Seaxburh of Wessex
| Seaxburh | |
|---|---|
| Queen consort of Wessex | |
| Predecessor | Cenwalh |
| Successor | none until Cynethryth (wife of Cædwalla) |
| Queen regnant of Wessex | |
| Reign | c. 672 – c.674 |
| Predecessor | Cenwalh |
| Successor | Æscwine |
| Died | c. 674 |
| Spouse | Cenwalh of Wessex |
Seaxburh (died c. 674) was a queen of Wessex. She is also called Queen of the Gewisse, an early name for the tribe which ruled Wessex. She is said to have ruled Wessex for about a year after the death of her husband, Cenwalh, in 672. It was extremely rare for a woman to rule in her own right in Anglo-Saxon England, and she was the only woman to appear in a regnal list. She may have ruled for over a year, as the next reign is entered in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 674.
However, Bede said that after death of Cenwalh "sub-kings took upon themselves the government of the kingdom", so the chroniclers may have tidied up a complicated situation.[1][2]
Seaxburh was succeeded in about 674 by Æscwine.[3]
See also
Notes
- ^ Barbara Yorke, Seaxburh, Oxford Online Dictionary of National Biography, 2004
- ^ Ann Williams, Alfred P. Smyth and D. P. Kirby, A Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain, 1991, p. 210
- ^ Rulers of Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
External links
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