Hypsistarians

Hypsistarians

From the Catholic Encyclopedia
Hypsistarians or worshippers of the Hypsistos, i.e. of the “Most High” God; a distinct Jewish-pagan sect which flourished from about 200 B.C. to about A.D. 400, mostly in Asia Minor (Cappadocia Bithynia, Pontus) and on the South Russian coasts of the Euxine Sea.
The names Hypsianistai, Hypsianoi first occur in Gregory of Nazianzus (Orat., xviii, 5) and the name Hypsistianoi in Gregory of Nyssa (Contra Eunom., II), i. e. about A. D. 374, but a great number of votive tablets, inscriptions, and oracles of Didymos and Klaros establish beyond doubt that the cult of the Hypsistos (Hypsistos, with the addition of Theos or Zeus or Attis, but frequently without addition) as the sole and supreme God was widespread in the countries adjacent to the Bosphorus (cf. Acts, xvi, 17, “these men are servants of the most high God” — oracle of the pythonissa at Philippi). It seems probable that the native Cappadocian cult of Zeus Sabazios was deliberately merged in the cult of Jahve Sabaoth practised by the numerous and intellectually predominant Jewish colonies, and that associations (sodalicia, thiasoi) of strict monotheists were formed, who fraternized with the Jews, but considered themselves free from the Mosaic Law. The importance and exalted ideas of these associations can be gathered from the fact that when someone asked Apollo of Klaros whether the Hypsistos alone was without beginning and end, he answered: “He is the Lord of all, self-originated, self-produced, ruling all things in some ineffable way, encompassing the heavens, spreading out the earth, riding on the waves of the sea; mixing fire with water, soil with air, and earth with fire; of winter, summer, autumn, and spring, causing the changes in their season, leading all things towards the light and settling their fate in harmonious order.” The existence of these Hypsistarians must have been partially responsible for the astounding swiftness of the spread of Christianity in Asia Minor, yet not all of them accepted the new faith, and small communities of monotheists, neither Christians nor Jews, continued to exist, especially in Cappadocia. The father of Gregory of Nazianzus belonged to such a sect in his youth, and they are described in his panegyric written by his son. They rejected idols and pagan sacrifices, and acknowledged the Creator (pantokrator) and the Most High, to whom however, in opposition to the Christians, they refused the title of “Father”; they had some superstitions in common with the Jews, their worship of fire and light, the keeping of the Sabbath, the distinctions of food, but circumcision they rejected. No doubt Persius had Hypsistarians in view when he ridiculed such hybrid religionists in Satire v, 179-184, and Tertullian seems to refer to them in “Ad nationes”, I, xiii. The statement that Hypsistarians continued to exist till the ninth century, is based on a mistaken interpretation of Nicephorus Const., “Antirhet. adv. Const. Copr.”, I, in Migne, P.G., col. 209. Hypsistarians are probably referred to under the name Coelicoloe in a decree of the Emperors Honorius and Theodosius (A.D. 408), in which their places of worship are transferred to the Catholics.
LEVI in Revue des Etudes Juives (Paris, 1898), a criticism of SCHÜRER, Die Juden im bosporan. Reiche etc. (Berlin, 1897) in Sitzungsber. d. Berlin. Acad., XIII, 200-225. See also CUMONT, Hypsistos (Brussels, 1897); DREXLER in Roscher’s Lexicon (Leipzig, 1890), s. v. Hypsistos; BURESH, Klaros (Leipzig, 1889); STOKES in Dict. Christ. Biog., s. v. Hypsistarii.

“Tin Islands”

The History of Herodotus, parallel English/Greek: Book 3: Thaleia: 110 Arimaspians

