Now the Battle of Maserfield had established Mercia as a dominant force on the island, and specifically it had demonstrated the military prowess of Penda. It was there that King Oswald of Northumbria was killed and his kingdom was split into two separate kingdoms, each with its own king. It was there that Mercian power, which had already been growing with their challenges to the West Saxons, reached its full stride and broke the Northumbrian Hegemony. And Mercian power was so complete that it...
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