Kingdom of Essex
The Kingdom of Essex or Kingdom of the East Saxons (Old English Ēast Seaxna rīce ) was one of the seven traditional kingdoms from the time of the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy in England .
location
The heart of the kingdom was formed by today's county of Essex , northeast of London in England. In the 7th century it also included Middlesex and parts of Hertfordshire . In the Tribal Hidage its size was given as 7,000 hides . It is one of the medium-sized empires of its time.
history
The region was already settled by Saxony in the 5th century . Initially, small sub-groups, such as the Rodingas (on the Roding River ) or the Brahhingas (near Braughing), represented independent political structures. The origins of the monarchy in Essex have not been passed on with certainty. As the first king, Æscwine is said to have ruled Essex from 527 to 587.
King Sæberht (604–616 / 617), who was under the sovereignty of his uncle Æthelberht of Kent , was converted to Christianity by this and founded the bishopric of East Seaxe (Eastern Saxony), with St Paul's Cathedral , in the capital Lundenwic (London) as the center. His sons and successors Sexred , Sæward and a third brother not known by name, who ruled together (616 / 617-617), drove the London bishop Mellitus out and were able to shake off Kent's dominance. Due to his expansionist efforts against Surrey, Essex came into conflict with Wessex in the course of which the East Saxon kings fell in 617 in a battle against the West Saxons. Cedd proselytized in Essex under King Sigeberht II. The Holy (? –653), who was converted from Oswiu of Northumbria .
After King Sigeberht II, who was accused of being too Christian-friendly, was murdered by relatives, his brother Swithhelm (653–664) ascended the throne of Essex. His brother Swithfrith may have been co-regent at times. Swithhelm, however, on the initiative of King Æthelwald of East Anglia , converted to Christianity around 661 in Rendelsham, the royal seat of East Anglia, and was baptized by Bishop Cedd . A supremacy of East Anglia over Essex cannot be ruled out for the time of Swithhelm. When numerous East Saxons fell back into paganism during an epidemic in 663/664, this was the pretext for King Wulfhere of Mercia (658–675) to seek supremacy over Essex. In fact, it was about control of the thriving commercial center of London. Towards the end of the 680s Sebbi (664-694) gained control of parts of Kent and set his son Swæfheard (687 / 688-692 / 694) as king. The old dispute between Essex and Wessex was only settled in Brentford in 704/705 . In the early 8th century Essex lost London and Middlesex to Æthelbald of Mercia (716–757). In 825 Mercia was defeated by Egbert von Wessex at Ellandun . Essex was initially annexed to the Kingdom of Wessex as a sub-kingdom.
In 858, Essex was completely absorbed by Wessex. Then Essex came under Danish control and was ceded to the Danelag around 880 in the Treaty of Wedmore between Alfred the Great (871-899) and Guthrum . After Guthrum's death, Alfred began retaking the Danelag and had Essex administered by an Ealdorman . Edward the Elder completed the conquest of Danelag in 917. Essex is now a county of England.
Kings of Essex
While the other Anglo-Saxon peoples derived their origins from the god Wodan , the rulers of Essex traced their origins back to the god Saxnot . The almost continuous alliteration of the ruler's names to the letter "S" is striking. The founder of the dynasty was apparently Sledda , from whom all subsequent kings derived their origin. The common rule of brothers, father and son or cousins was common in Essex.
- Æscwine (also Erchenwin; 527-587)
- Sledda (587-604)
- Sæberht (604–616 / 617)
- Sexred , Sæward and a third brother not known by name together (616 / 617–617), died in a battle against the West Saxons
- Sigeberht I. (617–?)
- Sigeberht II. (? -653)
- Swithhelm (653–664), possibly together with his brother Swithfrith
- Sighere (664–683) and Sebbi (664–694) each in a part of the empire
- Sigeheard (694–709), together with his son Swæfred and Offa
- Swæfberht (709-738)
- Selered (738-746)
- Swithred (746-?)
- Sigeric I. (? –798)
- Sigered (798-812), then until 825 only Duke of Essex ( Dux ) due to the influence of the Mercier .
- Sigeric II. (Fl. 827-840)
Genealogy of the royal family
The ancestry of the kings has been handed down in manuscript MS 23,211 from the late 9th century. The position of kings Swæfberht and Sigeric II in the family tree is unknown. Kings are highlighted in bold.
- Seaxneat
literature
- Michael Lapidge, John Blair, Simon Keynes, Donald Scragg (Eds.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-631-22492-1 .
- Barbara Yorke : Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England . Routledge, London-New York 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 .
- John Cannon, Anne Hargreaves: Kings and queens of Britain , Oxford University Press, Oxford 2009 (2nd revised edition), ISBN 978-0-19-955922-0 .
Web links
- Kings of Essex (East Saxons) in Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d B. AE Yorke: The Kingdom of Essex , In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Enzyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England , pp. 174-175.
- ^ John Cannon, Anne Hargreaves: Kings and queens of Britain , Oxford University Press, 2009 (2nd revised edition), ISBN 978-0-19-955922-0 , p. 26.
- ^ William of Malmesbury : Chronicle of the Kings of England , 12th century; Translation by Rev. John Sharpe, 1815. JA Giles (ed.). London: George Bell and Sons, 1904, Book 1, chap. 4th
- ↑ a b Beda: HE 3.22
- ↑ Swithelm in Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
- ^ Richard Hoggett: The Archeology of the East Anglian Conversion (Anglo-Saxon Studies), Boydell & Brewer, 2010, ISBN 978-1843835950 , p. 26.
- ↑ Barbara Yorke: Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England , Routledge, 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 , p. 65.
- ↑ Barbara Yorke: Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England , Routledge, 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 , p. 32.
- ↑ a b c Simon Keynes: Kings of the East Saxons , In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Enzyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England , pp. 510-511.
- ^ Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthews: Genealogies from BL Additional MS 23,211
- ↑ a b see: RH Hodgkin: A History of the Anglo-Saxons , 2 volumes, Clarendon, Oxford 1935, p. 76
- ↑ Æthelgoda was only given in a later legend. See: Emma Mason: Westminster Abbey and its People c.1050-c.1216 , Boydell & Brewer, 1996, ISBN 978-0851153964 , p. 2.