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Egbert
King of Wessex
Image:Egbert.jpg
Reign 802 — 839
Died 839
Buried Winchester
Predecessor Beorhtric
Successor Æthelwulf
Issue Æthelwulf
Father Ealhmund

Egbert (also spelt Ecgberht) (died 839) was King of Wessex from 802 until 839. Winchester or Winton ( archaic) is a historic city in southern England, with a population of around 40000 within a radius of its centre Beorhtric (died 802 (means 'Magnificent ruler' was the King of Wessex from 786 until his death Æthelwulf, also spelled Aethelwulf or Ethelwulf; Old English: Æþelwulf, means 'Noble Wolf' (c Æthelwulf, also spelled Aethelwulf or Ethelwulf; Old English: Æþelwulf, means 'Noble Wolf' (c Ealhmund, was King of Kent in 784 The only contemporary evidence of him is an abstract of a charter dated in that year in which Ealhmund granted land to the Abbot West Saxon redirects here For other meanings of Wessex or West Saxon see Wessex (disambiguation. His father was Ealhmund of Kent[1]. Ealhmund, was King of Kent in 784 The only contemporary evidence of him is an abstract of a charter dated in that year in which Ealhmund granted land to the Abbot In the 780s Egbert was forced into exile by Offa of Mercia and Beorhtric of Wessex, but on Beorhtric's death in 802 Egbert returned and took the throne. Offa was the King of Mercia from 757 until his death in July 796 Beorhtric (died 802 (means 'Magnificent ruler' was the King of Wessex from 786 until his death

Little is known of the first twenty years of Egbert's reign, but it is thought that he was able to maintain Wessex's independence against the kingdom of Mercia, which at that time dominated the other southern English kingdoms. Mercia (ˈmɝsiə was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. In 825 Egbert defeated Beornwulf of Mercia at the battle of Ellendun, and proceeded to take control of the Mercian dependencies in southeastern England. Beornwulf (died 825 was King of Mercia (now the Midlands of England) from 823 to 825 Ellandun was the site of the Battle of Ellandun between Egbert of Wessex and Beornwulf of Mercia in 825. In 829 Egbert defeated Wiglaf of Mercia and drove him out of his kingdom, temporarily ruling Mercia directly. Wiglaf (died 839 was King of Mercia from 827 to 829 and again from 830 until his death Later that year Egbert received the submission of the Northumbrian king at Dore, near Sheffield. Dore ( is a village in South Yorkshire, England. The village lies on a hill above the River Sheaf, and until 1934 was part of Derbyshire Sheffield ( is a city and Metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle subsequently described Egbert as a bretwalda, or "Ruler of Britain". The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of Annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. Bretwalda, also Brytenwalda, Bretenanwealda, is an Anglo-Saxon term the first record of which comes from the late ninth century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

Egbert was unable to maintain this dominant position, and within a year Wiglaf regained the throne of Mercia. However, Wessex did retain control of Kent, Sussex and Surrey; these territories were given to Egbert's son Æthelwulf to rule as a subking under Egbert. Æthelwulf, also spelled Aethelwulf or Ethelwulf; Old English: Æþelwulf, means 'Noble Wolf' (c When Egbert died in 839, Æthelwulf succeeded him; the southeastern kingdoms were finally absorbed into the kingdom of Wessex after Æthelwulf's death in 858.

Contents

Family

The son of Ealhmund of Kent and an unknown woman, Egbert was born around 769 or 771. Ealhmund, was King of Kent in 784 The only contemporary evidence of him is an abstract of a charter dated in that year in which Ealhmund granted land to the Abbot He is recorded as having one sibling who is called the half-sister of Egbert and this was Alburga, later to be recognised as a saint. Alburga (d 810 was a member of the royal house of Wessex, abbess of Wilton and a saint Alburga had been married to Wulstan, Ealdorman of Wiltshire, but on his death she became a nun. An ealdorman (modern Alderman) was the prior magistrate of an Anglo-Saxon shire from 900 to the time of the Danes. Etymology The county formerly 'Wiltonshire' or 'Wiltunscir' (9th century is named after the former county town of Wilton (itself named after the River Wylye [1]. Although neither date nor record exists, it is sometimes supposed that Egbert married Redburga, thought to have been either a sister, sister-in law or niece of the Frankish Emperor[2]. Redburga or Raedburh was the wife of king Egbert of Wessex and may have been the sister-in-law of Charlemagne as the sister of his fourth wife Luitgard The Franks or Frankish people (Franci or gens Francorum) were West Germanic tribes first identified in the 3rd century as an Ethnic group The theory for this is backed up by Egbert's strong ties to the Frankish royal court and his significant time spent there, however no evidence has yet been found for the existence of this queen.

