genealogical research

Icel of Angel, 1st Iclingas King of Mercia (455 – 501)

Post author By Steven Wood Collins
Post date December 8, 2021
190 Comments on Icel of Angel, 1st Iclingas King of Mercia (455 – 501)

Physical map of Schleswig-Holstein, Anglia (Angeln) in the northeast.

Great Britain around the year 800 showing the East Angles.

Offa of Angeln YouTube video

Angeln chieftain Icel invaded the eastern shores of Britain about the same time that Saxony chieftain Cerdic Gewissae (470 – 534) invaded the southern coast of the island. Hengest Wihtgilsson von Sachsen, 1st Jute King of Kent (414 – 488) conquered southwest England soon afterward.

Icel moved virtually every one of his tribe from the Angeln, Germany region to Britain soon after the invasion. So ensconced in their new home afterward, they started a new lineage of English rulers, known as the Iclingas, who would rule Mercia and East Anglia for nearly 400 years.

Icel’s paternal great-grandfather, Offa of Angel ( – 456?) stands out amongst succession Angeln tribal leaders. His name and deeds are mentioned in several Old English epic poems, such as Beowulf, in which he’s portrayed as slaying two Saxon princes in combat against both of them at the same time to restore his family’s honor. This was more than an auspicious event in his life as the abnormally reticent and retiring youth was suspected by his father, who was likely domineering to his subjects and family members to a stultifying degree, as being somewhat of a dolt, and thus unworthy of assuming a position as a tribal chieftain upon his death. However, as it turned out, the display of his heroic mettle was just the catalyst Offa needed to bring his innate leadership qualities to the fore to the delight of his father and his tribal members. Afterward, he spoke to his father for the first time.

He’s also referred to in 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. He’s the subject of the modern novel entitled Offa: Rise of the English Warrior by S. A. Swaffington.

He was an agnatic descendant of Sigge “Odin” Fridulfsson of Asgard (50 BC – 30 AD) 1st King of Scandinavia.

England was named after the conquering Angeln tribe and was known as Angeln. Previously, the entire island was known as Albion.

By Steven Wood Collins

I spent most of my life unaware of my ancestral heritage. Sure, I knew of the personal history of my more immediate relatives; but beyond that, I never had any inkling as to my ancestral heritage. Then one day many years ago my sister said to me, “I sometimes wonder about our family background.” And so my quest to discover our genealogical roots commenced.

I started building my family tree with the very basic relationships, going back in time from my grandparents, one ancestor at a time. That initial effort proved to be the hardest part of the pursuit, mainly due to my lack of expertise as a novice genealogical researcher. As I gained familiarity with the databases and how to efficiently mine them, my progress gained ever-increasing momentum. Today, The Patricians! tree (Ancestry.com) contains nearly 120,000 individuals, stretching over 135 generations, 5,800 of which are my direct ancestors in a genealogical sense.

During this trek back in time, I encountered fascinating figures in both history and obscurity. This blog contains many stories about their genealogical relationship to me (and many of you). By far and away, as a student of history, the historically obscure individuals are of particular interest to me. I cite Baron “Blue Beard” Montmorency-Laval de Rais (1405 – 1440) as an example of a historically maligned personage whose real contribution to history, as both a playwright and hero of France, has yet to be properly recognized. Another example is Earl Edward de Vere (1550 – 1604), who’s yet to gain widespread recognition as the actual author of the body of literary work wrongly ascribed to William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616).

My life-long interest in international economics and finance continues unabated. I primarily demonstrate this professional involvement as a contributor to the Long Room, the members-only international finance professionals' forum hosted by the Financial Times of London.

I'm an avid recreational scuba diver who enjoys traveling to exotic dive sites. My love of the sea and marine life gives me an unbounded appreciation and support of “green” issues, especially those devoted to the conservation of endangered species and coral reefs.

He continually posts results of his personal genealogical research to his Goodreads Authors Blog. Entitled The Patricians - The Ancestral Heritage of Steven Wood Collins, the work represents thousand of hours of his research efforts and related commentary.

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