Bretwalda

1
Bretwalda
The entry for 827 in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which lists the eight bretwaldas
Bretwalda (also brytenwalda and
bretenanwealda) is an Old English
word, the first record of which comes
from the late 9th century Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle. It is given to some of the
rulers of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from
the 5th century onwards who had
achieved overlordship of some or all of
the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. It is
unclear whether the word dates back to
the 5th century and was used by the
kings themselves, or whether it is a
later, 9th-century, invention. The term
bretwalda also appears in a charter of
thelstan.
The rulers of Mercia were generally the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kings from the mid-7th to the early 9th
centuries, but are not accorded the title of bretwalda by the Chronicle, which is generally thought to be because of
the anti-Mercian bias of the Chroniclers. The Annals of Wales continued to recognize the kings of Northumbria as
'Kings of the Saxons' until the death of Osred I of Northumbria in 716.
Bretwaldas
The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms
Bretwalda
2
Listed by Bede and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
An imaginary depiction of Edwin of
Northumbria, from John Speed's Saxon
Heptarchy (1611)
lle of Sussex (488 circa (c.)514)
Ceawlin of Wessex (56092, died 593)
thelberht of Kent (590616)
Rdwald of East Anglia (c. 600 around 624)
Edwin of Deira (61633)
Oswald of Northumbria (63342)
Oswiu of Northumbria (64270)
Mercian rulers with similar or greater authority
Penda of Mercia (628/3355)
Wulfhere of Mercia (65875)
thelred of Mercia (675704, died 716)
thelbald of Mercia (71657)
Offa of Mercia (75796)
Cnwulf of Mercia (796821)
Listed only by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Egbert of Wessex (82939)
Etymology
The first syllable of the term bretwalda may be related to 'Briton' or 'Britain' and would thus mean 'sovereign of
Britain' or 'wielder of Britain'. The word may be a compound containing the Old English adjective brytten (from the
verb breotan meaning 'to break' or 'to disperse'), an element also found in the terms bryten rice ('kingdom'),
bryten-grund ('the wide expanse of the earth') and bryten cyning ('king whose authority was widely extended').
Though the origin is ambiguous, the draughtsman of the charter issued by thelstan used the term in a way that can
only mean 'wide ruler'.
The latter etymology was first suggested by John Mitchell Kemble who alluded that "of six manuscripts in which
this passage occurs, one only reads Bretwalda: of the remaining five, four have Bryten-walda or -wealda, and one
Breten-anweald, which is precisely synonymous with Brytenwealda"; that thelstan was called brytenwealda ealles
yses ealondes, which Kemble translates as "ruler of all these islands"; and that bryten- is a common prefix to words
meaning 'wide or general dispersion' and that the similarity to the word bretwealh ('Briton') is "merely accidental".
Contemporary use
The first recorded use of the term Bretwalda comes from a West Saxon chronicle of the late 9th century that applied
the term to Ecgberht, who ruled from 802 to 839.
[1]
The chronicler also wrote down the names of seven kings that
Bede listed in his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum in 731.
[2]
All subsequent manuscripts of the Chronicle use
the term Brytenwalda, which may have represented the original term or derived from a common error.
There is no evidence that the term was a title that had any practical use, with implications of formal rights, powers
and office, or even that it had any existence before the 9th-century. Bede wrote in Latin and never used the term and
his list of kings holding imperium should be treated with caution, not least in that he overlooks kings such as Penda
of Mercia, who clearly held some kind of dominance during his reign. Similarly, in his list of bretwaldas, the West
Saxon chronicler ignored such Mercian kings as Offa.
Bretwalda
3
The use of the term Bretwalda was the attempt by a West Saxon chronicler to make some claim of West Saxon kings
to the whole of Great Britain. The concept of the overlordship of the whole of Britain was at least recognised in the
period, whatever was meant by the term. Quite possibly it was a survival of a Roman concept of "Britain": it is
significant that, while the hyperbolic inscriptions on coins and titles in charters often included the title rex
Britanniae, when England was unified the title used was rex Angulsaxonum, ('king of the Anglo-Saxons'.)
Modern interpretation by historians
For some time the existence of the word bretwalda in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which was based in part on the list
given by Bede in his Historia Ecclesiastica, led historians to think that there was perhaps a 'title' held by
Anglo-Saxon overlords. This was particularly attractive as it would lay the foundations for the establishment of an
English monarchy. The 20th-century historian Frank Stenton said of the Anglo-Saxon chronicler that "his inaccuracy
is more than compensated by his preservation of the English title applied to these outstanding kings". He argued that
the term bretwalda "falls into line with the other evidence which points to the Germanic origin of the earliest English
institutions".
Over the later 20th century this assumption was increasingly challenged. Patrick Wormald interpreted it as "less an
objectively realized office than a subjectively perceived status" and emphasized the partiality of its usage in favour
of Southumbrian rulers. In 1991, Steven Fanning argued that "it is unlikely that the term ever existed as a title or was
in common usage in Anglo-Saxon England".
:24
The fact that Bede never mentioned a special title for the kings in his
list implies that he was unaware of one.
:23
In 1995, Simon Keynes observed that "if Bede's concept of the
Southumbrian overlord, and the chronicler's concept of the 'Bretwalda', are to be regarded as artificial constructs,
which have no validity outside the context of the literary works in which they appear, we are released from the
assumptions about political development which they seem to involve... we might ask whether kings in the eighth and
ninth centuries were quite so obsessed with the establishment of a pan-Southumbrian state".
