BRITANNIA IN 700 A.D.

The following is a snapshot of the island of Britannia as it exists in 700 A.D., providing some 

interesting facts about the various kingdoms which inhabit the island as of this date.

--POLITICAL STRUCTURE: The island of Britannia is currently divided into several
kingdoms. The largest of these, of course, is the realm of the British High King (or
“Brenin Mawr” in the Celtic tongue), called Britannia (or “Prydein” in the language of the
Celts). Britannia is itself divided between provinces ruled directly by the High King, and
sub-kingdoms ruled by local kings (called “Rhi” in the Celtic tongue). Over time, the
policy of various High Kings of using dynastic marriages to bind the kingdoms together
has meant that all of the dynasties of the various sub-kingdoms are related, to some
degree, by blood to the House of Ambrosius, as the dynasty of the High King is known.

In addition to the Kingdom of Britannia/Prydein, there are several kingdoms located on
the eastern and southern coasts of the island which were founded by the Anglish, Saxon,
and Jutish invaders who nearly conquered the island in the fifth and early sixth centuries,
A.D. The dynasties of some of these (East Anglia and Sussex in particular) are tied to
the House of Ambrosius through dynastic marriage. These kingdoms are firm allies of
the British High King. Others, such as Kent, Essex, and Wessex, have no blood relation
to the British High King, and their rulers, although they acknowledge the High King as
their overlord (in the Saxon tongue, “Bretwalda,” meaning “Lord of Britain”), they are by
no means allies and remain a potential source of trouble for the High King.

To the north are the Kingdoms of Dalriada and Pictland, which up until now have figured
but little in this history, and about which little are known.

GOVERNMENT: The government of Britannia/Prydein is, in essence, a federal system.
At the top level is the High King (“Brenin Mawr”). The High Kingship is hereditary in
the House of Ambrosius. The High King presides over the High Council (or Cyngor
Mawr in the Celtic tongue), which is composed of all the kings of the British
sub-kingdoms plus the High King, each of which have one vote. The High King holds a
veto power which can, however, be over-ridden by a three-fourths vote of the remaining
members of the Council. The Council, which meets twice a year at the city of Caer
Gloui, makes laws on issues which affect the entire kingdom as well as serving as a
forum for the arbitration of disputes between individual sub-kings.

In those territories which are directly controlled by the High King, local government is
provided by governors (“Llywodraethwr” in the Celtic tongue) appointed by the High
King. The governors of the provinces of the High King are normally related by blood to
the High King. Elsewhere, local government is provided by the sub-kings (“Rhi”), and
the sub-kingdoms have their own hereditary dynasties. In cases where there is a dispute
over the succession to the throne of a sub-kingdom, the High Council arbitrates, and the
High King is responsible for enforcing the decision of the Council. If the royal house of a
sub-kingdom is totally extinguished (as has happened, as a result of warfare with the
Anglo-Saxon invaders, on several occasions), the High King may either claim the
territory for himself, or divide it among the other sub-kingdoms in the same region of
Britannia/Prydein.

Sub-kingdoms are themselves divided into smaller units called Cantrefs, which usually
include a city or town and it’s surrounding area and which are normally ruled by a Prince
(“Tywysog” in the Celtic tongue). These Princes are normally related by blood, and are
often a son or other close relative, of the sub-king who rules the kingdom as a whole. In
former times (before the laws of High King Arthur I which forbade such practices), the
cantrefs quite often split off from the parent kingdom and their Princes ruled as kings in
their own right. But since the passage of the aforementioned laws, the High Kings have
dealt harshly with Princes who attempted to throw off the control of their overlords, and
such occurrences are, by now, quite rare.

The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms are also ruled by hereditary kings whose dynasties trace back
to the original chieftains who first lead their peoples to Britannia. These kings are usually
advised by a Council of Elders (called a “Witenagemot” in the Saxon tongue). As
mentioned previously, all of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms recognize the British High King
as their overlord (“Bretwalda”), and since the time of High King Cadwaladyr, the British
High King has retained the right to approve or disapprove the succession of new kings to
the thrones of each kingdom.

MILITARY: The defense of the Kingdom of Britannia/Prydein is organized as follows.
Each sub-king (“Rhi”) maintains his own fortified stronghold, called a Caer. Often this
is a fortified city or town, in other cases it is a hill-fort. Based at this Caer is the
sub-king’s personal guard (“teulu” in the Celtic tongue), a small force (usually 100-200
men, or in the case of the largest kingdoms as many as 500 men) of well-armed and loyal
troops, usually consisting of lightly armored cavalrymen, which form the basis of the
sub-king’s armed forces. In addition, the sub-king can call up a levy of the men of the
kingdom, most of whom fight as light infantry (spearmen and archers). These forces of
the sub-kings form the first line of defense against invasion. If the sub-king is not
capable to repelling the invasion alone, the High King will call upon the sub-kings of the
surrounding regions to reinforce him while the High King assembles and moves his own
forces to the scene.

