ANNALS OF THE BRITHONS,

with information on Roman Britannia, post-Roman realms of the

Brithons on Britannia Major and in the diaspora, and lists of the most
important lines of kings and other rulers in those realms
 Table of Contents

Prelude 3

Preamble 3

On Nomenclature 4

Synopsis of the History of Dioecesis Britanniae 7

Brittania-connected Roman Emperors & Anti-Emperors 17

Post-Roman Realms of the Brithons 22

Timeline of the Brithons 46

Appendices (king lists & geneaologies) 272

 Prelude

I have been curious about the history of the Brithons for years, and became
even more so after reading John Morris’ The Age of Arthur a couple of
decades ago. His presentation of Brithonic society continuing at the
provincial and even diocesan level seems a bit far-fetched, but his main
thesis that it did not all collapse at once has been born out since.

Equally as far-fetched Morris’ assertion of Britannia maintaining higher levels

of imperial government is the latest trend of pushing the separation from
Rome further and further back, until it becomes necessary to turn Macsen
Wledig into Magnentius rather than Maximus, accompanied by a portrayal of
Sub-Roman era Brithons as 5th century Brexiteers discarding everything
Roman, an idea with a much historical basis as the kilt-wearing, claymore-
wielding Lowland Scots of the movie Braveheart (to cite just a few of that
movie’s gross historical inaccuracies).

Introduction

Timelines are a very handy tool to sketch out a history of anything you want
to study the history of, or at least they are for me. This is one of several I
have done in the past, and its foundation was a previous one I’ve done
called ‘Timeline of the Pretanic Isles’. This timeline is an account of the
people known as Common Brittonic as Brithons (Brythons to the Welsh and
the Cornish; to the Bretons they are Brezhons) throughout history.

Since much of the identity of the Brithons after the Roman conquest was
connected to their being Roman, there is also material here on the Roman
Empire, including the Roman conquest of Gaul, the Roman conquest of
Britain (of course), Roman Britain, and events of the late western half of the
Imperium Romanum, as well as Britannia’s adherence to nearly every
usurper and anti-emperor that arose, always following its neighbor Gallia’s
course of action.

Commonly accepted history says that Britannia’s connection with the

Imperium Romanum ended in 410 CE and that its path then lay long the
road to “Britannia for Brithons”, as if they were 5th century versions of
Brexiteers. Of course, commonly accepted history also says Romulus
Augustus was the last Roman emperor of the West and that the Western
Roman Empire ended in 476 along with him; the first assumption is no more
accurate than the second. In fact, archaeological and documentary evidence
proves connection with the Imperium Romanum well into the mid-7th
century along with related aspects of both physical and political culture.
The long history of Roman Britannia leading or following Roman Gallia,
especially northern Gallia, would seem to indicate there was almost certainly
interaction between Britannia and the 461-486 Ducatas Suessonium (called
‘Regnum Romanorum’ a century later by Gregory of Tours and the ‘Domain
of Soissons’ by modern historians). Specifically, there were the (self-
defensive) ‘revolt’ of Clodius Albinus 196-197, the ‘Imperium Galliarum’ 260-
274, the ‘Imperium Britannicum’ 286-296, the imperium of Magnentius 350-
353, the imperium of Magnus Maximus 383-388, and the imperium of
Constantinus III 406-411. After all, there clearly was between Suessonium
and the contiguous civitates of Andecavorum and Trevororum, both of which
recognized the emperor at Ravenna installed by Ricimer, Libius Severus, but
coordinated military action with Aegidius and later Syagrius.

I also couldn’t help but notice when putting this together that the dates at
either extreme of the existence of the ‘Kingdom of Suessonium’ coincide
with the those generally accepted for the rise of Ambrosius Aurelianus at one
end and that of ‘Arthur the Soldier’ (by those who accept his historicity) at
the other.

I have organized this timeline into the sections ‘Pre-Celtic Britain’ 6,200,000
-1300 BCE), ‘Pre-Roman Britain’ (1300-132 BCE), ‘Roman Conquest of
Gallia’ (125 BCE-40 CE), ‘Roman Conquest of Britannia’ (43-83 CE), ‘Roman
Britannia’ (43-486), ‘Sub-Roman Britain’ (486-664), ‘Anglo-Saxon Britain’
(664-828), ‘Anglo-Saxon England’ (829-1066), ‘Norman England’ (1066-
1365), ‘Brithonic Houses Rule in the Isles’ (1371-1714), and ‘Modern Era’
(1714-present). Despite this sectioning, the timeline is not limited to events
physicially on the Pretanic Isles, including, for instance, information on those
in Brittany (Brittania Minor), Britonia (Britannia Nova), and the western
Roman Empire.

On Nomenclature

The earliest written reference to the Island of Great Britain using a form of
that name comes from the 4th century BCE Greek geographer Pytheas of
Massalia (Marseille) in the forms ‘Prettanikḗ’ and ‘Brettaníai’. The 1st
century BCE Greek historian Diodorus of Sicily used the form ‘Brettanía’,
which became Britannia to the Romans. These names linguists hypothesize
come from a native original, ‘Pretani’ or ‘Pritani’ in Old Common Brittonic
(aka Proto-Brittonic).

In his later works, Pytheas referred to the major islands of the chain
individually as Albion, Ierne, and Mon, apparently referring to Britain,
Ireland, and Mann. Given the affinity of these to modern forms in the
various Gaelic (Irish, Scottish, and Manx) languages, these names probably
came from informers who spoke Primitive Irish (also known as Archaic Irish
and Proto-Goidelic).

As for the island of Britain itself, Diodorus describes it as being a triangle of

sorts with the points ‘Kantion’ (Cantium), ‘Belerion’ (Cerniu or Dumnonia),
and ‘Orkas’ (Orcas).

Today, the Pretanic (‘British’) Isles include Britain, Ireland, Mann, Angelsey,
the Hebrides, the Orkneys, the Shetlands, the Channels, the Friesans, and a
few others.

The name ‘Great Britain’ (as Britannia Major) was not used until the Middle
Ages of Europe, and coined only to distinguish it from the peninsula then
known to its inhabitants as ‘Letau’ (and to imperial Rome as ‘Armorica’) and
called in Latin ‘Britannia Minor’ (modern Brittany) from the large waves of
Britons seeking refuge who crossed the Channel southward from the late 4th
through 6th centuries CE, and rose to be the aristocracy of Lower (western)
Brittany (which once spread much farther east than currently; Lower
Brittany is the Breton-speaking section in the west, Upper Brittany is the
Gallo-speaking section in the east.).

Currently, the most common judgement of linguists is that the original form
in Common Brittonic (before splitting into Cumbric, Welsh, Cornish, and
Breton) for the island was ‘Priden’, with ‘Prithon’ for its people, taking the
derived forms Prithonig as an adjective and Prithoneg for the language.

Given the modern forms beginning with ‘B’, rather than ‘P’ like the originals
(Brython in Modern Welsh and Modern Cornish, Brezhon in Modern Breton,
with Cumbric extinct for about eight centuries), the most obvious reason for
the alteration is the more than four-centuries-long domination of the island
by the Imperium Romanum and its Latin preference for that.

The forms ‘British’ and ‘Britons’ have been coopted by the government in
London since the beginning of the 17th century (by a monarch from a house
of Breton origin succeeding a house of Welsh origin). Therefore, there needs
to be a difference to distinguish between the current meaning, citizens of or
belonging to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and
the P-Celtic speakers and their descendants, so here I use the Roman-
influenced form of their autonym in Common Brittonic, ‘Brithon’, because its
seems more familiar than the original form ‘Prithon’.

The section during the Imperium Romanum up through 486 CE gives the
proper Latin designations to political entities and peoples and titles as much
as possible, de-italicized and in all initial caps as if the reader were in the
21st century rather than the 1st through 5th, and those Latin names were
not some alien artifact but part of daily life. As much as possible in the
centuries afterward, I have used Common Brittonic names, as much as I
could find, at least where the post-Roman realms and peoples are
concerned, and Old English names for peoples and realms of that group of
populations, until the end of 1066. In the case of entries for Scotland,
Ireland, France, I have used terms and names indigenous to those places
and times.

Before the timeline begins, I have information about the pre-Roman tribes
and peoples of the Pretanic Isles and other locations of the Sub-Roman
Brithonic diaspora, a short sketch of the political structures of Roman
Britannia, including the Britannia section of the Notitia Dignatum of about
425 CE, a list of Britannia-connected Roman Emperors and Anti-Emperors,
brief accounts of the Sub-Roman realms of the Brithons in Britannia Major
and the lands of the diaspora, and kings lists of the more important realms.
 A VERY Short Synopsis of the History of Dioecesis Britannia

Most of which appear again in the ‘Timeline of the Brithons’ which makes up
the bulk of this work.

In 150 CE, Claudius Ptolemaeus of Alexandria published his Geographike

Hyphegesis, including lists the known tribes, at least the major ones, of the
Pretanic Isles, which were in large part the same as found during the Roman
conquest. These were, with additions from others contemporary sources
(Julius Caesar, for example), as follows, by region:

Pictavia: Caereni, Caledonii, Carnonacae, Catti, Cornovii, Creones,

Decantes, Epidii, Horestii, Lugi, Smertae, Taexali, Vacomagi, and Venicones

Between the Walls: Damnonii, Gadeni, Novantae, Selgovae, Votadini

North Britain: Anavionenses, Brigantes, Carvetti, Corionototae,

Gabrantovices, Lopocares, Segontiaci, Setantii, and Textoverdi

Midlands: Cornovii, Corieltauvi, and Parisii

Southern Britain: Ancalites, Atrebates, Belgae, Bibroci, Boduni, Cantiaci,

Cassi, Catuvellauni, Cenimagni, Iceni, Regnenses, and Trinovantes

West Country: Dobunni, Dumnonii, Durotriges, and Lendiniae (or

Lendinienses, a subtribe of the Durotriges); there may have been also a
third group of Cornovii as a subtribe of the Dumnonii, but evidence for that
is tenuous.

North Wales (or ‘Deheubarth’, Cambria, modern Wales): Deceangli,

Demetae, Gangani, Ordovices, and Silures

Since it is part of the Pretanic Isles, here are those of Ireland:

Ireland: Autini, Brigantes, Cauci, Corionidi, Darini, Eblani, Erdini, Gangani,

Iverni, Manapii, Nagnatae, Robogdii, Usdaie, Vennicnii, Volunti, and Velabri

Also, these two regions became homes to diapora Brithons in the Late
Roman and Early Medieval periods.

Armorica: Curiosolites, Osismii, Veneti, Redones, Namnetes

Gallaecia: Arrotrebae (also spelled Arroni)

 == Roman Britannia ==

Provincia Britanniae was first established in 43 CE, with its capital at

Camulodunum, the former seat of the Trinovantes. However, this was
destroyed completely during Boudica’s War, and in the restoration after the
war, the capital was moved to Londinium (London, Middlesex; Cair Lundein
to the Brittones in the Sub-Roman period) on River Thames.

After Agricola finished his conquests, the province was sectioned into
civitates based more or less on tribal realms (at least of the larger tribes or
confederations), with the following capitals:

Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester, Hampshire); Cair Celemion

Venta Belgarum (Winchester, Hampshire); Cair Guinntguic
Isurium Brigantum (Aldborough, Yorkshire); Cair Isurion
Durovernum Cantiacorum (Canterbury, Kentshire); Cair Ceint
Durobrivae Cantiacorum (Rochester, Kentshire); Cair Dourbruf
Luguvalium Carvetiorum (Carlisle, Cumberlandshire); Cair Lugualid
Verulamium Catuvellaunum (St. Alban’s, Herefordshire); Cair Minicip
Ratae Corieltavarum (Leicester, Leicestershire); Cair Lerion
Viroconium Cornoviorum (Wroxeter, Shropshire); Cair Guricon
Moridunum Demetarum (Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire); Cair Merddyn
Corinium Dobunorum (Circencester, Gloucestershire); Cair Ceri
Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter, Devonshire); Cair Uisc
Lendiniae Durotrigum (Ilchester, Somersetshire); Cair Lindinos
Durnovaria Durotrigum (Dorchester, Dorsetshire); Cair Durnac
Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter, Devonshire); Cair Uisc
Venta Icenorum (Caistor St. Edmund, Norfolkshire); Cair Went
Petuaria Parisorum (Brough-on-Humber, Yorkshire); Cair Petuar
Noviomagus Regnensium (Chichester, Sussexshire); Cair Cei
Venta Silurum (Caerwent/Chepstow, Monmouthsire); Cair Guent
Caesaromagus Trinovantum (Chelmsford, Essexshire); Cair Calmer

In addition to the capitals of the civitates, four coloniae for veterans of the
Roman army were established:

Colonia Claudia Victricensis, or Camulodunum (Colchester, Essexshire);

Cair Colun
Colonia Domitiana Lindensium, or Lindum Colonia (Lincoln,
Lincolnshire); Cair Lind-colun
Colonia Nervia Glevensium, or Glevum (Gloucester, Gloucestershire);
Cair Gloui
Colonia Eboracensis, or Eboracum (York, Yorkshire); Cair Ebrauc
Some other major cities and towns with known Roman names:

Alauna (Alcester, Warwickshire); Cair Alen

Andertitum (Pevensey, Sussexshire); Cair Pensa vel Coyt, Anderidos
Aquae Sulis (Bath, Somersetshire); Cair Baddan
Blestium (Monmouth, Monmouthshire); Cair Guorthigirn
Caistor (Caistor, earlier Thancaster, Lincolnshire);
Castra ad Alaunam (Lancaster, Lancashire)
Cataractonium (Catterick, Yorkshire); Cair Catarauc
Canovium (Caerhun, Caernarfonshire); Cair Conovion
Danum (Doncaster, Yorkshire); Cair Daun
Deva Victrix (Chester, Chestershire); Cair Legion
Dubris (Dover, Kentshire); Cair Dour
Durolinponte (Cambridge, Cambridgeshire); Cair Grauth
Isca Augusta (Caerleon, Monmouthshire); Cair Legion-guar-Uisc
Letocetum (Wall, Leicester, Staffordshire); Cair-luit-Coyt
Magnae Dobunorum (Kenchester, Herefordshire); Cair Fawydd
Mamucium (Manchester, Lancashire); Cair Maunguid
Mediolanum (Whitechurch, Shropshire); Cair Meguidd
Moridunum (Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire); Cair Merddyn
Portus Adumi (Portsmouth, Hampshire); Cair Portus
Rutupiae (Richborough, Kentshire); Cair Ritus (?)
Segontium (Caernarfon, Caernarfonshire); Cair Segeint
Sorviodunum (Old Sarum, Salisbury, Wiltshire); Cair Caratauc
Tamium (Cardiff, Glamorganshire); Cair Taf
Vertis (Worcester, Worcestershire); Cair Guiragon
Verulamium (St. Albans, Hertfordshire); Cair Mincip
Vinovia (Binchester, County Durham); Cair Weir

*****

After Severus Augustus defeated Albinus at the Battle of Lugdunum in 197,

he sent Virius Lupus as Propraetor Britanniae, dividing the single province of
Britannia into two (each under a legatus Augusti pro praetore): Britannia
Superior, with its capital at Londinium, and Britannia Inferior, with its capital
at Eboracum.

*****

In 297, following the collapse of the ‘Imperium Brittanicum’, Caesar

Constantius Chlorus divided Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior into
four new provinces, making it a diocese headed by a vicarius under the
Praefectura Praetorio Galliae: Britannia Maxima Caesariensis, with its capital
at Londinium; Britannia Prima, with its capital at Corinium; Britannia
Secunda, with its capital at Eboracum; and Britannia Flavia Caesariensis,
with its capital at Lindum.

The governor of the first was a consularis, of the other three were praesides;
Britannia Maxima covered the densely-populated southeast; Britannia Prima
roughly what became (North) Wales along with the West Country; Britannia
Flavia the area of the later midlands Mercia; and Britannia Secunda the part
of later Northumbria south of Hadrian’s Wall. In addition, Londinium, the
capital of the diocese as well as of Britannia Maxima, was renamed Augusta
Britanniarum, though the redesignation never gained widespread usage.

These governors only had authority over civilian affairs, with no military
units attached to their offices, but this now was the case with all civil
officers, not just those in frequently rebellious Brittania. The military in the
diocese was restructured as follows:

In Dioecesis Britanniae, there were three commands:

Comes Maritimi Tractus, under whom were Legio II Augusta, now at Ritupiae
(Richborough), plus limitanei that include 3000 foot and 600 horse

Dux Britanniarum, under whom were Legio VI Victrix at Eboracum, plus

limitanei that include 14,000 foot and 900 horse

Comes Britanniae (Comes Rei Militaris per Britannias), under whom were
Legio XX Valeria Victrix at Deva Victrix, plus comitatenses that include 2200
foot, 200 horse

The Comes Maritimi Tractus (later Comes Litoris Saxonici per Britanniam)
supervised shore defense of both sides of the Mare Britannicum (English
Channel) and also had under his command the Classis Britannica, which is
based at both Dubris (Dover) in Britannia and at Bononia (Boulogne-sur-
Mer) in Gallia.

In the same reform, the provinces of Gaul were divided into the Diocese of
Galliae (Lugdunensis I, Lugdunensis II, Lugdunensis III, Lugdunensis IV
Senonia, Belgica I, Belgica II, Germania I, Germania II, and Maxima
Sequanorum) and the Diocese of Viennensis or Septem Provinciae (Aquitania
I, Aquitania II, Aquitania III Novempopulana, Narbonensis I, Narbonensis II,
Viennensis, Alpes Maritimae, and Alpes Poeninae et Graiae).

In Hispania, the three provinces became five: Hispania Tarraconensis,

Hispania Gallaecia, Hispanis Lusitania, Hispania Baetica, and Hispania
Cartaginensis. Furthermore, the provinces here were further subdivided into
‘conventi’, a counterpart to the civitates of the rest of the empire.

*****

At the death of Constantinus Augustus in 337, the Imperium Romanum was

divided into three praefecturae praetoriae (with their dioceses):

Praefectura Praetorio Galliarum: Gallia, Viennensis or Septem Provinciae,

Britannia, Hispania, Germania, and Tingitana

Praefectura Praetorio Italiae, Illyrici, et Africae: Italia, the Balkans, and

Africa

Praefectura Praetorio Orientis: Thracia, Anatolia, Syria-Palestina, Aegyptus,

and Libya

As was the case with civilian diocesan and provincial officials in the
reorganization of 297, the Praefecti of these units had authority only over
civil administration.

This tripartite division corresponded to the territories alotted to the three

sons and surviving successors of Constantinus I Augustus: Flavius Claudius
Constantinus (Constantine II) over Galliae, Flavius Julius Constans over
Italiae, and Flavius Julius Constantius (Constantius II) over Orientis.

In addition to these regions, Roma and Constantinopolis each have their own
Praefectus.

The Magister Militum per Gallias reported to the Magister Utriusquae Militiae,
who answers to the western Augustus.

*****

Mopping up operations in the north in the wake of the Great Conspiracy of

367, Vicarius Britanniae Civilus added an additional province in the north,
Britannia Valentia, making its governor a consularis. For centuries, general
hypothesis held this to be between the Walls (‘Intermuros’, the Walls being
Hadrian’s and the Antonine), with its seat at Habitanicum (Risingham,
Northumberlandshire) on Dere Street, or else at Luguvalium (Carlisle).
Since the late 20th century, dissenting opinions have suggested it was
rather in Wales, with its seat at Deva, or else covered Cumberlandshire-
Westmorelandshire, with its seat at Luguvalium.
 Notitia Dignatum, 425

The portion dealing with Britannia, and two associated commands in

northern Gallia.

At the top of Dioecesis Britanniae is the Vicarius (Vices Agens Praefecti

Praetorio Galliarum per Britannias). His staff includes a princeps officium
(chief of staff), a cornucularius (chief deputy), two numerarii (receivers of
taxes), a commentariensis (keeper of the commentary or diary), an adiutor
(chief assistant), an ab actis (acts keeper, archivist), a cure epistolorum
(keeper of correspondence), subadiuvae (deputy assistants), exceptores
(lower clerks), and singulares et reliquum officium (various menial staff).

At the next level are the governors of provinces. Those of Britannia Prima
and Britannia Valentia each have a consularis, while those of Britannia
Secunda, Britannia Flavia Caesariensis, and Britannia Maxima Caesariensis
each have a praesides, which, if the Nomina Omnium Provinciarum of
Polemius Silvanus (449) is accurate, would have also been the case with
Britannia Orcades. Each of the governors has a similar staff to the vicarius.

In addition to reaffirming the five province structure of the diocese, the ND

lists the following military commands. In the late Roman army, a numerus
was a unit of 300. A cohort was a unit of 480. An ala was a special cavalry
unit. The legion of the late Roman army had 1000 infantry soldiers rather
than the 5000 mostly infantry supported by cavalry of earlier.

Many of the local and tribal designations along with specialized functions
such as ‘exploratorum’ and ‘vigilum’ were traditional and may have had little
to do with the actual origin, composition, or duties at this date.

The ND did not include Roman forts in Valentia (between the Walls) nor in
(North) Wales, probably because, as noted above, these had previously been
turned over to ‘praefectus gentili’ (local rulers and/or Roman officers).

Comes Rei Militaris per Britannias (Comes Britanniae)

Includes overall military command of Dioecesis Britanniae, with direct charge

of the comitatus, or field army, of which are the following units:

Primani iuniores (formerly half of Legio II Adiutrix)

(legiones comitatenses; heavy infantry)
Secundani iuniores (formerly half of Legio II Adiutrix)
(legiones comitatenses; heavy infantry)
Victores iuniores Britanniciani
 (an auxilia palatinae; medium infantry)
Equites cataphractarii iuniores
(heavy cavalry)
Equites stablesiani
(heavy cavalry)
Equites scutarii Aureliaci
(heavy cavalry)
Equites Honoriani seniores
(a vexillationes comitatenses)
Equites Syres
(mercenary cavalry)
Equites Taifali
(mercenary cavalry)

Comes Litoris Saxonici per Britanniam

Includes command over the limitanei on the northern coast of the Oceanus
Britannica and the eastern coast of the Mare Frisicum

Praefectus legionis II Augustae, Rutupis

(Richborough, Kentshire)
Praefectus classis Britannicae, Dubris
(Dover, Kentshire)
Praepositus numeri Fortensium, Othonae
(Bradwell, Essexshire)
Praepositus militum Tungrecanorum, Dubris
(Dover, Kentshire)
Praepositus numeri Turnacensium, Lemannis
(Lympne, Kentshire)
Praepositus equitum Dalmatarum Branodunensium, Branoduno
(Brancaster, Norfolkshire)
Praepositus equitum stablesianorum Gariannonensium, Gariannonor
(Burgh Castle, Norfolkshire)
Tribunus cohortis primae Baetasiorum, Regulbio
(Reculver, Kentshire)
Praepositus numeri Abulcorum, Anderidos (Andertitum)
(Pevensey, Sussexshire)
Praefectus classis Anderidaensis, Anderdidos
(Pevensey, Sussexshire)
Praepositus numeri exploratorum, Portum Adurni
(reconnaissance; Portchester, Hampshire)
Dux Britanniarum

Includes command over the limitanei in Maxima Caesariensis and along the
Vallum Aelium (Vallum Hadriani, Hadrian’s Wall), with some authority over
Valentia and possibly over Britannia Secunda.

Praefectus legionis VI, Eboracum

(York, Yorkshire)
Praefectus equitum Dalmatarum, Praesidio
(near Bridlington, Humberside)
Praefectus equitum Crispianorum, Dano
(Doncaster, Yorkshire)
Praefectus equitum catafractariorum, Morbio
(Ilkley, Yorkshire)
Praefectus numeri barcariorum Tigrisiensium, Arbeia
(South Shields, County Durham)
Praefectus numeri Nevuiorum Dictensium, Dicti
(Old Winteringham, Lincolnshire)
Praefectus numeri vigilum, Concangios
(“watchmen”; Chester-le-Street, County Durham)
Praefectus numeri exploratorum, Lavatres
(Bowes, County Durham)
Praefectus numeri directorum, Verteris
(“guides”; Brough Castle, Westmorlandshire)
Praefectus numeri defensorum, Barboniaco
(“defenders”; Kirkby Thore, Westmorlandshire)
Praefectus numeri Solensium, Maglone
(Old Carlisle, Cumberlandshire)
Praefectus numeri Pacensium, Magis
( Drumburgh, Cumberlandshire)
Praefectus numeri Longovicanorum, Longovicio
(Lanchester, County Durham)
Praefectus numeri supervenientium Petueriensium, Deruentione
(Malton, Yorkshire)

Units along the Wall:

Tribunus cohortis quartae Lingonum, Segeduno

(Wallsend, Northumberlandshire; Segedunum)
Tribunus cohortis primae Cornoviorum, Ponte Aeli
(Newcastle, Northumberlandshire; Pont Aelius)
Praefectus alae primae Asturum, Conderco
(Benwell, Northumberlandshire)
Tribunus cohortis primae Frixagorum, Vindobala
 (Rudchester, Northumberlandshire)
Praefectus alae Sabinianae, Hunno
(Halton Chesters, Northumberlandshire; Onnum)
Praefectus alae secundae Asturum, Cilurno
(Chesters, Northumberlandshire; Cilurnum)
Tribunus cohortis primae Batavorum, Procolitia
(Carrawburgh, Northumberlandshire; Brocolitia)
Tribunus cohortis primae Tungrorum, Borcovicio
(Housesteads, Northumberlandshire; Vercovicium)
Tribunus cohortis quartae Gallorum, Vindolana
(Chesterholm, Northumberlandshire; Vindolanda)
Tribunus cohortis primae Asturum, Aesica
(Great Chesters, Northumberlandshire)
Tribunus cohortis secundae Dalmatarum, Magnis
(Carvoran, Northumberlandshire)
Tribunus cohortis primae Aeliae Dacorum, Amboglanna
(Birdoswald, Cumberlandshire; Camboglanna)
Praefectus alae Petrianae, Petrianis
(Stanwix or Wreay, Cumberlandshire; Vxelodunum)
Praefectus numeri Maurorum Aurelianorum, Aballaba
(Burgh-by-Sands, Cumberlandshire)
Tribunus cohortis secundae Lingonum, Congavata
(Kirkbride or Drumburgh, Cumberlandshire)
Tribunus cohortis primae Hispanorum, Axeloduno
(Maryport or Netherby, Cumberlandshire; Castra Exploratorum)
Tribunus cohortis secundae Thracum, Gabrosenti
(Workington or Moresby, Cumberlandshire)
Tribunus cohortis primae Aeliae classicae, Tunnocelo
(Bowness or near Calder Bridge, Cumberlandshire)
Tribunus cohortis primae Morinorum, Glannibanta
(Ravenglass, Cumberlandshire)
Tribunus cohortis tertiae Neruiorum, Alione
(Lancaster, Lancashire; Calunium)
Cuneus Sarmatarum, Bremetenraco
(Ribchester, Lancashire; Bremetenacum)
Praefectus alae primae Herculeae, Olenaco
(Elslack, Yorkshire; Olenacum)
Tribunus cohortis sextae Neruiorum, Virosido
(Brough-by-Bainbridge, Yorkshire; Virosidum)

Cambria

In addition to the above, several forts and fortified towns in what is now
Wales were occupied into the late 4th to early 5th centuries, in at least one
or two cases into the mid-5th century. These may have been under the Dux
Britanniarum, or part of another command left out of the Notitia. Some of
these include, but may not be limited to, Segontium (Caervarvon), Isca
Augusta (Caerleon), Deva (Chester), Cicunium (Y Gaer), Mediolanum
(Caerws), Tamium (Cardiff), Venta Silurum (Caerwent), Bravonium
(Leintwardine, Herefordshire), Magnis (Kenchester), and Viroconium
Cornoviorum (Wroxeter).

The following two commands of territory in Dioecesis Galliae on the

Continent, districts formerly under the Comes Maritimi Tractus, coordinate
with the Comes Litoris Saxonici but are not under his command

Dux Tractus Armoricani et Nervicani

Includes command over the limitanei in Lugdunensis II, Lugdunensis III,

Lugudnensis IV Senonia, Aquitania I, & Aquitania II, with shore and inland
territory stretching from the mouth of Gironde Estuary in Aquitaine to the
mouth of River Somme in Picardy.

Tribunus cohortis primae novae Armoricanae, Grannona in litore Saxonico

(Port-en-Bessin, France)
Praefectus militum Carronensium, Blabia
(Blaye, France)
Praefectus militum Maurorum Benetorum, Venetis
(Vannes, Brittany)
Praefectus militum Maurorum Osismiacorum, Osismis
(Brest, Britanny)
Praefectus militum superventorum, Mannatias
(Nantes, Britanny)
Praefectus militum Martensium, Aleto
(Saint-Malo-de-Beignon, Britanny)
Praefectus militum primae Flaviae, Constantia
(Countances, Normandy, France)
Praefectus militum Ursariensium, Rotomagus
(Rouen, Normandy, France)
Praefectus militum Dalmatarum, Abrincatis
(Avracnes, Normandy, France)
Praefectus militum Grannonensium, Grannona
(Port-en-Bessin, France)

Dux Belgicae Secundae

The following three units were originally assigned to this command but later
detached to the field army of the Magister Militium per Gallias:
Geminiacenses
(legiones comitatenses; heavy infantry)
Cortoriacenses
(legiones comitatenses; heavy infantry)
Prima Flavia Metis
(legiones pseudocomitatenses; heavy infantry, former limitanei)

Includes command over the limitanei in Belgica Secunda and over the
Classis Sambricae (which operated on the River Somme and the Mare
Frisicum near the mouth)

Equites Dalmatae, Marcis in litore Saxonico

(prob. Marck, France; Marquise or Mardyck also poss.)
Praefectus classis Sambricae, in loco Quartensi siue Hornensi
(Port d’Etaples and Cap Hornu or Saint-Valery-sur-Somme)
Tribunus militum Nerviorum, Portu Epatiacus
(Oudenberg, Netherlands)
Praefectus laetorum Nerviorum, Fanomantis
(Famars, Picardie, France)
Praefectus laetorum Batavorum Nemetacensium, Atrabatis
(Arras, Pas de Calais, France)
Praefectus laetorum Batavorum Contraginnensium in Noviomago
(Nijmegen, Netherlands)
Praefectus laetorum gentilium in Remo et Silvanectas
(Durocotroum Remorum, now Riennes, and Senlis, France)
Praefectus Sarmatarum gentilium inter Renos et Tambianos
(between Renos and Tambianos)
 Brittania-connected Roman Emperors & Anti-Emperors

Recognized emperors who campaigned in, visited, served in, were

proclaimed in, or were given victory titles related to Britannia, as well as
anti-emperors (preceded with a ‘u’) proclaimed in and/or followed by
Britannia unrecognized by any established imperial authorities

Dictator Gaius Iulius Caesar, 49-44 BCE

(invaded Britannia as imperator of the Republic in 55 and 54 BCE)

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, 41-54 CE

(ordered the conquest of Britannia in 43 and visited after the initial
successes; given the victory title Britannicus in 44, but he never used it)

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus

(inherited the agnomen, or victory title, Britannicus from his father,
Claudius; murdered by his step-brother Nero at age 13)

Aulus Vitellius Germanicus Imperator Augustus, 69 CE

(proclaimed at Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium; supported by troops in
Germania, Gallia, Britannia, and Rhaetia; accepted by the Senate)

Imperator Caesar Vespasianus Augustus, 69-79 CE

(legatus of Legio II Augusta in the invasion of 43 CE; propraetor of Britannia
78-85)

Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, 117-138

(visited Britannia, initiated building of the Wall named for him)

Imperator Caesar Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius

Pontifex Maximus, 138-161
(ordered the campaign which reconquered the lost territory north of
Hadrian’s Wall; the Antonine Wall is named for him)

uImperator Caesar Cornelius Priscianus Augustus, 145

(Legatus Augusti Pro Praetore Britanniae after Quintus Lollius Urbicus,
Proconsul Hispaniae Citerioris Tarraconensis at the time of his rebellion)

Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus

(aka Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus), 177-192
(given the victory title Britannicus in 184)
 uImperator Caesar Caerellius Priscus Augustus, 184
(ex-Propraetor Britanniae, proclaimed by troops rebelling against then
propraetor Ulpius Marcellus, but he declined the honour)

Imperator Caesar Publius Helvius Pertinax Augustus, 192-193

(former tribune of Legio VI Victrix, then Propraetor of Britannia)

Imperator Caesar Lucius Septimius Severus Pertinax Augustus, 193-

211
(invaded, 208; given the victory title Britannicus Maximus, 209; died at
Eboracum, 211)

Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (Caracalla),

198-217
(given the victory title Britannicus Maximus in 209)

uImperator Caesar Decimus Clodius Septimius Albinus Augustus,

196-197
(Propraetor Britannia; attempted usurpation in self-defense against
Septimus Severus; supported in Britannia and Gallia Lugdunensis)

uImperator Caesar Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus Pius Felix

Augustus Germanicus Maximus, 260-269
(ruler of the ‘Imperium Galliarum’, which included Britannia, Lugdunensis,
Aquitania, Belgica, Germania, and Hispania)

uImperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Marius Augustus, 269

(ruler of the ‘Imperium Galliarum’)

uImperator Caesar Marcus Piavonius Victorinus Augustus, 269-271

(ruler of the ‘Imperium Galliarum’)

uImperator Caesar Gaius Esuvius Tetricus Pius Felix Invictus

Augustus Pontifex Maximus, 271-274
(ruler of the ‘Imperium Galliarum’)

Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Carinus Augustus, 283-284

(given the title Britannicus Maximus in 284)

Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Numerianus Augustus, 283-284

(given the victory title Britannicus Maximus in 284)

Imperator Caesar Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, 284-305

(given the victory title Britannicus Maximus in 285 and in 297)
 uImperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Carausius Pius Felix
Invictus Augustus, 286-293
(Praefectus Classis Britannica; ruler of the ‘Imperium Britannicum’;
supported in Britannia, Lugdunensis I, and Belgica II)

uImperator Caesar Allectus Augustus, 293-296

(ruler of the ‘Imperium Britannicum’)

Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Augustus,

286-305
(given the victory title Britannicus Maximus in 297)

Imperator Caesar Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus Augustus,

305-311
(given the victory title Britannicus Maximus in 297 as Caesar of the west)

Imperator Caesar Marcus Flavius Constantius Augustus (Constantine

Chlorus), 305-306
(campaigned north of Hadrian’s Wall beginning 305; received the victory title
Britannicus Maximus 305; died at Eboracum 306)
|
Imperator Caesar Flavius Valerius Constantinus Augustus
(Constantine the Great), 306-337
(‘tribune of the first order’ during his father’s campaign; proclaimed at
Eboracum 306; given the victory title Britannicus Maximus in 305 and 306)

Imperator Caesar Flavius Julius Constans Augustus, 337-350

(visited and possibly campaigned in Britannia, 343)

Imperator Caesar Flavius Magnus Magnentius Augustus, 350-353

(born in Gaul to a Brittone father and a Salian Franci mother; recognized by
the Senate but not by Constantius Augustus in Constantinopolis; supported
in Britannia, Gallia, Germania, Hispania, Italia, and Africa)

uImperator Caesar Flavius Carausius Augustus (‘Carausius II’), 354-

358
(possible usurper in Britannia, based on six coins found in Richborough, the
former Rutupiae, engraved with this name)

Imperator Flavius Gratianus Augustus, 375-383

(named for grandfather who served as Comes Britanniae under Imperator
Caesar Flavius Iulius Constans Augustus)
 Imperator Caesar Flavius Theodosius Augustus, 379-395
(junior officer under his father Comes Britanniae Theodosius during the
Great Conspiracy in 368, along with Magnus Maximus; proclaimed emperor
in the east by western emperor Gratian)

Imperator Caesar Flavius Magnus Maximus Augustus, 383-388

(junior officer under Comes Theodosius during the Great Conspiracy in 368,
along with Flavius Theodosius; later became Comes Britanniae; proclaimed
by his troops 383; supported in Britannia, Gallia, Germania, Hispania, and
Africa)

Imperator Caesar Flavius Eugenius Augustus, 392-394

(teacher of Valentinian II, proclaimed by Magister Militum Arbogast;
accepted in the West with strong support in Gallia and Britannia)

uImperator Caesar Marcus Augustus, 406

(proclaimed and deposed by his troops in Britannia)

uImperator Caesar Gratianus Augustus, 406-407

(proclaimed and deposed by his troops in Britannia)

uImperator Caesar Flavius Claudius Constantinus Augustus, 407-411

(Comes Britanniae, proclaimed by his troops in Britannia; supported in
Britannia and Gallia, though the Bagaudae control the countryside of three
provinces in Gallia and of one in Septem Provinciae)

uImperator Caesar Iovinus Augustus, 411-413

(proclaimed by Constantinus-supporting nobles in Gallia along with the
Burgundi and the Alani; recognized in most of Gallia, especially in the north,
and likely, though not certainly, in Britannia)
 Post-Roman Realms of the Brithons
in Britannia, Armorica, & Gallaecia
(“post-Roman” as in everything since the Imperium Romanum)

Sub-Roman (476-900s) Realms of the Brithons

‘Sub-Roman’ is a better way to describes this period than is ‘Early Medieval’,

though the terms are roughly equivalent.

The realms are organized here by imperial province merely for the sake of
convenience, not to claim or to suggest (or deny, for that matter) any
continuity of the same, at least not at a provincial or diocesan level, though
many almost certainly were civitas-based.

Britannia Valentia

Alt Clud was by far the most enduring of the kingdoms in ‘the Old North’,
established in the late 4th to early 5th century and lasting until 1124, albeit
in its last decades as an appendage of the kingdom of Alba.

The kingdom was based on that of the Damnonii, at least those south of the
Antonine Wall. According to Welsh legends, its king descended from one
Paternus son of Clemens, appointed as praefectus gentilium by Comes
Britanniae Magnus Maximus in 382, making his seat at Alt Clud (Dinas y
Brython, Dunbarton). Its territory was severely restricted by the conquest in
638 (according to most sources) by Beornicia of the areas later known as
Galloway and Carrick along with Gododdin, Eidyn, and Manaw.

Following the destruction of its seat at Dinas y Brython by Vikings in 872, it

moved its capital inland to Govan. After becoming restricted to Clydesdale
by incursions of the Hebridean Vikings and conquests by Northumbria, it
became known as Ystrad Clud (Strath Cluid to the Gaels). Pressure on its
long enemy Northumbria by Danish Viking in the following century allowed it
to not only recover all its former territory but even extend it to include the
core territory of the former Rheged (Cumberland and Westmoreland) at its
greatest extent, by which time it became known as Cumbria.

After 1070, it became a possession of the Kingdom of Alba, but was allowed
to continue under its own laws and maintain a separate identity. The same
year, Gospatric mac Maldred, Earl of Northumbria, invaded Cumbria and
seized what became Cumberlandshire, the part of Cumbria south of
Hadrian’s Wall. Cumbria continued as a separate nation until 1124, when its
ruler David, ‘prince of the Cumbrians’, usurped his nephew Máel Coluim mac
Alaxandair to become David I of the Brets and Scots and merged it and the
Merse into Alba.

Manau (Manaw) was a small kingdom about which little is known other than
that it occupied the lands about the head of the Firth of Forth, probably
extending south to the Antonine Wall, roughly the same territory as that of
the Dumnonii north of that wall. Its name survives in Clackmannanshire,
Slamannan Moor, and Dalmeny (formerly Dumanyn, from Dun Mannan).

Called ‘Manaw Gododdin’ in poems and annals to distringuish it from Ynys

Manaw (the Isle of Mann), its primary fame is being the legendary original
home of Cunedda Guletic, and its secondary fame is being the site of the
victory of Áedán mac Gabráin, king of Dál Riata, in 582 (against an unnamed
enemy). It fell in 638 along with its neighbors Gododdin and Eidyn.

Of note is the Roman fort called Camelon one mile north of the Antonine
Wall fort known as Watling Lodge, which possibly connected the wall to the
Gask Ridge forts; in Gaelic, it is called ‘Camlann’.

Eidyn, with its stronghold at Din Eidyn (Dun Edin, Edinburgh), broke away
from Gododdin in about 545. Its separate existence is gleaned from several
medieval Welsh poems about the Old North. It stretched at least between
Edinburgh (Din Eidyn) and Carriden (Cair Eidyn), the later of which was also
the eastern anchor of the Antonine Wall. Like its parent, Guotodin, it fell to
the Angles of Beornicia in 638.

Guotodin (Gododdin) was one of the more famous kingdoms of the Old
North due to the great epic by the bard Aneirin called Y Gododdin. It grew
out of the Roman client kingdom of the Votadini in the latter’s territory north
of River Tweed with its seat at Din Paladur (Traprain Law) to the Antonine
Wall. Its royal line was said to have descended from one Paternus son of
Tacitus who was appointed praefectus gentilium in 382 by Comes Maximus.
About 420, it became a kingdom, lasting until it was conquered by the
Angles of Beornicia in 638. Din Baer (Dunbar) was another one of its
strongholds. Afterwards, the region was referred to as Lothian, the original
form of which, according to John Koch, was Luguduniana (Laudonia in Latin).

Bryneich became a kingdom at the same time as Gododdin, composed of

the southern territory of the Votadini, from the River Tweed to the River
Tyne (i.e., to Hadrian’s Wall). Welsh legends trace its royal line to one
Catellius Decianus, appointed praefectus gentilium to the area by Comes
Maximus. The royal seat was at Din Gefron (Yeavering Bell), with a second
stronghold at Din Guardi (Bamburgh), which was captured by the Angles in
547. Bryneich fell to the Angles of Beornicia (their form of the same name)
around 600.

Goddeu is a kingdom known primarily from the epic ‘Cad Goddeu’ by the
great bard Taliesin. Most speculation from the context in which it is
mentioned suggests it was based on the former kingdom of the Gadeni, who
lived west of the Votadini between River Tyne and River Forth, centered
around Jedburgh.

Armterid (Arfynydd; modern Arthuret, Cumberland) was a small kingdom

north of Hadrian’s Wall between Alt Clud and Rheged established about 505,
also known as Cair Gwenddoleu (Carwinley). Its last nonclient king,
Gwenddoleu ap Ceido, was killed in the Battle of Arfynydd against Peredur
and Gwrgi of Ebrauc, Dunod Fawr ap Pabo of Dunotion, and Riderch Hael of
Alt Clut, instigated by Gwallog ap Lleenog of Elmet over Gwenddoleu’s
seizure of the fort at Caerlaverock. Afterwards the kingdom became
dependent on Rheged. It fell along with it (and Gododdin and Eidyn) to the
Angles of Beornicia in 638. Some have speculated Armterid the kingdom
was based on that of the Selgovae.

Enouant, also called ‘Gŵyr Enouant’ and Novant, rose out of the territory of
the Novantae. It was a fourth territory to which a praefectus gentilium was
appointed in 382 by Comes Maximus, according to Welsh legends, in this
case none other than his own son, Antonius Donatus Gregorius. Known as
Anwn Dynod ap Macsen Wledig to the Welsh, Gregorius later transferred to
Demetia (Dyfed) in the southwest of what’s now Wales. As with the others,
Enuoant became a kingdom around 418, lasting until 638, when it became
part of the territories conquered by Beornicia. In the late 9th and early 10th
centuries, settlement by Gall-Goidel from the Kingdom of the Isles built up
until they established the Kingdom of Galloway. The succeeding Lordship of
Galloway became part of Scotland in 1125.

In recent years, some have tried to assert that there was a Sub-Roman
kingdom called ‘Galwyddel’ here, but that is an anachronism, given that the
name ‘Galwyddel’ is the Modern Welsh approximation of Gall-Gaidheal
(modern form of Gall-Goidel).

Aeron is another, apparently small, kingdom mentioned in Aneirin’s great

epic Y Gododdin and a few other medieval Welsh poems. Many have
strongly suggested it should be identified with Ayr, despite there being zero
evidence such a kingdom existed there, merely because of the very slight
superficial similarity of the names. Some have even gone to the extent of
concocting a “hypothetical” (entirely fictional) goddess for it to be the
namesake of (“Agrona”).
The word ‘Aeron’ in Modern Welsh is ‘berries’, but that doesn’t mean it
meant that in the Sub-Roman period. For instance, ‘aya’ in Modern Hebrew
means ‘honey buzzard’ but in Archaic Hebrew it meant ‘hawk’. The word
Aeron is, however, homophonic for Eireann, as in Strath Eireann, or
Strathearn, much more so than for Ayr, and we know that the ‘Scoti’ (which
meant ‘Irish’ well into the High Middle Ages) were present and active in the
area at the time. It could well have been used here on that basis the same
way as ‘Galwyddel’ is the approximation for ‘Galloway’, in this case as
‘Ystrad Aeron’. Ystrad Aeron is a village in southern Ceredigion, Wales,
home of the Vale of Aeron pub favored by Dylan Thomas and his wife, in the
valley of the River Aeron, an area known to have been settled by the Irish in
the late 4th and early 5th centuries CE.

Britannia Secunda

Ebrauc, or Caer Ebrauc (York), was centered on Eboracum, the seat of the
Dux Britanniarum in the Late Roman period as well as capital of Provincia
Britanniae Secundae, in the former Civitas Brigantum, most of the territory
of which it included. The tribal capital had been at Isurium Brigantum
(Aldborough, Yorkshire), but in the new situation Eboracum was a much
better choice, one mirrored in other former civitates where a better fortified
site was available.

According to most accounts, Coil (Coel, from Coelistius) Hen Guotepauc

(Guotepauc meaning ‘Protector’, a Roman imperial title) was the first ruler,
and according to John Morris the last Dux Britanniarum before that as well
(others suggest he was the last praeses of Britannia Secunda). Its most
famous ruler after Coel Hen was Eliffer (Eleutherius) of the Great Army.
Majority opinion estimates its beginning to about 420. It fell to the Angles of
Deira under Aella in 580 after the deaths of its co-kings Peredur and Gwrgi,
mepion Efrawg, earlier in fighting against the Angles of Beornicia under Adda
at Cair Greu; its last king, Gwrgant Gwron ap Peredur, fled to Rheged.

Deifr, like most of the other kingdoms mentioned so far, coalesced about
the year 420, covering roughly the same territory as the former Civitas
Parisorum (and the later East Riding of Yorkshire), which probably had its
seat at Petuaria, or Cair Petuar (Brough-on-Humber). It fell to the Angles of
Derenice (their form of the name) under Aella in 559.

Rheged, established about 450, at its zenith occupied roughly the same
area as Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Lancashire. In 535, the southern
half split off to leave its parent kingdom with just Cumberland and
Westmoreland, its core, the former Civitas Carvetiorum. The capital of
Rheged was at Luguvalium, or Cair Lugualid (Carlisle). It reached its peak
under King Urien ap Cynfarch (better known as Urien Rheged), one of the
most superb leaders of the Old North until he was assassinated at the orders
of a jealous ally during the Siege of Medcaut (Lindisfarne) in 590. The
kingdom of Rheged fell to Beornicia in 616.

Argoed, also known as South Rheged, broke away from its parent in 535,
probably a division between heirs, taking in approximately what is now
Lancashire, the former territory of the Setantii. Its seat may have been at
Cair Mauiguid (Manchester, site of the former Roman fort Mamucium.)

Its best known king is Llywarch Hen ap Elidurus, who became a client of
Mercia following its conquest in 613. After fleeing to Powys from the later
conquest by the Angles of Beornicia and Deira under Edwin in 620, Llywarch
Hen became one of the four most renowned bards of medieval Wales, the
others being Aneirin, Taliesin, and Myrddin Wyllt.

Llywarch’s sons returned, apparently, ruling the kingdom as clients of

Northumbria until the latter destroyed it in 670. The royal line later moved
from Powys to Ynys Manaw about 750 and were for a short time its kings.

Pennines, a mountain kingdom whose name is otherwise unknown, was

established around 470 in part of the former Civitas Brigantarum by Arthuis,
or Arthwys, ap Mor. His eldest son Pabo Post Prydein succeeded him, and
when he died in 525, the kingdom split into three, known to historians as
Dent (Dunotion, Dunoting), in the north; Craven, in the center; and Peak, in
the south.

Dunotion (also known as Dunoting or Dent) established in the northern

Pennines in c. 525, was approximately coextensive with the civil parish of
Dent, formerly of Yorkshire but now part of the more recent county of
Cumbria. It fell to Beornicia in 595.

Craven, also established in c. 525, in the central Pennines, was

approximately coextensive with the deanery of Craven in the old Yorkshire.
It fell to Beornicia in the early 590s.

Britannia Flavia Caesariensis

Peak, established in c. 525 in the southern Pennines, was roughly

coextensive with the modern Peak District, which is mostly in Derbyshire. It
was the first of the successor kingdoms to that of the entire Pennines to fall,
to the Mercians, about 590. The Anglian tribe who became its elite were
named the Pecsaetan, which literally means ‘Peak-dwellers’.
Elmet was established about 470 or 480, probably lying mostly south of
River Aire, but also taking in the region of Loidis (Leeds) north of it, between
Deifr on the east and the kingdom of the Pennines on the west after the fall
of Linnius. Its seat may have been Ratae (Cair Lerion). The Angles of
Beornicia and Deira under their mutual king Deira-based Edwin drove out its
last king in 617, Ceretic ap Gwallog, who had been an ally of Edwin’s
Beornicia-based rival and predecessor Aethelfrith.

The territory was formally incorporated into Edwin’s kingdom on Easter

Sunday 627 (Northumbria was not created until 654), but it is allowed to
keep its separate Brythonic identity and rulers, subject to the kings of the
northern English and eventually of Northumbria. This lasted at least as late
as the time of the Tribal Hidage, when we find separate districts of Loidis
and Elmet in the rolls, which may reflect the political situation at the time
the area was conquered. The Anglian tribes living there at the time were the
‘Ladenses’ and the ‘Elmetsaetas’.

Linnius rose in the early 400s, about the same time as the kingdoms
further north, with its seat at Cair Lind-colun, the Colonia Domitiana
Lindensium, or Lindum Colonia, of the Imperium Romanum. It fell to the
Anglian tribe Lindisfaras in 480, who established the kingdom of Lindesege,
or Lindsey. It may have included all of the former Civitas Corieltavarum
before the fall of its eastern portion.

Cair Lerion was established about 490, centered on Ratae (modern

Leicester) in the former Civitas Coritanorum. It fell about 530.

Britannia Maxima Caesariensis

Calchfynydd (also Cynwidion or Calchwynedd) is one of the least known of

the post-imperial realms known to have likely existed. Some speculate
(mostly by the process of elimination) it lay in the heartland of the imperial-
era Civitas Catuvellaunum, and if that were the case, its seat may have been
Cair Mincip (Verulamium; modern St. Albans, Hertfordshire). It probably
stretched from Bedfordshire to Northamptonshire. Of the Sub-Roman
realms in the southeast, it lasted longest of all, not falling until sometime
between 610 and 630. Its was founded c. 480 by Cynfelyn ap Arthwys, son
of the king of the Pennines.

Caer Went was based on the Roman-era Civitas Icenorum. Very little is
known about it expect that it fell to the East Angles in the mid-6th century.
Cair Colun was established in the early 400s, based on the imperial-era
Civitas Trinovantum, but with the civitas seat at Cair Calmer (Caesaromagus
Trinovantum; modern Chelmsford) abandoned for the much better fortified
Camulodunum (modern Colchester), which was only the site of the pre-
Roman capital of the Trinovantes. It held out until 550, when it finally fell to
the East Seax.

Cair Lundein (Londinium), the former diocesan and provincial capital, was
likely the seat of a kingdom occupying approximately the same area as the
old counties of Middlesex and Surrey from about the year 440 until it fell to
the Middle Seax in 550.

Ceint came into being in the early 400s, with its first seat at Cair Ceint
(Durovernum Cantiacum, modern Canterbury), based on the Roman-era
Civitas Cantiacum (which was home to four different tribes, none of which
Caesar named). After the Saxon revolt of the mid-450s led to the loss of its
eastern half, the seat moved to Cair Dourbruf (Durobrivae Cantiacorum,
modern Rochester). This too fell to the Cantwara in 496. This east-west
division, which may have already dated back to imperial times, continued, at
least in eccleiastical government.

Rhegin was based on the imperial-era Civitas Regnensium, with its seat
likely at Cair Cei (Noviomagus Regnensium, modern Chichester), estimated
to have begun around 477. One of the shortest-lived of the southeastern
polities, it fell to the Sud Seax in 501.

Cair Celemion (Calleva Atrebatum; modern Silchester, Hampshire) was

likely based on the former Civitas Atrebatum from the early 400s. It fell to
the Gewissae sometime between 600 and 610.

Cair Gwinntguic evolved out of the imperial Civitas Belgarum, with its
political center at the former Venta Belgarum modern Winchester). It fell to
the Gewissae led by Cynric (Cunorix) in 552. Later that year, Cynric went
on to Cair Guallauc, the former Sorviodunum or Old Sarum (Salibury), and
laid siege to it, ultimately putting its garrison to flight to hide in the
Andredes Weald.

Britannia Prima

Venedotia (Middle Welsh: Guynet; Modern Welsh: Gwynedd) originally

occupied the tribal lands of the Brithonic Ordovices along with those of the
Gangani, an Irish tribe on the Llŷn Peninsula at the time of Claudius Ptolemy
(c. 150 CE). The north of what is now Wales was never divided into civitates
but remained under direct military control. It was founded in the early to
mid 5th century, according to Welsh medieval legend by Cunedda Wledig ap
Edern, a warlord of Manaw (Gododdin) who came with several sons and his
retinue.

By the late 4th century, the Gangani relocated either back to Ireland or
merged into their Deceangli cousins east of the Ordivices (both were related
to the Concani of Munster who had moved east into Leinster). Into their
place moved a colony of the Laighin from southeast Ireland, who gave their
name to the peninsula (‘Llŷn’), possibly as a foederati colony.

Originally, Gwynedd included approximately the territories of the historic

counties of Caernarfonshire, Merionethshire, and Anglesey, then those of
Denbigshire and Flintshire after it absorbed the former kingdom of Rhôs.
But it soon lost Rhôs and the rest of that later known as Gwynedd Is Conwy
to the expanding kingdom of the Mercians, only to regain both during the
Viking Wars when = Mercia and Northumbria were otherwise occupied.

After the successful rising against the Normans in 1136, Gwynedd annexed
Ceredigion (the core part) into itself, leaving the rump of the former
‘Deheubarth’ (Dyfed and Ystrad Twyi) to its former ruling dynasty.

At certain times, Gwynedd found itself divided at the River Conwy, with
Gwynedd Is Conwy to the east and Gwynedd Uwch Conwy to the west,
usually when there was a succession dispute, or when the south was
ascendant in Wales. It also waxed and waned, ending the medieval period
with several cantrefs taken from Powys as well as the former kingdom of
Ceredigion (minus Ystrad Twyi).

It was the king of Gwynedd who ultimately came to be acknowledged as

Princes of (all) Wales from 1200. It finally fell to the English in 1283. Of
note here is the fact that the title ‘prince’ derives from the Latin ‘princeps’, a
title born by the emperors of Rome and therefore originally designating a
status higher than a mere king.

Rhôs, based on the territory of the Deceangli, occupied roughly the historic
counties of Denbighshire (minus Powys Cadog) and Flintshire (minus the
exclave called Maelor Saesneg in Welsh or ‘English Maelor’). It fell to the
Mercians in the late 700s, with its easternmost cantref, Tegeingl (Welsh for
Deceangli), part of Mercia until the late 1100s, when Gynwedd recovered it
and added it to its territory. The independent petty kingdom’s best known
ruler was Cuneglasus (Cynlas Goch ap Owain), whom Gildas condemned
along with four others and referred to as “the charioteer of the Bear”.
In later medieval Wales, the region was known as ‘Perfeddwlad’, meaning
‘Middle Country’, approximately coextensive with Gwynedd Is Conwy.

Paganses (Welsh: Powys) claimed as its founder the well-known figure

Guorthegern (Vortigern), who was succeeded by his son Categirn, who fell
fighting alongside his brother Vortimer at the Battle of Aylesford in 455. Its
initial seat was at Viroconium Cornoviorum (Cair Guricon, Wroexter), which
was still thriving well into the Anglo-Saxon era when it became the center of
the kingdom of the Wreocensaetas. By that time, however, the ruling family
of Powys had moved west to Mathafral and the eastern part of the kingdom
had split off as Pengwern about 570.

The kingdom, which saw two campaigns by former general and current
bishop Germanus of Auxerre, was initially based on the former Civitas
Cornoviorum and soon expanded west to take in the upper Severn Valley
and the adjacent highlands north and south.