The number of Egbert's children is uncertain. Æthelwulf, who succeeded Egbert, having governed as Subregulus of Kent, Essex, Surry and Sussex, was his son. KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format Essex is a county in the East of England. The County town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common Surry may refer to Surry Maine, USA Surry New Hampshire, USA Surry Virginia, USA Surry Sussex is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. Some versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle call Æthelstan Egbert's son, but he was rather Egbert's grandson. Æthelstan ( Floruit 839&ndash851x855 was the eldest son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex. [3] A number of writers after the Norman Conquest make Saint Edith (Eadgyth) of Polesworth a daughter of Egbert, but this is doubtful. Polesworth is a large Village and Civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. [4]

Political context and early life

Egbert's name, spelled Ecgbriht, from the 827 entry in the C manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Egbert's name, spelled Ecgbriht, from the 827 entry in the C manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

Offa of Mercia, who reigned from 757 to 796, was the dominant force in Anglo-Saxon England in the second half of the eighth century. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of Annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. Offa was the King of Mercia from 757 until his death in July 796 The relationship between Offa and Cynewulf, who was king of Wessex from 757 to 786, is not well-documented, but it seems likely that Cynewulf maintained some independence from Mercian overlordship. Cynewulf of Wessex (died 786 (meaning "kin wolf" was the king of Wessex from 757 until his death Evidence of the relationship between kings can come from charters, which were documents which granted land to followers or to churchmen, and which were witnessed by the kings who had power to grant the land. In some cases a king will appear on a charter as a subregulus, or "subking", making it clear that he has an overlord. [5][6] Cynewulf appears as "King of the West Saxons" on a charter of Offa's in 772;[7] and he was defeated by Offa in battle in 779 at Bensington, but there is nothing else to suggest Cynewulf was not his own master, and he is not known to have acknowledged Offa as overlord. [8] Offa did have influence in the southeast of the country: a charter of 764 shows him in the company of Heahberht of Kent, suggesting that Offa's influence helped place Heahberht on the throne. Heaberht was a King of Kent in the 8th century, ruling jointly with Ecgberht II. [9] The extent of Offa's control of Kent between 765 and 776 is a matter of debate amongst historians, but from 776 until about 784 it appears that the Kentish kings had substantial independence from Mercia. [9][10]

Another Egbert, Egbert of Kent, ruled in that kingdom throughout the 770s; he is last mentioned in 779, in a charter granting land at Rochester. Ecgberht, or Egbert (died July 4, 673) was a King of Kent who ruled from 664 to 673 succeeding his father Eorcenberht[http //en [9] In 784 a new king of Kent, Ealhmund, appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Ealhmund, was King of Kent in 784 The only contemporary evidence of him is an abstract of a charter dated in that year in which Ealhmund granted land to the Abbot The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of Annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. According to a note in the margin, "this king Ealhmund was Egbert's father [i. e. Egbert of Wessex], Egbert was Æthelwulf's father". This is supported by the genealogical preface from the A text of the Chronicle, which gives Egbert's father's name as Ealhmund without further details. The preface probably dates from the late ninth century; the marginal note is on the F manuscript of the Chronicle, which is a Kentish version dating from about 1100. [11]

Ealhmund does not appear to have long survived in power: there is no record of his activities after 784. There is, however, extensive evidence of Offa's domination of Kent during the late 780s, with his goals apparently going beyond overlordship to outright annexation of the kingdom,[9] and he has been described as "the rival, not the overlord, of the Kentish kings". [12] It is possible that the young Egbert fled to Wessex in 785 or so; it is suggestive that the Chronicle mentions in a later entry that Beorhtric, Cynewulf's successor, helped Offa to exile Egbert. Beorhtric (died 802 (means 'Magnificent ruler' was the King of Wessex from 786 until his death [9]

