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in: Of Wessex (surname), Born in 680, Died in 728,
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Ine of Wessex (-728)

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Ingild of Wessex was born 680 to Cenred of Wessex (c644-c694) and died 728 Wessex of unspecified causes.

Biography

King Ine of Wessex was a ruler of the Kingdom of Wessex, which was one of the seven kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England. He ruled from approximately 688 to 726 CE and is considered one of the most important early Anglo-Saxon kings.

Ine was a member of the West Saxon royal family and came to the throne after the death of his predecessor, Caedwalla. During his reign, Ine undertook a number of significant military campaigns against neighboring kingdoms, including Kent, Sussex, and the Welsh.

However, Ine is perhaps best known for his legal reforms. He issued a code of laws that is considered one of the earliest examples of written Anglo-Saxon law. The laws cover a wide range of topics, including property rights, marriage and family law, and criminal law.

Ine's legal code also established a system of fines for various offenses, which helped to maintain social order and prevent violent retribution. The code also established a system of compensation for victims of crimes, which was based on the severity of the offense.

In addition to his legal reforms, Ine is also remembered for his support of the Church. He was responsible for the construction of several important churches and monasteries in Wessex, including the Abbey of Glastonbury.

Despite his accomplishments, Ine's reign was not without its difficulties. He faced a number of challenges from rival kingdoms, and there were several rebellions against his rule. Ine also struggled to maintain the loyalty of his own nobles, and he ultimately abdicated the throne in order to become a monk.

Overall, King Ine of Wessex is remembered as a significant figure in early Anglo-Saxon history, both for his military conquests and his legal and religious reforms.

House of Wessex

Golden Wyvern of Wessex

He was of the royal English dynasty called House of Wessex, a family originating in the southwest corner of England and gradually increased in power and prestiege. The House became rulers of all the country with the reign of Alfred the Great in 871 and lasting until Edmund Ironside in 1016. This period of the English monarchy is known as the Saxon period.

Genealogy and Accession

Genealogy and accession

Early sources agree that Ine was the son of Cenred, and that Cenred was the son of Ceolwald; further back there is less agreement.[1] Ine was born around 670[2] and his siblings included a brother, Ingild, and two sisters, Cuthburh and Cwenburg. Ingild is given by the Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies as ancestor of king Egbert of Wessex and the subsequent kings of England.[3] Cuthburh was married to King Aldfrith of Northumbria,[4] and Ine himself was married to Æthelburg.[1] Bede tells that Ine was "of the blood royal", by which he means the royal line of the Gewisse, the early West Saxon tribal name.[5]

The genealogy of Ine and of the kings of Wessex is known from two sources: the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the West Saxon Genealogical Regnal List. The Chronicle was created in the late 9th century, probably at the court of Alfred the Great, and some of its annals incorporated short genealogies of kings of Wessex. These are often at variance with the more extensive information in the Regnal List.[6] The inconsistencies appear to result from the efforts of later chroniclers to demonstrate that each king on the list was descended from Cerdic, the founder, according to the Chronicle, of the West Saxon line in England.[7]

Ine's predecessor on the throne of Wessex was Cædwalla, but there is some uncertainty about the transition from Cædwalla to Ine. Cædwalla abdicated in 688 and departed for Rome to be baptized. According to the West Saxon Genealogical Regnal List, Ine reigned for 37 years, abdicating in 726. These dates imply that he did not gain the throne until 689, which could indicate an unsettled period between Cædwalla's abdication and Ine's accession. Ine may have ruled alongside his father, Cenred, for a period: there is weak evidence for joint kingships, and stronger evidence of subkings reigning under a dominant ruler in Wessex, not long before this time.[8] Ine acknowledges his father's help in his code of laws,[9] and there is also a surviving land-grant that indicates Cenred was still reigning in Wessex after Ine's accession.[10][11]

Reign

British seventh century kingdoms

The kingdoms of Britain in the late 7th century.

The extent of West Saxon territory at the start of Ine's reign is fairly well known. The upper Thames valley on both sides of the river had long been the territory of the Gewisse, though Cædwalla had lost territory north of the river to the kingdom of Mercia before Ine's accession. To the west, Ceawlin of Wessex is known to have reached the Bristol Channel one hundred years before.[12] The West Saxons had since expanded further down the southwestern peninsula, pushing back the boundary with the British kingdom of Dumnonia, which was probably roughly equivalent to modern Devon and Cornwall.[13] On the West Saxons' eastern border was the kingdom of the East Saxons, which included London and what is now Surrey. To the southeast were the South Saxons, on the coast east of the Isle of Wight. Beyond Sussex lay the kingdom of Kent.[14] Ine's predecessor, Cædwalla, had made himself overlord of most of these southern kingdoms,[15] though he had not been able to prevent Mercian inroads along the upper Thames.[13]

Abdication and Death in Rome

In 726, Ine abdicated, with no obvious heir and, according to Bede, left his kingdom to "younger men" in order to travel, with his wife Æthelburg, to Rome where they both died; his predecessor, Cædwalla, had also abdicated to go to Rome and was baptized there by the pope. A pilgrimage to Rome was thought to aid one's chance of a welcome in heaven, and according to Bede, many people went to Rome at this time for this reason: "... both noble and simple, layfolk and clergy, men and women alike."[5] Either Ine or Offa of Mercia is traditionally supposed to have founded the Schola Saxonum there, in what is today the Roman rione, or district, of Borgo. The Schola Saxonum took its name from the militias of Saxons who served in Rome, but it eventually developed into a hostelry for English visitors to the city.[16] According to Roger of Wendover, Ine founded the Schola Saxonum in 727.[17]

Successor to the Throne

Ine's successor was King Æthelheard; it is not known whether Æthelheard was related to Ine, though some later sources state that Æthelheard was Ine's brother-in-law.[18] Æthelheard's succession to the throne was disputed by an ætheling, Oswald, and it may be that Mercian support for Æthelheard in the unsettled aftermath of Ine's abdication both helped establish Æthelheard as king and also brought him into the sphere of influence of Æthelbald, the king of Mercia.[1][19]


Some information in this article or section has not been verified and may not be reliable.
Please check for any inaccuracies, and modify and cite sources as needed.