At its greatest extent, the kingdom took in Cheshire, Shropshire, parts of

Staffordshire along with Herefordshire, Montgomeryshire, eastern
Denbighshire, and Radnorshire, making it far and away the largest kingdom
of Sub-Roman ‘Wales’. The split with Pengwern left it with just the last
western three sections. The kingdom was further reduced when the group
of kingletdoms in the region Rwg Guoy a Habren split off about 800.

In 855, Rhowdri Mawr of Gwynedd, whose father Merfyn Frych had married
Nest ferch Cadell, daughter of Cyngen ap Cadell of Powys, seized Powys
upon the death of Cadell. His three sons each inherited one of the kingdoms
after his death. Hywel Dda of ‘Deheubarth’ gained Gwynedd and seized
Powys after their rulers died in a rebellion against the Englisc.

In 1063, Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, and Tostig Godwinson, Earl of

Northumbria, installed Bleddyn ap Cynfyn as King of Powys and as co-ruler
of Gwynedd along with his brother Rhiwallon. Bleedyn’s descendants
continued in Powys as the House of Mathrafal.

In 1160, Madog ap Maredudd died, with his son and heir Llywelyn killed soon
after, and the kingdom was divided between his three sons, one nephew,
and one half-brother.

Owain Brogyntyn inherited the cantref of Penllyn, which the ruler of

Gwynedd forcibly annexed, with Owain kept in place as his vassal.

Owain ap Gruffydd formed the principality of Powys Ceiliog (later Powys

Wenwynwyn, roughly Montgomeryshire) south of River Rhaeadr in 1166.
Gruffydd ap Madog formed the principality of Powys Fadog (roughly eastern
Denbighshire) north of River Rhaeadr in 1187. Powys Fadog fell to the
English in 1277; Powys Wenwynwynin 1283.

Pengwern, whose kings naturally also traced their line to Guorthegern, split
from Powys about the year 570, and at about the same time shifted their
capital from Cair Guricon to ‘Llys Pengwern’, which some historians believe
to have been at Shrewsbury and others at the former Deva Victrix (Cair
Legion to the Brithons, Legacaestir to the Anglo-Saxons, Chester to the High
Medieval English). It took in all of Shropshire and adjacent sections of
Staffordshire, Herefordshire, and, Worcestershire, for about three decades,
then subdivided into three sub-kingdoms.

These subkingdoms were: Cair Luitcoyt, based at the former Letocetum

(now Wall, Lichfield, Staffordshire); Cair Magnis, based at Magnae
Dobunorum (now Kenchester, Herefordshire); and Cair Guricon, by then
based at Din Guricon (The Wrekin), overlooking the former Virconium. The
overkingdom and its subkingdoms all fell to the Mercians in the wake of
Oswiu of Northumbria’s invasion of 656.

Rwg Guoy a Habren (modern Welsh: Rhwng Gwy a Hafren), possibly

known as Cinlipiuc (Cynllibiwg) before that, and possibly as Ferlix before
that, was originally the southernmost section of Powys within the borders of
modern Wales. The region broke away as several small kingdoms in about
800, corresponding roughly to modern southern Montgomeryshire and all of
Radnorshire. Gwrtheyrnion and Buellt, like Powys, traced their royal lines
to Guorthegern (Vortigern), but the other three—Maelienydd, Elfael, and
Elenydd (also known as Cwmdauddwr)—along with the two Powys cantrefs
Arwystli and Cedewain, traced theirs to one Iorwerth Hirflawdd, through
his descendant Elystan (Aethelstan) Glodrydd.

Brycheiniog, established by Irish raiders of the Uí Liatháin as Garthmadrun

in the late 5th century in about the same area as Breconshire. Dyfed, now
under a Brithonic dynasty, gained Brycheiniog by marriage in the early 7th
century, though the latter regained its independence after Seisyll ap Clydog
of Ceredigion conquered Ystrad Twyi in 730, cutting it off from the kingdom
of Dyfed. In 1045, Brychneiniog divided into the separate kingdoms of
Selyf, Tewdos, and Talgarth, which were almost immediately (re)absorbed
into ‘Deheubarth’ (Dyfed). Between 1088 and 1095, the area was
conquered by Bretons who came with the Norman invasion and made into
the Lordship of Brecknock in 1093. It later became Breconshire.

Ceredigion is alleged to have split off from Gwynedd in the 5th century in
Welsh legend, but in fact seems to have always been its own. Still, its royal
line traced its origin to Ceretic ap Cunedda. It occupied almost the same
area as Cardiganshire and the current Ceredigion. Around 730, its king,
Seisyll ap Clydog, conquered Ystrad Twyi (roughly Carmarthenshire) and
added it to his realm, which 12th century Welsh legend and laws dubbed
‘Seisyllwg’ after the king (before, it was simply ‘Ceredigion’). After the
death of Gwgon ap Meurig without an heir in 871, Rhodri Mawr, King of
Gwynedd and Powys, moved in to take it over, installing his son Cadell as its
ruler. When Cadell died in 911, Ceredigion (‘Seisyllwg’) split between his
sons Clydog and Hywel Dda, who was already king of Dyfed. In 920, Hywel
Dda inherited the remainder when his brother Cloydog died; later historians
created the neologism ‘Deheubarth’ for the new territory, though at the time
it was likely known as Dyfed, or perhaps as ‘Dyfed and Ceredigion’.

After the recapture of ‘Deheubarth’ from the Normans in the successful

rising of 1136, Gwynedd annexed Ceredigion proper, where it remained until
the conquest by Edward I in 1283.

‘Seisyllwg’ is, as mentioned, a neologism for Ceredigion coined in the 12th

century for the period after its territory expanded when its king Seisyll
conquered Ystrad Twyi from Dyfed around 680.

Demetia (Welsh: Dyfed) was based on Civitas Demetarum, which had its
seat at Moridunum (Carmarthen, Cair Merddyn to the Sub-Roman Brithons).
From the 4th century, probably in the time of the ‘Great Conspiracy’, it was
ruled by an Irish dynasty, a branch of the Uí Liatháin, with many of the
immigrants also from the Déisi. During the time, it covered approximately
Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, and Breconshire (the earlier Dyfed, Ystrad
Twyi, and Brycheiniog).

In the late 5th century, Dyfed’s territory of Garthmadrun broke away under
Brychan (Broccan), and became known as Brycheiniog. About the beginning
of the 6th century, the Irish dynasty was ousted by Agricola (Aircol, Aergol)
Lawhir the Tribune (or ‘son of the Tribune’), whose son Vortiporius the
Protector was castigated by Gildas.

In the early 7th century, Dyfed regained Brycheiniog, but this was offset in
730, when Seisyll of Ceredigion conquered and annexed Ysrad Twyi, blocking
access. Later, Hywel Dda, king of Dyfed and joint king of Ceredigion,
became its king, merging the two realms together after inheriting his
brother’s half of the other, into a kingdom dubbed ‘Deheubarth’ by later
historians. This lasted until the conquest by the Normans. Most of it later
became Pembrokeshire.
‘Deheubarth’ is a neologism for the union of the realms of Ceredigion (as
the also neological ‘Seisyllwg’) and Dyfed, along with sometimes Brycheiniog
and others under one king. Before the collapse of Hen Gogledd, Welsh bards
referred to the southern kingdoms collectively by this name, which literally
means ‘right hand part’ (presumably facing west vis-à-vis the Anglo-Saxons
of Lloegyr), but colloquoially in this context means ‘the South’. After the
conquest by Edward I of England, it became Cardiganshire, Pembrokeshire,
and Carmarthenshire.

Siluria (Common Brittonic: Guent; modern Welsh: Gwent) came into being
in the early 5th century, based on Civitas Silurum, with its capital at Venta
Silurum (Cair Guent, or Caerwent). The former legionary base of Cair
Legion-guar-Uisc (Caerleon) was another important city. Its territory
originally spread across roughly the same area as Monmouthshire,
Glamorganshire, and western Herefordshire, where Welsh was a major
language into the 19th century.

In 474, the kingdom of Ercing (Ergyng) in the later western Herefordshire

broke away for a couple of centuries, but returned by 650. In 470, the
region west of River Usk broke away under Glevis ap Solar as Glevissig
(Glywyssing), but was taken back just over a century later in 580. In 755, it
broke away again under Rhys ap Ithel, though the two kingdoms were twice
reunited for short periods in later centuries.

After the Norman Conquest of Wales, the kingdom was divided into five
Marcher Lordships which were later combined into Monmouthshire, then
later became the county of Gwent.

Ercing (modern Welsh: Ergyng), centered on Cair Airon (Ariconium; often

identified with modern Archenfield, Herefordshire, but was actually much
larger), broke away from Guent (Gwent) in 474 but was reunited with it
through marriage in 650. It was later taken by the Mercians.

Glevissig (modern Welsh: Glywysing), so-called after its first king, Glevis
(Glywys), began as the region of Guent west of River Usk. Its territory was
roughly the same as Glamorganshire. Glevis ap Solar made it independent
in 470, but after his death in 480, it splintered into four kingletdoms. A
century afterward, all the royal lines died out and it fell back to Guent, but
probably with some autonomy. Under Rhys ap Ithel in 755, it regained its
complete independence under its own dynasty, albeit one that was a branch
of the senior line at Caerwent. Its seat was at Cair Tif (Cardiff), in modern
times the capital of all Wales, where there had once been a Roman fort. The
kingdom was reunited with its parent twice for brief periods, both times
under the rule of the king of Glywyssing as ‘Morgannwg’.
Morgannwg (Gwlad Morgan) existed in two periods as the union of
Glywysing and Gwent, named after its first king, Morgan Hen ab Owain, who
(re)united the two in 942 until his death in 974. This (re)union existed
again from 1063 to 1074, with the ruler in Cardiff continuing to use the title,
so from then on, ‘Mogannwg’ meant Glywyssing . In 1080, it was conquered
by Robert fitz Hamon, who converted it into the Lordship of Glamorgan.

Ynys Manaw, the Isle of Mann, originally had a Brithonic population and
never suffered a Roman invasion. Its royal line traced its ancestry back to
Antonius Donatus Gregorius (Anwn Dynod) ap Magnus Maximus, thru his
grandson Tutugual (Tudwal) ap Eidinet (Ednyfed). It was conquered by
Báetán mac Cairill of the Dál Fiatach in 577, by Áedán mac Gabráin of the
Dál Riata in 582, and by Edwin of Deira in 626. In 750, Elidyr ap Sandde
moved the exiled royal house of Argoed from Powys, and from there later
came the ‘House of Manaw’ c. 825, from which came in Gwynedd the ‘House
of Aberffraw’ and in Ceredigion the ‘House of Dinefwr’.

The island kingdom suffered Viking raids in the first half of the 9th century,
possibly what instigated Mermin (Merfyn) Frych ap Gwriad to relocate to
Gwynedd with his family (including son the later Rhodri Mawr). In 849, Gall-
Goídil settlers began arriving after it was taken into the Norse Kingdom of
the Isles, then subordinate to the Norse Kingdom of Dublin. From 990 to
1079, the Isles were under the Jarldom of Orkney, after which Godred
Crovan, a scion of the Uí Ímair, established the independent Kingdom of the
Mann and the Isles, with Ynys Manaw (Eilean Vannin) as its seat.

Caer Gloui, based on the former Civitas Dobunorum with its seat at the
former Colonia Nervia Glevensium (Glevum, modern Gloucester), was
established about 455. In 550, probably as the result of there being three
heirs, the kingdom split into three, adding Caer Ceri, based at the former
civitas capital of Corinium Dobunorum (modern Circencester) and Caer
Baddan, based at Aqua Sulis (modern Bath). A mere twenty-seven years
later, in 577, the Brithons were badly defeated by the Gewissae at the Battle
of Deorham, losing all three kings, whose realms then fell.

Dumnonia (Common Brittonic: Duvnent; Modern Welsh: Dyfneint;

Modern Cornish: Dewnans; modern Breton: Devnent; Anglo-Saxon: West
Weahlas) seems to have grown organically out of Civitas Dumnnoniorum,
initially keeping the same capital, the Roman-built Isca Dumnoniorum, in
Sub-Roman times known to the Brithons as Cair Uisc and to the Saxons as
Escanceaster. By most accounts, it included the former Civitas Durotrigum
and the former Civitas Lendienensis Durotrigum as well by the early years of
the 5th century, and was for decades, maybe two centuries or more, one of
the largest Brittonic kingdoms in the Sub-Roman south.

According to 19th century historian Johann Martin Lappenberg of Hamburg,

German Confederation, its territory covered ‘Defnas’ (Devon), ‘Cornweahlas’
(Cornwall), ‘Thornsaetas’ (Dorset), ‘Sumersaetas’ (Somerset), and
‘Wiltsaetas’ (Wiltshire). For the most part, Lappenberg’s account mirrors the
899 will of Alfred the Great, in which he referred to the people of Somerset,
Dorset, Devon, and Cornwall as being ‘the Welsh kind’ (meaning the ‘West
Weahlas’), even at that late date.

Regarding the last of these territories, however, given how exponentially

bigger and much wilder Selwood Forest was in antiquity compared to the
1800s, Mr. Lappenberg’s inclusion of Wiltshire in the kingdom of seems a bit
too ambitious. In truth, Selwood Forest (the Y Gwyllt of ‘Wiltshire’) was a
major barrier, with just wilderness between Cair Lindinis (modern Ilchester)
and Cair Guallac (Old Sarum). In fact, the forest was enough of a barrier to
later be the dividing line between east Wessex and west Wessex. Thus, it
served as a hindrance to the westward advance of the Gewissae (the West
Seax), this being true even with the Roman roads laid through.

By contrast, the Severn Sea and Oceanus Britannicus made communication

and trade with the Silures and Demetae of the later southern Wales, and
with tribes in Armorica, much easier. Which lends credibility to the
suggestion that the kingdom of Dumnonia straddled the Oceanus Britannicus
(now known as the English Channel), just as the Irish kingdom of Dal Riata
straddled the North Channel’s Sea of Moyle. That hypothesis carries much
more weight in Breton and French circles than in those of the British Isles.

Besides the former civitas capitals of Cair Uisc (Isca Dumnoniorum, Exeter),
Cair Durnac (Durnovaria Durotrigum, Dorchester), and Cair Lindinis
(Lendinae Durotrigum, Ilchester), there were two other major settlements of
note, both established in the mid-5th century.

First, there is ‘Cadbury Castle’ in South Cadbury, Somerset, the site of an

Iron Age fort and siege and battle during the Roman conquest turned into
the largest fort of its period in the Sub-Roman era, at least twice the size of
any other in the Isles. Its great hall alone was 66 feet by 33 feet. Though
there seems to have been some provision for domesticity, the main nature
of the settlement appears to have been military, though shards of pottery
show trade links to the eastern Mediterranean region. It could, perhaps, be
the ‘Cellwig’ given by the earliest Welsh sources as base of operations of of
‘Arthur the Solder’.
Established between 450 and 470, this site was completely abandoned
around 580, shortly after Ceawlin son of Cynric and Cuthwine son of Ceawlin
of the Gewissae smashed the armies of Farinmail of Cair-Baddan, Condidan
of Cair-Ceri, and Conmail of Cair-Gloui at the Battle of Dyrham and took
their kingdoms (577), cutting off the land connection between the “West
Weahlas” and the “North Weahlas”.

Second, there are the finds made at Tintagel (from ‘Din Tagell’ in Common
Brittonic) Castle in Cornwall of an extensive Sub-Roman site beneath that
built atop it in 1233 by Richard Plantagenet, Earl of Cornwall and Rex
Romanorum (‘King of the Romans’; meaning, elected heir apparent to the
Imperator Romanorum, ‘Emperor of the Romans’, of the Holy Roman
Empire). Archaeologists there found a royal palace and commercial center
(Tintagel is on the Severn Sea) surpassing any other such site from the era
in size and opulence.

Finds demonstrate extensive trade with Aquitania in Gallia, Galaecia and

Baetica in Hispania, Carthage in Africa, Aegean Greece, Phocaea in eastern
Anatolia, and Cilicia in southeastern Anatolia. In all, there were at least a
hundred buildings connected to the palace. If Cadbury Castle is ‘Celliwig’,
then this site is its counterpart ‘Camelot’ (admittedly a complete fiction
invented by Chrétien de Troyes), so to speak.

The whole of this site, first established around 450, was entirely abandoned
abruptly in about 650, though there have been no reports of signs of attack
or hostile destruction. The inhabitants just seem to have left.

(The archaeological findings at these two sites indicates either (1) that the
kingdom of Dumnonia was advanced and prosperous enough to have not
only a sumptuous political and commercial capital but a well-fortified and
appointed military base with a large garrison near its primary enemy, or (2)
that these two centers represent separate kingdoms, with the one in the
west being capital of the Dumnonii and the one in the east (Cadbury Castle)
being the capital of the (re)unified Durotriges tribe. Most historical evidence
indicates the former.)

If there were subkingdoms, Dumononia would have been divided into

Duvnent proper (Civitas Dumnoniorum), Durngueis (Civitas Durotrigum),
and Lindinis (Civitas Lendienensis Durotrigum), with the last of these
becoming Glastening (or Glastenion) in mid-6th century.

The Gewissae began to invade Dumnonia in the mid-7th century. Glastenion

fell in 658 and Durngueis in 661. These became lands of the Sumersaetas
and the Thornsaetas, respectively, joining the Wiltsaetas (who were mostly
confined to Wilton, five miles west of Old Sarum).

In 700, St. Aldhelm makes the first known mention of Cerniu (as “Cornubia”)
as an individual entity, albeit still part of Duvnent (“Dumnonia”).

Many have posited that the name ‘Purocoronavis’ listed on the circa 700 CE
itinerary of the nameless monk who wrote the Ravenna Cosmography proves
the existence of a separate tribe in the West Country called the ‘Cornovii’.
However, if ‘Purocoronavis’ is a misprint for Durocornovium, that is a town
at the junction of roads to Corinium Dobunorum (Circencester), Calleva
Atrebatum (Silchester), and Venta Belgarum (Winchester). Which is in the
northeastern section of Wiltshire, nowhere near Cornwall.

In 705, the See of Canterbury established the Diocese of Sherbourne to

cover the Sumersaetas, the Dorsaetas (same as Thornsaetas), and the
Defnas (here meaning the Saxons of East Devon) as well as the ‘West
Wealhas’ (Brithons of free Devon and Cornwall), with the afore-mentioned
St. Aldhelm as bishop.

In 722, the Gewissae lost three major battles against the ‘West Weahlas’ of
Dumnonia and were forced to retreat. In 816, Cair Uisc (Escanceaster to the
Saxons), fell to the West Seax along with Duvnent between River Exe and
River Tamar (according to Jenkins’ Civil and Ecclesiastical History of the City
of Exeter and Its Environs, 1841). Cerniu remained under its own rulers
until after the Norman Conquest, though eventually as a client kingdom,
with the border fixed by treaty at River Tamar in 936.

After his death in 899, the will of Alfred the Great refers to the people of
Somerset, Dorset, Devon, and Cornwall under the name ‘Welsh kind’, the lot
still known then as ‘West Wealhas’.

Armorica/Brittania Minor

By the beginning of the 5th century, Armorica took up the western half of
Provincia Lugdunensis III, the capital of which was Turonum (Tours).

The first major migration of Brithons into Armorica, the peninsula between
Normandy and Aquitaine in the northwest of France, may date back to the
aftermath of the restoration of order in 368 ending the Great Conspiracy of
367 in Britannia. Some Breton and French historians have conjectured that
Brithonic warriors were imported to help regular soldiers guard against raids
by Saxons and Frisians from the sea. Also, Magnus Maximus may have left
large detachments in the region circa 383. Aside from at least two major
waves that could be connected to seekers of escape from Saxons, most
Brithons probably arrived relocating in the normal course of life.

Armorica became known as Britannia Minor, at least to contemporary

historians (Procopious of Caesarea, Marius Aventicensis, Venantius
Fortunatus, Gregory of Tours, etc.) as early as the 6th century. Its
inhabitants and the Insular Celts called it Letau or Letha (‘Bretain Letha’ in
the Irish Lebor Bretnach, the Irish version of Historia Brittonum).

Under the Imperium Romanum, ‘Lower Brittany’ (the western part of the
peninsula) was occupied by three tribes organized into local civitates: Civitas
Curiosilitum, Civitas Osismorum, and Civitas Venetorum.

The two former civitates of ‘Upper Brittany’, confirmed as part of Brittany in

the 851 Treaty of Angers, were: Civitas Redonum and Civitas Namnetum,
along with Pagus Ratiatensis of Civitas Pictonum.

In 867, the boundaries of Brittany were further extended to include Cotenin

(Civitas Unellorum) and Avranchin (Civitas Abrincatuorum) in the Treaty of
Compiègne, but these territories were lost to the Normans during the Viking
occupation in the 19th century.

Later, the designations Lower Brittany and Upper Brittany designated the
major language spoken in the division, P-Celtic Breton in western Lower
Brittany and Romance-based Gallo in eastern Upper Brittany; this
demarcation has moved progressively westward.

There are four recognized dialects of Breton; one of these, Gwenedeg, is

almost unintelligible to the other three and which for historical reasons I
believe is more likely a surviving dialect of Continental Gaulish with a slight
overlay of Brithonic.

The three civitates of ‘Lower Brittany’ constituted the Sub-Roman kingdoms

of, respectively, Domnonea, Kernev, and Wened, though no outside source
mentions any of the kingdoms by those names until the 9th century.

Domnonea (Domnonée, Dumnonia), founded according to legend by Riwal

Mawr Marzhou from Gwynedd, was based on Civitas Curiosilitum, with its
capital at Fanum Marti (modern Corseul).

Kernev (Cornouaille, Cornubia), founded according to legend by Gradlon

Mawr, was based on Civitas Osismorum, with its capital at Vorgium (modern
Carhaix), which later moved to Corisopitum (modern Quimper). Gradlon
was later purported to be the son of legendary founder of Brittany, as a
whole, Conan Meriadoc, despite that they lived two centuries apart.

Wened (Vannetais, Venetia), founded according to legend by Caradoc

Vreichvras from Guent, was based on Civitas Venetorum, with its capital at
Darioritum (modern Vannes).

Throughout the 6th century, the inhabitants were still distinguishable as

either immigrant Brithons (Britanni) or indigenous Gauls (Armoricani).

After Charlemagne became ruler of all the Frankish Empire in 771, one of his
first acts was to appoint Roland (yes, that Roland) as Duke of Maine and
Prefect of the Breton March, comprised of Nantais and Rennais.

Kingdom of Letau

From the Early Middle Ages through to the 12th century, the region now
known in Latin as Britannia Minor, to the French as Bretaigne, in English as
Brittany, in Breton as Briezh, and in Gallo as Bertaeyn was called Letau by
its inhabitants, with speakers of Cornish, Welsh, Cumbric, and Irish using
variations of that same name.

In 825, Letau, which had never been under Frankish domination, won
recognition of its independence from Louis the Pious, Imperator Romanorum,
who nevertheless appointed Nominoe, Count of Vannes, as his Missus
Imperatoris in 831.

Nominoe unified Letau and beat back the attempt of Charles the Bald, King
of Francia Occidentalis, to conquer it in 845. The next year, Charles the Bald
was forced to recognize Nominoe as sovereign Duke of Brittany. The
country at this time was composed of Domnonea, Kernev, and Wened,
known to the French as Domnonée, Cornouaille, and Vannetais.

In the 851 Treaty of Angers, Letau gained Nantais (Civitas Namnetum,

capital: Condevincum, modern Nantes), Rennais (Civitas Redonum, capital:
Condate, modern Rennes), and Retense (Pagus Ratiatensis of Civitas
Pictonum, seat at Ratiate, modern Rezé). Retense, incorporated into
Nantais as Pays de Retz, was a point of contention between Brittany and
Anjou for centuries. Nominoe died the same year, and his son Erispoe
became King of Letau.

In 856, Charles the Bald of Francia Occidentalis granted territory in the

Duchy of Maine (Civitas Cenomanorum) “as far as the road from Paris to
Tours” to Erispoe, King of Letau, to rule as duke after the betrothal of
Erispoe’s daughter to his son Louis the Stammerer, who was already
established as Duke of Le Mans. But the grant was revoked the next year
when Erispoe was assassinated.

In the 867 Treaty of Compiègne, Letau gained Cotenin (Civitas Unellorum)

and Avranchin (Civitas Abrincatuorum).

The last King of Letau died in 907, and his disputed successor ruled as Prince
rather than King until he was killed fighting Vikings in 913, the latter then
occupying the country until 939.

‘Kingdom of Blois’

An interpolation by 12th century Benedictine Chronicler Jean de Marmoutier

into Chronica de gestis consulum Andegavorum (Chronicles of the Deeds of
the Consuls of Anjou) entitled Liber de compositione castri Ambaziae (Book
of the composition of Castrum Blesense) relates that in 410 a Britto (Latin
for ‘Briton’ singular) from Armorica named Ivomad established a kingdom in
Gallia with its seat at Castrum Blesense in Civitas Carnutum. Four of the
five redactions recount that he did so after expelling the consul of Autricum
Carnutum (former center of the druids in Gallia, capital of Civitas Carnutum,
modern Chartres, home to Our Lady of the Underground), who is either
Boson the Frank or Odo the Frank depending on which of the different
redactions one is reading. One of these redactions, however, indicates that
rather than conquest, Ivomad and his thousand Brittones settled as
foederati invited by consul Boson.

Castrum Blesense fell to Clovis I and the Franks in 491, with its surviving
garrison escaping to Armorica.

In the Middle Ages, Castrum Blesense became the city of Blois, seat of the
County of Blois.

Britonia in Galicia

In the first half of the 6th century, Romano-Brithonic exiles from Armorica
and Britannia, established a colony on the north shore of the Suevi Kingdom
of Galicia, in what had been Conventus Lucensis of Provincia Hispaniae
Gallaeciae, where the natives were Q-Celtic speakers related to the Irish.
Their community quickly became known as ‘Britannia Nova’ in Latin, or
‘Nova Bretaña’ in Galician.

The seat of their community was in the city called Britonia, though the
community spread across northern Gallaecia. The city of Britonia lay in the
lands of the Arrotrebae, most widely believed to have been at the site of the
current parish and village of (Santa María de) Bretoña, (municipality of)
Pastoriza, (province of) Lugo, (autonomous region of) Galicia.

At the First Council of Lugo in 569, it became the see of a diocese catering to
the immigrant Brithons, with Maximus Monastery that later grew into the
Basílica de San Martiño de Mondoñedo in Foz, Lugo, Galicia. Their unique
Celtic Rite, brought from Britannia and/or Armorica, was recognized at the
council. The first Bishop of Britonia was Mailoc, and their diocese also called
the Ecclesia Britoniensis in Latin.

The Visigoths conquered the Suevi in 585, and in 633 suppressed the Rite of
Britonia in favor of the Visigothic (later Mozarabic) Rite. The city of Britonia
was sacked by the invading Moors in 716, but the diocese continued until the
Moors burned it entirely to the ground in 830, after which the bishop and his
staff took refuge in Oviedo.

In 866, the Diocese of San Martiño de Mondoñedo was erected to replace the
Diocese of Britonia. For at least a century afterward, the incumbent of this
new diocese was known as the ‘Bishop of Britonia’. Today it is the Roman
Catholic Diocese of Mondoñedo-Ferrol.

As late as 1233, a Spanish document mentions an estate in Castro de Rey,

Lugo, belonging “to those men called Bretons”.

High Medieval (1000-1300) Realms of the Brithons

There are three which definitely fit the bill, ones that grew out from smaller
realms founded in the Sub-Roman/Early Medieval period, two of which were
in the same country occupying almost the same territory.

Duchy of Bretaigne (Briezh, Bertaeyn)

Bretaigne is the Old French word, which I use to avoid favoring either of the
two languages indigenous to the country of Brittany, those being Breizh in
Breton and Bertaeyn in Gallo.

Alan Barbecorte, grandson of Alan the Great, was elected Duke of Bretaigne
in 938, ruler of a realm reduced by the loss of Avranchin and Cotentin. In
942, Duke Alan revoked claims to Avranchin, Cotentin, and Maine, and did
homage to Louis IV, King of Francia Occidentalis, as his sovereign.

With the Duchy of Bretaigne now part of the Kingdom of France, it divided
into the ‘des pays’ (singular ‘pays’, from the Latin ‘pagus’) of Léon (Bro-
Leon), Trégor (Bro-Dreger), Saint-Briec (Bro-Sant-Breg), Saint-Malo (Bro-
Sant-Malou), Dol (Bro-Zol), Rennais (Bro-Rhoazon), Nantais (Bro-Nanoed),
Vannetais (Bro-Wened), and Cornouaille (Bro-Gernev), the first five of these
approximating the former Domnonea. The boundaries of these were
coextensive with those of the dioceses of Bretagne, which had the same
names, except that of Cornouaille, which was called Diocese of Quimper.

The Duchy maintained its autonomy and quasi-independent identity until the
16th century, and even then was allowed to keep its own parlement and
many of its local laws, until the French Revolution, when its distinctive status
was abolished. That was somewhat ironic, since the lead political group at
the time was the Jacobin Club, originally founded as Club Breton, organized
by delegates from Bretagne to the National Convention.

*****

In 1941, the Nazi-allied Vichy government detached Loire-Inférieure (the

Ancien Regime’s Pays de Nantais, known since 1957 as Loire-Atlantique)
from Bretagne and attached it to the region of Anger, former capital of the
province of Anjou. This action was reaffirmed by President de Gaulle (by his
lack of reversal) after the Liberation, and by every government of France
since, despite the outcry from the people of Bretagne and of Nantais.

‘Kingdom of the Brets and Scots’

In 1124, David mac Maol Choluim, Prince of the Cumbrians and Lord of the
Merse, became King of Alba. In one of his first major acts, he codified the
laws of the kingdom as the Leges inter Brettos et Scottos, or ‘Laws of the
Brets and Scots’. These remained until 1305, when Edward I of England
abolished them at the end of the First Scottish War of Independence.

Though never used publicly, the full official title of the kings in Scotland once
this code was established was ‘Rex Brettorum et Scottorum’, at least on one
royal seal I have seen a photo of (one of the Alexanders, I believe).

Principality of Cymru

In 1055, Gryffydd ap Llywelyn, King of Gwynedd and Powys, conquered

‘Deheubarth’, following that in 1058 by conquering Glevissig and Guent,
merging them once again as Morgannwg. By this, he became King of all
Cymru (Wales), the only one, although he did not rule them as one kingdom
but as their separate parts. At his death in 1063, the realm disintegrated
back into its different kingdoms.
At the Council of Aberdyfi in 1216, Llywelyn Fawr ab Iorwerth, King of
Gwynedd (which included the northern half of Ceredigion and all of Powys
Wenwynwyn) was recognized by the lesser lords in free Cymru as their
supreme overlord with the title Prince of Cymru. This independence,
autonomy, at first recognized by Norman England, came to an end with the
hanging, drawing, and quartering of the fifth Prince of Wales, Dafydd ap
Gruffydd in 1283, followed by the annexation of the country to the Kingdom
of England as laid out in the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284.

The heir to the throne of England became the Prince of Wales beginning in
1301, and that remains the case until today. Actual governance was by the
prince’s advisory council sitting in London, then in Ludlow, Shropshire. That
council was radically redesigned in 1472 as the Council of Wales and the
Marches. In 1536, the Principality of Wales and the Welsh March were
merged into one. The Council was abolished by the Roundhead Parliament
in 1641, then revived at the Restoration of the House of Stuart in 1660. It
was finally abolished after the Glorious Revolution in 1689.

Late Medieval (1300-1500) Realms of the Brithons

The two that fit here are not Brithonic realms as realms of Brithons but are
rather realms on the island of Great Britain, Britannia Major, ruled by a
dynasty of ultimately Brithonic origin.

Breton-descended Stewart/Stuart and the Kingdom of Scots

In 1315, Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, married Marjorie

Bruce, eldest daughter of Robert I the Bruce, King of Scots. Besides being
High Steward and a fairly decent general, Walter was the great-great-great-
great-great-great-grandson of Alan, hereditary Dapifer of the Archbishop of
Dol-de-Bretagne, the top bishop in Brittany. His cousins there still held the
position of dapifer to the archbishop, and his family were also cousins of the
FitzAlans, Earls of Arundel.

His and Marjorie’s son became Robert II Stewart, King of Scots, upon the
death of David II Bruce in 1371. From then until 1603, the Stewarts of
Breton descent ruled the Kingdom of Scots (in one case, a queen) from
Edinburgh, with the last two monarchs from this period altering the spelling
of their surname to Stuart: Robert II, Robert III (born John), James I, James
II, James III, James IV, James V, Mary I, and James VI.

Welsh-origin Tudors and the Kingdom of England

Though the the reigns of this dynasty mostly lay in the Early Modern period,
it began in the final years of the Late Medieval period.

In 1215, Ednyfed Fychan ap Cynwrig became Seneschal of Gwynedd to

Llywelyn Fawr ab Iorwerth, Prince of Cymru, and later to his son Dafydd. He
married Gwenllian, daughter of Rhys ap Gruffydd, king of ‘Deheubarth’. His
great-great-great-great-grandson, Owen Tudor of the Tudurs of Penmynydd
married Catherine of Valois, widow of Henry V of England from the House of
Lancaster and mother of the future Henry VI.

Owen’s son Edmund became Earl of Richmond, a title whose first holders
were members Breton ducal family and to which his son Henry later
succeeded. After the Lancasters found themselves on the losing side in the
War of the Roses, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, went into exile in Brittany
along with his family. In the summer of 1485, Henry landed in Wales with a
small army of French and Scots, gathered Welsh supporters, and marched
into England to defeat Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, where
Henry’s staunchest Welsh supporter, Rhys ap Thomas, dispatched the last
monarch of the House of York.

After his coronation, when he became the first ruler of Brithonic descent to
rule what had once been Roman Britannia, Henry VII followed through with
his promise to marry Elizabeth of York, uniting the two rival Plantagenet
lines. Their son (Henry VIII), grandson (Edward VI), grandniece (Jane
Grey), and two granddaughters (Mary I and Elizabeth I) ruled England and
Ireland after him until the death of Elizabeth in 1603.

Early Modern (1500-1800) Realms of the Brithons

These two are really continuations of the two previous realms, but in
radically different forms.

Stuart Kingdom of England and Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland

In 1603 when Queen Elizabeth I of England died without issue, the Stuarts
becames monarchs of England by virtue of James IV Stewart of Scots having
married Margaret Tudor, eldest daughter of Henry VII. Their eldest
surviving daughter was Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, who after she was
overthrown by the Confederate Lords in 1567 fled to England only to become
involved in a plot to overthrow Elizabeth I, for which she lost her head.

Not surprisingly, considering events in her life, Elizabeth I refused to name a

successor, therefore her Secretary of State of England, Robert Cecil, was
forced to communicate with James VI of Scots, only surviving son of
headless Mary, regarding his future accession, which was proclaimed in
London upon Elizabeth’s death. Thus did the Breton-origin House of Stuart
succeed the Welsh-origin House of Tudor as rulers of the greater part of
what was once Roman Britannia.

From 1603 to 1707 (except for the Interregnum of the Commonwealth

1649-1660), six members of the House of Stuart ruled the Kingdom of
England and Scotland* and the Kingdom of Ireland: James I & VI, Charles I,
Charles II, James II & VII, Mary II (Orange-Nassau née Stuart), and Anne,
the last monarch of England and Scotland and of Ireland.

(*The title used for the monarch in Scotland was King or Queen of Scots
throughout this period, until the Union of Parliaments.)

Stuart Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland

From the Union of Parliaments in 1707 until her death in 1714, Anne
(Oldenberg née Stuart) ruled as Queen of Great Britain and Queen of
Ireland, and after her death was succeeded by George Welf of Hanover, the
first in a line of German monarchs and monarchs of German descent that
has ruled the kingdoms (Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland,
1707-1800; Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1800-1921; Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1921-present) until the present day.
 TIMELINE OF THE BRITHONS

== Pre-Celtic Britain ==

612,000,000 BCE - The Laurentian craton rises above the Great Ocean and
remains today the oldest dry landmass on Terra.

540,000,000 BCE - The microcontinent Avalonia breaks away from the

supercontinent Pannotia.

425,000,000 BCE – The islands of Great Britain and Ireland are formed by
the collision of Laurentia and Avalonia. On Great Britain, the divide is
roughly the same as that later followed by Hadrian’s Wall, while on Ireland
the divide roughly corresponds to that between Ulster-Connacht and
Leinster-Munster.

950,000 BCE – Members of the species Homo antecessor make their home
on the island of Britain.

700,000 BCE – Connected to the Continent by a land bridge, the Isles are
inhabited by representatives of Homo erectus.

500,000 BCE – Representatives of Homo bodoensis arrive in the Isles.

210,000 BCE – Representatives of Homo neanderthalensis arrive in the

Isles.

130,000-60,000 BCE – No evidence of human occupation of the Isles.

70,000 BCE – The Topa supervolcano erupts, plunging temperatures world-

wide for centuries. Human population is reduced to possibly as low as
15,000 individuals.

41,000-24,000 BCE – Aurignacian Culture; Homo sapiens first enter

Europe.

31,000-22,000 BCE – Gravettian Culture spreads across Europe.

8500 BCE – Reoccupation of the Isles after the Great Ice Age by Humans
begins, this time by representatives of H. sapiens.

8000 BCE – The end of the last Great Ice Age.

6200 BCE – The Storegga Slide off the coast of Norway causes a tsunami
that destroys Doggerland, the land bridge connecting the island of Great
Britain with France, the Netherlands, northwestern Germany, and Jutland.

6000-2500 BCE – Holocene Climatic Optimum.

4000-2000 BCE – Neolithic Age in the Isles. It was during this time that
the great complex at Stonehenge was built. Beginning with this era and
lasting until the end of the Bronze ages of both Britain and Ireland, barrows
of various types are used for burials. In Irish Gaelic, these structures are
called ‘Sidhe’, in Scottish Gaelic this becomes ‘Sith’.

4000 BCE – Mass migration of Early European Farmers (80%) and Western
European Hunter-Gatherers (20%) into Britain.

3500 BCE – Median date for the building of the Stonehenge Cursus

3200 BCE – A ‘mini-Stonehenge’ is erected in the Preseli Hills of

Pembrokeshire, Wales, with bluestone monoliths taken from a neaby quarry
that later become the inner circle of Stonehenge in Salisbury Plain.

Approximate beginning date of the civilization centered on Mainland (aka

Hrossey or Pomona), Orkney, that builds the Ness of Brodgar, the Ring of
Brodgar, and the Stones of Stenness monument, which together with Skara
Brae and Maseshowe make up the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage
Site. Archaeologists estimate use of the Ness of Brodgar site, containing
domestic and ritual buildings, continued to c. 2200 BCE.

3000 BCE – Date of the building of what is known as King Arthur’s Hall on
Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, with dimensions of 47 meters (154 feet) in length
by 20 meters (66 feet) in width

2800-1800 BCE – Bell Beaker Culture on Great Britain and Ireland.

2800 BCE – The bluestone ‘mini-Stonehenge’ in Pembrokeshire, Wales, is

dismantled, transported to 169 miles to Wiltshire in England, and re-erected
on Salisbury Plain as the foundation of the enormous monument we now
know as Stonehenge. Large sarsen stones are brought in from Marlborough,
16 miles away, to form inner and outer rings of trilithons, with the feature’s
5-meter-long, 6 tonnes red sandstone ‘altar stone’ transported nearly 500
miles from northern Scotland (from somewhere in an area ranging from
Orkney south along the coastal areas of the Moray Firth).

2500-2000 BCE – The Copper Age in the Isles.

2400 BCE – Immigration of pastoralists of Steppe ancestry into Britain,
eventually displacing up to 90% of the existing population of the island,
according to DNA studies.

2200-750 BCE – The Bronze Age on Great Britain.

2000-500 BCE – The Bronze Age on Ireland.

1800-1600 BCE – The Unetice Culture in Central Europe.

1700 BCE - According to the Lebor Gabala Erenn, this is the year the Battle
of Tailtiu takes place, in which the Milesians under Erimon mac Mil Espaine,
Eber Finn, and Amergin Gluingel defeat the Tuatha De Danaan under Ethur
Mac Cuill, Tethur Mac Cecht, and Cethur Mac Graeine, after which the latter
are driven underground to dwell in the Sidhe, or barrows, of Eire, where
they become the Daoine Sidhe under the kingship of Manannan mac Lir.

1600-1200 BCE – The Tumulus Culture in Central Europe.

1300-750 BCE – The Urnfield Period of Central Europe; proto-Celtic culture.

== Pre-Roman Britain ==
(with some info on Gaul and Rome)

1300-700 BCE – Atlantic Bronze Age in western France, Great Britain,

Ireland, and Iberia.

1200-450 BCE – The Halstatt Culture on the Continent in Western and

Central Europe, which spans the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages.

1000-875 BCE – Peak immigration of proto-Celtic speakers into Britain,

confined genetically to southern Britain, though their language and culture
spreads across the islands.

860-800 BCE – According to the highly unreliable (as history) Geoffrey of

Monmouth’s Historia Regnum Britanniae, the reign of Leir, son of Bladud and
great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson of Brutus, great-
grandson of Aeneas of Troy, as King of Britain. The only relevance of this is
to the play King Leir by Shakespeare.

831 BCE – The city of Qarthadast (Carthage, or ‘New City’) is established by

colonists from the Kananayite (Phoenician) city of Tyre.
753 BCE – Foundation of the village of Roma by Latins in Italia.

750-43 BCE – The Iron Age on Great Britain.

714 BCE – According to medieval Irish tradition, the Laws of the Fenechas
(‘Landtillers’), or Brehon Laws, are first gathered into one body this year by
order of Ard Ri na h-Eireann Ollamh Fodhla this year. Historically, they
govern all Ireland until the English Conquest, continuing in Ulster then in Iar
Connacht until the 17th century. The related Brieve Laws in the Highlands
and Islands of Scotland remain in use at least partially until the Jacobite
Rising of 1745.

600 BCE – Ionian Greeks from Phocaea (western Anatolia) establish the city
of Massalia (Marseilles) and later ally with the Roman Republic for defense
and trading, eventually becoming the main point of contact between Gaul
and Rome.

590 BCE – Establishment of the Republic of Roma.

500 BCE-400 CE – The Iron Age on Ireland.

450-1 BCE – The La Tène Period on the Continent and southeast Britain;
high classic Celtic culture.

387 BCE – The Gaulish Senones under Brennus invade Italia and defeat the
Romans at the Battle of the Allia, subsequently sacking Roma.

325 BCE – Greek philosopher, geographer, and astronomer Pytheas of

Massalia makes a voyage of northwestern Europe and the Pretanic Isles,
which he circumnavigates and explores the coastal land regions of. He
becomes the first in the ‘civilized’ world to mention the ‘Pretanic Isles’ by
name, referring to the archipelago’s major islands as ‘Albion’, ‘Ierne’ and
‘Mon’. While he documents his voyages, which range much farther, no copy
survives; we know of them only through quotations by Strabo of Pontus (in
Anatolia), Diodourus of Sicily, and Pliny the Elder of Novum Comum (Como
in Lombardy).

281 BCE – Gauls under Brennus invade Greece.

270 BCE – Gauls from the Balkans settle Galatia.

264-241 BCE – First Punic War, between the Phoenician republic of

Qarthadast and the Latin republic of Roma.
250 BCE-400 CE – The Roman Warm Period.

238 BCE – The Roman Republic establishes the province of Gallia Cisalpina
in northern Italy. The province is later divided into Gallia Cispadana,
between the Rubicon and the Po, and Gallia Transpadana, between the Po
and the Alps.

218-201 BCE – Second Punic War

218 BCE – Roma begins the long conquest of Hispaniae.

200 BCE-46 CE – The Great Hunnic Empire spreads from the northern
reaches of Siberia to Tibet and Kashmir, and from the Pacific Ocean to
Caspain Sea, until it is destroyed by the Han.

197 BCE – The former Carthagenian territory in Hispania now possessed by

the Romans on the west and west southern coast is divided into the
provinces of Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior, respectively.

192 BCE – The Romans conquer the last part of Gallia Cisalpina.

181-179 BCE – First Celtiberian War, of the Romans of Hispania Ulterior

and Hispania Transalpina against an alliance of the Pelledones, the Arevaci,
the Lusones, the Titti, and the Belli.

155-139 BCE – Lusitanian War in Hispania Ulterior

154-133 BCE – Numantine War in Hispanic Citerior

154-152 – Second Celtiberian War

149-146 BCE – Third Punic War

135-132 BCE - First Servile War against the Roman Republic, led by Eunus

== Roman Conquest of Gallia ==

125-118 BCE – First Transalpine War

125 BCE – The Celto-Ligurian Salyes, or Salluvii, begin attacking the Greek
colony of Massalia, which appeals to its ally Roma for help. The Senate
sends consul Marcus Fulvius Flaccus, who mostly defeats the Salluvi along
with the Liguri and the Vocontii, remaining in the area with his troops as
proconsul after the end of consulship for another year.
123 BCE – The Senate sends former consul Gaius Sextius Calvinus to
southeastern Gallia as proconsul for two years. Completing the subjugation
of the tribes Flaccus fought, he builds the castellum Aqua Sextiae after
sacking Entremont, the capital of the Salluvi, whose king, Teutomalius,
escapes to refuge with the Allobroges.

122 BCE – The Senate sends consul Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus to

southeastern Gallia, where he attacks the Allobroges in defence of the
Roma-allied Aedui and in hope of capturing Teutomalius. After the end of
his term, he stays on for a year as proconsul.

121 BCE – The Battle of Vindalium, of the Allobrogis against the Roman
under Domitius, whose army employed war elephants. After his victory, he
meets with Bituitus, king of the Aruernoi (the last before they adopted an
oligarchic system of government), the overwhelmingly dominant tribe of
southern Gallia, but negotiations end badly.

This leads to the Battle of the Battle of the Isère River, where the Romans’
combined army under proconsul Domitius and newly arrived consul Quintus
Fabius Maximus inflict a final defeat on the Allobrogis along with their
Aruernoi and remnant Salluvi allies.

The area becomes a senatorial province of Roma, Gallia Transalpina, also

known in Roma as Provincia Nostra and outside Rome as Provincia Romana,
whence the name of the French region of Provence. The province is later
known as Gallia Narbonensis.

120 BCE – Now former consul Fabius succeeds Domitius as Proconsul

Galliae Transalpinae.

It is at about this time that the most powerful tribes in southern Gallia, the
Aruernoi, the Aiduoi, the Sequani, and the Helueti adopt a system of
government by ‘grand-judges’ who answer to a senate of what in Roma
would be called patricians (descendants of royal families).

100 BCE-300 CE – Eire’s Heroic Age.

73-71 BCE - Third Servile War against the Roman Republic, led by
Spartacus. It was defeated by Marcus Licinis Crassus, with some assistance
from Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. Crassus’ legions capture 6,000 surviving
rebels and crucify all of them along the Appian Way from Roma to Capua.
62 BCE – Upon the end of his year as both praetor and pontifex maximus,
the Senate appoints Gaius Iulius Caesar as Proconsul Hispaniae Ulterioris,
and almost as soon as he arrives, he begins the conquest of the remainder
of the peninsula, primarily due to the debts from his political campaigns.

61 BCE – A coalition including the Helueti, the Sequani, and the (Germanic)
Suevi massacres the Aedui at the Battle of Magetobriga. The Aedui send
Diviciacus the druid to secure aid from Roma; while there he stays at the
home of Cicero. This, plus the migration of the Helvetti, is one of the main
events which initiate the Gallic Wars.

Ariovistus and his Suevi stay in Gallia, taking land from their Sequani allies
as pay to their support; this becomes a problem when their associates the
Harudes cross the Rhine and demand the same.

60 BCE – After completing the conquest of Hispaniae as proconsul of

Hispania Ulterior, Gaius Iulius Caesar is proclaimed Imperator by his troops,
only to give up his command to run for consul.

Conspiracy of Dumnorix of the Aiduoi, Casticus of the Sequani, and

Orgetorix of the Helueti to seize control of Gaul and rule it as a triumvirate,
beginning with the migration of the Helueti to southwestern Gaul (Gallia
Aquatania) from Switzerland. The plans for the triumvirate are aborted after
the Helueti learn of them, but two years later they attempt the relocation,
instigating Caesar’s invasion.

58 BCE–51 BCE – The Gallic Wars of Imperator Gaius Iulius Caesar and
Legatus Titus Atius Labienus, during which they not only conquer all of Gallia
Comata, but also invade Britannia and Germania. Caesar’s initial motive is
to get himself out of the debt accrued from his campaigns for consul and for
pontifex maximus.

58 BCE – When Caesar writes that “All Gallia is divided into three parts”, he
means the part of Gallia not under Roman domination: Gallia Celtica, Gallia
Aquitania, and Gallia Belgica. He leaves out the provinces of Rome, Gallia
Cisalpina and Gallia Transalpina.

The Helueti begin their migration to escape conflict with Germanic tribes
after burning their homes. Arriving at the border of Gallia Transalpina, they
ask Caesar for permission to settle, which he refuses. They turn north
instead, only to be attacked by Caesar. The Helueti are joined by the Boii
and the Tulingi, but are defeated by Caesar and his several legions at the
Battle of Bribacte, the commercial hub of the Aiduoi. After retreating for
four days, the Galli surrender.
Caesar then turns his attention to the Suevi, whom he defeats at the Battle
of Vosges (or Vesontio, modern Besançon).

57 BCE – Caesar campaigns against the Belgae confederation. He defeats

the Suessiones after besieging their oppidum, at which the Bellouacoi and
the Ambisontes capitulate. The Battle of the Sabis against the Nervii, the
Artrebatis, and the Uiromanduoi is very nearly a disastrous defeat, though
Caesar does manage to wreak out a victory. Afterwards, he goes on to
subjugate the tribes along the Atlantic coast.

56 BCE – Caesar campaigns against the Wentoi, the dominant tribe of the
Armorican peninsula, while Publius Crassus campaigns in Aquitania and
Quintus Titurius Sabinus campaigns in what is now Normandy. The Wentoi
have the upper hand throughout most of the campaign, but Caesar defeats
them at the naval Battle of Morbihan. Meanwhile, the Lexsouioi, the
Coriosolites, and the Wenelli capitulate to Sabinus while Crassus crushes the
Sotiates, the Vocates, and the Tarusates.

55 BCE – The campaign season opens with Caesar slaughtering most of the
people in the winter camp of the Usipetes and the Tenceti, warriors, old
men, women, and children, leading many in the Senate to call for trying
him with war crimes once his term is up. He then proceeds to cross the
Rhine, campaigning in Germania for 18 days.

He follows this with his first invasion of Britannia (more of an exploratory

expedition), with only a small force.

At this time, Eire is divided into five provinces, or coicids: Midhe, Ulaidh, Ol-
nEchtmachta, Laighin, and Mumhan.

54 BCE – Caesar’s second invasion of Britannia, in which the chief

resistance is led by Cassivellaunus of the Catuwellauni. He sets up
Mandubracius of the Trinowanti as a client of Rome and makes the
Catuwellani a tributary state.

Indutiomarus of the Treweroi, rival to the king Cingetorix, instigates the

uprising of the Belgae under Ambiorix of the Eburones. Indutiomarus dies in
battle, but Ambiorix destroys the enhanced Legio XIV Gemina (15 cohorts)
under legati Quintus Titurius Sabinus and Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta at the
Battle of Atuatuca. Roma immediately reconstitutes the legion.
The revolt ends in 53 BCE with the destruction of the Eburones as an entity
and the flight of Ambiorix and his men east over the Rhine. Many of the
other Belgic leaders cross the Channel to take refuge in Britain.

53-52 BCE – The Galli rise up under Vercingetorix, first and only King of the
Galli. The Battle of Lutetia on the plain of Garanella. The Battle of
Gergovia. The Siege and Battle of Alesia. Finished with the better part of
the conquest, Caesar establishes the province of Gallia Comata.

One of the leaders of the Galli, Commius of the Atrebatis, escapes to Britain,
where he establishes himself as king of the Atrebatis there.

51 -50 BCE – The final actions in the Gallic Wars are mop ups.

49-45 BCE – Great Roman Civil War, between Caesar’s Populares and
Pompey's Optimates, beginning with Caesar crossing the Rubicon (then the
boundary between Gallia Cisalpina and Italia proper) during which Caesar is
repeatedly ‘appointed’ dictator by the Senate.

44 BCE – After finishing his fifth term as Dictator (appointments as such

lasted a year, like all other republican offices), Caesar has himself appointed
Dictator Perpetuo (dictator-for-life), leading to his assassination by the
group of patricians calling themselves the Liberators.

43-33 BCE - Government of Roma by the legally-recognized (Second)

Triumvirate made up of Gaius Iulius Caesar Octavius, Marcus Antonius, and
Marcus Ameilius Lepidus.

43-42 BCE – Liberators Civil War, of the Triumvirate against the Liberators
Marcus Iunius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus.

36 BCE - Lepidus is expelled from the Triumvirate, left with only the title
Pontifex Maximus. Octavius has control of Gallia, Hispania, Italia, and
Africa, while Antonius controls Aegyptus, Graecia, Asia, and Syria.

32-30 BCE – Anthony’s Civil War, of Octavius against Antonius and

Cleopatra VII Philopater of Aegyptus.

30-29 BCE – Revolt of the Treweroi and the Morini, with German help.

29-19 BCE – The Cantabrian Wars, in which Caesar Octavius finishes the
conquest of Hispania by defeating the Cantabri, the Astures, and the Gallaeci
in the northwest of Hispania. Roma needs eight legions and their auxiliaries
to accomplish this. The Astures and the Gallaeci spoke Q-Celtic languages.
27 BCE-284 CE – The Principate period of the Imperium Romanum.

27 BCE-180 CE – The period of extended peace and prosperity known as

the Pax Romana.

27 BCE - The Senate of Roma grants Caesar Octavius the cognomen of

Augustus and he adopts the title “Princeps Senatus, Princeps Civitas”,
making him the first emperor and changing the Roman Republic into the
Imperium Romanum under Gaius Iulius Caesar Octavius Augustus.

The population of the city of Rome at this time is one million.

22 BCE – Roma divides the province of Gallia Comata into the provinces
Gallia Celtica (later Gallia Lugudensis), Gallia Belgica, and Galla Aquitania,
and renames Gallia Transalpina to Gallia Narbonensis.

21 BCE – Revolt of the Treweroi under Iulius Florus and the Aiduoi under
Iulius Sacrovir.

20 BCE – Tincomarus succeeds his father Commius as king of the Atrebatis

in Britain and becomes a client of the Imperium Romanum.

19 BCE – Octavius Augustus finishes the conquest of Hispaniae.

16 BCE – Octavius Augustus establishes the city of Augusta Treverorum

(modern German city of Trier) as the capital of the Provincia Galliae
Belgicae. The city later becomes the second capital of the Imperium
Galliarum (271-274), then serves as a seat of the western emperor 293-395
and as seat of the Praetorian Prefecture of Galliae 318-407.

1 CE – Conchobar mac Nessa reigns as high king of the Ulaidh at Emain

Macha, Setanta Cu Chulain mac Sualtam is his champion, and Ailill and Medb
of the Ol-nEchtmachta in Cruachain are his chief rivals.

The island of Ireland is at the time dominated by the Fir Domnann and the
Osraige in the southeast, the Fir Mumhan in the southwest, the Fir Ol
nEchmachta in the west, and the Ulaidh in the north.

9 CE – Battle of Teutoburg Forest, in which the army of Legatus Publius

Quinctilius Varus (three legions, three alae, six auxiliary cohorts, plus
cavalry) is destroyed in the forests east of the Rhine River after being
ambushed by German (Cherusci, Marsi, Bructeri, Sicambri, Suevi) warriors
led by Arminius of the Cherusci. After this disaster, Rome never again uses
the designations Legio XVII, Legio XVIII and Legio XIX.

10 CE – By this time, Cunobelinus rules over both the Catuwellani and the
Trinowanti; Suetonious calls him ‘Britannorum Rex’.

36 CE – In the Ecclesiastical Annals of Caesar Cardinal Baronius (published

1588 to 1607), Joseph of Arimathea lands this year at Glastonbury in
southwest Britannia, with passengers that include Mary the mother of Jesus,
the apostles Philip and James bar Alphaeus, Lazarus, Mary, and Martha of
Bethany, Marcella the handmaid, Mary wife of Clopas, Salome, Maximin,
Eutropius, Cleon, Saturninus, Marial, Trophimus, and Sidonius.

40 CE – Caratacus son of Cunobelinus overthrows Verica, another son of

Commius, and adds the Atrebatis to his kingdom. Verica takes refuge in
Rome, and this ultimately leads to the Claudian invasion.

