History UsefulNotes / TheHouseOfWessex

A word on pronunciation; the Anglo-Saxons had a predilection for some pretty intimidating-looking, tongue-warping names, though a good starting point is to know that the prefix “[=Æth=]” is pronounced “eth” to rhyme with “Beth”. You’ll see a lot of [=Æthel=]-something-or-other, which means "noble", and is common prefix for high-status Anglo-Saxon names; [=Æthelred =] — “Eth-uhl-red” — for example means "noble counsel", [=Æthelflæd=] — “Eth-uhl-fled” — means “noble beauty” and [=Ælfflæd=] — “Elf-fled” — means “beautiful elf”.

!!'''Cnut the Great of Denmark, Norway and England'''

->'''Consorts''': (1) Świętosława of Poland; (2) [[AwesomeMcCoolName Sigrid the Haughty]]; (3) Gunhild of Wenden

Eighth century England consisted of seven Anglo-Saxon sub-kingdoms which existed in a state of internecine warfare. Occasionally a king of one of the larger three kingdoms, Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria, would emerge from the dynastic turmoil to be accepted as ''Bretwalda'' (Bretanwealda in Old English) or 'overlord' by the others. One such was Egbert, of the House of Wessex, the first monarch to establish a stable and extensive rule over all of Anglo-Saxon England. His ancestor, Cerdic of Wessex (519-534), the [[FounderOfTheKingdom founder]] of the Wessex line, claimed a mythical [[AGodAmI descent from the great Anglo-Saxon pagan god Wōden]] himself. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Cerdic was a Saxon Ealdorman who landed in Hampshire in 495 with his son Cynric and fought with the Britons becoming the first King of Wessex. The dynasty he founded was to rule England for over two hundred years and produced such varying characters as Alfred (871-899), the only English monarch ever to be bestowed with the epithet “the Great” who amongst varied achievements, established a peace with the invading Vikings and founded the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

< Prior to the arrival of the Saxons we’re going back to [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire Roman Britain]]. See also UsefulNotes/CelticKingdoms for detail on the Britons the Saxons displaced, and UsefulNotes/Boudica for detail on one of Britain’s most famous, even earlier monarchs.\\\

< Prior to the arrival of the Saxons we’re going back to [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire Roman Britain]]. See also UsefulNotes/CelticKingdoms for detail on the Britons the Saxons displaced\\\

< Prior to the arrival of the Saxons we’re going back to [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire Roman Britain]]\\\

< Prior to the Saxon invasion, we’re going back to [[Myth/KingArthur Arthur’s]] time\\\

Edward's heir [=Æthelstan=] was also a distinguished and audacious soldier who pushed the boundaries of the kingdom to their furthest extent yet. In 927-8, he took York from the Danes; he forced the submission of king Constantine of Scotland and of the northern kings; all five Welsh kings agreed to pay a huge annual tribute (reportedly including 25,000 oxen), and he also eliminated opposition in Cornwall.

The battle of Brunanburh in 937, in which [=Æthelstan=] led a force drawn from Britain and defeated an invasion by the king of Scotland in alliance with the Welsh and Danes from Dublin, earned him recognition by lesser kings in Britain.

!!Edmund II Ironside of England

Although he was held in high regard during the 11th and 12th centuries, Edmund, who was given the nickname 'Ironside' by the Anglo- Saxon Chronicle in recognition of his bravery, has since been eclipsed by those who came immediately before and after him. The son of [=Æthelred=] II, Edmund had led the resistance to Canute’s invasion of England since 1015. Following the death of his father, he was chosen king by the people of London. The Witan (the king’s council) however elected Canute. Following his defeat at the Battle of Assandun, Edmund made a pact with Canute to divide the kingdom between them. This treaty ceded control of all of England, with the exception of Wessex, to Canute. It also stated that when one of the kings died the other would take all of England… Edmund died later that year, probably assassinated.

His influence was so profound that later genealogies of the English monarchy would claim that all the sovereigns of Britain, save for Canute, Hardecanute, the Harolds, and William the Conqueror, were descended from him. Precisely why he was so influential is debated, in that the ancient sources conflict in their accounts of his life, who he was, and what he accomplished -- so much so, in fact, that his origin, ethnicity, and even his very existence have been extensively disputed.

->'''Lived''': ? -- 13 January 858

After him, over the next two hundred years, there followed a long line of succession (Cynric, Ceawlin, Ceol, Ceolwulf, Cynegils, Cwichelm, Cenwalh, Penda, Cenwalh (restored), Seaxburh, Cenfus [=Æscwine=], Centwine, [=Cædwalla=], Ine, [=Æthelheard=], Cuthred, Sigeberht, Cynewulf and Beorhtric) leading up to Egbert, who is the next notable ruler...

After him, over next two hundred years, there followed a long line of succession (Cynric, Ceawlin, Ceol, Ceolwulf, Cynegils, Cwichelm, Cenwalh, Penda, Cenwalh (restored), Seaxburh, Cenfus [=Æscwine=], Centwine, [=Cædwalla=], Ine, [=Æthelheard=], Cuthred, Sigeberht, Cynewulf and Beorhtric) leading up to Egbert, who is the next notable ruler...

After him, over next two hundred years, there followed a long line of succession (Cynric, Ceawlin, Ceol, Ceolwulf, Cynegils, Cwichelm, Cenwalh, Penda Cenwal (restored), Seaxburh, Cenfus [=Æscwine=], Centwine, [=Cædwalla=], Ine, Æthelheard, Cuthred, Sigeberht, Cynewulf and Beorhtric) leading up to Egbert, who is the next notable ruler...