The High King maintains a fortified stronghold of his own, in the region of Caer Lerion at
a city called Caer Camulod, named by the founder of the city, High King Arthur I, in
honor of his queen (who came from the now extinct kingdom of Camulod on the eastern
coast of Britannia). Arthur had originally based himself at the fortress of Caer Guircon
(formerly, in Roman times, a city called Viroconium) in the Kingdom of Pengwern, but
following the re-conquest of Caer Lerion and Arthur’s claim upon it as his own personal
land, Arthur built a new stronghold to cement his claim on the region, and the High Kings
have made their home there ever since. The High King’s military force is built around
his mobile cavalry strike force, called the Byddin Mawreddog ("Great Host" which, at the present time, 

consists of around 2,000 cavalrymen. These men are professional soldiers, well-armed and 

trained to a high standard. About a third of the High King’s cavalry force, numbering about 700
cavalrymen, is based at Caer Camulod. The remainder of the force is based, in companies
of between 100 and 400 men each, at various fortified towns and hill-forts in the High
King’s other provinces. In time of war, the High King musters his mobile force and
moves rapidly to the threatened point, where they join the forces of the local sub-kings in
repelling the invasion, or in mounting whatever offensive action is planned. The High
King can also call up a levy of the male population of his provinces if necessary. Like
those of the sub-kingdoms, these levies will fight mostly as light infantry spearmen and
archers.

The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms each maintain an army based on a warband loyal to the King
(the thegns) and a general levy (the Fyrd) of the male population. The Thegns are
generally better trained and armed than the Fyrd, but all fight as infantry, with the
exception of a few elite cavalrymen who form the king’s personal bodyguard. The
Anglo-Saxon cavalry has never been a match for the cavalry of Prydein, especially the
High King’s professional troops, in either numbers or quality, and the invaders continue
to rely principally on their tough, steady infantry to win the day.

ECONOMY: The economy of Britannia has made a great recovery since the dark days of
the fifth century, when the economy virtually collapsed and many vital industries went
defunct in the chaos following the withdrawal of Rome from Britannia. Under the wise
rule of High King Arthur I and his successors, large areas which had been abandoned and
whose land had fallen out of cultivation are now again bearing fruit. Large grain harvests
are being routinely brought in, enabling Britannia to export grain to the continent for the
first time since the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West. A thriving woolens
industry has been revived, and strong metal-working, pottery, mining, and forestry
industries have been re-established. Cities which had been abandoned have been
reoccupied in many areas, and many new towns have sprung up in reconquered regions.
Trade with the Continent is thriving, with luxury goods coming in from as far away as
Constantinople and Alexandria.

POPULATION: The population of Britannia/Prydein at the time the Romans withdrew
(410 A.D.) stood at somewhere between 3 and 3.5 million. During the chaos of the next
century, that population plummeted by almost half, to around 2 million. Over the
succeeding two centuries, under the rule of the House of Ambrosius, the population has
made a remarkable recovery, but has still not yet reached the level it attained under the
Romans. As of 700 A.D., the combined populations of the kingdom of
Britannia/Prydein, along with the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, is now approaching 3 million
souls. The vast majority are in Britannia, whose population now outnumbers the
combined population of all the remaining Anglo-Saxon kingdoms by almost three-to-one.
One factor in this disparity has been the fact that there has been considerable
inter-marriage between Celt and Anglo-Saxon in the border areas, and these mixed-blood
people tend to be loyal to, and make their homes in, Britannia/Prydein.

LANGUAGE: The people of the Kingdom of Britannia/Prydein, for the most part, speak
Gymraeg, the native Celtic tongue of Prydein. Of course there are several dialects of this.
There are also still some Latin-speakers in some of the towns, primarily among the upper
class, but the numbers of these are rapidly declining and by now, the vast majority of
these are bi-lingual and speak Gymraeg as well. In the far north one encounters speakers
of Gaelic and Pictish where populations merge along the borders with Dalriada and
Pictland, and likewise, in the borderlands between Britannia and the Anglo-Saxon
kingdoms, one encounters speakers of the invaders’ Germanic tongues. There has been
some trading of words between all of these languages, but for the most part, each remains
true to it’s roots.

 

PART FOUR: 700-800 A.D.