Siblings


Offspring of Cenred of Wessex (c644-c694) and unknown parent
Name Birth Death Joined with
Ine of Wessex (-728) 680 728 Wessex
Ingild of Wessex (-718) 680 718 Wessex
Cuthburh (c668-725) 668 Wessex, England 725 England Ealdfrið, King of Northumbria
Cwenburg (c670-690) 670 Wessex, England 690 Wessex, England


See Also

Bibliography

External Links

Contemporary Sources

The best contemporary sources for King Ine of Wessex are:

  1. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle - This is a collection of annals written in Old English that covers the history of the Anglo-Saxons from the 5th century to the 12th century. It provides a brief account of Ine's reign.
  2. The Laws of King Ine - This is a collection of laws promulgated by Ine, which survives in several manuscripts. The laws cover a wide range of topics, including the rights and duties of various social classes, punishments for crimes, and property rights.
  3. The Venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People - Bede's work, written in Latin, is a primary source for early English history, including the reign of King Ine. While Bede's account is not contemporary, it is considered a reliable source for this period.
  4. The Life of St. Boniface - This is a hagiography written in the 8th century about the life of St. Boniface, an Anglo-Saxon missionary and bishop. The work contains information about Ine's reign and his interactions with Boniface.
  5. The Anglo-Saxon Charter of AD 693 - This is a charter issued by King Ine that grants land to the church of St. Mary at Glastonbury. It is one of the earliest surviving Anglo-Saxon charters and provides insight into the king's relationship with the church.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

  • From the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (old English), entry for 693:

"Her Ina, West-Sexena cyning, sealde Glaestnabyrig land æt Weoludune into Cristes cyricean Sancte Marian & ðæt ealra ðæra manna ðe ðær Godes lof sungon, to abbudan & to munecan on ecere æhtnesse"

Translation: "In this year, King Ine of the West Saxons gave land at Weoludun, in Glastonbury, to the church of Christ, St. Mary, and to all those men who there sang the praises of God, to be possessed by the abbot and monks in perpetuity."

  • AD 718: This year died Ingild, the brother of Ina. Cwenburga and Cuthburga were their sisters.

Preamble to the Laws of King Ine

This citation is from the preamble to Ine's laws, which records the consecration of a building and the granting of tribute rights. Preamble (Original Old English):

"Her wæs Ine West-Sexena cyning & Æðelheard his þegn mid Æðelwulfe Bisceope of Wiltun on Wintanceastre, & þær wæs gehalgod Myrela geweorc, & se cyning gafol & gafol-riht sealde, swa his yldran hit ær dydon"

Translation: "In this year, King Ine of the West Saxons, with his thegn Æðelheard and Bishop Æðelwulf of Wilton, was at Winchester, and there consecrated the work of Myrela. And the king granted tribute and tribute rights, as his forefathers had done."

Ancestry Trees

Royal Succession Chart

Ine of Wessex (-728)
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Cædwalla 		King of Wessex
688–726 		Succeeded by
Æthelheard

References

  1. ^ a b c Swanton, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, pp. 42–43.
  2. ^ Panton, James (24 February 2011). Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy. Scarecrow Press. p. 108. ISBN 9780810874978. https://books.google.com/books?id=BiyyueBTpaMC&pg=PA108. 
  3. ^ Garmonsway, G.N. ed., The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, London, J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., pp. xxxii,2,4,42,66
  4. ^ Kirby, Earliest English Kings, p. 143.
  5. ^ a b Bede, Ecclesiastical History, quoted from Leo Sherley-Price's translation, p. 276.
  6. ^ For a discussion of the Chronicle and Regnal List see Yorke, Kings and Kingdoms, pp. 128–129. For a recent translation of both sources, see Swanton, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, pp. 2, 40–41.
  7. ^ Yorke, Kings and Kingdoms, pp. 142–143.
  8. ^ Yorke, Kings and Kingdoms, p.145–146
  9. ^ Kirby, Earliest English Kings, p. 122.
  10. ^ "Anglo-Saxons.net S 1164". http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+1164. 
  11. ^ Kirby, Earliest English Kings, p. 120.
  12. ^ Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 29.
  13. ^ a b Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 72–73.
  14. ^ Blair, Roman Britain, p. 209.
  15. ^ Yorke, Kings and Kingdoms, pp. 137–138.
  16. ^ Keynes & Lapidge, Alfred the Great, p. 244.
  17. ^ Reader, Rebecca (1994). "Chapter Three: Matthew Paris and Offa of Mercia". Matthew Paris and Anglo-Saxon England: a thirteenth-century vision of the distant past (PhD). Durham University. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/970/. 
  18. ^ Yorke, Kings and Kingdoms, p. 147. The relationship is recorded in a forged charter: "Anglo-Saxons.net S 250". http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+250. 
  19. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Kirby_131


Footnotes (including sources)

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