
Magonsæte was a minor sub-
kingdom of the greater
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
kingdom of
Mercia
Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...
, thought to be coterminous with the
Diocese of Hereford
The Diocese of Hereford is a Church of England diocese based in Hereford, covering Herefordshire, southern Shropshire and a few parishes within Worcestershire in England, and a few parishes within Powys and Monmouthshire in Wales. The cathedral i ...
.
The former territory of the
Cornovii tribe
was conquered by
Oswiu of Northumbria in 656, while he was overlord of the Mercians. The west of this region was then occupied by
Anglian groups. One group based itself at the old
Roman town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
of
Magnae or (
Old Welsh
Old Welsh () is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic around 550, ha ...
)
Cair Magon, modern
Kenchester near
Hereford
Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...
.
Kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxons - Magonset Saxons
/ref>
The sub-kingdom of the Western Hecani existed in the late 7th and early 8th centuries, of which three rulers are known: Merewalh, Mildfrith, and Merchelm. By the later 8th century, the region would seem to have been reincorporated into Mercia, perhaps as Westerna, becoming known as the Magonsæte by the 9th century.
Smaller sub-tribes of the Magonsæte included the Temersæte near Hereford and the Hahlsæte near Ludlow.
See also
* Westerne
* Archenfield
References
The Origins and Growth of Hereford
Archaeology Data Service. Retrieved 25 September 2006.
History of Herefordshire
History of Shropshire
Peoples of Anglo-Saxon Mercia
Sub-kingdoms of Mercia
Petty kingdoms of England
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