Ine (Wessex)

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Ine (also Ina, Ini, Inus, Yni, Yny ; † after 726 in Rome ) was king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex from 688 to 726 .

Ine was more than just another “ Age of Heroes ” king . He is considered to be trend-setting for a new type of king. In addition to military successes, he showed diplomatic skills, was a protector of the church and devoted "son of Rome". Through his legislation, the introduction of coinage and the promotion of trade, he secured prosperity and order and made Wessex one of the “most modern” English kingdoms of its time.

England at the time of Ines

Life

family

Ine comes from the House of Wessex and was a son of Cenred (fl. Around 670 / 676–705 / 717), an under-king in Dorset, which belongs to Wessex . He had three siblings: the brother Ingild († 718) and the two sisters Cwenburga and Cuthburga (fl. Around 700–718; ∞ King Aldfrith (686–705) of Northumbria , abbess of Wimborne Abbey ). He was married to Æthelburg , who was referred to in charters and later sources as the sister of Ines' successor Æthelheard . Ines descendants are not known. The name "Ine" seems to be a nickname of a two-part name that, like his brother Ingeld, began with "Ing-" or "In-".

Domination

Consolidation

In 688 Caedwalla (685-688) resigned surprisingly to go on a pilgrimage to Rome . The successor in Wessex fell to Ine. Ine put Nothhelm (688 / 692-717 / 724) and Watt (688/692-after 700) around 688/692 as dependent subreguli (lower kings) in Sussex. Presumably, the appointment of several sub-kings served to counteract the emerging independence of the country. In 692 the Wessex dependent King Nothhelm of Sussex transferred extensive lands from his personal property to his sister Nothgyth to “redeem his soul” so that she could establish a monastery there. This document was signed by Ine, who gave no title, and his father Cenred, who bore the title Rex Westsaxonum (King of the West Saxons), as witnesses. The mention of Cenred before Ine, indicates his high position, possibly an equal co-rule. The lower kings Nothhelm and Watt were apparently able to carry out smaller land transfers by mutual agreement without Ines' consent. In Æscesdūn (Ashdown, Berkshire ) probably Cissa (fl.? -699?) Ruled as sub-king. The supremacy of the Kingdom of Kent had been lost in a revolt in 687. In 694 King Wihtred of Kent made peace with Wessex and paid 30,000 pæneġas (see: Penny ; about 37.5 kg of silver) as wergeld for Mul († 687), Caedwalla's murdered brother, to Ine.

Around 700 the West Saxon sub-kingdoms disappeared from the sources and were probably absorbed by the Shires , which were headed by an Ealdorman (also scīrman, patricius, princeps or praefectus ). Possibly the division of Wessex into Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset and Devon goes back to Ine, although the boundaries have certainly shifted several times over the following centuries.

The monasteries formed settlement centers and economic centers, which encouraged the creation of marketplaces. To what extent Ine directly promoted economic development is unclear, but the rise of Hamwic ( Southampton ) to the leading port and trading city apparently began in Ines' time. Early West Saxon coinage is also documented in Hamwic. Its legislation shows that there is lively overland and long-distance trade.

Church politics

Remains of Ine sponsored Muchelney Abbey in Somerset

Ine is believed to be the founder of Glastonbury Abbey . A charter from 693, co-signed by the under -king Baldred (fl. 681-693), certifies a donation of land from King Ines to Hæmgils, the abbot of Glastonbury Abbey. During Ines's reign, the founding of the first west-Saxon nunneries fell by his sister Cuthburg in Wimborne Abbey , whose first abbess was Cuthburg, and by Bugga, Centwine's daughter . He himself was associated with the monasteries in Bradfield ( Berkshire ), Muchelney ( Somerset ), Malmesbury ( Wiltshire ) and probably Sherborne ( Dorset ). A charter Ines from 699 mentions his father Cenred as a benefactor of Abingdon Abbey . A donation by Nothhelm from the period between 705 and 717 from 20 hidas to Bishop Eadberht of Selsey had to be countersigned by the "Oberkönig" Ine, whose father Cenred and Watt.

