Beornred of Mercia

Beornred (Old English: Beornrǣd) (? – 757) was a Mercian Thane who was briefly King of Mercia in 757. However, he was defeated by Offa and forced to flee the country, and was killed that same year. According to Ingulf, an 11th-century Benedictine abbot, Beornred was regarded as a tyrant, while Roger of Wendover, a 13th-century chronicler, states that he was an unjust king and that the people of Mercia rose in rebellion against him. He was possibly involved in his predecessor's death. According to Professor Michelle P. Brown, Beornred has been considered by some historians to have been part of the same dynasty as Beorhtric of Wessex, as well as several other prominent Anglo-Saxon nobles whose names begin with the letter B.