Centwine (died after 685) was King of Wessex from c. 676 to 685 or 686, although he was perhaps not the only king of the

West Saxons la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...

at the time. The ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of A ...

'' reports that Centwine became king c. 676, succeeding Æscwine.

Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom ...

states that after the death of King

Cenwalh Cenwalh, also Cenwealh or Coenwalh, was King of Wessex from c. 642 to c. 645 and from c. 648 until his death, according to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', in c. 672. Penda and Anna Bede states that Cenwalh was the son of the King Cynegils baptis ...

: "his under-rulers took upon them the kingdom of the people, and dividing it among themselves, held it ten years". Bede's dismissal of Æscwine and Centwine as merely sub-kings may represent the views of the supporters of the King Ine, whose family ruled Wessex in Bede's time. However, if the West Saxon kingdom did fragment following Cenwalh's death, it appears that it was reunited during Centwine's reign. An entry under 682 in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' records that "Centwine drove the Britons to the sea". This is the only event recorded in his reign. The ''Carmina Ecclesiastica'' of

Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne Aldhelm ( ang, Ealdhelm, la, Aldhelmus Malmesberiensis) (c. 63925 May 709), Abbot of Malmesbury Abbey, Bishop of Sherborne, and a writer and scholar of Latin poetry, was born before the middle of the 7th century. He is said to have been the so ...

(died 709), written a generation after Centwine's reign, records that he won three great battles. In addition, it states that he was a

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. I ...

for part of his reign, adopting

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

and becoming a patron of the church. The ''Chronicle's'' version of his ancestry makes Centwine a son of King

Cynegils Cynegils () was King of Wessex from c. 611 to c. 642. Cynegils is traditionally considered to have been King of Wessex, but the familiar kingdoms of the so-called Heptarchy had not yet formed from the patchwork of smaller kingdoms in his life ...

, and thus a brother of King Cenwalh and maybe of Cwichelm, King of the

Gewisse The Gewisse ( ; la, Geuissæ) were a tribe or clan of Anglo-Saxon England, historically assumed to have been based in the upper Thames region around Dorchester on Thames (but may have actually originated near Old Sarum in Wiltshire). The Gew ...

, but Aldhelm does not record any such relationship. Chapter 40 of

Eddius Stephanus Stephen of Ripon was the author of the eighth-century hagiographic text '' Vita Sancti Wilfrithi'' ("Life of Saint Wilfrid"). Other names once traditionally attributed to him are Eddius Stephanus or Æddi Stephanus, but these names are no longer ...

's ''

Life of Wilfrid The ''Vita Sancti Wilfrithi'' or ''Life of St Wilfrid'' (spelled "Wilfrid" in the modern era) is an early 8th-century hagiographic text recounting the life of the Northumbrian bishop, Wilfrid. Although a hagiography, it has few miracles, while ...

'' records that Centwine was married to a sister of Queen Iurminburh, second wife of King

Ecgfrith of Northumbria Ecgfrith (; ang, Ecgfrið ; 64520 May 685) was the King of Deira from 664 until 670, and then King of Northumbria from 670 until his death in 685. He ruled over Northumbria when it was at the height of its power, but his reign ended with a d ...

. Her name is not reliably recorded, and the suggestion that she is to be identified with Dunna, Abbess of Withington, is broadly rejected. Their daughter

Bugga Bugga is a village in Pind Dadan Khan Tehsil of Jhelum District in Punjab, Pakistan. Overview It is situated on the right bank of River Jhelum and near the M-2 motorway at a distance of 10 km. Presently this area became a part of Chin ...

was certainly a nun when Aldhelm dedicated verses to her, and was probably an Abbess. Centwine is reported to have abdicated and become a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

. Aldhelm writes that he "gave up riches and the reins of government and left his own kingdom in the name of Christ".. Retrieved 2007-02-10 The date of his death is unknown. He was succeeded by Caedwalla.

Notes

External links

* {{authority control Converts to Christianity from pagan religions 7th-century English monarchs 7th-century Christian saints Anglo-Saxon warriors West Saxon monarchs West Saxon saints Monarchs who abdicated House of Wessex

See also

Notes

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