Page x
The acceptance of Christianity by Wessex 18 CHAPTER III The Frontier between
Wessex and Dyvnaint The position of Dorset with regard to Dyvnaint. Extent of
the Roman Province of Dumnonia. Permanence of the name, and late use of it.
Page xi
688 to 710 a.d. The battle with Gerent of Dyvnaint. Influence of Aldhelm in
averting war. Decisive check to Welsh, and advance of Wessex frontier. Mr
Freeman’s conjectures as to results. Founding of border fortress at Taunton.
Trace of Celtic …
Page xii
Difference between wars with Dyvnaint and Welsh fighting on midland frontiers.
Slow stages of Wessex advance, and length of time required for conquest of
Dyvnaint. The result of the conversion of Wessex not altogether making for peace
.
Page xiii
The comparative readiness of Wessex owing to the war with Dyvnaint. Question
of pacts made with the invaders. Independence of the chiefs and their followers.
The lesson learnt at Wareham. Norse invaders classed with Danes by early …
Page 24
It severed the land communications between the Britons of the country north of
the Severn and those of Dyvnaint, and the campaigns against the Welsh from this
time accordingly follow two lines. At the present time, apart from possible …
Page 25
the west, or to challenge the power of Dyvnaint. The northward advance was
continued up the Severn valley in 584, Ceawlin taking many towns and much
booty, but losing his brother Cutha at the battle of Fethanleag1. With this
expedition the …
Page 27
A new stage of the advance of Wessex commences from the days of Kenwealh,
in which the kingdom of Dyvnaint comes into prominence. CHAPTER III THE
FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT The territory CH. II] 27
CERDIC TO …
Page 28
CHAPTER III THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT The territory
in which for upwards of a century after the battle of Deorham the Britons of the
south-west maintained their independence, comprised the ancient Roman …
Page 29
He was evidently quite aware that Dumnonia, or Dyvnaint, included Glastonbury
in British times. It is evident then that a great part of the modern Somerset lay in
Dumnonia. There would be no need to go further into this question but that, for
the …
Page 30
Up to the time of Alfred, at least, the ancient boundaries of Dyvnaint were of
importance, and recognised for administrative military purposes1. Asser speaks
of the ” western part of Selwood,” meaning the whole territory lying to the
westward of …
Page 31
… Elworthy, is well known. 2 ‘ ‘ Excavations in Bokerly and Wansdyke ” (Vol. Ill of
Excavations in Cranborne Chase), p. 8. easily accessible from the sea is Poole
Harbour, and it CH. lll] THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT 3 1
.
Page 32
389. 1 Ancient Dorset, Chas. Warne, pp. 180—4; Roman Roads in Britain, T. Cod
– rington, p. 312. of the Romans1.” The discovery made by Mrs Cunnington,
already 32 THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT [BK I.
Page 33
… that the inner entrenchment is undoubted Roman work. 2 See footnote, p. 23.
story of the siege of the ” Mons Badonicus,” wherever. Hod Hill and Lydsbury
Rings. M. 3 CH. III] THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT 33.
Page 34
… conditions remained unaltered until a far later period, for one may date the
general commencement of modern changes to the drainage, enclosure, and
extension of cultivation of 34 THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND
DYVNAINT [BK …
Page 35
The Axe skirts the base of the Mendips and reaches the sea to the eastward of
Brean Down, between that promontory and Weston, and the Brue runs from
Glastonbury 3—2 CH. lll] THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT
35.
Page 36
… slopes of the Quantock foothills is not more than three miles. From Borough
Bridge to Bridgwater on one side and the Poldens on the other the present road
through the marshes 36 THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT [
BK …
Page 37
… so surrounded in all directions by waters that save for one bridge there was no
access to it except by boat.” Between the islands and the Polden Hills similar
conditions of CH. lll] THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT 37.
Page 38
… of man part of Sedgmoor has been practically impassable at these periods,
and still when a heavy rainfall or melting snow increases the supply of land water
from the hills, 38 THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT [BK I.
