Editing Ine of Wessex (section)

=== Kent, Essex, Sussex, and Surrey ===
Ine made peace with [[Kingdom of Kent|Kent]] in 694 when its king [[Wihtred of Kent|Wihtred]] gave Ine a substantial sum in compensation for the death of Cædwalla's brother [[Mul of Kent|Mul]], who had been killed during a Kentish rebellion in 687. The value of the amount offered to Ine by Wihtred is uncertain; most manuscripts of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' record "thirty thousand", and some specify thirty thousand pounds. If the pounds are equal to [[sceat]]tas, then this amount is the equal of a king's [[weregild]]—that is, the legal valuation of a man's life, according to his rank.<ref name="Swanton_40_2">Swanton, ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', 40–41, note 3.</ref><ref name="Blackwell_469">Lapidge, Michael (ed.), "Wergild", in ''The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 469.</ref>

Ine kept the [[South Saxons]], who had been conquered by Cædwalla in 686, in subjugation for a period.<ref name="Blackwell_251">Lapidge, Michael (ed.), "Ine", in ''The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 251.</ref> King [[Nothhelm of Sussex]] is referred to in a charter of 692 as a kinsman of Ine (perhaps by marriage).<ref name="ASP_S45 "/><ref name="Kirby_125">Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 125–126.</ref> Sussex was still under West Saxon domination in 710, when Nothhelm is recorded as having campaigned with Ine in the west against Dumnonia.<ref name="Stenton_72 "/>

Control of Surrey, which may never have been an independent kingdom, passed between Kent, Mercia, Essex, and Wessex in the years before Ine's reign.  Essex also included London, and the diocese of London included Surrey; this appears to have been a source of friction between Ine and the East Saxon and Mercian kings until the province was transferred to the diocese of Winchester in 705.<ref name="Yorke_49">Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 49.</ref> Evidence for Ine's early control of Surrey comes from the introduction to his laws, in which he refers to [[Earconwald|Eorcenwald]], bishop of London, as "my bishop".<ref name="Stenton_72 "/><ref name="Eorcenwald">{{PASE|1657|Eorcenwald 1|access-date=17 July 2007}} See under "Event" and "Law-making/legislation"</ref> Ine's subsequent relations with the East Saxons are illuminated by a letter written in 704 or 705 by Bishop [[Waldhere (bishop)|Wealdhere]] of London to [[Berhtwald|Brihtwold]], the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]]. The letter refers to "disputes and discords" that had arisen "between the king of the West Saxons and the rulers of our country". The rulers that Wealdhere refers to are [[Sigeheard of Essex|Sigeheard]] and [[Swæfred of Essex|Swæfred]] of the East Saxons, and the cause of the discord was the East Saxons' sheltering of exiles from the West Saxons. Ine had agreed to peace on the condition that the exiles were expelled. A council at [[Brentford]] was planned to resolve the disputes.<ref name="Kirby_125"/><ref name="EHD_729">A translation of Wealdhere's letter can be found in Whitelock, ''English Historical Documents'', p. 729.</ref> By this point Surrey had clearly passed out of West Saxon control.<ref name="Kirby_125 "/>

Bede records that Ine held Sussex in subjection for "several years",<ref name="Bede_PC_230">Bede, ''Ecclesiastical History'', quoted from Leo Sherley-Price's translation, p. 230.</ref> but in 722 an exile named [[Ealdbert]] fled to Surrey and Sussex, and Ine invaded Sussex as a result. Three years later Ine invaded again, this time killing Ealdberht. Sussex had evidently broken away from West Saxon domination some time before this.<ref name="Swanton_42 "/><ref name="Stenton_72 "/> It has been suggested that Ealdberht was a son of Ine, or a son of Ine's brother Ingild.<ref name="Kirby_131">Kirby, ''Earliest English Kings'', p. 131 & note 75.</ref>