Seaxburg (Wessex)

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Seaxburg (also Seaxburh, Sexburga ; † 674 ?) Was from 672 to 674 as the successor of her husband Cenwalh Queen of the Gewissæ , an ethnic group that formed the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Wessex in the late 7th century as "West Saxony" . The sources on Seaxburg are very sparse and sometimes contradictory. The historians' interpretations are correspondingly different.

Life

family

Seaxburg's origins are unknown. Your name indicates a descent from the East Anglian dynasty of the Wuffinger , whose members also have the name element "Seax-". A descent from the house of Wessex cannot be ruled out, but “Seax” names were not in use there. King Cenwalh was married twice; first marriage to a sister of King Penda of Mercia , whom he expelled around 645; second marriage to Seaxburg. Seaxburg's descendants are not known.

According to another opinion, Seaxburg is a daughter of Pybba and Penda's sister. When Cenwalh disowned her, he was expelled from Penda and Seaxburg was appointed Queen by her brother after Cenwalh's death.

Domination

Cenwalh succeeded his father Cynegils to the throne in 642. 645 attacked Penda von Mercia die Gewissæ, because, according to Beda Venerabilis , Cenwalh had cast out his first wife, a sister of Pendas, and married "another woman" (Seaxburg). Cenwalh fled to the court of King Anna of East Anglia , who was also an enemy of Penda. Who ruled his kingdom during his exile is unknown. It is possible that Cenberht , the father of the future King Caedwalla , ruled during this time. In 648 Cenwalh came back to power under unknown circumstances.

According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Cenwalh died in 672 and his widow Seaxburg took over the rule for a year. However, this representation seems to be simplistic. Bede, however, reported that the kingdom was divided between the sub-kings. It seems likely that after Cenwalh's death the "strong hand" of a dominant king was missing and the empire fell into sub-empires during this 10-year period of weakness, although Seaxburg was at least granted the right to supremacy.

It seems, which is unique in Anglo-Saxon history, to have ruled not as regent for her children, but in her own right. She is the only queen named in the Anglo-Saxon king lists. Presumably it ruled for a little longer than a year, since Æscwine , the next king, should not have assumed office until 674. 674 is taken as the presumed year of her death.

swell

literature

  • DN Dumville: The West Saxon genealogical regnal list and the chronology of early Wessex , Peritia, 4/1985, pp. 21-66.
  • DP Kirby, Alfred Smyth, Ann Williams (Eds.): A Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain , Routledge, London-New York 1991, ISBN 978-1-85264-047-7 .
  • 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 .
  • Barbara Yorke: Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England . Routledge, London-New York 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 ( digital copy [PDF; 6.2 MB])
  • John Cannon, Anne Hargreaves: The Kings and Queens of Britain , Oxford University Press, 2009 (2nd revised edition), ISBN 978-0-19-955922-0 .
  • Barbara Yorke: Seaxburh . In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004 ( digitized version - paid registration required -, accessed November 13, 2011)

Web links

Remarks

  1. ^ A b 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 Barbara Yorke: Seaxburh  ( 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 13, 2011
  3. ↑ a b Beda: HE 3.7
  4. ↑ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 495
  5. ↑ EB Fryde et al. (Ed.): Handbook of British Chronology (= Royal Historical. Society Guides and Handbooks 2). 3rd edition, reprinted with corrections. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge et al. 1996, ISBN 0-521-56350-X , p. 22.
  6. ↑ Guida M. Jackson: Women Rulers Throughout the Ages: An Illustrated Guide , ABC-Clio, 1999. ISBN 978-1576070918 , p. 357.
  7. ↑ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 643
  8. ↑ a b Barbara Yorke: Cenwalh  ( 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 13, 2011
  9. ↑ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 645
  10. ^ A b Barbara Yorke: Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England . Routledge, London-New York 2002, ISBN 978-0-415-16639-3 , pp. 144-147.
  11. ↑ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 672
  12. ↑ Bede : HE 4:12
  13. ↑ Barbara Yorke: Wessex in the early Middle Ages (Studies in the Early History of Britain) , Continuum, 1995, ISBN 978-0718518561 , p. 82.
predecessor Office successor
Cenwalh King of Wessex
672 / 673–673 / 674
together with Cenfus , Cenred and other sub-kings 		Æscwine
personal data
SURNAME Seaxburg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Seaxburh; Sexburga
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Queen of Wessex
DATE OF BIRTH 7th century
DATE OF DEATH at 674