Page 39
… when it came into the possession of Walter de Douay at the conquest, and the
present local pronunciation ” Burge-water,” with the accent on the penultimate,
preserves this CH. lll] THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT 39.
Page 40
… of the Poldens. The ancient trackway would follow this line, even in pre-
embankment times, across the estuarine levels. thence to the great early camp of
Danesborough, or Dows-. 40 THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND
DYVNAINT …
Page 41
… these roads were further guarded by the Quantock camps at some point or
other of their line. 1 See pp. 108 and 110. Dorset also is traversed by a great
Roman highway, the CH. lll] THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND
DYVNAINT 41.
Page 42
… and upwards of two miles to the east of the Roman road, are sufficient in our
view to put any such theory out of court. was even more numerous. Every hillside
bears the scars of 42 THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT [BK
I.
Page 43
The kingdom of Dyvnaint still occupied an important position two hundred years
later than Cerdic, although after the battle of Deorham it had been cut off from
communication by land with the Welsh kingdoms beyond the Severn. In spite of
this …
Page 44
CHAPTER IV THE WARS OF KENWEALH (643—672 a.D.) It is doubtful whether
the frontier between Wessex and Dyvnaint changed materially during the seventy
-five years which followed the battle of Deorham, though in the long peace it is …
Page 59
40, 41, entered Saxon territory from Dyvnaint. The exact date of the grants made
by Kentwine himself is not given, but, as we have no reason to believe that the
Wessex frontier was advanced across the Parrett until after the defeat of the
Welsh, …
Page 63
At the same time the abbey was given possessions which covered the main
routes of pilgrimage from the West to the Holy Island, at points where they passed
from the kingdom of Dyvnaint into Wessex. Cruca covered the landing-place at …
Page 65
His power was fully recognised by the Saxons, and there had been, previous to
the outbreak of the war, some 1 Dyvnaint, the remains of the old Roman province
of Dumnonia, at this time included Devon and Cornwall, and also all Somerset …
Page 66
The only evidence of the success of Wessex is in the founding of Taunton in
advance of the frontier won by Kentwine. It is certain that Wessex made another
step westward, but how far is not evident. At the same time the power of Dyvnaint
was …
Page 70
… as must previously have been the case with the frontier marches between the
Parrett and the Quantocks. This royal domain would therefore form an
administrative province of its own, cut off from Dyvnaint, yet not 70 THE WARS OF
INE [BK I.
Page 71
province of its own, cut off from Dyvnaint, yet not incorporated in Wessex proper.
This gives an explanation of an expression which occurs in the Chronicle under
the year 876, when we are told that the brother of Ingwar and Healfdene came to
…
Page 74
Beyond it there is no sharp, defensible line of country in any way comparable to
the physical boundaries which marked the first stages of the conquest of Dyvnaint
. The Saxons had reached the wild approaches to the great moorlands of …
Page 75
CHAPTER VII THE FINAL STAGES OF THE CONQUEST OF DYVNAINT (7IO —
822 A.D.) Five years after the defeat of Gerent there was war with Mercia, the
reason of its outbreak not being evident, though as Ine met Ceolred at the old …
Page 77
… Saxonica, by J. W. Collen. Unfortunately Mr Collen does not give his authorities
, an omission which seriously impairs the value of his work. Cynewulf seemed to
give him his chance of escape, if CH. VII] 77 THE CONQUEST OF DYVNAINT.
Page 79
During this period of Mercian overlordship and intrigue it is not possible that any
westward advance on Dyvnaint can have been made. As we have pointed out, it
is far more likely that an actual loss of territory gained by Kentwine and Ine took …
Page 80
It would be a fair deduction from the bringing up of a Saxon within the lands of the
hated British Church that the parents of the saint were fugitives who had sought
shelter from the raids of Ceadwalla with the prince of Dyvnaint; but it is far more …
Page 81
… Journal of the Arch. Institute. 2 Cf. the contemporary Scandinavian settlements
in S. Wales and N. Somerset, Book 11, chap. II. of conquest. Possibly Beorhtric’s
attitude was influenced by that of M. 6 CH. VII] THE CONQUEST OF DYVNAINT
8l.
