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AD
410 - 600 approximately:
. . . . The "Dark Ages" that followed the departure of the Romans:
. . . . a period of many and various local Rulers,
of which we know very few names.
(Late 5th Century, Aelle, King of Sussex)
560-591 or 592 Ceawlin
591 or 592-597 Ceol (‡)
597-611 Ceolwulf (‡)
611-643 Cynegils (‡)
643-672 Cenwahl (‡)
. . . . Seaxburh (Queen) (‡)
. . . . Æscwine (‡)
. . . . Centwine (‡)
685-688 Caedwalla
688-726 Ine
786-802 Beorhtric
(poisoned by his wife, the daughter of King Offa of Mercia)
802-839 Egbert
839-855 Aethelwulf (son of Egbert)
855-860 Aethelbad (first son of Aethelwulf)
860-866 Aethelbert (second son of Aethelwulf)
866-871 Aethelred I (third son of Aethelwulf)
871-899 Alfred the Great
(fourth son of Aethelwulf)
899-924 Edward I, "the Elder", (son of Alfred)
924-939 Aethelstan (first son of Edward the Elder)
939-946 Edmund I (second son of Edward the Elder)
946-955 Eadred (third son of Edward the Elder)
955-959 Edwig (first son of Edmund I)
959-975 Edgar (second son of Edmund I)
975-978 Edward II, "the Martyr", (first son of Edgar)
978-1016 Aethelred II, "the Unready" (second son of Edgar)
1016 Edmund II, "Ironside", (son of Aethelred II)
1016-1035 Canute, a Viking King
(he married Emma, the widow of Aethelred II)
1035-1036 Alfred (son of Aethelred II)
1036-1040 Harold I, "Harefoot"
1040-1042 Hardicanute (son of Canute and Emma)
1042-1066 Edward III, "the Confessor" (son of Ethelred II and Emma)
1066 Harold II (brother of Edith, the wife of Edward III);
. . . . killed by William, Duke of Normandy, at the Battle of Hastings.
(‡) I have taken these names and their order mainly from
Garmonsway G N, "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle", page 2
(first section of the "Parker Chronicle")
but with additional data from Hinton D A,
"Saxons and Vikings".
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This picture above shows
the very famous
"Alfred Jewel",
that was found
about 6km from Altheney
in Somerset,
where
Alfred, King of Wessex,
took refuge
from the Vikings
(and where, it is said,
he accidentally
let some cakes burn).
The Jewel is
6.2 x 3.1 x 1.3 cm3,
and has on it the inscription in anglo-saxon
"AELFRED MEC
HEHT GEWYRCAN"
("Alfred had me worked").
It is thought that Alfred sent jewels of that kind
to Bishops in various dioceses of Wessex
to act as bookmarks for use with the first
English-language version of the Bible
that he himself had translated from Latin.
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