->'''Lived''': 467 -- 534

!!'''Egbert of Wessex'''
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/egbert___ms_royal_14_b_v.jpg]]
->'''Lived''': c. 771 -- 839
->'''Reigned''': 802 -- 839
->'''Parents''': Ealhmund of Kent (father)
->'''Consort''': Redburga of Wessex

!!Edmund Ironside of England

Succeeded his father Alfred the Great. Edward, often referred to with his byname "The Elder', retook southeast England and the Midlands from the Danes. Following the death of his sister Aethelflaed of Mercia, Edward unites the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia. In 923, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles record that the Scottish King Constantine II recognises Edward as “father and lord”. The following year, Edward is killed in a battle against the Welsh near Chester. His body is returned to Winchester for burial.

!!'''Edward (the Elder), King of the Anglo-Saxons'''

!!Edward (the Martyr) of England

!!Edmund II (Ironside) of England

Cnut became King of Denmark in 1019 and King of Norway in 1028 making him the ruler of a massive empire surrounding the North Sea. Cnut converted to Christianity and was an avid protector of the Church; he promoted leaders of the English Church and was acknowledged by the Pope as the first Viking to becoming a Christian King.

There is a famous story proclaiming Cnut’s vanity, first recorded by Henry of Huntingdon in his twelfth-century ''Chronicle of the History of England'', in which flattering courtiers convinced him he could hold back the tide of the ocean. The story is called ''Cnut and the Waves'' as is how he is best remembered today. While history has remembered him as an almost humorous figure the medieval historian, Norman Cantor stated that Cnut was “the most effective king in Anglo-Saxon history.” The size of his empire (Norway, England and his native Denmark) should be a stark reminder of his success as a conqueror and ruler.

->'''Lived''': c. 1003 -- 5 January 1066
->'''Reigned''': 8 June 1042 -- 5 January 1066
->'''Parents''': ''King'' [=Æthelred=] II and Emma of Normandy
->'''Consort''': Edith of Wessex
->'''Nickname''': ''The Confessor''

Viking warrior though he was, Sweyn was baptised a Christian, his father having converted to Christianity. Despite this, Sweyn was a brutal man who lived in a brutal time; he was a violent warlord and warrior. He started his life of violence with a campaign against his own father: in around 986 AD Sweyn and his ally Palnatoke attacked and deposed Harald.

Sweyn then turned his attention to England and in the early AD 990s led a campaign of fear and destruction, laying waste to large areas of the country. He was declared King of England on Christmas Day in 1013 and ruled until his death on 3rd February 1014, although he was never crowned.

Despite having no royal bloodline, Harold Godwin was elected king by the Witan (a council of high ranking nobles and religious leaders), following the death of Edward the Confessor. The election result failed to meet with the approval of one William, Duke of Normandy, who claimed that Edward, his first cousin once-removed, had promised the throne to him several years earlier. Harold defeated an invading Norwegian army at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire, then marched south to confront William of Normandy who had landed his forces in Sussex. The death of Harold at the Battle Of Hastings meant the end of the English Anglo-Saxon kings and the beginning of [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy Norman rule]].

Despite having no royal bloodline, Harold Godwin was elected king by the Witan (a council of high ranking nobles and religious leaders), following the death of Edward the Confessor. The election result failed to meet with the approval of one William, Duke of Normandy, who claimed that Edward, his first cousin once-removed, had promised the throne to him several years earlier. Harold defeated an invading Norwegian army at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire, then marched south to confront William of Normandy who had landed his forces in Sussex. The death of Harold at the Battle Of Hastings meant the end of the English Anglo-Saxon kings and the beginning of the [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy Normans]].

Despite having no royal bloodline, Harold Godwin was elected king by the Witan (a council of high ranking nobles and religious leaders), following the death of Edward the Confessor. The election result failed to meet with the approval of one William, Duke of Normandy, who claimed that his relative Edward had promised the throne to him several years earlier. Harold defeated an invading Norwegian army at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire, then marched south to confront William of Normandy who had landed his forces in Sussex. The death of Harold at the Battle Of Hastings meant the end of the English Anglo-Saxon kings and the beginning of the [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy Normans]].

->'''Parents''': ''King'' Sweyn 1 and unknown mother [[note]] either Świętosława of Poland, Sigrid the Haughty or Gunhild of Wenden[[/note]]

Although not a ruler of England, [=Æthelflæd=] she was ruler of Mercia, a semi-autonomous Kingdom under her father's rule, and is notable as a strong, independent and well-educated lady. During her early years, [=Æthelflæd=] witnessed her father take back large swathes of England from the Vikings (Danes), starting with the famous battle of Edington in Wiltshire, a key turning point in the Anglo-Saxon campaign against the Vikings. As [=Æthelflæd=] reached her teens, her father had begun to push the Vikings out of south eastern England and began to reclaim territory for both his own kingdom of Wessex and his northern ally of Mercia.

[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4a4ea172_9090_48b1_b01e_132a7dc10370.jpeg]]

King of Wessex, son of Egbert and father of Alfred the Great. In 851 [=Æthelwulf=] defeated a Danish army at the battle of Oakley while his eldest son Aethelstan fought and defeated a Viking fleet off the coast of Kent, in what is believed to be “the first naval battle in recorded English history”. A highly religious man [=Æthelwulf=] travelled to Rome with his son Alfred to see the Pope in 855.