== Roman Conquest of Britannia ==

42 CE - Imperator Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus

establishes the Classis Britannica at Gesoriacum (modern Boulogne-sur-Mer;
Bononia after 293) in preparation for the invasion of Britannia.

43 CE – Beginning of the Roman conquest of Britannia in the name of

Claudius Augustus, under Aulus Plautius, legatus Augusti pro praetore, with
Legio II Augusta, Legio IX Hispana, Legio XIV Gemina Martia Victrix, and
Legio XX Valeria Victrix.

The Romans soundly defeat the Catuwellauni under Togodumus and

Caratacus at the Battle of the Medway. One of their subject tribes, the
Dobunni, has already surrendered. Their territories become the nucleus of
the new provincia of Britannia, with its first capital at Camulodunum,
formerly the seat of the subdued Catuwellauni and before that of the
Trinowanti, and with Aulus Plautius as propraetor.

Caratacus heads west, where he later leads the resistance of the Silures.

Verica is restored as king of the Atrebatis, but is soon succeeded by his son,
Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus, who rules over the Regni, a people carved out
of the original territory, with the two others bearing the names Atrebatis and
Belgae. Besides these, and the Catuwellauni and the Dobunni, the provincia
initally includes the (four tribes of the) Cantiaci and the Trinowanti. Legio
XX is based in the capital.
44 CE – Vespasianus, Legatus Legio II Augustae and later augustus,
subdues most of the West Country, making his base at Isca Dumnonorum.
Legio IX Hispana is sent north to spend three years subduing the country up
to a line of the River Humber southwest to the River Severn.

First visit of Simon Zelotes to Britannia, according to Hippolytus and Tacitus.

45 CE – Construction of the Fosse Way, the first great Roman long-distance

road in Britannia, from Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) to Lindum Colonia
(Lincoln), passing through Lindinis (Ilchester), Aquae Sulis (Bath), Corinium
(Cirencester), and Ratae Corieltauvorum (Leicester).

46-216 CE – The Western Hunnic Empire in the Eurasian steppe.

47-48 CE – Construction of Watling Street from Dubris (Dover), Rutupiae

(Richborough), Lemanis (Lymphe), and Regulbium (Reculver) to Virconium
Cornovium (Wroxeter), passing through Londinium and Verulamium. Later,
the route is extended past Hadrian’s Wall to Blatobulgium (Birrens,
Dumfriesshire).

47 CE – The new propraetor, Publius Ostrorius Scapula, defeats an uprising

of the Eceni and installs the Roma-friendly Prasutagus as its king.

48 CE – Propraetor Ostorius campaigns against the Deceangli, where the

latter are supported by the Silures led by Caratacus, but is recalled to the
east, where he defeats an uprising by the Brigantes.

49 CE – Propraetor Ostorius founds the Colonia Claudia Victricensis at

Camulodunum (Colchester), the former seat of the Trinovantes. He also
establishes a municipium at Verulamium (St. Albans).

50 CE – Resistance against Rome by Caratacus of the Catuwellauni and his

brother Togodumnus is finally defeated by Propraetor Ostorius in the land of
the Ordowices. Caratacus, however, escapes.

51 CE – Caratacus seeks sanctuary with Cartimandua, queen of the

Brigantes, but she turns him over to the Romans in chains. He is sent to
Roma to be paraded in public before his public execution, but is allowed to
address the Senate beforehand. He makes such a tremendous impression
(his speech is record by the historian Tacitus) that he is pardoned and
allowed to live out his life in the city.

52 CE – Propraetor Ostrorius dies unexpectedly, of natural causes, while

campaigning against the Silures, and is replaced with Aulus Didius Gallus,
under orders from Claudius Augustus to pacify what is already held rather
than expand it. In between Gallus’ appointment and his arrival, a legion
commanded by Legatus Gaius Manlius Valens, probably Legio II Augusta (or
possibly Legio XX Valeria Victrix) is defeated by the Silures.

57 CE – Rebellion of Venutius of the Brigantes, initially against his wife,

Cartimandua, queen of the Brigantes, then spreading to take aim at her
Roman protectors. It is defeated by Legatus Caesius Nasica and Legio IX
Hispana before Gallus leaves office.

Gallus’ replacement as propraetor, Quintus Veranius, arrives this year but

dies before it is out campaigning against the Silures.

58 CE – Gaius Suetonius Paulinus becomes Propraetore Britanniae.

60 CE – Propraetor Paulinus destroys the druidic school and sacred groves

on Ynys Mon (Anglesey) in an attempt to eradicate their influence.

Eceni queen Boudica initiates a revolt of the Brittones. According to Tacitus,

this is after her husband Prasutagus dies and his will leaving his kingdom to
his daughters is ignored by the Romans, who seize the kingdom, flog
Boudica, and rape her daughters. Three Roman towns (Camulodunum,
Londinium, and Verulamium) are entirely destroyed and 50,000 colonists
killed, nearly convincing Imperator Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus
Germanicus to abandon Britain.

After Camulodunum is captured, but before it is destroyed, Legio IX Hispana

under Legatus Quintus Petillius Cerialis Caesius Rufus attempts to relieve the
city, only to be routed. Procurator Catus Decianus, whose rapacity Tacitus
blamed for the widespread support of the revolt, flees to Gallia; Nero
Augustus replaces him with Gaius Julius Alpinus Classicianus.

61 – Boudica’s army is annihilated at the Battle of Watling Street. The now

former capital of Camulodounum is rebuilt, but the seat of the province is
moved to the newly-rebuilt Londinium. Nero Augustus replaces Paulinus as
propraetor with a more conciliatory Publius Petronius Turpilianus.

According to one legend, Simon Zelotes the Apostle had arrived in Britannia
the year before and is crucified this year at Caistor, Lincolnshire. {Other
legends have him being crucified with Jude in Armenia or Beirut, Abkhazia,
Samaria, and Karti (‘Caucasian Iberia’), or that he was sawn in half in Samir
(Persia), while others say he died peacefully.}
63 – Nero Augustus appoints Marcus Trebellius Maximus, another
conciliator, as Legatus Augusti Pro Praetore Britanniae, despite the fact that
he has no military experience and is a civil administrator.

66 – Legio XX Victrix Valeria occupies Virconium Cornoviorum (Wroxeter,

Shropshire).

67 – Legio XIV Gemina is recalled to the Continent in anticipation of the

invasion of Parthia which never launches, but stays nonetheless as the
province of Britannia is considered stable. That stability, however, leads to
mutinies by the legions and a feud between Propraetor Trebellius and Marcus
Roscius Coelius, Legatus Legio XX Valeria Victrix.

69 – During the Year of the Four Emperors, Legatus Coelius expels

Propraetor Trebellius, and he and his fellow legati assume temporary rule of
the province. Meanwhile, he sends a contingent of Legio XX to support the
bid of Aulus Vitellius Germanicus Imperator Augustus.

Marcus Vettius Bolanus, appointed by Vitellius Augustus as propraetor,

brings with him the returning Legio XIV Gemina to find that Venutius, taking
advantage of Roman instability, has risen up against Cartamandua. The
Romans evacuate her, and Venutius becomes king of the Brigantes.

Vespasianus, former Legatus Legio II Augustae, becomes Imperator Caesar

Vespasianus Augustus.

70 – The Revolt of the Batavi (in Germania Inferior), joined by the Treweroi
under Iulius Classicus and the Lingones under Iulius Sabinus, for which Legio
XIV Gemina is returned to the Rhine.

71 – Vespasianus Augustus appoints Quintus Petillius Cerialis as propraetor,

sending with him the Legio II Adiutrix and Gnaeus Iulius Agricola to replace
Coelius as Legatus Legio XX Valeria Victrix. One of Agricola’s first actions is
to campaign against the Brigantes.

Legio IX Hispana builds the fort at Eboracum which becomes its base.

74 – Legio II Adiutrix begins building the fort of Deva Victrix (Chester,

Cheshire).

Sextus Julius Frontinus becomes Propraetor Britanniae.

75 – Legio II Augusta Antonina, previously at Alchester (43), Waddon Hill
(49), Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter, 55), and Glevum (Gloucester, 66), takes
up quarters at Isca Augusta (Caerleon).

76 – Propraetor Frontius finally completes the subjugation of the Silures.

77 – Gnaeus Iulius Agricola returns as Propraetor Britanniae to discover the

Ordovices in northern (North) Wales have destroyed a Roman cavalry ala
stationed there almost entirely. This leads to the second, and final,
conquest and subjugation of Ynys Môn (Anglesey) and the total defeat of the
Ordovices in 78. Tacitus claims they are almost entirely annihilated, but the
number of forts in the territory belies that assertion.

79-81 – Roman legions construct what is now called Dere Street from the
fort at Eboracum through Carmond village, possibly then called Alaterva,
northwest of Edinburgh at the mouth of river Almond, and eventually to the
legionary fort at Inchtuthil. It later is connected to the east end of Antonine
Wall, and used into the Late Middle Ages, the portion from Melrose to
Edinburgh known in Scotland as the Royal Way.

79 – Propraetor Agricola defeats the Brigantes, then begins preparations for

the invasion and conquest of Caledonia.

80 – Propraetor Agricola leads his army into the north, first subduing the
Selgovae and building twelve occupation forts throughout their territory,
eventually reaching River Tay. He secures the Votadini as a client kingdom.
By the time the Romans return south in 81, they have built forts from the
Tay south and consolidated their won territories.

81 – Battle of Tara; according to Irish legend, Agricola sends a unit of

auxiliae to Eire in support of the deposed Tuathal Techtmar, who had sought
out his help regaining his throne.

82 – Propraetor Agricola marches his army along the east and north coast to
the Moray Firth as his fleet paces them at sea. During this time, Legio XX
Valeria Victrix begins building a fortress at Inchtuthil which Agricola plans to
be the largest in the Imperium Romanum. It is intended to anchor all the
other other fortifications north of the River Forth and River Clyde.

During the campaign, a cohort of Usipetes mutinies, steals three ships, and
sails to Germania, some landing in the land of the Suevi, others in the land
of the Frisan. Those not killed are made slaves.
83 – Battle of Mons Graupius between the Romans under Agricola and the
Caledonii under Calgacus. Agricola then marches into the north, with the
Classis Britannica sailing parallel to the army, as far as Cawdor, where his
troops build a fort.

(According to 18th century forger Charles Bertram, upon his return to

Londinum, Agricola names the new territories north of the firths Vespasiana,
but the work in which he made this claim, De Situ Britanniae, was proven a
hoax in the 19th century.)

== Roman Britannia ==

The Battle of Mons Graupius marks the end of the conquest of Britannia, and
with all the territory south of the Solway and the Tyne pacified, the native
Brittones are organized into civitates based on the largest tribes, some of
which later subdivided.

The capital of the province is at Londinium (London, Middlesex; Cair

Lundein to the Brittones in the Sub-Roman period) on River Thames.

The province is sectioned into civitates based more or less on tribal realms,
with the following capitals:

Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester, Hampshire); Cair Celemion

Venta Belgarum (Winchester, Hampshire); Cair Guinntguic
Isurium Brigantum (Aldborough, Yorkshire); Cair Isurion
Durovernum Cantiacorum (Canterbury, Kentshire); Cair Ceint
Durobrivae Cantiacorum (Rochester, Kentshire); Cair Dourbruf
Luguvalium Carvetiorum (Carlisle, Cumberlandshire); Cair Lugualid
Verulamium Catuvellaunum (St. Alban’s, Herefordshire); Cair Minicip
Ratae Corieltavarum (Leicester, Leicestershire); Cair Lerion
Viroconium Cornoviorum (Wroxeter, Shropshire); Cair Guricon
Moridunum Demetarum (Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire); Cair Merddyn
Corinium Dobunorum (Circencester, Gloucestershire); Cair Ceri
Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter, Devonshire); Cair Uisc
Lendiniae Durotrigum (Ilchester, Somersetshire); Cair Lindinos
Durnovaria Durotrigum (Dorchester, Dorsetshire); Cair Durnac
Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter, Devonshire); Cair Uisc
Venta Icenorum (Caistor St. Edmund, Norfolkshire); Cair Went
Petuaria Parisorum (Brough-on-Humber, Yorkshire); Cair Petuar
Noviomagus Regnensium (Chichester, Sussexshire); Cair Cei
Venta Silurum (Caerwent/Chepstow, Monmouthsire); Cair Guent
Caesaromagus Trinovantum (Chelmsford, Essexshire); Cair Calmer
In addition to the capitals of the civitates, four coloniae are established:

Colonia Claudia Victricensis, or Camulodunum (Colchester, Essexshire);

Cair Colun
Colonia Domitiana Lindensium, or Lindum Colonia (Lincoln,
Lincolnshire); Cair Lind-colun
Colonia Nervia Glevensium, or Glevum (Gloucester, Gloucestershire);
Cair Gloui
Colonia Eboracensis, or Eboracum (York, Yorkshire); Cair Ebrauc

Some other major cities and towns with known Roman names:

Alauna (Alcester, Warwickshire); Cair Alen

Andertitum (Pevensey, Sussexshire); Cair Pensa vel Coyt, Anderidos
Aquae Sulis (Bath, Somersetshire); Cair Baddan
Blestium (Monmouth, Monmouthshire); Cair Guorthigirn
Caistor (Caistor {earlier Thancaster}, Lincolnshire);
Castra ad Alaunam (Lancaster, Lancashire)
Cataractonium (Catterick, Yorkshire); Cair Catarauc
Canovium (Caerhun, Caernarfonshire); Cair Conovion
Danum (Doncaster, Yorkshire); Cair Daun
Deva Victrix (Chester, Chestershire); Cair Legion
Dubris (Dover, Kentshire); Cair Dour
Durolinponte (Cambridge, Cambridgeshire); Cair Grauth
Isca Augusta (Caerleon, Monmouthshire); Cair Legion-guar-Uisc
Letocetum (Wall, Leicester, Staffordshire); Cair-luit-Coyt
Magnae Dobunorum (Kenchester, Herefordshire); Cair Fawydd
Mamucium (Manchester, Lancashire); Cair Maunguid
Mediolanum (Whitechurch, Shropshire); Cair Meguidd
Moridunum (Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire); Cair Merddyn
Portus Adumi (Portsmouth, Hampshire); Cair Portus
Rutupiae (Richborough, Kentshire); Cair Ritus (?)
Segontium (Caernarfon, Caernarfonshire); Cair Segeint
Sorviodunum (Old Sarum, Salisbury, Wiltshire); Cair Caratauc
Tamium (Cardiff, Glamorganshire); Cair Taf
Vertis (Worcester, Worcestershire); Cair Guiragon
Verulamium (St. Albans, Hertfordshire); Cair Mincip
Vinovia (Binchester, County Durham); Cair Weir

*****

Beginning of the uprising of the Aitheachtuatha in Ireland.

84 – Propraetor Agricola orders the Praefectus Classis Britannica to
circumnavigate the entire island of Britannia, both to prove it is an island,
and to “show the flag” (or rather the eagle), as it were.

85 – The main base of the Classis Britannica is moved to Dubris (Dover).

87 – Legio II Adiutrix is recalled to the Continent to take part in the Dacian

wars and becomes permanently stationed there.

88 – After returning south from Inchtuthil, Legio XX Valeria Victrix takes up

its base at the recently vacated Deva Victrix.

117 – The Legio IX Hispana marches into the Highlands and disappears,
with only remnants left at Eboracum.

117-119 – The Brigantes launch a major rebellion against the imperium,

probably in alliance with the Novantae and the Selgovae. Hadrianus
Augustus sends the senator and experienced general Quintus Pompeius
Falco as Propraetor Britanniae; by 119, Falco’s victory is complete.

119 – Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus relocates Legio VI

Victrix Hispanesis Pia Fidelis Constans Britannica from Germania Inferior to
northern Britannia and stations it at Eboracum, where it absorbs the
remnants of Legio IX. He also orders coins struck depicting the goddess
Britannia as the eponymous personification of the province, beneath the
Roman eagle with a foot on her neck.

122 – Hadrianus Augustus visits Britannia, where, in addition to initiating

the building of the Wall named for him, he has a shrine built in Eboracum to
the goddess Britannia, a personification of the island, only this time without
the Roman eagle.

122-157 – Reign of Conn Cétchathach as Ard Ri Eireann.

122-128 – Hadrian’s Wall is built from the mouth of the River Tyne to the
Solway Firth, originally anchored in the east by Pons Aelius (Newcastle-
upon-Tyne) and in the west by Luguvalium (Carlisle), until it is extended to
the fort of Segedunum (Wallsend) in the east and the fort of Mais (Bowness-
on-Solway) in the west. A total of twenty-five forts in all support the Wall.

Shortly thereafter, the Vallum is built about a half mile parallel to the south,
consisting of a vast ditch breached in places by causeways and bridges with
mounds running along either side of the ditch, for the original length of
Hadrian’s Wall. The most common hypothesis is that the area between the
Vallum served as a military-only zone, at least in its early years.

139 – Imperator Caesar Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius

Pontifex Maximus appoints Quintus Lollius Urbicus as Propraetor Britanniae,
with orders to re-subdue the lands beyond Hadrian’s Wall.

141 – The Romans cross the Wall into the Southern Uplands of what is now
Scotland. By the following year, they have subdued the region.

143-144 – The Antonine Wall, initiated by Urbicus before he departs

Britannia, is built between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde, with
eleven forts along its length.

145 – A former Propraetor Britanniae and current Proconsul Hispaniae

Citerioris Tarraconensis is proclaimed Imperator Caesar Cornelius Priscianus
Augustus, but his rebellion is short-lived. He commits suicide before he can
be tried by the Senate, and Antoninus Augustus forbids an investigation.

150 – Claudius Ptolemaeus publishes his Geographike Hyphegesis, which

lists the known tribes of the Pretanic Isles at the time. These are, with
additions from other contemporary sources, as follows, by region:

Pictavia: Caereni, Caledonii, Carnonacae, Catti, Cornovii, Creones,

Decantes, Epidii, Horestii, Lugi, Smertae, Taexali, Vacomagi, Venicones

Between the Walls: Damnonii, Gadeni, Novantae, Selgovae, Votadini

North Britain: Anavionenses, Brigantes, Carvetti, Corionototae,

Gabrantovices, Lopocares, Segontiaci, Setantii, Textoverdi

Midlands: Cornovii, Corieltauvi, and Parisii

Southern Britain: Ancalites, Atrebates, Belgae, Bibroci, Boduni, Cantiaci,

Cassi, Catuvellauni, Cenimagni, Iceni, Regnenses, Trinovantes

West Country (‘West Weahlas’ to the Saxons): Dobunni, Dumnonii,

Durotriges, and Lendiniae (or Lendinienses, a subtribe of the Durotriges)

{Many have posited that the name ‘Purocoronavis’ listed on the circa 700 CE
itinerary of the nameless monk who wrote the Ravenna Cosmography proves
the ancient, pre-Roman existence of a separate tribe in the West Country
called the ‘Cornovii’. However, even if ‘Purocoronavis’ is actually a misprint
for Durocornovium, the latter is a town at the junction of roads to Corinium
Dobunorum (Circencester), Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester), and Venta
Belgarum (Winchester)—which is in the northeastern section of Wiltshire,
nowhere near modern Cornwall.}

North Wales (‘Deheubarth’ to the medieval Welsh, Cambria, modern

Wales): Deceangli, Demetae, Gangani, Ordovices, and Silures

Ireland: Autini, Brigantes, Cauci, Corionidi, Darini, Eblani, Erdini, Gangani,

Iverni, Manapii, Nagnatae, Robogdii, Usdaie, Vennicnii, Volunti, and Velabri

Armorica: Osismii, Veneti, Redones, Curiosolites, Namnetes

Gallaecia: Arrotrebae (also ‘Arroni’)

*****

The population of the Imperium Romanum at this time is between 65 million

and 130 million persons, 21% to 40% of the world’s total population of an
estimated 300 million.

155-158 – Revolt in Britain led by the Brigantes results in depletion of the

legions to the extent that replacements have to be transferred from the
Rhine provinces. After the rebellion is completely put down, the Brigantes
find themselves bereft of their lands and with no monarch.

162 – The Romans abandon the Antonine Wall and fall back to Hadrian’s
Wall, retaining the forts Blatobulgium (Birrens) and Castra Exploratorum
(Netherby) among the Selgovae; these remain occupied until the dusk of the
Roman occupation.

165-180 – The Antonine Plague (so-called for Imperator Caesar Titus Aelius
Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius, dead since 161), also known as the
Plague of Galen, ravages the Imperium Romanum beginning with the siege
of the city of Seleucia in Mesopotamia during the Parthian campaign of
Imperator Caesar Lucius Aurelius Verus Augustus. It reportedly decimates
the empire in the literal sense of the term, killing 10% of the population, and
may be partially responsible for the rapid growth of Mithraism in the reign of
Marcus Aurelius (161-180).

175 – Imperator Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus stations a unit of 5500

Sarmatian cavalry, Cuneus Sarmatarum, in Britannia at Bremetennacum
(Ribchester, Lancashire); its members belong to the recently defeated
Iazyges tribe. Veterans are noted in the area as late as the 5th century.
(Despite claims in the past few decades of a connection of this unit to
Roman commander Lucius Artorius Castus, Praefectus Castrorum of Legio VI
Victrix at Eboracum, there is none).

180 – The Caledonii (Coille Daon) cross over the Antonine Wall to attack the
Romans and stir up trouble among the Maeatae. Imperator Marcus Aurelius
Commodus Antoninus Augustus sends Lucius Ulpius Marcellus as propraetor
to deal with the situation.

184 – Following a ruthless campaign north of the Antonine Wall, the legions
rise up against Propraetor Marcellus and Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius
Commodus Antoninus over the former’s mistreatment of them, offering to
make the previous propraetor, Caerellius Priscus, augustus, but he declines.
Praefectus Praetorio Sextus Tigidius Perennis replaces all the legates in
Britannia. Commodus Augustus receives the title ‘Britannicus’.

185 – Marcellus is removed and replaced as Propraetor Britanniae with

Publius Helvius Pertinax, a former tribune of Legio VI Victrix.

186 – In the ‘Bellum Desertorum’, a Roman soldier named Maternus leads

fellow deserters in a revolt that overruns most of Gallia and Hispania;
Commodus Augustus sends in Gaius Pescennius Niger with Legio VIII
Augusta, and the rebels escape into Italia. There Materuns plans to
assassinate Commudus, but he is betrayed and beheaded.

189 - According to historian Cassius Dio, the Antonine Plague erupts again
in the city of Roma, causing 2000 deaths a day, 25% of those affected.

192 – Commodus Augustus is assassinated, and former Propraetor

Britanniae Pertinax, now Praefectus Urbis Romae, is proclaimed his
successor as Imperator Caesar Publius Helvius Pertinax Augustus.

193 – At the end of a brief reign of 87 days, Pertinax Augustus is

assassinated, after which Lucius Septimus Severus, legate of the Legio XIV
Gemina Martia Victrix, is proclaimed emperor by his troops in Illyricum and
Pannonia. Meanwhile, the legions in Britannia and Gallia proclaim
Decimus Clodius Albinus, Propraetor Britanniae, as emperor, but he throws
his support to Severus to defeat the other two claimants, Marcus Didius
Iulianus in Roma and Gaius Pescennius Niger in Syria.

196 – Propraetor Britanniae Albinus declares himself Imperator Caesar

Decimus Clodius Septimius Albinus Augustus and invades Gallia in a self-
defensive revolt against Imperator Caesar Lucius Septimius Severus
Augustus, who has ordered his execution.
197 – Severus Augustus defeats Albinus at the Battle of Lugdunum. He
sends Virius Lupus as Propraetor Britanniae, and he divides the single
province of Britannia into two (both under a legatus Augusti pro praetore):

Britannia Superior (Londinium)

Britannia Inferior (Eboracum)

Lupus arrives to find the Maeatae (‘Miathi’ in Irish sources; possibly those
between the Walls in confederation) and the Caledonii have broken their
treaties with Roma and begun raiding the south. Lacking sufficient troops to
halt them militarily, Lupus pays off the Maeatae, the southernmost of the
two confederations, to cease.

Early 3rd century - The rise of the Connachta in the west of Ireland,
displacing the Fir Ol nEchmachta and giving their name to the province.

208-211 – Severus invades the North with three legions, 9000 imperial
guards, cavalry, and numerous auxiliaries, and defeats the Caledonii, who
have begun another war. However, he is eventually forced back behind
Hadrian’s Wall after losing too many men to guerrilla tactics by the defeated,
combined with an uprising of the Maeatae. He is preparing another invasion
at Eboracum in 211 when he dies.

212 – Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (Caracalla)

issues the Constitutio Antoniniana, giving all free men Roman citizenship and
all free women the same rights as Roman women.

c. 220 - The Eóganachta dynasty is established in Mumhan.

226-266 – Reign of Cormac mac Airt as Ard Ri Eireann, which includes the
activities of Fionn mac Cumhaill as head of the Fianna Eireann, among which
is the repulsion of a Roman incursion at the Cath Finntraga.

235-285 – The Crisis of the Third Century for the Imperium Romanum,
when it nearly collapses due to foreign invasions, civil wars, and economic
disintegration, beginning with the assassination of Imperator Caesar Marcus
Aurelius Severus Alexander Augustus by his own troops.

249-270 – The Plague of Cyprian (named for St. Cyprian of Carthage)

ravages the Imperium Romanum, first reaching Aegyptus, where the
population of Alexandria is reduced from 500,000 to 190,000. Among its
social effects are the forced revival of Roman religion by Imperator Caesar
Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius Augustus, the Decian persecution of
Christians (250), the Valerian persecution of Christians (257), and by the
end of the third century an explosive rise in adherence to Christianity.

260-274 – The Imperium Galliarum (a neologism), which includes Gallia

Belgica, Gallia Lugdunensis, Gallia Aquitania, Gallia Narbonensis, Germania
Superior, Germania Inferior, Britannia Superior, Britannia Inferior, and
Rhaetia, as well as for a time Hispania Baetica, Hispania Lusitania, and
Hispania Tarraconensis.

260-273 – Palmyrene Empire (a neologism) in Aegyptus, Syria-Palestina,

and southeast and south-central Anatolia.

260 – Beginning of increase in number, size, and breadth of location of

Roman villas, towns, and villages in Britannia.

Imperator Caesar Publius Licinius Valerianus Augustus is captured fighting

against the Sassanids while his co-ruler, Imperator Caesar Publius Licinius
Egnatius Gallienus Augustus, is fighting in Pannonia against its rebel legatus,
self-proclaimed Imperator Caesar Ingenuus Augustus. Backed by Praefectus
Praetorio Silvanus, Gallienus’ son has himself proclaimed Imperator Caesar
Publius Cornelius Licinius Saloninus Valerianus Pius Felix Invictus Augustus
at Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (Cologne).

The Propraetor Germaniae Inferioris leaves his base at Colonia Ulpia Traiana
(Xanten) with the Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix, surrounds Colonia Aggripina,
captures Silvanus and Saloninus, and orders their execution, after which his
troops proclaim him Imperator Caesar Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus
Pius Felix Augustus Germanicus Maximus. He makes the city, already
capital of Germania Inferior, his seat, calling himself ‘Restitutor Galliarum’
(because of which his realm is known as the Imperium Galliarum) and ‘Salus
Provinciarum’, leaving Roma and Italia to Gallienus.

265 – Gallienus Augustus makes two failed attempts to dislodge Postumus

Augustus from power.

268 – Gallienus Augustus is assassinated, and Imperator Caesar Marcus

Aurelius Claudius Augustus Gothicus is proclaimed in his place, proceeding to
retake Gallia Narbonensis and parts of Gallia Aquitania.

269 – The Propraetor Germaniae Superioris declares himself Imperator

Caesar Ulpius Cornelius Laelianus Augustus at Moguntiacum (Mainz). This is
a serious threat as Laelianus commands both Legio XXII Primagena at
Moguntiacum (which is also base for the Classis Germanica) and Legio VIII
Augusta at Argentoratum (Strasbourg). Postumus Augustus defeats him in
battle and kills him, but then his own troops overthrow and kill him,
replacing him with Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Marius Augustus.

Marius Augustus dies a few months later through the efforts of the Tribunus
Praetorianorum, whose troops proclaim him Imperator Caesar Marcus
Piavonius Victorinus Augustus at Augusta Trevororum (Trier). The provinces
of Gallia, Germania, and Britannia accept him, but Hispania returns its
loyalty to Rome.

270 – About this time, the system of forts late known as the Litus
Saxonicum (Saxon Shore), based on the system of forts supporting the
Classis Britannica (the coastal patrol), begin being built. They are at first
garrisoned by mostly by Frisii and Franci, but later their primary function is
defense against other Frisii for whom the North Sea is at the time called
Mare Frisicum.

271 – Victorinus Augustus is assassinated, and his mother Victoria takes

control of his troops, eventually installing the Praeses Galliae Aquitaniae as
Imperator Caesar Gaius Esuvius Tetricus Pius Felix Invictus Augustus
Pontifex Maximus, who moves his seat to Augusta Trevororum, then retakes
the territories captured by Claudius Augustus Gothicus.

274 – The Imperium Galliarum is reunited with the Imperium Romanum

when Imperator Caesar Lucius Domitius Aurelianus Augustus defeats
Tetricus Augustus and his son at the Battle of Châlons. However, rather
than executing the former rival emperor, Aurelianus Augustus makes him
Corrector Lucaniae.

284-480 – Dominate period of the Imperium Romanum, so called for

Imperator Caesar Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus Augustus demanding
to be addressed as Dominus, a practice every ruler after him followed.

284-285 – First uprising of the Bagaudae in Galliae and Hispaniae, led by

Aelianus and Amandus, against feudalism and serfdom, crushed in late 285
by then Caesar Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus and Legatus Marcus
Aurelius Mausaeus Carausius. Carausius, of the Menapii and born in Gallia
Belgica, is made Praefectus Classis Britannica, with a command covering
both sides of the Mare Britannicum based at Gesoriacum (later Bononia;
Boulogne-sur-Mer) and Dubris (Dover).

285 – Diocletianus Augustus divides the Imperium Romanum into Eastern

and Western halves under himself at Nicodemia in the east and Imperator
Caesar Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius Augustus, the lesser
of two equals, in the west at Roma.
286-297 – The Imperium Britannicum (a neologism) in Britannia and
northern Gallia.

286 – After now Imperator Caesar Maximianus Augustus orders his

execution, Praefectus Carausius sets himself up as imperator in Britannia
and northern Galliae (the ‘Imperium Britannicum’, covering Britannia, the
later ‘tractus Armoricani et Nervicani’, Belgica Secunda, and Germania
Inferior), taking the title ‘Restitutor Britanniae’ (also ‘Genius Britanniae’)
under the name Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Carausius Pius
Felix Invictus Augustus

Carausius Augustus has capitals at Rotomagus (Rouen) and Londinium, with

the three legions in Britannia, Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix at Colonia Ulpia
Traiana (Xanten, Westphalia), his fleet, auxiliaries, and foederati.

289 – Maximianus Augustus attempts to dislodge Carausius Augustus but

fails to do so.

290 – About this time, the fort Andertitum is built, and other forts of the
Saxon Shore are expanded, strengthened, and enhanced.

293 – Diocletianus Augustus divides the Imperium Romanum into four

parts, known as the Tetrarchy, two of which fall under an Imperator
Augustus, and two smaller under Caesars (Marcus Flavius Valerius
Constantius Herculius at Augusta Terverorum and Gaius Galerius Valerius
Maximianus at Sirmium). He further moves the capital of the West from
Roma to Meliandum (Milan) and reduces the size of the empire’s provinces,
grouping them into twelve dioceses, each under a vicarius.

Caesar (of the West) Marcus Flavius Valerius Constantius Herculius Chlorus
besieges and captures the important port Gesoriacum on the Oceanus
Britianncus in Gallia Belgica, cutting off Britannia from Gallia, in the process
destroying the city. Carausius Augustus is murdered by his treasurer, who
takes his place as Imperator Caesar Allectus Augustus.

296 – Allectus Augustus is defeated and killed by the Roman army under
Praefectus Praetorio Julius Asclepiodotus, supported by forces led by Caesar
Marcus Flavius Valerius Constantius Herculius Chlorus, at Cavella Atrebatum
(Silchester), and his dominions are reunited with the Empire. The city at the
port of Gesoriacum is rebuilt, renamed Bononia.

*****
As part of his tax reforms, Diocletianus Augustus codifies the legal status of
‘colonus adscripticius’, tying formerly free laborers to the land of the
latifundia, great landed estates of conquered territory, upon which they live
and work, thereby creating serfdom.

297 - First reference to the Picti by that name.

Caesar Constantius Chlorus divides Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior

into four new provinces, making it a diocese headed by a vicarius, later
under the Praefectura Praetorio Galliae:

Britannia Maxima Caesariensis (Londinium)

Britannia Prima (Corinium)
Britannia Secunda (Eboracum)
Britannia Flavia Caesariensis (Lindum)

The governor of the first is a consularis, of the other three are praesides;
none have military troops under their control. Britannia Maxima covers the
densely-populated southeast; Britannia Prima roughly what becomes (North)
Wales and the West Country; Britannia Flavia the area of the later midlands
Mercia; and Britannia Secunda the part of later Northumbria south of
Hadrian’s Wall. In addition, Londinium, the capital of the diocese as well as
of Britannia Maxima, is renamed Augusta Britanniarum, though the new
designation never gains widespread usage.

In Dioecesis Britanniae, there are three military commands:

Comes Maritimi Tractus, under whom are Legio II Augusta, now at Ritupiae
(Richborough), plus limitanei that include 3000 foot and 600 horse

Dux Britanniarum, under whom are Legio VI Victrix at Eboracum, plus

limitanei that include 14,000 foot and 900 horse

Comes Britanniae (Comes Rei Militaris per Britannias), under whom are
Legio XX Valeria Victrix at Deva Victrix, plus comitatenses that include 2200
foot, 200 horse

The Comes Maritimi Tractus supervises shore defense of both sides of the
Mare Britannicum (English Channel) and also has under his command the
Classis Britannica, which is based at both Dubris (Dover) in Britannia and at
Bononia (Boulogne-sur-Mer) in Gallia.
The Classis Germanica, based at Castra Vestra (Xanten), later at Colonia
Aggrippensis (Cologne), mostly patrols the Rhine River, but also the coast at
its mouth on the Mare Frisicum (North Sea) under commanders in Galliae.

In the same reform, the provinces of Gaul are divided into the Diocese of
Galliae (Lugdunensis I, Lugdunensis II, Lugdunensis III, Lugdunensis IV
Senonia, Belgica I, Belgica II, Germania I, Germania II, and Maxima
Sequanorum) and the Diocese of Viennensis or Septem Provinciae (Aquitania
I, Aquitania II, Aquitania III Novempopulana, Narbonensis I, Narbonensis II,
Viennensis, Alpes Maritimae, and Alpes Poeninae et Graiae).

In Hispania, the three provinces become five: Hispania Tarraconensis,

Hispania Gallaecia, Hispanis Lusitania, Hispania Baetica, and Hispania
Cartaginensis. Furthermore, the provinces are further subdivided into
‘conventi’, a counterpart to the civitates of the rest of the empire.

Early 4th century – The Connachta tribe known as the Ui Neill moves north
to occupy the west and north of Ulster.

305-306 – Imperator Caesar Marcus Flavius Constantius Augustus (later

called Constantius Chlorus by East Roman historians) crosses north of
Hadrian’s Wall to campaign in the Lowlands north of the Antonine Wall,
accompanied by his son Flavius Valerius Constantinus.

306-324 - Civil Wars of the Tetrarchy.

306 – Constantius Augustus dies at Eboracum and his son is proclaimed

Imperator Caesar Flavius Valerius Constantinus Augustus, known to history
as Constantine the Great, by his troops.

313 – The Tetrarchy system falls, leaving Constantinus sole augustus,

though the system of smaller provinces grouped into twelve dioceses
remains intact.

314 – Three Brittonic bishops are present at the Council of Arles to condemn
Donatism in 314: Eborious of Eboracum (York), Restitutus of Londoninium
(London), and Adelphius of Isca Augusta Silurum (Caerleon-upon-Usk).

315 - Constantinus Augustus awards himself (again?) the title of Britannicus

Maximus.

325 – Constantinus Augustus, Comes Solis Invicti, convenes the First

Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church, at Nicaea, which upholds
Athanasianism (Trinitarianism), sets the method of calculating Easter, and
condemns Arianism. It also issues the original Nicene Creed, recognizes the
See of Alexandria as nearly equal to Roma, affirms the same for the See of
Antioch but with a little bit less equality, and raises the status of the See of
Jerusalem to metropolitan, moving it from Caesarea Maritima, capital of
Provincia Syriae Palaestinae.

326 - Cairill mac Cairbre, aka Colla Uais, Ard Ri Eireann, is overthrown by
Muiredach Tirech and expelled to Alba, along with his two brothers, Aed, aka
Colla Menn, and Muiredach, aka Colla Co Frith, and three hundred warriors.

330 – Constantinus Augustus establishes Nova Roma (Constantinopolis) at

the site of the ancient Greek city of Byzantium in Thrace, making it the
senior capital of the whole Imperium Romanum.

331 - The Three Collas return to Ireland, defeat the last Ulaidh high king of
Ulster, destroy Emain Macha, and create the kingdom of Airgialla, with the
Ulaidh now confined to the northeast of their former kingdom.

335 – The First Synod of Tyre called by Constantinus Augustus tries

Athanasius, now Bishop of Alexandria, on several charges, the affair
presided over by Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea. Upon conviction,
Athanasius travels to Constantinopolis to appeal to the augustus, who
dismisses all charges but one. That one, however, is sufficient to depose
him, and with his deposition, Arianism regains some of its position.

337 – At the death of Constantinus Augustus, the Imperium Romanum is

divided into three praetorian prefectures:

Praefectura Praetorio Galliarum (including Gallia, Viennensis or Septem

Provinciae, Britannia, Hispania, Germania, and Tingitana)

Praefectura Praetorio Italiae, Illyrici, et Africae (Italia, the Balkans, and

Africa)

Praefecture Praetorio Orientis (Thracia, Anatolia, Syria-Palestina, Aegyptus,

Libya)

The Praefecti of these units have authority only over civil administration.

(This tripartite division corresponds to the territories alotted to the three

sons and successors of Constantinus I Augustus: Flavius Claudius
Constantinus (Constantine II) over Galliae, Flavius Julius Constans over
Italiae, and Flavius Julius Constantius (Constantius II) over Orientis.)
In addition to these regions, Roma and Constantinopolis each have their own
Praefectus.

The Magister Militum per Gallias reports to the Magister Utriusquae Militiae,
who answers to the western Augustus. The military in the field is
restructured too.

340 – Constantinus Augustus invades Italia with the intention of conquering

it and adding it to his territory, but is killed in an ambush, after which
Constans Augustus adds Gallia to his own territory.

343 – Imperator Caesar Flavius Julius Constans Augustus visits and possibly
campaigns in Britannia, though only accompanied by a hundred soldiers.

Bishops from Britannia attend the Council of Serdica, called by Flavius Iulius
Constantius Augustus (Constantinius II) in the East and Flavius Iulius
Constans Augustus (Constans I) in the West, attempting to resolve the Arian
Controversy.

347 - The Vicarius Britanniae sets up a laeti colony of Frisii that later
becomes known as Cair Peris or Dun Fries.

350-353 – Revolt of Magnus Magnentius

350 – Magnus Magnentius, Comes Ioviani et Herculiani (the senior units of

the Palatine Guard), born in Samarobriva Ambianorum (Amiens) of Gallia
Belgica II to a Brittonic father and a Frankish mother, overthrows and
executes the deeply unpopular Imperator Caesar Flavius Julius Constans
Augustus, declaring himself Imperator Caesar Flavius Magnus Magnentius
Augustus. He almost immediately wins support in Britannia, Gallia,
Hispania, and Germania, and soon Italia and Africa. The Senate in Roma
recognizes him, but the Eastern ruler Imperator Caesar Flavius Julius
Constantius Augustus (Constantine II) refuses to.

351 – Constantius Augustus offers Magnentius Augustus rule of Gallia, but

the latter refuses. After much manuevering, the armies clash at the Battle
of Mursa Major in Pannonia, one of the largest Roman-on-Roman battles
ever. With over 50,000 dead, Constantius Augustus’ victory is a Pyrrhic one.
Meanwhile, loyalists to the Eastern emperor gain control of Italiae.

352 – Much of this year is taken up with Magnentius Augustus trying to

negotiate his way out, even offering to take a soldier’s post in the army of
Constantius Augustus. His legions in the Rhine valley are the first to defect,
followed by those in northern Galliae and Hispaniae.
Constantius Augustus appoints Romanized Frankish general Silvanus as
Magister Peditum et Equitum per Gallas, giving him the title of Comes, with
the primary mission of restoring order to northern Gallia, defending the
German frontier, and putting down raids of the Bagaudae, which have
resurged in the face of the chaos.

353 – Constantius Augustus brings his army across the Alps into southern
Gallia. Magnentius Augustus’ final stand is at the Battle of Mons Seleucus
(La Bâtie-Montsaléon) in 353, after which he retreats to Lugdunum (Lyon),
where he commits suicide by falling on his sword. Constantius Augustus at
last becomes ruler of the entire Imperium Romanum.

Constantius sends Flavius Martinus as Vicarius Britanniae to rehabilitate the

diocese. Behind him he also sends his notary Paulus Catena as an inquisitor
to root out supporters of Magnentius. Vicarius Martinus takes issue with his
zeal, especially with his arrest of obviously innocent people on clearly
spurious charges, and eventually attacks him with a sword, but fails to kill
him. Martinus then falls on his own sword.

354-358 – Tenative dates for reign of possible imperial pretender in

Britannia ‘Carausius II’ (Imperator Caesar Flavius Carausius Augustus),
whose existence is hypothesized based on coins from a hoard found at
Richborough (Rutupae).

354 – Paulus Catena is believed to have been involved in the plot which
brings about the downfall and execution of Caesar Constantius Gallus.

355 – Constantius Augustus installs Comes Silvanus as first Magister Militum

per Gallias. A cabal including Flavius Arbitio, Magister Equitum, and Gaius
Caeionius Volusianus Lampadius, Praefectus Praetorio Galliae, soon frame
him as plotting to usurp power. Comes Silvanus is proclaimed Imperator
Caesar Flavius Silvanus Augustus by his troops at Aggripina (Colonia Claudia
Ara Agrippinensium; modern Cologne). His imperium lasts almost a month
before he is assassinated. Constantius then sends in Paulus Catena to
search out Silvanus’ supporters.

356 – The Imperium Romanum creates the Prefectura Praetorio per

Illyricum (Illyria, Dalmatia, Graecia, and Dacia), largely from the now
Praefectura Praetorio Italiae et Africae.

357 – Maine Mor establishes in Ol-nEchtmachta the kingdom later known as

Ui Maine.
358 – Caesar (of the west) Flavius Claudius Iulianus defeats the Salian
Franks, who have been pushed into the northern region of the empire called
Texandria (southern Netherlands-northern Belgium), then lets them stay in
the Imperium as dediticii (free provincial noncitizens), provided they supply
foederati to the Imperium to protect the border.

359 – Three Brittonic bishops attend the western Council of Arminium

(Rimini, Italy), another synod called to resolve the Arian Controversy. Its
decisions are considered a defeat for the Augustinians. Its counterpart in
the East meets in Seleucia Isauria (Silifike, Turkey).

Paulus Catena is sent to the eastern half of the Imperium Romanum to seek
out traitors, accompanied by Domitius Modestus, Comes Oreientis. He also
travels to Alexandria to punish opponents of the bishop of Cappadocia.

360-363 – The reign of Imperator Caesar Flavius Claudius Iulianus

Augustus, known as Julian the Apostate, the last pagan ruler of the
Imperium Romanum.

360 – The Scoti and Pictii raid Dioecesis Britanniae.

361 – Among others condemned or exiled by the Chalcedonian tribunal,

Iulianus Augustus orders Paulus Catena and a courtier of Constantius
Augustus named Apodemius burned alive for their parts in the deaths of
Caesar Constantius Gallus and Magister Militum Claudius Silvanus.

363-454 – European Hun Empire in southern Russia, Ukraine, Romania,

northern Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria, Czechia, Slovakia, and southern and
central Germany.

363 – The Hunni migrate even further westward to the northern Balkans,
capturing Campus Sarmatae, from which they begin spreading out, pushing
the Iranian Alans and the Goths and other Germanic tribes westward.

364 – Raiding of Dioecesis Britanniae by the Pictii, Saxones, Scoti, and

Attacotti.

Imperator Caesar Flavius Iovianus Augustus orders the Library of Antioch

burned and decrees the death penalty for ancestor worship and for taking
part in any pagan ceremonies, even private ones. He also forbids non-
Christians from commanding Roman soldiers.

367 – War against the confederation of the Pictii, Attacotti, and Scoti
attacking Britannia, and the Franci attacking northern Gallia. At this time,
Roman soldier and historian Ammianus Marcellinus reports the Picti have
consolidated into two confederations, the Verturiones and the Dicalydones,
though a third likely exists in the far north dominated by the Catti.

It begins after the Roman garrisons along Hadrian’s Wall rebel in conjunction
with native frontier troops known as areani; northern and western Britannia
are overwhelmed. In the midst of the chaos, Pannonian exile Valentinus and
others begin a revolt. In the fighting both Nectadarius, Comes Maritimi
Tractus, is killed, and Fullofades, Dux Britanniarum, captured.

Imperator Caesar Flavius Valentianus Augustus, then busy fighting the

Alamanni, first sends his Comes Domesticorum, Severus, to the island, then
Flavius Iovinus, his Magister Militum, only to recall the latter to aid in the
fighting the Alamanni.

368 – The ‘Great Conspiracy’ is defeated by a force under Flavius

Theodosius, newly appointed Comes Rei Militaris per Britannias, with his son
the later Imperator Caesar Flavius Theodosius Augustus along with Magnus
Maximus as sub-commanders, gathered for the invasion at Bononia. After
driving out the invaders, they crush the revolt of Valentinus. Theodosius
disbands the areani and organizes a new administration, with Civilus as
Vicarius Britanniae and Dulcitius as Dux Britanniarum.

According to French historian Joël Cornette, it is at this time that the

Imperium Romanum begins importing units of Brithons to help guard the
northern shores of Armorica, specifically those of Civitas Osismorum.

369 – After mopping up operations in the north, Vicarius Civilus adds an

additional province in the north, Britannia Valentia, making its governor a
consularis, equal in status to the governor of Britannia Maxima.

{For centuries, general hypothesis held this to be between the Walls

(‘Intermuros’, the Walls being Hadrian’s and the Antonine), with its seat at
Habitanicum (Risingham, Northumberlandshire) on Dere Street or else at
Luguvalium (Carlisle). Since the late 20th century, dissenting opinions have
suggested it was rather in Wales, with its seat at Deva, or else covered
Cumberlandshire-Westmorelandshire, with its seat at Luguvalium.}

372 – A group of Germanic settlers in Britannia arrive at the invitation of

Imperator Caesar Flavius Valentinianus Augustus (Valentian I), a group of
Alamanni, dissidents of the Bucinobantes tribe, settling as foederati under
their leader, Fraomar.

375 – Attila becomes king of the Hunni.

376-1022 - The Ui Neill rule as Ard Ri hEireann/Ri hEireann Uile, with the
exception of the two decades of Brian Borumha.

376 – Death of Crimthann mac Fidaig, first of the great raiding Ard Ri
Eireann who prey on the Picti, Britannia, Armorica, and Gallia; succession of
Niall Noígíallach, son of previous Ard Ri Eochaid Mugmedón and Cairenn
Chasdubh, daughter of the Pictish king of Fortrenn, or Uerturio, at
Inverness. His half-brothers Brion, Ailill, and Fiachrae found dynasties in Ol-
nEchtmachta, which takes their family name, Connachta.

St. Ambrose (Aurelius Ambrosius), Bishop of Meliandunum, convinces

Imperator Caesar Flavius Gratianus Augustus to abandon the title Pontifex
Maximus and instead using the style Pontifex Inclytus. Damasus I, Patriarch
of Roma, convinces Gratianus Augustus to give him the title Pontifex
Maximus, becoming the first Pope (of Rome) in the modern sense of the
word [the Patriarch of Rome currently uses the title Summus Pontifex].

380 – Magnus Maximus, a junior officer under Comes Theodosius during the
Great Conspiracy, becomes Comes Rei Militaris per Britannias.

The Edict of Thessalonika, issued jointly by Flavius Theodosius Augustus,

Flavius Gratianus Augustus, and Flavius Valentianus Augustus, makes Nicene
Christianity the official religion of the Imperium Romanum.

381 – The Second Ecumenical Council, at Constantinopolis, condemns

Apollinarianism and approves additions to the Creed to bring it to its present
form and make it the Niceno-Constantinopolan Creed. It mainly reaffirms
the “official” Church’s anti-Arianism, but also recognizes the primacy of the
See of Constantinopolis over any other save Roma.

382 – Fourth wave of raiding by Scoti, Picti, and Saxones. Aed Brosc of the
Deisi is brought over to help repel the raids.

After their defeat, Comes Maximus assigns praefecti gentium to commands

in the north (according to medieval Welsh geneaologies):

Quintilius son of Clemens at Alt Clut (Dinas y Brython/Dunbarton)

Paternus son of Tacitus at Din Paladur (Traprain Law)
Catellius Decianus at Din Gefron (Yeavering Bell)
Antonius Donatus Gregorius (son of Magnus Maximus) in Gŵyr Enouant
(Novant); he later transfers to Siluria in Wales

Ruling dynasties later trace their descent back to these praefecti.

383-388 – ‘Revolt’ of Magnus Maximus, who becomes Imperator Caesar
Augustus of the West.

383 – Comes Maximus establishes local rulers and Roman army officers as
praefecti gentium across the later Wales. Fed up with Imperator Flavius
Gratianus Augustus favoring his Alani troops, the legions in Britannia declare
him Imperator Caesar Flavius Magnus Maximus Augustus. Maximus crosses
to the Continent, most likely with Legio XX Valeria Victrix.

After he defeats Gratian when most of the latter’s forces change sides, he
establishes Augusta Trevororum as his capital, with Britannia, Gallia,
Germania, Hispania, and Africa accepting his rule. Imperator Caesar Flavius
Theodosius Augustus (Theodosius the Great) in Constantinopolis and
Imperator Caesar Flavius Valentinianus Augustus (Valentinian II) in
Mediolanum accept him as Augustus over those territories.

First wave of Brittonic colonists to Armorica with or in the wake of Maximus’

crossing over, led, according to legend, by Conan Meriadoc.

The deposed emperor, son of Imperator Flavius Valentinianus Augustus

(Valentinian I), was named for his grandfather, Gratianus Funarius, who
served as Comes Britanniae in the 340s during the reign of Imperator
Caesar Flavius Iulius Constans Augustus.

384 – On the northern coast of Conventus Lucenis in his native Provicinia

Hispania Gallaecia, Maximus Augustus establishes a military base that a
century and a half later becomes the foundation of the Brittonic colony of
Britannia Nova, or Britonia.

385 – Maximus Augustus has Priscillian executed for sorcery, though the
true reason is for heresy.

387 – Maximus Augustus issues an edict condemning Christians who burned

down a Jewish synagogue in Rome, for which he is criticized by St. Ambrose,
Bishop of Milan. Maximus then invades Italia, captures Milan, and forces out
junior emperor of the West Flavius Valentinianus (Valentinian II).

388 – Maximus is defeated by the forces of Valentinian II and Imperator

Flavius Theodosius Augustus of the East (and son of the former Comes
Britanniarum of the same name) at the Battle of Poetovio. Surrendering at
Aquileia, he is executed.

389-395 – Theodosian War on Paganism in the Imperium Romanum.

391 – The Theodosian Decrees outlaw several pagan religious practices.
The eternal fire at the temple of Vesta is extinguished and the Vestal Virgins
disbanded. The Serapeum in Alexandria, chief temple of the syncretic god
Serapis, is destroyed completely by a mob of Christians inspired by a decree
from Pope Theophilus, Bishop of Alexandria. The mob also destroys the
Musaeum of the city with its Great Library of Alexandria.

392 – Imperator Caesar Flavius Valentinianus Augustus (Valentinian II) dies

under mysterious circumstances (possibly murder, but more likely suicide)
and Arbogast, Magister Militum, replaces him with Imperator Caesar Flavius
Eugenius Augustus, who has support in Gallia and Britannia. During his brief
reign, Eugenius restores the power of the Senate, crosses the Rhine to
intimidate the Franci and the Alemanni, and returns some rights to pagans,
although he himself is a Christian.

Theodosius Augustus closes the sanctuaries of Demeter and Persephone at

Eleusis, bringing the ancient Eleusinian Mysteries to an end.

393 - The last of the ancient Olympic Games, banned after this year by
decree from Theodosius Augustus, who shuts down the Oracle of Delphi as
well.

394 – Arbogast dies in the Battle of the Frigidius River, in which Eugenius is
taken prisoner to later be executed.

Coins found at Segontium (Cair Segeint), a Roman fort on the outskirts of

Carnarfon in Gwynedd, demonstrate that it is occupied by Roman soldiers,
perhaps foederati, at least as late as this year.

395-406 – Approximate term of the last known named Vicarius Britanniae,

Chrysanthus, son of a bishop in Constantinople and former consul in Italiae
named Marcian. After finishing his term as vicarius, he travels to the
eastern capital hoping to becomes its praefectus urbanus, but is instead
drafted in 407 by the Novatians who live in the city as their bishop.

395 – Following the death of Imperator Caesar Flavius Theodosius

Augustus, the Imperium Romanum is once again split into Eastern and
Western halves, and this time the division is permanent.

Around this time, the office of Comes Maritimi Tractus becomes the Comes
Litoris Saxonici per Britannias, with responsibilities limited to the British side
of the Oceanus Britannicus. This is also the case for the Classis Britannica.
Across the Mare Britannicum, two new commands now guard the coasts of
Armorica, Nervica, and Belgica Secunda. The territory of the Dux Belgicae
Secondae is limited to the province of the same name but includes the
Classis Sambricae, based at Quartensis (Étaples-sur-Mer) and Cap Hornu
(Saint-Valery-sur-Somme). The territory of the Dux Tractus Armoricani et
Nervicani includes Lugdunensis II, Lugdunensis III, Lugudnensis IV Senonia,
Aquitania I, & Aquitania II.

The Hunni arrive in the steppes north of the Black Sea, from which they
beginning attacking the Imperium Romanum in the East.

396-398 – Stilicho’s Pictish War, named for Flavius Stilicho, the first Comes
et Magister Utriusque Militiae, who never appears in Britannia, though he
does send a legion and arrange for an additional fort to be built.

396 – Stilicho campaigns against the Franci and other German tribes in
Gallia, largely to boost the morale of the army but also to recruit troops into
the army’s depleted ranks.

Later in the year, Gildo, a Berber who is Comes et Magister Utriusque

Militiae per Africam, declares his intention to secede from the western
imperium and put Africa under the eastern imperium. Stilicho sends Gildo’s
own brother, Maszcezel, with an army, and the problem is resolved.

397 – Death of St. Martin of Tours, who becomes one of the most important
saints in Celtic Christianity.

Late 4th century – About this time a group of Déisi Mumhan under Aed
Brosc (grandson of Eochaid Allmuir) is given a colony among the Demetae; a
group of Laighin is granted land in Llyn Peninsula; and groups of Uí Liatháin
from Mumha are given lands in the later Ceredigion (under Lethan), Duvnent
(under Corpre), and Circinn in the north (under Fidig); all are presumably
settled as foederati originally.

According to Breton and Welsh legend, Conan Meriadoc, a follower of Macsen

Guletic (Magnus Maximus), establishes Britannia Minor.

A colony of Sarmatae and Taifali foederati is based in Civitas Pictorum and

another of Sarmatae foederati in Civitas Parisiorum.

400-1000 – The Medieval Cool Period.

400-800 – The Golden Age of Eire. Its learning, art, literature, culture, and
international influence reach its peak.
Early 5th century - Niall of the Nine Hostages, progenitor of the Ui Neill,
establishes himself at Tara as the first true High King of Ireland along with
Meath as a province.

400 – Comes Stilicho orders Hadrian’s Wall repaired.

401-403 – The Gothic War of Stilicho against the Visigothi under Alaric.

401 – Legio II Adiutrix, stationed at Aquincum (Budapest) nearly four

centuries, returns to Britannia as two comitatenses under command of the
Comes Rei Militaris per Brittanias.

402 – Flavius Stilcho, Magister Utriusquae Militiae, withdraws some troops

from Britannia to face the Gothi in Italia. Meanwhile, Imperator Caesar
Flavius Honorius Augustus moves his seat from Meliandum to Ravenna for
defensive purposes.