114. As one passes beyond the place of the midday, the Ethiopian land is that which extends furthest of all inhabited lands towards the sunset. This produces both gold in abundance and huge elephants and trees of all kinds growing wild and ebony, and men who are of all men the tallest, the most beautiful and the most long-lived.
114. [1] ἀποκλινομένης δὲ μεσαμβρίης παρήκει πρὸς δύνοντα ἥλιον ἡ Αἰθιοπίη χώρη ἐσχάτη τῶν οἰκεομενέων· αὕτη δὲ χρυσόν τε φέρει πολλὸν καὶ ἐλέφαντας ἀμφιλαφέας καὶ δένδρεα πάντα ἄγρια καὶ ἔβενον καὶ ἄνδρας μεγίστους καὶ καλλίστους καὶ μακροβιωτάτους. 
115. These are the extremities in Asia and in Libya; but as to the extremities of Europe towards the West, I am not able to speak with certainty: for neither do I accept the tale that there is a river called in Barbarian tongue Eridanos, flowing into the sea which lies towards the North Wind, whence it is said that amber comes; nor do I know of the real existence of “Tin Islands” from which tin comes to us: for first the name Eridanos itself declares that it is Hellenic and that it does not belong to a Barbarian speech, but was invented by some poet; and secondly I am not able to hear from any one who has been an eye-witness, though I took pains to discover this, that there is a sea on the other side of Europe. However that may be, tin and amber certainly come to us from the extremity of Europe.
115. [1] αὗται μέν νυν ἔν τε τῇ Ἀσίῃ ἐσχατιαί εἰσι καὶ ἐν τῇ Λιβύῃ. περὶ δὲ τῶν ἐν τῇ Εὐρώπῃ τῶν πρὸς ἑσπέρην ἐσχατιέων ἔχω μὲν οὐκ ἀτρεκέως λέγειν· οὔτε γὰρ ἔγωγε ἐνδέκομαι Ἠριδανὸν καλέεσθαι πρὸς βαρβάρων ποταμὸν ἐκδιδόντα ἐς θάλασσαν τὴν πρὸς βορέην ἄνεμον, ἀπ᾽ ὅτευ τὸ ἤλεκτρον φοιτᾶν λόγος ἐστί, οὔτε νήσους οἶδα Κασσιτερίδας ἐούσας, ἐκ τῶν ὁ κασσίτερος ἡμῖν φοιτᾷ. [2] τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ ὁ Ἠριδανὸς αὐτὸ κατηγορέει τὸ οὔνομα ὡς ἔστι Ἑλληνικὸν καὶ οὐ βάρβαρον, ὑπὸ ποιητέω δὲ τινὸς ποιηθέν· τοῦτο δὲ οὐδενὸς αὐτόπτεω γενομένου δύναμαι ἀκοῦσαι, τοῦτο μελετῶν, ὅκως θάλασσα ἐστὶ τὰ ἐπέκεινα Εὐρώπης. ἐξ ἐσχάτης δ᾽ ὦν ὁ κασσίτερος ἡμῖν φοιτᾷ καὶ τὸ ἤλεκτρον. 
116. Then again towards the North of Europe, there is evidently a quantity of gold by far larger than in any other land: as to how it is got, here again I am not able to say for certain, but it is said to be carried off from the griffins by Arimaspians, a one-eyed race of men. But I do not believe this tale either, that nature produces one-eyed men which in all other respects are like other men. However, it would seem that the extremities which bound the rest of the world on every side and enclose it in the midst, possess the things which by us are thought to be the most beautiful and the most rare.

The History of Herodotus, parallel English/Greek: Book 3: Thaleia: 110

Vespasian was appointed legate of Legio II Augusta,

Vespasian 

In preparation for a praetorship, Vespasian needed two periods of service in the minor magistracies, one military and the other public. Vespasian served in the military in Thrace for about 3 years. On his return to Rome in about AD 30, he obtained a post in the vigintivirate, the minor magistracies, most probably in one of the posts in charge of street cleaning.^[9] His early performance was so unsuccessful that Emperor Caligula reportedly stuffed handfuls of muck down his toga to correct the uncleaned Roman streets, formally his responsibility.^[7]
During the period of the ascendancy of Sejanus, there is no record of Vespasian’s significant activity in political events. After completion of a term in the vigintivirate, Vespasian was entitled to stand for election as quaestor; a senatorial office. But his lack of political or family influence meant that Vespasian served as quaestor in one of the provincial posts in Crete, rather than as assistant to important men in Rome.^[9]
Next he needed to gain a praetorship, carrying the Imperium, but non-patricians and the less well-connected had to serve in at least one intermediary post as an aedile or tribune. Vespasian failed at his first attempt to gain an aedileship but was successful in his second attempt, becoming an aedile in 38. Despite his lack of significant family connections or success in office, he achieved praetorship in either 39 or 40, at the youngest age permitted (30), during a period of political upheaval in the organisation of elections. His longstanding relationship with freedwoman Antonia Caenis, confidential secretary to the Emperor’s grandmother and part of the circle of courtiers and servants around the Emperor, may have contributed to his success.^[9]

Invasion of Britannia (43)[edit]

