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{{Infobox Military Conflict
{{infobox military conflict
|image=
|conflict =Battle of Hehil
|caption=
|partof =
|conflict=Battle of Hehil
|image =
|partof=
|caption =
|date = c. 720
|date=''c.'' 721—722
|place =[[Cornovii (Cornish)|among the Cornish]]
|place= "[[Cornovii (Cornish)|among the Cornish]]"
|coordinates =
|coordinates=
|result= British victory
|map_type =
|combatant1=<center>[[Image:Flag of Cornwall.svg|70px|St Piran's Flag of Cornwall]]<br>[[Britons (historical)|West Britons]]
|map_relief =
|combatant2=<center>[[File:Wyvern of Wessex.svg|70px]]<br>[[Kingdom of Wessex|West Saxons]] (probably)
|latitude =
|commander1=
|longitude =
|commander2=
|map_size =
|strength1=
|map_marksize =
|strength2=
|map_caption =
|casualties1=Unknown
|map_label =
|casualties2=Unknown
|territory =
}}
|result =British victory
|status =
|combatants_header =
|combatant1 =<center>[[Image:Flag of Cornwall.svg|70px|St Piran's Flag of Cornwall]]<br>[[Britons (historical)|West Britons]]</center>
|combatant2 =<center>[[File:Wyvern of Wessex.svg|70px]]<br>[[Kingdom of Wessex|West Saxons]] (probably)</center>
|casualties1 =Unknown
|casualties2 =Unknown
}}{{Campaignbox Anglo-Saxon invasions}}


The '''Battle of Hehil''' was a battle won by a [[Britons (historical)|Briton]] force, probably against the [[Anglo-Saxon]]s of [[Wessex]] around the year 720. The location is unknown, except that it was ''apud Cornuenses'' ("among the [[Cornish people|Cornish]]").
The '''Battle of Hehil''' was a battle won by a [[Britons (historic)|British]] force, probably against the [[Anglo-Saxon]]s of [[Wessex]] in the year 721 or 722. The location is unknown, except that it was ''apud Cornuenses'' (among the Cornish).


The battle is considered a notable victory for the [[Britons (historic)|Britons]] and is seen as having secured the independence of [[Dumnonia]], the [[Celts|Celtic]] kingdom in southwest Britain which became the [[Kingdom of Cornwall]].
==Accounts==
The ''[[Brut y Tywysogion|Chronicle of the Princes]]'' places the battle in AD 720. The ''[[Annales Cambriae|Annals of Wales]]'' are undated but Phillimore placed the following entry in the year 722:<ref name=ACA>[[s:la:Annales_Cambriae_A|Harleian MS. 3859]]. Op. cit. Phillimore, Egerton. ''Y Cymmrodor'' 9 (1888), pp. 141&ndash;83. {{la-icon}}</ref>
{{quote|The battle of Hehil among the [[Cornish people|Cornish]], the [[battle of Garth Maelog]], the [[battle of Pencon]] among the South Britons, and the [[Britons (historic)|Britons]] were the victors in those three battles.<ref name=ACAeng>Ingram, James. ''[[s:The_Annals_of_Wales_A|The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]''.<!--Sic--> Everyman Press (London), 1912.</ref><ref>For the original Latin for both the A & B texts, see: [[s:la:Annales Cambriae|Annales Cambriae]] at the Latin Wikisource. {{la-icon}}</ref>}}
Although the ''Annals of Wales'' does not specifically identify the Anglo-Saxons as the enemy, it is considered{{by whom?|date=February 2013}} that the failure to specify an enemy was simply because it would have been obvious.


==Source==
While refuting this logic, the ''Chronicle of Princes'' seems to verify the ''Annals''<nowiki>'</nowiki> account and clearly include Hehil among a pair of victories over the Saxons:
The ''[[Annales Cambriae]]'' say that in 722 there were: {{quote|The battle of Hehil among the [[Cornish people|Cornish]], the battle of Garth Maelog, the [[battle of Pencon]] among the South Britons, and the [[Britons (historic)|Britons]] were the victors in those three battles.<ref name=simmons>Robert Simmons, [http://www.cornishworldmagazine.co.uk/content/view/166/54/ The battle of Helil?], in ''Cornish World Magazine'' online</ref><ref>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/annalescambriae.html ''Annales Cambriae''] at fordham.edu</ref><ref>[http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1euj8/CW65promo/resources/11.htm 722 and all that] at yudu.com</ref>}}
{{quote|The same year [[Rhodri Molwynauc]] was made [[King of the Britons|king over the Britons]], and a great war arose between him and the Saxons, during which the Britons won two battles honorably. The same year, the [[battle of Garthmaelawg]] took place, and another in Gwynedd, and the [[battle of Pencon|battle of Pencoed]] in [[Morgannwg|Glamorganshire]]; in all which three the Britons conquered.<ref>''[http://books.google.no/books?id=CZAbAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA5 Archaeologia Cambrensis, the Journal of the Cambrian Archaeological Association]'', Vol. X., Series 3. "Brut y Tywysogion". Smith (London), 1864. Accessed 10 Feb 2013. {{cy-icon}} & {{en-icon}}</ref>}}