405 – Fourth wave of raiding by Scoti, Pictii, and Saxones.

The Dal Riata, pressured by the Ulaidh who are retreating before the
northern Ui Neill, begin to colonize Earr a’ Gaidheal.

Death of Niall Noígíallach, Ard Ri hEireann, ancestor of the Ui Neill dynasty

and second of the great raiding High Kings; succession of Feradach Dathi
mac Fiachrae, his nephew.

War of Radagaisus, king of one of the Gothic tribes. Pushed westward by

the Hunni invading Central Europe, Radagaisus leads an army of Gothi,
Vandali, and Alani south of the River Danube and across the Alps into Italia.
Comes Stilicho, Sarus the Goth, and Uldin the Hun lead their army against
the invading Germans, who are are utterly defeated in the summer of the
next year.

406 – Battle of Faesulae, in which Stilicho and his allies defeat the invasion
force led by Radagaisus, who are attacking Florentia.

The legions of Britain revolt and nominate a usurper named Marcus as

augustus. A few months later, they remain dissatisfied and kill him,
replacing him with one Gratian.

The Suevi, the Alani, and the Vandali cross the River Rhine into Gallia the
night of 31 December.
407 – Gratian is killed by the troops in Britannia because he will not order
them to cross over to Galliae to stop the ‘barbarians’. The troops proclaim
Imperator Caesar Flavius Claudius Constantinus Augustus (Constantinus III),
who moves to Gallia, where he is supported by Gerontius, a Britto who is
Magister Militum per Gallias.

408 – Comes Stilicho’s inability to put down Constantinus, along with

rumors that he had been involved in Consul Flavius Rufinus’ assassination
and that he planned to place his own son Eucherius on the eastern throne
after the death of Imperator Caesar Flavius Arcadius Augutus, lead the
Roman troops at Ticinum, Gallia Transpadana (Pavia), to revolt (instigated
by Stilicho’s enemies). He and his son are executed shortly afterward.

In the aftermath, the wives and children of barbarians throughout Italia are
slaughtered. Their husbands and fathers flee to Alaric, who leads them and
his army to besiege Roma. It fails, and so do two more attempts.

409-417 – Third uprising of the Bagaudae, in the lower Loire Valley, against
feudalism and serfdom. They come to dominate Aquitania II (medieval
Aquitaine), Lugdunensis II (Armorica), Lugdunensis III (Nervica), and
Lugdunensis IV (Senonia). The rebels are able to hold out as long as they
do because of the invasion by the Germanic tribes and the revolt of
Constantinus III against Imperator Caesar Flavius Honorius Augustus.

409 – The Vandali, the Suevi, and the Alani ravage Dioecesis Galliae until
driven into Hispania by the Visigothi.

The Saxones begin raiding the shores of Britannia and Armorica in large
numbers. The people of those regions overthrow the governors and other
officials installed by Constantinus (III) Augustus and turn back to appeal to
recognized (by Constantinopolis) Imperator Caesar Flavius Honorius
Augustus for assistance. At the time, however, Honorius is isolated in
Ravenna as Alaric and the Visigothi besiege Rome.

Gerontius revolts against Constantinus Augustus on behalf of self-proclaimed

Imperator Caesar Maximus Augustus of Hispania, allying with the Suevi,
Vandali, and Alani.

410 – At the beginning of this year, Romans and Brittones loyal to Honorius
Augustus control Dioecesis Britanniae; the Bagaudae are in control of much
of the countryside in Lugdunenis II, Lugdunensis III, Lugdunensis IV, and
Aquitania II in Dioecesis Galliae; Constantinus Augustus controls Belgica I,
Belgica II, Germanica I, Germanica II, Maxima Sequanorum, and Alpes
Peoninae in Dioecesis Galliae along with Narbonensis I, Narbonensis II,
Aquitania I, Aquitania III, Veinnensis, and Alpes Maritimae in Dioecesis
Septem Provinciae; and Honorius Augustus controls Dioecesis Africae,
Dioecesis Illyricum Pannoniae, most of Dioecesis Italiae Annonariae,
Mauretania Tingitania in Diocesis Hispaniae, and Corsica, Sardinia, and
Sicilia in Dioecesis Italia Suburbicariae. The Alani, Suevi, and two tribes of
Vandali control Gallaecia, Lusitania, Baetica, and Carthaginensis in Dioecesis
Hispaniae while the Visigothi and Hunni control peninsular Dioecesis Italiae
Suburbicariae along with Liguria and Aemilia in Dioecesis Italiae Annonariae.

Coelistius, aka Coel Hen, believed by some historians the last Dux
Britanniarum, assumes control of the North, the area known to the Cymry as
Hen Gogledd, its people as the Gwyr y Gogledd.

Ceretic (Coroticus) Guletic, possibly a descendant of Quintilius ap Clemens,

establishes the kingdom of Alt Clut (later Ystrad Clud, Strathclyde, Cumbria;
Strað-Clota to the Angli), with its capital at Dinas y Brython (Dunbarton).

The kingdom of Siluria, soon known as Guent (Gwent) after its seat at Venta
Silurum (Caerwent), grows out of Civitas Silurum.

There are Irish (Uí Liatháin, Laighin, and Déisi) incursions into Venedotia,
Cornovia, Siluria, Demetia, and the Gower Peninsula.

One of the first Anglo-Saxon settlements in southern Britannia is established

at Mucking on the mouth of the River Thames.

According to traditional interpretation of a passage in the Historia Nova of

Zozimus, Greek historian in Constantinopolis in the late 5th and early 6th
centuries, this is the year Imperator Caesar Flavius Honorius Augustus sends
his Rescript to the magistrates of Britannia cutting them loose from the
empire. Recent scholarship has, however, shown this to be inaccurate, and
that the actual recipients were the magistrates of Bruttium in Italy.

The Visigothi under Alaric besiege Roma for a fourth time, this time
successfully, and spend three days sacking the city. Among other damage,
they destroy parts of the aqueduct system and other infrastructure.

The egalitarian theologian known only as the Sicilian Briton, being a Briton
who wrote in Sicily, publishes his most famous work, De Divitis (‘On
Riches’), blaming the existence of poverty on the existence of wealth,
dividing people into the rich, the poor, and those who have enough, and
advocating redistributing the excess wealth so that everyone has enough,
coining the slogan, Tolle divitem et pauperem non invenies (“Abolish the rich
and you will find no more poor”).
Boson and Odo, Francus consuls of the curia of Autricum Carnutum (former
center of the druids in Gallia, capital of Civitas Carnutum, modern Chartres,
home to Our Lady Underground), invite the Brittonic leader Ivomad and his
warriors, a thousand of them, from Armorica to garrison Castrum Blesense
(Blois) in Civitas Carnutum as foederati, giving rise to the legend of what
some medieval French sources refer to as the ‘Kingdom of Blois’.

411 – Magister Militum Gerontius kills Constans, son of Constantinus III, in

battle. He in turn dies at the hands of the army sent by Honorius Augustus,
which then defeats and captures Constantinus Augustus (Constantine III),
the last emperor proclaimed in Britannia, at Arelate (Arles), taking him to
Ravenna for execution.

The Gallic nobility who support Constantinus III, along with their allies
Gundahar of the Burgundi and Goar of the Alani, proclaim in his place Gallic
senator Iovinus as Imperator Caesar Iovinus Augustus at Mogontiacum
(Mainz). Support for Iovinus Augustus is especially strong in northern Gallia
and probably also in Britannia.

The Burgundi cross the Rhine and establish a kingdom at Borbetomagus

(Worms) under the pretext of permission from Iovinus Augustus.

The Germani in Hispania make a treaty among themselves dividing up

Hispania: the Siling Vandali get Hispania Baetica; the Alani get Lusitania et
Vettones and Hispania Carthaginensis; and the Hasding Vandali and the
Suevi share Hispania Gallaecia, the Suevi in the west on the Atlantic Coast
(modern Galicia) and the Hasding Vandali in the east (in modern Asturias),
with the Romans restricted to Hispania Tarraconensis.

411-429 – Raiding of Britannia by Picti, Scotii, and Saxones.

412 – Iovinus Augustus makes his brother co-emperor as Imperator Caesar

Sebastianus Augustus.

Heraclianus, Comes Africae, rebels against Honorius and proclaims himself

Imperator Caesar Heraclianus Augustus.

413 – Pelagian heresy said to begin.

Ataulf of the Visigothi captures and executes Iovinus Augustus and his
brother Sebastianus Augustus, sending their heads to Ravenna.
Heraclianus Augustus invades Italia, is defeated in battle against Honorius
Augustus, then flees to Carthago, where he is executed.

Constantius, Magister Militum, drives the Visigothi from Galliae.

415 - Mathmetician and widely-respected pagan philosopher Hypatia of

Alexandria, daughter of Theon Alexandricus, the last director of the Great
Library, is pulled from her chariot, stripped naked, dragged through the
streets of the city to the Caesareum, where she is flayed with sea shells,
dismembered, and burned by a crowd inspired by St. Cyril of Alexandra.

Honorius Augustus confiscates all pagan temples in the Imperium Romanum.

416 – Honorius Augustus sends the now allied Visigothi into Hispania to
crush the Germani who arrived in 409. Within two years, the Visigothi have
devasted the Siling Vandali and the Alani to the point where they merge into
the Hasding Vandali, whom the Visigothi have left alone along with the Suevi
on the far side of them.

417 – The return of some imperial presence to Armorica after the situation
is stabilized and Roman authority finally restored, for a short time, by a
legatus named Exuperancius.

After they crush the Siling Vandals to the point where they have to merge
into the Hasding Vandals, Honorius Augustus grants his Visigothi allies land
in the Garonne Valley of Aquitania to settle as foederati. Thus begins the
kingdom of the Visigothi, which is Arian, at least among the gentry.

418 – Descendants of Antonius Donatus Gregorius establish a Sub-Roman

kingdom in Gwyr Enouant (Novant), the later Galloway.

Ynys Weith, or the Isle of Wight (Vectis to the Romans), is given to a group
of Geatish settlers as foederati, who eventually become the Wihtwara.

Pelagian ‘heresy’ outlawed in Roma after it is condemned at the Council of

Carthage and the decision affirmed by Pope Zozimus, but in Britannia and
Hibernia, along with Gaul, enjoys much support from “pro-Celtic” faction.
Traditionalists support Roma.

The Visigothic foederati crush the Alani in Hispania, sending them to take
refuge with the Vandali.

419 – War breaks out between the Suevi under Hermeric on one side and
the Vandali and the Alani under Gunderic on the other. From his base in
Hispania Tarraconensis, Asterius, Comes Rei Militaris per Hispanias, aids the
Suevi (proving some sort of Roman imperial infrastructure remains in
Dioecesis Hispaniae), and together they force the Vandali and the Alani into
Hispania Baetica (the later Andalusia), for which the region is called al-
Andalus, then Andalusia (after the Reconquista). After this, the Suevi have
the whole of Gallaecia to themselves.

420 - Death of Coel Hen (estimated year). The lands of his office are
divided between his descendants, becoming Ebrauc, Bryneich (Din Guardi,
Bamburgh), Deifr, Rheged, Argoed, Peak, Elmet, and Craven, and possibly
Loidis (Leeds).

Eógan mac Néill establishes the kingdom of Aileach (aka Tir Eogain) while
his brother Conall Gulban mac Neill establishes the kingdom of Tir Conaill,
both in territory carved out of Ulster.

422 – Battle of Tarraco between the Romans under Patricius Flavius

Castinus along with Visigothi foederati and the Vandali under Gunderic their
king, which ends in a disastrous defeat for the Romans, with Patricius
Castinus dead along with much of his army.

423 - Birth of Patricius (St. Patrick), possibly in Banna Venta Burniae near
Birdoswald; the earliest extant copy of the Life of St. Patrick calls the place
‘Bannavem Taburniae’. The biography calls his father Calpurnius, son of
Potitus, a decurion (member of the municipal curia) and a deacon, his
grandfather Potitus being a priest.

424 – The kingdom of Ceredigion is established north of Dyfed.

Additions to the Roman villa at Chedworth (Gloucestershire) eight miles

north of Corinium Dobunnum (Circencester), in particular its elaborate floor
mosaic, demonstrate continued high Roman culture.

425 – Flavius Aetius, the “last of the Romans”, becomes Comes and
Magister Militum per Gallias.

Approximate time Guorthegern (Vortigern) comes to power as the leading

political figure in Britannia, though what his actual status is is a matter of
debate. The most reasonable suggestion is that he chaired a Council of
Britannia (assuming there was such a thing), but served only with consent,
not imperium.

Imperial control begins to slip away in Armorica, at least in the countryside,

where the Bagaudae have a resurgence.
First attack of the Visigothi on Arelate in Gallia Viennensis II, capital of
Praefectura Praetorio Galliarum.

*****

Approximate date the Notitia Dignatum is published, with its account of civil
government and the military accurate to between 410 and 420.

At the top of Dioecesis Britanniae is the Vicarius (Vices Agens Praefecti

Praetorio Galliarum per Britannias). His staff includes a princeps (chief of
staff), a cornucularius (chief deputy), two numerarii (receivers of taxes), a
commentariensis (keeper of the official diary), an adiutor (chief assistant),
an ab actis (acts keeper, archivist), a cure epistolorum (keeper of
correspondence), subadiuvae (deputy assistants), exceptores (lower clerks),
and singulares et reliquum officium (various menial staff).

At the next level are the governors of provinces. Those of Britannia Prima
and Britannia Valentia each have a consularis, while those of Britannia
Secunda, Britannia Flavia Caesariensis, and Britannia Maxima Caesariensis
each have a praesides, which, if the Nomina Omnium Provinciarum of
Polemius Silvanus (449) is accurate, would have also been the case with
Britannia Orcades. Each of the governors has a similar staff to the vicarius.

In addition to reaffirming the five province structure of the diocese, the ND

lists the following military commands.

Many of the local and tribal designations along with specialized functions
such as ‘exploratorum’ and ‘vigilum’ were traditional and may have had little
to do with the actual origin, composition, or duties at this date.

The ND did not include Roman forts in Valentia (between the Walls) nor in
(North) Wales, probably because, as noted above, these had previously been
turned over to ‘praefectus gentili’ (local rulers and/or Roman officers).

In the late Roman army, a numerus was a unit of 300. A cohort was a unit
of 480. An ala was a special cavalry unit. The legion of the late Roman
army had 1000 infantry soldiers rather than the 5000 mostly infantry
supported by cavalry of earlier.

Comes Rei Militaris per Britannias (Comes Britanniae)

Includes overall military command of Dioecesis Britanniae, with direct charge

of the comitatus, or field army, of which are the following units:
Primani iuniores (formerly half of Legio II Adiutrix)
(legiones comitatenses; heavy infantry)
Secundani iuniores (formerly half of Legio II Adiutrix)
(legiones comitatenses; heavy infantry)
Victores iuniores Britanniciani
(an auxilia palatinae; medium infantry)
Equites cataphractarii iuniores
(heavy cavalry)
Equites stablesiani
(heavy cavalry)
Equites scutarii Aureliaci
(heavy cavalry)
Equites Honoriani seniores
(a vexillationes comitatenses)
Equites Syres
(mercenary cavalry)
Equites Taifali
(mercenary cavalry)

Comes Litoris Saxonici per Britanniam

Includes command over the limitanei on the northern coast of the Oceanus
Britannica and the eastern coast of the Mare Frisicum

Praefectus legionis II Augustae, Rutupis

(Richborough, Kentshire)
Praefectus classis Britannicae, Dubris
(Dover, Kentshire)
Praepositus numeri Fortensium, Othonae
(Bradwell, Essexshire)
Praepositus militum Tungrecanorum, Dubris
(Dover, Kentshire)
Praepositus numeri Turnacensium, Lemannis
(Lympne, Kentshire)
Praepositus equitum Dalmatarum Branodunensium, Branoduno
(Brancaster, Norfolkshire)
Praepositus equitum stablesianorum Gariannonensium, Gariannonor
(Burgh Castle, Norfolkshire)
Tribunus cohortis primae Baetasiorum, Regulbio
(Reculver, Kentshire)
Praepositus numeri Abulcorum, Anderidos (Andertitum)
(Pevensey, Sussexshire)
Praefectus classis Anderidaensis, Anderdidos
 (Pevensey, Sussexshire)
Praepositus numeri exploratorum, Portum Adurni
(reconnaissance; Portchester, Hampshire)

Dux Britanniarum

Includes command over the limitanei in Maxima Caesariensis and along the
Vallum Aelium (Vallum Hadriani, Hadrian’s Wall), with some authority over
Valentia and possibly over Britannia Secunda.

Praefectus legionis VI, Eboracum

(York, Yorkshire)
Praefectus equitum Dalmatarum, Praesidio
(near Bridlington, Humberside)
Praefectus equitum Crispianorum, Dano
(Doncaster, Yorkshire)
Praefectus equitum catafractariorum, Morbio
(Ilkley, Yorkshire)
Praefectus numeri barcariorum Tigrisiensium, Arbeia
(South Shields, County Durham)
Praefectus numeri Nevuiorum Dictensium, Dicti
(Old Winteringham, Lincolnshire)
Praefectus numeri vigilum, Concangios
(“watchmen”; Chester-le-Street, County Durham)
Praefectus numeri exploratorum, Lavatres
(Bowes, County Durham)
Praefectus numeri directorum, Verteris
(“guides”; Brough Castle, Westmorlandshire)
Praefectus numeri defensorum, Barboniaco
(“defenders”; Kirkby Thore, Westmorlandshire)
Praefectus numeri Solensium, Maglone
(Old Carlisle, Cumberlandshire)
Praefectus numeri Pacensium, Magis
( Drumburgh, Cumberlandshire)
Praefectus numeri Longovicanorum, Longovicio
(Lanchester, County Durham)
Praefectus numeri supervenientium Petueriensium, Deruentione
(Malton, Yorkshire)

Units along the Wall:

Tribunus cohortis quartae Lingonum, Segeduno

(Wallsend, Northumberlandshire; Segedunum)
Tribunus cohortis primae Cornoviorum, Ponte Aeli
 (Newcastle, Northumberlandshire; Pont Aelius)
Praefectus alae primae Asturum, Conderco
(Benwell, Northumberlandshire)
Tribunus cohortis primae Frixagorum, Vindobala
(Rudchester, Northumberlandshire)
Praefectus alae Sabinianae, Hunno
(Halton Chesters, Northumberlandshire; Onnum)
Praefectus alae secundae Asturum, Cilurno
(Chesters, Northumberlandshire; Cilurnum)
Tribunus cohortis primae Batavorum, Procolitia
(Carrawburgh, Northumberlandshire; Brocolitia)
Tribunus cohortis primae Tungrorum, Borcovicio
(Housesteads, Northumberlandshire; Vercovicium)
Tribunus cohortis quartae Gallorum, Vindolana
(Chesterholm, Northumberlandshire; Vindolanda)
Tribunus cohortis primae Asturum, Aesica
(Great Chesters, Northumberlandshire)
Tribunus cohortis secundae Dalmatarum, Magnis
(Carvoran, Northumberlandshire)
Tribunus cohortis primae Aeliae Dacorum, Amboglanna
(Birdoswald, Cumberlandshire; Camboglanna)
Praefectus alae Petrianae, Petrianis
(Stanwix or Wreay, Cumberlandshire; Vxelodunum)
Praefectus numeri Maurorum Aurelianorum, Aballaba
(Burgh-by-Sands, Cumberlandshire)
Tribunus cohortis secundae Lingonum, Congavata
(Kirkbride or Drumburgh, Cumberlandshire)
Tribunus cohortis primae Hispanorum, Axeloduno
(Maryport or Netherby, Cumberlandshire; Castra Exploratorum)
Tribunus cohortis secundae Thracum, Gabrosenti
(Workington or Moresby, Cumberlandshire)
Tribunus cohortis primae Aeliae classicae, Tunnocelo
(Bowness or near Calder Bridge, Cumberlandshire)
Tribunus cohortis primae Morinorum, Glannibanta
(Ravenglass, Cumberlandshire)
Tribunus cohortis tertiae Neruiorum, Alione
(Lancaster, Lancashire; Calunium)
Cuneus Sarmatarum, Bremetenraco
(Ribchester, Lancashire; Bremetenacum)
Praefectus alae primae Herculeae, Olenaco
(Elslack, Yorkshire; Olenacum)
Tribunus cohortis sextae Neruiorum, Virosido
(Brough-by-Bainbridge, Yorkshire; Virosidum)
Cambria

In addition to the above, several forts and fortified towns in what is now
Wales were occupied into the late 4th to early 5th centuries, in at least one
or two cases into the mid-5th century. These may have been under the Dux
Britanniarum, or part of another command left out of the Notitia. Some of
these include, but may not be limited to, Segontium (Caervarvon), Isca
Augusta (Caerleon), Deva (Chester), Cicunium (Y Gaer), Mediolanum
(Caerws), Tamium (Cardiff), Venta Silurum (Caerwent), Bravonium
(Leintwardine, Herefordshire), Magnis (Kenchester), and Viroconium
Cornoviorum (Wroxeter).

*****

The following two commands of territory in Dioecesis Galliae on the

Continent, districts formerly under the Comes Maritimi Tractus, coordinate
with the Comes Litoris Saxonici but are not under his command.

Dux Tractus Armoricani et Nervicani

Includes command over the limitanei in Lugdunensis II, Lugdunensis III,

Lugudnensis IV Senonia, Aquitania I, & Aquitania II, with shore and inland
territory stretching from the mouth of Gironde Estuary in Aquitaine to the
mouth of River Somme in Picardy.

Tribunus cohortis primae novae Armoricanae, Grannona in litore Saxonico

(Port-en-Bessin, France)
Praefectus militum Carronensium, Blabia
(Blaye, France)
Praefectus militum Maurorum Benetorum, Venetis
(Vannes, Brittany)
Praefectus militum Maurorum Osismiacorum, Osismis
(Brest, Britanny)
Praefectus militum superventorum, Mannatias
(Nantes, Britanny)
Praefectus militum Martensium, Aleto
(Saint-Malo-de-Beignon, Britanny)
Praefectus militum primae Flaviae, Constantia
(Countances, Normandy, France)
Praefectus militum Ursariensium, Rotomagus
(Rouen, Normandy, France)
Praefectus militum Dalmatarum, Abrincatis
(Avracnes, Normandy, France)
Praefectus militum Grannonensium, Grannona
 (Port-en-Bessin, France)

Dux Belgicae Secundae

The following three units were originally assigned to this command but later
detached to the field army of the Magister Militium per Gallias:

Geminiacenses
(legiones comitatenses; heavy infantry)
Cortoriacenses
(legiones comitatenses; heavy infantry)
Prima Flavia Metis
(legiones pseudocomitatenses; heavy infantry, former limitanei)

Includes command over the limitanei in Belgica Secunda and over the
Classis Sambricae (which operated on the River Somme and the Mare
Frisicum near the mouth)

Equites Dalmatae, Marcis in litore Saxonico

(prob. Marck, France; Marquise or Mardyck also poss.)
Praefectus classis Sambricae, in loco Quartensi siue Hornensi
(Port d’Etaples and Cap Hornu or Saint-Valery-sur-Somme)
Tribunus militum Nerviorum, Portu Epatiacus
(Oudenberg, Netherlands)
Praefectus laetorum Nerviorum, Fanomantis
(Famars, Picardie, France)
Praefectus laetorum Batavorum Nemetacensium, Atrabatis
(Arras, Pas de Calais, France)
Praefectus laetorum Batavorum Contraginnensium in Noviomago
(Nijmegen, Netherlands)
Praefectus laetorum gentilium in Remo et Silvanectas
(Durocotroum Remorum, now Riennes, and Senlis, France)
Praefectus Sarmatarum gentilium inter Renos et Tambianos
(between Renos and Tambianos)

427 – The leaders of Britannia appeal to Comes Aetius, but get no support.
The following year it invites a number of Germanic foederati and laeti to aid
in repelling the Scoti and the Pictii, settling them near the Roman-built
village of Dorocina (Dorchester-upon-Thames, Oxfordshire).

Death of Feradach Dathi, Ard Ri Eireann, last of the great raiding High Kings,
reportedly in battle among the Alps.
429 – Agricola, son of Pelagian bishop Severianus, evangelizes in Britannia
for the Pelagian interpretation of the faith. At the request of Palladius, a
Brithonic ‘Deacon of Rome’, Pope Celestine I dispatches Bishops Germanus
of Auxerre and Lupus of Troyes to Britannia to combat the Pelagian heresy.
While in Britannia, Germanus, a former general, leads the Brittones to
victory near what is now the Welsh border.

Largely due to Comes Aetius’ campaigns, Genesric leads the Vandali and
their client Alani from Hispaniae into North Africa, leaving the former to the
Romans (other than Suevi-held Gallaecia), and within ten years conquers all
of Dioecesis Africae.

Comes Aetius is made Magister Militum Praesentalis.

430 – Second attack of the Visigothi on Arelate in Gallia Viennensis II,

capital of Dioecesis Galliae.

431 – Pope Celestine I sends St. Palladius as missionary bishop to Scotia

(Eire, Hibernia), who makes his seat in Mumha.

The Third Ecumenical Council, at Ephesus, condemns Nestorianism and

affirms to Mary, mother of Jesus, the title ‘Theotokos’. This precipitates the
Nestorian Schism of the Church in Iran and in Mesopotamia. The Council
also affirms the condemnation of Pelagianism by the Council of Carthage and
Pope Zozimus of Roma.

432 - Death of St. Ninian, Bishop of Whithorn.

Comes Aetius becomes Magister Utriusque Militiae.

434 – The later St. Patrick of Ard Macha is captured by pirates and taken to
Eire (Scotia) as a slave.

435 – Tibatto leads the Bagaudae in a revolt that turns into an Armorican
movement for independence from Dioecesis Galliae.

435 – War breaks out between the Irish settlers in Garth Madrun and the
Brittonic kingdom of Powys. Anlach of Garth Madrun is defeated and forced
to send his son, Brychan, as a hostage to the Powysian Court.

Comes Aetius is raised to the rank of Patricius.

436 – Gundahar of the Burgundi launches an attack against Provincia
Belgicae Primae, for which Patricius Aetius destroys him and his kingdom the
next year with help from his Hunnish mercenaries.

The Visigothi attack Narbo (Colonia Narbo Martius) in Gallia Narbonensis I,

but they are defeated by Litius, Magister Militum per Gallias, who drives
them back to their capital, Tolosa, with the aid of Hunnish mercenaries.

437 – “From (the beginning of) the reign of Guorthegern (Vortigern) to the
Battle of Guoloppum (Guoloph, Wallop) between Vitalinus and Ambrosius is
twelve years,” according to Nennius. The two men named have usually been
identified as Guorthegern and Ambrosius Aurelianus, with Guorthegern as
Vitalinus, but Vitalinus in this case is more likely the Archbishop of London at
the time.

The revolt of Tibatto in Armorica is quelled by Comes Aetius.

438 – Ard Ri na h-Eireann Loaghaire appoints a commission to study,

revise, and codify Irish law, which promulgates its Laws of the Fenechas
three years later as the Senchus Mor (criminal code) and the Lebhar Acaill
(civil code).

Seeing the opportunity for expansion, Rechila, king of the Suevi, begins
expanding beyond the borders of Gallaecia into Lusitania, then into Baetica,
then into Carthaginensis.

439 – After capturing Africa Proconsularis and completing his conquest of

Roman Africa, Genseric adopts the title Rex Vandalorum et Alanorum,
making his seat at Carthago, the former seat of Roman government. The
kingdom is, of course, Arian rather than Catholic.

Battle of Tolosa in which Litius, Magister Militum per Gallias, and his army of
Romani and Hunni are defeated by the Visigothi.

440-450 - Civil War and famine in Britannia, caused by Pictish incursions

and tensions between Pelagian/Roman factions. Migration of pro-Roman
citizens toward west.

440 - St. Patrick escapes from his captors and returns to Britannia, probably
to Alt Clut.

The kingdom of Cair Lundein (Londinium) is established.

The kingdom of Cair Gwinntguic (Venta Belgarum) is established.

441 – German foederati in Cantiacum rise in revolt, but are defeated by
Guorthemir (Vortimer), son of Guorthegern (Vortigern), in four battles.

442 – Patricius Aetius grants a group of Alani under king Goar land in
Civitas Aurelianorum to live as foederati after becoming wary of his Hunni
allies. The civitas was created out of land taken from Civitas Carnutum by
Imperator Caesar Lucius Domitius Aurelianus Augustus. One of their
primary missions is to keep in check the Bagaudae in Armorica.

443 – Death of Constantine Corneu of Dumnonia (Duvnent).

444 – A plague strike the Pretanic Isles.

445 – Revolt of the Bagaudae in Armorica and central Gallia under a doctor
from Armorica named Eudoxius.

446 – The Brittones appeal to Patricius Aetius for military assistance against
the Picti and the Scotii (Gildas calls this “The Groans of the Britons”), but he
has his hands full with Attila the Hun; it is likely he, however, who sends St.
Germanus back there the following year.

A group of Angli foederati are given a little land that later becomes the
kingdom of Lindisfaras (Lindsey).

St. Germanus of Auxerre visits Ravenna seeking to soften the imperium’s

stance against the Bagaudae, and petitions the Senate for leniency for the
citizens of Armorica.

Magister Utriusque Militiae Vitus leads the Romani and a large number of
Goths against the Suevi, attempting to restore all Hispania to the Imperium,
but they are badly defeated.

447 – Second visit of St. Germanus to Britannia, this time accompanied by

St. Severus, Bishop of Trier. They lead the Brittones in defeat of their
enemies, the Picti and the Scoti, expelling the Scoti from Teyrnllwg, the
mountain territory of the (Midlands) Cornovii, and establish the kingdom of
Paganes (Powys). Its capital is at Viroconium Cornoviorum (Wroxeter), with
Catellius son of Categirn (Cadell Ddernllwg), son of Guorthegern (Vortigern)
as Tribune, whom Bruttius, grandson of Guorthegern, later succeeds.

St. Patrick founds the church at Ard Macha.

448 - Civil war and plague ravage Britain.

Goar of the Alani puts down the revolt of the Bagaudae in Armorica led by
Eudoxius, who flees to refuge with the Hunni.

449 – As provinces in (the Diocese of) ‘Romana Britanniae’, the Nomina

Omnium Provinciarum of Polemius Silvius lists Prima, Secunda, Flavia,
Maxima, Valentiana (Valentia), and Orcades.

450 – In the first year of Imperator Caesar Flavius Marcianus Augustus at

Constantinopolis, Hengist and Horsa arrive in Britannia with “3 keels” of
Iutae warriors, settling on the Ynys Tanat (Ruim) as foederati at the
invitation of Guorthegern (Vortigern) and the Council of Britannia.

The kingdom of Rheged is established by a supposed descendant of Coel

Hen, carved out of Northern Britain. The new domain reaches from the
southern border of Alt Clud to the northern border of Gwynedd.

Armorica, recipient of numerous Brittonic immigrants, comes to be known as

Britannia Minor, according to historians Procopious of Caesarea, Marius
Aventicensis, and Venantius Fortunatus.

451 – The armies of Patricius Aetius and the Visigoth king Theodoric I,
which include archers and other troops from Armorica, turn back the army of
Attila the Hun in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains.

The Fourth Ecumenical Council, at Chalcedon, condemns Eutychian

monophysitism, affirms the dual natures of Christ, and publishes the
Chalcedonian Creed. This brings on the Chalcedonian Schism of the Sees of
Alexandria, Antioch, and Armenia.

452 - Increasing Saxonici settlement in Britannia. Guorthegern (Vortigern)

marries Hengist’s daughter, Rowena. Hengist invites his son, Oisc (some
accounts give Octa, but Octa was his grandson), from Germania with 16
keels of warriors.

Cunodagos (Cunedda) Guletic ap Edern (Aeternus) and his retinue transfer

from Manaw at the head of the Firth of Forth to what is now northwest
Wales, where they drive out or at least beat back the (newly arrived) Irish
there (Laighin and Uí Liatháin) and establish the kingdom of Venedotia, or
Guynet (Gwynedd).

453 – Raids on British towns and cities becoming more frequent. Increasing
Saxonici unrest.
The method of dating Easter is altered by Pope Leo I.

454 – Patricius Aetius is assassinated in Roma personally by Imperator

Caesar Flavius Placidius Valentinianus Augustus, instigated by Patricius
Petronius Maximus and Primicerius Sacri Cubiculi (‘Provost of the Sacred
Bedchamber’) Heraclius.

455 – Battle of Aylesford (Kent) between Hengest’s Iutae and the Brittones
under Guorthemir (Vortimer) in which Catigern ap Guorthegern (Vortigern)
and Horsa of Cantwara are killed.

Valentinianus Augustus is assassinated by two Hun (or Goth) bodyguards of

Patricius Aetius, Optila and Thraustila; the latter also kills Heraclius. The
third co-conspirator becomes Imperator Caesar Petronius Maximus
Augustus, though he is not recognized in the East.

The troops of Geiseric, Rex Vandalorum et Alanorum, invade Italia and sack
Roma. After returning from having abandoned Roma in the face of
Geiseric’s army, Maximus Augustus is stoned to death in the streets by a
mob. Theodoric II, king of the Visigothi, backs the Magister Militum
Praesentalis to become Imperator Caesar Eparchius Avitus Augustus (who,
in a historical irony, is of the Arverni).

Avitus Augustus sends the Visigothi into Hispania to reconquer it for the
Imperium Romanum.

456 – Theodoric II of the Visigothi defeats Recharius II of the Suevi at the

Battle of the Campus Paramus near Asturica Augusta, then goes on to sack
Bracara Augusta, the Suevi capital. He then proceeds to capture Hispania
Baetica, Hispania Carthaginiensis, and southern Lusitania.

Ricimer, Comes et Magister Utriusque Militiae, deposes Avitus Augustus, but

rather than kill him forces him to become Bishop of Piacenza. Ricimer then
installs his ally the Comes Domesticorum as Imperator Caesar Iulius Valerius
Maiorianus Augustus.

In one of his first acts, Maiorianus Augustus replaces Agrippinus, then

Comes et Magister Militum per Gallias, with Aegidius, one of Patricius Aetius’
top generals.

457 – Guorthemir (Vortimer) rebels against his father, Guorthegern

(Vortigern), who counsels defence, and fights Hengist again at the Battle of
Crecganford (Crayford). Hengist is victorious and the Brittonic army flees
back to Londinium. Ceint (at least the eastern part of it) falls to the the
forces of Hengist and Horsa. According to Welsh legend, Guorthemir
relocates westward and establishes the kingdom of Cair Gloui (Glevum)
around what is now Gloucester.

458-460 – Riothamus leads a migration of Brittones across the Oceanus

Britannicus to Armorica.

458 – Imperial forces under Nepotianus, Comes et Magister Utrusque

Militiae, and Comes Aegidius invade southern Gallia and reconquer all of it
except for Aquitania, which is, however, reduced from independence to
foederati status. Their armies also defeat the Bagaudae and recover the city
of Lugdunum.

459 – The armies of Comes Nepotianus and Sunieric, Comes Rei Militaris,
force the Visigothi to surrender Hispania, except for Suevian Gallaecia.

Guorthegern (Vortigern) makes his last stand against the forces of

Ambrosius Aurelianus at Ganarew in modern Herefordshire.

460 – Approximate date that Ambrosius Aurelianus, whom Gildas calls the
‘last of the Romans’, takes control of the war of the Brittones against the
Germanic raiders and invaders, the Iutae, Angli, Saxones, Frisii, Franci, and
Gauti (Geats).

Comes Nepotianus and Comes Sunieric reconquer Gallaecia from the Suevi.

461 – Comes Ricimer orchestrates the deposition and execution of Maiorian

Augustus, installing in his place a senator as Imperator Caesar Libius
Severus Augustus.

Refusing to recognize Ricimer’s puppet, Comes Aegidius establishes an

exclave of the empire in northern Gallia with its seat at Augusta Suessionum
(formerly Noviodunum Suessionum). Aegidius is not alone in rejection of
Ricimer’s puppet; Imperator Caesar Flavius Leo Augustus in Constantinopolis
also rejects him quite pointedly.

The territory is roughly coextensive with the later Frankish kingdom of

Neustria (511-751 CE), originally taking in the imperial provinces Belgica II,
Lugundensis II, Lugundensis III, and Lugundensis IV Senonia (the last of
these includes the city of Lutetia Parisiorum).

Aegidius’ Frankish allies refer to him as ‘Rex Romanorum’, and St. Gregory
of Tours a century later refers to his realm as ‘Regnum Romanorum’. But a
better name for the realm, which he governed as an exarchate of the
Imperium Romanum under Imperator Caesar Flavius Leo (I) Augustus,
whom he did recognize, would be ‘Ducatus Suessionum’, given that Aegidius’
son and successor Syagrius adopted the title ‘Dux’.

Given past history, there is little reason to doubt that Aegidius’ exclave
includes, or at least remains in regular contact with, Dioecesis Britanniae, at
least its pro-Roman elements. Two other civitates in northern Gallia, Civitas
Andecavorum and Civitas Trevororum, remain loyal to Ravenna but
cooperate with Suessionum militarily (the afore-mentioned supposed
‘independent Kingdom of Blois’, aka Civitas Carnutum, lies within the bounds
of Aegidius’ domain).

Aegidius’ secession leaves Libius Severus Augustus with just Civitas

Arvenorum (the northern section of Aquitania Prima, the rest of the
Aquitanae now held by the Visigothi) and Provincia Galliae Narbonensis in
Dioecesis Galliae (and Praefectura Galliae, for that matter) wholly his.

Comes Ricimer has Libius Severus Augustus reappoint former Magister

Militum per Gallias Aggripinus to his old post that Aegidius has vacated
implicitly with his secession.

462 – Magister Militium Aggripinus gives the Visigothi Provincia Galliae

Narbonensis I, most likely as an inducement to fight against Aegidius,
leaving them in control of the entire of the former Diocese of Viennensis,
now known as the ‘Regnum Tolosae’. After this, the province becomes
known as Septimania.

463 – Comes Aegidius and Childeric of the Salian Franci lead their forces
repelling Theodoric II of the Visigothi at the Battle of Orléans.

464 – Comes Aegidius writes to Genesric of the Vandali and Alani against
Comes Ricimer and the Visigothi, seeking an alliance.

465 – Comes Aegidius dies suddenly, either through ambush or poisoning

(sources of the time differ), and is succeeded at Suessonium by his son
Syagrius, who adopts the title Dux.

Hispaniae falls back under control of the Visigothi.

466 – Battle of ‘Wippedsfleet’ (Rutupiae; Richborough, Kent), in which the

Brittones defeat the Iutae under Hengist and Oisc (Aesc), but with great
slaughter on both sides. The latter are confined to Thanet and there is a
respite from fighting.
466-477 – Period of minimal Saxonici activity in Britannia; re-fortification
of ancient hillforts; construction of the Wansdyke in the West Country (in the
modern Wiltshire and Somerset).

467 – Imperator Caesar Flavius Leo (I) Augustus in Constantinopolis

imposes on the western half of the Imperium Romanum his nominee
Imperator Caesar Procopius Anthemius Augustus. In his first year,
Anthemius Augustus grants Dux Syagrius the title Patricius, indicating a
rapproachment with the secessionist exclave.

468 – Comes Arvandus writes to Euric, king of the Visigothi, urging him to
reject Anthemius Augustus and attack the Brittones north of the River Loire
in Armorica, allies of Syagyrius and supporters of Anthemius.

St. Brigid founds Kildare Abbey.

469 – Anthemius Augustus appeals to the Brittones in Armorica for help

against the Visigothi under Euric. A 12,000 man force under Riothamus
responds, travelling up the River Loire to land in Civitas Biturigum. After
being driven out of the stronghold of Avaricum (Bourges), the bulk of the
combined Brittones-Bituriges force is wiped out at vicus Dolensis (Déols),
with survivors taking refuge with the Burgundi.

Comes Paulus of Civitas Andecavorum (capital: Iuliomagus of the Andecavi;

modern Angers) leads the Romans and the Salian Franci under Childeric
against the Visigothi, and is successful. The Saxones under Adovacrius
subsequently attack Andecavorum and Paulus is killed in the fighting.
Childeric and the Salian Franci arrive soon after and defeat the Saxones.

470 – The kingdoms of Elmet, including the district of Loidis, and of the
Pennines are established, possibly by dynastic offspring of Coel Hen, along
with the kingdom of Guotodin/Gododdin as well.

Glevis ap Solor breaks away the section of Siluria (Guent, Gwent) west of
River Usk as Glevissig (Glywysing).

The end of the Visigoth War.

The Iron Age fort atop Cadbury Hill formerly held by the Durotriges at the
time of the Roman Conquest (later hosting a Roman fort, then a temple
compound and civic center) is reoccupied as a military fort, eventually
growing to twice the size of that of any other post-imperial fort on the island
of Britannia Major. At 66 by 33 feet, its great hall is enormous for that time,
and its remains contain shards of pottery from the eastern Mediterranean
from the period of its occupation. Many strongly suspect it to have been the
Celliwig of the legendary battle leader ‘Arthur the Soldier’.

471-475 – Ecdicius Avitus, son of Eparchius Avitus Augustus, rules the

short-lived Ducatus Arvernorum as an autonomous exclave of the Imperium
Romanum, similar to the Ducatus Suessionum in the north.

471 – Ceretic of Alt Clut raids the Irish Coast and carries off some of St.
Patrick’s new flock and sells them into slavery, receiving a written reprimand
from the immigrant Irish evangelist.

472 - Attempted rebellion against Anthemius Augustus by Arvandus,

Praefectus Praetorio Galliae, averted by Riothamus.

Successful rebellion against Anthemius Augustus by Flavius Ricimer,

Magister Utriusquae Militiae, whose troops sack Roma once again. Later in
the year, Ricimer himself dies, ironically of natural causes.

Euric of the Visigothi conquers the remainder of Hispania Tarraconensis, the

last remnant of Roman territory on the Iberian Peninsula.

474 – Ercing (Ergyng), based on Cair Airon (Ariconium), breaks away from
the kingdom of Siluria (Guent).

Imperator Caesar Iulius Nepos Augustus makes Ecidius Avitus a Patricius

and Magister Militum Praesentalis.

475 – The Angli begin arriving in the territory of Cair Went. About the same
time, the Medii Saxones (Middelseaxna) and the Suthrig begin to infiltrate
the lower Thames River region.

Nepos Augustus recalls Patricius Avitus to Roma, replacing him as Magister

Militum Praesentalis with Flavius Orestes. He then trades the Ducatus
Arvernorum to the Visigothi in exchange for the return of Septimania.

c. 475 – A presumed tombstone in Cair Guricon (Virconium Cornoviorum,

Wroexter) reads, “Cunorix, son of Mac-Cuillin”.

476-1461 – The ‘Byzantine’ period of the Imperium Romanum/Basilea

Rhomain, whose own citizens and neighbors never think of its inhabitants as
anything but Roman. {The name ‘Byzantine’ was concocted by a historian in
the Imperium Romanum Sacrum in the 16th century.}
476 – Odoacer of the Scirii, head of the foederati in Praefectura Praetorio
Italiae, captures Ravenna and overthrows Magister Utriusquae Militiae
Flavius Orestes and Imperator Caesar Flavius Romulus Augustus. He invites
Imperator Caesar Flavius Zeno Augustus in Constantinopolis to become sole
ruler of the reunited Imperium Romanum, with himself as ‘Rex Italiae’ under
Zeno. Zeno grants Odoacer the pronomen Patricius and the title Dux Italiae,
recognizing Imperator Caesar Flavius Julius Nepos Augustus as de jure ruler
of the West. Patricius Odoacer as de facto ruler maintains all of the imperial
institutions, including the Senate at old Roma.

Dux Syagrius refuses to accept Odoacer as head of the imperium in the West
and cuts off contact with both Italia and Zeno Augustus.

477 – The Saxonici chieftain Aelle lands on southern coast with his sons
Cymen, Wlencing, & Cissa, and founds the kingdom of Australes Saxones
(Suthseaxna). The Brittones engage him at the Battle of Cymenshore (near
Selsey), but his superior force forces them back. He then besieges them at
Anderitum (Pevensey), sacks it, and drives the survivors into the Weald.
Over next nine years, Saxonici coastal holdings are gradually expanded in
Suthseaxna.

The kingdom of Rhegin is established at Noviomagus Reginorum

(Chichester).

The Visigothi destroy the last remnants of Praefectura Praetorio Galliarum,

except for the Ducatus Suessionum in the north along with its allied states,
adding the former provinces of Viennensis I & II, Narbonensis II, Alpes
Maritimae, and Alpes Graiae et Poeninae to their kingdom.

480 – St. Erbin, king of Dumnonia (Duvnent), abdicates in favour of his son,
Geraint Llygesoc.

Death of Glevis (Glywys) of Glevissig (Glywysion, Glywysing); his kingdom

splinters into Gwynllŵg, Penychen, Gorfynedd, and Edeligion.

The kingdom of Lindes (Linnius) falls to the Angli, who call their newly won
territory Lindisfaras or Lindsey.

The kingdom of Cair Colun (Camulodunum or Colchester) is established.

Nepos Augustus is murdered in Dalmatia where he has had made his

residence, after which Patricius Odoacer moves to take over Sicilia and
Dalmatia. Zeno Augustus in Constantinopolis dissolves the east-west
division and proclaims himself ruler of the whole, a move which both Pope
Simplicius, Patriarch of Roma, and the Senate of Roma, accept. Henceforth,
papal and Senate (as long as it lasts) recognition of the augustus sitting at
Constantinopolis as ruler of the whole is automatic until 797.

Cynfeln ap Arthwys (of the Pennines) establishes Calchwynedd (aka

Cynwidion, Calchfynydd) in the Chiltern Hills (Bedfordshire to
Northamptonshire).

481 – Patricius Syagrius’ ally Childeric I of the Salian Franci dies. His son
Clovis I succeeds him, but soon abandons the alliance and begins to make
war on the Ducatas Suessonium.

485 – “Then in those days Arturus fought with the kings of the Brittones
against them [the Saxones] but he himself was the commander of battles.”
‘Arturus Miles’ (Arthur the Soldier) becomes ‘dux bellorum’ (probably the
same as ‘Comes Rei Militaris’) in Britannia. The oldest stories identify him
most closely with Dumnonia (Duvnent), with his seat, or base, at Celliwig.
Only much later is he identified as a king.

Aelle and his sons overreach their normal territory and are engaged by the
Brittones at the Battle of Mercredesburne. The battle is bloody but
indecisive, and ends with both sides pledging friendship.

Civitas Trevororum (Augusta of the Treveri, the later Trier) has managed to
maintain its independence until becoming part of the realm of the Ripuarian
Franks this year. Comes Arbogast flees to Autricum (capital of Civitas
Carnutum, now Chartres, seat of Notre Dame des Sous Terre), where he
becomes its bishop.

St. Enda, a prince of the Airghialla who has adopted the tonsure, founds his
College and Abbey at the eastern end of Inishmore on Loch Lurgan. It is the
first monastery and school of what becomes a massive complex that is the
leading center of scholarship in Ireland, which is then the leading center of
scholarship in all of Europe.

486 – The Ducatus Suessionum (by this time reduced to Noviomagus

Veromanduorum, Augustomagus Silvanectium, Augusta Suessonium, and
their extended civitates) is conquered by Clovis I, king of the Franci, at the
Battle of Soissons, leaving him in control of all Galliae north of the River
Loire, which he calls Neustria. Patricius Syagrius flees to the protection of
the Visigothi in the south, only to be executed by Alaric II.

== Sub-Roman Britain ==
Beginning of the Early Middle Ages in Gaul and in Britain.

488 – Hengest dies. His son, Oesc, takes over and rules for 34 years,
founding the Oescingas dynasty.

Theodoric, Consul of the Imperium Romanum and king of the Ostrogothi,

invades the Praefecturae Italiae at the behest of Zeno Augustus after
Patricius Odoacer becomes too independent.

490 – The kingdom of Cair Lerion (Ratae Corieltauvorum, Leicester) is

established.

491 – Aelle and Cissa of Suthseaxna besiege the Brithons in Andertitum

(Pevensey), ending, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, with the
slaughter of all its garrison and inhabitants. Afterwards, the site remains
uninhabited until 1042, known as Andredesceaster to the Seaxan, and its
surrounding forest, most of Cantwara, known as Andredsweald.

According to the Chronicles of Anjou, Clovis, king of the Salian Franks,

captures Castrum Blesense, seat of the ‘Kingdom of Blois’ (aka Civitas
Carnutum), whose elites take refuge in the kingdom of Wened. He then
creates a ‘Breton’ March between his kingdom and the three kingdoms of
‘Britannia Minor’ (currently limited to Lower Brittany but at its greatest
extent stretching east to River Vilaine).

493 – Death of St. Patrick, followed by the Battle for the Body of St. Patrick
between the Uí Néill and the Aighialla.

The Ostrogoths under Consul Theodoric complete their conquest of

Odoacer’s domain, and the now Patricius Theodoric, like his predecessor,
rules as viceroy with the title Dux Italiae. In addition to promoting Roman
culture and architecture, Theodoric, an Arian cognizant of maintaining good
relations with the Patriarch of Roma, promulgates a law establishing freedom
of religion.

495 – Ealdorman Cerdic, son of Elesa, his son, Cynric, and 3 keels of the
Gewissae land somewhere on the south coast, near the Hampshire-Dorset
border, establishing the beginnings of Westseaxna (Wessex).

St. Finnian establishes the abbey at Molville.

496 – Siege and Battle of Mons Badonicus, at which the Brithons under
Arthur defeat the Seaxna (based on St. Bede’s chronology; the Annales
Cambriae gives the date 516)
Gildas ap Caw, later St. Gildas the Wise, born at Alt Clut on the River Clyde.

496-550 - Following the victory at Mt. Badon, the Saxon advance is halted
with the invaders returning to their separate enclaves, known collectively to
the Brithons as Lloegyr. A generation of peace ensues.

497 – Death of Erbin ap Cussentin of Dumnonia (Duvnent).

Treaty of Clovis I of the Franks with the ‘Armoricani’ (pre-Brithon Gauls) and
the Britanni of Litavia (Letau), in which the first allows more immigration
from Britannia in return for the other two recognizing Frankish suzerainty
(without paying tribute). The chief intermediaries are St. Mélaine, Bishop of
Rennes, and St. Patern, Bishop of Vannes.

Late 5th century – The Fir Domnann in southeast Ireland are displaced by
the Laighin, the former moving into the west, the latter group giving its
modern name to the province. The Fir Domnann make their way across the
island to the far northwest corner of what is now Co. Mayo in Ireland, the
section called Iorrais Domnann, or the Barony of Erris.

The Eoghanachta displace the Fir Mumhan, becoming rulers of what is now
Munster.

Early 6th century – Three small kingdoms coalesce in the former Armorica,
known as Letau (Litavia in Latin) to its inhabitants: Domnonea, based on the
former Civitas Curiosilitum (capital: Fanum Marti, or Corseul); Kernev, based
on the former Civitas Osismorum (capital: Vorgium, or Carhaix, later at
Corisopitum, or Quimper); and Wened, based on the former Civitas
Venetorum (capital: Darioritum, or Vannes). According to legend, the
founders of these kingletdoms are, respectively, Riwal Mawr Marzhou from
Guynet (Gwynedd), Gradlon Mawr, and Caradoc Vreichvras from Guent.

500-517 – Cadwallon Lawhir expels the Irish from Anglesey.

500 – With help from Theodoric (Tewdrig), commander of the successor to

the Classis Britannica, and Marcellus (Maeliaw) of Letau (Britannia Minor),
Agricola (Aircol) defeats the forces of the Deisi under Irish king Fingar and
his Brithonic ally Guiner at the Battle of Porthmawr and reconquers Dyfed to
become its ruler as ‘Tribune’. Theodoric, meanwhile, makes his base at Cair
Taf in Glevissig.

By this time, the population of the city of Roma, which had been at over one
million at the apex of the Imperium Romanum, has fallen to under 50,000.
501 – Rhegin falls to Aelle of the Suthseaxna

Death of Fergus Mor mac Eirc, who transferred the seat of the kings of the
Dal Riata to Earr a’ Gaidheal.

504 – Muircheartach mac Erc, brother of Fergus Mor, becomes Ard Ri

Eireann.

505 – The kingdom of Armterid (Arfderydd), or Cair Gwenddoleu, is

established in what is now the Cumberlandshire parish of Arthuret, between
Rheged and Alt Clud, with its seat at Carwinley.

507 – Campaign of Theodoric, commander of Classis Britannica (or rather

its successor), and Marcellus of Britannia Minor in Armorica on both sides of
the Oceanus Britannicus.

Death of Domangart Reti mac Fergus of Ceann Tir; succession of Comgall

mac Domangairt, ancestor of Cenel Comghaill.

After raiding their territory a few years earlier in an attempt at their

subjugation, Clovis allies with fellow Athanasians the Armorican Brithons
along with the Alans and the Burgundians to campaign against the Arian
Visigoths, ending in his momentous victory at the Battle of Campus
Vogladensis (Vouillé). The Visigoths are reduced to Septimania and
Hispaniae, with Aquitania added to the kingdom of the Franks.

According to St. Gregory of Tours, after this Imperator Caesar Anastasius I

Dicorus Augustus gives Clovis the titles Consul Honorarius and Patricius.

508 – According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Cerdic of the Gewissae

begins to move inland and defeats Brithonic king Natanleod of Natanleage at
the Battle of Netley Marsh (in Hampshire), though both Natanleod and the
battle are probably the invention of the chronicler.

St. Iltud founds the college Bangor Iltud at the place in Glevissig (Glywysing,
Glamorgan) that came to be known as Llaniltud Fawr (Llantwit Major).

Patricius Theodoric reconquers enough territory of Gallia Narbonensis to

reestablish Dioecesis Galliae.

510 - Battle of Llongborth (Portsmouth, Hampshire), where Geraint

Llyngesoc ap Erbin, king of Dumnonia, is killed fighting alongside Arthur and
“Arthur’s brave men”. The events are recounted in the medieval (10th
century) Welsh epic Geraint son of Erbin, which contains the first mention of
Arthur as ‘amerauder’.

Patricius Theodoric reestablishes the Praefectura Praetorio Galliarum.

511 - After the death of Clovis I of the Franks, his realm is divided among
his four sons, with the former Ducatus Suessonium becoming the Kingdom
of Neustria under Clothar I, whose seat is at Soissons.

Patricius Theodoric, Dux Italiae and king of the Ostrogoths, re-establishes

the Prefecture of Gallia in its former capital of Arelate (Arles).

St. Melaine, Bishop of Rennes, presides over the Council of Orléans at which
the Gallic episcopate unite under the Frankish monarchy, then helps secure
the independence of Rennais (former Civitas Redonum) and Nantais (former
Civitas Namnetum) under treaties with the Franks.

514 – Death of Aelle of Suthseaxna. The kingdom passes to his son, Cissa
and his descendents, but over time, diminishes into insignificance.
Eventually much of their coastal territory is taken over by the Jutish
Meonwara.

517 – Battle of Camlann, where “Arturus and Medraut fell” (based on

chronology of St. Bede, though the quote is from Annales Cambriae, which
gives the date 537).

King and Saint Constantine ruling in Dumnonia (Duvnent).

Death of Cadwallon Lawhir ap Einion of Guynet; his son Mailgun takes the
throne after murdering his uncle, probably Owain Ddantgwyn of Rhôs, and
re-unites the two kingdoms.

519 – Cerdic becomes king of the Gewissae, launching the dynasty of the
Cerdicingas which rules until 1066 CE.

520 - Pabo Post Prydain of the Peninnes abdicates his throne and retires, as
a hermit, to Ynys Môn, having divided the kingdom between his sons: Dent,
or Dunotion (roughly coextensive with the civil parish of Dent, formerly of
Yorkshire but now in modern Cumbria); Craven (in Yorkshire, roughly
coextensive with the Deanery of Craven); and Peak (roughly coextensive
with the modern Peak District).

Death of Riwal Mawr Marzhou of Domnonea.

The Middelenglna first branch out from the Eastenglna.

521 – St. Brendan the Navigator leads 14-60 companions across the Atlantic
Ocean to the ‘Isle of the Blessed’ and back, reportedly travelling by curragh
(a feat proven possible in 1976).

523 – Death of Gwynllyw of Gwynllwg. Gwnllywg and Penychen are united

under his son, St. Cadoc.

525 - St. Samson founds the Monastery of Dol-de-Bretaigne.

St. Pabo Post Prydein ap Arthwys dies.