On May 26, 704, Ine, in collaboration with Bishop Aldhelm von Sherborne and the Witenagemot, issued the Charter S245, with which churches and monasteries were granted tax exemption. When Hedda , Bishop of Wessex , died around 705/706 his diocese was divided. Daniel became Bishop of Winchester , Aldhelm became Bishop of the newly established Diocese of Sherborne, but retained his abbotship in Malmesbury.

legislation

Ines greatest achievement is seen in his legislation. The work was handed down as an appendix to the Laws of Alfred the Great (871-899). This body of law, in whose creation his father Cenred played a key role, Ine wrote between 688 and 694. In the preamble of the scripture, the bishops Hædde of Winchester and Eorcenwald of London are named as Ines counselors. Ines laws show a number of repetitions and setbacks to topics that have already been dealt with, which indicates that it is not a uniform work, but a collection of edicts or judgments that has emerged over time. It is possible that individual "paragraphs" were first issued by Ines 'successors, but the style and choice of words show numerous archaic elements that make Ines' authorship probable. Presumably, the laws were not drafted as uniform, codified law, but were written down and compiled as individual decisions on current events. In the traditional form it was probably of little practical value, but it gives deep insights into the West Saxon society and the duties of a king at that time. The laws show that the British, who were legally worse off in some points, were not yet fully integrated into the Anglo-Saxon Empire. The most common offense was theft and the associated custom of killing thieves caught in the act. Other articles deal with forced baptisms , Sunday observation, wergeld and oaths in court. The laws of King Wihtred of Kent from the year 695 are based on individual articles . Reparation payments and fines to be paid to the authorities took up a much broader space than in Kentish law. He put foreign traders under royal protection and set taxes in kind for every 10 farmsteads.

External and internal conflicts

In the 680s, Surrey had come under the control of Wessex, but was still part of the East Saxon Diocese of London, which led to tensions between Ine and the Kings Swaefred , Sigeheard and Offa of Essex, which were resolved at the 705 Synod of Brentford . In 710, Ine attacked the British King Geraint of Dumnonia with the support of King Nothhelm of Sussex . He conquered Devon as far as the River Tamar and built a fortress in Taunton , but without winning neighboring Cornwall . In 715 there was a major battle between Ceolred of Mercia and Ine at Wodnesbeorg ( Alton in Wiltshire ) . Although the outcome of the battle is unknown, it is an indication that tensions between the two kingdoms were mounting. In 722 Ine was defeated by forces from Cornwall on the River Hehil . The expansion to the southwest came to a standstill. As a result, the warriors served the various pretenders to the throne as mercenaries, which led to domestic political instability.

At the beginning of the 720s it seems to have come to intra-dynastic disputes within the royal family of Wessex. 721 Ine killed his rival Cynewulf. Ines wife Æthelburg also apparently turned against him and in 722 had the town of Taunton , which was fortified by Ine around 710, destroyed. According to Henry of Huntingdon, a 12th century chronicler , Æthelburg drove the rebel Ealdberht , who was related to Ine, from Taunton. However, this interpretation is rarely accepted today. Ealdberht fled into exile, first to Surrey and soon afterwards to Sussex - both dependent empires, but at the time striving for autonomy. Sussex, where Nothhelm had died at that time, took advantage of this turmoil for an uprising. Ine followed Ealdberht and there were still battles in 722 with the southern Saxons, who had evidently allied with him. In 725 there was renewed fighting in Ines against Sussex in which Ealdberht fell.

Abdication and Succession

In 726 Ine abdicated and, like his predecessor Caedwalla, went on a pilgrimage to Rome . When he abdicated, he apparently made no further arrangements about his successor, so that in addition to Æthelheard , the Ætheling (for example "Prince") Oswald as a relative of Ines (he was probably a descendant of Ceawlin ) made claims. Æthelheard was able to prevail militarily, presumably because he enjoyed the support of King Æthelbald of Mercia . Ine is said to have founded the Schola Saxonum near St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and introduced the so-called Peterspfennig . Ines death year is unknown.