Cynewulf was murdered in 786. Egbert may have contested the succession, but Offa successfully intervened in the ensuing power struggle on the side of Beorhtric. [11][13] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Egbert spent three years in Francia before he was king, exiled by Beorhtric and Offa. Francia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire (imperium Francorum Frankish Kingdom (Latin regnum Francorum, "Kingdom of the The text says "iii" for three, but this may have been a scribal error, with the correct reading being "xiii", that is, thirteen years. Beorhtric's reign lasted sixteen years, and not thirteen; and all extant texts of the chronicle agree on "iii", but many modern accounts assume that Egbert did indeed spend thirteen years in Francia. This requires assuming that the error in transcription is common to every manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; many historians make this assumption but others have rejected it as unlikely, given the consistency of the sources. [14] In either case Egbert was probably exiled in 789, when Beorhtric, his rival, married the daughter of Offa of Mercia. [15]

At the time Egbert was in exile, Francia was ruled by Charlemagne, who maintained Frankish influence in Northumbria and is known to have supported Offa's enemies in the south. Another exile in Gaul at this time was Odberht, a priest, who is almost certainly the same person as Eadberht, who later became king of Kent. Eadberht III Præn was the King of Kent from 796 to 798 His brief reign was the result of a rebellion against the Hegemony of Mercia, and it According to a later chronicler, William of Malmesbury, Egbert learned the arts of government during his time in Gaul. Biography The education William received at Malmesbury Abbey included a smattering of Logic and Physics; Moral philosophy and History, [16]

Early reign

Beorhtric's dependency on Mercia continued into the reign of Cenwulf, who became king of Mercia a few months after Offa's death. [8] Beorhtric died in 802, and Egbert came to the throne of Wessex, probably with the support of Charlemagne and perhaps also the papacy. [17] The Mercians continued to oppose Egbert: the day of his accession, the Hwicce (who had originally formed a separate kingdom, but by that time were part of Mercia) attacked, under the leadership of their ealdorman, Æthelmund. The Hwicce (also spelt Hwicca or Wiccia) were one of the peoples of Anglo-Saxon England. An ealdorman (modern Alderman) was the prior magistrate of an Anglo-Saxon shire from 900 to the time of the Danes. Æthelmund, Ealdorman of Hwicce. In 770 Uhtred of Hwicce issued a charter to his thegn Æthelmund. Weohstan, a Wessex ealdorman, met him with men from Wiltshire:[11] according to a fifteenth-century source, Weohstan had married Alburga, Egbert's sister, and so was Egbert's brother-in-law. [18] The Hwicce were defeated, though Weohstan was killed as well as Æthelmund. [11] Nothing more is recorded of Egbert's relations with Mercia for more than twenty years after this battle. It seems likely that Egbert had no influence outside his own borders, but on the other hand there is no evidence that he ever submitted to the overlordship of Cenwulf. Cenwulf did have overlordship of the rest of southern England, but in Cenwulf's charters the title of "overlord of the southern English" never appears, presumably in consequence of the independence of the kingdom of Wessex. [19]

In 815 the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Egbert ravaged the whole of the territories of the remaining British kingdom, Dumnonia, known to the author of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as the West Welsh; their territory was about equivalent to what is now Cornwall. For the Brythonic colony of the same name in Brittany see Domnonée Dumnonia, sometimes referred to as Damnolia, was a Brythonic Cornwall ( Kernow ˈkɛɹnɔʊ is the most southwesterly county of England, on the Peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar [11][20] Ten years later, a charter dated 19 August 825 indicates that Egbert was campaigning in Dumnonia again; this may have been related to a battle recorded in the Chronicle at Galford in 823, between the men of Devon and the Britons of Cornwall. Events 43 BC - Octavian, later known as Augustus compels the Roman Senate to elect him Consul. Events By Place Europe Egbert of Wessex defeats Beornwulf of Mercia at Ellandun. [21]

The battle of Ellendun

A map of England during Egbert's reign.
A map of England during Egbert's reign.