698-742--Reign of High King Arthur III. Arthur III is a man cut of different cloth than
his predecessors. As mentioned elsewhere, he is the first High King who has no military
experience and no discernible interest in military affairs. He will therefore tend to
delegate those matters to others, especially to his younger brothers, Custennin, who will
serve as Cadlywydd (Commander) of the Byddin Mawreddog (the "Grand Host," as the
High King’s mobile cavalry force is called) until his death in 725, and Cadwaladyr, who
will serve until his own death in 742. Another official in whom Arthur places great
reliance is the Dux Brittaniarum, who is charged with organizing the initial defense of the
northern frontier, where the Picts and Scots are once again threatening the tranquillity of
the kingdom. While this delegation of authority is in some ways a good thing, as it places
military affairs in the hands of experienced and able commanders, it also carries the seeds
of problems which will arise later on, as these officers begin to amass power bases for
themselves which will eventually enable them to consider challenging the power of the
High King. Thus Arthur’s reign sees the beginning of certain trends in the political
realm which will bear bitter fruit in the years to come.

In other areas, however, Arthur III’s reign is a brilliant one, especially in the fields of art,
learning, and religion. Arthur III will found or rebuild more churches and monasteries
during his reign than all the previous High Kings put together. The libraries and
scriptoria which he endows at the various monasteries will one day fuel an explosion of
learning not only in Britannia, but eventually throughout Western Europe. Among the
greatest achievements of the period is the creation of the first attempt at a dictionary for
Gymraeg, the Celtic language of Britannia. The period also sees the first substantial
amount of written literature in the language, as poems, legends, and other folk stories
which have been passed down orally for centuries are written down for the first time. He
patronizes Bards and other poets and writers, as well as historians, prompting the creation
of a substantial body of new literature as well.

Somewhat ironically, it will be Arthur’s pre-occupation with religion which will spark the
only real interest he will ever show in a military enterprise during his reign. Concerned
after hearing reports about the spread of Islam from the Iberian peninsula into the
Frankish lands to the north, he will offer aid, first to Duke Odo of Aquitaine, and then to
Charles Martel, Mayor of the Palace and effective ruler of the Franks. More on this later.

701--Death of King Beorna of Deira. He is succeeded by his son, who reigns as King
Aethelwulf. Although Aethelwulf, like his predecessor, swears allegiance to the British
High King, privately he wants full independence for Deira, and begins working toward
that goal. He enters into secret negotiations with the Kings of Kent, Essex, and Wessex
aimed at an anti-British alliance.

702--For some years, the sub-kings of Dyfed, Dumnonia, and Strathclyde have
maintained small naval forces used to combat raiding by Irish "pirates." Now, the Kings
of Strathclyde are pursuing a more offensive strategy for dealing with the problem.
Although this is not an official policy of the British High King, it is approved by him.
And so in this year, King Irgalach ua Conaing of Brega is killed by British raiders at
Ireland's Eye.

703--British raiders in Ireland are defeated by the Ulaid at Ards peninsula. The Kings of
Kent, Essex, Wessex, and Deira enter into a secret alliance aimed at asserting their
independence from the domination of the British High King. They also begin secretly
treating with King Brude mac Derelei of Pictavia, exploring the possibility of a joint war
the Picts against the hated British foe. Brude proves a canny negotiator, and the talks
drag on with no agreement being reached.

704--The King of Connacht invades the midlands and kills Loingsech mac Oengusso,
who styles himself "King of Ireland."

706--King Brude mac Derelei of Pictavia dies. He is succeeded by his brother, Nechtan
mac Derelei. Nechtan, unlike his brother, is not much a military man and is more
interested in religious matters than in conquest (in many ways, he is a man of similar sort
to High King Arthur III, with whom he will forge amicable relations), and Britannia’s
northern borders will experience a period of peace. He will make numerous reforms to
the Pictish church during his reign, converting to the Roman form of Christianity after
being visited by missionaries based at St. Paul’s monastery in Deira. The plans of King
Aethelwulf of Deira for a joint war of the Anglo-Saxons and Picts against the British are
foiled when Nechtan peremptorily ends the negotiations between them.

709--Ui Chennselaig of South Leinster with British mercenaries from Strathclyde and
Dyfed defeats King Cellach Cualann of Leinster; a plague called baccach (poliomyelitis?)
with dysentery in Ireland.

710-722--Fergal mac Maele Duin, High King of Ireland; Cenel nEogain of the Ui Neill
becomes dominant in the north.

711-718--The Muslims conquer Iberia.

713--Death of King Eadwulf of East Anglia. He is succeeded by Aelfwald.

714--Death of King Berhtun of Sussex. He is succeeded by Athelstan.

