Wulfhere

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An Anglo-Saxon ruler who governed the kingdom of Mercia in the seventh century and was a son of Penda
2. A seventh-century English monarch of the Mercian kingdom, remembered for expanding its power over neighbouring peoples
3. The Mercian king of the late 600s who converted parts of his realm to Christianity and extended Mercian influence

Etymology: Wulfhere was the name of a seventh-century king of Mercia, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom in central England, and the word is simply his name, built from two Old English elements: "wulf" (wolf) and "here" (army, host). So the name meant something like "wolf-army" or "wolf-warrior," a fitting title for a ruler whose kingdom expanded aggressively in the 660s and 670s. Wulfhere reigned from about 658 to 675 and was the first Christian king of Mercia, having been baptised after the Mercian royal house had reverted to paganism under his father, Penda. The name survives in the record because the Anglo-Saxon chronicles and Bede's "Ecclesiastical History" mention him by it. Old English names of this type were compounds of two meaningful elements, chosen with care, which is why so many royal names from the period read like battle cries. "Wulf" and "here" recur across the names of Anglo-Saxon nobles, and the combination appears in several other forms, but Wulfhere himself remains the best-known bearer.