Heptarchy

TheHeptarchyis the name for the division ofAnglo-Saxon Englandbetween the sixth and eighth centuries intopetty kingdoms,conventionally the seven kingdoms ofEast Anglia,Essex,Kent,Mercia,Northumbria,Sussex,andWessex.The term originated with the twelfth-century historianHenry of Huntingdonand has been widely used ever since, but it has been questioned by historians as the number of kingdoms fluctuated, and there was never a time when the territory of the Anglo-Saxons was divided into seven kingdoms each ruled by one king. The period of petty kingdoms came to an end in the eighth century, when England was divided into the four dominant kingdoms ofEast Anglia,Mercia,Northumbria,andWessex.^[1]^[2]

History

The main Anglo-Saxon kingdoms' names are written in red

Althoughheptarchysuggests the existence of seven kingdoms, the term is just used as a label of convenience and does not imply the existence of a clear-cut or stable group of seven kingdoms. The number of kingdoms and sub-kingdoms fluctuated rapidly during this period as competing kings contended for supremacy.^[3]

In the late 6th century, theking of Kentwas a prominent lord in the south. In the 7th century, the rulers ofNorthumbriaandWessexwere powerful. In the 8th century,Merciaachieved hegemony over the other surviving kingdoms, particularly during the reign ofOffathe Great.

Alongside the seven kingdoms, a number of other political divisions also existed, such as the kingdoms (or sub-kingdoms) of:BerniciaandDeirawithin Northumbria;Lindseyin present-dayLincolnshire;theHwiccein the southwest Midlands; theMagonsæteor Magonset, a sub-kingdom of Mercia in what is nowHerefordshire;theWihtwara,a Jutish kingdom on theIsle of Wight,originally as important as theCantwaraofKent;theMiddle Angles,a group of tribes based around modernLeicestershire,later conquered by the Mercians; theHæstingas(around the town ofHastingsinSussex); and theGewisse.

List of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms

The four mainkingdomsin Anglo-SaxonEnglandwere:

East Anglia
Mercia
Northumbria,including sub-kingdomsBerniciaandDeira
Wessex

The other main kingdoms, which were conquered and absorbed by others entirely at some point in their history, before the unification of England, are:

Other minor kingdoms and territories:

Bernicia
Deira
Dumnonia(only annexed to Wessex at a later date, and a Cornish kingdom)
Haestingas
The Hwicce
Kingdom of the Iclingas,a precursor state to Mercia
Lindsey
Magonsæte
The Meonwara,a Jutish tribe in Hampshire
Middle Angles
Middle Saxons(Middlesex,subsequently absorbed by the Kingdom of Essex)
Pecsæte
Surrey
Tomsæte
Wreocensæte
Wihtwara

References

^Kirby, D. H. (2000).The Earliest English Kings(Revised ed.). London, UK: Routledge. pp. 4–7, 19.ISBN 978-0-415-24211-0.
^Keynes, Simon (2014). "Heptarchy". In Lapidge, Michael; Blair, John; Keynes, Simon; Scragg, Donald (eds.).The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England(2nd ed.). Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell. p. 238.ISBN 978-0-470-65632-7.
^Norman F. Cantor,The Civilization of the Middle Ages1993:163f.

Bibliography

WestermannGroßer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte
Campbell, J. et al.The Anglo-Saxons(Penguin, 1991).
Sawyer, Peter Hayes.From Roman Britain to Norman England(Routledge, 2002).
Stenton, F. M.Anglo-Saxon England(3rd edition. Oxford U. P. 1971).

External links

Monarchs of Britain,Encyclopædia Britannica
ogdoad.force9.co.uk:TheBurghal Hidage–Wessex's fortified burhs

[1] Kirby, D. H. (2000).The Earliest English Kings(Revised ed.). London, UK: Routledge. pp. 4–7, 19.ISBN 978-0-415-24211-0.

[2] Keynes, Simon (2014). "Heptarchy". In Lapidge, Michael; Blair, John; Keynes, Simon; Scragg, Donald (eds.).The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England(2nd ed.). Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell. p. 238.ISBN 978-0-470-65632-7.

[3] Norman F. Cantor,The Civilization of the Middle Ages1993:163f.

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