715--Death of King Sigeheard of Essex. He is succeeded by Swaefbert. Swaefbert
withdraws from the anti-British alliance forged by King Aethelwulf of Deira, and the
other members of the alliance shortly begin arguing among themselves. The alliance
collapses. Ui Dunlainge and Ui Chennsealaig contest the Leinster kingship on the death
of King Cellach Cualann of Leinster.

717--The Irish clergy are expelled from Pictland by King Nechtan mac Derelei. Nechtan
also expels British clergy from the kingdom shortly thereafter as he moves toward full
adoption of Roman Catholicism.

719--Muslim forces from Iberia over-run Septimania (the southern coast of what is now
France). From bases in this region, the Muslims will launch frequent raids into the
surrounding lands of the Franks and Burgundians.

720--Death of King Athelstan of Sussex. He is succeeded by Nothelm.

721--Battle of Toulouse. Duke Odo of Aquitaine defeats the Arabs forces under Al-Samh
ibn Malik In Ireland, King Cathal mac Finguine of Cashal and King Murchad mac Brain
of Leinster ally to ravage the Ui Neill of Brega.

722--Death of Dogfael, King of Strathclyde. High King Arthur III appoints King Urien II
map Rhun of Rheged as the new Dux Brittaniarum. Also in this year, High King Arthur
contacts Duke Odo of Aquitaine, offering military assistance against the Arabs, which the
Duke gratefully accepts. Arthur sends Custennin, his brother and Cadlywydd of the
Byddin Mawreddog, to Aquitaine in command of a force of 1,000 men (representing half
of the Byddin Mawreddog). While these troops will prove useful to the Duke,
representing the only significant force of cavalry at his disposal, they will not prove
decisive, as the Muslim cavalry greatly outnumbers them. In Ireland, High-King Fergal
mac Maele Duin is killed by the Laign at the battle of Almu.

725--Death of King Aethelwulf of Deira. He is succeeded by his nephew, who reigns as
King Oswald. Death of King Nothelm of Sussex. He is succeeded by Athelbert.
Custennin ap Rhodri, Cadlywydd of the Byddin Mawreddog, is killed near Autun,
Burgundy, while in action against an Arab army raiding north from Narbonne. He is
replaced in this post by another brother of High King Arthur, Cadwaladyr ap Rhodri.

 

Also in this year, at the behest of High King Arthur III, a conference of legal scholars and churchmen

 from around the Kingdom of Britannia is held for the purpose of combining the various legal codes which are in use 

in the various sub-kingdoms and provinces of Britannia into one, comprehensive code to serve the entire kingdom. 

For the most part, the laws which are included are taken from the traditional Celtic law codes which are in common use 

around the kingdom, but some provisions of Roman law borrowed from the Codex Justinianus, copies of which have 

made it into the Kingdom via British monks returning from travels abroad, also make it into the new Code.

725-726--Civil War in Kent. King Wihtraed of Kent dies. A civil war over the
succession breaks out between his sons, Aethelberht, Eadberht, and Aelfric. In the end,
Aethelberht wins, and takes the throne as King Aethelbert II.

726--King Nechtan of Pictavia is deposed Drust son of Talorgan (possibly a nephew of
Nechtan’s) and forced to enter a monastery.

728--Death of King Ine of Wessex (Wight). Ine had no children, and at his death there is
a brief civil war in Wessex between supporters of Oswald, a descendant of King Caewlin,
and Aethelheard, a brother-in-law of Ine. Oswald is victorious, and Aethelheard flees to
the court of King Aethelbert II of Kent.

728-729--A struggle for the throne of Pictavia breaks out between the former King
Nechtan, who has left the monastery to attempt to retake his throne; King Drust mac
Talorgan; Alpin, a Prince of Dal Riada; and Oengus mac Fergus, another member of the
Pictish royal house who also is related to the royal family of the Scottish kingdom of Dal
Riada. In the end, Alpin is defeated and driven back to Dal Riada; Drust is killed;
Nechtan is forced to abdicate again and return to the monastery (where he lives, in peace,
until his death in 732); and Oengus mac Fergus emerges victorious and assumes the
throne of Pictavia as King Oengus I.

729--Aethelheard of Wessex is murdered in Kent by parties unknown (probably agents of
King Oswald).

730-741--Wars of King Oengus I of Pictavia against Dal Riada. The Picts are victorious,
and Dal Riada is made tributary to Pictavia.

730--Concerned by encroachments by the Franks on his northern borders, Duke Odo of
Aquitaine makes an alliance with Uthman ibn Naissa, Berber Emir of Catalonia. When
High King Arthur hears of this "betrayal" on the part of Odo, he withdraws his army back
to Britannia.

