Encyclopedia > Cynewulf of Wessex

Article Content

Cynewulf of Wessex

Cynewulf of Wessex (d. 785), king of Wessex, succeeded to the throne in 757 on the deposition of Sigeberht[?].

He was constantly at war with the Welsh. In 779 Offa of Mercia defeated him and took Bensington. In 785 he was surprised and killed, with all his thegns present, at Marten, Wilts (Merantune), by Cyneheard[?], brother of the deposed Sigeberht.

See Earle and Plummer's edition of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 755, 779 (Oxford, 1892).

This entry was originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

Search Encyclopedia

Search over one million articles, find something about almost anything!

Featured Article

Bullying

... it merely designated anyone who assumed power for any period of time without a legitimate basis of authority. The first to have the title of "Tyrant" was Pisistratus ...