"The battle of Hehil among the Cornish" translates the [[Latin]] ''bellum Hehil apud Cornuenses''.<ref>''The place-names of Devon'', Volume 8‎ (1934), p. xviii</ref> Although this source does not specifically identify the Anglo-Saxons as the enemy in all three cases, it is considered that the failure to specify the enemy was simply because this was so obvious to all, and that any other combatants would have been named.<ref name=simmons/>


==Location==
==Location==
The site of Hehil has long been considered to be near the [[River Camel]], previously known as the 'Heil', but the Camel is much further west than the known sites of other battles which took place before and after 722. In 653, [[Wessex]] had won a battle at [[Penselwood]], pushing the West Britons back beyond the [[River Parrett]]; and, in 710, they had won another victory, probably at [[Langport]], [[Somerset]].<ref name=simmons/>
The site of Hehil is not known. In the early twentieth century, Celtic scholar [[Donald MacKinnon (Celtic scholar)|Donald MacKinnon]] was not willing to say more than that it was on "the Devonian peninsula".<ref>MacKinnon, Donald. ''The Celtic Review'', Vol. 10 (1916), p. 325</ref> However, it has long been considered to have occurred either at or near [[Hayle]] in west Cornwall,{{#tag:ref|For instance, [[Frank Stenton]] thought it was at Hayle,<ref name=H30>Cited in: {{cite book
| last=Higham| first=Robert
| title=Making Anglo-Saxon Devon
| publisher=The Mint Press
| year=2008| location=Exeter| page=30
| isbn=978-1-903356-57-9}}</ref> and Leslie Alcock wrote "The most obvious interpretation of 'Hehil among the Cornish' is the [[river Hayle]] in west Cornwall",<ref>{{citation
| last = Alcock| first = Leslie
| title = Economy, society, and warfare among the Britons and Saxons
| publisher = University of Wales Press
| location = Cardiff
| year = 1987
| page=231
| isbn = 978-0-7083-0963-6}}</ref>|group=lower-alpha}} or somewhere on the [[River Camel]],{{#tag:ref|For instance [[Philip Payton]] located it "probably [at] the strategically important Camel estuary",<ref>{{cite book
|last=Payton|first=Philip|authorlink=Philip Payton
|title=Cornwall: A History|page=68
|edition=2nd|year=2004
|publisher=Cornwall Editions Ltd|location=Fowey
|isbn=1-904880-00-2}}</ref> Leonard Dutton suggested "at or near the spot where the fifteenth century bridge at [[Wadebridge]] crosses the Camel",<ref>{{citation | last = Dutton | first = Leonard | title = The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms : the power struggles from Hengist to Ecgberht | publisher = SPA, in conjunction with L. Dutton | location = Hanley Swan, Worcestershire | year = 1993 |page=232| isbn = 978-1-85421-197-2 }}</ref> and [[William George Hoskins|W. G. Hoskins]] put it at [[Egloshayle]] on the River Camel.<ref name=H30 />|group=lower-alpha}} previously known as the 'Heil', but [[Malcolm Todd]] pointed out that these sites are "too far west to be taken seriously".<ref name=T272>{{cite book
|last=Todd|first=Malcolm|authorlink=Malcolm Todd
|title=The South West to AD 1000
|series=A Regional History of England
|publisher=Longman|year=1987|page=272–3
|isbn=0-582-49274-2}}</ref> For instance, in 658, Wessex had won the [[Battle of Peonnum]], probably somewhere in [[Somerset]], pushing the West Britons back beyond the [[River Parrett]]. Wessex won another battle at "Posentesbyrig"—perhaps somewhere in East Devon—in 661,<ref name=T272 /> and had another victory, the [[Battle of Llongborth]] in 710, which may have been at [[Langport]], Somerset.{{cn|date=February 2013}}