731--Death of King Oswald of Deira. He is succeeded by Egbehrt. Also in this year,
Uthman ibn Naissa revolts against Abdul Rahman, Governor of Al-Andalus. Uthman is
defeated, and Abdul Rahman follows up with an invasion of Aquitaine. Duke Odo
suffers a catastrophic defeat at Bordeaux, and the Arabs devastate Aquitaine. High King
Arthur III offers troops to Charles Martel of the Franks, who he sees as the last bulwark
of Western Christendom against the Muslim infidels. Charles, like Odo before him,
accepts. Arthur’s brother, Cadwaladyr ap Rhodri, is sent to France with an expeditionary
force of 2,000 (1,000 cavalry of the Byddin Mawreddog, and 1,000 infantry, many of
whom are Angles and Saxons supplied, at Arthur’s request, by the Kings of East Anglia
and Sussex).

732--Battle of Tours in Francia. Charles Martel of the Franks defeats a Muslim invasion
force, ending serious Muslim attempts to conquer western Europe outside of the Iberian
Peninsula. The British troops supplied by High King Arthur III are present at the battle
and play a significant part in the Christian victory. Indeed, at one point in the battle,
when the Muslim heavy cavalry had broken into the Frankish infantry formation, a
counter-charge by the British cavalry repelled them and may well have saved the day for
the Christian forces.

733--The Battle of Tours will prove to be the high point of British cooperation with the
Franks. Shortly thereafter, word will get back to High King Arthur of Frankish
disapproval of the peculiar rites and practices of the British Church, which will lead to a
break between the two powers. High King Arthur is particularly angered by disparaging
remarks made by Charles Martel about the tonsure of the British monks (British monks
wore the Celtic tonsure, which consisted of shaving the whole front of the head from ear
to ear, the hair being allowed to hang down behind. Frankish monks wore the Roman
tonsure, which consisted of shaving only the top of the head, so as to allow the hair to
grow in the form of a crown) sent to minister to the religious needs of the British troops,
since Arthur himself, as an expression of his piety, wears the same tonsure. Arthur
withdraws his troops by mid-733, and relations between Britannia and Francia will
remain strained for a long time to come. War does not break out between them,
however, as Charles Martel and his successor, Pepin the Short, will be fully occupied
with reconquering Septimania and Narbonensis from the Arabs, putting down rebellions
by the Frisians and Burgundians, and warring against the Saxon tribes to the east of the
Frankish realm and the Lombards in Italy.

734--Aed Allan mac Fergaile of Cenel nEogain defeats and deposes High King
Flaithbertach mac Loingsig, the last Cenel nConaill High King. A fleet from Dal Riada
fought for Flaithbertach.

735--Aed Allan, High King of Tara (734-43), defeats the Ulaid at the battle of Fochairt ;
King Cathal mac Finguine of Cashal is defeated by Leinster at the battle of Belach Eile.

737--All of Ireland recognizes the primacy of Armagh as the chief religious center of
Ireland.

738--Death of King Swaefbert of Essex. He is succeeded by Saelred. Aed Allan defeats
the Laigin at the battle of Uchbad (Ballyshannon, Co. Kildare); King Aed mac Colggen
and many sub-kings of Leinster are killed.

741--Death of Charles Martel. He is succeeded by his sons, Pepin and Carloman, who
serves Mayor of the Palace of the Kingdoms of Neustria and Austrasia, respectively.

742-743--Smallpox outbreaks in Ireland.

742--In June, 742, Pictish armies lead by King Oengus I invade Gododdin, laying siege to
it’s capital, Din Eidyn. In July, the Dux Brittaniarum, King Urien of Rheged, rallies the
forces of Strathclyde and Rheged and attempts to raise the siege, but Urien is killed and
the British relief force is scattered. King Gawain II of Gododdin manages to get a
messenger out to High King Arthur III, appealing for aid. But upon his arrival in Caer
Camulod in late August, the messenger finds the High King on his deathbed, too ill to
even communicate, and no relief force is immediately dispatched as a result. The High
King lingers for several weeks before he finally passes away on September 22, 742, and is
succeeded by his nephew Peredyr, son of Arthur’s brother, Custennin.