Upon the accession of Claudius as emperor in 41, Vespasian was appointed legate of Legio II Augusta, stationed in Germania, thanks to the influence of the Imperial freedman Narcissus. In 43, Vespasian and the II Augusta participated in the Roman invasion of Britain, and he distinguished himself under the overall command of Aulus Plautius. After participating in crucial early battles on the rivers Medway and Thames, he was sent to reduce the south west, penetrating through the modern counties of Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall with the probable objectives of securing the south coast ports and harbours along with the tin mines of Cornwall and the silver and lead mines of Somerset.
Vespasian marched from Noviomagus Reginorum (Chichester) to subdue the hostile Durotriges and Dumnonii tribes,^[10] captured twenty oppida (towns, or more probably hill forts, including Hod Hill and Maiden Castle in Dorset). He also invaded Vectis (now the Isle of Wight), finally setting up a fortress and legionary headquarters at Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter). During this time he injured himself and had not fully recovered until he went to Egypt. These successes earned him triumphal regalia (ornamenta triumphalia) on his return to Rome.

T A V I S T O C K A B B E Y

History of Tavistock Abbey in Devon
Edited by David Nash Ford
T A V I S T O C K
A B B E Y
Ancient Devon Foundation

Ordgar, Earl of Devon, is the reputed founder of this Abbey, about AD 960, and is so described by the medieval historian, William of Malmesbury. However, an extract from an old chartulary printed in the Monasticon, has a much longer tale to tell of his son, Ordulph. Going out of doors, one night, to pray, as was his custom, Ordulph saw a brilliant column of light in the sky. It moved him to great fear. Later, when he returned to bed and slept, he saw a vision of an angel, in white, who bade him search out the place where the pillar of light had stood – he would find it marked out in a square by four rods – and there build a chapel to the four Evangelists. Ordulph told his wife of the vision; but (as so often), it had to be repeated a second, and a third, time before he took any action. When he did, however, he founded, not only a chapel, but a large monastery.
In AD 981, its liberties were confirmed by Ordulph’s uncle, King Aethelred, and the names of Dunstan, Oswald and Aethelwold appear on its charter. Ordulph and his wife bestowed numerous manors on their foundation, that of Tavistock included. He was a man of enormous strength and stature. Great bones, traditionally his, are still shown in the parish church of Tavistock and William of Malmesbury has a story of Ordulph breaking down a heavily barred gate with part of the adjacent wall, apparently without effort. He is also said to have been able to and stride across a river of ten feet wide. William also tells us that the saint translated to Tavistock at this time, was a Bishop Rumon, whose written life was lost until quite recent years. Leland saw it at Tavistock and records that he came to Britain from Ireland and his bones were translated to Tavistock by Ordgar. Baring-Gould & Fisher have little doubt that he is to be identified with St. Ronan of Locronan in Brittany. He rested in a beautiful shrine in the abbey and wrought many a miracle until removed at the Reformation. 
Amongst other benefactors, King Aethelred was a considerable one to his nephew’s establishment and the institution became very wealthy and flourishing. However, in AD 997, the Danes, sailing round Land’s End, entered the mouth of the Tamar, and, proceeding a considerable distance up that river, marched to Tavistock; where, after having spoiled the monastery, they burnt it to the ground and carried off the plunder to their ships.
The Abbey was, shortly after this devastation, rebuilt and soon became more flourishing than ever, additional grants and immunities having been given by various persons. Lefing, or Living, Bishop of Worcester, is mentioned by Speed as “a special benefactor.” King Henry I granted, to the Abbot, the jurisdiction and whole hundred of Tavistock, together with the privilege of a weekly market and a fair, once a year for three days. In the succession of Abbots, several were learned men and, soon after the introduction of the art of printing into England, there was established, in the Abbey, a press from which many books were issued – only the second set up in the whole country. The best-known production is perhaps Walton’s English version of Boethius’ “Consolation of Philosophy,” printed in 1525 by Dan Thomas Rychard, a monk of the house. Such works are now extremely rare. Richard Barham, the thirty-fifth Abbot, obtained from Henry VIII, in 1513, the privilege of sitting in the House of Lords; or, in other words, became a mitred abbot. This, he probably gained by purchase, in order to be revenged upon Hugh Oldham, Bishop of Exeter, with whom he had great disputes and finally caused to be excommunicated. In 1539, John Peryn, the thirty-sixth and last Abbot, surrendered his monastery on being allowed the sum of £100 per annum for life. The abbey lands were granted, by Henry VIII, to John, Lord Russell, whose descendant, the Duke of Bedford, is now owner of its site and ruins. The revenues of the Abbey were valued at the Suppression at the yearly rent of £902 5s 7d; but it must be observed that the Abbots and Priors, foreseeing the impending storm, set the yearly rents very low and the fines very high, so that they might have sufficient support if expelled from their houses.
Of the church, William of Worcester tells us that it measured 126 of his steps and the eastern Lady Chapel 36 more. Reckoning the step at 19 inches, this works out at 2,561 feet. There were aisles, but nothing is said of transepts. It stood in the present churchyard, just south of the parish church, and the last substantial remains are said to have been pulled down about 1670.
Of the Abbey buildings Browne Willis, in the early eighteenth century, tells us something. After saying that the church has gone, he continues, “The kitchen, which was left standing of late years, though now raised to the foundation, was a large square room, open to the roof, which was composed of elegant workmanship. The chapter-house is likewise ruined. It was a pile of great beauty, built as round as can possibly be worked with a compass; and yet the dimensions thereof were large, there being thirty-six seats in the inside, wrought out in the walls, all arched overhead with curious carved stones. The Refectory with several of the offices is still standing, being of great length, breadth and height. The ‘Saxon School’ ….. is a large building, as is the area where the cloisters stood, which were 45 paces or yards in length, the east side of which opened into the chapter-house. . . . In two arches on the north side of the cloisters are one or two broken monuments, one of which, tradition says, belonged to the founder.”
Archbishop Parker, about 1574, apparently originated the myth that there was, before the Reformation, a school of Anglo-Saxons at the Abbey (he calls it a nunnery, coenobium monialium). The statement was seized upon by writer after writer and came to be a commonplace of historians. There is no foundation for it at all. The building generally, and erroneously, referred to as the ‘Saxon School’ and the Chapter House, nearby, were demolished in 1736 and a house for the Duke of Bedford’s steward built on the site. 
The standing remains consist of the north-east angle of the cloister in the churchyard (sometimes said to be a part of the north wall of the church and called ‘Ordulph’s Tomb’); two gate houses, west and east, the western one called Betty Grimbal’s tower; a fine pinnacled porch and the frater, in a much restored condition and converted into a unitarian chapel. Further south, running along the river, is a portion of the precinct walls and a tower called the Still-tower. At the northern extremity of the precinct, behind a row of houses on the east side of Market Street, is a building, in private hands, which was inside the precinct and is reputed to have been one of the monastic buildings.
Edited from John Timbs & Alexander Gunn’s “Abbeys, Castles & Ancient Halls of England & Wales” (1872) and MR James’ “Abbeys” (1925)

