Centwine of Wessex

Centwine (died 685) was King of Wessex from  to 685. He appears to have been one of several underkings of Wessex after the death of Cenwalh. But at some point he united the kingdom of Wessex under his rule.

 King of Wessex 

Centwine was the probable son of Cynegils and grandson of Ceolwulf, King of Wessex.G. H. Wheeler, 'The Genealogy of the Early West Saxon Kings', The English Historical Review, Vol. 36, No. 142 (Apr., 1921), p. 166 According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Centwine became king .Frank Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England (Oxford University Press, 1971), p. 68 Also that he succeeded Aescwine. Bede wrote that after the death of King Cenwalh: "his under-rulers took upon them the kingdom of the people, and dividing it among themselves, held it ten years".Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, trans. Leo Sherley Price, revsd. R. E. Latham (London; New York: Penguin Books, 1990), pp. 223-24 Bede's view of Aescwine and Centwine as underkings may represent the views of King Ine. His family ruled Wessex in Bede's time.D. P. Kirby, The Earliest English Kings, Second Edition (London; New York: Routledge, 2000), pp. 52-53 If the kingdom did fragment following Cenwalh's death, it was reunited during Centwine's reign.Barbara Yorke, Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England (London: Routledge, 1997), pp. 145-46 An entry under 682 in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that "Centwine drove the Britons to the sea".The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: According to Several Original Authorities, ed. & trans. Benjamin Thorpe, Vol II (London: Longman, Green, Longman and Roberts, 1861), p. 34 Aldhelm wrote Centwine won three major victories but does not say who he defeated.Mike Ashley, The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens (New york: Carroll & Graf, 1999), p. 306 Centwine is reported to have abdicated and became a monk.Mike Ashley, The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens (New york: Carroll & Graf, 1999), p. 307 The date of his death is unknown.

 Family 

Centwine married Eangyth, niece of Eorcenbert of Kent. Her sister, Eormenburh was married to King Egfrith of Northumbria.Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 77 Together they had:

 Bugga, Abbess of Eanburh.
 Oshere (died before 720)

 Notes 

 References 

 Other websites 
 Britannia: Kings of Wessex 

Category:Year of birth unknown
Category:680s deaths
Category:Kings of Wessex