Page 82
of conquest. Possibly Beorhtric’s attitude was influenced by that of his father-in-
law, but it is almost a commonplace to say that Wessex trouble with Mercia was
the opportunity of Dyvnaint, and the close alliance that now existed between the …
Page 83
The known close alliance of these newcomers with the Welsh of Cornwall
seriously retarded the pacification of the far west, and enabled Cornwall, the last
cantle of Dyvnaint, to retain some sort of independence for nearly a century after
Devon …
Page 85
We can therefore only claim for the central or Blackdown section of the boundary
between Wessex and Dyvnaint that it represents Gerent’s frontier. His wars with
Ine settled some sort of “march” between the two kingdoms, but the sharp line …
Page 87
In the case of the other kingdoms there was nothing quite like the long struggle in
which, by slow degrees, the old British kingdom of Dyvnaint was conquered, and
absorbed into the kingdom of Wessex. The Welsh states which they had to …
Page 88
powerful and less able to offer a sustained resistance to encroachment than
Dyvnaint, and their internal jealousies rendered it impossible for them to act in
concert. From the first, Dyvnaint suffered from no disunion, and was slowly forced
into …
Page 89
thought of aggrandizement by the Danish peril at the end of the ninth century,
and consider the conquest of Dyvnaint as ending with the battle of Gafulford in
822, when Ecgberht completed the conquest of Devon, and may have
established …
Page 90
their holy spot. On the other hand, the fact that Glastonbury had passed into
Saxon power must have had its full influence in the prosecution of the war by
Dyvnaint, so long as that ancient kingdom retained its independence. It is hardly
…
Page 91
fought, and Taunton was built. Then Wessex strove with Mercia, and Dyvnaint
was at rest for forty years, unless she regained some of her lost ground. Probably
that was the case, for with the end of the Mercian trouble in 753, Cuthred of …
Page 102
In the eighth and ninth centuries the ” Danes ” appear as the allies of Dyvnaint.
The Britons of the west knew them as friends from the first, and looked to them for
help as the growing power of Wessex pressed on Devon and Cornwall.
Page 103
Up this valley was practically the only road from the Severn sea into Dyvnaint,
and the haven of Watchet must always have been of some importance, the close
connection between the British kingdoms on either side of the Severn sea being
…
Page 104
The sharp racial definition implied by the name renders it almost certain that here
at Williton was the guarded point at which the British traders from Dyvnaint met
the outland seafaring merchants from the haven which they occupied.
Page 105
A haven at Combwich therefore had the same advantage of direct routes to
Wessex as that at Watchet possessed with regard to Dyvnaint. Combwich was
superseded, probably after the foundation of Taunton and the consequent
diversion of …
Page 113
… Park could have originated and taken firm root there after the conquest of the
district by Christian Wessex is impossible. A pre-conquest settlement of heathen
Saxons in what was then independent Dyvnaint is for political and other reasons
…
Page 118
Against such trained forces England had no men available except in Wessex,
where the long wars with Dyvnaint had kept alive the knowledge of the value of
discipline ; had produced a line of veterans who knew the leaders of their
counties …
Page 123
It is noticeable that they seem to have left Dyvnaint unharried still. By this time the
Danes were active in the eastern counties, where the first landing had been
made in 838, fifty years after the first attack on the west. In that year and the next
the …
Page 135
… to him afresh and heartily, winning a battle on the old frontier line of Dyvnaint at
Penselwood, and passing forward to fight the drawn battle of Sceorstan, followed
by the disastrous defeat at Assandun, again due to Edric Streone’s treachery, …
Page 137
… the last unconquered kingdom left in England, an attempt foiled when within an
ace of succeeding by the king’s determined resistance and his rally of the
Wessex levies for another fight in the ancient cock-pit of the war with Dyvnaint.