It was also in 825 that one of the most important battles in Anglo-Saxon history took place, when Egbert defeated Beornwulf of Mercia at Ellendun—now Wroughton, near Swindon. Beornwulf (died 825 was King of Mercia (now the Midlands of England) from 823 to 825 Ellandun was the site of the Battle of Ellandun between Egbert of Wessex and Beornwulf of Mercia in 825. Wroughton is a large village in Wiltshire in the South West England region of the UK. Swindon ( is a large town in the ceremonial county of Wiltshire in the South West of England, midway between Bristol (64 km / 40 miles This battle marked the end of the Mercian domination of southern England. [22] The Chronicle tells how Egbert followed up his victory: "Then he sent his son Æthelwulf from the army, and Ealhstan, his bishop, and Wulfheard, his ealdorman, to Kent with a great troop. " Æthelwulf drove Baldred, the king of Kent, north over the Thames, and according to the Chronicle, the men of Kent, Essex, Surrey and Sussex then all submitted to Æthelwulf "because earlier they were wrongly forced away from his relatives. "[11] This may refer to Offa's interventions in Kent at the time Egbert's father Ealhmund became king; if so, the chronicler's remark may also indicate Ealhmund had connections elsewhere in southeast England. [17]

The Chronicle's version of events makes it appear that Baldred was driven out shortly after the battle, but this was probably not the case. A document from Kent survives which gives the date, March 826, as being in the third year of the reign of Beornwulf. This makes it likely that Beornwulf still had authority in Kent at this date, as Baldred's overlord; hence Baldred was apparently still in power. [21][23] In Essex, Egbert expelled King Sigered, though the date is unknown. Sigered of Essex was the last King of Essex from 798 to 825 The son of Sigeric of Essex, Sigered became king when his father abdicated the throne It may have been delayed until 829, since a later chronicler associates the expulsion with a campaign of Egbert's in that year against the Mercians. [21]

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle does not say who was the aggressor at Ellendun, but one recent history asserts that Beornwulf was almost certainly the one who attacked. According to this view, Beornwulf may have taken advantage of the Wessex campaign in Dumnonia in the summer of 825. For the Brythonic colony of the same name in Brittany see Domnonée Dumnonia, sometimes referred to as Damnolia, was a Brythonic Beornwulf's motivation would have been the threat of unrest or instability in the southeast: the dynastic connections with Kent made Wessex a threat to Mercian dominance. [21]

The consequences of Ellendun went beyond the immediate loss of Mercian power in the southeast. According to the Chronicle, the East Anglians asked for Egbert's protection against the Mercians in the same year, 825, though it may actually have been in the following year that the request was made. In 826 Beornwulf invaded East Anglia, presumably to recover his overlordship. He was slain, however, as was his successor, Ludeca, who invaded East Anglia in 827, evidently for the same reason. It may be that the Mercians were hoping for support from Kent: there was some reason to suppose that Wulfred, the Archbishop of Canterbury, might be discontented with West Saxon rule, as Egbert had terminated Wulfred's currency and had begun to mint his own, at Rochester and Canterbury,[21] and it is known that Egbert seized property belonging to Canterbury. Wulfred was Archbishop of Canterbury from 805 to 832 Biography Wulfred is believed to have come from Middlesex and was a member of a wealthy The Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the [24] The outcome in East Anglia was a disaster for the Mercians which confirmed West Saxon power in the southeast. [21]

Defeat of Mercia

The entry for 827 in the [C] manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, listing the eight bretwaldas.
The entry for 827 in the [C] manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, listing the eight bretwaldas.

In 829 Egbert invaded Mercia and drove Wiglaf, the king of Mercia, into exile. Mercia (ˈmɝsiə was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. Wiglaf (died 839 was King of Mercia from 827 to 829 and again from 830 until his death This victory gave Egbert control of the London mint, and he issued coins as King of Mercia. [21] It was after this victory that the West Saxon scribe described him as a bretwalda, meaning "wide-ruler" or "Britain-ruler", in a famous passage in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Bretwalda, also Brytenwalda, Bretenanwealda, is an Anglo-Saxon term the first record of which comes from the late ninth century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The relevant part of the annal reads, in the [C] manuscript of the Chronicle:[25]