Gabran mac Domangairt of Dal Riata, marries Lleian, daughter of Brychan

(Briocan) of Manaw and niece of Cedric of Alt Clut, and settles with his men
and their families in the region now known as Gowrie, from Gabhranaig.

c. 525 – A tombstone in Ffestiniog, Merionethshire, near the ‘Graves of the

Men of Ardudwy’ written in Latin reads, “Cantiori hic iacit Venedotis cive fvit
consobrino Magli magistrati” (“Here lies Cantiorix, a citizen of Venedotia and
cousin of Maglus the magistrate”; ‘cive’ from civis and ‘magistrati’ from
magistratus). The tombstone is now at Penmacho.

Around the same time, another tombstone now at Penmachno and perhaps
originally at Tregaron in the graveyard of the church of St. Caron, reads
“Carausius Hic Iacit In Hoc Congeries Lapidum” (“Here lies Carausius
beneath this heap of stones”), possibly referring to the elusive figure known
as Carausius II.

527 – Aescwine founds the kingdom of Eastseaxna after defeating Octa of

Cantwara in battle at Hackney.

Battle of Cerdicesleag, with the Gewissae victorious over the Brithons.

Beginning of the reign of Imperator Caesar Flavius Petrus Sabbatius

Iustinianus Augustus over the Imperium Romanum. In his reign, the
population of Constantinopolis surpasses 500,000.

528 - St. Cadoc, king of Glywysion, abdicates in favour of Meurig ap

Tewdrig of Guent, who is joined in marriage to St. Cadoc’s aunt.

Banishment of Thaney (Thenew) ferch Letan Luyddoc of Gododdin; birth of

her son, St. Kentigern ap Owain.
529 – The Academy of Plato is closed by order of Justinian.

530 – The Brithons of Ynys Wyth (Isle of Wight) are defeated by Cerdic of
the Gewissae at the Battle of Carisbrooke.

Cair Lerion falls to the Middel Angles.

534 – Cynric (Cunorix) becomes king of the Gewissae, according to the

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

Flavius Belisarius, Magister Militum Praesentalis, brings an end to the

kingdom of the Vandals and Alans and establishes the Praefectura Praetorio
Africae, which includes Tingitana, Corsica, and Sardinia, with its seat at
Carthago.

535-554 – Magister Belisarius conducts the Gothic War against the

Ostrogoths for control of Praefectura Praetorio Italiae.

535 – Sawyl Penuchel of Peak is expelled from his kingdom by Bryneich and
flees to Powys.

Death of Meirchion Gul of Rheged; the southern part of the kingdom breaks
away as the kingdom of Argoed.

Death of St. Illtud, abbot of Llanilltud Fawr and reported (in some accounts)
cousin of Arthur the Soldier.

536 – Death of Comgall mac Domangairt of Dal Riata; succession of Gabran

mac Domangart, ancestor of the Cenel Gabrain.

A tombstone in the graveyard of the church of St. Tudglyd in Penmachno,

Caenarfonshire reads, “…the son of Avitorius in the time of Iustinus the
consul”, the consul referred to being Iustinus, brother of Iustinianus
Augustus, who served this year.

Approximate year of St. Gildas the Wise arrival in Letau to take up his
hermitage on the Île d'Houat, soon after founding the monastery of Saint-
Gildas-de-Rhuys on the Rhuys Peninsula.

The revived Praefectura Praetorio Galliarum falls to the Franks.

Magister Belisarius finishes reconquering Sicilia and establishes the Thema of

Sicilia.
Three massive volcanic eruptions in the Northern Hemisphere cause a severe
protracted drop in temperature and extensive atmospheric dust that leads to
crop failure followed by widespread famine that lasts for years.

538 - Cuneglas (Cynlas Goch) of Rhôs abandons his wife in favour of his
sister-in-law, a nun he drags from her convent. Civil war between Cuneglas
and his cousin, Maglocunus (Mailgun Guletic). Maglocunus enters a
monastery, but soon returns to secular life, deposes his uncle to gain his
throne, and murders his nephew in order to marry his widow.

Civil war also in Powys due to the tyranny of Cyngen Glodrydd.

Gabran mac Domangairt returns to Dál Riata as king.

540 – Possible date of St. Gildas’ De Excidio Britanniae; in it he condemns

Constantinus (Custennin) of Dumnonia, Aurelius Caninus (Cynan Guletic) of
Guent, Vortiporius ap Agricola (Aircol) of Dyfed, Cuneglas ap Owen Danwyn
of Rhôs (“charioteer to the Bear”), and Maglocunus ap Cadawallan (Mailgun
Guletic) of Guynet.

541-797 - The Plague of Justinian, Yersinia pestis, ravages Europe in

periodic waves.

543 – St. Colmcille establishes the abbey of Durrow.

545 – The kingdom of Eidyn is established.

The Synod of Brefi is held at Llandewi Brefi to condemn the Pelagian heresy.

St. David becomes archbishop of South Wales.

St. Ciaran founds the abbey and school of Clonmacnoise.

546 – St. Gildas returns to Letau with St. Cadoc.

St. Ita founds her abbey at Kileedy.

Waroch I, king of Wened, dies, and a struggle for succession breaks out
among his sons, with Canao killing three of his brothers and imprisoning a
fourth, Macliau. On the intercession of St. Felix, Bishop of Nantes, Macliau
swears loyalty and is released. Hearing his brother is going to break his
oath, Canao hunts for him. Conomor, king of Domnonea, gives Maliau
sanctuary, and erecting a fake grave to show his brother. Macliau becomes
Bishop of Vannes. Canao extends his power over that part of Armorica
called Kernev.

547 – Ida, leader of a band of Engle and Frisan, establishes the kingdom of
Beornice after capturing the Brittonic stronghold of Din Guardi, renaming it
Bebbanburh, which is later corrupted to Bamburgh, and establishing the
Idingas dynasty. At this time, Outigern leads the fight of the Brithons
against the Englisc in Hen Ogledd.

The Plague of Justinian hits Brithonic territories, causing many deaths,

including that of Maglocunus (Mailgun Hir) of Guynet. Eire is also affected.
The Seaxan, for some reason, are unaffected.

548 – St. Samson ap Amon of Demetia (Dyfed) establishes the Abbey of Dol
in the northeast corner of the Brithonic diaspora kingdom of Domnonea on
the Armorican peninsula of Gaul. In the High Middles Ages, it becomes the
seat of a diocese and claims status as the ‘Archdiocese of Bretaigne’.

550-590 – Approximate dates of the reign of Urien ap Cynfarch as king of

Rheged.

550 – The kingdoms of Cair Ceri (Corinium or Cirencester) and of Cair

Baddan (Aqua Sulis or Bath) split off from Cair Gloui.

Cair Lundein falls to Middelseaxna this year, although by this date it is

almost deserted. The Middel Seaxan found the town of Ludenwic nearby at
the later Aldwych. Cair Dourbruf (western Ceint) also falls to the Iotas and
Cair Colun to the East Seaxan.

Cyndrwyn Glas establishes the kingdom the Seaxan call Glasteningas

(Glastenion in Brithonic) as a subkingdom of Dumnonia.

Joined by Brithons from Cambria and Dumnonia, some Brithons in Letau

migrate further to Gallaecia in the northwest of Hispania, where they
establish Nova Britannia, a colony known by the name of its center, Britonia
(modern Bretoña, Pastoriza, Lugo, Galicia).

War between Alt Clut and Guynet.

From an initial beachhead in the Sandings, the East Engles rapidly spread
across the kingdom of Cair Went (Venta Icenorum or Caistor St. Edmund,
Norfolk), the later Eastengla, under Wehha son of Wilhelm.
552 – Cair Gwinntguic falls to the Gewissae. Cynric of the Gewissae lays
siege to the Brithons at Cair Caratauc (Old Sarum) and puts them to flight.

The Imperium Romanum reconquers enough of Hispania to establish the

autonomous province of Spaniae in the former Carthaginensis, with its
capital at Cartago Spartaria (Cartagena) and most important city at Malaca
(Malaga), under a ‘Magister Militum Spaniae’.

St. Comgall founds the abbey of Bangor.

553 – The Fifth Ecumenical Council, at Constantinopolis, attempts to

reconcile the Catholic Church with the Syrian and Coptic Monophysites by
condemning the Three Chapters, the writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia,
Theodoret of Cyprus, and Ibas of Edessa. It results in a schism by the Sees
of Aquilea, Liguria, Aemilia, Meliadunum, and Itria.

554 – Imperial forces under Magister Militum Praesentalis Narses, a scion of

the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia, finally complete the reconquest of the
Praefectura Praetorio Italiae. The remaining Ostrogoths, Arians, settle the
region that later becomes Austria.

556 – Cynric of the Gewissae and his son Ceawlin fight with the Brithons at
Beran Byrg (Barbury Castle), advancing his territory to the Marlborough
Downs.

558 – Wened—Bro Waroch (Broërec)—is attacked by Childebert of the

Franks. Canao of Wened leads resistance.

559 – Deifr falls to the Engle and Frisan under Aelle of the Angeln dynasty
Icelingas, who call it Derenrice (Deira).

Ida of Beornice dies, and his son Glappa succeeds him.

560 – Elidyr of Alt Clut invades Guynet in right of his wife, trying to expel
brother-in-law, Rhun Hir ap Mailgun, but dies at the Battle of the Cadnant.

Death of Gabran mac Domangairt of the Dal Riata; Conall mac Comgaill of
the Cenel Comgaill succeeds him.

Adda son of Ida succeeds his brother Glappa in Beornice.

Ceawlin succeeds his father Cynric as king of the Gewissae.

Constantine (Custennin) ap Cado abdicates the throne of Dumnonia to join
the monastery of St. David at Menevia.

Childebert I of Paris and Orleans dies. His brother Clothar I, king of

Sossoins, takes over his kingdoms, expelling his family. Childebert’s son
and heir, Chramn, seeks refuge with Canao of Gwened. Clothar invades
Wened, defeats and kills Canao in battle, then has Chramn burned alive with
his wife and children.

Macliau abandons his see and takes up the throne of Wened, allowing Budic
II to rule Kernev. They both pledge to the other to support the succession
of the other’s son if they should survive the other.

Last recorded Royal Feast at the Hill of Tara.

The sees of the Three Chapters Schism recognize as their leader the
Patriarch of Aquilea, a title which ultimately becomes the Patriarch of Venice
long after the reunification.

561 – Battle of Cul Dreimhe (Cooldrevny) between the Clann Cholmain and
other southern Ui Neill under Diarmait mac Cerbhaill, Ard Ri na Eireann, and
the Cenel Eoghan and Cenel Connaill led by Domhnall Ilchealgach, king of
Aileach, over the killing of Cunan, son of Aed mac Echach, king of the
Connachta, who was under the protection of St. Colmcille (Crimthann mac
Felimid) of the Cenel Conaill, abbot of Doire. Cunan sought out Colmcille’s
protection after accidentally killing the son of Diarmait’s steward in a hurley
match. The northern Ui Neill of Aileach are victorious.

A later church legend ascribes the cause of the battle to an unauthorized

copy of a psalter belonging to St. Finnian of Clann Cholmain, abbot of
Moville, scribed secretly by Columba, but that is spurious.

562 – St. Moluag founds the abbey of Lismore.

563 – St. Colmcille establishes an abbey on the Hebridean island of Iona,

then travels to Inverness to meet with Bridei mac Maelchon (‘Maelchon’
being Mailgun Guletic), king of Fortrenn, to gain permission to stay.

565 – Riderch Hael of Alt Clut mounts a revenge attack on Rhun Hir of
Guynet. Rhun in turn marches on Alt Clut and reinforces the armies of his
half-brother, Bridei, in Fortrenn.

Death of St. Samson.

Death of Diarmait mac Cerbaill, last pagan High King of Ireland and the last
to reign from the Hill of Tara.

St. Columcille of Iona supposedly sees the Loch Ness Monster this year.

Journey of St. Gildas the Wise to Ireland, according the Annals of Tigernach.

567 – The Brithonic settlements of Britannia Nova (Britonia) in Gallaecia are

recognized at the Council of Lugo.

Ceawlin son of Cynric of the Gewissae and his brother Cuthwine battle
Aethelbert of Cantwara and force his army to retreat.

568 – The Cenel Loairn and the Cenel nOengusa rise against Conall of Cenel
Gabrain, but he defeats them with the aid of Coman Bec of Midhe.

Aethelric son of Ida succeeds his brother Adda in Beornice.

Ceawlin of the Gewissae defeats Aethelberht of Cantwara at the Battle of

Wibbandun.

The Lombards invade and conquer northern Italia, where they establish a
kingdom that is officially Arian rather than Catholic.

569 – St. David holds the Synod of Victoria to denounce the Pelagian
heresy.

Áedán mac Gabráin of the Dal Riata establishes himself as king of Manaw by
right through his mother; he is married to Demlech, daughter of Mailgun
Guletic of Guynet.

The First Council of Lugo acknowledges the relatively recent community of

Britannia Nova (Nova Bretaña in Galician) of northern Gallaecia (modern
Galicia and Asturias) and recognizes its unique Celtic Rite. The Church
establishes a see at Britonia (Bretoña, Pastoriza, Lugo, Galicia) in territory
carved out of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Lugo. This new see is
connected to the Maximus Monastery at Mondoñedo (Foz, Lugo, Galicia)

570 - Death of St. Gildas the Wise at his hermitage on Île d'Houat, just
offshore from Rhuys, Letau.

When power in Paganes (Powys) shifts to the west, the eastern half breaks
off as the kingdom of Pengwern, taking the original capital with it.
Urien of Rheged fights the Engle in the Battle of the Cells of Berwyn near the
Roman fort Bremenium (Rochester, Northumberland); Aethelric son of Ida
dies on the field.

Battle of Ardunnion (Cat Craig, Loch Ardinning) of the Brithons against the
Picts (probably of Fortrenn), including at least Riderch Hael of Alt Clud and
Gwallag ap Lleenog of Elmet on the side of the Brithons.

Aodh Caomh of the Dal gCais carves a kingdom out of the southernmost part
of Connacht that in the 7th century becomes Deisceart Mumhan and later
Tuadh Mumhan.

Budic of Kernev dies, and Macliau mab Waroch of Wened breaks his oath to
expel Budic’s son Theudric from Kernev and rule both kingdoms.

571 – Cuthwulf son of Cynric of the Gewissae invades the Midlands and
defeat the Brithons, probably under the king of Calchfynedd, at the Battle of
Biedcanforda (Becandford), winning the towns of Bensingtun (Benson,
Oxfordshire), Egonesham (Eynsham, Oxfordshire), Liggeeanburh (Limbury,
Bedfordshire), and Aeglesburh (Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire).

Wuffa, progenitor of the Wuffingas dynasty, succeeds as king of Eastengla.

572-592 – Wars between the Idingas of Beornice and the Gwyr y Gogledd
(Men of the North) that span the reigns of Anglian kings Adda, Aethelric,
Theodoric, Frithuwald, and Hussa. The Gwyr y Gogledd involved are Riderch
Hael of Alt Clut, Morcant Bulc of Bryneich, Gwallog ap Lleenog of Elmet, and,
most prominently, Urien of Rheged.

572 – Theodoric succeeds his brother Aethelric in Beornice.

At the Second Council of Braga, Mailoc, abbot of Maximus Monastery, is

nominated as first Bishop of Britonia.

573 - Peredur and Gwrgi of Ebrauc ally themselves with Dunod Fawr ap
Pabo of Dunotion and Riderch Hael of Alt Clut in a campaign instigated by
Gwallog ap Lleenog of Elmet, march north to claim the fort at Caerlaverock
from Gwenddoleu ap Ceido of Armterid (Cair-Gwendoleu). When their target
Gwenddoleu is killed in the Battle of Arfderydd (Arthuret, Cumberlandshire),
and his bard, Myrddin Wyllt, flees into the Coed Celyddon, where he goes
mad and becomes a prophet. Afterwards, Cair Gwenddoleu (aka Armterid,
aka Arfderydd) becomes dependent on Rheged.
St. Kentigern (Mungo) ap Owain founds an abbey at Govan that later
becomes Glasgow.

574 – Death of Conall of the Dal Riata; succession of Aedan mac Gabrain of
Cenel Gabrain, who is reportedly enthroned by St. Colmcille and perhaps is
the greatest king of the Dal Riata, the first to truly unite under one rule its
disparate small kingletdoms, leading expeditions to the Isle of Mann, Scotia
Major (Eire), the Orkneys, and the east coast. He is also the son of Luan,
daughter of Brychan, and is married to Demlech, daughter of Mailgun
Guletic. He leaves Manaw in the capable hands of his son, Artuir.

575 – The Battle of Gwen Ystrad between Urien of Rheged and the ‘Men of
Prydein’, these latter being his fellow Brithonic kings in the North, which
definitely includes Gwallag ap Lleenog of Elmet, though ‘Gwyr y Prydein’
strongly implies all the kings of the North.

The kingdom of Eastengla divides into Northfolc and Suthfolc.

The Council of Druim Ceatt, hosted by St. Colmcille between Aedan mac
Gabrain of the Dal Riata in Alba, Colman mac Comgellan of the Dal Riata in
Ulster, and Aedan mac Ainmuir of the northern Ui Neill; they form an alliance
against Báetán mac Cairill of the Dál Fiatach, high king of Ulster, and agree
that the Dal Riata in Alba have no obligation to the High Kings.

577 – The Gewissae invade the lower Severn Valley under Ceawlin son of
Cynric and Cuthwine son of Cewlin. Farinmail (Ffernfae) of Cair-Baddan,
Condidan (Cyndyddam) of Cair-Ceri, and Conmail (Cynfael) of Cair-Gloui are
killed at the Battle of Dyrham (Deorham). The Gewissae overrun the area,
capturing the three kingdoms and seizing control of the junction of Fosse
Way and Akerman Way. From this time forth, land connection between
Dumnonia and Deheuberth (North Wales) is severed.

Báetán mac Cairill of the Dál Fiatach, high king of Ulster, invades Ynys
Manaw (Isle of Mann), completing his conquest by the next year.

Theudric mab Budic returns from exile with an army, defeating Macliau and
his son Jacob in battle, killing both, and retakes Kernev. Waroch II mab
Macliau succeeds in Wened.

578 – Waroc II of Wened sends Eunius, Bishop of Vannes, to Chilpéric I,

king of Neustria, to negotiate his recognition. Chilpéric, furious, instead
sends the bishop into exile.
579 – Owein ap Urien of Rheged, leading the men of Rheged, Goddau (from
the Gadeni, centered on Jedburgh, Roxburghshire), and Argoed along with
his father, kills Theodoric of Beornice at the Battle of Argoed Llwyfain
(Leeming Lane, Yorkshire).

Frithuwald succeeds his brother Theodoric in Beornice.

The forces of Wened ravage the districts of Rennais and Nantais. Chilpéric
recalls Bishop Eunius from exile and sends him to Angers, forbidding him to
return to Vannes. He then sends Dux Beppolène to ravage Wened and then
take charge of the defence of Nantais (Civitas Namnetum), Renntais (Civitas
Redonum), and Anjou (Civitas Andecavorum).

580 - The army of Peredur and Gwrgi of Ebrauc marches north to fight
Beornice. Both are killed by Adda’s forces at Cair Greu.

The Deirans under Aelle move on Cair Ebrauc. Peredur’s son Gwrgant
Gwron is forced to flee; Ebrauc falls, but Catraeth goes to Rheged.

Urien leads the Brithons against the Engle at the Battle of Alt Clud Ford;
death of the Anglian leader ‘Ulph’.

Death of Galam (Cennalath), king of the Picts.

Aedan of the Dal Riata leads an expedition against the Picts of Orkney.

After all the royal lines of the four kingletdoms into which the kingdom of
Glevissing has broken into (Gwynllŵg, Penychen, Edeligion, and Gorfynydd)
die out, the entire realm returns to Guent.

The huge fort atop Cadbury Hill (Celliwig?) is abandoned about this time.

The Senate of Roma sends two ambassadors to the court of Imperator

Caesar Flavius Tiberius Constantinus Augustus at Constantinopolis.

581 – Death of Báetán mac Cairill, conqueror of Ynys Manaw (Isle of Mann).

582 – Áedán mac Gabráin of the Dál Riata attacks the Dál Fiatach of Ulaidh
who have recently conquered Ynys Manaw (Isle of Mann), allegedly ending
their occupation of the island.

584 – The Brithons of Guent, led by their former king come out of
retirement, St. Tewdrig ap Teithfallt, are victorious over Ceawlin of the
Gewissae at the Battle of Fethanleigh (Tintern) and kill his brother,
Cuthwine. Ceawlin ravages the surrounding countryside in revenge. St.
Tewdrig is mortally wounded.

Death of Bridei of the Picts (in Fortrenn); accession of Garnait mac Dornelch
(or mac Aedan).

Imperator Caesar Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus transforms the

western holdings of the Imperium Romanum, creating two exarchates, with
governors combining civil and military powers. Prefectura Praetorio Africae
becomes Exarchatum Africae, adding to it the formerly autonomous province
of Spaniae and the Islas Baleares. Prefectura Praetorio Italiae becomes
Exarchatum Italiae (or ‘of Ravenna’), with its constituent parts being the
Ducatus Romanus, the Ducatus Pentapolis, the Ducatus Perusia, the Ducatus
Neapolitanus, and the Ducatus Bruttium (Calabria).

585 – Hussa succeeds Frithuwald in Beornice.

Creoda becomes king of the Middelengle.

The Visigoths conquer the kingdom of the Suevi.

Latest date of the 52% of Roman coins found at the Chedworth Roman villa
in Gloucestershire (8 miles north of Circencester) going back to 564.

587 – Waroch II of Wened and Vidimael lead the Brithons raiding the Nantes
region. Guntram, king of Orléans, sends envoys to Letau telling its rulers to
stop raiding Frankish territory and compels them to pay reparations for
looting Nantes. They agree, but later renege.

Sledd succeeds his father Aescwine in Eastseaxna.

588 – Aethelric succeeds his father Aelle in Derenrice.

589 - Death of St. Constantine, king of Dumnonia.

Death of St. David, bishop of Mynyw (St. David’s).

Aedan mac Gabhrain wins the Battle of Leithri.

Waroch mab Macliau of Wened launches a series of incursions into the

Frankish territories of Nantais and Rennais.
At the Third Council of Toledo, Reccared I of the Visigoths announces his and
his kingdom’s conversion from Arianism to Chalcedonianism. He also adopts
the name Flavius, and styles himself as successor to the Romans.

590 – Guntram, king of Orléans, sends duces Beppolène and Ebrachaire into
Wened on a punitive raid. Fredegund, queen consort of the deceased
Chilperic I and regent for their son, sends an army of Seaxan from Bayeux
against Beppolène disguised as Brithons. Dux Beppolène is killed after three
days and his army is wiped out. Dux Ebrachaire goes on to capture Vannes,
but his hold doesn’t last very long.

Peak falls to Beornice.

Aethelberht succeeds his father Eormeric in Cantwara.

Siege of Ynys Metcaut (Lindisfarne). While Irish allies under ‘Fiachnae king
of Ulster’ (Fiachnae mac Demmáin of the Dál Fiatach) drive the Engles from
Din Guardi (Bebbanburh), the forces of Rheged, Alt Clut, Bryneich, and
Elmet besiege Hussa of Beornice and his Anglian warriors in their stronghold
on Ynys Metcaut. On the third day, Urien Rheged is assassinated at Aber
Lleu by Llofan Llaf Difo at the behest of supposed ally Morcant Bulc of
Bryneich, and the siege collapses.

591 – Dunod Mawr ap Pabo of Dunotion (Dent) mounts an invasion of

Rheged, but is repulsed by its king, Owain, and his brother, Pasgen. Elffin of
Rheged is simultaneously attacked by ‘Gwallawc Marchawc Trin’ (Gwallog ap
Lleenog) of Elmet.

St. Columbanus emigrates to the Continent, never to return to Eire.

592 – Ceawlin of the Gewissae suffers a disastrous defeat at the hands of

the Brithons in the Battle of Woden’s Barrow (Wōdnesbeorġ), near
Marlborough, Wiltshire, in which his son Cuthwine is taken prisoner.

Ceol son of Cutha become king of the Gewissae, founding the Ceolingas
dynasty which later rules Englaland until the Norman Conquest.

593 - Morcant Bulc of Bryneich invades Rheged and kills Owain ap Urien in
battle. Pasgen of Rheged flees to the Gower Peninsula, and a greatly
diminished Rheged continues under the rule of their brother, Rhun.

Aethelfrith succeeds Hussa in Beornice.

Pybba succeeds his father Creoda as king of the Middel Engles.

594 – Battle of Manaw (or Miathi) between Aedan of the Dal Riata and
‘Aodhan’ (about whom nothing else is known), with the former victorious,
but with the loss of his son Artur.

(This battle may have been fought in the vicinity of the former Roman fort of
Camlann just north of the eastern end of the Antonine Wall.)

595 - The aging Donud Mawr of Dunotion dies trying to fight off a Bernician
invasion. His kingdom is overrun and his family flees to join his grandson in
Guynet. Craven falls at about the same time.

Aedan mac Gabhrain battles the Picts in Circinn.

597 – Death of St. Columcille. Succession of St. Blaithen as abbot.

Leading the Gregorian mission to the Angelseaxan, missionary Bishop

Augustine lands at Thanet and makes his way to Cantwareburh, where he
becomes the Apostle to the Englisc, founding the Diocese (later Archdiocese)
of Cantwareburh. After his death he is known as St. Augustine of
Cantwareburh.

Cynegils son of Ceol succeeds his father as king of the Gewissae, but with
his uncle Ceolwulfas regent.

599 – Death of Taliesin, poet for Urien map Cynfarch of Rheged, great-
great-great-grandson of Coel Hen, and for Owain map Urien. His works are
collected in the Llyfr Taliesin.

Raedwald becomes king of Eastengla under the overlordship of Aethelberht

of Cantwara.

7th century - A branch of the Eoghanachta Ninussa conquers Deisceart

Aidne, the area of modern Co. Clare, from the branch of the Connachta
known as the Ui Fiachrach Aidne and establishes a kingdom of Tuadh
Mumhan, or Thomond, there and in the Aran Isles. Two centuries later, it is
conquered by the Deisi Tuiasceart, who become the Dal gCais.

600 – Bryneich falls to the Engle of Beornice.

According to the epic poem Y Gododdin by Aneirin of Dunotion, Mynyddog ap

Clydno of Eidyn and Cynan of Gododdin (Din Paladur) lead 363 hand-picked
warriors to fight the Engles at the Battle of Catraeth (Roman Cataractonium;
Catterick, Yorkshire). The Brithons win a technical victory because three of
them survive while none of the Anglian force do. Afterwards, Cynan ap
Clydno, one of the survivors, succeeds Mynyddog as king of Eidyn.

Pengwern divides into the autonomous subkingdoms of Cair Luitcoyt or

Letocetum (Wall, Staffordshire); Cair Magnis or Carovan (Kenchester); and
Cair Guricon or Viroconium.

Eastseaxna subjugates Middelseaxna and the Suthrig.

601 - Synod of Urbs Legionis (Chester).

Death of Pope St. Gregory I the Great.

The king of Dumnonia (Duvnent) grants land in Glastonbury to Abbot

Worgret upon which to build Glastonbury Abbey. The monks at the
hermitage atop nearby Ynys Witrin (Glastonbury Tor) become part of the
new congregation.

602-768 - Autonomous Duchy of Aquitania, comprising Bordeux, Gascony,

Languedoc, and Provence, its people Gallo-Roman and Basque. The laws of
the region, based upon both Roman and Gallic sources, grant near equality
to women that their sisters don't share until the 20th century.

602-628 – The Byzantine-Sassanid War, the last conflict between Iran and
the Imperium Romanum, ends the centuries-old running conflict.

602 – St. Augustine of Cantwareburh meets with the ‘Welsh’ (Brittonic)

bishops at Aust near Chepstow, accuses them of acting contrary to Church
teachings, failing to keep Easter at the prescribed Roman time, and not
administering baptism according to the Roman rite, and insists that they
help in the conversion of the Seaxan and look to Cantwareburh as their
spiritual centre. They decline.

The Merovingians establish the Duchy of Vasconia as a buffer against the

Vascones, or Basques.

603 - Battle of Degsastan between Aethelfrith of Beornice and Aedan of the

Dal Riata, with support from Máel Umai mac Báetáin (mac Muirchertaig) of
the Cenél nEógain, Fiachnae mac Báetáin of the Dal nAraidi, king of Ulster,
and Hering son of Hussa, former king of Beornice. The result is a devasting
defeat for the Scoti in which Aedan’s sons Bran, Domangart, and Eochaid
Finn die along with Aethelfrith’s brothers Theodbald and Eanfirth.
Pope Gregorius, Patriarch of Roma and Pontifex Maximus, records the
acclamation by the Senate of Roma of new statues of Imperator Caesar
Flavius Phocas Augustus and his wife Imperatrix Leonitia Augusta, the last to
be erected in the Roman Forum.

The kingdom of the Lombards, one of the the last remaining strongholds of
Arianism, converts to Catholicism, though Arianism survives in Austria (to of
the Ostrogothi) and in the Lombard Duchy of Benevento in southern Italia,
cut off from their northern brethren by the Ducatus Romanus.

604 - Brittonic bishops meet for a second time with St. Augustine of
Cantwareburh. He neglects to rise to greet them, lectures them again, and
insists they submit. The Brithons kick him out.

Aethelfrith of Beornice conquers Derenrice and kills Aethelric. Edwin of

Derenrice seeks refuge at the court of Iago ap Beli of Guynet.

Saebert succeeds his father Sledd in Eastseaxna.

Diocesan authority of the see of Cantwareburh is limited to East Cantwara

after the Diocese of Rochester is established for West Cantwara, with its see
at the old Roman town of Durobrivae, called Hrofescester (Rochester) by the
Seaxan.

The Diocese of Ludenwic (London) is (re-)established this year also for the
Middelseaxna and the Eastseaxna.

605 – Aethelfrith of Beornice formally annexes Derenrice to create the large

kingdom of Northanhymbra, with Derenrice as a subkingdom.

Death of Judhael of Domnonea. His youngest son, Haelioc, takes the throne
and attempts to exterminate his fifteen brothers, the eldest of whom, St.
Judicael, retires to St. John’s Abbey in Gaël rather than fight.

606 – Cearl succeeds Pybba as king of the Middel Engle and forms the
kingdom of Miercna.

607 - Ceowulf of the Gewissae battles the Suthseaxan.

608 - Death of Aedan mac Gabhrain of the Dal Riata and succession of
Eochaid Buidhe mac Aedan.

610 – The kingdom of Cair Celemion (formerly Calleva Atrebatum, now

Silchester, Hampshire) falls to the Gewissae.
Selyf ap Cynan succeeds his father Cynan Garwyn in Powys.

With the succession of Imperator Caesar Flavius Heraclius Augustus, Greek

becomes the official language of the Imperium Romanum.

611 – Ceolwulf dies and Cynegils becomes fully king of the Gewissae.

612 - Death of St. Mungo, bishop of Glasgow. Death of Riderch Hael.

St. Columbanus establishes the abbey of Bobbio.

613 - Aethelfrith of Beornice invades Guynet in order to root out Edwin of

Derenrice. A united British force (Guynet, Powys, Pengwern, and Duvnent)
clashes with his army at the Battle of Chester. Iago of Guynet, Selyf
Sarffgadau of Powys, and Cadwal Cryshalog of Rhôs are all killed, but the
victor is unclear. The Battle of Bangor-is-Coed follows in quick succession;
Bledric of Dumnonia (Duvnent) is killed in the fighting.

Argoed falls to Miercna.

614 – Cynegils and his son Cwichelm of the Gewissae defeats the Brithons
of Dumnonia (Duvnent) under Clemen ap Bledric, allied with Nynnio ap Erb
of Guent and Glevissig at the Battle of Beandun (possibly Bindon, Devon).
According to some sources, they are invading along the Roman road from
Dornwaraceaster to Escanceaster when this takes place.

The Tarvin-Macefen boundary between Powys and Miercna is delineated.

615 – St. Judicael becomes king of Domnonea after his brother the usurper
Haeloc dies.

616 – Rheged falls to Miercna.

Battle of Cair Legion (Chester) of Aethelfrith of Beornice against Selyf

Sarffgadau ap Cynan of Powys, Cadwal Crysban of Rhôs, and Iago ap Beli of
Guynet, with Cearl of Miercna as their ally. The defeat is a disaster for the
British side, with the death of Selyf and possible deaths of Iago and Cearl,
and the connection between Hen Ogledd and Deheubarth (modern Wales to
the medieval Welsh) now severed.

When Aethelfrith’s army reaches the Irish Sea, it slaughters 1200 monks of
St. Dunod’s monastery at Bangor-on-Dee in the Bangor Massacre.
Raewald of Eastengla and Edwin of Derenrice (in exile) defeat Aethelfrith of
Beornice at the Battle of River Idle (Nottinghamshire), in which Aethelfrith
dies. Edwin regains his own kingdom plus that of Beornice, with Raewald as
his overlord. Aethelfrith’s children escape north, his heir, Eanfrith, to
Fortrenn and the rest to Eochaid Buidhe of the Dal Riata.

Cadfan ap Iago succeeds his father in Guynet.

Sexred succeeds his father Saeberht in Eastseaxna and rules jointly with his
brothers Saeward and Sigeberht.

Eadbald, a pagan, succeeds his Christian father Aethelbert in Cantwara.

Mellitus, Bishop of Ludenwic, is exiled by Sexred, Saeward, and Sigeberht,

taking refuge in Gaul, but returns the next year.

617 – Sigeberht becomes sole king of Eastseaxna after Sexred and Saeward
die battling the Gewissae.

Pagans in Cantwara revolt against the Church. Justus, Bishop of Rochester,

flees to Gaul.

619 - Edwin of Derenrice and Beornice conquers Elmet. Ceretic ap Gwallog

of Elmet is killed in the fighting.

620 - Tewdrig Fendigaid of Guent abdicates in favour of son Meurig.

The Engles of Beornice and Derenrice under Edwin invade Argoed. Llywarch
Hen is expelled and flees to Powys to become a famous bard.

The kingdoms of Dunotion, Craven, and Peak fall.

622 – Domnall Brecc, son of Eochaid Buide of the Dal Riata, and Conall
Guthbinn mac Suibhne of Clann Cholmáin defeat a rival branch of the Ui Neill
in the Battle of Cenn Delgthan.

623 - Edwin of Derenrice is baptised by Rhun of Rheged.

Fíachnae mac Báetáin of the Dál nAraidi, king of Ulaidh, forces the Engle
from Din Guardi (Bebbanburh).

624 - Spaniae falls to the Visigoths.

Eorpwald succeeds his father Raedwald in Eastengla.

625 - Cadfan ap Iago of Guynet dies and is buried at Llangadwaladr where
his memorial stone can still be seen. His son, Cadwallon, succeeds to the
throne.

Penda son of Pybba becomes king of Miercna.

Mongán mac Fíachnai of the Dál Fiatach is killed on Islay (other sources say
in Kintyre) by a stone thrown by Artúr ap Bicior, a Briton of Alt Clud.

Aodh Fionn mac Fergna establishes the kingdom of Breifne in Connacht.

626 – Edwin of Derenrice defeats the Gewissae under Cynegils and forces
that king to acknowledge his supremacy.

The rivalry between Cadwallon of Guynet and Edwin of Derenrice reaches a

climax. Edwin invades Ynys Manaw (Isle of Mann), then Anglesey (Ynys
Môn). Cadwallon is defeated in battle and is besieged on Puffin Island. He
eventually flees to Letau.

Penda becomes king of Miercna.

627 – Elmet is formally incorporated into Northanhymbra on Easter Sunday,

but continues as an identifiable entity within Northanhymbra and seems to
have regained some autonomy after the Danish conquests of the latter,
divided it seems into separate districts of Elmet and Loidis (Leeds) south and
north of River Aire, at least at the time of the Tribal Hidage.

Eorpwald of Eastengla is murdered and usurped by Ricberht, who restores

paganism to the kingdom.

St. Paulinus, Bishop of Eoforwīc (York), converts Edwin of Northanhymbra to

Christianity.

628 – The Mierce under Penda defeat the Gewissae under King Cynegils and
Cwichelm at the Battle of Circencester, gaining control of the Severn Valley
and of the Hwicce.

The forces of the Imperium Romanum decisively defeat those of the

Sassanid Empire at the Battle of Nineveh, ending the 681-years-long
Romano-Perisan Wars once and for all.

629 – Battle of Fid Eoin in Ireland in which Connad Cerr of the Dal Riata and
his brother Failbe mac Eochaid Buide along with Rigullan mac Conaig and
Osric, formerly of Beornice, fall to Máel Caích, brother of Congal Cáech of
the Uí Chóelbad of the Dal nAraidi in Magh Line (Moylinny), king of Ulster,
while fighting for Dicuil mac Eochaid of Latharna, also of the Dal nAraidi.

St. Paulinus visits Lincylene (Lindum Colonia) to discover its governor named
Blecca bears the title ‘Praefectus Civitates’.

Imperator Caesar Flavius Heraclius Augustus assumes the title Basileus tuv
Basileuv (Shahanshah) in honor of his defeat of the Sassanids. He also
changes the pronomen from Imperator Caesar to Basileus and the
cognomen from Augustus to Sebastos so that he is now Basileus Flavius
Heraclius Sebastos, with the empire now called the Basilea Rhomaion.

630-867 – The Byzantine Dark Ages in the Basilea Rhomain

630 – The Gewissae invade Guent. Meurig defeats them, with the help of
his aging father, at the Battle of Pont-y-Saeson.

Calchwynedd falls to the Middel Engles and the Chiltern Seaxan.

Penda of Miercna besieges Cair Uisc. Cadwallon of Guynet lands nearby

from his Deiran-imposed exile in Letau. He negotiates an alliance with
Penda, and a united Brithon and Saxon force moves north to re-take
Guynet. The Deirans are defeated at the Battle of Battle of Cefn Digoll (the
Long Mind) and Cadwallon chases them back to Northanhymbra. The
Brithons ransack Northanhymbra and bring the kingdom to its knees.

Ricberht of Eastengla dies, and Sigeberht son of Raewald returns from exile
to succeed him. His reign is marked by the establishment of a bishopric for
Eastengla and the spread of Christianity throughout the kingdom.

Eanswith, daughter of Eadbald of Cantwara, founds the Benedictine

Folkestone Priory, the first nunnery in (Angelseaxan) Englaland.

The Diocese of Dommoc (Dunwich) is established to serve the Eastengle.

631 – Edwin of Northanhymbra refortifies Ebrauc, now called Eoforwīc, this

probably including the Anglian Tower.

632 - Idris of Meirionydd is killed fighting the Gewissae on the River Severn.

Penda of Miercna lays siege to Cair Uisc, but the city is relieved by the army
of Cadwallon of Guynet.
Under threat of excommunication by the Pope, Laighin and Mumha adopt the
Continental method of dating Easter at the Synod of Mag Lene, as well as
several other provisions later decided by the Synod of Streonshahl.

633 - The Brithons under Cadwallon of Guynet in alliance with the Mierce
under Penda meet the Northumbrians in the Battle of Hatfield Chase (near
Doncaster). Edwin of Derenrice and Beornice is killed in the fighting, with
Cadwallon and Penda victorious.

Osric, Edwin’s cousin, succeeds him in Derenrice, and Eanfrith, son of

Aethelfrith, returns from Fortrenn to Beornice. Edwin’s queen Aethelburh
and their daughter Eanflaed flee to Cantwara, along with Bishop Paulinus,
who becomes Bishop of Rochester. Aethelburh becomes abbess of Lyminge.

At the Fourth Council of Toledo called by Sisenand, king of Hispania, Galicia,

and Septimania, the Celtic Rite of the Diocese of Britonia is abolished,
though the diocese itself continues, now following the Visigothic (later
Mozarabic) Rite.

Edwin’s cousin and successor Osric son of Aethelfrith besieges Cadwallon of

Guynet at Ebrauc (Eoforwic), but Cadwallon is again victorious, with Osric’s
army destroyed.

634 – Cadwallon ap Cadfan of Guynet has both Eanfrith of Beornice and

Osric of Derenrice assassinated rather than negotiate peace with them.
Eanfrith’s half-brother, Oswald, returns from Dal Riata and succeeds to a
united Northanhymbra. He gathers a force, with support from Domnall
Brecc of Dal Riata which includes monks from Iona, and clashes with
Cadwallon at the Battle of Heavenfield, near Hadrian’s Wall, in which
Cadwallon is killed and Oswald victorious.

Cadafael Cadomedd ap Cynfeddw ousts Cadwaladr and usurps the throne of

Guynet. Civil War ensues in the kingdom.

Death of the great bard, Llywarch Hen of Argoed, supposedly aged one
hundred. His works include Canu Hedledd and Geraint son of Erbin.

Pope Honorius I sends missionary bishop Birinus to the Gewissae, and King
Cynegils grants him Dornwaraceaster-upon-Thames for his see, establishing
the Diocese of Dornwaraceaster.

634-641 – Muslim armies invade the Basilea Rhomaion and conquer the
entire Levant.
635 – St. Judicael of Domnonea unites Domnonea and Wened as high king
and submits to the overlordship of Dagobert I of the Franks. An alliance is
drawn up and the borders of the Breton kingdom agreed.

St. Aidan is sent out from Iona to the Engles of Northanhymbra, where he
founds a monastery on the island of Medcaut (Lindisfarena) along with the
Diocese of Lindisfarena.

Garnait III of Fortrenn dies and is succeeded by his brother, Bridei II.

636 - Judicael of Domnonea abdicates in order to enter a monastery.

637 - Defeat of Domnall Brecc of the Dal Riata and Congal Caech of Ulaidh
and Dal nAraidi, who are supported by Oswald of Northanhymbra, by
Domnall mac Aedo, Ard Ri Eireann and king of Cenel Connaill along with the
Sil nAedo Slaine at the Battle of Mag Rath (Moira). Domnall Brecc’s force
includes Scots, Picts, Engle, and Brithons.

That same day the Ard Ri’s fleet defeats a combined fleet of the Dal Riata
and the Cenel nEogain at the Battle of Ceann Tir (Kintyre).

The outcome is domination of the north by the Ui Neill for the next thousand
years along with their subjugation of western Dal Riata, while eastern Dal
Riata becomes a client of Northanhymbra, then of Fortrenn.

638 – “The Battle of Glenn Muiresan and the besieging of Din Eidyn”, per
the Annals of Ulster, widely believed to have been when Din Eidyn is taken
by Northanhymbra and Guotodin ceases to exist, its aristocracy escaping to
Alt Clut.

Rhianfelt, heiress of Rheged, marries Oswiu of Northanhymbra .

Northanhymbra embraces Rheged in a peaceful takeover.

639-642 – Muslim armies conquer Aegyptus from the Basliea Rhomain.

640 – Eadbald of Cantwara dies after a 24-year reign and is succeeded

jointly by sons Eorcenberht and Eormenred.

St. Aedan chooses St. Hieu to establish Hereteu (Hartepool) Abbey.

641-1025 – Golden Age of Byzantium

641 – Oswiu, half-brother of Oswald, king of Northanhymbra, conquers the

remaining former territory of Guotodin, i.e., Manaw.
Bridei II dies and is succeeded in Fortrenn by Talorc III.

642-825 – The Mercian Supremacy

642 – Penda of Miercna commands a united force including Cadafael

Cadomedd of Guynet, Eluan of Powys, and Cynddylan of Pengwern against
Oswald of Northanhymbra at the Battle of Maserfield (Maes Elferth). Oswald
is killed, and possibly Eluan also. The Mierce become dominant in Midlands.

Oswiu succeeds in Northanhymbra, later securing his position further by

marrying Eanflaed, daughter of Edwin, then in exile in Cantwara.

Owen ap Beli of Alt Clut (‘Hoan, king of the Britons’) kills Domnall Brecc of
Dál Riata at the Battle of Strathcarron.

St. Judicael of Domnonea abdicates his throne in favor of his brother Judoc
to return to the monastery. Judoc, however, also embraces monasticism.

643-647 – Muslims armies conquer Cyrenaica and Tripolitiana from the

Basilea Rhomain.

643 – Cynegils of the Gewissae dies peacefully, and is succeeded by his

pagan son Cenwalh, who marries the sister of Penda of Miercna.

Chindasuinth, king of the Visigoths, promulgates the Lex Visigothorum,

which, among other provisions, abolishes the legal distinctions between
Visigoths and Romans, who will henceforth all be Hispani, in essence
creating the Spanish people. The Visigothic Code, as it is also known, is
based almost entirely on Roman law, with a few Germanic provisions. It
includes quite liberal laws for women, giving them near equality with men.

644 – Oswine, son of Osric, establishes himself as king of Derenrice,

splitting Northanhymbra and effectively limiting Oswiu’s realm to Beornice.

645 – Guynet and much of Cymru in the grasp of famine. Would-be king of
Guynet Cadwaladr Fendigaid flees to Letau; civil war continues in his
kingdom.

Penda of Miercna drives Cenwalh of the Gewissae from his kingdom; the
latter seeks refuge with Anna, king of Eastengla, where he is baptized.
Penda overruns the territories of the Gewissae.
648 – Cenwalh returns to the Gewissae from his exile in Eastengla. He
grants his nephew Cuthred the subkingdom of Bearroc (Berkshire).

Mid 7th century – Vikings from Northweg begin to colonize both Shetland
and Orkney, in the latter of which they find two tribes whom they call the
Peti and the Papae.

650 - Cloten of Dyfed marries Princess Ceindrech of Brycheiniog and unites

the two kingdoms.

Eanhere and Eanfrith establish the sub-kingdom of the Hwicce in the former
territory of the Dobunni.

Penda of Miercna moves against Eastengla and expels King Anna, who takes
refuge with the Magonsaetas (from Magnae, Cair Magon, now Kenchester;
roughly modern Herefordshire).

Oswiu of Northanhymbra, now limited to Beornice, seeks Irish allies against

Penda of Miercna. While in Eire, he has an affair with Fín, daughter or
granddaughter of Colmán Rímid mac Báetáin, king of Aileach and High King
of Ireland who died in 605.

Ercing is reunited with Siluria by marriage.

651 – Oswiu of Beornice declares war on Oswine of Derenrice, who retreats

to Gilling, only to be betrayed to Oswiu’s soldiers, who kill him; he is
succeeded by Oethelwald, son of Oswald of Beornice. Enflaed, Oswiu’s
widow, donates Gilling to the Church for a monastery.

652 – Cenwalh and the Gewissae win the Battle of Wirtgernesburh

(Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire) against the men of Dumnonia (Duvnent).

Penda of Miercna invades Beornice and besieges Oswiu in the fortress of

Bebbanburh.

652 – Muslim armies conquer nearly all of North Africa from the Basilea
Rhomain.

653 – Talorgan ap Eanfrith becomes king of Fortrenn.

Penda of Miercna places his son Peada over the subkingdom of Middle
Anglia. Peada marries Alchflaed, daughter of Oswiu of Northanhymbra, and
is baptized by Finan, Bishop of Lindisfarne.
Oethelwald of Derenrice rejects Oswiu of Northanhymbra’s overlordship and
allies with Penda of Miercna, who attacks Beornice.

Sigeberht I of Eastseaxna dies, and is succeeded by Sigeberht II, who is

persuaded by Oswiu of Northanhymbra to adopt Christianity.

Northumbrian missionaries under St. Cedd establish a monastery at

Bradwell-on-the-Sea in Eastseaxna.

654 – Death of Dunchad Bec of the Dal Riata in battle against Talorgan I of
Fortrenn at Strath Ethairt.

Penda of Miercna defeats Eastengla at the Battle of Bulcamp (near

Blythburg, Suffolk), in which King Anna and his son Jurmin die. Anna’s
brother Aethelhere succeeds him and accepts Mercian overlordship.

654 – Muslim armies conquer Cyprus from the Basilea Rhomain.

655-716 – Northumbrian Interregnum

655 - Cadafael ap Cynfeddw of Guynet and his army join Penda of Miercna,
Athelhere of Eastengla, and Aethelwald of Derenrice to march on Beornice,
but he and Aethelwald both withdraw before the battle begins. Penda and
Athelhere clash with Oswiu at the Battle of the Winwaed, but Oswiu defeats
them and they are both killed.

Oswiu reunites his kingdom with Derenrice, is declared King of Miercna also,
and becomes Bretwalda over much of Great Britain. He retains Peada as
subking of Middelengla, but requires he convert to Christianity.

Peada founds the monastery of Medeshamstede, which later becomes a

Benedictine house and ultimately the Cathedral of St. Peter, St. Paul, and St.
Andrew, with Seaxwulf as its first abbot (and later as ‘Bishop of Lindesege
and the Mierce and the Middelengle’ with his see at Lichfield).

Morfael of Pengwern retakes the Wall.

656 - Oswiu of Northanhymbra overruns northern Miercna, then invades

Pengwern and kills Cyndyddan of Pengwern in battle. Pengwern and its
three subkingdoms fall as Cyndyddan’s brother Morfael of Cair Luitcoyt and
the rest of the surviving family flee to Glastenion. The Mierce move in to
take control after Oswiu withdraws, and these may have invaded Powys at
this time.
The kingdom of Cynwidion (Bedfordshire to Northamptonshire) also falls to
Northanhymbra about this same time.

Peada of Middelengla is murdered on orders of Oswiu of Northanhymbra, at

the instigation of his own wife Alchflaed, daughter of Oswiu.

Finan, Bishop of Lindisfarena (in Northanhymbra), consecrates the Irish

monk Diuma as first ‘Bishop of the Mierce and the Middelengle’, with his see
at Repton (Diocese of Repton).

Oswiu removes Oethelwald from Derenrice and installs his own son Alhfrith
in his place as subking.

657 – St. Hilda establishes the conhospita monastery of Streonshahl, later

rebuilt by the Normans as Whitby.

658 – Cenwalh of the Gewissae defeats Petroc of Dumnonia (Duvnent) and

Cadwaladar of Guynet at Battle of Peonnum (Penselwood). Glastenion
ceases to exist and its former territory, with the Duvnent-Gewissae border
reset at the River Parrett; the territory becomes known as Sumersaetas.
Glastonbury Abbey lies within the conquered territory, but Cenwalh allows
its abbot, Bregored, to continue in place until his death.

Three Mercian nobles lead a revolt against Northanhymbra which installs

Wulfhere, son of Oswald, as king of Miercna, and drives out supporters of
Oswiu from the kingdom, ending Northumbrian domination of southern
Englaland.

660 – Ceanwahl of the Gewissae becomes dissatisfied with Agilbert, Bishop

of Dornwaraceaster (upon Thames), because the latter does not speak West
Seax. His splits the diocese, installing another Frank, Wine, as bishop in
Wintanceaster, with the newly built ‘Old Minster’ as his see. Agilbert
resigns, leaving for Northanhymbra (Northumbria), and the Diocese of
Wintanceaster becomes the sole one for the Gewissae.

Sigebert II of Eastseaxna is murdered by his brothers Swithelm and

Swithfrith for being too lenient on Christians. Swithelm succeeds him with
Swithfrith as joint-king.

Conall Crandomna mac Eochaid Buidhe of Dál Riata dies and is succeeded by
nephew Domangart mac Domnaill.

661 - Cenwalh of the Gewissae invades Dumnonia (Duvnent) and is

victorious at the Battle of Posbury (near Crediton).
After the Dumnonia (Duvnent) subkingdom of Durngueis falls to the
Westseaxna, Saxon settlers establish themselves as Thornsaetas
(Dorsaetas).

Wulfere of Miercna harries the Berkshire Downs and moves south to conquer
the Meonwara and the Isle of Wight. He appoints Athelwealh as king of
Suthseaxna, who is baptised in Miercna, and gives him the territories of the
Meonwara and the Wihtwara.

In Gaul, all Roman bishops are replaced with Franks.

662 – Swithelm of Eastseaxna is baptised by St. Cedd at the court of

Aethelwald of Eastengla.

663 – Oswiu of Northanhymbra invades the southern Picts and establishes

overlordship over Fibh, Circinn, and Strath Eireann.

Wine, bishop of Wintanceaster, returns the see to Dornwaraceaster-upon-

Thames.

Basileus Konstantinos Pogonatos Sabastos (Constans II) moves the imperial

seat of the Basilea Rhomaion from Konstantinopoulis to Siracusa in Sicilia.
He also becomes the first emperor to visit Roma in 200 years.

== Anglo-Saxon Britain ==

664-666 – The Yellow Plague (known in Ireland as the Plague of Connaill)

devastates Ireland and all of Great Britain except for Dál Riata and Fortrenn,
hitting the Church particularly hard. Among its notable victims in Ireland is
St. Fechin of Cong/Fore.

664 – Death of Cadafael Cadomedd of Guynet in the plague. Cadwaladr

Fendigaid reasserts himself in his kingdom by sending his son, Ifwr (Ivor),
from Letau to be regent.

Aethelwald of Eastengla dies and is succeeded by Ealdwulf.

Eorcenberht of Cantwara dies of the plague and is succeeded by his son

Ecgberht with Seaxburh, queen mother, as regent.

Swithelm of Eastseaxna dies and is succeeded by his cousins Sighere and

Saebbi.
St. Cedd, Bishop of Ludenwic, dies in the plague.

The Synod of Streonshalh (Whitby) at the conhospitae of St. Hilda

determines that the northern kingdom of Northanhymbra and its client
kingdom Miercna should comply with the doctrines and practices of Rome, at
which St. Colman resigns his see and returns to Iona, to be replaced by
Tuda, who dies shortly thereafter and is replaced as abbot by Eata.

Due to his success at Streonshalh, Alhfrith, son of Oswiu and subking of

Derenrice, appoints Wilfrid, spokesman for the Roman party, as Bishop of
Northanhymbra. Wilfrid refuses to be consecrated in Great Britain, instead
travelling to the Continent to be consecrated by Agilbert, now Archbishop of
Paris. In his absence, Oswiu appoints St. Chad (Ceadda) as bishop, who is
ultimately consecrated by Bishop Wine of the Gewissae and two Brithonic
(West Weahlas) bishops.

665-689 – Muslim conquest of most of North Africa from the Basilea

Rhomain, leaving it only Cartago and the district around it.

665 – Second Battle of Mount Badon in which “Morgan dies”, according to

Annales Cambriae, Text A.

Conflict between Sighere of Eastseaxna and his brother Saebbi over

overlordship of the Gewissae and Miercna. The former encourages his
subjects to return to the paganism of their ancestors.

Jaruman, Bishop of the Mierce, is dispatched with Christian missionaries to

the Saxon tribes which have returned to paganism.

666 – Wilfrid finally returns to Northanhymbra to find his see occupied by

St. Chad, and retires to Inhrypum, from which he acts as a bishop, though
not of the territory for which he was originally appointed.

Earconwald, a Benedictine abbot, establishes Chertsey Abbey for men in

Suthrig and Barking Abbey for women in Bercingas.

667 – Wighard, newly-appointed Archbishop of Cantwareburh, dies of

bubonic plague while returning from his consecration in Rome.

668 – The seat of the Basilea Rhomain returns to Konstantinopoulis after

Konstantinos Sebastos is assassinated.

Theodore of Tarsus is made Archbishop of Cantwareburh.

St. Colman, formerly of Lindisfarena, and thirty disciples establish the Abbey
of Inishbofin in the territory of the Conmaicne Mara. He soon establishes a
daughter house for his Saxon disciples at Mayo-na-Saxon (from Maigh Eo,
‘Plain of the Yew Trees’) among the Ciarraighe Uachtair in the later barony of
Clanmorris. He chose the site because it was near their borders with the
Conmaicne Ceara to the north and with the Partraige Ceara to the west in
the later barony of Carra and with the Conmaicne Cuile Tolad to the east in
the later barony of Kilmaine. It quickly became the most important
institution among all the Ciarraghe across Connacht, whether living in the
territories of the Ui Briuin Ai or those of the Ui Fiachrach Muaidhe, and its
school rivaling those of the Aran Isles in international renown.

669 – Ecgberht of Cantwara loses Suthrig to Wulfhere of Miercna.

Elsewhere, he grants the old Saxon Shore fort of Regulbium (Reculver) to a
monk named Bassa for a monastery dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin.

Archbishop Theodore arrives in Englaland and introduces a strict Roman

parochial system that becomes the model for the secular state. He also tells
St. Chad to step down and installs Wilfrid in Northanhymbra with his see at
Eoforwīcc. Later in the year, St. Chad becomes ‘Bishop of the Mierce and of
the Lindisfaras’, and moves his see from Hrypedun to Lyccid.

670 – Cennfaeld mac Blathmac of Síl nÁedo Sláine, King of Brega and High
King of Ireland, conquers Cymru, and he and the Uí Chinn Fháelad (sept of
Síl nÁedo Sláine) rule it, at least as overlords, for 59 years.

