 620), the first Mercian king mentioned by Bede in his "Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum".It is a peculiarity of the Anglo-Saxon royal names that many of the rulers of the earliest period (6th to 7th centuries) have monothematic (simplex) names, while the standard dithematic (compounded) names become almost universal from the 8th century.Compare the name of king Mul of Kent (7th century) which simply translates to "mule".