Page 143
… objected to. considered Exeter as in Dyvnaint, and outside Alfred’s dominions,
for CH. I] THE TAKING OF WAREHAM AND EXETER 143.
Page 144
considered Exeter as in Dyvnaint, and outside Alfred’s dominions, for the
purposes of a wartime arrangement. However that may have been, in that fortress
they were blockaded by Alfred, until, some time in 877, the fleet from Wareham, …
Page 222
Anton or Test, Valley of the, 9 ; advance up, 20 Appledore, 126, 180, 185
Armorica, relations with Dyvnaint, Arthur, British account of his warfare with
Cerdic, 2 ; victor at Mons Badoni- cus, 20; gave Brent and Polden to Glastonbury,
52 and …
Page 223
… accounts of the Saxon conquest, t, 2 ; Roman organisation of, 4, s ; in alliance
with Saxons, 24 ; of Armorica and South Wales, relations with Dyvnaint, 43 ;
driven ” to the sea,” 53 ; probable explanation of the phrase, 63 Brittany, 129
Brogger, …
Page 224
… 204, 205, 206 Chochilaicus, 96 Christiania, 107 Christianity, Wessex accepts,
26, 45, 50, 216, 218; effect of, on struggle between Wessex and Dyvnaint, 89, 90 ;
and heathen traditions in West Somerset, 113, 114; acceptance of, by Guthrum, …
Page 226
… near Andover, 10 Devizes, 134 Devon (see also Dyvnaint), extent of, in former
times, 29-31; “in Wessex,” meaning of, 30, 71, 82, 146, 153, 182, 185, 186 and
footnote; Roman roads to, 42 ; boundary between, and Somerset, 66-71, 185,
186; …
Page 227
Durleigh, 57 Durston, 57 Dyvnaint, Welsh of, severed from the North Welsh, 24 ;
position in the time of Kenwealh, 27, 43 ; developed out of Dumnonia, 28 ; extent
of, 28-3 1 ; frontiers of, 44, 52, 66-71, 136, 137, 154 ; pilgrim routes into Wessex …
Page 228
… 146 Gautelf, River, blocked by Harald Fair- hair, 17 footnote Geoffrey of
Monmouth, on Gormund and Africans from Ireland, 99 Gerent, King of Dyvnaint,
80, 85; his leading position, 65, 66 ; Ine’s war with, 65-71, 77, 90; position after it,
74. 75.
Page 232
… early English coins in, 119 footnote; conversion of, 131; falls under Denmark,
Norwich, 133 Nunna, King of the South Saxons, helps Ine against Dyvnaint, 65,
66, 76; his death, 76 Nydam boat described, 3 Nyland Hill, see Andreyseye
Oakley …
Page 234
… 88, 181, 194, 218; character of coast-line of, 35, 185 ; position of Old Burrow
Camp overlooking, 69 ; prevailing winds of, ioi, 183 ; trade routes from, into
Dyvnaint, 102-105, into Wessex, 102, 105 ; Danish fleets in, 120, 123 and
footnote, 125, …
Page 235
… 187 Somerset, North, physical features of, 3J, 37; Danish settlements in, Book
11, Chap, ii, 120 Somerset, West, partly included in Dumnonia (Dyvnaint), 29 ; a
battle ground between Wessex and Dyvnaint, 34 ; royal domain in, 70 ; dialect of,
…
Page 236
… regained by Wessex, 65 ; won by Ecgberht, 82 Sussex, 134, 209, 210; won by
Wulfhere from Wessex, 48 ; regained by Wessex, 65 ; helps Ine against Dyvnaint,
66 ; Ealdbriht the exile connected with, 75- 78 ; connection with Taunton, 76-78 …
Page 237
Walpole in Pawlett (Wallepille), 203 ; Domesday record of, 57 Wansdyke, 44, 141
, 168; eastern termination of, 9; as to date and name, 23 footnote; frontier
between Wessex and Dyvnaint, 24, 34 Wantage (Waneting), bequeathed by King
Alfred …
The acceptance of Christianity by Wessex 18 CHAPTER III The Frontier between
Wessex and Dyvnaint The position of Dorset with regard to Dyvnaint. Extent of
the Roman Province of Dumnonia. Permanence of the name, and late use of it.
