Coenred

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

king of the Mercians, succeeded his uncle, Ethelred, on the resignation of the latter in 704. In 709 he followed the example of his uncle, resigned his crown, and went to Rome in company with Offa, king of the East-Saxons, where he remained for the rest of his life. In Rome, Constantine being pope then, Coenred was shorn and made a monk "ad limina apostolorum," continuing to his last hours in prayers, fastings, and alms-deeds (Bede, H.E. 5:19). Coenred was the fifth of the Anglo-Saxon kings who abdicated on religious grounds, following Ethelred.