“ 7 þy geare geeode Ecgbriht cing Myrcna rice 7 eall þæt be suþan Humbre wæs, 7 he wæs eahtaþa cing se ðe Bretenanwealda wæs. ”

In modern English:[26]

“ And the same year King Egbert conquered the kingdom of Mercia, and all that was south of the Humber, and he was the eighth king who was 'Wide Ruler'. ”

The previous seven bretwaldas are also named by the Chronicler, who gives the same seven names that Bede lists as holding imperium, starting with Ælle of Sussex and ending with Oswiu of Northumbria. Ælle (also Aelle or Ella,) is recorded in early sources as the first king of the South Saxons, reigning in what is now called Sussex Oswiu (c 612&ndash 15 February 670) also known as Oswy, was King of Bernicia. The list is often thought to be incomplete, omitting as it does some dominant Mercian kings such as Penda and Offa. Penda (died November 15 655 was a 7th-century King of Mercia, a kingdom in what is today the English Midlands. The exact meaning of the title has been much debated; it has been described as "a term of encomiastic poetry"[27] but there is also evidence that it implied a definite role of military leadership. [28]

Later in 829, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Egbert received the submission of the Northumbrians at Dore (now a suburb of Sheffield); the Northumbrian king was probably Eanred. Dore ( is a village in South Yorkshire, England. The village lies on a hill above the River Sheaf, and until 1934 was part of Derbyshire Sheffield ( is a city and Metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England Eanred was king of Northumbria in the early ninth century Very little is known for certain about Eanred [29] According to a later chronicler, Roger of Wendover, Egbert invaded Northumbria and plundered it before Eanred submitted: "When Egbert had obtained all the southern kingdoms, he led a large army into Northumbria, and laid waste that province with severe pillaging, and made King Eanred pay tribute. Roger of Wendover (died May 6, 1236) probably a native of Wendover in Buckinghamshire " Roger of Wendover is known to have incorporated Northumbrian annals into his version; the Chronicle does not mention these events. [30] However, the nature of Eanred's submission has been questioned: one historian has suggested that it is more likely that the meeting at Dore represented a mutual recognition of sovereignty. [31]

In 830 Egbert led a successful expedition against the Welsh, almost certainly with the intent of extending West Saxon influence into the Welsh lands previously within the Mercian orbit. This marked the high point of Egbert's influence. [21]

Reduction in influence after 829

In 830, Mercia regained its independence under Wiglaf—the Chronicle merely says that Wiglaf "obtained the kingdom of Mercia again",[11] but the most likely explanation is that this was the result of a Mercian rebellion against Wessex rule. [32]

Egbert's dominion over southern England came to an end with Wiglaf's recovery of power. Wiglaf's return is followed by evidence of his independence from Wessex. Charters indicate Wiglaf had authority in Middlesex and Berkshire, and in a charter of 836 Wiglaf uses the phrase "my bishops, duces, and magistrates" to describe a group that included eleven bishops from the episcopate of Canterbury, including bishops of sees in West Saxon territory. [33] It is significant that Wiglaf was still able to call together such a group of notables; the West Saxons, even if they were able to do so, held no such councils. [24][34] Wiglaf may also have brought Essex back into the Mercian orbit during the years after he recovered the throne. [21][31] In East Anglia, King Æthelstan minted coins, possibly as early as 827, but more likely c. See also Guthrum of East Anglia who was sometimes known as Athelstan 830 after Egbert's influence was reduced with Wiglaf's return to power in Mercia. This demonstration of independence on East Anglia's part is not surprising, as it was Æthelstan who was probably responsible for the defeat and death of both Beornwulf and Ludeca. [21]

Both Wessex's sudden rise to power in the late 820s, and the subsequent failure to retain this dominant position, have been examined by historians looking for underlying causes. One plausible explanation for the events of these years is that Wessex's fortunes were to some degree dependent on Carolingian support. The Franks supported Eardwulf when he recovered the throne of Northumbria in 808, so it is plausible that they also supported Egbert's accession in 802. Eardwulf ( fl 790 &ndash c 830 was King of Northumbria from 796 to 806 when he was deposed and went into exile At Easter 839, not long before Egbert's death, he was in touch with Louis the Pious, king of the Franks, to arrange safe passage to Rome. Louis the Pious (778 &ndash 20 June 840) also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781 and co-Emperor Hence a continuing relationship with the Franks seems to be part of southern English politics during the first half of the ninth century. [21]