In the interim, however, King Oengus captures Din Eidyn, which is burned to the ground,
and most of the royal house of Gododdin is captured and drowned in the River Forth at
the orders of Oengus. Oengus’s victory is short-lived, however. By October 742, the
new High King, Peredyr, has gathered his Byddin Mawreddog (mobile cavalry force),
under the command of it’s Cadlywydd (Commander), Cadwaladyr ap Rhodri, at Caer
Camulod, and he leads it northward, where it joins the remnants of the army of Gododdin
(under the command of Prince Lludd, the only surviving member of Gododdin’s royal
house) and the armies of Strathclyde, Rheged, and Deira (whose king, a vassal of the
High King, has responded to a request for assistance from Peredyr) outside the city of
Eborac. The united British force meets the Picts south of Din Eidyn in November 742.
In a sanguine struggle, the Picts are forced to retreat from Gododdin, but the losses to the
British forces are severe and High King Peredyr does not pursue. Among the slain is
Cadwaladyr, Cadlywydd of the Byddin Mawreddog, who is replaced by his deputy
commander, a cousin of the High King named Cynddylan ap Einion, a descendant of one
of the younger brothers of High King Rhodri. An uneasy peace settles over the northern
border which will hold for a few years. Prince Lludd is soon afterward installed as King
Lot II of Gododdin, and sets about rebuilding his capital at Din Eidyn.

746--Death of King Saelred of Essex. He is succeeded by Swithred.

747--High King Peredyr marries Meredydd, daughter of King Gwalchmei of Pengwern.
Carloman, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia, retires to a monastery, leaving his brother,
Pepin the Short, as Mayor of the Palace of all of Francia.

748--King Oengus I of Pictavia invades Strathclyde. His forces are defeated, however,
and retire into Pictland. Aed Find mac Echdach becomes King of Dal Riada. However,
he is still a vassal of King Oengus of Pictavia. A son is born to High King Peredyr. The
boy is named Cadwallon ap Peredyr of the House of Ambrosius, and is installed as King
of Gwynedd later this same year.

749--Death of King Aelfwald of East Anglia. He is succeeded by Beorna.

750--King Oengus I of Pictavia is once again defeated when he invades Strathclyde.
Talorgan, brother of Oengus and his most able lieutenant, is killed in the battle. Death of
King Egbehrt of Deira. He is succeeded by Alfred. Death of King Athelbert of Sussex.
He is succeeded by Osmund.

750 onward--In the wake of the defeat of King Oengus I of Pictavia by the Britons, civil
war breaks out in Pictavia. Although Oengus manages to hold onto his throne, his
authority is severely weakened, and Pictavia effectively splinters into separate kingdoms
once again. Following the death of Oengus in 762, Dal Riada will once again have
asserted it’s independence as well.

751--Pepin the Short, with the blessing of Pope Zachary, deposes the last Merovingian
King, Childeric III, and becomes King of the Franks, establishing the Carolingian House
on the Frankish throne.

756--King Oengus I of Pictavia, having briefly defeated his Pictish rivals, once again
attacks Strathclyde. He lays siege the capital at Alclud (OTL Dumbarton), but High King
Peredyr arrives with reinforcements and the Picts are decisively defeated.

758--Death of King Swithred of Essex. He is succeeded by Sigeric. Death of King
Beorna of East Anglia. He is succeeded by Aethelred.

760--Death of King Oswald of Wessex (Wight). He is succeeded by his son, Cynewine.

762--Death of King Oengus mac Fergus of Pictavia. He is succeeded by his brother,
Brude mac Fergus. Death of King Aethelbert II of Kent. He is succeeded by Eanmund.

763--King Brude mac Fergus of Pictavia is killed in battle by a Pictish rival, Cineod mac
Wredech, who takes the throne for himself.

764-770--Civil War in Britannia. When High King Arthur III died childless, there was
quite a bit of dissension within the House of Ambrosius over who should succeed him.
Although Peredyr ap Custennin held the senior position within the dynasty, and was
clearly the legal successor, there were nevertheless members of the family less closely
related to the outgoing High King who felt themselves more deserving and who argued
that the decision should have been put before the Cyngor Mawr (High Council). In 764,
High King Peredyr is assassinated on the orders of Cynddylan ap Einion, Cadlywydd of
the Byddin Mawreddog and a descendant of one of the younger brothers of High King
Rhodri. As Crown Prince Cadwallon has not yet reached the age of maturity, at the
special meeting of the Cyngor Mawr called to discuss the matter of the succession after
Peredyr’s death, Cynddylan persuades a majority of the Council to accept him as Rhaglaw
(Regent). He shortly thereafter sends troops to place Crown Prince Cadwallon in
"protective custody," but Cadwallon’s mother, Brenhines (Queen) Meredydd, hears of
this and, suspecting treachery, flees with Cadwallon to the court of King Lludd of
Gododdin, who owes the family of Peredyr a debt of honor in return for Peredyr’s aid in
restoring his kingdom after the Pictish invasion of 742. When Cynddylan demands that
Lludd turn over the Crown Prince to his custody, Lludd refuses. Cynddylan thereupon
declares Lludd an outlaw and begins mobilizing an army.

