704. Æthelred of Mercia retires to a monastery
Coenred, son of Wulfhere, succeeds to Mercia
Very little is known of Coenred's reign. Felix's Life of St Guthlac notes that in the days of King Coenred the Britons troubled the English with their attacks and pillaging and devastation (chapter 34), though no specific battles are mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Bede notes that after ruling for five years Coenred went to Rome and became a monk in 709 (HE, v.19 and v.23).