Bretwalda
Early English high-king
Bretwalda is a title used by early medieval English historians for Anglo-Saxon kings who held supremacy over other kingdoms in Britain.
The word combines Old English for "Britain-ruler" or "wide-ruler." Seven or eight kings from the fifth through ninth centuries received this designation, though its practical meaning varied: The Venerable Bede listed Æthelberht of Kent among the bretwaldas.
Ruler over subordinate rulers
- supremacyHighest rank or power
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- Anglo-SaxonPre-Conquest British Germanic peoples
- HeptarchySeven-kingdom era in England
ruler · throne · dominion · crown · reign · monarch · kingship · royal
Early medieval English kingdom
- MerciaMedieval English kingdom
- WessexEarly medieval English kingdom
- KentEnglish county near Dover
- East AngliaEnglish region, three counties
Sussex · Essex · Edwin · Oswald · chronicle · annals · manuscript · documentation
Offering of respect
- submissionYielding to another's will
- fealtyPledged devotion to authority
- conquestDefeating and seizing control
- battleArmed military engagement
campaign · warfare · army · retinue · alliance · vassal · subjugation · overlordship
high king
Ruler over subordinate rulers
- supremacyHighest rank or power
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- Anglo-SaxonPre-Conquest British Germanic peoples
Heptarchy · ruler · throne · dominion · crown · reign · monarch · kingship · royal · paramount
Northumbria
Early medieval English kingdom
East Anglia · Sussex · Essex · Edwin · Oswald · chronicle · annals · manuscript · documentation · attestation
tribute
Offering of respect
- submissionYielding to another's will
- fealtyPledged devotion to authority
- conquestDefeating and seizing control
battle · campaign · warfare · army · retinue · alliance · vassal · subjugation · overlordship · protection
confederation
Autonomous entities united loosely
- federationUnion of semi-autonomous states
- unityWholeness through cohesion
- BritainIsland off northwestern Europe
unification · territory · realm · domain · authority · power · influence · prestige · diplomacy · alliance
- Anglo-Saxon BritainAlfred the Great, Edgar, Edward the Confessor, Edmund, Canute