Page xi
688 to 710 a.d. The battle with Gerent of Dyvnaint. Influence of Aldhelm in
averting war. Decisive check to Welsh, and advance of Wessex frontier. Mr
Freeman’s conjectures as to results. Founding of border fortress at Taunton.
Trace of Celtic …
Page xii
Difference between wars with Dyvnaint and Welsh fighting on midland frontiers.
Slow stages of Wessex advance, and length of time required for conquest of
Dyvnaint. The result of the conversion of Wessex not altogether making for peace
.
Page xiii
The comparative readiness of Wessex owing to the war with Dyvnaint. Question
of pacts made with the invaders. Independence of the chiefs and their followers.
The lesson learnt at Wareham. Norse invaders classed with Danes by early …
Page 24
It severed the land communications between the Britons of the country north of
the Severn and those of Dyvnaint, and the campaigns against the Welsh from this
time accordingly follow two lines. At the present time, apart from possible …
Page 25
the west, or to challenge the power of Dyvnaint. The northward advance was
continued up the Severn valley in 584, Ceawlin taking many towns and much
booty, but losing his brother Cutha at the battle of Fethanleag1. With this
expedition the …
Page 27
A new stage of the advance of Wessex commences from the days of Kenwealh,
in which the kingdom of Dyvnaint comes into prominence. CHAPTER III THE
FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT The territory CH. II] 27
CERDIC TO …
Page 28
CHAPTER III THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT The territory
in which for upwards of a century after the battle of Deorham the Britons of the
south-west maintained their independence, comprised the ancient Roman …
Page 29
He was evidently quite aware that Dumnonia, or Dyvnaint, included Glastonbury
in British times. It is evident then that a great part of the modern Somerset lay in
Dumnonia. There would be no need to go further into this question but that, for
the …
Page 30
Up to the time of Alfred, at least, the ancient boundaries of Dyvnaint were of
importance, and recognised for administrative military purposes1. Asser speaks
of the ” western part of Selwood,” meaning the whole territory lying to the
westward of …
Page 31
… Elworthy, is well known. 2 ‘ ‘ Excavations in Bokerly and Wansdyke ” (Vol. Ill of
Excavations in Cranborne Chase), p. 8. easily accessible from the sea is Poole
Harbour, and it CH. lll] THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT 3 1
.
Page 32
389. 1 Ancient Dorset, Chas. Warne, pp. 180—4; Roman Roads in Britain, T. Cod
– rington, p. 312. of the Romans1.” The discovery made by Mrs Cunnington,
already 32 THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT [BK I.
Page 33
… that the inner entrenchment is undoubted Roman work. 2 See footnote, p. 23.
story of the siege of the ” Mons Badonicus,” wherever. Hod Hill and Lydsbury
Rings. M. 3 CH. III] THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT 33.
Page 34
… conditions remained unaltered until a far later period, for one may date the
general commencement of modern changes to the drainage, enclosure, and
extension of cultivation of 34 THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND
DYVNAINT [BK …
Page 35
The Axe skirts the base of the Mendips and reaches the sea to the eastward of
Brean Down, between that promontory and Weston, and the Brue runs from
Glastonbury 3—2 CH. lll] THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT
35.
Page 36
… slopes of the Quantock foothills is not more than three miles. From Borough
Bridge to Bridgwater on one side and the Poldens on the other the present road
through the marshes 36 THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT [
BK …
Page 37
… so surrounded in all directions by waters that save for one bridge there was no
access to it except by boat.” Between the islands and the Polden Hills similar
conditions of CH. lll] THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT 37.
Page 38
… of man part of Sedgmoor has been practically impassable at these periods,
and still when a heavy rainfall or melting snow increases the supply of land water
from the hills, 38 THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT [BK I.
