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Bretwalda
''Bretwalda'' (also ''brytenwalda'' and ''bretenanwealda'', sometimes capitalised) is an Old English word. The first record comes from the late 9th-century ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. It is given to some of the rulers of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from the 5th century onwards who had achieved overlordship of some or all of the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. It is unclear whether the word dates back to the 5th century and was used by the kings themselves or whether it is a later, 9th-century, invention. The term ''bretwalda'' also appears in a 10th-century charter of Æthelstan. The literal meaning of the word is disputed and may translate to either 'wide-ruler' or 'Britain-ruler'. The rulers of Mercia were generally the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kings from the mid 7th century to the early 9th century but are not accorded the title of ''bretwalda'' by the ''Chronicle'', which had an anti-Mercian bias. The '' Annals of Wales'' continued to recognise the kings of Northumbria as "Kings ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edwin Of Northumbria
Edwin (; c. 586 – 12 October 632/633), also known as Eadwine or Æduinus, was the King of Deira and Bernicia – which later became known as Northumbria – from around 616 until his death. He was the second monarch to rule both of these northern English kingdoms and the first to convert to Christianity. After he died in battle, he was venerated as a saint. Edwin was the son of Ælle, the first known king of Deira, and likely had at least two siblings. His sister Acha was married to Æthelfrith, king of neighbouring Bernicia. Edwin was forced into exile when Æthelfrith conquered Deira. His travels took him to the court of Rædwald of East Anglia, who defeated Æthelfrith in 616, allowing Edwin to ascend the thrones of Bernicia and Deira. After the death of his patron Rædwald around 624, Edwin became the most powerful ruler in Britain. Bede the Venerable includes him in his list of kings who exercised imperium over other Anglo-Saxon monarchs, and the ''A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oswald Of Northumbria
Oswald (; c 604 – 5 August 641/642Bede gives the year of Oswald's death as 642. However there is some question of whether what Bede considered 642 is the same as what would now be considered 642. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology and History'', 1934) put forward the theory that Bede's years began in September, and if this theory is followed (as it was, for instance, by Frank Stenton in his notable history ''Anglo-Saxon England'', first published in 1943), then the date of the Battle of Heavenfield (and the beginning of Oswald's reign) is pushed back from 634 to 633. Thus, if Oswald subsequently reigned for eight years, he would have actually been killed in 641. Poole's theory has been contested, however, and arguments have been made that Bede began his year on 25 December or 1 January, in which case Bede's years would be accurate as he gives them.) was List of monarchs of Northumbria, King of Northumbria from 634 until his death, and is venerated as a saint, of whom ther ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rædwald Of East Anglia
Rædwald (, ; 'power in counsel'), also written as Raedwald or Redwald (), (died c. AD 624) was a List of monarchs of East Anglia, king of East Anglia, an Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon kingdom which included the present-day English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. He was the son of Tytila of East Anglia and a member of the Wuffingas dynasty (named after his grandfather, Wuffa of East Anglia, Wuffa), who were the first kings of the Kingdom of East Anglia, East Angles. Details about Rædwald's reign are scarce, primarily because the Vikings in East Anglia, Viking invasions of the 9th century destroyed the Monastery, monasteries in East Anglia where many documents would have been kept. Rædwald reigned from about 599 until his death around 624, initially under the overlordship of Æthelberht of Kent. In 616, as a result of fighting the Battle of the River Idle and defeating Æthelfrith of Northumbria, he was able to install Edwin of Northumbria, Edwin, who was acquiescent to his authority ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 the throne after the death of his cousin, King Ceolred, who had driven him into exile. During his long reign, Mercia became the dominant kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons, and recovered the position of pre-eminence it had enjoyed during the strong reigns of Mercian kings Penda and Wulfhere between about 628 and 675. When Æthelbald came to the throne, both Wessex and Kingdom of Kent, Kent were ruled by stronger kings, but within fifteen years the contemporary chronicler Bede describes Æthelbald as ruling all England south of the Humber estuary. The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' does not list Æthelbald as a bretwalda, or "Ruler of Britain", though this may be due to the West Saxon origin of the ''Chronicle''. Saint Boniface, St. Boniface wrote to Æ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceawlin Of Wessex
Ceawlin ( ; also spelled Ceaulin, Caelin, Celin, died ''ca.'' 593) was a King of Wessex. He may have been the son of Cynric of Wessex and the grandson of Cerdic of Wessex, whom the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' represents as the leader of the first group of Saxons to come to the land which later became Wessex. Ceawlin was active during the last years of the Anglo-Saxon expansion, with little of southern England remaining in the control of the native Britons by the time of his death. The chronology of Ceawlin's life is highly uncertain. The historical accuracy and dating of many of the events in the later ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' have been called into question, and his reign is variously listed as lasting seven, seventeen, or thirty-two years. The ''Chronicle'' records several battles of Ceawlin's between the years 556 and 592, including the first record of a battle between different groups of Anglo-Saxons, and indicates that under Ceawlin Wessex acquired significant territory ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coenwulf Of Mercia