Argoed falls to Northanhymbra.

Oswiu of Northanhymbra dies on a pilgrimage to Rome in the company of

Wilfrid, and is succeeded by his son Ecgfrith, with his younger son Aelfwine
becoming subking of Derenrice. He is buried at Streonshalh alongside his
predecessor Edwin.

671 – The Picts under Northumbrian rule rise up under their ruler Drest VI,
but are defeated by Ecgfrith of Northanhymbra at the Battle of Two Rivers,
close to Moncreiffe Island near Perth.

Ecgfrith establishes the sub-kingdom of Din Baer in the former territory of

Guotodin north of the River Tweed.

672 – Drest VI, son of Donuel, of Circinn is deposed and replaced by Bridei,
son of Beli I of Alt Clut.

Ceanwalh of the Gewissae dies and is succeeded by his wife Seaxburh.

Maelrubha founds the Abbey of Applecross.

Wilfrid, Bishop of Eoforwīc, brings stonemasons, pasterers, and glaziers from

France to build the Inhrypum Minster cathedral.

The Diocese of Almeham is created to serve the Northanfolc of Eastengla

with the Diocese of Dommoc remaining for the Suthfolc.

673 – Frithuwold of Suthrig flourishes under Mercian domination, but the

marriage of his daughter Osgyth to Sighere of Eastseaxna breaks down, and
she flees to the protection of Bedwinus, Bishop of Almeham.

Domangart mac Connaill of Dál Riata dies, and he is succeeded by his

nephew Máel Dúin mac Connaill.

Ecgberht of Cantwara dies and is succeeded by his brother Hlothhere.

St. Aethelthryth establishes a conhospita at Ely.

Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Cantwareburh, convenes the Council of

Hertford, which establishes canons for the Englisc church.

674 – Ecgfrith of Northanhymbra repels a coalition led by Wulfhere of

Miercna and seizes control of Lindesege.

Aescwine son of Centus succeeds ruling queen Seaxburh of the Gewissae.

St. Aethelfryth establishes Hexham Abbey.

St. Benedict Biscop establishes St. Peter’s Abbey at Monkwearmouth.

675 – Wulfhere of Miercna, the most successful king thereof, dies, and is
succeeded by his brother Aethelred.

Hlothhere of Cantwara reestablishes his kingdom’s supremacy over

Ludenwic.

676 – St. Aldhelm establishes the Abbey of Malmesbury.

Aethelred of Miercna invades Cantwara, destroying the Diocese

of Hrofescaester (Rochester) and ravishing the surrounding countryside.
Aescwine of the Gewissae dies, and is succeeded by Centwine, son of
Cynegils, who reasserts power over the ‘Welsh’.

St. Cuthbert retires from his very active mission work, ultimately to Inner
Farne island two miles from Bebbanburh.

The Diocese of Hereford is created for the Magonsaetas.

678 – Aethelred of Miercna defeats Ecgfrith of Northanhymbra in battle near

the River Trent. Archbishop Theodore helps resolve their differences.

After Wilfrid, Bishop of Eoforwīc, refuses to divide his large diocese, Ecgfrith
of Northanhymbra and Archbishop Theodore banish him.

The Diocese of Lindisfarena is recreated to serve the people of Beornice,

while the Diocese of Hagustaldesham (Hexham) is created between River Aln
and River Tees.

The Diocese of Sidnacester, better known as the Diocese of Lindesege, is

created to serve the Lindiswara.

679 – Ecgfrith of Northanhymbra is defeated by the Mierce, now under

Wulfhere’s brother Aethelfred, at the Battle of Trent, and forced to return
Lindesege.

Aethelred of Miercna marries Osthryth, sister of Ecgfrith of Northanhymbra.

St. Adomnán becomes ninth abbot of Iona.

The Diocese of Ligeraceastre (Leicester) is created to serve the Middelengle.

The Diocese of Inhrypum (Ripon) is created, primarily to provide a see for

Eadhaed, former bishop of Northanhymbra expelled by Aethelstan.

680 – Bridei of Fortrenn attacks Dunnottar.

St. Ecgberht of Inhrypum sends St. Wihtbert to evangelize the Frisan, but
the latter returns two years later due to staunch opposition from King
Redbad.

Caedwalla is banished from the heart of the Gewissae to the Forests of

Chiltern and Andred.
Archbishop Theodore convenes Council of Hatfield (in Hertfordshire) to clear
the Englisc church of the Celtic Church’s heresy of monothelitism.

Wilfrid returns to Northanhymbra with papal support but is imprisoned, then

exiled, by Ecgfrith, travelling to the Sud Seax.

Merewaith of the Magonsaete founds Wenlock monastery, with Liobinde of

Chelles (France) as abbess.

The Book of Durrow is created at Durrow Abbey of the Uí Failghe.

Osric of the Hwicce builds a monastery for nuns at Gleawceaster, with his
relative Kineburg consecrated as abbess by Bosel, bishop of the newly
created Diocese of Weogornaceastre (Worcester).

Seisyll of Ceredigion seizes the Ystrad Tywi from Rhain of Dyfed, creating
the kingdom known retroactively from the 12th century as ‘Seisyllwg’,
though it is still called by the name Ceredigion for centuries.

The Basilea Rhomain recognizes the First Bulgarian Empire as the dominant
power in the Balkan peninsula.

681 – Aethelwalh of Suthseaxna grants Wilfrid lands in Selsey upon which to

build a cathedral, which led to the latter building Selsey Abbey, founding the
Diocese of Sealsey.

The Diocese of Abbercurnig (Abercorn) is created in the northernmost

district of Beornice, the subprovince known as Laudian (Lothian).

681 – The Sixth Ecumenical Council, at Konstantinopoulis, condemns

Monoernergism and Monothelitism. It also declared both Pope Honorius of
Roma and Patriarch Sergius of Konstantinopoulis to be heretics.

682 – “The Battle of Rath Moylinney [Mór Maigi Lini; north bank of River
Larne, in Co. Antrim] against the Brithons, in which Cathasach son of Mael
Dúin, king of the Cruithin, and Ultán son of Dícuill both fall.” (AU)

Bridei of Fortrenn destroys Orkney as an independent kingdom.

St. Benedict Biscop, Abbot of St. Peter’s Abbey at Monkwearmouth, appoints

St. Ceolfrith to establish and head the sister monastery of St. Paul’s Abbey
at Jarrow.
According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Centwine of the Gewissae “drove
the Brithons of Dumnonia to the Sea” this year.

683 – The kingdom of Wyr Enouant ruled by the line of Antonius Donatus
falls to invasion from Beornice.

After a successful seige of Dunadd, Bridei brings the Dál Riata under his
hegemony.

Sighere of Eastseaxna dies, and his brother Saebbi succeeds him.

684 – Ecgfrith of Northanhymbra sends raiders to Ireland under Ealdorman

Berht to plunder Brega, ruled by Fínsnechta Fledach mac Dúnchada, also
High King of Ireland, despite the attempts of St. Ecgberht of Ripon to
dissuade him.

St. Cuthbert is elected Bishop of Hagustaldesham. He agrees to return

north, but as Bishop of Lindisfarena, with the incumbent there taking up
Hagustaldesham.

685 - St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarena visits Carleul to find it under the

governance of an official called ‘Praepositus Civitas’.

Ecgfrith of Northanhymbra marches his army north to engage the Picts at

the Battle of Dun Nechtain (Nechtansmere). The Dal Riata and Alt Clut
Brithons join the Picts in a thorough defeat of the Anglian forces. The latter
lose much land south of the Forth to Dumnagual II of Alt Clut in the process.

The Diocese of Abbercurnig collapses as a result of the above.

Aldfrith, illegitimate half-brother of Ecgfrith, is dragged from Iona and

installed as king of Northanhymbra.

The Gewissae take Suthrig from Eastseaxna.

Centwine of the Gewissae dies, and his distant cousin Caedwalla succeeds
him. Caedwalla invades Suthseaxna with a large army and kills Aethelwealh
of Suthseaxna in battle in the South Downs. Suthseaxan ealdormen Berthun
and Andhun take over rule of Suthseaxna and expel the Gewissae.

Eadric, son of Ecgberht, overthrows his uncle Hlothhere and becomes king of
Cantwara.
686 – Caedwalla of the Gewissae establishes overlordship of Eastseaxna,
takes its subject kingdom Suthrig from it, and invades Cantwara, killing its
king, Eadric. He and his brother Mul invade Suthseaxna again, kill the
ealdormen Berthun and Andhun, and subjugate the kingdom. They also try
to exterminate the Wihtwara (Iotas of Wight), killing their king Arwad and
his two brother, and ravishing the lands of the Meonwara.

Mul, son of Coenberht, of the Cerdicingas becomes king of Cantwara.

Wilfrid becomes advisor to Caedwalla and evangelist to the Wihtwara.

Lindesege is absorbed by Miercna.

Plague kills all the monks of Monkwearmouth and Jarrow, save for Ceolfrith
the abbot and a small boy named Bede.

Eadhaed, first and only Bishop of Inhrypum, retires, and the see ceases to
exist, and with it the diocese.

687 – Mul of Cantwara and twelve companions are burned in an uprising by

the people of Cantwara, and Caedwalla of the Gewissae ravages the
kingdom.

Adomnán, abbot of Iona, visits Ecgfrith of Northanhymbra to gain the

freedom of sixty Irish captives taken in the raids on Brega three years
earlier.

St. Cuthbert resigns as Bishop of Lindisfarena and returns to Inner Farne,

where he dies the next year.

688 - Cadwaladr Fendigaid of Guynet dies on a pilgrimage to Rome.

Caedwalla of the Gewissae abdicates and leaves on a pilgrimage to Rome.

He is succeeded by Ine, son of Coenred of the Dorsaetas, under whom the
Gewissae become known as the Westseaxna.

The church of Alt Clut agrees to follow Continental practice after a visit from
St. Adomnan of Iona.

Aethelred of Miercna establishes dominance over most of southern Britain,

and installs Oswine as subordinate ruler of Cantwara, with Swaefheard in
West Cantwara (at Hrofesceaster).

Eadberht is appointed Bishop of Lindisfarena.

689 – Caedwalla arrives in Rome, only to die ten days after being baptized
by Pope Sergius I and taking the name Peter.

690 – Oswine of Cantwara is toppled by Wihtard, brother of Eadric, who

takes lands north of the River Thames from Eastseaxna.

Willibrord travels from Eoforwīc with twelve Benedictine monks to

Westkapelle, to convert the Frisan.

Theodore of Tarsus dies, and is succeeded as Archbishop of Cantwareburh

by Berhtwald.

691 – Wilfrid, abbot of Inhrypum, attempts to become Bishop of

Northanhymbra, for which King Aldfrith drives him out of Inhrypum. Wilfrid
flees to Miercna, where Aetheldred makes him Bishop of Ligeraceastre.

692 – Ine of Westseaxna installs Nothelm as ruler of Suthseaxna.

The Quintisext Council in Trullo affirms the Pentarchy of the Church order
(Roma, Konstantinopoulis, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem) and sets the
Biblical canon.

693 – Oshere of the Hwicce dies and is succeeded by sons Aethelberht,

Aethelheard, Aethelweard, and Aethelric.

Ine, king of Westseaxna, issue the first code of laws by any Anglo-Saxon
rulers outside of Cantwara, with separate rules for his ‘Englisc’ and ‘Wealas’
subjects, demonstrating a continuing substantial number of the latter, and
that they retained much of their culture.

694 – Earconwald, Bishop of Ludenwic, dies, and is succeeded by Waldhere.

Ine of Westseaxna attacks Cantwara and extorts 30,000 pence from its
people as recompence for Mul’s death.

Seabbi of Eastseaxna abdicates, and is succeeded by sons Sigeheard and

Swaefred.

695 – Wihtred of Cantwara issues a code of laws for his kingdom.

Aldfrith of Northanhymbra marries Cuthburh, sister of Ine of Westseaxna.

Willibrord establishes a Benedictine training center for monks and noblemen
which ultimately becomes Utrecht University. He also becomes the first
Bishop of Utrecht.

695 – Muslim armies take Carthago, and the Exarchate of Africa ends.

696 – Death of Taran of Fortrenn; succession of Bridei, son of Dargart mac

Finguine of Cenel Comgaill and of Der-Ilei, daughter of a Pictish king. Bridei
is the first of the Dal Riata to rule in Inverness, but he does not rule the
Gaels of Argyll. He changes the patron saint of the Picts from St. Columcille
to St. Peter.

697 – The Brithons (probably of Alt Clut) and the Ulaid lay waste to Mag
Conaille Muirtheimne (Cruithne kingdom in Co. Louth).

Council of Birr, a gathering of Irish and Pictish notables led by St. Adamnan,
abbot of Iona, enacts the Cáin Adomnáin (Lex Innocentium), forbidding the
killing and making captive of women and children, exempting women and
clerics from compulsory military service, and setting forth harsh penalties for
rape during wartime, among other provisions. Also at this council, the
churches of Ulaidh, Midhe, and Connacht, along with that of the Dal Riata in
Earr a’ Gaidheal, adopt the practices of the Continental church.

The sub-kingdom of Deisi Mumhain is founded by the Deisi; the other non-
Eoghanachta kingdom in Munster is Ernaibh Mumhan, of the Ernai.

Osthyth, queen of Miercna, is murdered by the nobles thereof.

Basileus Leontios Sebastos establishes the Ducatus Venetia in northeastern

Italiae under the Exarchatum Italiae at Ravenna, with Paolo Lucio Anafestom
as Doux (Dux) and Hypatos (Consul).

The Basilea Rhomain retakes Carthago from the Umayyad Caliphate.

698 – Berhtred, son of Beornhaeth, who led Ecgfrith’s expedition into Brega,
dies leading a Northumbrian army against the Picts.

Carthago agains falls to the Muslim armies of the Umayyads, who utterly
destroy the city walls, cripple its aqueduct, ruin its harbor, and build a new
center further inland at Tunis. A fraction of the old city remains intact, along
with its famous baths. The city of Septum (Ceuta) is the only part of the
former Exarchatum Africae which remains in the Basilea Rhomaion, now
under an autonomous comes.
700 – Cerniu, as ‘Cornubia’, is first mentioned as a separate entity from
Dumnonia (Duvnent), albeit under one king, in a letter by St. Aldhelm,
Abbot of Malmesbury and later Bishop of Sherbourne, describing his trip
through to Dumnonia.

Geraint of Dumnonia (Duvnent) receives a letter from St. Aldhelm, Bishop of

Sherbourne, during a synod in Westseaxna insisting that the church of
Dumnonia (Duvnent) comply with the doctrines of Rome, as agreed
previously at the Synod of Streonshalh.

The Eoganachta begin to rule Mumhan.

Ine of Westseaxna begins to replace sub-kings with ealdormen.

Adomnán of Iona convinces 51 kings in Scotia Major and Scotia Minor to

adopt the Cáin Adomnán.

St. Cuthburh, queen of Northanhymbra and wife of Aldfrith, enters religious

life under St. Hildelith at Barking Abbey.

702 – Írgalach ua Conaing of the Uí Chonaing, king of Brega, is killed by the

Brithons on the coast opposite Inis Mac Nesáin.

Berhtwald, Archbishop of Cantwareburh, calls the Council of Austerfield to

decide the question of Wilfrid, sometime Bishop of Eoforwīc, who is offered
Inhrypum Abbey in exchange for relinquishing his claim to Eoforwīc, but he
refuses and appeals to Rome, after which the council deprives him of all his
monasteries except Inhrypum.

Coenred, son of Wulfhere, becomes king of the Suthanhymbre, a sub-

kingdom of Miercna.

703 – Loingsech mac Óengusso, king of Cenél Conaill and High King of
Ireland, and his forces are routed during an invasion of Connachta, and he is
killed by the men of Cellach mac Rogallaig of the Uí Briúin Sil Cellaig, king of
Connachta, at the Battle of Corann.

704 – Death of St. Adomnán, abbot of Iona.

Aethelred I of Miercna abdicates to becomes abbot at Bardney Minster, and

is succeeded in Miercna by his nephew Coenred, son of Wulfhere.

Aldfrith of Northanhymbra dies and his throne is usurped by Eadwulf I.

705 – Geraint of Dumnonia (Duvnent) grants land at Maker to Sherbourne
Abbey in an attempt to strengthen his position in the disputed regions of
Dorsaetas.

The churches of East Duvnent and Sumersaetas, under the kings of

Westseaxna, accept Continental practice as decreed at Streonshalh.

The Church establishes the Diocese of Scirburne (Sherbourne) to serve

“those west of Selwood (Forest)”; in other words, the Dorsaetas, the
Somersaetas, and the Defnas (Seaxan in Devon) along with the West
Wealhas (both Devonians and Cornish).

St. Cuthburh and St. Cwenburh establish the monastery of Wimborne in

Dorsaetas in Westseaxna (Wessex).

Ine of Westseaxna becomes estranged from Sigeheard and Swaefred of

Eastseaxna because they are harboring exiles from Westseaxna. The latter
agree at a council at Brentford to banish them.

Osred of Northanhymbra, 9-year-old son of Aldfrith, overthrows usurper

Eadwulf with help from ealdormen of the kingdom and takes up his rightful
throne in Eoforwīc, with Wilfrid as his chief advisor.

706 – Death of Bridei mac Dargart of Fortrenn; Nechtan mac Dargart of the
Cenel Comgaill ascends the throne.

Bosa, Bishop of Eoforwīc dies, and John of Beverley, Bishop of

Hagustaldesham, is called to take his place. Wilfrid does not object to the
transfer as this leaves the way open for him to take up the see of
Hagustaldesham.

708 – Island Mont-Tombe off the coast of Avranches, Normandy, is

dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel and become Mont-Saint-Michel.

709 – The Battle of Selg in Fortuatha Laighin (Laighin east of the Wicklow
Mountains) of Cairpre mac Cú Cholainn, king of Uí Cheinnselaig, against
Cellach Cualann mac Gerthidi, of the Uí Máil, king of Laighin, in which fall his
sons Fiachra mac Cellaich and Fiannamail mac Cellaich, along with Luirg of
Cellach’s Brithon allies. Cairpre mac Cú Cholainn dies soon after.

Coenred, son of Wulfhere, of Miercna abdicates, and is succeeded by his

cousin Coelred, son of Aethelred. Coenred goes to Rome on a pilgrimage
and remains there as a monk until his death.
Offa, who shares power with Saefred and Sigeheard in Eastseaxna,
abdicates his throne to travel to Rome with Coenred, with whom he also
becomes a monk, with his place in Eastseaxna taken by Saelred.

710 – Geraint of Dumnonia (Duvnent), ‘King of the Welsh’ (ASC), dies in

battle against Ine of Westseaxna , who establishes a fortress at Taunton,
Somerset, and Nothelm of Suthseaxna.

Beortfrith, an ealdorman in Northanhymbra, fights against the Picts between

rivers Haefe and Caere (Avon and Carron), according to the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle.

Selbhach mac Ferchar Fada of the Cenél Loairn of Dal Riata defeats the
Brithons of Alt Clut at the Battle of Longecoleth.

Ealdorman Beorhtfrith fights against the Picts between Rivers Avon and
Carron west of Edinburgh.

The churches in Fortrenn and Circinn accept Continental practice.

Julian, last Comes Septum, switches his loyalty from the Basilea Rhomaion
to the Umayyad dynasty when he needs closer allies in his fight against the
Visigoths, leading to the invasion of Hispaniae.

711 – Ealdorman Berhtfrith of Northanhymbra invades Circinn and defeats

the Picts in Manaw.

Battle of Lorg Ecclet between Alt Clud and Dál Riata.

The Mauri following the Umayyads invade Hispania. Roderic, king of the
Visigoths, dies in the Battle of Guadalete, along with most of his army, one
of the few survivors being Pelagius (Pelayo), Comes Spatharius. The Moors
conquer most of the Iberian Peninsula. Their conquest is complete by 718
and they establish Al-Andalus.

713 – Ealdwulf of Eastengla dies and is succeeded by his son Aelfwald.

Cuthburh, former queen of Northanhymbra, travels south to found

Wimborne Minster in Dorsaetas.

714 – Musa ibn Nusayr leads his mostly Berber army to Gallaecia, where he
conquers its south.
715 – The Lindsifarne Gospels are produced at Lindisfarena Abbey in
Northanhymbra.

Ine of Westseaxna and Ceolred of Miercna fight the Battle of Woden’s

Barrow in Wiltsaetas, at the intersection of the Ridgeway and the Wansdyke.

Nechtan mac Der-Ilei (Dargart) of Fortrenn invites clergy from

Northanhymbra to introduce his people to Roman Christianity.

716-774 – The Re-Ascendance of Miercna

716 – Selbhach mac Ferchar of the Cenél Loairn in Dál Riata defeats the
Brithons of Alt Clut at the Battle of the Rock of Mionuire.

Coelred of Miercna dies and his exiled cousin Aethelbald son of Alweo
returns, seizes the throne, and becomes master of its lands.

Osred I of Northanhymbra dies, either in battle or assassination, and is

succeeded by his distant cousin Coenred.

St. Boniface leaves Englaland for Frisia to work with St. Willibrord, Bishop of
Utrecht.

Britonia is sacked by the conquering Moors, who by this time control all of
Hispania except the northwest.

717 – Nechtan mac Dargart (Der-Ilei) of Fortrenn expels the Ionan clergy
from his kingdom. Later that year, the church of Iona decides to follow
Continental practice.

Coenred of Northanhymbra dies and Osric, younger or half-brother of Osred,

seizes the throne.

Battle at “the rock called Muinric” between Alt Clut and Dál Riata.

Pope Gregory II sends St. Boniface to convert the people of Lower Saxony.

718 – Pelagius (Pelayo) the Visigoth, who has been fighting a guerrilla war
against the conquering Moors, defeats them in the field at the Battle of
Covadonga, establishing the Kingdom of Asturias and beginning the
Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula.

719 – The armies of the Umayyads of Al-Andalus invade Septimania, which

falls to them the next year.
720 - Contact between the Cambrian church and Yvi of Letau is the last
known link between the two Celtic nations.

Ine of Westseaxna builds a stone church for Glastonbury Abbey.

The Moors finish the conquest of Septimania, the final remnant of the
Visigothic kingdom, with the last Visigoth king, Ardo (Ardobastus),
negotiating a treaty as ‘Count of the Christians of al-Andalus’, a title his
descendants wear to at least the 10th century. The Moors rename their new
territory ‘Arbunah’.

721 – The church of Alt Clut agrees to follow Continental practice.

Ine of Westseaxna defeats an attempt by one Cynewulf to take his throne.

Odo, Duke of Aquitaine, turns back the armies of Al-Andalus at the Battle of
Toulouse.

722 – The Battle of Hehil (Hayle), the Battle of Pencon (Pencoed), and the
Battle of Garth Maelog (Garth Mailwg) are fought between the West Wealhas
(Brithons of Duvnent and Cerniu) and the Seaxan under Ine of Westseaxna,
with the former victorious all three times. Ine’s armies are crushed and
have to withdraw.

Aethelberg, Ine’s queen, destroys the Westseaxna fortress at Taunton to

keep it from falling into the hands of rebel aetheling Ealdbert.

Death of Beli of Alt Clut; Teudebur ap Beli succeeds to the throne.

The Battle of Allen is fought by Murchad mad Brain Mut of the Laighin
against Fergal mac Máele Dúin, king of Aileach and High King of Ireland.

Pope Gregory II consecrates St. Boniface as missionary bishop of Germania.

724 – Nechtan mac Dargart of Fortrenn retires to a monastery in favor of

his nephew Drostan mac Talorcan.

725 – The Ui Bruin supercede the Ui Fiachrae in Connacht.

Rebel aetheling Ealdbert seeks refuge in Suthseaxna, but is pursued there

by Ine and killed.
Wihtred of Cantwara dies, and the kingdom is divided between his three
sons, with Aethelbert II as overking, Eadbert I in West Cantwara, and Alric.

St. Bede writes The Reckoning of Time.

726 – Drostan imprisons Nechtan and is deposed by Alpin.

Ine of Westseaxna abdicates and is succeeded by his brother-in-law

Aethelheard.

Dúngal mac Selbaig of Dál Riata is deposed and replace with Eochaid mac
Echdach.

Cantwara falls under the sway of Miercna.

728 – Battle of Mount Carno in Guent. The Brithons drive the Engles back
to River Usk, where many drown.

729 – Oengus mac Fergus of the Eoghanachta Mag Geirginn defeats Alpin in
battle and restores Nechtan to the throne of Fortrenn.

St. Fillan founds the abbey of Glen Dochardt.

Osric of Northanhymbra dies and is replaced by his chosen successor

Ceolwulf, brother of Coenred.

730 - Civil War between Tewdr of Brycheiniog and a rival claimant to his
throne, his cousin Awst; the latter is slain and Tewdr is persuaded to live in
peace with Awst’s son, Elwystl.

Miercna takes Middelseaxna.

731 – Elisedd ap Gwylog of Powys expels the Mierce from his kingdom.

By this year, Aethebald of Miercna has become master of all the lands south
of River Humber.

St. Bede completes his Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum (Ecclesiastical

History of the English People).

Ceolwulf of Northanhymbra is deposed, but is restored the next year.

732 – Oengus mac Fergusa, married to an heiress of the Cenel Loairn,
becomes king of Fortrenn upon the death of Nechtan; the throne in
Inverness remains in his family until the disaster of 839.

Newly-restored Ceolwulf of Northanhymbra appoints his cousin Ecgbert as

Bishop of Eoforwīc.

Pope Gregory III raises St. Boniface to archbishop and metropolitan over all
Germania east of the River Rhine.

Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi of Al-Andalus invades over the Pyrenees into

Aquitania, which he conquers before proceeding northward, only to be halted
by Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours, Tours being a major holy site to the
Franks as the burial place of St. Martin. The invaders are then forced to fall
back across the Pyrenees, though they retain Septimania.

733 – Battle of Devawdan between the Brithons and the Seaxan; victory for
the former.

With the death of Eochaid mac Echdach of the Cenél nGabráin, last overking
of the Dal Riata, comes the final separation of the western Dal Riata from
those in Argyll. Indrechtach of the Dal nAraide becomes overlord over the
western branch; his descendants are the O’Lynch clan. The ancestor of the
O’Quinns is direct king over the western Dal Riata in the Glens of Antrim.

A fleet from the eastern Dál Riata in Argyll fights for Flaithbertach mac
Loingsig, chief of the Cenél Conaill (overlords of the eastern Dal Riata), in
his war with Áed Allán of the Cenél nEógan, and suffers heavy losses.
Dúngal mac Selbaig of the Cenel Loairn is deposed and replaced with
Muiredach mac Ainbcellaig.

Aethelbald of Miercna captures Somerton, chief town of the Sumorsaetas.

734 – The Cenel Connaill abdicate the overlordship of the northern Ui Neill,
and the Cenel nEogan step into their place.

735 – First Battle of Hereford between the Brithons and the Seaxan, ending
in victory for the former after “a long and bloody fight”.

St. Bede the Venerable dies at St. Paul’s Monastery in Jarrow.

Pope Gregory III raises Ecgbert, Bishop of Eoforwīc, to an archbishop and

metropolitan.
Ugba ibn al-Hajjaj of Al-Andalus leads an invasion of Gaul, this time
targeting Provence, which they capture, but are forced to fall back after
holding it for four years.

736-839 - The Eoghanachta Mag Geirginn, merged with the Cenel Loairn of
Dál Riata, rule the North (Fortriu & Dal Riata).

736 – Aethelbald of Miercna is described as ‘Bretwalda of the Mierce and of

all southern Englaland’. He is also called ‘Rex Britanniae’.

Óengus mac Fergus conquers Dál Riata and makes it part of his realm.

737 – Ceolwulf of Miercna abdicates in favor of his son, Eadberht; he

himself becomes a monk at Lindisfarena Abbey.

739 – Talorgan ap Drostan, king of Ath Fodhla, is executed by drowning;

first mention of Ath Fodhla.

738 – Swaefberht of Eastseaxna dies and is succeeded by Saelred.

St. Boniface is made papal legate to the Kingdom of the Franks.

739 – St. Willibrord dies at Echternach Abbey (in modern Luxembourg).

740-743 – The Berber Revolt against the Umayyads in the Maghreb, which
leads to destablization in al-Andalus in which southern Galicia is lost.

740 - Eadberht of Northanhymbra marches north to battle the Picts;

Aethelbald of Miercna takes advantage of his absence to ravage Eoforwīc
(York).

Eardwine, probable son of usurper Eadwulf I, is murdered.

Aethelheard of Westseaxna (dies and is succeeded by his possible brother

Cuthred.

Aethelbald of Miercna seizes Bearroc (Berkshire) from Westseaxna.

Cuthbert, Abbot of Lyminge and Bishop of Hereford, is elevated to become

Archbishop of Cantwareburh.

741 – Oengus of Fortrenn replaces the cult of St. Peter with that of St.
Andrew, establishing a cathedral in his name at the royal site of
Cenrigmonaid.
743 – Aethelbald of Miercna forces Cuthred of Westseaxna to join him in an
attack on Gwent and Powys.

The Clann Cholmain supercede the Sil nAeda Slaine as overlords of the
southern Ui Neill.

Aethelbald of Miercna and Cuthred of Westseaxna join forces to attack Guent

and Powys.

744 – Battle between Alt Clud and Fortriu; victory for the Brithons.

Construction of Wat’s Dyke on the border between Miercna and Powys.

746 – Saelred of Eastseaxna dies and is succeeded by Swithred, grandson of

the late Sigeheard, subject to Miercna.

749 – Aeldwald of Eastengla dies, and he is succeeded by Beonna and

Athelberht I, who rule jointly.

Aethlbald of Miercna calls the Synod of Gumley at the instigation of St.

Boniface, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Mainz, which creates a charter
releasing the Catholic Church from all public burdens.

750 – The Alt Clut Brithons under Teudebur defeat Talorcan mac Oengusa at
the Battle of Mugdock. Decline of the power of Oengus I of Fortrenn.

Eadberht of Northanhymbra imprisons Cynewulf, Bishop of Lindisfarena, at

Bebbanburh for giving sanctuary to Offa, son of the late Aldfrith, whom he
then besieges, captures, and kills.

Eadberht invades Alt Clud and takes the plain of Kyle.

Elidyr ap Sandde moves the exiled royal house of Argoed from Powys to the
Ynys Manaw, where for a short time they ruled as its kings.

Tewdr of Brycheiniog breaks the peace with his cousin, Elwystl, and murders
him.

751 – The Exarchatum Italiae comes to an end when it is conquered by the

Lombards. The holdings of the Basilea Rhomaion in Italia are reduced to the
Themata of Sicilia, Calabria, and Lucania, along with the Ducatus Venetia.
752-759 – Siege of Narbonne by Pepin the Short, first King of the Franks of
the Carolingians. Septimania falls when Narbonne surrenders, and the
Umayyads retreat across the Pyrenees.

752 – Death of Teudebur of Alt Clut. His son, Dumnagual, succeeds him.

Eadberht of Northanhymbra invades southern Alt Clut and captures its

territory up to the plain of Kyle in the later Ayrshire, leaving the kingdom
more or less restricted to Clydesdale for a time. About this same time, he
also dissolves the subkingdom of Laudian.

Cuthred of Westseaxna and his ealdorman Aethelhun rebel against

Aethelbald of Miercna, whom they defeat at the Battle of Burford (in
Oxfordshire, at the site now called Battle Edge) and win back their
independence.

Pope Zachary, Patriarch of Rome and Pontifex Maximus, deposes Childeric

III of the Franks, ending the Merovingian dynasty.

753 – Cuthred of Westseaxna invades Dumnonia (Duvnent), but is driven

back.

Grifo, Duke of Maine, rebels against his brother Pepin III, King of the Franks,
with Breton allies, but dies at the Battle of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. Pepin
sends his army into Letau on a punitive raid.

754 - Death of Rhodri Molwynog ap Idwal of Guynet. Caradog ap Meirion

succeeds him.

Pope Zachary anoints Pepin the Short as king of the Franks, beginning the
Carolingian dynasty, and bestows on him, along with sons Charles and
Carloman, the title of Patricius Romanorum.

755 – St. Boniface, Archbishop of Mainz, is martyred at Dokkum in Frisia.

Rhys ap Ithel, son of Ithel ap Morgan, king of of Guent reestablishes the

independent kingdom of Glevissig.

756-929 – The Emirate of Cordoba, nominally subordinate to the Abbasid

Caliphate, begins when a prince of the former Umayyad dynasty overthrows
the ruler of Al-Andalus.
756 - Oengus I of Fortrenn and Eadberht of Northanhymbra attack
Dumnagual of Alt Clut at Dinas y Brython and defeat him in the Battle of
Newanbirig.

The Second Battle of Hereford is a victory for the Brithons.

Late in the year, Alt Clut wipes out Eadberht of Northanhymbra’s entire force
at the Battle of Newburgh-on-Tyne.

Cuthred of Westseaxna dies and is succeeded by distant kinsman Sigeberht.

757 – Sigeberht of Westseaxna is deposed by a council of nobles, who

replace him with Cynewulf.

Aethelbald of Miercna is murdered in a coup at Seckington (in

Warwickshire), and is succeeded by Beornred, who in turn is defeated in
battle by Offa and forced to flee the realm.

758 – Cynewulf of Westseaxna retakes Bearroc (Berkshire) from Offa of

Miercna.

Beorna of Eastengla dies and is succeeded by Aethelred, a descendant of

Raewald.

Eadberht of Northanhymbra abdicates in favor of his son, Oswulf, entering

the chapter at Eoforwīc Minster, which at the time is composed of Culdees.

Swithred of Eastseaxna dies and is succeeded by Sigeric, son of the late

Saelred.

A portion of the Ducatus Neapolitanus secedes as the independent Ducato di

Amalfi.

759 – Oswulf of Northanhymbra is murdered by members of his own

household at Market Weighton. Deiran noble Aethelwald Moll, possibly a
descendant of Oswine, succeeds him.

760 – (Third) Battle of Hereford is fought by Offa of Miercna and Coenred of

Westseaxna against Nowy Hen of Brycheiniog, Eliseg ap Gwylog of Powys,
and Morgan Mwynfawr (‘the Generous’) ap Athrwys of Guent. The victory of
the Brithons wins back their independence for a time, though Dyfnwal son of
Tewdwr dies.

St. Cuthbert of Cantwareburh dies, and Bregowine is appointed to his see.

761 – Death of Oengus mac Fergusa of Fortrenn. He is succeeded by his
brother Bridei V.

Aethelwald Moll of Miercna defeats and kills rebel Oswine, brother of

murdered King Oswulf, in three-day Battle of Eildon (Eildon Hills, just south
of Melrose).

762 – Aethelbert II of Cantwara dies and is succeeded by his nephew

Eadberht II, while Sigered, an East Saxon, rules West Cantwara. Eadberht
II dies shortly after, with Ealhmund succeeding him.

Aethelwald of Northanhymbra marries Aethelthryth at Catterick.

763 – Bridei V of Fortrenn dies and is succeeded by Ciniod I mac Uuredech.

The Ducatus Neapolitanus switches allegiance from Konstantinopoulos to

Roma.

764 – Offa of Miercna conquers Cantwara, deposes Ealmund and Sigered,

then installs Heaberht as a subordinate king.

765 – The Brithons invade Miercna and cause much devastation.

Aethelwald of Northanhymbra loses the Battle of Pincanheale and is

deposed, with Ahlred, distant cousin of the late king Oswulf, succeeding him.

766 - A branch of the Ui Bruin founds the kingdom of Breifne.

767 – The monastery at Gleawecastre is abandoned as its nuns disperse

seeking safer haven in the midst of the strife in Englaland.

768 - Archbishop Elfoddw of Guynet persuades the Church of North Cymru

to accept the Continental dating of Easter as agreed by the Northumbrian
Church at the Synod of Streonshahl.

Alhred of Northanhymbra marries Osgifu, daughter of Oswulf.

Waifer, last independent Duke of Aquitaine, loses a war against Pepin the
Short and is killed by his own troops, who in turn pledge their fealty to the
king of the Franks.

Pepin the Short dies, and his sons Carloman I and Charles I (Charlemagne)
become (theoretically) co-kings of the Franks, with Carloman holding
Neustria (his capital is at Soissons), Burgundy, Provence, Aquitaine, and
Alammania while the elder Charlemagne holds Austrasia.

769 – Miercna campaigns in ‘North Wales’ (here meaning Cambria, Cymru).

Máel Ruain founds the monastery at Tallaght as the learning center for the
new Culdee movement.

770 – Ahlred of Northanhymbra sends St. Willehad to Frisia to take up the

reins of St. Boniface.

771 – Miercna takes Suthseaxna from Westseaxna.

Offa of Miercna conquers the Haestingas, then adds their region to his sub-
kingdom of Suthseaxna.

Charlemagne becomes sole King of the Franks after the death of his brother
Carloman. He appoints Roland as Dux Cenomannici (Dux of Maine) as well
as Prefect of the Breton March (Praefectus Brittanniae Limitae), which is
established at the same time in Nantais and Rennais.

773 – Alhred of Northanhymbra makes overtures to Charlemagne.

774 – Unrest in the Northumbrian church leads to the deposition and the
explusion of Alhred from Eoforwīc. He sails from Bebbanburh into exile
among the Picts with Ciniod I of Fortrenn. In Eoforwīc, he is replaced with
Aethelred, minor son of Aethelwald Moll.

776 – Egbert II of Cantwara defeats Offa of Miercna at the Battle of Otford,

and reasserts himself as ruler of Cantwara.

777-813 – Abbasid-Carolingian Alliance. The Abbasids first seek an alliance

with Charle le Magne against the Umayyads in Iberia. Charle le Magne's
motive is to have a counter-weight against the Basilea Rhomain, which is
resisting his moves in Italia.

777 – The churches of South Cymru adopt Continental practice.

778 – Unrest in Northanhymbra leads Aethelred I to execute three of his

ealdormen (‘duces’ or dukes in the Latin chronicles).

Roland dies in the Battle of Roncevaux Pass commanding the rear guard of
the army of Charlemagne returning to Aquitania through the Pyrenees
Mountains from fighting the Umayyad forces in Iberia. Guy of Nantes
succeeds him as Prefect of the Breton March.

779 – Cynewulf of Westseaxna is defeated at the Battle of Bensington by

Offa of Miercna, who takes back Bearroc (Berkshire) and probably gains
control of Ludenwic. From hence, Offa is ‘King of all Englaland’, according to
the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

780 – The last king of the Hwicce dies, and the kingdom is absorbed by
Miercna.

781 – The Ducatus Romanus disappears when Charle le Magne grants it to

Pope Benedict VII as part of his temporal domains, the Papal States.

782 – St. Alcuin, a deacon and scholar from Eoforwīc (York) Minster, is
returning from an embassy to the Pope when he is persuaded to take up
residence at the court of Charlemagne in Aachen.

784 - Construction of Offa’s Dyke, the artificial bank and ditch boundary
between Miercna and Powys, is begun by Offa of Miercna. Historian Gwyn
Williams has argued that even at this late date, those to the west of the
dyke considered themselves Romans, citing the number of Latin inscriptions
still being made this late.

785 – Offa of Miercna reasserts control over Cantwara, deposes Egbert II,
and replaces him with direct Mercian rule. Egbert’s brother Eadberht Praen,
seeks refuge in the court of Charlemagne.

786 – Cyneheard, brother of the late king Sigebert, murders Cynewulf of the
Westseaxna and attempts to replace him. Instead, he is executed. Beohtric
ascends to the throne backed by Offa of Miercna. Ecgbert, son of Ealhmund
of Cantwara, who has a claim to the throne of Westseaxna, is sent to the
court of Charlemagne, where he meets Eadberht Praen.

Charlemagne sends his army raiding into Letau.

787 – Offa of Miercna and Beorhtric of Westseaxna call the Synod of

Chelsea in Cantwara, attended by papal legates. Offa persuades them to
raise the See of Lichfield to metropolitian rank as an archdiocese, with the
suffragan dioceses of Weogornaceastre, Hereford, Ligeraceastre, Lindesege,
Dommoc, and Elmham. He then has Hygebert, the thus newly raised
archbishop, consecrate his son Ecgfrith as king of Miercna to secure
succession.
The Seventh Ecumenical Council, at Nicaea, condemns Iconoclasm and the
doctrine of Purgatory, and also decrees that every altar in every church
should contain a holy relic.

788 – Aelfwald I of Northanhymbra is murdered by the ealdorman (called

“patricius” in the Chronicles) Sicga. He is succeeded by his cousin Osread II.

789-1066 – The Viking Age (in the Isles)

789 – First Viking raid in the Isles when three ships from Hordaland,
Northweg, land at the Isle of Portland on the coast of Dorset and the local
reeve Beaduheard is killed in the ensuing skirmish.

Accession to the throne of Fortrenn by Caustantin mac Fergusa, nephew of

Alpin ap Feredach, who is credited with founding the church at Dun Chaillean
and who becomes one of its greatest kings.

Beorhtric of Westseaxnamarries Eadburh, daughter of Offa of Miercna, and

accepts the latter’s overlordship.

790 – St. Alcuin returns to Englaland from Aachen.

Aethelred I returns to Northanhymbra and is restored to the throne after

eleven years. Osred I is forcibly tonsured and exiled to Ynys Manaw.
Eardwulf rebels against the newly restored king and is hung, but revives
after his body is taken into Inhrypum Abbey and escapes into exile.

Irish monks (‘the Papar’) reach Iceland, probably from the Faroe Islands,
and establish an outpost there.

791 – Aelfus and Aelfwine, sons of former king Aelfwald I of

Northanhymbra, are convinced to leave sanctuary at Eoforwīc Minster and
shortly thereafter are drowned by force in the pool Winandermer in modern
Lancashire at the instigation of Aethelred I.

792 – Aethelred I of Northanhymbra marries Aefflaed, daughter of Offa of

Miercna, at Catterick.

Unrest in Northanhymbra leads exiled former king Osred II back to the

kingdom from Ynys Manaw . However, his supporters desert him and he is
slain by the men of Aethelred I.
Offa of Miercna arranges coastal defenses against Viking attacks. He
attempts to form a defensive alliance with Eastseaxna, Cantwara, and
Suthseaxna.

793 – Lindisfarena Abbey is destroyed by the Norse and its monks who
survive sold into slavery.

Offa of Miercna builds a Benedictine double-monastery at St. Albans on

Holmhurst (Holywell) Hill, across River Ver from the ruins of Verulamium.

794 – Aethelberht II of Eastengla visits the Mercian court at Sutton Wells (in
Herefordshire) attempting to secure marriage to Aelfthryth, daughter of
Offa, who has him instead taken captive and beheaded.

Vikings raid St. Peter’s Monastery at Monkwearmouth and St. Paul’s

Monastery at Jarrow.

795 – Quarrels between Cynan Dindaethwy ap Rhodri Molwynog and his

brother Hywel leave the way open for Caradog ap Meirion (of the House of
Rhos) to usurp the throne of Guynet.

First Viking raids in Ireland, on Iona, Rathlin Island, Lambay Island,

Inishboffin, and Inishmurray.

Offa of Miercna receives diplomatic gifts from Charlemagne.

796 – Aethelred I of Northanhymbra is murdered by ealdormen Ealdred and

Wada. Torhtmund, a rival, kills Ealdred. The ‘patricius’ Osbald, a friend of
St. Alcuin, occupies the throne for less than a month before exiling himself
to Lindisfarne, from which he later flees to Fortrenn. Eardwulf son of
Eardwulf gains the throne but almost immediately alienates Eanbald,
Archbishop of Eoforwīc.

Offa of Miercna dies and is succeeded for a short time by his son Ecgfrith,
who died of illness shortly afterward. Coenwulf son of Cuthbert succeeded
him and ruled till his death in 821.

Suthseaxna regains its independence.

Eadberht Praen leaves the Church and returns to Cantwara to reclaim his
throne.

Charlemagne appoints St. Alcuin as abbot of Marmoutier in Tours.

797 – Brithonic forces (Powys, Dyfed, maybe others) clash with Miercna at
Battle of Rhuddlan, when Coenwulf of Miercna tries to re-assert his
domination of northeast Cymru. Maredydd of Dyfed is killed in the fighting.
Mierce push on westward.

Irene Sarantapechaena, mother of Basileus Konstantinos VI Sebastos,

overthrows her son, has him blinded and thrown in prison, then has herself
proclaimed Basilissa Irene Sebaste. Thus, she becomes the first woman to
rule the Basilea Rhomain in her own right. Pope Leo III, Patriarch of Rome,
refuses to recognize her ascension, ending the automatic ackowledgement in
the West of the imperial ruler in Konstantinopoulos as “the Emperor”.

798 - Caradog ap Meiron of Guynet is killed fighting Coenwulf of Miercna in

Snowdonia when the latter invades. Cynan Dindaethwy ap Rhodri succeeds
to the throne.

Coenwulf of Miercna reconquers Cantwara and captures its king Eadberht

Praen, whom he has blinded and whose hands he has cut off. In his place,
Coenwulf appoints his brother Cuthred as sub-king.

Eardwulf of Northanhymbra defeats Ealdorman Wada at the Battle of

Billington.

Sigeric I of Eastseaxna abdicates in favor of his son Sigered, and departs on

a pilgrimage to Rome.

799 – Eardwulf of Northanhymbra has Ealdorman Moll killed.

Charlemagne sends his army under Guy of Nantes, Prefect of the Breton
March, into Letau to obtain its complete subjection, where it remains fighting
against guerrilla warfare until at least 811 amid distractions of Caroliginian
infighting.

800 – The region of Rwg Guoy a Habren (roughly the same as Radnorshire),
breaks away from Powys to become the kingletdoms of Buellt, Gwrtheyrnion,
Maelienydd, and Elfael.

Aethelmund of the Hwicce raids into the territory of the Wiltsaetas, but
Wulfstan leads them in driving back the invaders at the Battle of Kempsford,
in which both leaders are killed.

Vikings found Wexford in Eire.

After more than twenty years of exile in Fortrenn, Ealhmund (Alkmund), son
of Ahlred of Northanhymbra, returns with an army to his father’s realm to
claim the kingship. He dies in the attempt, for which Eardwulf of
Northanhymbra is blamed, and is later counted as a saint.

The Book of Kells is created, probably at Iona.

After having refused to acknowledge Basilissa Irene Sebaste, Pope Leo III
crowns Charle le Magne as Imperator Augustus. He and his successors use
the less presumptuous title Imperator Romanum gubernans Imperium.

801 – Ealdwulf of Northanhymbra leads an army against Coenwulf of

Miercna, mainly seeking out rival claimants to the throne of Northanhymbra.

802 – Beorhtric of Westseaxna dies after drinking a poisin chalice meant for
his wife, Eadburh, daughter of Offa of Miercna. Ecgbert son of Eahlmund
succeeds Beorhtric as king of Westseaxna and immediately withdraws
Westseaxna from the orbit of Miercna. Eadburh finds refuge at the court of
Charlemagne, who makes her an abbess. Ecgbert launches a long war of
attrition against the kingdom of Dumnonia (Duvnent), now contained west of
River Exe.

The Hwicce under Ealdorman Ethelmund invade south of the Thames and are
defeated at the Battle of Kempsford by the Wiltsaetas under Ealdorman
Woxtan; Ethelmund dies in the fighting.

Vikings plunder the treasures of Iona.

803 – Upon the petition of the Archbishop of Cantwareburh, the

Archbishopric of Lichfield is abolished and the see returned to a suffragan
diocese at the Council of Clovesho of that year.

806 – Vikings massacre 68 monks at Martyrs’ Bay on Iona. Those who

escape the slaughter establish the Abbey of Kells, taking the illuminated
book of the four Gospels now known as the Books of Kells with them.

Aelfwald II expels Ealdwulf from Northanhymbra. After Aelfwald takes the

throne, Ealdwulf flees to the court of Charlemagne.

807 - Death of of Arthwyr ap Seisyll of Ceredigion.

The Danes land on the coast of Cornwall and make an alliance against
Westseaxna with the Cornish.
Ferdomnach creates the Book of Armagh.

808 – Ealdwulf returns to Northanhymbra backed by Charlemagne and Pope

Leo III, expelling the usurper Aelfwald II and reassuming the throne.

Cadell ap Brochfael of Powys dies and is succeeded by his son Cyngen.

810 – Meneva (St. David’s) is burned.

Godfred of Danmark leads 200 Viking ships to plunder the Frisian coast,
claiming northern Frisia for Danmark. Later in the year, he is killed by one
of his housecarls.

811 – The former Ducatus Venetia of the Basilea Rhomain becomes

independent as the Republic of Venice.

812 – Degannwy, capital of Guynet, is struck by lightning and burnt to the

ground.

Vikings found Limerick.

Sigered of Eastseaxna is reduced from king to ealdorman by his Mercian

overlords.

In exchange for Venice, Basileus Michael I Rangabe Sebastos recognizes

Charle le Magne as Imperator and Basileus in the West, but without explicitly
saying “Emperor of the Romans”.

813 – Hywel ap Caradog of Ynys Môn and Cynan Dindaethwy ap Rhodri of

Guynet quarrel again and meet in battle. Hywel is victorious.

814 - Gryffydd of Powys is slain through the treachery of his brother

Elisedd.

Cynan Dindaethwy ap Rhodri of Guynet invades Ynys Môn and attacks his
‘brother’, Hywel. Hywel is victorious and Cynan is driven from his shores.

After the death of Charlemagne, the Breton nobles proclaim the chieftain
Morman as King of Letau.

815 – Cerniu is ravaged by Egbert of Westseaxna and his Saxon armies.

816 – Surrender of Cair Uisc (Escanceaster) and West Duvnent between

River Exe and River Tamar to Ecgberht of the Westseaxna this year
(according to Jenkins’ Civil and Ecclesiastical History of the City of Exeter
and Its Environs, 1841).

Hywel ap Caradog is again attacked by Cynan Dindaethwy ap Rhodri, on

Ynys Môn. Cynan is killed, and Hywel becomes king of Guynet, the last male
from the line of Mailgun Guletic.

Vikings raid Inish Cathaigh in Mumha.

817 – Coenwulf of Miercna invades and conquers Rhufoniog, ravages Eryri

(Snowdonia), and raids into Powys.

818 - Coenwulf of Miercna devastates Dyfed.

Battle at Llanfaes on Ynys Môn.

Louis the Pious, King of the Franks and Imperator Romanorum, assembles a
vast army from his subkingdoms which he leads into Letau and crushes
Morman’s ‘rebellion’, which ends when the latter dies in battle.

819-822 – Period of direct Frankish rule in Letau.

819 – Louis I the Pious, King of the Franks and Imperator Romanorum,
makes Nominoë, a notable Breton, Count of Vannes.

820-867 – The Amorian dynasty rules the Basilea Rhomain. Its founder,
Basileus Autokrator Michael II Sebastos, is a scion of a Cappadocian Jewish
family from Phrygia which belongs to the Judeo-Christian sect called the
Athinganoi. Its rulers are Michael II, Theophilos, and Michael III. Leo VI the
Wise, the second ruler (886-912) of the succeeding Macedonian dynasty, is
probably the illegitimate son of Michael III rather than second son of Basil I,
though he is raised as the latter.

820-834 – Vicious attacks by the Vikings against the north of Scotland.

820 – Death of Caustantin of Fortrenn; succession of Oengus II mac Fergus.

Feidlimid mac Cremthanin of the Cenél Fíngin sept of the Eóganacht Chaisil,
a Céilí Dé (Culdee) who is abbot of Cork and Clonfert and probably a bishop,
becomes king of Mumha, and also the first in centuries not of the Ui Neill to
be called Ard Ri Eireann.

821 - Coenwulf of Miercna dies in Basingwerk while preparing for another

assault on Powys. He is succeeded by son Cynehelm, but he dies fighting
the Welsh shorthereafter. The throne then passes to Ceolwulf I, brother of
the deceased Coenwulf.

The Diocese of Hagustaldesham becomes defunct, its parishes returned to

the Diocese of Lindisfarena.

822 – The chieftain Wihomarc leads the Bretons (immigrant Brithons and
indigenous Armoricans merged into one people) in an ultimately successful
fight for independence, or at least autonomy, from the Frankish empire,
which they win in 825 after meeting with Louis the Pious at Aachen.

Coelwulf of Miercna invades Powys, and also destroys the Guynet capital,
Degannwy, but is beaten back by Cyngen ap Cadell of Powys.

823 – Coelwulf of Miercna is deposed and replaced by Beornwulf, who as

one of his first acts rebuilds the monastery at Gleawecastre, but as a minster
for secular rather than regular priests.

824 – St. Blathmac leads a group of Columban monks back to Iona. The
next year, there is another Viking raid in which they are all massacred and
the abbey burned.

Vikings raid Bangor in Guynet for the second time and Skellig Michael in
Mumha in Ireland.

825 – Death of Hywel ap Caradog of Guynet; at this time, Ynys Môn and the
rest of Gwynedd Uwch Conwy are virtually the only parts of the kingdom left
to the crown, which is seized by his grand-nephew, Merfyn Frych ap Gwriad
of Mann and Argoed.

Battle of Gafulford between “the Wealas and the Defnas”, the latter here
being the Westseaxna residing in Defenasċīre.

Ecgberth of Westseaxna defeats Beornwulf of Miercna at the Battle of Winton

(or Ellendun, or Swindon), ending Mercian domination of southern Englaland.
Cantwara, Eastseaxna, Suthseaxna, and Suthrig submit to Westseaxna, and
Eastengla forges an alliance with Westseaxna.

Wihomarc leads the Brithons to Aachen to make peace with Louis the Pious,
Imperator Romanorum and Rex Francorum. On their return trip, he is
murdered by Lambert of Nantes for making peace with the Vikings.

826 – Beornwulf of Miercna invades Eastengla and dies in battle. Ludeca,

one of his ealdormen, succeeds him.
Aethelwulf, a son of Ecgberth of Westseaxna, invades Cantwara and drives
out its pro-Mercian king, Baldred.

827 – Ludeca of Miercna invades Eastengla seeking vengeance for the death
of Beornwulf, only to be soundly defeated by its king Aethelstan, losing his
life along with those of five ealdormen and much of his army. Wiglaf
succeeds to the throne of Miercna.

828 – Cyngen ap Cadell liberates Powys from Mercian occupation.

== Anglo-Saxon England ==

829-1014 – The Cerdicingas of Westseaxna rule all Englaland.

829 – Ecgberth of Westseaxna invades Miercna and deposes its king, Wiglaf,
then rules it directly. Toward the end of the year, he invades
Northanhymbra battles Eanred of Northanhymbra at the River Dore, and
after defeating him, receives his submission, making him the first Bretwalda
of all Englaland.

830 – Nynniaw (known to history as Nennius), abbot of Bangor Fawr,

compiles the Historia Britonum, most likely for Merfyn Frych ap Gwriad of
Gwynedd, Mann, and Argoed.

After the town of Britonia in Gallaecia is utterly destroyed by the Moors, the
bishop and diocesan staff take refuge with Alfsono II of Asturias in Oviedo,
who reports that “the seat of the Brithons has been destroyed by the
Ishmaelites and rendered uninhabitable”.

Wiglaf returns from exile to the throne of Northanhymbra.

832 – The Westseaxna defeat a combined Danish-Cornish force at the Battle

of Callington (eastern Cornwall, between Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor).

Óengus II mac Fergusa of Fortrenn leads an army of Picts and Scots against
the Engle of Northanhymbra at the Battle of Athelstaneford in which he is
victorious, supposedly after seeing the Cross of St. Andrew in the sky, which
causes him to change the kingdom’s patron to that saint.

The monastery at Clondalkin founded by St. Cronan Mo Chua of Balla is

burned to the ground and its adjacent town sacked.
831 – At the placitum in Ingelheim of this year, Louis the Pious, Imperator
Romanorum, appoints Nominoë, Count of Vannetais (Wened), as Missus
Imperatoris in Letau.

834 – Death of Oengus II of Fortrenn; succession of his nephew Drest IX.

The alliance between the Cornish and the Vikings is reaffirmed.

Vikings raid the Isle of Sheppey off the coast of Cantwara.

Danish Vikings raid the trading settlement of Dorestad in the province of

Utrecht.

835 – Norse leader Ragnar Lodbrok Sigurdsson becomes a major power and
scourge of France and Englaland.

Vikings raid Inish Cathaigh in Mumha.

836 – Gofraid mac Fergusa of Clann Cholmain in Midhe marries the heiress
of Cenel Comgaill to become ruler of Ceann Tir. His descendants later found
the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles; probable ancestor of the Ui Imhair.

Vikings land in Westseaxna, Defnascir, and Somersaete. Ecgberht of

Westseaxna meets them at the Battle of Carhampton, from which he is
forced to withdraw.