Page 39
… when it came into the possession of Walter de Douay at the conquest, and the
present local pronunciation ” Burge-water,” with the accent on the penultimate,
preserves this CH. lll] THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT 39.
Page 40
… of the Poldens. The ancient trackway would follow this line, even in pre-
embankment times, across the estuarine levels. thence to the great early camp of
Danesborough, or Dows-. 40 THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND
DYVNAINT …
Page 41
… these roads were further guarded by the Quantock camps at some point or
other of their line. 1 See pp. 108 and 110. Dorset also is traversed by a great
Roman highway, the CH. lll] THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND
DYVNAINT 41.
Page 42
… and upwards of two miles to the east of the Roman road, are sufficient in our
view to put any such theory out of court. was even more numerous. Every hillside
bears the scars of 42 THE FRONTIER BETWEEN WESSEX AND DYVNAINT [BK
I.
Page 43
The kingdom of Dyvnaint still occupied an important position two hundred years
later than Cerdic, although after the battle of Deorham it had been cut off from
communication by land with the Welsh kingdoms beyond the Severn. In spite of
this …
Page 44
CHAPTER IV THE WARS OF KENWEALH (643—672 a.D.) It is doubtful whether
the frontier between Wessex and Dyvnaint changed materially during the seventy
-five years which followed the battle of Deorham, though in the long peace it is …
Page 59
40, 41, entered Saxon territory from Dyvnaint. The exact date of the grants made
by Kentwine himself is not given, but, as we have no reason to believe that the
Wessex frontier was advanced across the Parrett until after the defeat of the
Welsh, …
Page 63
At the same time the abbey was given possessions which covered the main
routes of pilgrimage from the West to the Holy Island, at points where they passed
from the kingdom of Dyvnaint into Wessex. Cruca covered the landing-place at …
Page 65
His power was fully recognised by the Saxons, and there had been, previous to
the outbreak of the war, some 1 Dyvnaint, the remains of the old Roman province
of Dumnonia, at this time included Devon and Cornwall, and also all Somerset …
Page 66
The only evidence of the success of Wessex is in the founding of Taunton in
advance of the frontier won by Kentwine. It is certain that Wessex made another
step westward, but how far is not evident. At the same time the power of Dyvnaint
was …
Page 70
… as must previously have been the case with the frontier marches between the
Parrett and the Quantocks. This royal domain would therefore form an
administrative province of its own, cut off from Dyvnaint, yet not 70 THE WARS OF
INE [BK I.
Page 71
province of its own, cut off from Dyvnaint, yet not incorporated in Wessex proper.
This gives an explanation of an expression which occurs in the Chronicle under
the year 876, when we are told that the brother of Ingwar and Healfdene came to
…
Page 74
Beyond it there is no sharp, defensible line of country in any way comparable to
the physical boundaries which marked the first stages of the conquest of Dyvnaint
. The Saxons had reached the wild approaches to the great moorlands of …
Page 75
CHAPTER VII THE FINAL STAGES OF THE CONQUEST OF DYVNAINT (7IO —
822 A.D.) Five years after the defeat of Gerent there was war with Mercia, the
reason of its outbreak not being evident, though as Ine met Ceolred at the old …
Page 77
… Saxonica, by J. W. Collen. Unfortunately Mr Collen does not give his authorities
, an omission which seriously impairs the value of his work. Cynewulf seemed to
give him his chance of escape, if CH. VII] 77 THE CONQUEST OF DYVNAINT.
Page 79
During this period of Mercian overlordship and intrigue it is not possible that any
westward advance on Dyvnaint can have been made. As we have pointed out, it
is far more likely that an actual loss of territory gained by Kentwine and Ine took …
Page 80
It would be a fair deduction from the bringing up of a Saxon within the lands of the
hated British Church that the parents of the saint were fugitives who had sought
shelter from the raids of Ceadwalla with the prince of Dyvnaint; but it is far more …
Page 81
… Journal of the Arch. Institute. 2 Cf. the contemporary Scandinavian settlements
in S. Wales and N. Somerset, Book 11, chap. II. of conquest. Possibly Beorhtric’s
attitude was influenced by that of M. 6 CH. VII] THE CONQUEST OF DYVNAINT
8l.
