Cuthred (Wessex)

England at the time of Cuthred

Cuthred (also Cuthrid, Cuðred, Cuþred, Cuþræd, Cuthredus ; † 756 ) was king of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Wessex from 740 to 756 .

Life

family

Cuthred was from the Wessex House , but his parents are unknown.

His predecessor Æthelheard is generally referred to in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as his relative, while Symeon of Durham , a 12th century chronicler, considers him a brother. Probably both were very closely related; possibly Æthelheard was his father. His successor, Sigeberht, was perhaps his son.

Domination

Cuthred appears for the first time in a charter of his predecessor Æthelheard in 739. Cuthred's signature is immediately after the Æthelheards and before the “signum” of Queen Frithugyth. This prominent position makes him appear as the designated successor of Æthelheard. King Æthelheard died around the year 740 and his relative Cuthred succeeded him as king.

At the time of Cuthred, Wessex was initially in a phase of weakness and at that time was clearly in the shadow of the powerful neighbor Mercia under King Æthelbald . However, the extent of the mercian supremacy is unclear. It has not been recorded whether Cuthred was obliged to follow the army with Æthelbald in the battles against the Welsh or had entered into an alliance in 743. In any case, Æthelbald confirmed a charter for Cuthreds in which he sold 744 land in Somerset, Wessex to Glastonbury Abbey . When Cuthred renewed the abbey's old privileges in 745, Æthelbald's approval was required. In addition, Wessex was shaken by internal disputes, which 748 the Ætheling (about "Prince") Cynric fell victim to and the 750 resulted in a rebellion led by Æthelhun, which was unsuccessful. Attempts to overthrow Cuthred are seen in both incidents.

Wessex seems to have gained extensive autonomy from Mercia from 749 onwards. Cuthred issued charters that were no longer authorized by Æthelbald. Around this time, Somerset and Wiltshire also came back under Wessex control. Around 750 Cuthred rebelled against Æthelbald of Mercia who was allied with the Pict king Óengus I. There were several battles. In 752 Cuthred rebelled again against Æthelbald of Mercia. Eventually Cuthred managed to put the Mercier to flight at Beorgforda (Burford, Oxfordshire ). With this, Cuthred was apparently able to completely shed the mercian influence. In 753 there was apparently fighting against the British in Cornwall, the outcome of which is unknown. Cuthred died in 756; His relative Sigeberht became his successor .

swell

• anonymous: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , online in Project Gutenberg (English)
• Æthelweard : Chronica
• Symeon of Durham : De Gestis Regum Anglorum / Historia regum Anglorum et Dacorum
• Henry of Huntingdon , Thomas Forester The chronicle of Henry of Huntingdon: Comprising the history of England, from the invasion of Julius Cæsar to the accession of Henry II. Also, The acts of Stephen, king of England and duke of Normandy HG Bohn, 1853

literature

• Barbara Yorke : Wessex in the early Middle Ages (Studies in the Early History of Britain) , Continuum, 1995, ISBN 978-0718518561 .
• Barbara Yorke: Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England . Routledge, London-New York 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 . PDF (6.2 MB)
• Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 .
• Dorothy Whitelock : English Historical Documents 500-1041 , Vol 1, Routledge, London 1995 (2nd ed.), ISBN 978-0-415-14366-0 .
• DP Kirby: The Earliest English Kings , Routledge, London-New York 2000, ISBN 978-0415242110 .

Web links

• Cuthred 6 in Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (PASE)
• Cuthred 7 in Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (PASE)
• Cuthred in Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
• Heather Edwards: Cuthred (paid registration required). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved November 13, 2011

Remarks

1. ^ ^{A b c} Simon Keynes: Kings of the West Saxons . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 , pp. 511-514.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 495
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 740
4. ^ Symeon of Durham: De Gestis Regum Anglorum / Historia regum Anglorum et Dacorum for the year 739
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Heather Edwards: Cuthred  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   (paid registration required). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved November 13, 2011
6. ↑ Charter S255
7. ^ Susan E. Kelly: Charters of Malmesbury Abbey , Oxford University Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0197263174 , p. 11.
8. ↑ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 743
9. ↑ Charter S257
10. ^ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 748
11. ^ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 750
12. ↑ Charter S258 and Charter S259
13. ^ Barbara Yorke: Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England . Routledge, London-New York 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 , pp. 140-141.
14. ↑ Bertram Colgrave, RAB Mynors: Bede's ecclesiastical history of the English people , Clarendon Press, 1992, p 575th
15. ↑ ^{a b} Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 752
16. ↑ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 753

predecessor	Office	successor
Æthelheard	King of Wessex 740–756	Sigeberht