Ceolwulf (died 611) was a

King of Wessex This is a list of monarchs of Wessex until AD 886. For later monarchs, see the List of English monarchs. While the details of the later monarchs are confirmed by a number of sources, the earlier ones are in many cases obscure. The names are give ...

. At that early date the West Saxons were called the Gewisse, and in his '' Dictionary of National Biography'' entry he is given the title "king of the Gewisse". According to the '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' he reigned fourteen years and the Annals of St Neots also allot him fourteen years. The West Saxon Genealogical Regnal List gives him a reign of seventeen years. Ceolwulf was the son of Cutha (probably Cuthwulf) and the grandson of

Cynric Cynric () was King of Wessex from 534 to 560. Everything known about him comes from the '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. There, he is stated to have been the son of Cerdic, who is considered the founder of the kingdom of Wessex. However, the 'Genealogi ...

, and succeeded his older brother Ceol. According to the ''Chronicle'' he was a powerful ruler who "continually fought and contended either against the English, or 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 ...

, or the

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from e ...

, or the Scots", but it is unlikely that he fought against the Picts or the Scots. His only recorded battle was against the

South Saxons la, Regnum Sussaxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the South Saxons , capital = , era = Heptarchy , status = Vassal of Wessex (686–726, 827–860)Vassal of Mercia (771–796) , governm ...

in 607, perhaps for control of the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

and south Hampshire, but he probably laid the foundations for West Saxon expansion against the British and Saxon peoples of the south and west. He may have begun to construct a regional overlordship among the groups who comprised the West Saxons. It is not certain whether his successor, Cynegils, was his son or the son of his older brother Ceol.Kirby, p. 43; Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', pp. 134–135

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* * Anglo-Saxon warriors West Saxon monarchs 6th-century English monarchs 7th-century English monarchs House of Wessex {{UK-royal-stub

See also

References

Sources

External links