Coenwulf (; also spelled Cenwulf, Kenulf, or Kenwulph; ) was the List of monarchs of Mercia, king of Mercia from December 796 until his death in 821. He was a descendant of King Pybba of Mercia, Pybba, who ruled Mercia in the early 7th century. He succeeded Ecgfrith of Mercia, Ecgfrith, the son of Offa of Mercia, Offa; Ecgfrith only reigned for five months, and Coenwulf ascended the throne in the same year that Offa died. In the early years of Coenwulf's reign he had to deal with a revolt in Kingdom of Kent, Kent, which had been under Offa's control. Eadberht III Præn, Eadberht Præn returned from exile in Francia to claim the Kentish throne, and Coenwulf was forced to wait for papal support before he could intervene. When Pope Leo III agreed to anathematise Eadberht, Coenwulf invaded and retook the kingdom; Eadberht was taken prisoner, was Blinding (punishment), blinded, and had his hands cut off. Coenwulf also appears to have lost control of the kingdom of East Anglia during th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Offa Of Mercia
Offa ( 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death in 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of Æthelbald. Offa defeated the other claimant, Beornred. In the early years of Offa's reign, it is likely that he consolidated his control of Midland peoples such as the Hwicce and the Magonsæte. Taking advantage of instability in the kingdom of Kent to establish himself as overlord, Offa also controlled Sussex by 771, though his authority did not remain unchallenged in either territory. In the 780s he extended Mercian Supremacy over most of southern England, allying with Beorhtric of Wessex, who married Offa's daughter Eadburh, and regained complete control of the southeast. He also became the overlord of East Anglia and had King Æthelberht II of East Anglia beheaded in 794, perhaps for rebelling against him. Offa was a Christia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ælle Of Sussex
Ælle (also Aelle or Ella) is recorded in much later medieval sources as the first king of the South Saxons, reigning in what is now called Sussex, England, from 477 to perhaps as late as 514. According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', Ælle and three of his sons are said to have landed at a place called Cymensora and fought against the local Britons. The ''Chronicle'' goes on to report a victory dated to 491 at Anderitum (present day Pevensey Castle) where the battle ended with the Saxons slaughtering their Brittonic opponents to the last man. Ælle was the first king recorded by the 8th century chronicler Bede to have held "''imperium''", or overlordship, over other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.Bede, ''Ecclesiastical History'', II 5. In the late 9th-century ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' (around four hundred years after his time) Ælle is recorded as being the first bretwalda, or "Britain-ruler", though there is no evidence that this was a contemporary title. Ælle's death is not reco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Æthelberht Of Kent
Æthelberht (; also Æthelbert, Aethelberht, Aethelbert or Ethelbert; ; 550 – 24 February 616) was Kings of Kent, King of Kingdom of Kent, Kent from about 589 until his death. The eighth-century monk Bede, in his ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'', lists him as the third king to hold ''imperium'' over other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. In the late ninth century ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', he is referred to as a ''bretwalda'', or "Britain-ruler". He was the first Anglo-Saxon king to Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England, convert to Christianity. Æthelberht was the son of Eormenric of Kent, Eormenric, succeeding him as king, according to the ''Chronicle''. He married Bertha of Kent, Bertha, the Christian daughter of Charibert I, king of the Franks, thus building an alliance with the Francia, most powerful state in contemporary Western Europe; the marriage probably took place before he came to the throne. Bertha's influence may have led to Pope Gregory I, Pope Gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Æthelred Of Mercia
Æthelred (; died after 704) was king of Mercia from 675 until 704. He was the son of Penda of Mercia and came to the throne in 675, when his brother, Wulfhere of Mercia, died from an illness. Within a year of his accession he invaded Kent, where his armies destroyed the city of Rochester. In 679 he defeated his brother-in-law, Ecgfrith of Northumbria, at the Battle of the Trent: the battle was a major setback for the Northumbrians, and effectively ended their military involvement in English affairs south of the Humber. It also permanently returned the Kingdom of Lindsey to Mercia's possession. However, Æthelred was unable to re-establish his predecessors' domination of southern Britain. He was known as a pious and devout Christian king, and he made many grants of land to the church. It was during his reign that Theodore, the Archbishop of Canterbury, reorganized the church's diocesan structure, creating several new sees in Mercia and Northumbria. Æthelred befriende ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wulfhere Of Mercia
Wulfhere or Wulfar (died 675) was King of Mercia from 658 until 675 AD. He was the first Christian king of all of Mercia, though it is not known when or how he converted from Anglo-Saxon paganism. His accession marked the end of Oswiu of Northumbria's overlordship of southern England, and Wulfhere extended his influence over much of that region. His campaigns against the West Saxons led to Mercian Supremacy, Mercian control of much of the Thames valley. He conquered the Isle of Wight and the River Meon, Meon valley and gave them to King Æthelwealh of Sussex, Æthelwealh of the South Saxons. He also had influence in Surrey, Kingdom of Essex, Essex, and Kingdom of Kent, Kent. He married Ermenilda of Ely, Eormenhild, the daughter of King Eorcenberht of Kent. Wulfhere's father, Penda of Mercia, Penda, was killed in 655 at the Battle of Winwaed, fighting against Oswiu of Northumbria. Penda's son Peada of Mercia, Peada became king under Oswiu's overlordship but was murdered six mont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfred Of Wessex
Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfred was young. Three of Alfred's brothers, Æthelbald, Æthelberht and Æthelred, reigned in turn before him. Under Alfred's rule, considerable administrative and military reforms were introduced, prompting lasting change in England. After ascending the throne, Alfred spent several years fighting Viking invasions. He won a decisive victory in the Battle of Edington in 878 and made an agreement with the Vikings, dividing England between Anglo-Saxon territory and the Viking-ruled Danelaw, composed of Scandinavian York, the north-east Midlands and East Anglia. Alfred also oversaw the conversion of Viking leader Guthrum to Christianity. He defended his kingdom against the Viking attempt at conquest, becoming the dominant ruler in England. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
