Sigeberht (meaning roughly "Magnificent Victory") was the King of
Wessex
The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886.
The Anglo-Sa ...
from 754 or 755, to around 756.
Sigeberht succeeded his distant relative
Cuthred, but was then accused of acting unjustly. After ruling a year he was accused of unlawful acts and removed from power by the
witan
The witan () was the king's council in the Anglo-Saxon government of England from before the 7th century until the 11th century. It comprised important noblemen, including ealdormen, thegns, and bishops. Meetings of the witan were sometimes c ...
or council of nobles.
[''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', trans. & ed. Michael James Swanton (New York: Routledge, 1998), p. 46] This council was led by
Cynewulf
Cynewulf (, ; also spelled Cynwulf or Kynewulf) is one of twelve Old English poets known by name, and one of four whose work is known to survive today. He presumably flourished in the 9th century, with possible dates extending into the late 8th ...
who succeeded Sigeberht.
[Mike Ashley, ''The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens'' (New York: Carroll & Graf, 1999), p. 311] Sigeberht was given control of
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
. There, he was accused of
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
, driven out and ultimately killed. It is possible that this happened under the influence of
Æthelbald of Mercia
Æthelbald (also spelled Ethelbald or Aethelbald; died 757) was the King of Mercia, in what is now the English Midlands from 716 until he was killed in 757. Æthelbald was the son of Alweo and thus a grandson of King Eowa. Æthelbald came to th ...
. His brother,
Cyneheard the Ætheling, was also driven out but returned in 786 to kill Sigeberht's successor
Cynewulf
Cynewulf (, ; also spelled Cynwulf or Kynewulf) is one of twelve Old English poets known by name, and one of four whose work is known to survive today. He presumably flourished in the 9th century, with possible dates extending into the late 8th ...
.
See also
*
House of Wessex family tree
This is a list of monarchs of the Kingdom of the West Saxons (Wessex) until 886 AD. While the details of the later monarchs are confirmed by a number of sources, the earlier ones are in many cases obscure.
The names are given in modern English f ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sigeberht Of Wessex
West Saxon monarchs
Year of birth unknown
750s deaths
8th-century English monarchs
House of Wessex