The Westerne were an
Anglo-Saxon tribe, probably in western England. The name is a genitive plural and probably means "the westerners". They occur only in the
Tribal Hidage, an early eighth-century catalogue of kingdoms and principalities produced in Mercia for the purposes of tax or tribute. Little is known about them, not even precisely where they were. Their position in the Tribal Hidage list suggests a location on the western fringe of the Mercian heartland and it is possible that they were associated with the Magonsaetan, who occupied the lands around
Leominster
Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster i ...
and
Hereford. There are very few Anglo-Saxon cemeteries from the area, which may indicate that Mercian rulers took over an existing
British political region, possibly that of the Romano-British civitas of the
Cornovii. The Tribal Hidage assessment for the Westerne (7,000 hides ranks them alongside other minor kingdoms such as Lindsey, the
Hwicce
Hwicce () was a tribal kingdom in Anglo-Saxon England. According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', the kingdom was established in 577, after the Battle of Deorham. After 628, the kingdom became a client or sub-kingdom of Mercia as a result of th ...
, the East Saxons and the South Saxons. It is likely that the area was ruled by an ealdorman, a senior noble representing the interest of the kings of
Mercia
la, Merciorum regnum
, conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia
, common_name=Mercia
, status=Kingdom
, status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879) Client state of Wessex ()
, life_span=527–918
, era= Heptarchy
, event_start=
, date_start=
, ...
.
The tribe became part of the Kingdom of
Mercia
la, Merciorum regnum
, conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia
, common_name=Mercia
, status=Kingdom
, status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879) Client state of Wessex ()
, life_span=527–918
, era= Heptarchy
, event_start=
, date_start=
, ...
, but the region continued as a significant political division as late as 1016 when ealdorman Eadric led the Magonsaetan against Cnut.
See also
*
Magonsæte
Magonsæte was a minor sub-kingdom of the greater Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, thought to be coterminous with the Diocese of Hereford.
The British territory of Pengwern was conquered by Oswiu of Northumbria in 656, while he was overlord of t ...
References
* Peter Featherstone ''The Tribal Hidage and the Ealdorman of Mercia'' in ''Mercia: an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in Europe'' (2001)
External links
The Origins of Mercia essay
Peoples of Anglo-Saxon Mercia
History of Cheshire
Petty kingdoms of England
{{UK-hist-stub