If there is any key to finding the place, it will need to be in the ''Annales Cambriae''. Three manuscripts of those [[annals]] each spell the name differently: Hehil, Heyl and Heil, suggesting that the word may be the [[Cornish language|Cornish]] ''Heyl'', or [[estuary]]. There are no estuaries in east Cornwall now called anything like Hehil, but many places in Devon and Somerset were later given new names from [[Old English]], and few place-names were recorded until the time of the [[Domesday Book]]. If Hehil is an estuary of [[Dumnonia]], there are many candidates for it, including the estuaries of the rivers [[River Parrett|Parrett]], [[East Lyn River|Lyn]], [[River Axe (Lyme Bay)|Axe]], [[River Exe|Exe]], [[River Teign|Teign]] and [[River Dart|Dart]]. The location of the battle thus remains a matter of speculation.<ref name=simmons/>
Todd suggested that Hele at [[Jacobstow]] in north Cornwall,{{#tag:ref|Jacobstow is supported by the landscape archaeologist Della Hooke.<ref>{{cite book | last = Hooke | first = Della | title = Pre-conquest charter-bounds of Devon and Cornwall | publisher = Boydell Press | location = Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK Rochester, NY | year = 1994 | page=1|isbn = 978-0-85115-354-4}}</ref>|group=lower-alpha}} or [[Hele, Devon|Hele]] in the [[River Culm|Culm Valley]] in east Devon would be more likely locations.<ref name=T272 /> Christopher Snyder, however, simply states that "722 The ''Annales Cambriae'' record a British victory at Hehil in Cornwall".<ref>{{cite book | last = Snyder | first = Christopher | title = The Britons | publisher = Blackwell Pub | location = Malden, MA | year = 2003 | isbn = 978-0-631-22262-0 }}, [http://books.google.com/books?id=QI_-cR_nZYsC&pg=PA292#v=onepage&q=&f=false p. 292]</ref>

One historian who has analysed the period considers that the site of the battle may have been "at or near the spot where the fifteenth century bridge at [[Wadebridge]] crosses the Camel".<ref>Leonard Dutton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms: the power struggles from Hengist to Ecgberht‎'' (1993), p. 232</ref> Another has suggested [[Jacobstow]] in [[Cornwall]],<ref>Della Hooke, ''Pre-conquest charter-bounds of Devon and Cornwall‎'' (1994), p. 1</ref> a third states that "The most obvious interpretation of 'Hehil among the Cornish' is the [[river Hayle]] in west Cornwall",<ref>Leslie Alcock, ''Economy, Society and Warfare among the Britons and Saxons‎'' (1987), p. 231</ref> and a fourth merely notes that "722 The ''Annales Cambriae'' record a British victory at Hehil in Cornwall",<ref>Christopher Allen Snyder, ''The Britons'' (2003), [http://books.google.com/books?id=QI_-cR_nZYsC&pg=PA292#v=onepage&q=&f=false p. 292] online</ref> while an early twentieth century writer was even more open-minded as to location and called the battle "a third British victory at Hehil in the Devonian peninsula".<ref>Donald Mackinnon, ''The Celtic Review'', Volume 10 (1916), p. 325</ref>


==Significance==
==Significance==
The British or [[Cornovii (Cornish)|Cornish]] victory at Hehil in 722 appears to have proved decisive in the history of the [[Dumnonii|West Britons]], bringing them a long period of peace and enabling the survival of their culture in what are now Cornwall and Devon. It was not until 814 that the Saxons returned to the assault, so the battle is seen as making possible a continuation of the independent [[Kingdom of Cornwall]] until the mid-10th century. Defeat at Hehil might have led to Dumnonia's sharing the fate of the Celtic kingdom of [[Rheged|Cumbria]] in the [[Hen Ogledd|Old North]], which disappeared almost without trace.<ref name=simmons/> Cumbria had lost its [[Cumbric language]] by about the 11th century, whereas the [[Cornish language]] survived into the 19th century.<ref>Steven Roger Fischer, ''A History of Language'' (2004), [http://books.google.com/books?id=5i1Ql7QQy0kC&pg=PA118#v=onepage&q=&f=false p. 118] online</ref>
The British victory at Hehil in 722 may have proved decisive in the history of the [[Dumnonii|West Britons]]: it was not until almost a hundred years later (814) that further battles are recorded in the area, a period which [[Nicholas Orme]] sees as probably consolidating the division between Cornwall and Devon.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Orme|first=Nicholas|authorlink=Nicholas Orme
|title=Unity and Variety: A History of the Church in Devon and Cornwall
|publisher=University of Exeter Press|year=1991
|series=Exeter Studies in History|volume=29|page=6
|isbn=0-85989-355-3}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}


==References==
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite news |url=http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1euj8/CW65promo/resources/11.htm |title=722 and all that |last=Simmons|first=Robert |date=August/September 2009 |work=Cornish World Magazine |pages=32–5 |accessdate=11 July 2012}}

