Wessex

I

Introduction

Wessex, kingdom of the West Saxons, located in southern England, east of Cornwall, whose rulers eventually came to control the rest of the country and to establish a united England in the early 10th century.

II

The Early Saxon Kingdom

Tradition and archaeological evidence point to two original settlements—one in Hampshire, founded by Cerdic and his son (or grandson) Cynric, in about 494, and the other along the upper Thames. Cerdic and Cynric soon gained control of what became the heartland of Wessex, the area approximately of the modern counties of Hampshire, Wiltshire, Somerset, and Dorset. Their successors expanded Wessex south-westward and north of the River Thames. All attempts to expand further northward, however, were blocked by the powerful kingdom of Mercia.

III

Conflict with Mercia

In the late 6th century Mercia seized from the Wessex king Cynegils (ruled 611-643) the provinces of Hwicce (modern Gloucestershire, parts of Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and south Warwickshire), and from his son Cenwalh (643-672) the region that is now Oxfordshire. Cynegils had been converted to Christianity and had established a see at Dorchester-on-Thames (now in Oxfordshire). When the Mercians seized control of this area, the see was moved to Winchester. Although Mercia seems to have held southern Hampshire and the Isle of Wight at some stage in the late 7th century, Wessex continued to expand south-westward, founding a Saxon monastery at Exeter and a see at Sherborne (now in Dorset). King Ine, who ruled Wessex from 688 to 726, was the first to issue a code of laws.

During most of the next century Wessex came under the rule of Mercia, whose kings Ethelbald and Offa gained supremacy over virtually all the English provinces south of the Humber estuary. This Mercian ascendancy was brought to an end when the Wessex King Egbert (ruled 802-839) not only gained control of Devon and Cornwall, but also in 825 scored a major victory over Beornwulf of Mercia and brought Surrey, Sussex, and Kent into his kingdom. For a short time Egbert became also ruler of Mercia and, as Northumbria also acknowledged the supremacy of Wessex, he temporarily ruled the whole of England. Although the Mercians and the Northumbrians regained control over their own kingdoms the following year, the West Saxons had never been more secure. From 825 onward they had the whole of southern England as a base from which to resist future aggressors.

IV

Viking Invasions

A new aggressor was soon to appear. Viking raids on East Anglia and Northumbria had been gathering in intensity since the beginning of the 9th century. In 838 and 851 Cornwall and Kent were attacked. Ethelwulf, who had succeeded his father as king of Wessex in 839, and who was renowned for his military prowess, saw the benefit of combining forces with Mercia against the Vikings; with this in mind, he strove to promote good relations between the two kingdoms. In 865 a sizeable Danish army invaded and overran East Anglia and much of Mercia, but made peace when confronted by Wessex. Ethelred, son of Ethelwulf, succeeded in 866. In 871 the Vikings attacked Wessex. Many fierce battles were fought, with Ethelred and his brother Alfred at the head of the Wessex armies. At Ashdown in Berkshire, that same year, Wessex won a great victory over the Danes. Ethelred died soon afterwards, leaving Alfred, the new king, to continue the battle.

After an unsuccessful battle at Wilton, Alfred made peace with the Danes, which brought him a respite of five years. In 876 Wessex was again invaded. This time Alfred was able to drive out the invaders, forcing them to settle in Mercia. In the winter of 877-878 a ferocious Danish attack very nearly succeeded in defeating Wessex. Alfred withdrew to Isle of Athelney, in the Somerset marshes, where he secretly amassed an army, and in the spring of 878 the Danes were vanquished at Edington. Their king, Guthrum, agreed to be baptized as a Christian and withdrew, with his forces, to East Anglia. Wessex was not threatened again. Alfred's great victory was a landmark in English history. Not only was it a victory for Wessex, it signalled the beginning of the end of Danish domination in England.