Heptarchy

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The heptarchy according to Bartholomew's A literary & historical atlas of Europe (1914)

Heptarchy (Greek ἑπταρχία , dt. Siebenherrschaft ) describes the seven Anglo-Saxon small kingdoms into which today's England was divided in the early Middle Ages, from the end of the 6th century to the 9th century. The traditional historiography proceeds from the fact that England in the small kingdoms of Wessex , Sussex and Kent in the South, East Anglia ( East Anglia ) and Essex in the East, Merzien ( Mercia ) in Central England and Northumbria ( Northumbria was divided) in the north. In fact, this assumption is a simplified representation, because in addition to these seven minor kingdoms there were other, mostly smaller areas of rule, e.g. B. the Kingdom of Lindsey south of the Humber or the Kingdom of Hwicce , which only merged into larger, neighboring kingdoms in the course of their history.

Origin of the heptarchy

After the Roman legions withdrew from Britain at the beginning of the 5th century, the east and south of the British Isles were conquered and settled by immigrating Germanic tribes. It concerned parts of the Saxons , Angles and Jutes , whose original settlement areas were the north of today's Germany and Denmark. According to some sources, these Teutons first came to the island as mercenaries for Romano-British rulers, but then rose in the middle of the 5th century and began to form their own domains. While older historiography and legends speak of a conquest, today's research, based on written sources and archaeological finds, assumes that the Germanic peoples only moved to Britain in relatively small numbers. How far the Angles, Saxons and Jutes understood themselves as different peoples is also questionable from today's research perspective. Around 700 the collective term of the Anglo-Saxons came up for these peoples.

Since the beginning of the 6th century societies with a king at their head and warriors have been historically documented. The written sources (for the period up to the early 8th century, especially Beda Venerabilis and in general the so-called Anglo - Saxon Chronicle for political history ) reveal at least the main features of the political development. This was marked by sometimes fierce battles within and between the Anglo-Saxon empires and between the Anglo-Saxon and British elite.

Kingdoms of the Heptarchy

The kingdoms of the heptarchy were:

The main Anglo-Saxon kingdoms

The term heptarchy is not entirely appropriate, as there were other kingdoms in addition to the seven mentioned, which are less known today, but at least at times existed independently of the kingdoms of the heptarchy and whose rulers sometimes also held royal titles. These included:

  • Kingdom of Lindsey , east of Merzien, came under Merzian rule during the 8th century
  • Kingdom of Hwicce , west of Merzien, came under Merzian rule at the end of the 7th century
  • Magonsæte , west of Merzien, came under Merzian rule at the end of the 7th century
  • Kingdom of Surrey , south of the Thames, came under Merzian rule at the end of the 7th century

Furthermore, Bernicia (Bernizien) and Deira in the north of England are to be mentioned: They were initially independent kingdoms before they united to form Northern Humbria at the turn of the 8th century.

The small kingdoms did not exist side by side on an equal footing, but in the course of history individual kingdoms gained influence over their neighbors or even exercised a hegemony over larger parts of what is now England: in the 7th century, the king of Northern Humbria ruled over large parts of the north, while in 8th century Merzien held a leading role among the kingdoms under King Offa and Egbert von Wessex in the first half of the 9th century . In some literature, the title of Bretwalda is ascribed to the respective Oberkönig in this context . In other literature, however, it is pointed out that the title of Bretwalda first appears in the Anglo-Saxon chronicle in the ninth century.

End of the small Anglo-Saxon kingdoms

The attack on the northern English monastery of Lindisfarne on June 8, 793 is widely regarded as the start of the Viking attacks . In 866 the so-called great pagan army invaded north-east England and conquered large parts of the country. Most of the kingdoms could not withstand the onslaught and fell apart or came under the domination of the Danish Vikings, who established their own domain, the Danelag , on English soil . In 878, however, Alfred the Great , King of Wessex, repulsed the Danish Vikings and was able to reach a preliminary agreement, although the threat from the Vikings persisted into the 11th century. Under Alfred and his successors, the remaining Anglo-Saxon territories were united under one king (see Kingdom of England ). With the conquest of England by the Norman William the Conqueror in 1066, the Anglo-Saxon period of England finally ended.

See also

literature

  • Nicholas J. Higham, Martin J. Ryan: The Anglo-Saxon World. Yale University Press, New Haven 2013. [current review with additional literature]
  • David Peter Kirby: The Earliest English Kings. Revised Edition. Routledge, London 2000.
  • Harald Kleinschmidt: The Anglo-Saxons. CH Beck, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-406-62137-6 .
  • Jürgen Sarnowsky: England in the Middle Ages . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2002.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jürgen Sarnowsky: England in the Middle Ages . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2002, p. 28 .
  2. ^ Jürgen Sarnowsky: England in the Middle Ages . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2002, p. 14-15 .
  3. ↑ Harald Kleinschmidt: The Anglo-Saxons. CH Beck, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-406-62137-6 , p. 15.
  4. ^ Jürgen Sarnowsky: England in the Middle Ages . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2002, p. 28 .
  5. ↑ Harald Kleinschmidt: The Anglo-Saxons. CH Beck, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-406-62137-6 , pp. 12-15.
  6. ^ Nicholas J. Higham, Martin J. Ryan: The Anglo-Saxon World . Yale University Press, New Haven / London 2013, ISBN 978-0-300-21613-4 , pp. 139 .
  7. ↑ Harald Kleinschmidt: The Anglo-Saxons. CH Beck, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-406-62137-6 , pp. 13-14.
  8. ↑ Harald Kleinschmidt: The Anglo-Saxons. CH Beck, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-406-62137-6 , p. 12.
  9. ^ Kurt Kluxen: History of England . 3. Edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 1985, ISBN 3-520-37403-X , p. 17 .
  10. ^ Kurt Kluxen: History of England . 3. Edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 1985, ISBN 3-520-37403-X , p. 12 .
  11. ^ Mark Atherton: The Making of England . Tauris, London 2017, ISBN 978-1-78453-005-1 , pp. 104 .
  12. ^ Jürgen Sarnowsky: England in the Middle Ages . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2002, p. 35-38 .