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 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 Gewiss ...

, and in his ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' entry he is given the title "king of the Gewisse". According to 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 Alf ...

'' he reigned fourteen years and the

Annals of St Neots The ''Annals of St Neots'' is a Latin chronicle compiled and written at Bury St Edmunds in the English county of Suffolk between '' c''. 1120 and ''c''. 1140. It covers the history of Britain, extending from its invasion by Julius Caesar (55 B ...

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 'Genealogic ...

, and succeeded his older brother

Ceol Ceol (also known as Ceola or Ceolric) was King of Wessex from 592 to 597. Ceol was the son of Cutha (or Cuthwulf), the son of Cynric of Wessex. He reigned from either 591 or 592 to 597. According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', he began his re ...

. 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 ea ...

, 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 county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

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 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 ...

, was his son or the son of his older brother Ceol.Kirby, p. 43; Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', pp. 134–135

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

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