Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy definition of Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

heptarchy (hĕp`tärkē) [Gr.,=seven-kingdom], name traditionally applied to the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England in the period prior to the Danish conquests of the 9th cent. The term was probably first used by 16th-century writers who believed that in those early years England was divided into seven kingdoms—Northumbria Northumbria, kingdom of (nôrthŭm`brē`ə), one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England.
..... Click the link for more information. , East Anglia East Anglia (ăng`glēə), kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, comprising the modern counties of Norfolk and Suffolk.
..... Click the link for more information. , Mercia Mercia (mûr`shə), one of the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England, consisting generally of the region of the Midlands.
..... Click the link for more information. , Essex Essex, one of the early kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England. It was settled probably in the early 6th cent. by Saxons who traced their royal line back to a continental Saxon god instead of to Woden, as did the rulers of other early kingdoms.
..... Click the link for more information. , Sussex Sussex, kingdom of, one of the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy (seven kingdoms) in England, located S of the Weald. It was settled in the late 5th cent. (according to tradition in 477) by Saxons under Ælle, who defeated the Celts in several battles and established a
..... Click the link for more information. , Wessex Wessex (wĕs`ĭks), one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Kent Kent, kingdom of, one of the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England. It was settled in the mid-5th cent. by aggressive bands of people called Jutes (see Anglo-Saxons ).
..... Click the link for more information. . Actually the political and geographical divisions were neither so orderly nor permanent. At one time (c.600) there appear to have been as many as 12 independent states, but the number of kingdoms, their boundaries, and their political status shifted constantly throughout this period.

heptarchy (redirected from Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy)

heptarchy
(redirected from Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy)