Edward
the Elder
Alfred the Great died on May 26th 899 and
was succeeded by his son, Edward the Elder.
Aethelflaed worked in concert with her brother
against their joint enemies and her personal
standing helped her to maintain Mercian independence
for the rest of her life.
She died in 918, leaving one daughter Aelfwynn.
In December 919 Aelfwynn was virtually kidnapped
by her uncle Edward who from then on ruled
Mercia directly. It was in this period that
the town acquired its first mint.
Aethelstan
In 924 Edward's son, Aethelstan, was recognised
as King of Wessex and, independently, as King
of Mercia: there was still no such country
as England. At Hereford in 937, the overlordship
which the Welsh had come to accept of the
English kings was emphasised when he negotiated
a yearly tribute which included 20 pounds
of gold, 300 pounds of silver and 25,000 oxen
from the five Welsh kings of the time. The
River Wye was recognised as the border between
the Welsh and the English.
The
Wye at Bredwardine. In 930 King Athelstan
and the Welsh princes negotiated that
this should be the border. Downstream
the English had already crossed the
Wye and reached the Worm Brook.
|
Even
now the union of the old English kingdoms
was not complete. There were still separate
councils, 'Witans', for Wessex, Mercia
and Northumbria. The north rebelled
against the Saxons and chose the Viking
Eric Bloodaxe as King of York, which
remained a separate kingdom until 954
when King Eadred re-conquered it. |
When Edward the Elder's grandson, Eadwig,
succeeded to the throne in 955 Mercia and
Northumbria rejected him after two years and
chose his brother Edgar as king. Edgar succeeded
to Wessex only when Eadwig died in 959.
[Back
to top]
Cnut
The Anglo-Saxon kingdom fell at the end of
the century. Sven Forkbeard defeated Aethelred
the Unready and Sven's son Cnut became king
of an Anglo-Danish empire. Danish kings were
to rule until 1042, when the West Saxon house
was temporarily restored.
Earl
Hrani
In autumn 1016 Cnut appointed
a Danish follower, Hrani, as earl of
Hereford but Englishmen also held senior
positions in Cnut's government. By 1018
the formidable Godwine was an Earl.
Godwine married a Danish princess and
their sons, who were figure large in
history, received Danish names - Sven,
Harold and Tostig. |
Hope
(Fownhope) a manor of the Anglo-Danish
thaneThorkell the White in the reign
of Edward the Confessor. |
It seems to have been Cnut who extended the
Wessex shire system into Mercia. Hereford
became a county town of an area which included
the southern part of the old Western Hecani/Magonsaetan
territory and the northern part of the old
kingdom of Ergyng - south Ergyng or Archenfield
was not assimilated in the same way.
On Cnut's death in 1035, the kingdom was split
again. In Wessex, Cnut's widow Emma was regent
for her son Harthacnut, while Mercia and Northumbria
were ruled by Harthacnut's half brother Harold
Harefoot.
[Back
to top] |
|
Powered by
Irie Computers 
- Medieval Period