Wessex

:This article concerns the English kingdom, not the Westland Wessex helicopter

History

Wessex was, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (ASC), founded by Cerdic and Cynric, although the specifics given by the ASC are considered to be suspect. Archaeological evidence points to an origin in the upper Thames and Cotswolds area and the ASC origin myth may have been political propaganda designed to justify a later invasion of the Jutish province in southern Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The first certain event in Wessex is the baptism of Cynegils around the year 640.

Related Topics:
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle - Cerdic - Cynric - Thames - Cotswolds - Jutish - Hampshire - Isle of Wight - Cynegils - 640

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Wessex expanded its boundaries and clashed with its neighbours, including Celtic Dumnonia (essentially modern day Devon and Cornwall, which it eventually came to dominate), and with Mercia. After Egbert defeated Mercia in 825 and the Northumbrians accepted his overlordship in 829 Egbert became the first King of England.

Related Topics:
Dumnonia - Devon - Cornwall - Mercia - Egbert - 825 - 829

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The Burghal system of fortified towns (the "burhs") under Alfred the Great, described in both Asser and the ASC and documented in a unique hidage, http://www.ogdoad.force9.co.uk/alfred/alfhidage.htm helped to prevent the conquest of southern England by the Danish invaders in the 870s. The hidage identifies thirty-three forts, which ensured that no one in Wessex was more than a long day's ride from a place of safety.

Related Topics:
Alfred the Great - Asser - Danish - 870s

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Southwark is included, but London fell beyond West Saxon territory. Important West Saxon settlements included old Roman settlements such as Dorchester, or Winchester, which Alfred made the capital in 871, and new burhs such as Wallingford.

Related Topics:
Southwark - London - Dorchester - Winchester - 871 - Wallingford

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There is some evidence that kingship in Wessex was not rigidly hereditary. The strongest candidate from the pool of the senior families was elected or forced his control on the lesser kings. The internal feuding produced by this may have delayed the rise of Wessex as a full kingdom, but this is conjecture.

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After the Mercian conquest of its original territories in Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, its northern boundary was probably the River Thames, and its heartland was the present-day counties of Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset, and Berkshire.

Related Topics:
Mercian - Gloucestershire - Oxfordshire - River Thames - Hampshire - Wiltshire - Dorset - Somerset - Berkshire

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