Modern interpretations view the concept of bretwaldaship as complex and an important indicator of how a
9th-century chronicler interpreted history and attempted to insert the increasingly powerful Saxon kings into that
history.
Overlordship
A complex array of dominance and subservience existed during the Anglo-Saxon period. A king who used charters
to grant land in another kingdom indicated such a relationship. If a king held sway over a large kingdom, such as
when the Mercians dominated the East Anglians, the relationship would have been more equal than in the case of the
Mercian dominance of the Hwicce, which was a comparatively small kingdom. Mercia was arguably the most
powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom for much of the late 7th and 8th centuries, though Mercian kings are missing from
the two main 'lists'. For Bede, Mercia was a traditional enemy of his native Northumbria and he regarded powerful
kings such as the pagan Penda as standing in the way of the Christian conversion of the Anglo-Saxons. Bede omits
them from his list, even though it is evident that Penda held a considerable degree of power. Similarly powerful
Mercia kings such as Offa are missed out of the West Saxon Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which sought to demonstrate
the legitimacy of their kings to rule over other Anglo-Saxon peoples.
Bretwalda
4
Notes
[1] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle MS A, 827 for 829.
[2] From Bede, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum 2.5.
References
Fanning, Steven. "Bede, Imperium, and the Bretwaldas." Speculum 66 (1991): 126.
Wormald, Patrick. "Bede, the Bretwaldas and the Origins of the Gens Anglorum." In Ideal and Reality in
Frankish and Anglo-Saxon Society, ed. P. Wormald et al. Oxford, 1983. 99129.
Other sources
Charles-Edwards, T. M. "The continuation of Bede, s.a. 750. High-kings, kings of Tara and Bretwaldas." In
Seanchas. Studies in early and medieval Irish archaeology, history and literature in honour of Francis J. Byrne,
ed. Alfred P. Smyth. Dublin: Four Courts, 2000. 13745.
Dumville, David "The Terminology of Overkingship in Early Anglo-Saxon England." In The Anglo-Saxons from
the Migration period to the Eighth Century. An Ethnographic Perspective, ed. J. Hines (1997): 34565
Keynes, Simon. "Bretwalda." In The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England, ed. Michael Lapidge et
al. Oxford, 1999.
Kirby, D. P. The Making of Early England. London, 1967.
Wormald, Patrick. "Bede, Beowulf and the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy." In Bede and Anglo-Saxon
England. Papers in honour of the 1300th anniversary of the birth of Bede, ed. R. T. Farrell. BAR, British series
46. 1978. 3295.
Yorke, Barbara. "The vocabulary of Anglo-Saxon overlordship." Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and
History 2 (1981): 171200.
Article Sources and Contributors
5
Article Sources and Contributors
Bretwalda Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=590837996 Contributors: 130.94.122.xxx, A. Parrot, Amitchell125, Andonic, Andre Engels, Angusmclellan, Arwel Parry,
Bajamircea, Bastin, Bazonka, Binabik80, Bporopat, CALR, Cavila, Charles Matthews, Chester Markel, Choess, ChrisGualtieri, Cnyborg, CommonsDelinker, Conversion script, Costesseyboy,
Countakeshi, Daryliscool, Dbachmann, Doops, Dormskirk, Dryman, Dwiakigle, Elendil's Heir, Ellywa, Fastifex, Felix Folio Secundus, Fergananim, Gergis, Gik, Harthacanute, Henrygb,
Hijiri88, Iohannes Animosus, JackSparrow Ninja, JeBonSer, Jeffrey Henning, John D. Croft, KConWiki, Keith Edkins, Kenneth Alan, Lacrimosus, Laurel Bush, Llywrch, Luwilt, Magioladitis,
Martin.Budden, MeltBanana, Mhockey, Micronova, Mike Christie, Motorious, Oblogov, OwenBlacker, Peyre, Pharillon, Pressforaction, Pumeks, RegRCN, Revcasy, Rich Farmbrough,
Rmhermen, Rmky87, RobStreatham, Roidhrigh, Rrburke, Ryanmcdaniel, SQL, Saforrest, Sahilm, Sam Hocevar, Samiam1972, Scwlong, Sethoeph, Sigurd Dragon Slayer, Sjc, Snowdog,
Stbalbach, Steven J. Anderson, Str1977, Streona, Sunquanliangxiuhao, TharkunColl, The Mummy, The wub, Tobias Hoevekamp, Toby Bartels, Tommy Pinball, Topbanana, Trappist the monk,
Ui imhair, Vicki Rosenzweig, Vortimer, Walgamanus, Will Beback, Wossi, Wwoods, Zburh, Zeimusu, Zoe, 40 anonymous edits
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
Image:Entry for 827 in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which lists the eight bretwaldas.gif Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Entry_for_827_in_the_Anglo-Saxon_Chronicle,_which_lists_the_eight_bretwaldas.gif License: Public Domain Contributors: Original uploader
was Mike Christie at en.wikipedia
File:Anglo-Saxon England 2.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Anglo-Saxon_England_2.svg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors:
Amitchell125, J Milburn
Image:Edwin - John Speed.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Edwin_-_John_Speed.JPG License: Public Domain Contributors: John Speed
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