at Rendsburg on an island in the Eider River at Fifeldore/Monster-Gate, and Offa succeeded in killing both his opponents. According to Widsith, Offa's opponents belonged to a tribe or dynasty called Myrgingas, but both accounts state that he won a great kingdom as the result of his victory. A somewhat corrupt version of the same story is preserved in the Vitae duorum Offarum, where, however, the scene is transferred to England.

Other Offas

It is very probable that the Offa whose marriage with Modþryð, a lady of murderous disposition, is mentioned in Beowulf (lines 1949 and 1957), is the same person. This story also appears in the Vitae duorum Offarum, though it is erroneously told of the later Offa of Mercia, a descendant of Offa of Angel.

References

Secondary literature

• For a novel on Offa the First, see "Offa: Rise of the Englisc Warrior" by S. A. Swaffington (2011) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Offa-Englisc-Warrior-Anglo-Saxon-ebook/dp/B005HIQT0A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314622236&sr=8-1
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.  See H. M. Chadwick, Origin of the English Nation (Cambridge, 1907), for references to the original authorities.
• Grüner, Hans. Matthei Parisiensis Vitae duorum Offarum (saec. XIII med.) in ihrer Manuskript und Textgeschichte. Munich, 1907.
• Grüner, Hans. Die Riganus-Schlacht in den Vitae duorum Offarum des Mathaeus Parisiensis (saec. XIII): ein Beitrag zur Bibel- und Legendenkunde des Mittelalters wie zur Geschichte der altenglichen Heldensage. Hamburg, 1914.
• Hahn, C. "The Limits of Text and Image? Matthew Paris's final project, the Vitae duorum Offarum, as a historical romance." In Excavating the Medieval Image. Manuscripts, artists, audiences. Essays In Honor Of Sandra Hindman, ed. David S. Areford and Nina A. Rowe. Aldershot, 2004. 37-58. ISBN 9780754631439
• Luard, Henry Richard (ed.). Matthei Parisiensis, monachi Sancti Albani, Chronica Majora. Rerum britannicarum medii aevi scriptores 57. 7 vols: vol 6. London, 1872-1883. pp. 1–8.
• Rickert, Edith. "The Old English Offa Saga." Modern Philology 2 (1904-5): 29-77 (part 1), 321-76 (part 2). PDF available from Internet Archive
• Rigg, A.G. A History of Anglo-Latin Literature. 1066-1422. Cambridge, 1992. p. 198.
• Shippey, Tom. "Wicked Queens and Cousin Strategies in Beowulf and Elsewhere." The Heroic Age 5 (2001). Available online
• Vaughan, R. Chronicles of Matthew Paris: Monastic Life in the Thirteenth Century. Gloucester et al., 1986.
• Vaughan, R. Matthew Paris. Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought 6. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1958.

External links

• British Library images:
  • f. 2r (Riganus trying to persuade King Waermund to abdicate)
  • f. 3r (Preparation of Offa for battle)
  • f. 3v (Offa and his men in battle)
  • f. 4v (The burial and mourning of the dead)
  • f. 5v (King Offa succeeds King Waermund, 14th century)
  • f. 6r
  • f. 7r (battle scene, 14th century)
  • f. 8r
  • f. 18r
  • f. 22r (The shrine of St. Alban carried in procession)
  • f. 25r (King Offa as founder of St Albans Abbey)
  • f. 32v (Offa directing the construction of St. Albans Abbey)
• Image of Wærmund

Preceded by Wermund	Legendary king of the Angles	Succeeded by Angeltheow
Preceded by Wermund	Saxo's kings of Denmark	Succeeded by Dan II of Denmark
Preceded by Eadgils	King of the Myrgings	Succeeded by Abolished by Angeltheow