BattlefieldsBattle of Otford 776
Early Medieval

Battle of Otford 776

776
Kent, England
Also known as: Men of Kent defeat Offa at Otford
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Kent, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Mercia (Offa)
Forces
Mercian army
VS
Victor
Kent
Forces
Kentish levies
Outcome
Kent temporarily resisted Mercian domination; rare setback for Offa
The Battle

History & Significance

The Kentish men defeated Offa at Otford in 776, one of the very few military reverses of his long reign. Kent briefly recovered its independence. However Offa later fully subjugated Kent, executed its king Aethelberht II (a different Aethelberht from East Anglia), and thereafter treated it as a Mercian province.

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