Bretwalda
Sign in to save400px|thumb|right|The entry for 827 (sic#recte|recte 829) in manuscript C of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which lists the eight bretwaldas (shown as bretenanwealda in this manuscript) Bretwalda is an Old English word meaning 'ruler of Britain'. It is only recorded in the late 9th-century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for the year 829. It is given to some of the rulers of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from the 5th century onwards who had achieved overlordship of some or all of the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
Article
9 sectionsContents
- Bretwaldas
- Etymology
- Contemporary use
- Modern interpretation by historians
- Overlordship
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
400px|thumb|right|The entry for 827 (sic#recte|recte 829) in manuscript C of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which lists the eight bretwaldas (shown as bretenanwealda in this manuscript) Bretwalda is an Old English word meaning 'ruler of Britain'. It is only recorded in the late 9th-century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for the year 829. It is given to some of the rulers of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from the 5th century onwards who had achieved overlordship of some or all of the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
The rulers of Mercia were generally the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kings from the mid 7th century to the early 9th century but are not accorded the title of bretwalda by the Chronicle, which had an anti-Mercian bias. The Annals of Wales continued to recognise the kings of Northumbria as "Kings of the Saxons" until the death of Osred I of Northumbria in 716.