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The Heptarchy is the name for the division of Anglo-Saxon England between the sixth and eighth centuries into petty kingdoms, conventionally the seven kingdoms of East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Mercia, Northumbria, Sussex, and Wessex.
Mercia's exact evolution at the start of the Anglo-Saxon era remains more obscure than that of Northumbria, Kent, or even Wessex. Mercia developed an effective political structure and was Christianised later than the other kingdoms. [5] Archaeological surveys show that Angles settled the lands north of the River Thames by the 6th century.
A series of maps illustrating the increasing hegemony of Mercia during the 8th century. The Mercian Supremacy was the period of Anglo-Saxon history between c. 716 and c. 825, [1] when the kingdom of Mercia dominated the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy in England.
After his father's death, Ecgberht was driven from England into exile by Offa, with the co-operation of Beorhtric of Wessex and his accession to the throne of Wessex on Beorhtric's death in 802 was immediately followed by a violent clash with Mercia. However, the available sources reveal no further conflict between the two kingdoms before 825.
After successful raids by Danish Vikings, significant parts of northeastern England, formerly Northumbria, were under their control.Danish attacks into central England had been resisted and effectively reduced by Alfred the Great, to the point where his son, King Edward of Wessex, could launch offensive attacks against the foreigners.
The 8th century was a period of Mercian supremacy, but Wessex surpassed Mercia in the 820s during the reign of Ecgberht. [23] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle referred to Ecgberht as bretwalda ( ' wide-ruler ' or ' ruler of Britain ' ) and added his name to Bede's list of overlords. [ 24 ]
He gave each of his Wessex counties a fictionalised name, such as with Berkshire, which is known in the novels as "North Wessex". [citation needed] In the book and television series The Last Kingdom, Wessex is the primary setting, focusing on the rule of Alfred the Great and the war against the Vikings. [47] Wessex remains a common term for the ...
The prologue to the treaty was a legitimisation of the territory that was held by both parties: Guthrum's landholdings in East Anglia and Alfred's in Mercia. [8] Clauses 2 and 3 specify the blood money (or weregild), that is the value of men based on their status. [8] The other clauses are concerned with the purchase of men, horses and oxen.