{{coord missing|Devon|Cornwall}}

{{battle-stub}}
{{wales-hist-stub}}


{{coord missing}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hehil}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hehil}}
[[Category:8th-century conflicts]]

[[Category:720s conflicts]]
[[Category:720s in Europe]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Cornish]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Cornish]]
[[Category:Battles involving Wessex]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Britons]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Britons]]

[[Category:Battles involving Wessex]]
[[sh:Bitka kod Hehilla]]
[[Category:8th century in England]]

Revision as of 02:40, 6 September 2013

Battle of Hehil
Datec. 721—722
Location
"among the Cornish"
Result British victory
Belligerents
St Piran's Flag of Cornwall
West Britons

West Saxons (probably)
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown

The Battle of Hehil was a battle won by a British force, probably against the Anglo-Saxons of Wessex in the year 721 or 722. The location is unknown, except that it was apud Cornuenses (among the Cornish).

The battle is considered a notable victory for the Britons and is seen as having secured the independence of Dumnonia, the Celtic kingdom in southwest Britain which became the Kingdom of Cornwall.

Source

The Annales Cambriae say that in 722 there were:

The battle of Hehil among the Cornish, the battle of Garth Maelog, the battle of Pencon among the South Britons, and the Britons were the victors in those three battles.[1][2][3]

"The battle of Hehil among the Cornish" translates the Latin bellum Hehil apud Cornuenses.[4] Although this source does not specifically identify the Anglo-Saxons as the enemy in all three cases, it is considered that the failure to specify the enemy was simply because this was so obvious to all, and that any other combatants would have been named.[1]

Location

The site of Hehil has long been considered to be near the River Camel, previously known as the 'Heil', but the Camel is much further west than the known sites of other battles which took place before and after 722. In 653, Wessex had won a battle at Penselwood, pushing the West Britons back beyond the River Parrett; and, in 710, they had won another victory, probably at Langport, Somerset.[1]

If there is any key to finding the place, it will need to be in the Annales Cambriae. Three manuscripts of those annals each spell the name differently: Hehil, Heyl and Heil, suggesting that the word may be the Cornish Heyl, or estuary. There are no estuaries in east Cornwall now called anything like Hehil, but many places in Devon and Somerset were later given new names from Old English, and few place-names were recorded until the time of the Domesday Book. If Hehil is an estuary of Dumnonia, there are many candidates for it, including the estuaries of the rivers Parrett, Lyn, Axe, Exe, Teign and Dart. The location of the battle thus remains a matter of speculation.[1]

One historian who has analysed the period considers that the site of the battle may have been "at or near the spot where the fifteenth century bridge at Wadebridge crosses the Camel".[5] Another has suggested Jacobstow in Cornwall,[6] a third states that "The most obvious interpretation of 'Hehil among the Cornish' is the river Hayle in west Cornwall",[7] and a fourth merely notes that "722 The Annales Cambriae record a British victory at Hehil in Cornwall",[8] while an early twentieth century writer was even more open-minded as to location and called the battle "a third British victory at Hehil in the Devonian peninsula".[9]

Significance

The British or Cornish victory at Hehil in 722 appears to have proved decisive in the history of the West Britons, bringing them a long period of peace and enabling the survival of their culture in what are now Cornwall and Devon. It was not until 814 that the Saxons returned to the assault, so the battle is seen as making possible a continuation of the independent Kingdom of Cornwall until the mid-10th century. Defeat at Hehil might have led to Dumnonia's sharing the fate of the Celtic kingdom of Cumbria in the Old North, which disappeared almost without trace.[1] Cumbria had lost its Cumbric language by about the 11th century, whereas the Cornish language survived into the 19th century.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Robert Simmons, The battle of Helil?, in Cornish World Magazine online
  2. ^ Annales Cambriae at fordham.edu
  3. ^ 722 and all that at yudu.com
  4. ^ The place-names of Devon, Volume 8‎ (1934), p. xviii
  5. ^ Leonard Dutton, The Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms: the power struggles from Hengist to Ecgberht‎ (1993), p. 232
  6. ^ Della Hooke, Pre-conquest charter-bounds of Devon and Cornwall‎ (1994), p. 1
  7. ^ Leslie Alcock, Economy, Society and Warfare among the Britons and Saxons‎ (1987), p. 231
  8. ^ Christopher Allen Snyder, The Britons (2003), p. 292 online
  9. ^ Donald Mackinnon, The Celtic Review, Volume 10 (1916), p. 325
  10. ^ Steven Roger Fischer, A History of Language (2004), p. 118 online

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