Osmund

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Sussex in Anglo-Saxon times

Osmund (also Osmundus ; fl. 758 / 765-772) was a ruler of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Sussex in the second half of the 8th century .

Life

The chronology is very uncertain for Sussex because of the weak sources of the 8th century. Some charters are the only source of information on his life dates. Its origin is unknown. Since the end of the 7th century, Sussex has been clearly overshadowed by the neighboring kingdom of Wessex .

Osmund ascended the throne around 758 or 765 and presumably ruled together with Ealdwulf , Ælfwald and Oslac . He is first documented as king in 765. A donation of land by Osmund to his comes Wealhhere for the construction of a monastery church was dated to this year . Osmund signed an undated charter that was probably created around 770/772 as rex (king).

During his reign, Wessex was replaced by Mercia under King Offa (757-796) as the English hegemonic power. Offa gained supremacy over the Kingdom of Kent around the year 764 and set Ecgberht II (around 764-779 / 784) in western Kent and Heahberht (764 / 765-?) In eastern Kent as vassal kings. The pressure continued to increase on Sussex as well. In the early 770s, the political situation in Sussex apparently became unstable, which Offa took advantage of. In 771, Coming from Kent, Offa defeated the Hæstingas in east Sussex and then subjugated the entire Kingdom of Sussex. A charter from Osmund from 770 was later confirmed by dux Ealdwulf and Offa. Offa was free to dispose of Sussex land at its own discretion in 772. The former kings ( Oswald , Osmund, Ælfwald and Oslac) only bore the title Dux or Ealdorman in a charter that they signed as witnesses . In this charter Oswald bears the title dux Suðsaxorum (Ealdorman of the South Saxony). Some historians deduce from this a certain primacy over the other duces . In 772, Osmund's name disappeared from the documents. The year of his death is unknown.

swell

literature

  • Simon Keynes: Kings of the South 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. 509-510.
  • DP Kirby: The Earliest English Kings , Routledge, 2000, ISBN 978-0415242110 .
  • John Cannon, Anne Hargreaves: The Kings and Queens of Britain , Oxford University Press, 2009 (2nd revised edition), ISBN 978-0-19-955922-0 , p. 25.
  • 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)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Simon Keynes: Kings of the South 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. 509-510.
  2. ↑ Charter S48
  3. ↑ Charter S44
  4. ↑ Barbara Yorke: Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England , Routledge, 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 , p. 31.
  5. ^ DP Kirby: The Earliest English Kings , Routledge, 2000, ISBN 978-0415242110 , pp. 138-139.
  6. ↑ Charter S49
  7. ↑ Charter S108
predecessor Office successor
Æthelberht  ? König / Dux in Sussex
fl. 758 / 765–772
together with Ealdwulf , Oswald , Ælfwald and Oslac 		?
personal data
SURNAME Osmund
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Osmundus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King or Duke of Sussex
DATE OF BIRTH 7th century or 8th century
DATE OF DEATH 8th century