Ludeca of Mercia
In 824 two charters of King Beornwulf are witnessed by Ludeca, then a member of his court. His title on those charters is . Nothing else is known of Ludeca. At Beornwulf's death he became king. But the kingdom Ludeca now ruled was just Mercia, Lindsey, Middle Anglia and the Mercian provinces of the Hwicce and Magonsæte. All of southern England was in disorder. Egbert of Wessex now had control of Essex and Kent. He had instigated the revolt by the East Anglians that resulted in Beornwulf's death. The East Anglians saw this as a chance for their independence from Mercia. A few months later Ludeca led his army against them but he was killed. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 825 (actual year 827) recorded: "In this year Ludecan, king of the Mercians, was slain, and his five aldormen [ealdormen] with him, and Wiglaf succeeded to the kingdom."