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A Man of Future Glory is Born
Guthlac was born in the year 673, son of the nobleman Penwald of Mercia. He was descended from an ancient royal line known as the Iclings or the House of Icel. The house was named after Icel, the great-grandson of the legendary Offa, king of the Angles, mentioned in several epic poems, including Beowulf (not to be confused with King Offa of Mercia, who reigned from 757 to his death in 796). St Guthlac’s name when translated into Latin becomes “Belli munus,” meaning “reward of war,” so it seems the young nobleman was always destined for the life of a warrior.