|
 Magonset (Westerna / Herefordshire Saxons)
The British territory of Pengwern was
conquered by Oswiu of Northumbria
in 656, while he was overlord of the Mercians.
Western Pengwern was then settled by Saxon groups who probably migrated
northwards from the territory of
the West Saxons and the
Hwicce, although there is a
possibility that some of them were already in the area, perhaps as allies of
Pengwern.
They made the most of the sudden power gap to found small kingdoms. The
first was based
on modern Wroxeter (Roman Viroconium, which evolved into British Caer Guricon), and the new arrivals
called themselves Wrocenset based on that name. The second was in modern Kenchester, just west of Hereford in
Herefordshire (Roman Magnis), which was probably adapted as Caer Magnis by the
Romano-British and bastardised as Magon by the Saxons: Magonset (or
Magonsæte) means settlers
of Magon. The Magonset kingdom also seems to have been known by several
names, including Westerna, or Western Hecani.
The kingdoms were small, but they were not obscure, at least to the people
of the time, although few records have survived to describe them. Certainly
nothing seems to have been recorded about the Magonset after circa
680, apart from the names of its kings, and even that detail has been lost
for the Wroconset.
By the beginning of the eighth century, the
Anglian Mercians had gained overall
control of the territory of the Magonset and Wroconset. It is perhaps around
this time that the name Westerna was used for the Magonset territory by the
Mercians, perhaps to describe the border region with Powys - the Anglian
word for borderlands, 'mercna' was already in use for Mercia itself, and its
borders did not yet reach as far as Powys. |
|
c.650 |
Merewalh is an unusual name for a Saxon. It means
'illustrious Welshman' in Old English, making it seem likely the king is
British, either from Pengwern or from
Hwicce, which has a mixed
Saxon/British population. The possibility arises that, after the fall of the kingdom of Pengwern,
Merewalh forms his own minor kingdom within the territory. It is also
possible that he commands a mixed group of Britons and Saxons, just as the
Hwicce do at this time, and that he leads them to settle in the Kenchester
region.
Only the fact that Merewalh starts out as a pagan
causes a problem with the theory. If he is from Pengwern or Hwicce there is
more of a likelihood that he should already be a Christian (although this is
by no means a certainty). The West Saxons are more likely to be pagan
at this time, so perhaps Merewalh's origins lie here, although the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle seems to imply that he is a son of Penda of
Mercia. |
|
c.680 |
Theodore of Tarsus, archbishop of
Canterbury establishes a
bishopric for the kingdom at Hereford, possibly as a result of a
re-organisation agreed at the Synod of Hertford in 673. Merewalh is believed
to erect a new cathedral at Hereford (although its location is uncertain)
for the new bishop Putta, the former bishop of Rochester in
Kent. |
Find us on Facebook