Page 82
of conquest. Possibly Beorhtric’s attitude was influenced by that of his father-in-
law, but it is almost a commonplace to say that Wessex trouble with Mercia was
the opportunity of Dyvnaint, and the close alliance that now existed between the …
Page 83
The known close alliance of these newcomers with the Welsh of Cornwall
seriously retarded the pacification of the far west, and enabled Cornwall, the last
cantle of Dyvnaint, to retain some sort of independence for nearly a century after
Devon …
Page 85
We can therefore only claim for the central or Blackdown section of the boundary
between Wessex and Dyvnaint that it represents Gerent’s frontier. His wars with
Ine settled some sort of “march” between the two kingdoms, but the sharp line …
Page 87
In the case of the other kingdoms there was nothing quite like the long struggle in
which, by slow degrees, the old British kingdom of Dyvnaint was conquered, and
absorbed into the kingdom of Wessex. The Welsh states which they had to …
Page 88
powerful and less able to offer a sustained resistance to encroachment than
Dyvnaint, and their internal jealousies rendered it impossible for them to act in
concert. From the first, Dyvnaint suffered from no disunion, and was slowly forced
into …
Page 89
thought of aggrandizement by the Danish peril at the end of the ninth century,
and consider the conquest of Dyvnaint as ending with the battle of Gafulford in
822, when Ecgberht completed the conquest of Devon, and may have
established …
Page 90
their holy spot. On the other hand, the fact that Glastonbury had passed into
Saxon power must have had its full influence in the prosecution of the war by
Dyvnaint, so long as that ancient kingdom retained its independence. It is hardly
…
Page 91
fought, and Taunton was built. Then Wessex strove with Mercia, and Dyvnaint
was at rest for forty years, unless she regained some of her lost ground. Probably
that was the case, for with the end of the Mercian trouble in 753, Cuthred of …
Page 102
In the eighth and ninth centuries the ” Danes ” appear as the allies of Dyvnaint.
The Britons of the west knew them as friends from the first, and looked to them for
help as the growing power of Wessex pressed on Devon and Cornwall.
Page 103
Up this valley was practically the only road from the Severn sea into Dyvnaint,
and the haven of Watchet must always have been of some importance, the close
connection between the British kingdoms on either side of the Severn sea being
…
Page 104
The sharp racial definition implied by the name renders it almost certain that here
at Williton was the guarded point at which the British traders from Dyvnaint met
the outland seafaring merchants from the haven which they occupied.
Page 105
A haven at Combwich therefore had the same advantage of direct routes to
Wessex as that at Watchet possessed with regard to Dyvnaint. Combwich was
superseded, probably after the foundation of Taunton and the consequent
diversion of …
Page 113
… Park could have originated and taken firm root there after the conquest of the
district by Christian Wessex is impossible. A pre-conquest settlement of heathen
Saxons in what was then independent Dyvnaint is for political and other reasons
…
Page 118
Against such trained forces England had no men available except in Wessex,
where the long wars with Dyvnaint had kept alive the knowledge of the value of
discipline ; had produced a line of veterans who knew the leaders of their
counties …
Page 123
It is noticeable that they seem to have left Dyvnaint unharried still. By this time the
Danes were active in the eastern counties, where the first landing had been
made in 838, fifty years after the first attack on the west. In that year and the next
the …
Page 135
… to him afresh and heartily, winning a battle on the old frontier line of Dyvnaint at
Penselwood, and passing forward to fight the drawn battle of Sceorstan, followed
by the disastrous defeat at Assandun, again due to Edric Streone’s treachery, …
Page 137
… the last unconquered kingdom left in England, an attempt foiled when within an
ace of succeeding by the king’s determined resistance and his rally of the
Wessex levies for another fight in the ancient cock-pit of the war with Dyvnaint.