Carolingian support may have been one of the factors that helped Egbert achieve the military successes of the late 820s. However, the Rhenish and Frankish commercial networks collapsed at some time in the 820s or 830s, and in addition, a rebellion broke out in February 830 against Louis the Pious; the first of a series of internal conflicts that lasted through the 830s and beyond. These distractions may have prevented Louis from supporting Egbert. In this view, the withdrawal of Frankish influence would have left East Anglia, Mercia and Wessex to find a balance of power not dependent on outside aid. [21]

Despite the loss of dominance, Egbert's military successes fundamentally changed the political landscape of Anglo-Saxon England. Wessex retained control of the south-eastern kingdoms, with the possible exception of Essex; and Mercia did not regain control of East Anglia. [21] Egbert's victories marked the end of the independent existence of the kingdoms of Kent and Sussex. The conquered territories were administered as a subkingdom for a while, including Surrey and possibly Essex. [35] Although Æthelwulf was a subking under Egbert, it is clear that he maintained his own royal household, with which he travelled around his kingdom. Charters issued in Kent described Egbert and Æthelwulf as "kings of the West Saxons and also of the people of Kent. " When Æthelwulf died in 858 his will, in which Wessex is left to one son and the southeastern kingdom to another, makes it clear that it was not until after 858 that the kingdoms were fully integrated. [36] Mercia remained a threat, however; Egbert's son Æthelwulf, established as king of Kent, gave estates to Christ Church, Canterbury, probably in order to counter any influence the Mercians might still have there. [21]

In the southwest, Egbert was defeated in 836 at Carhampton by the Danes,[11] but in 838 he won a battle against them and their allies the West Welsh at Hingston Down in Cornwall. Carhampton is a village and Civil parish in West Somerset, four miles to the east of Minehead. The term Dane may refer to People with a Danish ancestral or ethnic identity whether living in Denmark, emigrants or the descendants of emigrants Hingston Down is a hill near Gunnislake near Callington in Cornwall in the United Kingdom. The Dumnonian royal line continued after this time, but it is at this date that the independence of the last British kingdom may be considered to have ended. [21] The details of Anglo-Saxon expansion into Cornwall are quite poorly recorded, but some evidence comes from place names. [37] The river Ottery, which flows east into the Tamar near Launceston, appears to be a boundary: south of the Ottery the placenames are overwhelmingly Cornish, whereas to the north they are more heavily influenced by the English newcomers. The Tamar is a River in south western England, that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east and Cornwall (to the west [38]

Succession

At a council at Kingston-upon-Thames in 838, Egbert and Æthelwulf granted land to the sees of Winchester and Canterbury in return for the promise of support for Æthelwulf's claim to the throne. [24][33][39] The archbishop of Canterbury, Ceolnoth, also accepted Egbert and Æthelwulf as the lords and protectors of the monasteries under Ceolnoth's control. Ceolnoth was the seventeenth Archbishop of Canterbury. Biography Gervase of Canterbury says that Ceolnoth was Dean of the These agreements, along with a later charter in which Æthelwulf confirmed church privileges, suggest that the church had recognized that Wessex was a new political power that must be dealt with. [21] Churchmen consecrated the king at coronation ceremonies, and helped to write the wills which specified the king's heir; their support had real value in establishing West Saxon control and a smooth succession for Egbert's line. [40] Both the record of the Council of Kingston, and another charter of that year, include the identical phrasing: that a condition of the grant is that "we ourselves and our heirs shall always hereafter have firm and unshakable friendships from Archbishop Ceolnoth and his congregation at Christ Church". [39][41][42]

