Sigeberht of Wessex

Sigeberht (died ) was a West Saxon nobleman and atheling. He was King of Wessex from 756 to 757.

 King of Wessex 

Sigeberht was a West Saxon atheling (prince) who in 756 succeeded Cuthred as King of Wessex.Frank Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England (Oxford University Press, 1971), p. 204 in 756. After ruling a year he was accused of unlawful acts and removed from power by the witan.The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, trans. & ed. Michael James Swanton (New York: Routledge, 1998), p. 46 This council was led by Cynewulf.Mike Ashley, The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens (New york: Carroll & Graf, 1999), p. 311 This same council then elected Cynewulf to replace Sigeberht as king. Sigeberht was allowed to keep Hampshire and was supported there by the ealdorman Cumbra. But Sigeberht then killed Cumbra and as a result was driven out of Hampshire. Sigeberht met his end while wandering in the great forest of the Weald, killed by a herdsman. The herdsman killed Sigeberht in revenge for killing Cumbra.Francis Joseph Battaglia, 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 755: The Missing Evidence for a Traditional Reading', PMLA, Vol. 81, No. 3 (Jun., 1966), p. 174

This series of events formed the basis for the story of Cynewulf and Cyneheard. Thirty years later Cynewulf was killed by Cyneheard, the brother of Sigeberht. This was either in revenge for killing his brother or because Cyneheard was about to be expelled from Wessex.Mike Ashley, The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens (New york: Carroll & Graf, 1999), pp. 311-12

 Notes 

 References 

 Other websites 
 Cynewulf and Cyneheard , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
 Britannia: Kings of Wessex 

Category:Year of birth unknown
Category:757 deaths
Category:Kings of Wessex