Page 143
… objected to. considered Exeter as in Dyvnaint, and outside Alfred’s dominions,
for CH. I] THE TAKING OF WAREHAM AND EXETER 143.
Page 144
considered Exeter as in Dyvnaint, and outside Alfred’s dominions, for the
purposes of a wartime arrangement. However that may have been, in that fortress
they were blockaded by Alfred, until, some time in 877, the fleet from Wareham, …
Page 222
Anton or Test, Valley of the, 9 ; advance up, 20 Appledore, 126, 180, 185
Armorica, relations with Dyvnaint, Arthur, British account of his warfare with
Cerdic, 2 ; victor at Mons Badoni- cus, 20; gave Brent and Polden to Glastonbury,
52 and …
Page 223
… accounts of the Saxon conquest, t, 2 ; Roman organisation of, 4, s ; in alliance
with Saxons, 24 ; of Armorica and South Wales, relations with Dyvnaint, 43 ;
driven ” to the sea,” 53 ; probable explanation of the phrase, 63 Brittany, 129
Brogger, …
Page 224
… 204, 205, 206 Chochilaicus, 96 Christiania, 107 Christianity, Wessex accepts,
26, 45, 50, 216, 218; effect of, on struggle between Wessex and Dyvnaint, 89, 90 ;
and heathen traditions in West Somerset, 113, 114; acceptance of, by Guthrum, …
Page 226
… near Andover, 10 Devizes, 134 Devon (see also Dyvnaint), extent of, in former
times, 29-31; “in Wessex,” meaning of, 30, 71, 82, 146, 153, 182, 185, 186 and
footnote; Roman roads to, 42 ; boundary between, and Somerset, 66-71, 185,
186; …
Page 227
Durleigh, 57 Durston, 57 Dyvnaint, Welsh of, severed from the North Welsh, 24 ;
position in the time of Kenwealh, 27, 43 ; developed out of Dumnonia, 28 ; extent
of, 28-3 1 ; frontiers of, 44, 52, 66-71, 136, 137, 154 ; pilgrim routes into Wessex …
Page 228
… 146 Gautelf, River, blocked by Harald Fair- hair, 17 footnote Geoffrey of
Monmouth, on Gormund and Africans from Ireland, 99 Gerent, King of Dyvnaint,
80, 85; his leading position, 65, 66 ; Ine’s war with, 65-71, 77, 90; position after it,
74. 75.
Page 232
… early English coins in, 119 footnote; conversion of, 131; falls under Denmark,
Norwich, 133 Nunna, King of the South Saxons, helps Ine against Dyvnaint, 65,
66, 76; his death, 76 Nydam boat described, 3 Nyland Hill, see Andreyseye
Oakley …
Page 234
… 88, 181, 194, 218; character of coast-line of, 35, 185 ; position of Old Burrow
Camp overlooking, 69 ; prevailing winds of, ioi, 183 ; trade routes from, into
Dyvnaint, 102-105, into Wessex, 102, 105 ; Danish fleets in, 120, 123 and
footnote, 125, …
Page 235
… 187 Somerset, North, physical features of, 3J, 37; Danish settlements in, Book
11, Chap, ii, 120 Somerset, West, partly included in Dumnonia (Dyvnaint), 29 ; a
battle ground between Wessex and Dyvnaint, 34 ; royal domain in, 70 ; dialect of,
…
Page 236
… regained by Wessex, 65 ; won by Ecgberht, 82 Sussex, 134, 209, 210; won by
Wulfhere from Wessex, 48 ; regained by Wessex, 65 ; helps Ine against Dyvnaint,
66 ; Ealdbriht the exile connected with, 75- 78 ; connection with Taunton, 76-78 …
Page 237
Walpole in Pawlett (Wallepille), 203 ; Domesday record of, 57 Wansdyke, 44, 141
, 168; eastern termination of, 9; as to date and name, 23 footnote; frontier
between Wessex and Dyvnaint, 24, 34 Wantage (Waneting), bequeathed by King
Alfred …