837 – Drest IX of Fortenn dies and is succeeded by Eóganan mac Óengusa.

838 - The Brithons of Cerniu join forces with the Vikings and attack the
Westseaxna. Ecgbehrt defeats them at the Battle of Hingston Down.

Fedelmid mac Crimthainn of Mumha calls for a meeting at Cluain-Conaire-

Tommain (Kildare) between himself and Niall Caille mac Áeda of the Uí Néill,
king of Cenél nEógain and High King of Ireland.

According to legend, this is the year the Lia Fail, the Stone of Destiny, is
placed in the Abbey of Scuin (Scone).

839 – Deaths of Eóganan mac Óengusa of Fortrenn, his brother Bran, and
Áed mac Boanta of Dal Riata in battle against the Vikings along with a large
portion of their leading warriors; succession of Feradach (or Uurad or Ferat)
mac Bargoit in Fortrenn.
Wiglaf of Miercna dies, and his son Wigstan declines succession, preferring
the monastic life.

Danish Vikings sack Dorestad in Frisia for the second time.

840 – Wigstan’s uncle Beortwulf becomes king of Northanhymbra.

Nobis becomes Bishop of Menevia (St. David’s) in Dyfed.

841 – Viking leader Thorgest founds the Norse kingdom of Dyflin (Dublin) at
the mouth of the River Liffey, just downstream from the Irish settlement
called Áth Cliath. The Viking site may have previously been a monastery.

Vikings raid the Mercian province of Lindsey.

842-1056 – The Macedonian Renaissance in the Roman Empire, now

believed to have begun under Basileus Michael III Sebastos, last of the
Amorian dynasty, rather than under his assassin and successor Basil I.

842 – Vikings raid Ludenwic.

Vikings attack the abbey of Clonmacnoise from bases in Ireland.

Feradach of Fortrenn dies, and two rival pretenders fight for supremacy, the
later Bridei VII ap Feradach and Ciniod mac Ailpin, king of Dál Riata.

843-1034 - The Cenel nGabhrain rule Alba.

843 – Bridei VI of Fortrenn dies and is succeeded by Ciniod II, his brother,
who rules only a few months before dying and being replaced by Bridei VII.

Bretons under Erispoe, Count of Vannes, and Lambert of Nantes defeat the
Franks led by Renaud d’Herbauges, newly made Count of Nantes (also Count
of Poitiers and of Herbauges) at the Battle of Blain (or Messac). Afterward,
Lambert becomes Lambert II, Count of Nantes, as well as Prefect of the
Breton March.

Vikings attack Nantes from the River Loire, killing its bishop and many
clergy, along with murdering men, women, and children. They continue on
to plunder parts of western Aquitaine, wintering at the island of La Rochelle
at the mouth of River Garonne.

The Treaty of Verdun between the sons of Louis the Pious divides the empire
of Charle le Magne into Francia Occidentalis (ruled by Charles the Bald,
Francia Orientalis (ruled by Louis the German out of Bavaria), and Francia
Media (ruled by Lotheir I out of Italy).

Francia Occidentalis is divided into the fiefdoms of Aquitaine, Bretainge,

Catalonia, Flanders, Gascony, Gothia (Septimania), Ile-de-France, western
Burgundy, and Languedoc. This marks the beginning of the modern state of
France, though it is still called both Francia Occidentalis and Gallia for more
than a century.

844-878 – Reign of Rhodri Mawr ap Merfyn over Guynet.

844 – Merfyn Frych of Guynet dies and his son Rhodri Mawr succeeds to the
throne.

Vikings ascend the River Garonne as far as Toulouse and pillage the lands of
Septimania, while some invade Galicia before sacking the Umayyad cities of
Seville, Niebla, Beja, and Lisbon.

While Charles the Bald engages in the Battle of Toulouse against Pepin II of
Aquitaine, Nominoë, Duke of Letau, raids into Maine.

845 – First unified realm of Letau (Bretainge, Briezh, Bertaeyn) is declared

by Nominoë after the defeat of Charles the Bald, King of Francia
Occidentalis, in the Battle of Ballon.

Ealdorman Ernulf of the Somersaetas, Ealdorman Osric of the Dorsaetas,

and Altan, Bishop of Scirburne, defeat the Danes at the River Parret.

Bridei VII of Fortrenn dies and is succeeded by Drest X, son of Uurad.

Irish theologian John Scotus Eriugena travels to France and takes over the
Palatine Academy in Paris at the invitation of Charles the Bald, King of
Francia Occidentalis.

Vikings under Norse chieftain Ragnar Lodbrok Sigurdsson sail up the River
Seine, passing through Rouen and plundering the countryside before laying
siege to Paris. Charles the Bald buys them off, but they then sack Melun.

846 – Breton forces occupy the Frankish cities of Nantes and Rennes, raid
Anjou, and threaten Bayeux. Charles the Bald, King of Francia Occidentalis,
recognizes Nominoë as sovereign “Dux” of Letau. The Bretons call him ‘Tad
ar Vro’ (father of the country).
Death of Niall Caille mac Áeda of the Cenel nEogain, who defeated Feidlimid
mac Cremthanin of Mumhan; succession of Máel Sechnaill mac Máele
Ruanaid, king of Clann Cholmáin and of Midhe, to the throne of Tara. The
annals of Mael Sechnaill’s reign refer to him as Rí h’Eireann Uile (as opposed
to Ard Ri Eireann), his warriors as Fir Eireann (men of Ireland) rather than
either Fir Midhe (men of Meath) or Clann Cholmain, and the terms Goidel
and Gall-Goidel first come into use.

847 – Danish Vikings land in the Breton March. Nominoë, Duke of Letau,
fails to defeat them in battle but buys them off.

Vikings plunder the Lower Rhine River.

Arab armies capture the realm of the Lombards in southern Italiae in 847,
and the region becomes the Emirate of Bari.

848 - The armies of Brycheiniog and Guent clash at the Battle of Ffinnant, in
which Ithel of Guent is killed.

Foundation of the Diocese of Dol, which later becomes the self-proclaimed

Archdiocese of Dol as Letau seeks greater independence from France and of
its church from the Archdiocese of Tours (the province of which is more or
less coextensive with the former Provincia Lugdunensis III).

Drest X of Fortrenn dies, and Ciniod mac Ailpin of Dál Riata becomes Ri
Cruithintuath, largely with the help of his Finn Gall and Gall-Goidel allies in
the Hebrides. The center of power shifts southeast from Fortrenn to the Tay
Valley, the core taking in the old counties of Mearns, Forfar, Perth, Fife, and
Kinross. He moves the seminary from Dull in Glen Lyon to Dun Chaillean,
from which it is afterward moved to Cenrighmonad, the later St. Andrew’s,
and makes his main seat at Cinnbelachoir (Forteviot).

The old territory of Fortrenn, which becomes known as Moreb (Moray), is not
included, and as late as 1214 is not really considered part of the kingdom of
Alba but a different land entirely. The River Spey is accepted as the general
boundary between the two, with Moray originally including all the territory of
the former Fortrenn: Morayshire or Elginshire, Nairnshire, mainland
Inverness-shire, and mainland Ross-shire.

Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid, Rí h’Eireann Uile, with Ólchobar mac
Cináeda, king of Mumha, and Lorcán mac Cellaig, king of Laighin, defeats a
Norse Viking army led by Jarl Tomrair, at the Battle of Sciath Nechtain.
Bordeaux, capital of Aquitaine, falls to the Vikings, and they destroy it
despite Charles the Bald sending a fleet to stop them.

849 – The men of Alt Clut burn Dunblane.

850 – ‘Eliseg’s Pillar’ is erected in Llantysilio-yn-Ial by Cyngen ap Cadel of

Powys as a memorial to his great-grandfather Elisedd ap Gwylog and the
power of the Powysian dynasty.

Bishop Kensteg of Dingerein (in Cerniu) accepts the authority of Archbishop

Ceolnoth of Cantwareburh.

Around this time, the County of Cornouaille in Letau is first mentioned.

Danish Vikings under Rorik conquer Dorestad and Utrecht. Lothair I,

Imperator Romanorum, recognizes him as King of Frisia.

851-938 – The Kingdom of Letau

851 – Nominoë, Duke of Letau, gains the capitulation of the Frankish

garrisons of Nantes and Rennes, then ravages La Mans, capital of Maine. He
advances toward Chartres, but dies at Vendôme. His son Erispoë succeeds
him and continues the invasion with ally Lambert II, Count of Nantes. They
defeat Charles the Bald at the Battle of Jengland. In the subsequent Treaty
of Angers, Letau gains Rennais (Civitas Redonum), Nantais (Civitas
Namnetum), and Ratense (Pays de Retz). Then Erispoe, son of Nominoë,
becomes the first King of Letau (“Duke of Bretainge, king in his lands”).

In its new lands, the language is Gallo rather than Breton, and in the Late
Middle Ages, the progressively expanding (over centuries) Gallo-speaking
region is known as Britannia Gallicana then Upper Brittany, while the
progressively shrinking Breton-speaking region is known as Britannia
Britonizans then Lower Brittany.

A Danish Viking invasion of reportedly 350 ships enters River Thames and
drives back Beorhtwulf, king of Miercna, then crosses the river into Suthrig,
where it is defeated by the Westseaxan led by King Aethelwulf at the Battle
of Aclea (‘Oak Field’, possibly modern Ockley).

Ceorle, the earliest mentioned Ealdorman of Devon, leads the Defnasaetas

to victory over the Danes at the Battle of Wiganburgh.
Aethelstan, son of Aethelwulf, king of Cantwara, Eastseaxna, Suthrig, and
Suthseaxna, and Ealdorman Ealhhere attack a Viking fleet off the coast of
Sandwich, capturing nine longships.

852 – Aethelstan of Cantwara, Eastseaxna, Suthrig, and Suthseaxna is killed

by a Viking raiding party, and is succeeded by his brother Aethelberht.

Beorhtwulf of Miercna dies and is succeeded by his son Burgred.

Charles the Bald of West Francia and Imperator Romanorum Lotheir II join
forces to drive the Vikings from their base on the island of Oscelles in the
River Seine. When this fails, they pay the Danegeld.

853 – Burgred of Miercna overruns Powys and forces Cyngen ap Cadell, last
ruler of Powys from the House of Gwertherion, to abdicate. He appeals for
help from Aethelwulf of the Westseaxna against Rhowdri Mawr, and together
they subdue Cymru as far north as Ynys Môn. Later, Burgred marries
Aethelswith, daughter of Aethelwulf, at Cippanhamme.

Vikings in Ireland found the town of Waterford.

Vikings in Gaul sail eastward from Nantes and reach Tours, ravaging the
monasteries at Saint-Florent-le-Viell and Marmoutier.

854 – Aethelwulf of Westseaxna sends his two youngest sons Alfred and
Aethlred on a pilgrimage to Rome.

Aethelweard of Eastengla dies and is succeeded by his 14-year-old son

Edmund.

Vikings under Ubba Rangarsson winter in Aberdaugleddau (Milford Haven).

Rorik and Godfrid Haraldsson return to Danmark hoping to take advantage

of the death of King Horik I, but are forced back to Frisia.

855 – Cyngen of Powys becomes the first (North) Welsh ruler to make a
pilgrimage to Rome, but he dies on the journey. His throne is seized by his
nephew Rhodri Mawr of Guynet and his sons are expelled.

Ynys Môn is ravaged by Dublin Vikings.

Aethelwulf of Westseaxna grants churches in Westseaxna the right to receive

tithes, and he himself gives one-tenth of his lands to the Church. He then
goes on a pilgrimage to Rome with his son Alfred, leaving Westseaxna
proper to his son Aethelbald and Cantwara, Suthrig, Eastseaxna, and
Suthseaxna to Aethelberht.

Imperator Romanorum Lothair I divides Middle Francia between his three

sons into Lotharingia; the lands that later became the Kingdom of Italy; and
the Kingdom of Burgundy along with Provence.

856 – Rhodri Mawr of Guynet and Powys repels a major Viking invasion of
Cymru and kills their king, Gorm. The news reaches Charles the Bald in
Francia Occidentalis. Rhodri also finalizes his subjugation of Powys.

Charles the Bald of Francia Occidentalis grants the territory in the Duchy of
Maine (Civitas Cenomanorum) “as far as the road from Paris to Tours” to
Erispoë, King of Letau, to rule as duke after the betrothal of Erispoë’s
daughter to his son Louis the Stammerer, who is already established as
Duke of Le Mans. The grant is revoked the next year when Erispoë is
murdered, though later Breton rulers continue to claim it.

Aethelbald of Westseaxna marries Judith, 13-year-old daughter of Charles

the Bald, in furtherance of a diplomatic alliance between Westseaxna and
Francia Occidentalis.

Aethelwulf returns to Westseaxna , but when he tries to pick back up his

rule, his son Aethelbald in Westseaxna proper refuses, with the support of
Eahlstan, Bishop of Scirburne, and Eanwulf, Ealdorman of Somersaete. For
the sake of the kingdom, Aethelwulf gives up that part of Westseaxna while
retaining Cantwara, Suthrig, Suthseaxna, and Eastseaxna.

857 – Salomon, cousin of Erispoë, murders the king at the altar in church,
but doesn’t becomes king until the next year, when Charles the Bald
officially recognizes him as such.

Danish Vikings raid the cities of Dorestad, Paris, and Orléans. Other sail up
the River Oise and ravage Beauvais and the abbey of Saint-Gemer-le-Fly.

Rorik, with the agreement of Lothair II of Lotharingia, leaves Dorestad for

Danmark, where he wins recognition as ruler from rival Horik II.

858 – Aethelwulf of Westseaxna dies, and his son Aethelbald legitimately

succeeds, and also marries his 15-year-old stepmother Judith. His brother
Aethelberht is allowed to rule Cantwara, Eastseaxna, Suthrig, and
Suthseaxna.
Death of Ciniod mac Ailpin, king of the Picts (Rí Cruithintuath or Rex
Pictorum) at the palace of Cinnbelachoir (Forteviot). His brother Domnall I
mac Ailpín succeeds to the throne. His elder daughter, Maelmuire, first
marries Aed Finnliath of Cenel nEogain, to whom she bears Niall Glundubh,
ancestor of the O’Neills, and secondly Flann Sinna of Clann Cholmain. His
younger daughter marries Rhun of Alt Clud.

Björn Ironside Ragnarsson leads Vikings who set fire to the ancient church
on the later site of Chartres Cathedral. Charles the Bald pays them
Danegeld to save Verberie.

859 – Hastein and Björn Ironside Ragnarsson sail from the River Loire with
62 ships to raid cities and monasteries around the Mediterranean Sea.

Weland the Dane’s army lays waste to Amiens and Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme,

then winter at the mouth of River Somme.

860 – Aethelbald of Westseaxna dies and is succeeded by his brother

Aethelberht, under whom the kingdom is reunited. The sub-kingdom of
Cantwara, including the attached territories of Suthrig, Suthseaxna, and
Eastseaxna, is completely absorbed into Westseaxna, losing its separate
polity.

Vikings led by Weland the Dane sail to Englaland and attack Wintanceastre,
which they burn. Going further inland, however, they are defeated by the
Westseaxan, who deprive them of their plunder. Returning to France,
Weland offers Charles the Bald to drive out the Vikings based on the Isle of
Oissel in River Somme, for a price, but they bribe him to let them escape.

861 – Charles the Bald creates the Marches of Neustria, these being the
Breton March and the Norman March, appointing Robert the Strong as
margrave of the first of these, which includes 29 fortresses between Letau,
as extended in 851, and West Francia. Robert hires a combined Seine-Loire
fleet before Salomon of Letau can hire them against him; the latter in turn
hires a fleet of 12 ships under Haisten to raid Maine.

In the summer, Vikings sack Paris, Cologne, Aachen, Worms, and Toulouse.

862 – Salomon meets directly with Pope Nicholas I about the situation of
the Church in Letau, but fails to get his sanction on raising the See of Dol to
a metropolitinate, though its incumbent uses the title Archbishop.

Domnall mac Ailpín, Ri Cruithintuath, dies, and his nephew Causantín I mac
Cináeda succeeds him.
Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid of Clann Cholmain, Rí na hEireann Uile,
dies and is succeeded by Áed Findliath mac Néill (Niall Caillie) of the Cenél
nÉogain, king of Aileach.

The mostly Swedish Varangians (the Rus) under Rurik and his brothers
Sineus and Truvor establish the city of Holmgard (Novogorod).

Charles the Bald builds fortified bridges across Rivers Seine and Loire to
defend Paris and the Frankish heartland against the Vikings.

Vikings led by Weland the Dane trapped at Trilbardou Bridge in northern

France submit to Charles the Bald. Rurik and his family accept Christianity
before leaving Neustria.

Robert the Strong, Margrave of Neustria, captures twelve Viking ships and
kills their crews. But he then pays Danegeld to keep Vikings out of Neustria.

Vikings sack Cologne.

Rurik of the Varangians establishes a kingdom in Rus and founds the Rurikid
dynasty which will rule Russia until 1612.

863-867 - Photian Schism between Konstantinopoulis and Roma, largely

over politics and the refusal of Patriach Photios to erect a new patriarchate
for the newly converted Bulgars, who then apply to the Patriarch of Rome.
The schism ends with Patriarch Photios’ deposition.

863 – Salomon of Letau gains Entre-deux-Eaux in the Treaty of Entrammes.

Osberht of Northanhymbra struggles against a challenger named Aella, to

whom he loses his throne, though the civil war continues.

Weland the Dane dies in a duel.

Vikings again plunder Dorestad, which afterwards disappears from the

chronicles.

Danish Vikings loot along the River Rhine.

864 – Vikings led by Olaf the White Ingjaldsson land in Scotland from Dublin
and rampage the lands until they are defeated in battle by Causantín I mac
Cináeda, Ri Cruithintuath.
Robert the Strong, Margrave of Neustria, successfully attacks the Loire
Vikings. Other Vikings loot the cities of Limoges and Clermont in Aquitaine.

Pepin II, King of Aquitaine, joins a group of Vikings in an attack on Toulouse,

but he is captured and deposed by the Edict of Pîtres issued by Charles the
Bald of Francia Occidentalis, leaving Charles the Child, son of the latter, as
undisputed King of Aquitaine. Pepin is thrown in prison in Senlis, where he
dies at an unknown date.

865-951 – The Danelaw

865 – Louis the German divides Francia Orientalis amongs his three sons:
Carloman receives Bavaria; Louis the Younger receives Saxony, with
Franconia and Thuringia; Charles the Fat receives Swabia with Rhaetia.

Raiding into Northanhymbra, Ragnar Lodbrok Sigurdsson is captured by the

men of Aella of Northanhymbra, who orders him thrown into a pit of
venomous snakes, where he dies. Aella is foolish enough to send an envoy
to Ragnar’s sons to tell them of his fate.

The Great Heathen Army, around a thousand Danish warriors led by the
sons of Ragnar Lodbrok Sigurdsson (Halfdan, Ubba, Ivar the Boneless, Björn
Ironside, Sigurd Snake-in-the-eye Áslaugsson) lands in Eastengla, where its
leaders ally with and receive a tribute of horses from Edmund of Eastengla
before proceeding inland to winter at Theford.

Burgred of Miercna invades Guynet and captures Ynys Môn, but has to
withdraw when the Vikings invade his realm.

Aethelberht of Westseaxna dies and is succeeded by his brother Aethelred I.

866 – Salomon of Letau and Hastein of the Vikings join forces to defeat the
Franks under Robert the Strong, King of Francia Occidentalis, and Ranulf I,
Duke of Aquitaine, at the Battle of Brissarthe.

Brothers Olaf Conung and Auisle, sons of Gofraid, king of Lochlann, invade
Fortrenn from Ireland with support from the Gall-Goidel of the Isles, causing
much devastation until Causantín mac Cináeda of the Picts pays tribute and
gives them hostages.

The Great Heathen Army invades Northanhymbra and captures Eoforwīc.

Alfonso III of Asturias allows the creation of the Diocese of San Martiño de
Mondoñedo (dedicated to St. Martin of Tours) in territory taken from the
Diocese of Oviedo and the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Lugo. It is intended
to replace the former Diocese of Britonia, and, indeed, its incumbents are
called ‘Bishop of Britonia’ into the 10th century.

867 – Putting aside their differences, Aella of Northanhymbra and his

usurped predecessor Osberht unite to drive out the Danes and recapture
Eoforwīc. They lose badly in battle against Ivar the Boneless and Halfdan,
with Osberht dying in battle, Aella reportedly executed by the ‘blood eagle’,
and their surviving supporters fleeing into Beornice. Ivar the Boneless
installs Ecgberht I as puppet king of Jorvik in the former Derenrice, while
Beornice remains independent as ‘Bebbanburh’.

Salomon of Letau gains Cotenin (Civitas Unellorum) and Avranchin (Civitas

Abrincatuorum) in the Treaty of Compiègne.

868 – Charles the Bald and Louis the German agree to the partition between
them of Lotharingia.

Salomon of Letau leads a campaign against the Loire Vikings.

Áed Findliath mac Néill, Rí Temair (Rex Temorie) and Ard Rí Goidil, defeats
an invasion of his lands by the Uí Neíll of Brega, the Laigin, and a large force
of the Norse from Dublin at the Battle of Cell ua nDaigri (Killineery).

Alfred, son of Aethelwulf, marries Eahlswith, daughter of Aethelred,

Ealdorman of the Gaini.

The Great Heathen Army marches into Miercna and occupies Snotingaham
with little opposition, staying there through the winter.

Burgred of Miercna appeals to Aethelred I of Westseaxna for an alliance

against the Danes. The latter agrees, with the support of his brother Alfred.

869 – The Danes led by Ivar the Boneless make peace with Miercna after
receiving the Danegeld, and return to Eoforwīc.

Led by Ivar and and his brother Ubba Ragnarsson, the Great Heathen Army
invades Eastengla again, plunders Medeshamstede (Peterborough), and
takes back up their old quarters at Theodford. Edward the Martyr leads his
Eastengle against them, is soundly defeated, captured, tortured, and used
for archery target practice. Afterward, Eastengla is reduced to a client state
under puppet co-kings Oswald and Aethelred.
Ecumenical Council (Catholic) at Konstantinopoulis affirms the desposition of
Photios and reaffirms veneration of icons and other images.

870 – Dinas y Brython, seat of Alt Clut and its king, Artgal, is destroyed
after a four-month siege by Olaf Conung Gofraidsson, king of Diflin, his
brother Ivar, and their Viking warriors of the Norse kingdom of Diflin.

The capital of the kingdom is moved to Govan, and chrnoclers begin

referring to it as Ystrad Clud, or Strathclyde.

The Great Summer Army under Bagsecg arrives in Englaland and merges
into the Great Heathen Army.

Danes led by Halfdan Ragnarsson and Bagsecg invade Westseaxna and take
the royal estate at Reading (in Bearrocscir, Berkshire), which Halfdan makes
his base. A naval contingent sails up the River Thames.

The invading Vikings clash with Ealdorman Aethelwulf of Bearrocscir, who

drives them back to Reading with the loss of many warriors, including one
jarl named Sidric.

871 – The Great Heathen Army defeats the Westseaxna under Aethelred I
and his brother Alfred at the Battle of Reading. Among the many dead is
Aethelwulf, Ealdorman of Bearrocscir.

The Westseaxna under Alfred defeat the Danes under Halfdan Ragnarsson
and Bagsecg at the Battle of Ashdown, despite the latter holding the higher
ground. Alfred even manages to break through their shield wall.

The Danes under Halfdan defeat the Westseaxna under Aethelred I at the
Battle of Basing.

The Danes defeat the Westseaxna under Aethelred I and Alfred at the Battle
of Meretum. Among the dead is Heahmund, Bishop of Searoburh.

Athelred I of Westseaxna dies and is succeeded by his brother Alfred, who

makes peace with the Vikings, agreeing to pay them the Danegeld. Alfred
makes Wintanceaster his seat.

The Great Heathen Army defeats Alfred of the Westseaxna at the Battle of
Wiltun, after which he is in retreat for several years.

Rhodri Mawr of Guynet conquers Ceredigion, uniting most of Cymru (North

Wales) under his rule.
Alba conquers the kingdom of Cait, weakened and reduced by Viking raids
and conquests but which at its greatest extent covered modern Sutherland,
Caithness, Orkney, and Shetland.

The Basilea Rhomaion retakes its lost lands in southern Italiae and forms
them into the Thema of Longobardia.

872 – Death of Gwrgon of Ceredigion (‘Seisyllwg’) by drowning. Throne of

Ceredigion (‘Seisyllwg’) taken by his son-in-law, Rhodri Mawr (Raudri Mor)
of Guynet and Powys, who gives it to his son Cadell to rule as a vassal.

Artgal, “king of the Brithons of Srath Clúade”, is slain through the

connivance of Causantin mac Cinaeda, Ri Cruithintuath, and his Viking allies.
Artgal’s son, Rhun, succeeds to the throne.

Returning to Eoforwīc, the Great Heathen Army puts down a rebellion in the
north and expels both Ecgberht I of Northanhymbra and Wulfhere,
Archbishop of Eoforwic, who flee to Miercna. The Danes replace Ecgberht
with Ricsige as puppet king of Northanhymbra.

The Danes (of the Great Heathen Army) led by Halfdan Ragnarsson and
Guthrum winter at Torksey in the kingdom of Lindesege.

873 - Death of Ivar Gofraidsson, according to the Annals of Ulster, “king of

the Northmen of all Britain and Ireland” and progenitor of the Ui Imair
dynasty, which becomes the most powerful entity in the Isles. He is succeed
by his son Bardur Ivarsson.

The Great Heathen Army under Halfdan Ragnarsson and Guthrum invades
Miercna and captures the royal center at Hrypedun (Derbyshire). They
winter on the south bank of River Trent.

Rhodri Mawr ap Merfyn of Guynet, Powys, and Ceredigion wins two battle
against the Vikings on Ynys Môn, at Banolau and Ynegydd.

874 - Salomon of Letau is assassinated during a revolt led by his son-in-law

Pascweten, Count of Vannes, Erispoë’s son-in-law Gurvand, Count of
Rennes, and Riwallon, Count of Cornouialle. After his death, the realm is
split in two, with South Letau under Pascweten and North Letau under
Gurvand, bases from which they fight each other for control of the whole.

From their base in Hrypedun, the Great Heathen Army drives Burgred of
Miercna into exile and sacks Tamworth. After finishing their conquest, they
install Burgred’s rival Ceolwulf II as their sub-king. The army then spilts,
with Halfdan and Ubba Ragnarssons leading their band back to
‘Northanhymbra’ (Bebbanburh)and setting a base on the River Tyne.

Olaf Conung Gofraidsson of the Norse kingdom of Diflin dies in a campaign

against Constantine I, and his son Eysteinn succeeds him.

Ingólfr Arnarsson, his wife Hallveig Fródadóttir, and his foster brother
Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson found the first Norse colony on Island, one which they
call Reykjavík.

875 – Haralde Harfagre of Northweg annexes Orkney and Shetland to his

kingdom because Vikings based there have been raiding not only the
Pretanic Isles and Normandie but also Northweg. Turf-Einar, son of
Ragnvald Eysteinsson, Jarl of More in Northweg, becomes Jarl of Orkney, a
territory including Shetland.

The see at Ligeraceastre is moved to Dornwaraceaster-upon-Thames, with

its jurisdiction becoming the (second) Diocese of Dornwaraceaster.

The section of the Great Heathen Army under Halfdan Ragnarsson invades
Dublin, and its king, Eysteinn Óláfsson, dies in the fighting.

Death of Donyarth, the last documented king of Cerniu, drowns in the River
Fowey (during a hunting accident according to some sources but deliberately
as punishment for working with the Vikings according to other sources) and
buried at St. Cleer.

Guthrum’s section of the Great Heathen Army under moves on

Grantebrycge, then returns to Westseaxna. Alfred fights the Danes in a
naval engagement.

In the north, Danes defeat Causantín mac Cináeda of the Picts at the Battle
of Dollar (Clackmannshire). Afterwards, they occupy Moreb (then including
Ross) and Caithness (then including Sutherland).

Bretons begin fleeing their land to comparitive safety of Britain due to both
their civil wars and raids from the Vikings, who this year loot the Abbey of
Saint-Melaine (later the cathedral) at Rennes.

876 - Pascweten and Gurvand both die in the conflict against each other
over the Duchy of Letau. Pascweten is succeeded by Alain le Grand and
Gurvand by his son Judicael of Poher.
The Great Summer Army led by Guthrum captures the fortress of Werham in
Dorsaete and is joined by a Viking army of 3500 which has landed at Poole
Harbour. Alfred of the Westseaxna traps them and demands hostages for a
peace agreement. The Danes split their forces, with Guthrum’s Great
Summer Army besieging Escanceaster while the newly arrived forces escape
to their ships, only to be lost near Swanage in a storm.

Halfdan Ragnarsson deposes Ricsige, puppet king of Northanhymbra, and

formally establishes the Danish Kingdom of Jorvik.

877 - The Vikings invade Cymru once more, defeating Rhodri Mawr ap
Merfyn of Guynet, Powys, and Ceredigion at the Battle of Sunday, and he is
forced to flee to Eire. Taking advantage of the situation, Hyfaidd ap Bleddri
of Dyfed reconquers Ceredigion.

Halfdan Ragnarsson of Eastengla invades Ireland intending to replace his

rival Bardur Ivarsson as king of Dublin. However, he dies fighting in the
Battle of Strangford Lough.

Ceolwulf II becomes the puppet king of western (Saxon-held) Miercna, while

eastern (Danish-held) Miercna becomes the Five Boroughs: Deoraby,
Ligeraceastre, Lincylene, Snotingaham, and Steanford, each ruled by a jarl.
In addition, there were another four such burhs (boroughs) to the south:
Northamtune, Bedaford, Huntadun, and Grantebrycge, in approximately the
same region as Middelenglna.

878 – Alfred of Westseaxna is surprised by the Vikings at Cippanhamm and

flees to Selwood Forest, where he gathers his scattered followers and other
refugees. From there, he goes to the Somerset Levels and Moors, from
which he wages a guerrilla campaign out of his base at Athelny. The Vikings
stay for a year, ravaging the countryside.

The Vikings winter in Dyfed. Inguar and Healfdane descend from “Demetia”
upon “Dumnonia” with 23 ships. The Westseaxan under Odda, Ealdorman of
Defna, and Ethelnulf, Ealdorman of Somersaete, defeat the Danes under
Ubba Ragnarsson at the Battle of Cynwit, near Countisbury (Devon), winning
a much-needed victory for the Westseaxan.

With levies from Sumorsaetescir, Wiltunscir, and Hamtunscir, Alfred of

Westseaxna defeats the last of the Great Heathen Army under Guthrum,
King of Danish Eastengla, at the Battle of Ethandun (Eddington, Wiltshire),
leading to the Treaty of Wedmore later in the year, after which Guthrum is
baptized and takes the name Aethelstan. Englaland is divided between
Westseaxna in the south and the Danelaw in the north, the latter of which
the treaty is seen as the foundation of.

Death of Rhun of Ystrad Clud; succession of his son, Eochaid, who also rules
Circinn by right of descent from his mother, a daughter of Cináed mac Ailpin.

Death of Áed I mac Cináeda, Rí Cruithintuath; succession of Giric (Cyric)

MacRath mac Dúngail of the Cineal Loairn, ancestor of Clann Grioghar and of
Siol Alpin, as Rí Cruithintuath in Fortrenn.

Eochaid of Ystrad Clud and Circinn and Giric Rí Cruithintuath invade Beornice
and liberate Leudian/Lothian.

Rhodri Mawr ap Merfyn of Guynet, Powys, and Ceredigion (‘Seisyllwg’)

returns to his kingdoms, but is killed fighting the army of Ceolwulf II of
Miercna; his kingdoms are divided amongst his three sons, Guynet going to
Anarawd as overking, Powys to Merfyn as his vassal, and Ceredigion
(‘Seisyllwg’) remaining with Cadell, but now as Anarawd’s vassal.

The Annals of the Four Masters, Annals of Ulster, and Chronicum Scotorum
mark this as the year in which the relics of St. Colmcille are removed from
the abbey of Iona to the abbey of Kells in Ireland, though the Abbot of Iona
remains Coarb of St. Colmcille in Ireland and Scotland.

879 – Alfred the Great of Westseaxna establishes a series of burhs to

protect Westseaxna, creates a standing army, and builds a network of well-
maintained herepaths (army roads).

Guthrum becomes king of Danish Eastengla.

A Viking fleet sails up the River Thames and builds a camp near Fullahamm
to stage an invasion of France.

Coenwulf II of English Miercna dies and is succeeded by Aethelred II.

Eighth Ecumenical Council (Orthodox) reinstates Photios as Patriarch of

Konstantinopoulis and implicitly condemns the addition of the Filoque clause
to the Creed.

880-920 – Gall-Goidil from the Kingdom of the Isles settle that part of
Cumbria which becomes known as Galloway, at least initially as allies of the
Brittonic kingdom.
880 – Anarawd of Guynet initiates a revenge attack on the Mercian armies
and defeats them on the River Conwy.

Louis III of Francia Occidentalis loses the Battle of Lüneburg Heath to the
Great Heathen Army invading from Englaland.

Louis III the Younger of Saxony and of Bavaria defeats the Great Heathen
Army at the Battle of Thimeon.

881 – Anarawd of Guynet attacks Aethelred , Lord of the Mierce, and

defeats him at the Battle of the Conwy.

Anarawd of Guynet and brothers Cadell and Merfyn begin extensive military
campaigns to quell resistance in Powys and Ceredigion.

Louis III and Carolman III of West Francia rout the Vikings at the Battle of
Saucourt-en-Vimeu (Sarcourt).

882-1240 – The Varangians of the Rus Khaganate, originally colonists from

Sweden, establish Kyavan Rus at Kyiv and dominate Central Russia until
being overwhelmed by the Mongolian Golden Horde (led by Mongols but
mostly Cumans and Kipchaks).

882 – Alfred the Great of Westseaxna increases the size of his navy and
attacks four Viking ships, two of which surrender and two in which all die.

The Vikings defeat a Frankish army under Bishop Wala of Metz at the Battle
of Remich (in Luxembourg).

Charles the Fat, Imperator Romanorum, besieges a camp of Vikings who

have plundered along the Meuse, the Rhine, and the Moselle. He defeats
their leader Godfrid, then grants him West Frisia.

Oleg the Wise of Holmgard (Novogorod) captures Kyiv and makes it his
capital, thus founding Kyivan Rus.

883 – Vikings ravage Flanders.

Monks fleeing Lindisfarena with the body and relics of St. Cuthbert stop at
the site of the old Roman fort Concangis, where they build a monastery and
church, calling the place Conceastre (now Chester-le-Street). It becomes
the new seat of the Bishop of Lindisfarena.
884 – Aethelred II of Miercna, marries Aethelflaed, daughter of Alfred the
Great, accepting Westseaxna overlordship and reduction of his rank from
king to ealdorman, though he also uses the title Lord of the Mierce.

885 - Asser, a relative of Nobis, bishop of St. Davids, is summoned to the

court of King Alfred of Englaland. He agrees to spend six months of the year
in the King's service. Asser helps to enhance the literary status of the
English Court as well as to negotiate the recognition of Alfred as overlord.

Anarawd ap Rhowdri of Guynet seeks an alliance with the Norse kings of

Jorvik.

Danish Vikings from northern France land in Cantwara and besiege

Hrofaescester, which holds out long enough for Alfred the Great to arrive
and lift the siege, driving the invaders back across the Channel to the
Continent.

Southern Welsh kings Hyfaidd of Dyfed, Elisedd of Brycheiniog, and Hywel of

Glywysion are harassed by the armies of Anarawd ap Rhowdri of Guynet and
seek the protection of Alfred the Great.

In November, Vikings under Sigfred and Sinric sail up River Seine and lay
siege to Paris, then seat of the West Franci. Odo, Count of Paris, defends
the city with a small garrison.

886 – Alfred the Great of Westseaxna recaptures Lundenwic from the

Vikings. Anglo-Saxon Lundenwic is actually outside the walls of the
abandoned Roman city, and Alfred begins to shift it back inside the walls of
the former Londinium, renaming it Lundenburh. He also adds a new harbour
called Queenhithe, and hands the whole over to his son-in-law Aethelred II,
Lord of the Mierce.

After receiving the submission of all the Englisc not under Viking rule, Alfred
the Great begins using the titles “King of the Engle and Seaxan” and “King of
the Angelseaxan”.

In October, Count Odo slips out of still besieged Paris to seek help from
Charles the Fat, Imperator Romanorum. Charles arrives with a small force
and makes camp atop Montmarte. He then negotiates a Danegeld and
allows the Vikings to sail up the River Seine to overwinter in Burgundy.

888 – Judicaël of North Letau and Alain of South Letau forge a temporary
truce and alliance to fight the Vikings raiding their coasts, which lasts until
Judicaël is killed at the Battle of Questembert this year, an otherwise notable
victory for the Bretons in which the Vikings are driven to the mouth of River
Loire. This leaves Alain le Grand as sole ruler of Letau. Charles the Fat,
Imperator Romanorum, recognizes him as ‘Rex Brittaniae’, with his territory
including Léon, Domnonée, Cornouaille, Poher, Vannetais, Rennais, Nantais,
Pays de Retz (western Pitou), Anjou, Cotentin, and Avranches.

Aethelred II, Ealdorman of Miercna, is stricken by serious illness, and his

wife Aethelflaed, daughter of Alfred the Great, joins him as co-ruler.

Alfred the Great founds Shaftesbury Abbey, installing his daughter Aethelgiu
as its abbess.

889 – Eochaid of Ystrad Clud & Circinn and Giric Mac Rath of the Picts are
deposed by Viking invaders. Their distant cousin Domnall mac Caustantin
becomes Rí Cruithintuath (Rex Pictorum), the last to be so called.

Lord Aethelred II and Lady Aethelflaed of the Mierce begin fortifying their
towns and cities as burhs, starting with Worcester.

In the winter, the Seine Vikings move into the Loire region recently vacated
by the Vikings Alan and Judicael defeated the year before.

890 – Alain le Grand of Letau joins forces with Berengar, Count of Rennes,
and they defeat the Vikings at Saint-Lô, wiping out their fleet, then defeat a
smaller force on River Cuesnon.

Domnall Ri Cruithintuath, in alliance with the Engle of Beornice, expels the

“Gwyr y Ystrad Clud”, the aristocrats of Strathclyde, who flee south to
Guynet (Gwynedd).

Ketil Flatnose Bjornsson establishes the Kingdom of the Isles.

Lord Aethelred II and Lady Aethelflaed of the Mierce found the Priory of St.
Peter in Gloucester.

Anarawd ap Rhowdri of Guynet makes the first ceremonial visit of a Guynet

monarch to an English court, that of Alfred the Great.

891 – A form of the name Cornwall first appears in the Anglo-Saxon

Chronicle as ‘On Corn walum’.

Three Irish monks (Dubslane, Macbeth, and Maelinmun) land in Cerniu, then
proceed to the land of Westseaxna in order to serve at the court of Alfred
the Great.
Vikings on the River Dyle suffer a crushing defeat from Arnulf of Carinthia,
King of East Francia, at the Battle of Leuven.

892-907 – The peace of Alain le Grand in Letau.

892 – A Viking fleet of 250 longships leaving France arrives at the

settlement of Lympne in Cantwara and attacks the small fortification called
Eorpeburnan (location lost to history).

Hastein, who previously allied with Salomon of Letau against the Franks
(866), arrives in Englaland with 80 longships and 800 men in the Thames
Estuary and sets up camp at Middleton. Alfred the Great positions his army
in the Weald.

893 – Edward, son of Alfred, defeats the Danish Vikings at the Battle of
Farnham, and forces them onto Thorney Island.

Some 100 ships of Danes from Eastengla sail around the coast and besiege
Escanceaster, while another 40 ships harass the Defnascir coast.

Hastein moves his Viking army to a fortified camp at Benfleet in Eastseaxna,

which is captured by the Seaxan while the army is out raiding. Hastein
retreats to Shoebury.

Battle of Buttington fought by an army of Westseaxna, Mierce, and Welsh

under Aethelred, Lord of the Mierce, Aethelhelm, Ealdorman of the
Wiltsaetas, and Aethelnoth, Ealdorman of the Sumorsaetas, against a Danish
army under Hastein composed of his force from Boulogne-sur-Mer in France,
Danish Northumbrians, and Danish East Anglians. Alfred’s army besieges
the army of Danes in a fort at Buffington after it destroys Escanceaster. The
surviving Danes flee to Danish Eastengla.

Hastein leads the Danes to capture Legacaestir, from which they leave to
ravage Brycheiniog, Guent, and Glevissig.

Asser, Bishop of Scirburne, writes his Life of King Alfred.

894 - Anarawd ap Rhowdri of Guynet’s shaky alliance with the Vikings

collapses. His kingdom is ravaged by the Norsemen. Anarawd is forced to
ask for help from Alfred of Englaland and submits to his overlordship. Alfred
imposes oppressive terms and forces Anarawd to receive confirmation in the
Catholic Church with Alfred as godfather.
Vikings besiege Escanceaster but are driven off by Alfred. They then try to
besiege Cissaceaster but are defeated by the Saxon garrison.

The Battle of Benfleet is one of the most complete victories of the English
against the Vikings up to this point. Survivors gather under Haisten at
Shoebury, where they make a new camp.

895 - Anarawd of Guynet is supplied with English troops to assist in

reconquest of Ceredigion. He is successful and his brother, Cadell, is finally
able to take his rightful place on the Ceredigion throne.

Alfred the Great blockades the River Lea, trapping the Vikings at Hertford, so
they abandon their longships and escape to Bridgnorth in the Severn Valley.

896 – Brycheiniog, Guent, and eastern Glevissig are ravaged by Hastein and
his Viking pirate army.

Alfred the Great orders a fleet of English warships twice as long as Viking
longships in the River Itchen at Suthamtun.

897 – Nine English warships intercept six Viking longships in the mouth of
an estuary on the Dorset coast. Three are captured and boarded, with all on
the ship slain. Two of the three ships that manage to escape are driven onto
the Suthseaxna coast, with their sailors brought to Wintanceastre and
hanged, so that just one ship returns to Eastengla.

898 – Alfred the Great makes his son Edward the Elder co-ruler in
preparation for his accession to the throne.

899 – Death of Alfred the Great, King of the Angelseaxan. In his will, the
people of Sumersaetescir, Dorsaetescir, Defnascir, and Cornweahle are
referred to the ‘Welsh kind’, the lot still known then as ‘West Wealhas’.
Edward the Elder succeeds to the throne.

Aethelwold’s Revolt: Aethelwold, youngest son of Aethelred I of Westseaxna,

disputes the succession of his nephew Edward. He seizes the estates at
Wimborne and Christchurch, and Edward sets up camp at Badbury Rings.
After declaring he will live or die at Wimborne, Aethelwold flees to sanctuary
in Northanhymbra.

900-950 – Occupation of the coastal regions of Cumberlandscir and

Westmorlandscir and all of Lancastrescir by the Norse, taking advantage of
the chaos in the North.
900 – Edward the Elder is crowned King of the Angelseaxan at Kingston-
upon-Thames.

Domnall II mac Causantín, the last to use the titles Rí Cruithintuath and Rex
Pictorum, dies at Forres, political center of Moreb (formelry Fortrenn) at the
time (so, probably in battle), and is succeeded by Causantín II mac Áeda
using the titles Rí Alban and Rí nan Albannaich.

Tewdr of Brycheiniog establishes his court on a crannóg in the middle of

Llangorse Lake.

Ystrad Clud, taking advantage of the situation in Northanhymbra, expands

its territory south, recovering its own lost territory as well as that in the later
Cumberlandscir and Westmorelandscir. Annalists begin to refer to the
kingdom as Cumbria and its inhabitants as Cumbrians.

Moreb begins refusing to acknowledge the king of Alba at Scuin; its rulers
are referred to as Rí Moireabh in Irish annals.

901 – Aethelwold, son of Aethered I, comes with a fleet to Eastseaxna and

encourages the Danes of Eastengla to rise up.

Dowager-queen Ealhswith founds the Nunnaminster at Wintanceastre and

retires to the religious life there.

902 - The Norse are expelled from Diflin. They attempt to settle in
Ceredigion but are driven off by Clydog, and settle in the Wirral with the
agreement of Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mierce.

The Danish Vikings under Aethelwold badly defeat the Anglo-Saxon army
sent against them at the Battle of the Holme. However, Aethelwold himself
is killed in the fighting, ending his rebellion.

903 - Danish Vikings kicked out of Diflin invade Ynys Môn but are driven
out, and make their way to Legacaestir.

A party of Danes under Viking warlord Ingimundr attack the Welsh in the
pitched Battle of Maes Ros Meilon.

904 - Marriage of Hywel Dda ap Cadell of Ceredigion (‘Seisyllwg’) to Elen,

daughter of Llywarch ap Hyfaidd, of Dyfed. Death of her father. Llywarch’s
brother, Rhodri, tries to claim the throne, but is forced to flee and Hywel
Dda becomes king.
Last mention of Fortrenn by that name in the Annals of Ulster.

905 – Cadell ap Rhodri of Ceredigion (‘Seisyllwg’) makes his son Hywel Dda
ap Cadell ruler of Dyfed after conquering the territory. Rhodri ap Hyfaidd,
nominally King of Dyfed, is caught and executed at Arwystli, probably by his
niece’s husband, Hywel Dda.

Viking settlers under Ingimundr revolt against the Mierce and try to capture
Legacaestir, but fail.

906 – Causantín mac Áeda of Alba calls a meeting of the Scottish

(Albainnach) clergy, presided over by Cellach, ‘Bishop of the Scots’.

Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mierce, refortifies Ceaster against the Vikings.

Edward the Elder of the Angelseaxan founds Romsey Abbey.

907 – Alain le Grand of Letau dies, and Gourmaëlon, Count of Cornouaille,

seizes the throne, but he is called guardian, not king. He is opposed by
Mathuedoi, Count of Poher, son-in-law of Alain.

908 – Flann Sinna mac Máel Sechnaill, King of Midhe and High King of
Ireland, in alliance with Cerball mac Muirecáin, King of Laighin, Cathal mac
Conchobair, King of Connacht, and Cellach mac Cerbaill, King of Osraige,
defeats Cormac mac Cuilennáin, King of Mumha, at the Battle of Belach
Mugna, near Castledermot, Co. Kildare.

909 – The church of Cerniu—under the Bishop of Scirburne like Defnascir,

Dorsaetescir, and Sumersaetescir—becomes the last in the Isles to accept
Continental practice.

Edward the Elder of the Angelseaxan and Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mierce,
raid Danish Eastengla and bring back the relics of St. Oswald, which they
take to recently founded St. Peter’s Priory at Gloucester, renaming it St.
Oswald’s Priory in his honor.

An army sent to Northanhymbra by Edward the Elder ravages Jorvik.

Cadell ap Rhodri of Ceredigion (‘Seisyllwg’) dies, and his sons Hywel Dda
and Clydog each inherit part of his kingdom (probably with Hywel getting
Ystrad Twyi and Clydog Ceredigion proper).

Asser, Bishop of Scirburne, dies, and his diocese is split into three, with
Defnascir and Cornweahle in the Diocese of Crediton, Somersaete in the
Diocese of Wells (later moving to Bath; its incumbent is known as Bishop of
the Somersaetas until the Norman Conquest), and Dorsaete remaining in the
Diocese of Scirburne (later the Diocese of Searoburh, or Sarum).

Also this year, the Diocese of Ramesberie (also known as the Diocese of
Ramesberie and Sunningas) is created out of the Diocese of Wintanceastre
for Witunscir and Bearrocscir.

910 - Death of Cadell of Ceredigion; his son, Hywel Dda, succeeds him.

Leading the Mierce and the Westseaxna, Edward the Elder decisively defeats
the Danes of Jorvik at the Battle of Wednesfield, putting an effective end to
their power with the deaths of their joint kings Eowils, Halfdan, and Ingwaer.
Raegnald Bardursson assumes rule of Jorvik.

911 – Aethelred, King of the Mierce, dies, and his wife Aethelflaed, who is
eldest sister to Aethelstan of Westseaxna, already Lady of the Mierce, now
rules in her won right. At this time, English Miercna is confined to
Weogornaceastrescir, Gleawecastrescir, Herefordscir, and Scrobbesbyrigcir,
the rest being under rule of the Danes; during her rule, she leads the
Mercian armies to conquer back nearly all of Danish-held Miercna.

Edward the Elder takes direct control of Lundenburh and Oxnaford.

Cadell ap Rhodri Mawr of Ceredigion dies, and his realm is divided between
his sons Clydog and Hywel Dda of Dyfed.

Following the battle ending the Siege of Chartres, Charles the Simple of
Francia Occidentalis grants Rollo (Hrólfr), descendant of Ragnald of More,
enough land in the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte for him to become Count of
Rouen and ancestor of the later Dukes of Normandie. The more active
Vikings sail around the coasts and entered the River Loire, from which they
plague Letau in the last gasp of the old methods of operation.

912 – Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mierce, builds defensive burhs at

Scrobbesburh and Cwatbridg (Bridgnorth) to defend against Vikings from the
Danelaw.

913-938 – Viking occupation of Letau.

913 – The Vikings defeat Gourmaëlon, Duke of Letau, in battle and slay
him. They then assume domination of the duchy, though their control isn’t
firm until 919.
Edward the Elder begins the reconquest of the Danelaw by occupying
Eastseaxna.

Eadwulf I, High-Reeve of Bebbanburh, dies and is succeeded by his son

Ealdred I, who is almost immediately drives out by Raegnald Bardursson,
grandson of Ivar the Boneless, king of Danish Jorvik, and flees to the court
of Causantín II mac Áeda of Alba.

914 - Vikings led by Óttar and Horald harry the Welsh coast and move up
the Severn, but are driven out by Saxon levies from Hereford and
Gleawecastre. They then sail south to attack Letau.

Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mierce, builds a burh at Waeringwic and repairs the
hill fort at Eddisbury.

915 – Defeat of Alba and the Bernician exiles from Lothian by the Vikings of
Diflin in the First Battle of Corebricg.

916 - Death of Anarawd of Guynet.

English raiders attack the court of Tewdr of Brycheiniog at Llangorse and

make off with the queen and 33 others.

Death of Flann Sinna, first King of all Ireland; succession of Niall Glúndub
mac Áedo of Cenel nEogain, ancestor of the O’Neills, as Ard Ri.

Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mierce, sends an army into Brycheiniog to avenge

the murder of Abbot Ecbryht and his companions. They burn the fort of
Tewdr of Brycheiniog at Llyn Syfaddan (Llangorse Lake) and take the queen
and thirty-three others captive.

917 – Aethlflaed, Lady of the Mierce, seals an alliance with Causantín II mac
Áeda of Alba against the Norse kingdom of Jorvik. She captures the fort at
Derby, one of the Five Boroughs, while her brother Edward the Elder take
Tofeceaster (Roman Lactodurum).

Edward the Elder defeats the Danes at the Battle of Tempsford, storming the
burh there and killing Guthrum II of Eastengla, Jarl Toglos, and Jarl Manna.

918 – The Second Battle of Corebricg, in which Athelflaed, Lady of the

Mierce, leads a combined army of her contingent of Mierce, Albanach under
Causantín II mac Áeda of Alba, and Northumbrians under High-Reeve
Ealdred I of Bebbanburh against the Danes under Raegnald Bardursson, King
of Mann, is indecisive.
Vikings found Cork.

Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mierce, dies in battle against the Vikings at

Tamworth, and is succeeded by her daughter Aelfwynn.

Idwal Foel of Guynet (Gwynedd) and Hywel Dda of Ceredigion submit to

Edward the Elder of Englaland.

Vikings raid Ynys Môn.

919-937 – Viking occupation of Letau

919 – Aelfwynn, Lady of the Mierce, is deposed by Edward the Elder, king of
Westseaxna, who takes Miercna under his direct control.

Raegnald Bardursson takes control of the English earldom of Northanhymbra

(Bebbanburh).

A fleet of Loire Vikings under Rǫgnvaldr the Norseman lands at Nantes and
proceeds to conquer and thoroughly subjugate all of Letau.

920 – Clydog ap Cadell dies, and his brother Hywel Dda inherits his half of
Ceredigion. Hywel then merges Ceredigion (including Ystrad Tywi) with
Dyfed, a territory later historians dub ‘Deheubarth’.

(Note: The earliest post-Roman British writers, from the days when the Hen
Gogledd was still a power, used the term ‘Deheubarth’ to refer to the
kingdoms of what is now Wales collectively, the same as that of the people
whom the Saxons called Nord Wealhas.)

Henry the Fowler, Duke of Saxony and King of Francia Orientalis, conquers
Utrecht, which has been in Viking hands for 70 years.

921 – Robert of Neustria, ‘Demarchus’ of Neustria and Bretainge, cedes

Nantes to Rǫgnvaldr the Norseman.

924 – Aethelstan, son of Edward the Elder, becomes King of the

Angelseaxan after his father dies at Farndon.

The Diocese of St. Germans splits off from the Diocese of Crediton to better
serve the people of Cerniu.
Mathuedoi of Poher brings his son Alain along with a multitude of Bretons
across the Channel seeking temporary refuge from the Vikings then plaguing
Letau at the court of Aethelstan, who is Alain’s godfather.

Berengar I, King of Italy and last successor of the imperial line of Charle le
Magne, dies with no successor appointed or crowned.

926 – The border between Englaland and Cymru is set at the River Wye.

Cerniu falls to Aethelstan of Westseaxna and Miercna and is given the same
status as Westseaxna, Miercna, Northanhymbra, and Eastengla under native
ealdormen.

Abbot Radbod of Dol petitions Aethelstan of Westseaxna and Miercna for

help against the Viking occupation.

927 – According to William of Malmesbury, Aethelstan expels the ‘Cornish’

from Escanceaster, where their former quarter is still known in the city as
‘Little Britain’, and forbids the Cornish in Defnascir to own land, though in
the past several decades historians have come to doubt the extent to which
that actually happened.

The border between Englaland and Cymru is set at the River Wye.

On 12 July, Constantine II mac Aeda of Alba, Owain ap Dyfnwal of Cumbria,

Huwel of the Westweahlas, Owain ap Hywel of Glywysion and Guent, and
Ealdred of Bebbanburh (Beornice) submit to Athelstan of Englaland at
Eamont Bridge, after which Athelstan adopts the title King of the Englisc
(and in Latin the title ‘Rex Totius Britanniae’). This event is considered the
beginning of the Kingdom of Englaland.

928 - Hywel Dda of ‘Deheubarth’, Guynet, and Powys makes a pilgirmage to

Rome, the first Welsh ruler to do so, and begins the codification of medieval
Welsh law.

929-1031 – The Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba.

929 – Emir Abd-al-Rahman III of Cordoba proclaims himself Caliph, in direct

opposition to the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad and the Shia Caliph in Tunis.

930 – The Armes Prydein foretells that an alliance of the Welsh, the Cornish,
the Bretons, the Cumbrians, the Irish, the Scots, and the Vikings will drive
out the Angelseaxan from Britain forever.
The Althing is founded in Iceland, and is the oldest such body in the world.

931 - Morgan Hen of Glywysion and Guent submits to Athelstan of the

Englisc and attends his court with Hywel Dda of ‘Deheubarth’ and Idwal Foel
of Guynet.

Rollo, first Duke of Normandie, dies and is succeeded by his son William I
Longsword.

The Bretons take advantage of the Vikings gathering of River Loire to attack
the Franks to rebel and overthrow them, killing many in the process,
includng their leader Felekan, but a counterattack under his deputy Incon is
completely successful.

933 – Rudolph of Francia Occidentalis grants Cotenin, Avranchin, and the

Channel Isles to William I Longsword, Count of Rouen, though none of these
are fully integrated into Normandy until 1009.

934 - Tewdwr of Brycheiniog attends the court of Aethelstan of Englaland

and signs English land charters.

Aethelstan of the Englisc compels Hywel Dda of Deheubarth, Idwal Foel of

Guynet, Morgan Mwynfawr of Morgannwg, and Tewdwr ap Griffri of
Brycheiniog, along with Danes from eastern Englaland, to accompany him on
his campaign against Causantín II mac Áeda of Alba. The land forces reach
Dunottar and Fortrenn, while the navy raids Caithness (which by this time is
under the Norse jarldom of Orkney). The invasion amounts to little more
than a punitive or simply muscle-flexing raid. Owain ap Dyfnwal being an
ally of Causantín at this time, Alt Clud may have also been ravaged.

936 – Aethelstan of the Englisc fixes the border between his kingdom and
Cornwall at the east bank of the River Tamar.