Britannia Abbeys and Priories: Tavistock, Devon

Roman general Vespasian captures the Dorset hill forts

c. Summer AD 44

Roman general Vespasian captures the Dorset hill forts

In the second phase of the conquest of Britain, Roman general Vespasian (Titus Flavius Vespasianus – a future emperor) led his II Augusta Legion into Dorset. He fought numerous small-scale battles and captured a string of hill forts, including Maiden Castle and Hod Hill. By 48 AD, the Romans had effectively subdued all territory south of a line from the mouth of the Humber river to the Severn Estuary.

BBC – History : British History Timeline

Brutus Greenshield –

Family tree of the House of Brutus
Corineus
Brutus
Gwendolen
Locrinus
Albanactus
Kamber
Maddan
Mempricius
Malin
Ebraucus
Brutus Greenshield
Nineteen other sons
Thirty daughters
Leil
Rud Hud Hudibras
Bladud
Leir
Gonorilla
Regan
Cordeilla
Marganus
Cunedagius
Rivallo
Gurgustius
unknown
Sisillius
Jago
Kimarcus
Gorboduc
Judon
Ferrex
Porrex

Brutus Greenshield – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

the sea which lies towards the North Wind,

A the sea which lies towards the North Wind,
group of leading scientists from around the world said on Monday that the leaders of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change had left themselves open to the accusation that they had “gone beyond IPCC’s remit”.In March the Amsterdam-based InterAcademy Council (IAC) was called in after a number of errors were found in the IPCC’s landmark 2007 Fourth Assessment Report into man-made climate change

