The Kingdom of Wessex
Wessex is the greatest of the Saxon Kingdoms. Established by followers of the adventurers Cerdic and Cynric more than two centuries ago, its territories greatly expanded under the leadership of the warrior-king Caedwalla. After Caedwalla's mysterious decision to abdicate and make a holy pilgrimage to the Eternal City, the kingdom fell into the hands of Ine.
Structure
Wessex, like most Saxon kingdoms, is controlled by the warrior class. Its structure is hierarchical, consisting of gradations of status with the King at the top:
- King: The King is elected by his Witan, a Council comprised of the ealdormen, chief clerics, and leading thegns
- Ealdorman: These rule substantial areas within the kingdom on behalf of the King. They are generally members of the royal family or related to it.
- Thegn: These are the land-holding warriors who serve the King. Most have at one time been members of the King's household, rewarded with grants of land for their service. They owe military service and must serve in the Witan at the King's pleasure.
- Gesith: These are companions to the King or one of the other great lords of the realm; they make up the household while the greatest amongst them comprise his hearth guard.
- Ceorl: These are the free Saxons who make up the bulk of the kingdom; most are farmers and tradesmen, but all are subject to serve in the Fyrd, the great army of the kingdom.
History
The Kingdom of the West Saxons was founded, so the scops sing, by Cerdic. According to legend, Cerdic was slain by his own son Creoda. Creoda was then, in turn, killed in battle by Cynric, his younger brother. The pattern of violence attending the succession became embedded in the kingdom all the way up through the brief and bloody reign of Caedwalla, who claimed the throne by virtue of his distant relation to the founder Cerdic. On Caedwalla's abdication, however, the throne passed relatively peacefully to King Ine, who rules the kingdom to this day. The reign of Ine has been marked by the conquest of Dumnonia as well as the code of written laws meant to govern all subjects of the kingdom.
Mythology & Lore
Before the Light of Amon even came to the Eternal City of Augusta, so it is said, the holy hermit Dahlver Nar brought that light to Albion. He was said to have founded the first chapel on the high hill of Glestingbury Tor, called Ynys Witrin by the Cymbrians. With the Light of Amon, Dahlver Nar was able to protect the small community of the faithful who had gathered at the foot of the hill from the beings who lurked in the fens beyond. In those early days, the holy man visited many parts of western Albion, particularly among the tribes that would eventually form the Cymbrian Kingdoms. Everywhere he brought the light, wickedness was banished into the darkness.
The Light of Amon was lost sometime in the struggle with Cyrridwen, the Witch Queen of the western hills. Cyrridwen had raised a coalition of elves and goblins who, with the aid of the giants, sought to expel the small communities of faithful from the land. In the end, she was defeated by the mighty cleric, but at the cost of the light he bore with him. Thereafter, the legions of Augusta arrived and quickly subdued the tribes who had been exhausted from the war with Cyrridwen's minions. But the chapel Dahlver Nar had founded remained as a beacon of holiness to the faithful of the Cymbrian lands. Small communities of hermits dwelt therein throughout the occupation of the Empire. After the Empire began to withdraw from Albion, the lands around the chapel were the site of struggle between Dumnonian landlords and Eriuish pirates. But even as the Eriuish seized slaves from the population, they left the hermits at the chapel in peace.
In those days, the West Saxon Kings were fierce pagans, devoted to their war gods. By the year CY 640, they were under the domination of the pagan lords of Mercia to the north. It was during a war with Mercia that Cenwalh, who was the West Saxon King at that time, received a vision of Amon, whose messenger spoke to him in his own Saxon tongue, urging him to embrace the Light of Amon and expand his kingdom. Thereafter the kings of Wessex embraced the Light of Amon and made war on the pagans of Mercia, but it was not until the time of Caedwalla that they began to expand their kingdom to the south.
Caedwalla was succeeded by King Ine, who is said to have had his own vision of Amon. In the vision of Ine, the messenger of Amon appeared to him from a cloud in the west, urging him to move west and recover his chapel at Glestingbury Tor. Ine took this as an invitation to invade the Kingdom of Dumnonia, which he did in CY 710, killing King Geraint and several others and laying hold of the community at Glestingbury Tor. Ine founded a monastery there at the foot of the hill and himself made a pilgrimage to the ruined chapel at the top of the hill. There he is said to have met the messenger of Amon once more and learned certain truths about the destiny of his people.
Thereafter, Ine's realm has become even more devoted to the Light of Amon. The priests of the Light form an integral part of Ine's Council, and are employed throughout his realm as advisors, treasurers, and magistrates.
The Burning of Taunton
One of King Ine's greatest fortresses was the great fortress built at Taunton, to be used as a base to subdue not only the Dumnonian rebels that had been subject to Ine's authority but to launch a further campaign into the yet unconquered land of Kerniu. But while Ine was facing troubles on the northern and eastern boundaries of his territory, the Dumnonian rebels struck. They were amply supported by the men of Kerniu and further backed by the Cymbrian Kingdoms of Dyfed and Gwent-Glywising. When Ine's warlike queen Æthelburh was unable to put down the rebels, she had little choice but to put the fortress to the flame. Thus in the early months of CY 722, the West Saxons were forced into an ignominious retreat, and the greatest fortress in the west of that kingdom was reduced to ashes. It quickly became a focus of looters, bandits, and other even more unwholesome creatures.
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