However, in doing so, Cynddylan has miscalculated, because many who supported his
election as Rhaglaw view his obsession with gaining control of the person of the Crown
Prince with suspicion and alarm, and many begin to suspect that Cynddylan had a hand in
the death of High King Peredyr. And so the various sub-kings take sides, as do the
commanders of the various units of the Byddin Mawreddog (the High King’s mobile
cavalry force), and by the end of the year, a war has broken out between the factions.
Needing more troops, Cynddylan offers the kings of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms political
concessions and bribes in the form of land taken from sub-kings who support Cadwallon,
and the invaders also get involved, with Wessex, Essex, Kent, and Deira providing troops
for Cynddylan while Sussex and East Anglia remain loyal to Cadwallon.

The war is very destructive, as rival armies stage invasions and counter-invasions and
kingdoms across the island are ravaged by their foes. But in the end, the forces of Crown
Prince Cadwallon, who has proved to be a naturally gifted military commander despite
his young age, prevail, and Cynddylan is besieged in Caer Camulod, which falls in the
year 767. Cynddylan is captured and executed, which effectively ends British resistance
to the High King’s rule. However, the invaders are another story, and it will take another
three years before they, too, are defeated.

768--King Aed Find mac Echdach of Dal Riada revolts against Pictish rule and
re-establishes the independence of Dal Riada. He invades Pictavia shortly thereafter, but
is forced to retreat. King Pepin of the Franks dies. His realm is divided between his
sons, Charles and Carloman.

Also in this year, High King Cadwallon, in cooperation with King Aethelred of East
Anglia, invades Essex. King Sigeric of Essex barely escapes by ship with a few
followers when his capital falls, taking refuge at the court of King Charles of the Franks.
Cadwallon and Aethelred divide the lands of Essex between them, with Cadwallon taking
the region of Caer Lundein and Aethelred taking the rest.

 

768 onward--Former King Sigeric of Essex, as mentioned elsewhere, escaped with his family from the 

final destruction of his kingdom and fled to the court of King Charles of the Franks (also known to 

history as Charlemagne). There, he maintains his claim to the throne of Essex, and champions the cause of 

"Roman Catholics oppressed by the heretic British." Although Charlemagne strongly sympathizes with King Sigeric 

and his cause, his ongoing wars with the Saxons to the east and the Muslims to the south preclude him taking any 

direct action in support of Sigeric.

769--Death of King Eanmund of Kent in battle with the forces of Cadwallon and King
Osmund of Sussex. Fall of Kent, which, with the approval of Cadwallon, is absorbed by
Sussex. Also in this year, High King Cadwallon invades and conquers Deira, personally
killing it’s last king, Alfred, in the final assault on the Deiran citadel at Malton.

770--King Osmund of Sussex and Cadwallon launch a seaborne invasion of Wessex
(Wight). King Cynewine of Wessex is captured and executed, along with the rest of the
royal family of Wessex. With the approval of Cadwallon, the Isle of Wight is annexed by
Sussex.

770-812--Reign of High King Cadwallon ap Peredyr. The reign of High King Cadwallon
will see major reforms to the political structure of the Kingdom that will have great
impacts in the years to come. In the aftermath of the recently ended civil war, High King
Cadwallon knows that he has to restore and reinforce the authority of the High King, and
in order to do that, he needs to be ruthless. In pursuit of that aim, he seizes the kingdoms
of Calchvynydd and Rheged, which had sided with Cynddylan during the war. The royal
houses of these kingdoms are dispossessed and exiled (some go to Brittany, others to
Ireland), and the kingdoms become provinces under the direct rule of the High King.
Cadwallon appoints a loyal Llywodraethwr (Governor) to govern each of them for him.
As mentioned elsewhere, he also sees to it that the kingdoms of Deira, Kent, Essex, and
Wessex cease to exist. Only those loyal to the High King are allowed to remain in their
positions. As the High King now controls the Cyngor Mawr...the kingdoms of Caer Lerion, Gwynedd, Eborac, Elmet, Dwrn Gwarae, and Caer Gwinntguic which have been claimed as personal land by the High King have never lost their votes on the council, and the acquisition of the votes of Rheged and Calchvynydd and the reconquest of Deywr and Caer Lundein has finally given the High King a clear majority of votes in that body...Cadwallon is able to push through laws which dramatically reduce the independence of the sub-Kings, each of whom in effect becomes little more than a Llywodraethwr. With the examples of the Houses of Calchvynydd and Rheged clearly before them, the remaining sub-Kings do not protest too loudly.

