The Anglo-Saxon Tribal Kingdoms – the Heptarchy.

By the beginning of the seventh century the boundaries of the Anglo-Saxon Tribal kingdoms, known as the Heptarchy, had formed and continued until in around 829, when the kingdom of Wessex reigned supreme.

The Kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy:

- Kingdom of Wessex (West Saxon): The Kingdom of Wessex grew from two settlements, one of which was founded, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, by Cerdic and his son or grandson Cynric, who landed in Hampshire in 494 or 495 and became kings in 500 or 519; the other kingdom which is known only from archaeological evidence, was situated on the upper Thames and was probably settled from the northeast. Wessex covered the modern counties of Hampshire, Berkshire, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire and Surrey.

- Kingdom of Mercia: Was developed from the kingdom of the Iclingas, settled by Angles in circa 500 and lay between the districts of Anglo-Saxon settlement and the Celts or Wealas (meaning foreigners) , as the Welsh were known to the Anglo-Saxons and originally covered the modern English counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland which was occupied by the Middle Angles, a tribe living around Leicestershire and conquered by the Mercians, Staffordshire, originally a sub-kingdom of the Wrocencet and Warwickshire home of the Magonset. One of the most powerful kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England and held the dominance for nearly two centuries.

- Kingdom of East Anglia (East Angles): at its height in the ninth century covered the counties of Norfolk, occupied by the North Angle Folk and Suffolk, the territory of the South Angles Folk.

- Kingdom of Northumbria (North Angles): lay north of the River Humber, Northumbrias is one of the important kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarcy. Was formed from the coalition of two originally independent states, Bernicia, which was a settlement at Bamburgh on the Northumberland coast, and Deira, lying to the south of it. Northumbria came into being when Aethelfrith, ruler of Bernicia (593-616), won control of Deira. Covered the counties of Yorkshire, Northumberland territory of the Northumbrians, Durham and Lancashire, Berwickshire and Eastern sections of the counties of Selkirkshire, West Lothian, East Lothian, Mid Lothian and Roxboroughshire. Destroyed by the Danes about 860 and passed between English, Norse and Norse-Gaelic kings until it was adsorbed by King Edred of Wessex.

- Kingdom of Sussex (South Saxons): one of the oldest kingdoms which formed the Heptarchy

- The kingdom of Kent (The Canti): Kent, founded in 449, was the first Anglo-Saxon kingdom to be established. The original population consisted of Germanic Jutes and Celtic Britons.

- The Kingdom of Essex (East Saxons): The region of the East Seaxe was settled by Saxons from circa AD 500, it occupied the former Brythonic Celtic territory of Caer Colun. The kingdom consisted of the modern counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Middlesex.[1] [2]

In the short story “The Mission of Jane” Mr. Lethbury hears his daughter mocking her nursemaid for not knowing the date of the fall of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. Jane´s mind was described as a “cold-storage from which anything that had been put there could be taken out at a moment´s notice, intact but congealed” (Wharton, “The Mission of Jane”). She was very pride of her knowledge and liked to demonstrate it, which may be caused by a simple childish urge to demonstrate their success in order to be praised for it. Later in the story, Mr. Lethbury mentions that Jane easily learned ingredients of the dishes by heart, tried to convince him to reduce smoking with the help of medicine fact and knew about the life of micro-organisms in their carpets. This demonstrates the wide range of Jane´s interests and knowledge which she tries to use to improve the quality of life in the house; however, these efforts found no appreciation by the Lethburys who wanted to protect their old routines and traditions.

[2] Further information here

Sources:

[1] Source

"The Mission of Jane"