Although nothing is known of any other claimants to the throne, it is likely that there were other surviving descendants of Cerdic (the supposed progenitor of all the kings of Wessex) who might have contended for the kingdom. Egbert died in 839, and his will, according to the account of it found in the will of his grandson, Alfred the Great, left land only to male members of his family, so that the estates should not be lost to the royal house through marriage. Alfred the Great (also Ælfred from the Old English Ælfrēd ˈælfreːd (c Egbert's wealth, acquired through conquest, was no doubt one reason for his ability to purchase the support of the southeastern church establishment; the thriftiness of his will indicates he understood the importance of personal wealth to a king. [40] The kingship of Wessex had been frequently contested among different branches of the royal line, and it is a noteworthy achievement of Egbert's that he was able to ensure Æthelwulf's untroubled succession. [40] In addition, Æthelwulf's experience of kingship, in the subkingdom formed from Egbert's southeastern conquests, would have been valuable to him when he took the throne. [43]

Egbert was buried in Winchester, as were his son, Æthelwulf, his grandson, Alfred the Great, and Alfred's son, Edward the Elder. Alfred the Great (also Ælfred from the Old English Ælfrēd ˈælfreːd (c Edward the Elder ( Old English: Ēadweard se Ieldra) (c 870 &ndash 17 July 924) was King of England (899 &ndash During the ninth century, Winchester began to show signs of urbanization, and it is likely that the sequence of burials indicates that Winchester was held in high regard by the West Saxon royal line. [44]

Notes

  1. ^ Farmer, D. H. : The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, p. 10
  2. ^ Weir, Alison, Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy (1989), p. 4.
  3. ^ Swanton, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, p. 63, note 11. This mistake is accepted at face value in some popular works, e. g. Weir, op. cit. , p. 5.
  4. ^ Yorke, Nunneries and the Anglo-Saxon Royal Houses, p. 39, note 58, suggests Edith was Mercian princess; see also Thacker, "Kings, Saints and Monasteries", p. 19. Again, the claim that Edith was Egbert's daughter is repeated in some popular works, e. g. Weir, ibidem.
  5. ^ Hunter Blair, Roman Britain, pp. 14–15.
  6. ^ P. Wormald, "The Age of Bede and Æthelbald", in Campbell et al. , The Anglo-Saxons, pp. 95–98
  7. ^ Anglo-Saxons.net: S 108. Sean Miller. Retrieved on 8 August, 2007.
  8. ^ a b Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 209–210.
  9. ^ a b c d e Kirby, Earliest English Kings, pp. 165–169
  10. ^ Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 207.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, pp. 58–63.
  12. ^ Wormald, "Bede, the bretwaldas and the origins of the Gens Anglorum", in Wormald et al. , Ideal and Reality, p. 113; quoted in Kirby, Earliest English Kings, p. 167. , and n. 30.
  13. ^ Fletcher, Who's Who, p. 114.
  14. ^ E. g. Fletcher assumes that Egbert spent essentially all Beorhtric's reign in Francia; see Fletcher, Who's Who, p. 114. Similarly, Swanton annotates "3 years" with "in fact thirteen years . . . this error is common to all MSS. " See note 12 in Swanton, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, pp. 62–63. On the other hand, Stenton accepts the figure as three: see Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 220. Stenton adds in a footnote that "it is very dangerous to reject a reading which is so well attested".
  15. ^ Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 220.
  16. ^ Kirby, Earliest English Kings, pp. 176–177.
  17. ^ a b Kirby, Earliest English Kings, p. 186.
  18. ^ The source, a poem in the Chronicon Vilodunense, is described by Yorke as "admittedly . . . far from ideal". See Barbara Yorke, "Edward as Ætheling", in Higham & Hill, Edward the Elder, p. 36.
  19. ^ Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 225.
  20. ^ The border had been pushed back to the river Tamar, between Devon and Cornwall, by Ine of Wessex in 710. The Tamar is a River in south western England, that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east and Cornwall (to the west Devon is a large county in the South West of England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name Ine was King of Wessex from 688 to 726 He was unable to retain the territorial gains of his predecessor Cædwalla, who had brought much of Southern See Kirby, Earliest English Kings, p. 125.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Kirby, Earliest English Kings, pp. 189–195.
  22. ^ Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 231.
  23. ^ Anglo-Saxons.net: S 1267. Sean Miller. Retrieved on 8 August, 2007.
  24. ^ a b c P. Wormald, "The Age of Offa and Alcuin", p. 128, in Campbell et al. , The Anglo-Saxons.
  25. ^ Manuscript C: Cotton Tiberius C.i. Tony Jebson. Retrieved on 12 August, 2007.
  26. ^ Translation is based on Swanton; note that "bretwalda" (which Swanton translates as "Controller of Britain") in ms A appears as "brytenwealda" and variants in the other mss; here this is translated as "Wide Ruler", per Swanton. See Swanton, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, pp. 60–61.
  27. ^ Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 34–35.
  28. ^ Kirby, Earliest English Kings, p. 17.
  29. ^ Kirby, Earliest English Kings, p. 197.
  30. ^ P. Wormald, "The Ninth Century", p. 139, in Campbell et al. , The Anglo-Saxons.
  31. ^ a b Yorke, Kings and Kingdoms, p. 51.
  32. ^ Stenton cites the annal for 839, which says Æthelwulf "granted" or "gave" the kingdom of Kent to his son, as an example of the language that would have been used had Wiglaf been granted the kingdom by Egbert. See Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 233–235
  33. ^ a b Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 233–235
  34. ^ P. Wormald, "The Ninth Century", p. 138, in Campbell et al. , The Anglo-Saxons.
  35. ^ Yorke, Kings and Kingdoms, p. 32.
  36. ^ Abels, Alfred the Great, p. 31.
  37. ^ Yorke, Kings and Kingdoms, p. 155.
  38. ^ Payton, Cornwall, p. 68.
  39. ^ a b Anglo-Saxons.net: S 1438. Sean Miller. Retrieved on 1 September, 2007.
  40. ^ a b c Yorke, Kings and Kingdoms, pp. 148–149.
  41. ^ Anglo-Saxons.net: S 281. Sean Miller. Retrieved on 8 August, 2007.
  42. ^ P. Wormald, "The Ninth Century", p. 140, in Campbell et al. , The Anglo-Saxons.
  43. ^ Yorke, Kings and Kingdoms, pp. 168–169.
  44. ^ Yorke, Wessex, p. 310.

References

Primary sources
Secondary sources

See also


Regnal titles
Preceded by
Beorhtric		 King of Wessex
802–839		 Succeeded by
Æthelwulf of Wessex
Preceded by
Baldred		 King of Kent
825–839
Preceded by
Sigered		 King of Essex
825–839
Preceded by
Unknown		 King of Sussex
825–839
Preceded by
Wiglaf		 King of Mercia
829–830		 Succeeded by
Wiglaf
Persondata
NAME Egbert of Wessex
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ecgberht (alternate spelling)
SHORT DESCRIPTION King of Wessex
DATE OF BIRTH circa 769 or 771
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH 839
PLACE OF DEATH
This table shows the descent of Elizabeth II from Egbert, traditionally regarded as first King of England and before that from Cerdic, founder of the House of The following chart is a Family tree of the Kings of the House of Wessex, a Dynasty whose members were Kings of Wessex, and then from Athelstan The following chart is a Family tree of the Kings of the House of Icel, a Dynasty whose members were Kings of Mercia. Beorhtric (died 802 (means 'Magnificent ruler' was the King of Wessex from 786 until his death This is a list of monarchs of Wessex until 924. For later monarchs see the List of monarchs in the British Isles. Æthelwulf, also spelled Aethelwulf or Ethelwulf; Old English: Æþelwulf, means 'Noble Wolf' (c Baldred was the king of the Kentishmen, until 825 when he was expelled by Æthelwulf, son of Ecgberht of Wessex according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle This is a list of the Kings of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Kent. Sigered of Essex was the last King of Essex from 798 to 825 The son of Sigeric of Essex, Sigered became king when his father abdicated the throne The Kingdom of Essex ( Est Seaxna "East Saxons" was one of the seven traditional kingdoms of the so-called Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy) was founded This list of kings and ealdormen of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Sussex contains substantial gaps and many of the dates from this time are unreliable Wiglaf (died 839 was King of Mercia from 827 to 829 and again from 830 until his death The Kingdom of Mercia was an important state in the English Midlands from the 6th century to the 10th. Wiglaf (died 839 was King of Mercia from 827 to 829 and again from 830 until his death West Saxon redirects here For other meanings of Wessex or West Saxon see Wessex (disambiguation.
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