Face to Face with an Anglo-Saxon King | Cenwalh of the Gewissæ and West Seaxe

In the mid 660's A.D. the Mercian kingdom, under the rule of Wulfhere, was experiencing a resurgence.

This rise to power placed immense pressure on the northern border of the Gewissæ; the Mercian and Gewissan dynasties had feuded since Cenwalh had repudiated his wife; the sister of King Penda of Mercia, in favor of Queen Seaxburh.

In 661 A.D. while Cenwalh was occupied campaigning against the Dumnonian kingdom at his southern border, Wulfhere had pressed deep into Gewissan territory, ravaging the royal heartland in the Thames Valley and pushing as far south as the Isle of Wight.

While Cenwalh appeared to hold on to Dorchester-on-Thames for a few more years, he had lost overlordship of the Isle of Wight and the Kingdom of the Meonwara. Wulfhere had gifted these territories to his ally Aethelwealh of Sussex.

Now on the back foot, the Gewissan kings likely suffered heavy Mercian raids in the north-east of their territory. Cenwalh's royal heartland in the Thames Valley and around Dorchester-on-Thames now directly bordered the hostile Mercian kingdom. This is likely the reason that Cenwalh separated the West Saxon see of Dorchester into two, setting up a new bishopric at Winchester. Shortly after, the Gewissæ abandoned the see of Dorchester altogether, and the territory must have been annexed by the Mercians, as they briefly reestablished the see at Dorchester in the 670's.

Anglo-Saxon kings practiced itinerant kingship, meaning they regularly travelled their territories, holding court at local royal centres of sub-kings or chieftains. While they may have had a royal heartland and estates, like the Thames Valley and Winchester in the case of the Gewissæ, much of their time was spent meeting with the people they ruled.

While the king visited, feasts would be held, oaths renewed and new arrangements struck. Early Anglo-Saxons kings were rulers of people rather more than territories, and their territories would be somewhat fluid, with borders continually shifting as the balance of power turned between king and his chieftains. Therefore, complete control was focused on the most important centres such as Bath, Glastonbury, Winchester and Hamwic in the case of West Seaxe. Areas at the borders of these spheres of influence, or marginal communities such as the Mendips, the forests and downs of Selwood and the Somerset Marshes may have bee free to govern themselves for a long time even after they were incorporated into the traditional borders of West Seaxe at this time. Cenwalh may have been the local king, but his influence was not strong in these areas. Place names including the word 'folk' are often indicative of land held my free peoples rather than land gifted by any king (later known as 'book-land', and manifesting as Buckland in many places today).

Feeling the loss of his ancestral royal seat heavily, King Cenwalh no doubt began to solidify his holdings in his recently conquered territory; much of Somerset down to the River Parrett and possibly beyond. While he had early on established control over Glastonbury, this meant that now, more marginal communities would also feel his grip of power, obliged to pay fealty, tribute and supply warriors in return for the 'protection' of the royal dynasty.

This aspect of kingdom formation continued in later centuries to form the Kingdom of West Seaxe, or Wessex, where people recognised a single king of Wessex and earls and landed thegns began to replace the sub-kings and chieftains of the earlier 5th-7th centuries.

With thanks to:
Herknungr, Musician, playing "Chauken", “Rujani" and "Zhrets".
Comitatus reenactment group for their cavalry reconstructions.
The Avalon Marshes Heritage Centre for the Saxon longhall reconstruction.

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Видео Face to Face with an Anglo-Saxon King | Cenwalh of the Gewissæ and West Seaxe канала Gesiþas Gewissa | Anglo-Saxon Heritage