Cadwallon also makes another decision which will be of great importance in years to
come...he decides to create a navy, for the first time in the history of the Kingdom.
Cadwallon had been forced to rely on his Anglo-Saxon allies for his naval strength during
the recent war, especially during the invasion of the Isle of Wight which lead to the
destruction of the Kingdom of Wessex, and while he trusts in the loyalty of the Kings of
East Anglia and Sussex, he realizes that this might not be a permanent situation. He also
is concerned by the rising and hostile Frankish power across the Oceanus Britannicus.
Accordingly, a small tax is imposed...with the approval of the Cyngor Mawr...which is
used to construct, train, and man a permanent British naval force. Squadrons are
stationed at bases near the mouth of the River Humbri (Humber) at the re-founded town
of Caer Petwary (the former Roman town of Petuaria Parisorum); on the River Tafwys
(Thames) at Caer Lundein (OTL London), Caer Clawsent (OTL Southampton) on the
southern coast, and Caer Afon (OTL Bristol) on the western coast. In addition, the small
naval forces maintained by some of the local sub-kings (the Kings of Dumnonia, Dyfed
and Strathclyde in particular) are integrated into the force structure of the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, the economy slowly recovers from the ravages of the war. Towns are rebuilt,
and areas abandoned during the conflict are gradually resettled. Nevertheless, it will take
some years for Britannia to recover it’s pre-war prosperity.

771--King Carloman of Austrasia dies. His brother, Charles of Neustria, becomes King
of All the Franks. Charles, who will go down in history as Charles the Great or
Charlemagne, is a devout Roman Catholic, and will spend most of his
reign involved in warfare against enemies of the Roman Church, including the Lombards
of Italy, the pagan Saxons, Slavs, Wiltzes and Avars to the east, and the Muslims of
Iberia. The ruthless conversion of the Saxons to Christianity...at one point, Charlemagne
is rumored to have had 4,500 Saxon noblemen beheaded for practicing their pagan beliefs
after having converted to Roman Catholicism...and the religious nature of most of
Charles’ other wars is of concern to the British High King, who knows how the Franks
feel about his own "heretical" British Church, and is a major factor encouraging the High
King’s foundation and development of a permanent British naval force. Fortunately, the
Frankish King will never find time during his busy reign to attempt an invasion of
Britannia.

772--Death of King Osmund of Sussex. He is succeeded by Elfwald.

775--High King Cadwallon marries Morgaine, daughter of King Lludd of Gododdin, with
whom he fell in love while at Lludd’s court in the first months of the civil war.

776--King Cineod mac Wredech of Pictavia dies. He is succeeded by Fergus mac
Echdach, brother of King Aed Find of Dal Riada.

778--Death of King Aed Find of Dal Riada. He is succeeded by Fergus mac Echdach
(also king of Pictavia).

779--Death of King Aethelred of East Anglia. He is succeeded by Aethelbehrt.
Aethelbehrt is married to High King Cadwallon’s sister, and the relationship between the
House of East Anglia and the British High King grows even closer during his reign. A
son is born to High King Cadwallon. The boy is named Custennin ap Cadwallon of the
House of Ambrosius, and is shortly thereafter installed as King of Gwynedd.

781--Death of King Fergus mac Echdach of Dal Riada and Pictavia. He is succeeded in
Dal Riada by Eochaid mac Aed Find. Pictavia, however, falls into a period of civil war in
which several kings will rule over the next few years.

786--Revolt of the Bretons against the Franks. It is crushed.

789--Caustantin (Constantine), son of King Fergus mac Echdach, defeats his last rival,
Conall mac Taidg, to reunite Pictavia. Conall flees to Dal Riada.

790--Death of King Elfwald of Sussex. He is succeeded by Aelle III.

792--Death of King Eochaid mac Aed Find of Dal Riada. He is succeeded by Conall mac
Taidg, former king of Pictavia, who usurps the throne at Eochaid’s death.

793--Norse raiders attack and pillage the monastery at Ynys Metcaut. This begins the
period known to history as The Viking Age, when kingdoms throughout western Europe
are beset by raids by Norse pirates, and eventually, Norse armies bent on conquest.

794--Death of King Aethelbehrt of East Anglia. He is succeeded by Eadwald.

c. 795--Norse raids on Ireland begin.

 

798--Former King Sigeric of Essex dies at the court of King Charlemagne. His son, Sigered, takes up

 the standard of Roman Catholic Saxon resistance to the British High King.

800--Charlemagne is crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III at Rome.

 

GO TO PART FIVE:  800-900 A.D.