Husmerae
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The Husmerae were a tribe or clan in early medieval
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
, possibly forming an early settlement of the
Hwicce Hwicce () was a tribal kingdom in Anglo-Saxon England. According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', the kingdom was established in 577, after the Battle of Deorham. After 628, the kingdom became a client or sub-kingdom of Mercia as a result of th ...
subkingdom. Charter evidence also referred to the group as ''Wiogorna'' and was also considered a ''prouvincia'' or ''provincia'', an administrative division with its own territorial boundaries. An account also refer to the Husmerae territory as a ''regio''.


History

The Husmerae settled on the banks of the River Stour prior to 736.''Victoria County History, Worcestershire'' III
/ref> They probably took their name from Usmere, a pool on the boundary of
Wolverley Wolverley is a village; with nearby Cookley (1 mi northeast), it forms a civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England. It is 2 miles north of Kidderminster and lies on the River Stour and the Staffordshire and ...
whose name in preserved in Ismere House in
Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
, Worcestershire. A source cited that the term was derived from British word ''udso'', Welsh ''ws'' (water) and Old English ''mere.'' The tribe is mentioned only in the
Ismere Diploma The Ismere Diploma (London, British Library, Cotton Augustus ii. 3) is a charter of 736, in which Aethelbald of Mercia grants ten hides of land near Ismere to Cyneberht, his "venerable companion", for the foundation of a ''coenubium'' ( mins ...
of 734, and subsequent charters relating to the same property until 964, when Usmere occurs on the boundary of Cookley in Wolverley. This charter was for the foundation of a '' coenubium'' ( minster). That minster was probably at
Kidderminster Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it ha ...
, quite probably occupying the site of the parish church there. Although the Husmerae may have been of West Saxon origin, settling into the area some time after the West Saxon defeat of the
Britons British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...
at the Battle of Dyrham in 577, the Ismere Diploma suggests that Husmerae is the ancient name for area, although uncertainty over its provenance leave the origins of the name open to question. It was specifically referred to as the province south of the Mercian heartlands and was considered an extensive folk territory. A historical description cited it as the area next to the River Stour in a charter records that detailed a grant by King Æthelbald of Mercia to build a monastery in the location.


References

Kidderminster Peoples of Anglo-Saxon Mercia {{England-hist-stub