| Cenwalh | |
|---|---|
| King of Wessex | |
| Reign | 642–645; 648–672 |
| Predecessor | Cynegils |
| Successor | Seaxburh |
| Died | 672 |
| Spouse | Seaxburh and a sister ofPenda |
| House | Wessex |
| Father | Cynegils |
Cenwalh, alsoCenwealh orCoenwalh, was King ofWessex from c. 642 to c. 645 and from c. 648 until his death, according to theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle, in c. 672.
Bede states that Cenwalh was the son of the KingCynegils baptised by BishopBirinus. He was also the great-great-grandson ofCerdic.[1] TheAnglo-Saxon Chronicle offers several ancestries for Cynegils, and the relationship of Cynegils and Cenwalh to later kings isn't certain.[2] It has been noted that the name Cenwalh is of British rather thanAnglo-Saxonetymology.[3] Although Cynegils is said to have been a convert toChristianity, Bede writes that Cenwalh:
refused to embrace the mysteries of the faith, and of the heavenly kingdom; and not long after also he lost the dominion of his earthly kingdom; for he put away the sister ofPenda, king of theMercians, whom he had married, and took another wife; whereupon a war ensuing, he was by him expelled his kingdom...[1]
Cenwalh took refuge with the Christian kingAnna of East Anglia and was baptised while in exile, although the date of his exile is uncertain. Bede says that it lasted three years, but does not give the dates.[1] TheAnglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that he granted lands atAshdown to a kinsman named Cuthred. If this is the same Cuthred whose death is reported around 661, then he was perhaps a son ofKing Cwichelm or a grandson of Cynegils, if indeed King Cwichelm was not also a son of Cynegils.
None of the West Saxon dates give any clear evidence for the period of Cenwalh's exile, but since King Anna was killed by Penda in 654, and exiled fromEast Anglia by him in 651 (according to the contemporaryAdditamentum Nivialensis), Cenwalh's exile cannot have begun much later than 648. Furthermore, if (asWilliam of Malmesbury states) Cenwalh was baptised bySaint Felix, this must have occurred by c. 647. Cenwalh's repudiation of Penda's sister therefore followed fairly closely upon Penda's killing ofOswald of Northumbria atMaserfeld in 642, Oswald being the godfather of Cynegils, and husband of Cenwalh's sister Cyneburh, and thus the protector of Cynegils's line in Wessex.[1] Penda was killed at theBattle of Winwaed on 15 November 655.Barbara Yorke suggests that Cenwalh returned to power in 648,D.P. Kirby places his exile in the 650s.[4]
When Cenwalh returned to power, his Bishop inDorchester-on-Thames was theFrankAgilbert. Bede states:
At length the king, who understood none but the language of theSaxons, grown weary of that bishop's barbarous tongue, brought into the province another bishop of his own nation, whose name wasWini, who had been ordained in France; and dividing his province into two dioceses, appointed this last his episcopal see in the city ofWinchester, by the Saxons called Wintancestir.[5]
The newdiocese of Winchester, in lands formerly belonging to theJutes (who were thereafter confined to theIsle of Wight) lay in the heart of the future Wessex. The ravaging of Ashdown by Penda's sonWulfhere c. 661, in the original lands of theGewisse, suggests that this movement was brought about by sustained Mercian pressure on the Saxons.[6]
Wulfhere advanced as far south as the Isle of Wight, and detached theMeon valley from Cenwalh's kingdom, giving it to his godsonÆthelwalh, King of theSouth Saxons. At around this time, the Mercian princeFrithuwold was rulingSurrey andBerkshire. Wulfhere's defeat at the hands ofEcgfrith in 674 freed the southern kingdoms from Mercian control, and Wulfhere was defeated the following year by the West Saxons, led byÆscwine.[7]
TheAnglo-Saxon Chronicle records a battle between Cenwalh and the Britons in its entry for 658: "Here Cenwalh fought at Peonnum against the Wealas and caused them to flee as far as theParret". The advance into the British south-west is obscure, but Cenwalh's relations with theBritons were not uniformly hostile. He is reported to have endowed the British monastery atSherborne, inDorset, while the earlyAnglo-Saxon missionarySaint Boniface is said to have been born inCrediton,Devon, and educated at a formerly British monastery nearExeter.[8]
Whether Cenwalh ruled alone in Wessex is uncertain. Earlier kings appear to have shared rulership, andCenberht, father of the futureKing Caedwalla, may have ruled together with Cenwalh rather than being merely a sub-king.[9]
In 665–668, Cenwalh quarreled with Bishop Wini, who sought refuge with the Mercian king Wulfhere, which D.P. Kirby takes to be a sign of Wulfhere's influence. By this time, the Bishop at Dorchester was the Mercian-backed Ætla, andThame was a possession of Wulfhere's.[10]
According to theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle, Cenwalh died in 672 and was succeeded by his widow,Seaxburh, who held power for about a year.[11][12]
No later kings of the West Saxons are known to be descended from Cenwalh, indeed no descendants of his are known. KingCentwine is said to have been his brother, but Kirby notes the circumstantial evidence which makes this unlikely.[13]
However, if no descendants of Cenwalh held the throne in Wessex, it may be that his descendants held power in Mercia andKent in the 9th century. The Mercian kingsCoenwulf andCeolwulf, and their brotherCuthred, King of Kent, claimed descent from an otherwise unknown brother of Penda andEowa called Coenwalh. It has been suggested that Cenwalh was this Coenwalh, brother-in-law, rather than brother, of Penda and Eowa.[14]
His wife Seaxburg (or Seaxburh) apparently reigned for about one year after his death.(Subscription orUK public library membership required.)(Subscription or UK public library membership required)
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | King of Wessex 642–645 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | King of Wessex 648–672 | Succeeded byas Queen of Wessex |