Offa of Essex

Offa was king of Essex in England at the beginning of the eighth century, and he died as a monk at Rome, after going on pilgrimage together with Cenred, king of Mercia. Our sources call him a saint and give his commemoration as 15 December, but they do not say by what act he was numbered among the saints, so his veneration seems to belong to the Western tradition before the great schism.

He was the son of King Sighere and of Saint Osyth (Osita), commemorated on 7 October, and belonged to the Essex royal dynasty. Nothing is known of his birth or youth. His father had died around 690. In the time of the kings Sigeheard and Swaefred, Offa ruled some lands in Essex and Hwicce and signed charters with the title of king, although he probably did not have such power.

The dating of his reign is uncertain: D. H. Kirby places it between 705 and 709, Simon Keynes around 694 to 709, and another source only in 709. The confusion seems to come from his uncertain rule beforehand. He may have been co-⁠king with Swaefred and, according to one source, for a time with his uncle Sigeheard. It is not certain that he became sole ruler.

A charter concerning land in Warwickshire (S 64) is attributed to him, although in it he is called king of Mercia and not of Essex; it may be an inaccurate copy of a genuine charter of Cenred of Mercia. By a charter of 704 to 709 (S 1784), probably genuine, Offa grants land at Hemel Hempstead to Waldhere, bishop of London. One source adds that, under pressure from Cenred, he acknowledged the overlordship of another kingdom and handed over lands near London.

Bede the Venerable, in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, describes him as a youth of rare beauty and sincerity, most worthy to be king, earnestly desired by all his people. He left his wife, lands, kindred and homeland for Christ and for the Gospel and went with Cenred to Rome. There he received the monastic tonsure and came to see the tombs of the holy Apostles. He died soon afterwards. The day of his death is not known. His successor in Essex was Saelred.