St. Michael

Cornish Saints and Sinners: St. Michael and the Conger

The Legend of St. Michael at St. Michael’s Mount, Cornwall
by J. Henry Harris
S T. M I C H A E L
A N D  T H E
C O N G E R
The Archangel arrives in Cornwall
There are more St. Michaels than one, but the hero of this story was the one who landed, in a fog, at the Mount later named after him. He had been heading for Penzance which used to appear on saints’ charts as the “Holy Headland”, and was a mark to steer by; but he drifted off course, and landed at the Mount. The Mount was then the marine residence of an ancient giant, well known for keeping a sharp look-out for saints through a telescope, which he stole from an unfortunate Phoenician ship laden with tin and oysters. The giant had an evil reputation, and did nothing by halves. He was asleep when St. Michael landed; and when he slept, he snored, and when he snored, the Mount shook.
The poor saint was in a terrible state, wandering about for days, reading notices which the giant had posted up warning saints not to land, unless they wished to be cooked in oil like sardines. There was nothing to be picked up in the area to eat, except seaweed and the dry bones which the giant threw away – and there wasn’t enough on the bones to support a saint after the giant had done with them. St. Michael finished off his very last drop of best Irish whisky, and sat on the empty keg. He dreamt of his own peat fire in Ballyknock, and the little alehouse where a drop was to be had for the asking. It was fear of the fierce giant above which alone kept him from singing the poem he had composed about “Home, sweet home”.
The saint was very sad and had almost given up hope of rescue, when something in the sea attracted his attention. He saw a great conger rise, tail first, and stretch itself until the tail topped the rock. Its head remained in the sea. The giant was snoring, and the Mount shook. St. Michael was top of his class at college, and could put two and two together with the help of his fingers. “A sign,” he said, putting on his sword-belt and best pair of spurs. The conger was to be his Jacob’s ladder.
So he dug his spurs well into the fish’s side, and climbed and climbed until he reached the top. There, with one mighty stroke, he cut off the giant’s head. There wasn’t much personal estate – only the telescope – and the saint took that, but he forgot to send a return to Somerset House, and pay the death duties. The conger wagged his tail, by way of saying he was tired and wanted to be off, so the saint slipped down quite easily – so easily that he hit the ground rather forcefully when he reached the bottom. To this day, those who have eyes to see, may see the mark he left behind.
Then the conger disappeared into the sea, only to return again, this time headfirst. It licked the saint’s hand, and he blessed it. There are some who say that it was a beanstalk which grew in the night for the saint to climb. Congers, however, are now very fine and large, and abundant in their season, and the white scars down their sides are the marks of the saint’s spurs which retell the story of the climb.
The giant’s blood flowed over the cliff, and a church sprung up, which St. Michael dedicated to himself. Then he went away, for the Mount was not was not inhabited in those days and there was nothing to keep him. This was the beginning of the war between the saints and giants, which continued for centuries, and might have lasted until the present day, only the saints came out on top.
Saint Michael crops up in various places, and, for convenience, I may add here what is known of him. He became the patron saint of the county after meeting with his arch-enemy, Old Nick, at Helston. There was no time to advise the newspapers, and get special correspondents on the spot, but it was reported that the battle was long and tough. The enemy carried a red-hot boulder under his arm, and hurled it at the saint; but he was out of practice, and the ball went wide. Then the saint got in with his trusty blackthorn staff, and thrashed the enemy so soundly that he couldn’t fly away fast enough for comfort. The boulder was picked up, when cool, and is still on view at the Angel Hotel.

acceptance of Christianity

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

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 ...



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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 ...
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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.
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Dumnonia

EBK: King Gerren Llyngesoc of Dumnonia

Gerren Llyngesoc, King of Dumnonia
(Born c.AD 448)
(Welsh: Gereint; Latin: Gerontius; English: Gereint)
The eldest son of King Erbin of Dumnonia. Arthurian tradition would have us believe that, after the death of his his wife, “Sir Gereint” spent much time at King Arthur‘s Court, looking for action and adventure. It was supposedly during this period that he encountered the Sparrow Hawk Knight and came to marry Lady Enid of Caer-Teim (Cardiff), a story told in the ancient tales of “Erec (alias Gereint) & Enid” and “Geraint mab Erbin”. He inherited the Dumnonian throne in c.497 (or 480) and is recorded as one of the great “Fleet Owners” of post-Roman Britain His castle was once called Caer-Gurrel or Fort of the Ship. He died fighting the Saxons with the High-King Arthur at the Battle of Llongborth (Portsmouth, Somerset) around 480/510. This recorded in a long Welsh poem called the “Elegy for Gereint”. He was succeeded by his son, Cado.

EBK: King Gerren Llyngesoc of Dumnonia