Editing Wulfhere of Mercia (section)

==West Saxons, South Saxons and Hwicce==
[[File:Wulfhere map.gif|thumb|300px|left|A map of southern England, showing locations mentioned in early sources about Wulfhere. The exact location of Ashdown is unknown, but it was somewhere on the Berkshire Downs, south of Thame.]]

In 661, Wulfhere is recorded in the ''Chronicle'' as harrying Ashdown, in West Saxon territory. The [[Gewisse]], thought to be the original group from which the West Saxons came, appear to have originally settled in the upper [[River Thames|Thames]] valley, and what records survive of the 6th century show them active in that region. The Mercian resurgence under Wulfhere placed them under severe pressure. Also in the early 660s, the West Saxon see of [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]], in the same area, was divided, and a new bishopric set up at [[Winchester]]. This decision was probably a reaction to the advance of the Mercians into the traditional heartland of the West Saxons, leaving Dorchester dangerously close to the border. Within a few years, the Dorchester see was abandoned;<ref>Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 136.</ref> the exact date is not known, but it was probably in the mid 660s.<ref name=Kirby_58>Kirby, ''The Earliest English Kings'', pp. 58–9.</ref>

In addition to the attack on Ashdown, Wulfhere raided the [[Isle of Wight]] in 661. He subsequently gave both the island and the territory of the Meonware, which lay along the [[river Meon]], on the mainland north of the Isle of Wight, to his godson King [[Æthelwealh of Sussex|Æthelwealh]] of the South Saxons. It seems likely that the ruling dynasty on the island found these arrangements acceptable to some degree, since the West Saxons, under Cædwalla, exterminated the whole family when they launched their own attack on the island in 686.<ref>Bede, ''HE'', IV, 13, pp. 225–7.</ref><ref name=Kirby_115/>  After the conquest of the Isle of Wight, Wulfhere ordered the priest Eoppa to provide baptism to the inhabitants. According to the ''Chronicle'', this was the first time Christian baptism had reached the island.<ref>Swanton, ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', ''sub anno'' 661, pp. 33–4.</ref>

In the early 670s, [[Cenwealh of Wessex]] died, and perhaps as a result of the stress caused by Wulfhere's military activity the West Saxon kingdom fragmented and came to be ruled by underkings, according to Bede.<ref name=Kirby_52>Kirby, ''The Earliest English Kings'', pp. 52–3.</ref>  Eventually these underkings were defeated and the kingdom reunited, probably by Cædwalla but possibly by [[Centwine of Wessex|Centwine]]. A decade after Wulfhere's death, the West Saxons under Cædwalla began an aggressive expansion to the east, reversing much of the Mercian advance.<ref name=Kirby_52A>For the situation at Wulfhere's death, see Kirby, ''The Earliest English Kings'', pp.& 115–6; for Cædwalla see Kirby, ''The Earliest English Kings'', pp. 118–21.</ref>

In addition to being Wulfhere's godson, King Æthelwealh of the South Saxons had a connection to the Mercians via marriage. His wife was Queen Eafe, the daughter of Eanfrith of the [[Hwicce]], a tribe whose territory lay to the southwest of Mercia. The Hwicce had their own royal family, but it appears that at this date they were already subordinate to Wulfhere: the marriage between Æthelwealh and Eafe may well have taken place at Wulfhere's court, since it is known Æthelwealh was converted there.<ref name=Kirby_11>Kirby, ''The Earliest English Kings'', pp. 11–12.</ref>  The kingdom of the Hwicce is sometimes regarded as a creation of Penda's, but it is equally likely that the kingdom existed independently of Mercia, and that Penda and Wulfhere's increasing influence in the area represented an extension of Mercian power rather than the creation of a separate entity.<ref name=Kirby_8>Kirby, ''The Earliest English Kings'', pp. 8–9.</ref><ref name=Yorke_108_1>Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', pp. 108–9.</ref>