Offa of Angel

Who was Offa of Angel?

Offa is a legendary king of the Angles in the genealogy of the kings of Mercia presented in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. He is the son of Wermund and the father of Angeltheow. His name is also mentioned in the Old English poem Widsith. He has been identified with Uffo, a legendary Danish king in the Gesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus.

The Old English poem Widsith refers briefly to his victorious single combat, a story which is related at length by the 12th-century Danish historians Saxo and Svend Aggesen.

Offa is also mentioned in the Annales Ryenses, Vita Offae Primi and Vitae duorum Offarum.

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.

It is probable that the Offa whose marriage with Modþryð, a lady of murderous disposition, is mentioned in Beowulf, is the same person.