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Beorhthun (floruit 680s) was a dux of the South Saxons.
Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (Book IV, Chapter 15) records the invasion of the South Saxon kingdom by Caedwalla of the West Saxons and the killing of the South Saxon king Æthelwalh. Caedwalla was driven off by Beorhthun and Andhun, who then jointly ruled the South Saxons. However, Bede reports, Beorhthun was later killed and the South Saxons conquered by Caedwalla.
The Jutes were one of the Germanic tribes who settled in Great Britain after the departure of the Romans. According to Bede, they were one of the three most powerful Germanic nations, along with the Angles and the Saxons:
Those who came over were of the three most powerful nations of Germany—Saxons, Angles, and Jutes. From the Jutes are descended the people of Kent, and of the Isle of Wight, and those also in the province of the West Saxons who are to this day called Jutes, seated opposite to the Isle of Wight.
Year 686 (DCLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 686 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
The Kingdom of the South Saxons, today referred to as the Kingdom of Sussex, was one of the seven traditional kingdoms of the Heptarchy of Anglo-Saxon England. On the south coast of the island of Great Britain, it was originally a sixth-century Saxon colony and later an independent kingdom. The kingdom remains one of the least known of the Anglo-Saxon polities, with no surviving king-list, several local rulers and less centralisation than other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The South Saxons were ruled by the kings of Sussex until the country was annexed by Wessex, probably in 827, in the aftermath of the Battle of Ellendun. In 860 Sussex was ruled by the kings of Wessex, and by 927 all remaining Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were ruled by them as part of the new kingdom of England.
Æthelred was king of Mercia from 675 until 704. He was the son of Penda of Mercia and came to the throne in 675, when his brother, Wulfhere of Mercia, died from an illness. Within a year of his accession he invaded Kent, where his armies destroyed the city of Rochester. In 679 he defeated his brother-in-law, Ecgfrith of Northumbria, at the Battle of the Trent: the battle was a major setback for the Northumbrians, and effectively ended their military involvement in English affairs south of the Humber. It also permanently returned the Kingdom of Lindsey to Mercia's possession. However, Æthelred was unable to re-establish his predecessors' domination of southern Britain.
Wulfhere or Wulfar was King of Mercia from 658 until 675 AD. He was the first Christian king of all of Mercia, though it is not known when or how he converted from Anglo-Saxon paganism. His accession marked the end of Oswiu of Northumbria's overlordship of southern England, and Wulfhere extended his influence over much of that region. His campaigns against the West Saxons led to Mercian control of much of the Thames valley. He conquered the Isle of Wight and the Meon valley and gave them to King Æthelwealh of the South Saxons. He also had influence in Surrey, Essex, and Kent. He married Eormenhild, the daughter of King Eorcenberht of Kent.
Ine or Ini, was King of Wessex from 689 to 726. At Ine's accession, his kingdom dominated much of what is now southern England. However, he was unable to retain the territorial gains of his predecessor, Cædwalla, who had expanded West Saxon territory substantially. By the end of Ine's reign, the kingdoms of Kent, Sussex, and Essex were no longer under West Saxon sway; however, Ine maintained control of what is now Hampshire, and consolidated and extended Wessex's territory in the western peninsula.
Eadric was a King of Kent (685–686). He was the son of Ecgberht I.
Cædwalla was the King of Wessex from approximately 685 until he abdicated in 688. His name is derived from the Welsh Cadwallon. He was exiled from Wessex as a youth and during this period gathered forces and attacked the South Saxons, killing their king, Æthelwealh, in what is now Sussex. Cædwalla was unable to hold the South Saxon territory, however, and was driven out by Æthelwealh's ealdormen. In either 685 or 686, he became King of Wessex. He may have been involved in suppressing rival dynasties at this time, as an early source records that Wessex was ruled by underkings until Cædwalla.
Wihtred was king of Kent from about 690 or 691 until his death. He was a son of Ecgberht I and a brother of Eadric. Wihtred ascended to the throne after a confused period in the 680s, which included a brief conquest of Kent by Cædwalla of Wessex, and subsequent dynastic conflicts. His immediate predecessor was Oswine, who was probably descended from Eadbald, though not through the same line as Wihtred. Shortly after the start of his reign, Wihtred issued a code of laws—the Law of Wihtred—that has been preserved in a manuscript known as the Textus Roffensis. The laws pay a great deal of attention to the rights of the Church, including punishment for irregular marriages and for pagan worship. Wihtred's long reign had few incidents recorded in the annals of the day. He was succeeded in 725 by his sons, Æthelberht II, Eadberht I, and Alric.
The Gewisse were a tribe or ruling clan of the Anglo-Saxons. Their first location, mentioned in early medieval sources was the upper Thames region, around Dorchester on Thames. However, some scholars suggest that the Gewisse had origins among the ancient Britons at Cair-Caratauc in Wiltshire. According to Saxon folklore, the Gewisse were the founders of the kingdom of Wessex.
Centwine was King of Wessex from c. 676 to 685 or 686, although he was perhaps not the only king of the West Saxons at the time.
Noðhelm, or Nunna for short, was King of Sussex, apparently reigning jointly with Watt, Osric, and Æðelstan.
Æthelwealh was ruler of the ancient South Saxon kingdom from before 674 till his death between 680 and 685. He was baptised in Mercia, becoming the first Christian king of Sussex. He was killed by a West Saxon prince, Cædwalla, who eventually became king of Wessex.
Brihthelm or Beorhthelm was a Bishop of Selsey.
Selsey Abbey was founded by St Wilfrid in AD 681 on land donated at Selsey by the local Anglo-Saxon ruler, King Æðelwealh of Sussex, Sussex's first Christian king. The Kingdom of Sussex was the last area of Anglo-Saxon England to be evangelised.
Cedda was the second son of Cuthwine and consequently a member of the Wessex family. He was born c. 590 and his death date is unknown. He had one recorded son, Coenberht, the father of King Caedwalla of Wessex.
Arwald was the last King of the Isle of Wight and last pagan king in Anglo-Saxon England.
Wihtwara was the kingdom founded on the Isle of Wight, a 147-square-mile (380 km2) island off the south coast of England, during the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. The name was derived from the Jutish name Wihtwara. Its capital was a fort named Wihtwarasburgh. It has been suggested that the modern-day village of Carisbrooke was built on top of Wihtwarasburgh due to the fact that they share their location. It has also been suggested that Wihtwarasburgh was built on top of a pre-existing Roman fort, but this has not been proven.
The Meonwara were one of the tribes of Anglo-Saxon Britain. Their territory was a folkland located in the valley of the River Meon in Hampshire that was subsumed by the Kingdom of Wessex in the late seventh century.
The Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England was a process spanning the 7th century. It was essentially the result of the Gregorian mission of 597, which was joined by the efforts of the Hiberno-Scottish mission from the 630s. From the 8th century, the Anglo-Saxon mission was, in turn, instrumental in the conversion of the population of the Frankish Empire.
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