Dow, George (1973). Railway Heraldry: and other insignia. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN 978-0715358962.

Williams, Ann (2004). "Ælfgar, earl of Mercia (d. 1062?)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/ref:odnb/178. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8 . Retrieved 26 September 2021. This excavated area outside St Mary's in Stafford marks the first established church in the town. The wooden object in the centre is a copy of St Bertelin's Preaching Cross, by which he was supposed to held his outdoor gatherings. The original cross lies still in the ground below with other remains of the original wooden structure. Son of Edward the Elder and nephew of Æthelflæd. Became King of Mercia on Edward's death (Jul 924), and King of Wessex about 16 days later. The wyvern, a type of dragon, came to have a strong association with Mercia in the 19th century. The Midland Railway, which used a white (silver) wyvern sans legs (legless) as its crest, having inherited it from the Leicester and Swannington Railway, asserted that the "wyvern was the standard of the Kingdom of Mercia", and that it was "a quartering in the town arms of Leicester". [52] The symbol appeared on numerous stations and other company buildings in the region, and was worn as a silver badge by all uniformed employees. However, in 1897 the Railway Magazine noted that there appeared "to be no foundation that the wyvern was associated with the Kingdom of Mercia". [53] It has been associated with Leicester since the time of Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster and Leicester (c. 1278–1322), the most powerful lord in the Midlands, who used it as his personal crest, and was recorded in a heraldic visitation of the town in 1619. [54] Son of Ælfgar. Submitted to William the Conqueror in 1066, but later rebelled, and was betrayed by his own men. Mercia was then broken up into smaller earldoms.

St Editha looks down from her niche above the main altar on the church in Tamworth that bears her name. The princess, spurned by her Viking husband, went on to organise a Christian religious tradition in this area. The two greatest kings of Mercia, arguably, are Athelred and Offa, seen here together on the exterior of Lichfield Cathedral. Daughter of Æthelred II and Æthelflæd. Deposed by her uncle, Edward the Elder, Dec 918, who annexed Mercia to Wessex.

Mercian, n. and adj.". Oxford English Dictionary (3rded.). September 2001 . Retrieved 3 October 2020. The saltire is used as both a flag and a coat of arms. As a flag, it is flown from Tamworth Castle, the ancient seat of the Mercian Kings, to this day. [46] The flag also appears on street signs welcoming people to Tamworth, the "ancient capital of Mercia". It was also flown outside Birmingham Council House during 2009 while the Staffordshire Hoard was on display in the city before being taken to the British Museum in London. The cross has been incorporated into a number of coats of arms of Mercian towns, including Tamworth, Leek and Blaby. It was recognised as the Mercian flag by the Flag Institute in 2014. [49] The first kings of Mercia were pagans, and they resisted the encroachment of Christianity longer than other kingdoms in the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. [33] Wife of Æthelred II and daughter of Alfred of Wessex. Possibly descended from earlier Mercian kings via her mother. With her brother, Edward the Elder, reconquered eastern Mercia.

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The final Mercian king, Ceolwulf II, died in 879 with the kingdom appearing to have lost its political independence. Initially, it was ruled by a lord or ealdorman under the overlordship of Alfred the Great, who styled himself "King of the Anglo-Saxons". The kingdom had a brief period of independence in the mid-10th century and in 1016, by which time it was viewed as a province with temporary independence. Wessex conquered and united all the kingdoms into the Kingdom of England. The kingdom became an earldom until 1071. Evans, Geraint; Fulton, Helen (2019). The Cambridge History of Welsh Literature. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1107106765. Son of Cœnwulf. Although he existed, his status as co-ruler and his murder are legendary. Canonised (St Kenelm). Penda son of Pybba ruled from about 626 or 633 until 655. Some of what is known about Penda comes through the lengthy account given by Bede, who condemned Penda both for being an enemy to Northumbria and for being a pagan, though Bede admits that Penda freely allowed Christian missionaries from Lindisfarne into Mercia, and did not restrain them from preaching. Penda ruled at a time of changes in the balance of power between the kingdoms of Britain and in the influence of Christianity.