Around 1175 there were some legends about Ines origin in circulation, which have their origin in the endeavor to backdate the history of the diocese of Wells and can also be seen in connection with the emerging legend of Glastonbury.

swell

literature

  • Barbara Yorke: Wessex in the early Middle Ages (Studies in the Early History of Britain) , Continuum, 1995, ISBN 978-0718518561 .
  • DP Kirby: The Earliest English Kings , Routledge, London-New York 2000, ISBN 978-0415242110 .
  • Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 .
  • 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).
  • Patrick Wormald: Ine . In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004 ( digitized version - paid registration required -, accessed November 13, 2011).
  • John Cannon, Anne Hargreaves: The Kings and Queens of Britain , Oxford University Press, Oxford 2009 (2nd revised edition), ISBN 978-0-19-955922-0 .
  • Pauline Stafford (Ed.): A Companion to the Early Middle Ages: Britain and Ireland c. 500–1100 , Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. 2009, ISBN 978-1-4051-0628-3 .

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Simon Keynes: Kings of the West Saxons . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 , pp. 511-514.
  2. ↑ a b c Barbara Yorke: Ine . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 , pp. 251-252.
  3. ↑ a b Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 688
  4. ↑ Rosemary Cramp: Aldfrith  ( 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. @1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.oxforddnb.com   (paid registration required). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved November 11, 2011
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Patrick Wormald: Ine (paid registration required). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved November 13, 2011
  6. ↑ Charter S249 and Charter S250
  7. ↑ a b Beda: HE 5.7
  8. ^ Simon Keynes: Kings of the South Saxons . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 , pp. 509-510.
  9. ↑ Charter S45
  10. ^ A b c Barbara Yorke: Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England . Routledge, London-New York 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 , pp. 143-144.
  11. ↑ Charter S1173
  12. ^ Ian Blanchard: Mining, Metallurgy and Minting in the Middle Ages: Asiatic supremacy, 425-1125, Vol. 1 , Steiner, 2001, ISBN 978-3-515-07958-7 , p. 443.
  13. ^ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 694
  14. ^ Barbara Yorke: Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England . Routledge, London-New York 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 , pp. 146f.
  15. ↑ Charter S238
  16. ^ A b Barbara Yorke: Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England . Routledge, London-New York 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 , pp. 138-139.
  17. ↑ Charter S241
  18. ↑ Charter S43
  19. ↑ Charter S245
  20. ↑ Beda: HE 5,18
  21. ↑ Michael Lapidge: Aldhelm . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 , pp. 25-27.
  22. ↑ Laws of Alfred and Ine ( Memento of the original from December 17, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (old English) in georgetown.edu (Georgetown University)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www8.georgetown.edu
  23. ↑ Barbara Yorke: Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England , Routledge, 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 , p. 49.
  24. ^ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 710
  25. ↑ DP Kirby: The Earliest English Kings , Routledge, 2000, ISBN 978-0415242110 , pp. 106f.
  26. ^ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 715
  27. ↑ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 721
  28. ↑ a b c d D. P. Kirby: The Earliest English Kings , Routledge, 2000, ISBN 978-0415242110 , pp. 111-112.
  29. ↑ Diana E. Greenway et al. (Ed.): Henry, Archdeacon of Huntingdon. Historia Anglorum: The History of the English People , Oxford University Press, 1996, ISBN 978-0-19-822224-8 , pp. 226-227.
  30. ↑ a b Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 722
  31. ↑ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 725
  32. ↑ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 728
  33. ↑ DP Kirby: The Earliest English Kings , Routledge, London-New York 2000, ISBN 978-0415242110 , pp. 112-114.
predecessor Office successor
Caedwalla King of Wessex
688–726
with Baldred (fl. 681–693), Cenred (fl. Around 670 / 676–705 / 717) and Cissa (fl.? –699?) As sub-kings 		Æthelheard
personal data
SURNAME Ine
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ina; Ini; Inus; Yni; Yny
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of Wessex
DATE OF BIRTH 7th century
DATE OF DEATH after 726
Place of death Rome