At the invitation of Jean, Abbot of Landevennec, Alain Barbecorte, son of

Mathuedoi, exiled Count of Poher, grandson of Alain le Grand, and godson of
Aethelstan of the Englisc, returns to Letau, and by the end of the following
year has expelled the Vikings from all of his territories, which are reduced to
Domnonee, Vannetais, Cornouaille, Poher, Leon, Rennais, and Nantais by the
losses to Normandie.

937 - Aethelstan of Englaland defeats a combined Northern army under Olaf

Guthfrithson of Diflin, Constantine II mac Aeda of Alba, and Owain ap
Dyfnwal I of Cumbria at the Battle of Brunanburh. According to roughly
contemporary (but later) medieval historians, this is the greatest battle of
Anglo-Saxon history before Hastings.

Dyfnwal ab Owain succeeds his father as King of Cumbria and maintains the
alliance with the Vikings despite Alba switching to Englaland.

Idwal Foel of Guynet distances himself from his English overlord.

The Brithons in Cymru begin to use the term “Cymry” to speak of

themselves and their fellows.

938-1589 – The autonomous Duchy of Bretaigne

938-990 – The House of Nantes rules the Duchy of Bretaigne.

938 – The surviving Vikings in Letau regroup in Renntais.

939 – The army of Bretons under Alain, Count of Vannes, Poher, and
Nantes, Judicaël Berengar, Count of Rennes, and Hugues II, Count of Maine,
inflict a final defeat on the Vikings at the Battle of Trans-la-Forêt. Vannes
becomes Alain II after being elected Duke of Bretaigne, beginning the rule of
the House of Nantes.

Aethelstan of Englaland dies at Gleawecastre and is succeeded by his half-

brother Edmund I the Magnificient as King of the Englisc, while Olaf
Guthfrithson, King of Diflin, becomes King of Jorvik.

940 – Cumbria, now at the apex of its power, controls the former territories
of Rheged, Argoed, Dent, Craven, Peak, and most of Elmet, in addition to its
center base of Clydesdale (Ystrad Clud, geographically).

Idwal Foel of Guynet invades Englaland but is driven back.

941 – Óláfr Guthfrithsson of Jorvik is killed while raiding an Anglian church

in Tyninghame and is succeeded by his cousin Óláfr Sigtryggsson.

Wulfhelm, Archbishop of Cantwareburh, dies and is succeeded by Oda,

Bishop of Ramesberie, son of Danish parents born in Eastengla.

942 – Edmund the Magnificient of the Englisc moves to reconquer the Five
Boroughs.

Idwal Foel of Guynet rebels against Edward the Elder’s overlordship

alongside his brother Elisedd ab Anarawd and Llywelyn ap Merfyn of Powys,
but all three die fighting the Englisc forces, opening the way for Hywel Dda
of ‘Deheubarth’ to gain Guynet and seize Powys, becoming sole ruler or
overlord of all Wales.

Morgan Hen Fawr ab Owain of Glevissig unites his realm with Guent as the
kingdom of Morgannwg.

Alain II Barbecorte, Duke of Bretaigne, pays homage to Louis IV of Francia

Occidentalis and renounces Breton claims to Cotentin, Avranchin, and Maine.

943 – St. Dunstan is appointed Abbot of Glestingaburg.

Edmund the Magnificient of the Englisc ravages Cumbria and defeats in

battle Causantín II mac Áeda of Alba, who abdicates to take up religious life,
then is succeeded by his cousin Máel Coluim I mac Domnaill.

944 – Edmund the Magnificient of the Englisc regains territory ceded to

Óláfr Guthfrithson with the help of Danish settlers. He also conquers
Northanhymbra.

A tremendous storm sweeps across Westseaxna, destroying 1500 houses in

Lundenburh alone.

945 – Edmund the Magnificient of the Englisc conquers Cumbria, forms an

alliance with Alba, and cedes Cumberland and Westmoreland to the king of
the latter, Máel Coluim I mac Domnaill. However, Dynfwal soon bounces
back and recovers his kingdom.

Hywel Dda ap Cadell of Cymru draws up a unified codes of laws for his
territories at the Council of Whitland.

946 – According to the Annales Cambriae, Cumbria is laid waste by the

Seaxan this year.

Edmund I the Magnificient of the Englisc is murdered at Pucklechurch (in

Gloucestershire). His brother Eadred succeeds him.

948 – Northanhymbra takes Erik Bloodaxe Haraldsson as its king. Eadred of

the Englisc responds by ravaging Northanhymbra and burning down St.
Wilfrid’s minster at Inhyrpum. He sustains heavy losses at Castleford (in
Jorvik) on his way home, though he still manages to check his rivals and
force Northanhymbra to pay him compensation.
Abbot Wulsin establishes St. Alban’s School at the abbey in Vaeclingscaestir
outside the former Roman city of Verulamium. It still exists, one of the
oldest continuing schools in the world.

949 – Óláfr Sigtryggsson pushes out Erik Bloodaxe from Jorvik and takes
the throne.

Máel Coluim I mac Domnaill of Alba invades Northanhymbra as far south as

River Tess at the instigation of his cousin Causantín II mac Áeda, returning
home with cattle and captives.

950-1250 – The Medieval Warm Period.

950 – Hywel Dda ap Cadell dies, and united Cymru breaks up into its parts
as his three sons Owain, Rhodri, and Edwin divide it among themselves.

Máel Coluim I mac Domnaill of Alba invades Moray and slays its ruler, known
only as Cellach.

951 – The Dal gCais displace the Eoganachta as kings of Mumhan.

952 – Causantín II mac Áeda, formerly king of Alba, dies at the monastery
of St. Andrews.

The Annals of Ulster report a victory of ‘the foreigners’ over ‘the men of
Alba, the Brithons (of Cumbria), and the English’, probably related to the
return of Erik Bloodaxe to Jorvik.

Alain Barbacorte of Letau dies and is succeeded by his minor son, Drogon,
with his uncle Theobald I, Count of Blois, and step-father Fulk II, Count of
Anjou, as regents.

951-1066 – Westseaxna (Wessex) Resurgence

954 – Eadred becomes King of all Englaland when the Danish kingdom of
Jorvik falls to his armies.

The Annals of Ulster reports Máel Coluim I mac Domnall of Alba is killed by
Moravians at Blervie, near Forres, capital of Moreb; other sources place his
death in Mearns. He is succeeded by Ildulb mac Causantín II.

St. Dunstan’s protégé Aethelwold is appointed Abbot of Abingdon.

955 – The East Anglian dioceses of Dunwic and Elmham are reunited into
one as the Diocese of Elmham.

Eadred of the Englisc dies childless at Fromme in Somersaete and is

succeeded by his nephew Eadwig.

956 – Eadwig of the Englisc exiles St. Dunstan, abbot of Glestingaburg, who
takes refuge in Flanders, where Count Armulf I lodges him in the Abbey of
Mont Blandin, then undergoing its Benedictine revival.

957 – Northanhymbra and Miercna rebel against Eadwig of the Englisc,

switching their allegiance to his brother Edgar the Peaceful. The country is
divided at the River Thames. Edgar, now king of the Mierce, summons St.
Dunstan to return from Flanders.

958 – Drogon, Duke of Bretaigne, dies (possibly murdered the his step-
father, Fulk IV of Anjou) and is succeeded by his half-brother Hoël I.

959 – Eadwig of the Englisc (south of the Thames) dies and is succeeded by
his brother Edgar the Peaceful of the Mierce. The two halves of the country
are reunited as one realm.

960 – Alba captures Edinburh/Dunedin, the former Din Eidyn.

With the installation of Dunstan as Archbishop of Cantwareburh (959-988),

the English Benedictine Reform begins, with his chief support coming from
Aethelwold, Bishop of Wintanceastre (963-984), and Oswald, Archbishop of
Eoforwic (971-992) and Bishop of Weogornaceastre (961-992).

Thibaud, a renegade Viking from Normandie, attacks the monasteries of

Leon in Letau, then lays siege to Nantes, but is soundly defeated.

962 – Edgar the Peaceful grants autonomy to the earls north of the Thames
(Eastengla, Miercna, Eoforwic, and Bebbanburh).

Ildulb mac Causantín, king of Alba, dies fighting the Vikings at the Battle of
Bauds and is succeeded by his nephew Dub mac Maíl Coluim.

Edgar the Peaceful marries Aethelfthryth, daughter of Ordgar, whom he then

makes Ealdorman of Defnascir.

Pope John XII crowns Otto I, Duke of Saxony, as ‘Imperator Romanorum’,

founding the Imperium Romanum Sacrum, or Holy Roman Empire, which at
the time includes the territories of not only Francia Orientalis but those of
Francia Media also.

965 – Sicilia falls to Muslim invaders who establish the Emirate of Sicily. In
response, the Basilea Rhomaion unites the themata of Calabria, Lucania, and
Longobardia under the Strategos of Bari as Kapetan and Patricius, forming
the Katepenate of Italia.

966 – Aethelwold, Bishop of Wintanceastre, refounds the monastery at

Medeshamstede as a Benedictine abbey dedicated to St. Peter, and the
settlement becomes known as Peterburh.

967-1014 - The ‘War of the Irish with the Foreigners’, led on the Irish side
by Brian Borumha, king of Mumha and later Ard Ri Eireann.

967 – Dub mac Maíl Coluim of Alba is deposed and replaced by Cuilén mac
Iluilb.

968 – Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig leads the Dál gCais fighting the Vikings
under Ivar of Limerick. After defeating them at the Battle of Sulcoit, he
burns their fortified town.

971 – Cuilean mac Illuilb, Ri Albainn, and his brother Eochaid are killed by
Rhydderch ap Dyfnwal, King of the Cumbri, as revenge for the rape of his
daughter by the first. His brother Amlaíb mac Illuilb succeeds him, but
Cináed mac Maíl Coluim challenges his claim.

The Diocese of Sidnacester (Lindsey) unites with (second) Diocese of

Dornwaraceaster (Exeter) under one incumbent.

Ordgar, Ealdorman of Defnascir, dies, and is succeeded by his son Ordwulf,

who uses the title High Reeve (Heahgerefa).

973 – Maccus mac Arailt of the Isles, Cináed mac Maíl Coluim of Alba, and
Maíl Coluim ap Dyfnwal (mac Domnaill) of the Cumbri (Rí Bretan Tuisceart,
Rex Cumbrorum) form a defensive alliance.

Edgar I the Peaceful is anointed as head of the ‘Anglo-Saxon Empire’ at

Acemannesceaster (Bath). At Chester, Maccus of the Isles, Cináed of Alba,
Maíl Coluim of the Cumbri, Dufnal (Dyfnwal) of Dyfed, Siferth (Sigeferth), a
Viking), Huwal (Hywel ab Ieuaf), Iacob (Iago ab Idwal Foel) of Guynet, and
Iuchil swear to remain loyal and to cooperate with him. One of his first acts
is to grant Laudian to Cináed mac Maíl Coluim as a fief.
Athelwold, Bishop of Wintanceastre, compiles the Regularis Concordia, aided
by monks from Ghent and Fleury.

974 – After the death of Morgan Hen, Morgannwg again divides back into
Guent and Glevissig.

Ordwulf son of Ordgar, High Reeve of Defnascir, founds the Abbey of St.
Mary and St. Rumon, a Benedictine house, in Tavistock.

975 – Edgar I the Peaceful of the Englisc dies at Wintanceastre and is

succeeded by his son Edward II the Martyr.

977 - Cináed II mac Maíl Coluim slays Amlaíb mac Iluilb of Alba and
replaces him.

978 – Edward III the Martyr is murdered in the royal hall at Corfe on orders
of his step-mother Aelfthryth and succeeded by his on Aethelred II the
Unready, with his mother as regent.

Englisc troops are stationed in Llŷn Peninsula on behalf of Hywel ap Ieuaf of

Guynet to prevent the latter’s uncle Iago ab Idwal invading with Vikings
from Dublin.

979 – The Tynwald, the parliament of Ynys Manaw, is established, and

remains the second oldest (and the oldest continuing) such body in the
world, next to the Althing in Iceland.

980 – Viking raids from Danmark threaten Englaland for the first time in 25
years. Hamtunscir, the Isle of Thanet, and Legeceasterscir are ravaged.

Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, king of Midhe, defeats the Norse Vikings of
Dublin under Óláfr Sigtryggsson at the Battle of Tara.

At this time the population of Konstantinopoulis is around 800,000.

981 – Vikings from Danmark “lay waste” to Padstow and harry the rest of
Cornwealhas and also Defnascir.

The Norse-born Erik the Red sails west from Iceland and discovers
Greenland.

982 – Vikings from Danmark raid Dorsaetescir.

985 – Hywel ap Ieuaf, King of Guynet dies fighting Aelfhere, Ealdorman of
Miercna.

Wulftun, a noble lady of Miercna, is granted land called Heatun in what

becomes Staithfordscir, which eventually grows into Wulfruneheantun.

Erik the Red leads the first Icelandic colonization of Groenland.

986 – Icelandic merchant and explorer Bjarni Herjólfsson becomes the first
European since the monks under St. Brendan the Navigator to see the
mainland of the ‘New World’.

987 – Hugues Capet, Duke of France, Count of Paris, and Margrave of the
Marches of Neustria, establishes the Kingdom of France, the name replacing
the region’s former name of Gallia (or Gaul), which until now has been the
name most commonly used. The Breton March, along with the now-titular
Norman March, is abolished, and replaced with a belt of counties.

988 – The thegns of Defanscir lead the Defnas in fighting off an attack by
Vikings from Danmark.

Basileus Basil II Sebastos of the Basilea Rhomain forms the Varangian

Guard with 6000 warriors sent as a gift from Vladimir Viatoslavich, prince of
Kyavan Rus.

990-1072 – The House of Rennes rules the Duchy of Bretaigne.

990 – Alain III, Duke of Bretaigne, dies without issue, and is succeeded by
Conan I, first ruler of the House of Rennes.

991 – Pope John XV arbitrates the Treaty of Rouen between Aethelstred II,
King of the Englisc, and Richard I, Duke of Normandie.

Olaf Tryggvason, whose father is king of Viken in Northweg, raids the mouth
of River Thames, leading to the Battle of Maldon where Byrhtnoth,
Ealdorman of Eastseaxna, is killed. Aethelred II of the Englisc is force to pay
Danegeld to get him to take his forces and leave.

992 – The Battle of Conquereuil in which the Bretons under Conan I are
defeated by the Angevins under Fulk the Black, with the death of Conan.

994 – A Danish fleet under Olaf Tryggvason sails up the Thames Estuary
and besieges London until Aethelred II pays him a Danegeld.
995 – Lady Wulftun founds and endows St. Peter’s Collegiate Church in her
lands of Heatun.

The see at Lindisfarena is transferred to Dunholm (later Durham; possibly

the site once known to the Brithons as Cair Weir), and the jurisdiction
becomes the Diocese of Dunholm.

Olaf Tryggvason is crowned King of Northweg and builds its first church.

Cináed II mac Maíl Coluim of Alba is murdered at a banquet in Fettercairn by

Finnguala (‘Lady Finella’), daughter of Cuncar, Mormaer of Angus, of the old
Pictish nobility. Causantín III mac Cuiléin succeeds him.

Uhtred the Bold, son of Waltheof I, High-Reeve of Bebbanburh, builds what

becomes the city of Dunholm to be the new see of the Bishop of Lindisfarena
as well as a new monastery for the monks at Conceastre.

997 – Causantín III mac Cuiléin dies in battle against dynastic rival Cináed
an Donn III mac Duib, who succeeds to his throne.

Danish Vikings land at the mouth of the River Tamar between Defnascir and
Cornweahlas, and attempt to sack the town of Lyford, where they are
repulsed. On their return the way they came, they sack and burn the
monastery at Tavistock, then set up camp at Torpoint, where they winter.

At the abbey of Clonfert, Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, King of Midhe and
Ard Ri na hEireann, reaches an accord with Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig,
King of the Dal gCais, King of Thua Mumha, and King of Mumha, agree to
divide the island between them, the former in the north and the latter in the
south.

998 – The Danish Vikings at Torpoint harry Dorsaetescir, Hamtunscir, and

Suthseaxna.

999 – The combined forces of Mumha and Midhe under Brian Bóruma mac
Cennétig inflict a crushing defeat on Laighin and Diflin at the Battle of
Glenmama.

Ealdhun, last Bishop of Lindisfarena, consecrates the new cathedral at his

new see and becomes the first Bishop of Dunholm.

The Danish Vikings at Torpoint harry Cantwara.

1000 – Icelandic Vikings under Leif Erikson establish a settlement on the
island of Newfoundland they call Vinland. They also carve out territories on
Labrador, which they call Markland, and on Baffin Island, which they call
Helluland. The permanent site on Vinland is abandoned ten years later, but
maintained as a site for temporary stay. Markland, at least, they maintain
as a lumber source for Greenland, and fishing vessels from there ply the
waters of the area and up the St. Lawrence River, until around 1400.

The Danish Vikings leave Torpoint and cross to Normandy.

1001 – Danish Vikings defeat the Defnas and Somersaetas at the Battle of
Pinhoe, which they burn as a warning to Escanceaster. They also harry
Suthseaxna.

Brian Bórumha mac Cennétig, king of Mumha, leads a combined Mumha-

Laighin-Dublin army against High King Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill in his
home territory of Midhe.

1002 – Brian Bórumha mac Cennétig, king of Mumha, is recognized as Ri

hEireann Uile or ‘Imperator Scottorum’ after the submission of Flaithbertach
Ua Néill, king of the Cenél nEógain and king of Aileach (Northern Uí Néill).
The Annals of Ulster call him “ardrí Gaidhel Erenn & Gall & Bretan, August
iartair tuaiscirt Eorpa uile”, or ‘High King of the Irish Gaels and the Norse (in
the Isles) and the Brithons, Augustus (Emperor) of all northwest Europe’.

Aethelred the Unready of the Englisc pays Danegeld to Sweyn Forkbeard,

and later marries Emma, daughter of Richard I, Duke of Normandie. He
orders the deaths of all Danes in Englaland on St. Brice’s Day (13
November) of this year. Not all are killed, but among the dead is Gunhilde,
sister of Sweyn Forkbeard Haraldsson, King of Danmark and King of
Northweg, along with her husband Pallig Tokesen, according to some
sources the Danish Ealdorman of Defnascir.

1003 – Sweyn Forkbeard Haraldsson of Danmark and Northweg lands in

Eastengla and heads north to conquer Northanhymbra.

1004 – Sweyn Forkbeard Haraldsson of Danmark and Northweg lands in

Northanfolc and sacks Northwic. Ulfcytel Snillingr, Ealdorman of Eastengla,
leads a force against the Vikings but loses badly at the Battle of Thetford
and Sweyn takes the kingdom as his own.

1005 – Cináed III mac Duib of Alba is killed in the Battle of Monzievarid and
replaced by Máel Coluim II Forranach (‘the Destroyer’) mac Cináeda.
The armies of Sweyn Forkbeard Haraldsson continue to ravage the cities of
southern Britain until finding themselves in famine, then home.

Aelfric of Abindon, Archbishop of Cantwareburh and son of an Ealdorman of

Cantwara, leaves ships to the people of Cantwara and Wiltunscir and to
Athelred the Unready. During his incumbency, the chapter at Cantwareburh
Cathedral changed from secular priests to Benedictine monks.

Brian Bórumha mac Cennétig, Ri hEireann Uile, makes a second expedition

into the north to reassert his authority over the northern Uí Néill and gain
the submission of the Ulaidh.

1006 – Sweyn Forkbeard Haraldsson leads Danish Vikings raid southeast

Englaland from the Isle of Wight to Reading in the Thames Valley, where
they overwinter at Wallingford crossing.

Máel Coluim II Forranach mac Cináeda of Alba invades Northanhymbra and

besieges the new see of Dunholm. Uhtred son of Waltheof meets him in
battle and defeats him, for which Athelred the Unready makes him High-
Reeve of Bebbanburh (though his father still lives) and Ealdorman of
Eoforwic after having Aelfhelm, the incumbent, murdered. This makes
Uhtred the Bold effectively first Earl of Northanhymbra.

1007 – Athelred the Unready of the Englisc pays the Vikings Danegeld to
prevent further invasions.

The Book of Kells is stolen from the abbey, but is found a few months later,
though minus its gold cover.

1008 – Athelred the Unready of the Englisc orders a massive fleet of

warships built, which is completed the next year.

1009 – Danish Vikings under Sweyn Forkbeard Haraldsson repeatedly attack

southern Britain.

A large Danish army of Jomsvikings under Thorkell the Tall Strut-Haraldsson

lands in Cantwara.

1011 – The Diocese of Sidnacester (Lindsey) merges completely into the

(second) Diocese of Dornwaraceaster under the latter’s name.

Byrhtferth, a Benedictine monk at Ramsey Abbey, write his Manual

(Enchiridion) on the divine order of the universe and time.
Siege of Cantwareburh by Thorkell the Tall and his Jomsvikings ends with
the pillage of the city and taking prisoner Alfheah, Archbishop of
Cantwareburh.

1012 – Athelred the Unready resumes payment of the Danegeld.

Máel Mórda mac Murchada, king of Laighin, starts a rebellion against Brian
Bórumha mac Cennétig, Ri hEireann Uile.

Máel Coluim II Forranach mac Cináeda defeats a Danish army at Cruden

Bay.

Alfheah, Archbishop of Cantwareburh, is murdered by Thorkell’s men,

despite the leaders attempts to stop them. Thorkell and 45 of his ships
separate themselves and the next year becomes mercenaries for Athelred
the Unready in his fight against Sweyn Forkbeard.

1013-1042 – North Sea Empire in Danmark (which at the time includes

Sweoland and Gotiland), Northweg, and Englaland.

1013 – Sweyn Forkbeard Haraldsson, King of Danmark and King of

Northweg, accompanied by his son Cnut, leads a huge invasion of Danish
Vikings into Britain. Athelred the Unready sends his sons Edward (the
Confessor) and Alfred Aetheling to Normandie, then retreats to the Isle of
Wight before following his sons.

The Danes crush Westseaxna, and Sweyn Forkbeard brings all the Anglo-
Saxon realms under his control. Cornweahle, Cymru, and Alba are left
autonomous provided they pay annual tribute. In Lundenburh, he is
crowned ‘King of Englaland’ (Saxon kings have used the title ‘King of the
Englisc’), and makes the island the seat of the North Sea Empire.

1014 – Sweyn Forkbeard dies 3 February in Gaiegnesburh. He is succeeded

in Danmark (with Sweoland & Gotiland) by Harald II Sweynsson and in
Englaland by Cnut Sweynsson. Jarls Eric Haaksson and Sweyn Haaksson
take control of Northweg, including parts formerly under Danmark. Athelred
the Unready sends ambassadors to Englaland to negotiate his return; he
regains his throne as King of the Englisc, with Cnut and his warriors
expelled.

Battle of Clontarf between the forces of Brian Bórumha mac Cennétig, Ri

hEireann Uile, including Irish warriors of Connacht and Mumha, Manx
mercenaries, gallowglasses from the South Isles (Hebrides), and military
forces sent by Brian’s son-in-law, Máel Coluim II Forranach mac Cináeda of
Alba, versus the forces of Máel Mórda mac Murchada of Laighin and those of
his allies Sigtrygg Silkbeard of Dublin, Brodir of the Isle of Mann, and Jarl
Sigurd Lodvesson of Orkney.

Brian’s forces are victorious, but he is killed in the fighting and the high
kingship falls to Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill of Midhe, whom he had
deposed. Domnall mac Máel Coluim (Forranach) and two of Alba’s Mormaers
also die at Clontarf; their heads form part of the guard of honor on Brian’s
bier on the way to Armagh, where they are buried with him.

Last recorded Viking raid against Letau, with Dol burned.

1015 – Cnut the Great Sweynsson invades Miercna and Northanhymbra with
200 longships and 10,000 Viking warriors from all over Scandanavia.

Jarl Eric Haakonsson outlaws berserkers in Northweg.

St. Olaf II Haraldsson declares himself King of Northweg.

1016-1042 – The Danish House of Harthacanute rules in Englaland.

1016 – St. Olaf II Haraldsson defeats his co-regent Sweyn Haakonsson at

the Battle of Nesjar, securing his hold on the throne of Northweg.

Aethelred the Unready of Englaland dies, and (in a move somewhat

replicated in 1066) an assembly of London citizens elects Edmund Ironside
king while the Witan at Suthhamtun elects Cnut the Great Sweynsson.

Edmund Ironside relieves the Danish siege of Lundenburh and defeats Cnut
the Great Sweynsson at the Battle of Bentford, near Lundenburh, but the
victory is not decisive.

Battle of Assandun, between the armies of Edmund Ironside and Cnut the
Great Sweynsson of Danmark. The battle is a decisive victory for Cnut, and
Edmund is force to sign a treaty with Cnut that restricts Edmund to
Westseaxna while Cnut gets the rest. However, Edmund dies several
months later.

Thurbrand the Hold kills Uhtred the Bold of Northanhymbra on his way to a
peace conference with Cnut the Great. Cnut makes Erik Hakansson the new
Jarl of Jorvik, while Uhtred’s brother Eadwulf Cudel succeeds him as
Ealdorman of Bebbanburh. This is the start of a blood feud between the two
families that lasts into the 1070s. Ironically, in 1004 Uhtred is supposed to
kill Thurbrand, who is the enemy of his father-in-law Styr Ulfsson of
Eoforwic, as a condition of his marriage to his daughter Sige (second wife).

1017 – On the Feast of the Epiphany, Cnut the Great Sweynsson is crowned
‘King of Englaland’ (the usual title was ‘King of the Englisc’) by Lyfing,
Archbishop of Cantwareburh. One of his first acts is to marry Emma, widow
of Aethelred the Unready and daughter of Richard the Fearless, securing his
alliance with the Duchy of Normandie.

Cnut the Great divides Englaland into four earldoms: Northanhymbra ,

Miercna, Eastengla, and Westseaxna.

The incumbent of the see of Dunholm (Durham) becomes known as the

Prince-Bishop thereof from this year.

1018 – Máel Coluim II Forranach mac Cináeda brings Laudian (Beornice

north of the Tweed), under his control after the Battle of Carham against
Eadwulf Cudel, Ealdorman of Beornice, at which Owain Foel, King of the
Cumbri, fought on his side.

Harald II Sweynsson, King of Danmark and brother of Cnut the Great, is

murdered, and Cnut succeeds to his throne, travelling to Danmark to be
crowned as such.

War between the Basilea Rhomain and the First Bulgarian Empire ends in the
dissolution and surrender of the latter.

1020 – The Jarl of Orkney makes the Mormaerdom of Caithness a fiefdom.

Findláech mac Ruaidrí, Mormaer of Moreb, is murdered, probably by the

brothers Máel Coluim mac Máil Brigti and Gille Coemgáin mac Máil Brigti,
with the first succeeding to the mormaership.

Cnut the Great codifies the laws of Englaland.

1023 – Cnut the Great has the body of St. Aeflheah of Cantwareburh
translated from St. Paul’s Cathedral in Lundenburh to Cantwareburh
Cathedral.

c.1025 - Suibne mac Cinaeda becomes the first king of the Gall-Goidil in
Galloway.

1026 – The English and Danish naval forces of Cnut the Great, King of
Englaland, and Ulf Thorgilsson, Jarl of Skåne, defeat those of Sweoland
under King Anund Jacob and of Northweg under Olaf II at the Battle of
Helgeå.

1027 – The dioceses of Crediton and of St. Germans are united under a
single incumbent, residing at the see of the former.

1028 – Cnut the Great sails from Englaland to depose Olaf II and replace
him as King of Northweg, adding it to his North Sea Empire.

1029 – Máel Coluim mac Máil Brigti of Moreb is murdered by his brother
Gille Coemgáin, who then takes his place.

1030 – Olaf II Haraldsson attempts to regain his Norwegian throne with the
help of Anund Jakob of Sweoland, but he is defeated by an army of
Norwegian peasants and Danish warriors at the Battle of Stiklestad. He is
later canonized at St. Olaf, patron saint and eternal king of Northweg.

1031 – Maolcuilm II of Alba, Macbethad mac Findlaech of Moreb, and

Echmercach mac Ragnaill of Mann and the Isles submit to Cnut the Great at
the River Tay.

The Caliphate of Cordoba begins to disintegrate.

1032 – Gille Coemgáin mac Máil Brigti, Mormaer of Moreb, is killed,

probably by Macbethad mac Findláech, his successor, who becomes King of
Moreb (rather than ‘Mormaer’), marries his widow, Gruoch ingen Boite meic
Cináeda (III), and adopts her son by Gille Coemgáin, Lulach, as his own.

1034-1040 - The Cenel Connaill rule Alba.

1034 – Máel Coluim II mac Cináeda dies in battle at Glamis, and the Cenél
Conaill take the throne of Alba when Donnchad II an t-Ilgarach mac Crínáin
becomes king at Scuin. Donnchad’s father Crinan is Abbot of Dun Chaillean,
Mormaer of Athfodhla, Abthane of Dull, Kirkmichael, and Madderty,
Seneschal of the Isles, and head of the Cenél Conaill in Scotland.

Maldred mac Crínáin first mentioned as ‘King of the Cumbrians’.

1035 – Cnut the Great dies at Sceptesberie, and succession is dispute

between his sons Harthacnut and Harold Harefoot. Earl Siward of
Northanhymbra and Earl Leofric of Miercna support Harold while Earl Godwin
of Westseaxna and Cnut’s widow Queen Emma support Harthacnut, who is
in Danmark. Since Harthacnut is unable to leave because of pressure from
Sweoland and Northweg, Harold Harefoot becomes regent.
Robert I le Magnifique, Duke of Normandie, dies and is succeeded by his
designated heir, Guillaume, known to history as Guillaume le Bâtard and
Guillaume le Conquérant.

1036 – Alfred Aetheling, younger brother of Edward the Confessor, attempts

to take the currently unoccupied throne and is blinded and murdered.

Maldred mac Crínáin, King of the Cumbri (brother of Donnchad I mac

Crinain, King of Alba), marries Ealdgyth, daughter of Uhtred son of Waltheof,
Earl of Northanhymbra, by his third wife, Aelfgifu, daughter of Aethelred the
Unready, and they become ancestors of the Earls of Lothian/Dunbar/March.

1037 – Harald Harefoot seizes the throne of Englaland from his absent half-
brother Harthacnut and is crowned King of the Englisc (reverting to the
traditional title). Queen Mother Emma of Normandie flees to Vlaanderen.

1038 – Eadulf IV of Bebbanburh, Earl of Beornice (‘King of the Northern

English’ in Scottish and Irish sources), raids into Cumbria.

1039 – Gruffydd ap Llywelyn becomes King of Guynet and Powys after his
predecessor Iago is killed by his own men and his son Cynan forced into
exile in Diflin. He soon ambushes the army of Leofric, Earl of Miercna, in
Brycheiniog, destroying it completely, in the Battle of Rhyd y Groes.

Donnchad I mac Crinain, King of Alba, lays seige to Dunholm (Durham), but
is put to flight with disastrous consequences.

1040 – Harold I Harefoot dies in Oxnaford. Harthacnut lands at Sandwic a

few months later and reclaims his stolen throne as King of the Englisc.

MacBethad mac Findláich of the Cenel Loairn, king of Moreb, becomes king
of Alba, when his predecessor dies in battle after having invaded. In
contrast to his portrayal by Shakespeare based on the Holinshed Chronicles,
he is widely acknowledged as an excellent ruler. He is also the first king in
Scotland to import Norman knights and petty lords.

The Berber Almoravid dynasty of Morocco eventually rules the Western

Maghreb and Al-Andalus from Marrakesh.

1041 – Harthacnut of the Englisc designates former king Edward the

Confessor as his heir presumptive in Englaland, and the latter returns from
Normandie to take the position.
Weogronaceastre rebels against the taxes of Harthacnut. His heir Edward
the Confessor reduces the fleet from 60 to 32 to reduce the tax burden.

1042-1066 - The Cerdicingas rule Englaland for the second time.

1042 – Harthacnut, King of the Englisc, collapses at a party, and his heir
presumptive Edward the Confessor, the once-and-future-king, succeeds in
Englaland. Edward utilizes numbers of Norman soldiers in his campaigns
against the Danes.

Magnus the Good Olafsson becomes King of Danmark despite opposition

from Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson.

Harold Godwinson, son of Godwin, Earl of Westseaxna, rebuilds the fort at

Andredceaster abandoned by the Brithons centuries ago.

1043 – Edward the Confessor is (once again) crowned King of the Englisc at
Wintanceastre Cathedral. Upon learning that his mother, Emma of
Normandie, is plotting with Magnus the Good to deprive him of the throne,
he takes her lands and treasures, but allows her to stay.

1045 – Brychneiniog divides into the separate kingdoms of Selyf, Tewdos,

and Talgarth, which are almost immediately absorbed into ‘Deheubarth’.

Gruffydd ap Rhydderch, king of Guent and Glevissg, manages to expel

Gruffydd ap Llywelyn of Guynet and Powys from ‘Deheubarth’ and becomes
its sole king with the support of his brother Rhys.

Crinan of Dun Chaillean is killed in battle against MacBethad of Scots along

with his son Maldred, king of the Cumbri.

Edward the Confessor, king of the Englisc, marries Edith, daughter of Earl
Godwin of Westseaxna.

Harold Godwinson becomes Earl of Eastengla.

1046 – The see of the dioceses of Crediton and of St. Germans moves to
the city of Escanceaster.

Ealdred, Bishop of Weogornceastre, leads an English army in an unsuccessful

punitive raid against Gruffydd ap Rhydderch, Rhys ap Rhydderch, and
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn.
1048 – Aedh O’Connor, King of Connacht, defeats in battle the O’Flahertys,
Kings of Iar Connacht reigning in Magh Seola, and sacks their seat at Inis
Loch. Two years later, Aedh moves his seat from the ancient capital of
Cruachan to Tuam in Magh Seola, the great plain of Iar Connacht west of the
River Galway.

Edward the Confessor of the Englisc goes to war against the County of
Flanders, blockading the English Channel with a fleet based at Sandwic.

1049 – Vikings from Diflin allied with Gruffydd ap Rhydderch of Guent and
‘Deheubarth’ raid along the River Severn.

1050-1250 – 12th Century Renaissance, which among other things

spawned the genre of literature known as the Matter of Britain, or the
Arthurian cycle.

1050 – Sigurd (Siward) the Dane, Jarl of Northanhymbra, conquers the

Keswick area of Cumbria.

The dioceses of St. Germans in Cornweahle and of Crediton in Defnascir

merge as the Diocese of Escanceaster, with its see developing its own
liturgical form, the Use of Exeter, and a unique calendar. (Note: a ‘Use’ is
much different than a wholly unique ‘Rite’, like the difference between a
dialect and a language.)

MacBethad mac Findláich, King of Alba and King of Moreb, takes a

pilgrimage to Rome.

1051 – Guillaume le Bâtard, Duke of Normandie, consolidates power in

Normandie, fights for control of Maine, and lays siege to the fortresses of
Alençon and Domfront in western France.

Earl Godwin of Westseaxna refuses to “deal with” the people of Dofras whom
Edward the Confessor blames for the deaths of several members of the party
of the Norman count of Boulogne, Eustace, for which Edward exiles him and
his family, including Harold Godwinson, Earl of Eastengla.

Aelfgar, Earl of Miercna and father of Ealdgyth, wife of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn,

King of Guynet and of Powys, becomes Earl of Eastengla, while Odda of
Deerhurst becomes Earl of Sumersaetescir, Dorsaetescir, Defnascir, and
Cornweahle.
Edward the Confessor invites William the Bastard to Englaland, with the
latter afterward claiming that on this occasion the former promises to make
the him his designated heir.

Edward the Confessor abolishes the Danegeld.

1052 – Gruffydd ap Llywelyn raids Herefordscir and sacks Leominster.

Godwin of Westseaxna sails a huge fleet up the River Thames and forces
Edward the Confessor to reinstate him as Earl of Westseaxna

1053 – Harold Godwinson succeeds his father as Earl of Westseaxna. He

invites Edward the Exile, son of Edmund II Ironside, to Westseaxna to help
him take the throne of the Englisc.

1054 – Sigurd (Siward), Earl of Northanhymbra, leads a large scale invasion

of Alba in which he puts Macbethad mac Findlaech to flight, subsequently
returning Máel Coluim ap Owain as King of the Cumbrians.

The Great Schism of the Christian Church takes place when the Patriarch of
Roma and the Patriarch of Konstantinoupolis excommunicate each other.

1055 – Gruffydd ap Llywelyn conquers ‘Deheubarth’. He allies himself with

the exiled Aelfgar of Miercna, his father-in-law, against Edward the
Confessor, eventually resulting in Aelfgar’s reinstatement to the earldom
after their forces ravage Herefordshire.

Aelfgar, Earl of Miercna, is outlawed by the Witan, and after fleeing to Eire,
returns with a fleet of Viking ships with the support of his son-in-law
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, now King of Cyrmu. After the two defeat Ralph the
Timid, Earl of Herefordscir, they sack Hereford and Leominster.

Edward the Confessor makes Tostig Godwinson his Earl of Northanhymbra.

Leofgar, Bishop of Hereford, leads an army into Wales against Gruffydd ap

Llywelyn only to die in battle at Glasbury-on-Wye. Harold Godwinson, Earl
of Westseaxna, raises another army to take vengeance, but comes to terms
with the allied ‘rebels’.

1057 – MacBethad mac Findláich of Alba and of Moreb is killed at the Battle
of Lumphanan against the sons of Donnchad I and is succeeded by his
stepson Lulach, who is crowned 8 September at Scuin.
1058-1290 - The Scottish branch of the Cenel Connaill rule Alba, where
they are known as the ‘Kindred of St. Columba’.

1058 – Lulach the Unfortunate of Alba and of Moreb is assassinated at Essie

by agents of Máel Coluim Ceannmòr mac Donnchada, who then becomes
Máel Coluim III, King of Alba, while Máel Snechtai mac Lulaich succeeds his
father as King of Moreb.

Gruffydd ap Llywelyn conquers Guent and Glevissig and reunites them as

Morgannwg, becoming King of (all) Wales.

1062-1063 – Harold Godwinson, Earl of Westseaxna, conducts a series of

campaigns against Guynet.

1062 – Harold Godwinson, Earl of Westseaxna, leads a successful campaign

against Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, King of Cymru, capturing Rhuddlan Castle in
Guynet, though Gruffydd manages to escape.

1063 – Harold Godwinson, Earl of Westseaxna, invades southern Cyrmu

from the sea while his brother Tostig Godwinson, Earl of Northanhymbra,
invades the north. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, King of Cymru, flees to Eryri,
where he is betrayed and beheaded by his own people.

Afterwards, his kingdom splinters. Bleddyn ap Cynfyn becomes king of

Powys, Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn king of Guynet along with Bleddyn, Mareddud
ap Owain king of ‘Deheubarth’, and Cadwgan ap Meurig king of Guent and
overlord of Caradog ap Gruffydd (ap Rhydderch), king of Morgannwg
(Glevissig). The arrangement in the southeast does not stand for long,
however, as Caradog overthrows his overlord Cadwgan and reunites the two
realms as one.

1064-1066 – The Breton-Norman War is fought due to Guillaume le Bâtard,

Duke of Normandie, backing Riwallon I, Lord of Comburg, over the
legitimate hereditary Duke of Bretaigne, Conan II. Harold Godwinson, Earl
of Westseaxna (and future King of Englaland), fights on the side of the
Normandie. The conflict ends with Conan’s murder and succession of
Hawise, daughter of Alan III, and her husband, Hoël II (as dux jure uxoris),
ruling jointly.

1064 – Harold Godwinson of Westseaxna becomes shipwrecked on the

shores of Normandie and is taken hostage by Guy I, Count of Ponthieu.
Guillaume le Bâtard, Duke of Normandie, demands his release, after
payment of a ransom, but forces Harold to swear an oath to aid William
taking the throne of Englaland.
Harald Hardrada Sigurdsson of Northweg and Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson of
Danmark sign a peace treaty, allowing the former to pursue his ambitions on
the Englisc throne.

1065 – Harold Godwinson of Westseaxna supports rebels in Northanhymbra

against his own brother, Tostig, Earl of Northanhymbra, whom he replaces
with Morcar, brother of Edwin, Earl of Miercna, who promptly installs Oswulf
II son of Eadwulf (IV) as Earl of Bebbanburh. Tostig takes refuge with his
brother-in-law Baldwin V of Flanders.

== Norman England ==

1066-1154 - The House of Normandie ruling in England

1066 – Edward the Confessor of the Englisc dies on 5 January, leaving

vacant a disputed throne. The Witengamot names Harold Godwinson, Earl
of Westseaxna , as his successor, while an assembly of the citizens of
London name Harald III Hardrada Sigurdsson of Northweg. Also, two years
before his death, Edward had allegedly promised Guillaume of Normandie
that he would be his successor.

On the Feast of the Epiphany, the Earl of Westseaxna is crowned Harold II,
King of the Englisc, at Westmynstre following the funeral of Edward the
Confessor.

Harold II Godwinson marries Ealgyth, daughter of Aelfgar, Earl of Eastengla,

and widow of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, King of Cymru.

On 12 September, Guillaume le Bâtard, Duke of Normandie, assembles a

fleet of 700 warships at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme.

On 18 September, Harald III Hardrada Sigurdsson of Northweg lands at

Skarthisburh to begin his invasion of Englaland with Harold’s brother Tostig
as his ally.

On 20 September, Harald Hardrada defeats the forces under Edwin

Aelfgarson, Earl of Miercna, and Morcar Aelfgarson, Earl of Northanhymbra
(Northumbria), at the Battle of Fulford.

On 25 September, Harold II Godwinson of the Englisc defeats Harald

Hardrada of Northweg at the Battle of Stamford Bridge.
On 28 September, Guillaume of Normandie, a force of Normans, Flemings,
and Bretons, lands part of his forces at Pevensey and the bulk at Haestingas,
both in Suthseaxna, building wooden castles at both.

On 5 October, Harold II Godwinson of the Englisc marches south, reaching

London five days later, then after just a short time leaves again, reaching
Caldbec Hill near Hastings two days later, 13 October.

On 14 October, Harold II Godwinson takes up position atop Senlac Hill near

Hastings with an army composed entirely of infantry, mostly housecarls and
fyrd levies. Guillaume le Bâtard marches to meet him from Hastings, and
despite Harold’s troops having the better vantage, they are also exhausted
from the previous major battle and a week of rapid forced march. As a
result, the Battle of Hastings is an overwhelming victory for the invaders,
which includes the death of Harold Godwinson, King of the Englisc and last
Earl of Westseaxna, the latter title dying with him.

Godwine and Edmund, sons of Harold, flee to Laighin, where they become
guests of Diarmait mac Máel na mBó of the Uí Cheinnselaig, King of Laighin
and High King of Ireland. Edwin of Northanhymbra and Morca of Miercna
escort their mother, the newly widowed for a second time Queen Ealdgyth,
to safe haven in Ceaster.

On 15 October, the Witan elects Edgar the Aetheling, son of Edward the
Exile son of Edmund Ironside, as the new King of the Englisc, his chief
supporters being Stigand, Archbishop of Cantwareburh, Ealdred, Archbishop
of Eoforwic, Edwin, Earl of Miercna, and Morcar, Earl of Northanhymbra.
However, as Guillaume le Bâtard’s army approaches Lundenburh, resistance
collapses, and Edgar submits to William at Waelingeford, Oxnafordscir, along
with the rest of the kingdom’s leaders.

On 25 December, Guillaume le Bâtard is crowned William I, ‘King of

England’.

Regarding the regions of the island of Great Britain where Brithons are still
in control, the new Norman rulers refer to those as ‘Bretland’.

1067 – In the spring, William I of England returns to Normandie, taking with

him Edgar the Aetheling, Archbishop Stigand of Canterbury, Earl Morcar of
Northumbria, and Earl Edwin of Northumbria. His half-brother Bishop Odo of
Bayeux, now Earl of Kent, remains behind as his deputy (de facto regent).

Eustace II, Count of Boulogne, supports rebel Kentishmen in their attempt to

seize Dover Castle, and after they fail is sentenced to forfeit his English fiefs.
Oswulf of Bamburgh dies while pursuing his duties as earl and is replaced as
Earl of Bamburgh by his cousin Gospatric mac Maldred (Maldred, son of
Crinan, Abbot of Dunkeld).

Godwine and Edmund, sons of Harold, raid Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset
by sea.

Bleddyn ap Cynfyn and Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn, co-rulers of Gwynedd and

Powys, raid into Herefordshire in support of local Anglo-Saxon magnate
Eadric the Wild son of Aelfric, who is rebelling against the Normans.

Guillaume I of England appoints Gerbod the Fleming as Earl of Chester and

William fitz Osbern as Earl of Hereford, each with powers of county palatine,
becoming the first Marcher Lords on the border of Wales.

Normans led by William fitz Obern, Earl of Hereford, overrun Gwent and
drive Caradog ap Gruffydd into exile.

Gospatric, son of Maldred and Ealdgyth, becomes Earl of Bernicia after

handing over to William I of England a sizable amount of money.

1068 – Edgar the Aetheling, last remaining male member of the

Cerdicingas, leads a rising against the Norman invaders with Gospatric mac
Maldred, Earl of Bernicia, Morcar, Ealdorman of York, and Edwin, Earl of
Mercia, as allies. After its failure, Gospatric is dispossesed and his earldom
given to Robert de Comines, proto-ancestor of the de Comyns of Scotland
(Clan Cumming).

Guillaume I of England returns from Normandie and leads and army to

besiege Exeter for 18 days, ending in a negotiated surrender on generous
terms. Brian of Letau, a younger son of Odo, Count of Penthièvre, and
grandson of Geoffrey I, Duke of Bretaigne, is made the first Earl of Cornwall.
Guillaume then goes on to put down rebellions at Nottingham, Stafford,
Lincoln, and York. Edgar the Aetheling flees to the court of Máel Coluim III
Ceannmòr mac Donnchada in Alba, bringing his sister Margaret with him.

Some of the Saxons seek protection from the Normans in Powys, then
Bleddyn ap Cynvyn, by the power of those Saxons, reigns as sole king of
Gwynedd and Powys, while Meredydd ap Owain ap Edwin becomes ruler of
all ‘South Wales’ (‘Deheubarth’).

1069 – Máel Coluim III Ceannmòr mac Donnchada of Alba marries Edgar
the Aetheling’s sister, the later St. Margaret.
Northumbrians kill the new Norman Earl of Northumbria, Robert de Comines,
at Durham. Sweyn II Estridsson Ulfsson of Denmark lands at the mouth of
the Humber and joins their attack on York, in which both castles and the Old
Minster are burned.

Guillaume I of England defeats a rebellion by Edwin, Earl of Mercia, at the

Battle of Stafford.

Máel Coluim III Ceannmòr mac Donnchada of Alba joins an invasion of

England along with Sweyn II of Denmark under Edgar Aetheling’s leadership
in an unsuccessful attempt to regain his throne. Waltheof, second son of
Siward, the Earl of Northumbria (York) who died in 1055, participates, as
does Gospatric son of Maldred, who manages to retake Bamburgh and return
to being Earl of Bernicia.

The Normans under Brian of Brittany, Earl of Cornwall, bring final defeat to
the Anglo-Saxons under Godwin and Edmund, sons of Harold II, at the
Battle of Northam in Devonshire.

1069-1070 – The Harrying of the North. The forces of Guillaume le Bâtard

devastate the population and lands of Northumbria, killing 100,000 outright
and causing another 100,000 to die of exposure, starvation, and disease by
killing, destroying, and burning everything in sight.

1070 – Hereward the Wake leads a rebellion against the Normans centered
on the Isle of Ely in East Anglia, where he is joined by Morcar Aelfgarson,
former Earl of Northumbria. After being joined by the forces of the sacked
Peterborough Abbey, they make their base at Ely.

Stigand is deposed as Archbishop of Canterbury and replaced with Lanfranc

of Pavia.

Sweyn II signs a treaty with England and his forces leave the country.

Alba conquers Cumbria about this time, possibly in the wake of the death of
Malcolm mac Maldred, annexing all of its lands to the kingdom as a largely
autonomous but tax-paying entity.

Gospatric mac Maldred, Earl of Northumbria, invades ‘Cumberland’ (the

southern part of the territory of the former kingdom of Cumbria), with the
excuse that Máel Coluim III Ceannmòr mac Donnchada of Alba does not
“hold it legally” and has only gained it by conquest of arms.
Robert fitz Herluin de Conteville, Count of Mortain, becomes Earl of Cornwall.

Gruffydd ap Llywelyn’s sons Rhiwallon, Idwal, and Maredudd challenge

Bleddyn ap Cynfyn and his brother Rhiwallon, but all three die in the Battle
of Mechain along with Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn, leaving Bleddyn as sole ruler of
Gwynedd and Powys.

1071 – Alan Rufus, aka Alain le Reux, son of Odo, Count of Penthièvre and
older brother of Brian, is granted the Honour of Richmond, the largest fief in
Yorkshire, becoming Lord of Richmond, and begins building Richmond Castle
the same year. The office of Earl of Richmond becomes attached to the wide
ducal dynasty of Bretaigne and remains with it until 1547.

Guillaume I of England defeats the rebels under Hereward the Wake and
Morcar Aelfgarson.

Edwin Aelfgarson, Earl of Mercia, rebels against Guillaume I of England but is

betrayed and beheaded by his own people.

The Katepanate of Italiae, last remnant of the Imperium Romanum in the

West, comes to an end when the forces of the Basilea Rhomaion there are
overrun by the Normans.

1072-1156 – The House of Cornouaille rules the Duchy of Bretaigne.

1072 – Caradog ap Gruffudd defeats and kills Maredudd ab Owain ab Edwin,

ruler of Deheubarth, in a battle by the Rhymney River.

The see at Dorchester-upon-Thames moves to Lincoln, so that its jurisdiction

becomes the Diocese of Lincoln. In the High Middle Ages, its cathedral is the
largest in England and the third largest in all western Christendom.

The Accord of Winchester affirms the primacy of the Archbishop of

Canterbury over the Archbishop of York.

Guillaume I of England invades Alba and forces Máel Coluim III Ceannmòr
mac Donnchada to sign the Treaty of Abernethy.

Former rebel Waltheof Siwardson becomes 1st Earl of Northumberland, a

territory much reduced from its predecessor.

The former incumbent of Bernicia, Gospatric son of Maldred, flees to Alba,

then Vlaanderen. Upon his return to Alba, he is given Dunbar and lands in
the Merse, becoming in effect the first Earl of Lothian, though he does not
use that title.

1073 – The Normans invade Gwynedd and occupy Arfon.

Edgar Aetheling returns to Alba with the support of Philippe I of France to

invade England with Máel Coluim III Ceannmòr mac Donnchada, but the
plans collapse in the face of a North Sea storm. Edgar makes peace with
William I of England, who then turns his attention to the Continent.

1074 – Roger de Montgomerie, Earl of Shrewsbury, ravages ‘Deheubarth’.

1075 – The see of Elmham is moved to become the Diocese of Theford.

The see of the Diocese of Lichfield is moved to Chester due to Viking attacks.

The Diocese of Sherbourne merges with the Diocese of Ramsbury as the

Diocese of Salisbury (Sarum).

The Revolt of the Earls (also known as the Breton Revolt) is the last major
resistance against the rule of Guillaume I of England, led by Waltheof
Siwardson, 1st Earl of Northumberland, Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of
Hereford, Ralph de Gaël, Earl of East Anglia, and Ralph de Guader, Earl of
Norfolk, possibly with support from Brian of Brittany, Earl of Cornwall. The
revolt is checked by the armies of Wulfstan, Bishop of Worchester, Odo, Earl
of Kent and Bishop of Bayeux (in Normandie), and Geoffrey de Montbray,
Bishop of Coutances.

Gruffydd ap Cynan attempts to retake his family’s kingdom of Gwynedd from

Trahaearn ap Caradog, but fails and is forced to take refuge in Ireland.

Bleddyn ap Cynan is killed by Rhys ap Owain of ‘Deheubarth’ after being

betrayed by the lords of Ystrad Tywi. His sons inherit Powys, while Rhys
takes Gwynedd.

1076 – Waltheof Siwardson is beheaded at Winchester.

1077 – The first wager of battle (trial by combat) in England.

Seljuk leader Suleyman bin Kutalmish establishes the Sultanate of Rum in

Anatolia in territory taken from the Basilea Rhomain.

1078 – Battle of Goodwick Moor, where Trahaearn ap Caradog of Gwynedd

and Powys defeats Rhys ap Owain ap Edwin of ‘Deheubarth’, who is killed by
Caradog ap Gruffydd of Guent soon after in revenge for the death of his
cousin, Bleddyn ap Cynfan of Powys and Gwynedd.

Gundulf of Rochester begins building the White Tower (Old Keep) of what
becomes the Tower of London.

1079 – Guillaume I of England displaces twenty hamlets and isolated

farmsteads to establish a royal forest known as New Forest in the former
Jutish kingdom of Ytene (straddling Hampshire and Wiltshire).

1081-1086 – Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, the former alfarez to Alfonso VI of

Leon and Castile better known as El Cid (from al Seyyed), fights as general
of the forces of the Muslim rulers of Zargosa, leading Muladis (native
Iberians who have adopted Islam), Moors, Berbers, and Malians.

1081 – Battle of Mynydd Carn, in which Gruffydd ap Cynan regains control

of Gwynedd and his ally Rhys ap Tewdwr regains control of ‘Deheubarth’,
when their enemies Caradog ap Gruffydd of Gwent, Meiler ap Rhiwallon of
Powys, and Trahaearn ap Caradog of Gwynedd are all killed. The army of
the victors has Danes and Irish as well as Welsh while that of their
opponents has Norman archers.

The Normans take advantage of the death of Caradog ap Gruffydd to divide

his Gwent into the Marcher Lordships of Abergavenny, Caerleon, Monmouth,
Striguil (Chepstow), and Usk.

1085 – The Normans launch a wholesale invasion of Gwynedd and Powys.

1088 – The sons of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn—Madog, Cadwgan, & Rhiryd—expel

Rhys ap Tewdwr, king of ‘Deheubarth’, from his kingdom. Rhys flees to
refuge in Ireland and returns later in the year with a fleet of warriors from
the Kingdom of the Isles to defeat them at the Battle of Llychcrei, in which
Madog and Rhiryd are slain.

The Marcher Lords join the rebellion of the barons against William II.

Normans under Bernard de Neufmarché invade and ultimately conquer

Brycheiniog, out of which he carves the Lordship of Brecon. Bleddyn ap
Maenarch, King of Brycheiniog, flees to ‘Deheubarth’.

1089 – The see at Chester moves to Coventry, with the area it governs now
called the Diocese of Coventry and Lichfield.
1090 – The Diocese of Wells becomes the Diocese of Bath when its see
moves to the latter.

1091 – Morgannwg (Glywysing) falls to Robert fitz Hamon; he expels its

king Iestyn ap Gwrgan to create the Lordship of Glamorgan, leaving the
Lordship of Afron to Iestyn’s sons while Owain ap Caradog gets the Lordship
of Gwynllŵg.

At the Battle of St. Dogmael’s, Rhy ap Tewdwr of Deheubarth defeats the

rebels led Gruffydd ap Maredudd ap Owain and kills him.

1092 – Guillaume le Reux, King of England, invades Cumbria, takes

Cumberland and Westmoreland, and fortifies Carlisle.

1093-1155 – Norman occupation of ‘Deheubarth’

1093 – Rhys ap Tewdwr, king of ‘Deheubarth’, attacks the Norman invaders

in the Battle of Brecon, according to some sources in support of Bleddyn ap
Maenarch, but he is killed in the battle, opening the way for the Norman
conquest of ‘Deheubarth’.

Bernard de Neufmarché establishes the Lordship of Brecknock in the former

Kingdom of Brycheiniog.

1094-1099 – El Cid conquers Valencia and establishes a multi-ethnic

principality where Moor and Christians lived side-by-side.

1094 – A general revolt in Cymru, begun in Gwynedd and led by Cadwgan

ap Bleddyn, results in the expulsion of the Normans from most of the
country after the Battle of Coed Yspwys. They return the next year, but fail
to draw the Welsh into open battle.

In Ireland, the Danish kingdom of Dublin falls to Muirchertach ua Briain, king

of Munster and High King of Ireland, who expels its king, Godfred Crovan, to
his Irish Sea territories in the Kingdom of the Isles, where he dies the next
year on the island of Islay.

The see of Theford moves and its diocese becomes the Diocese of Norwich.

1095 – Basileus Alexios I Komnenos Sebastos in Konstantinoupolis asks

Pope Urban II, as a fellow Roman, for assistance against the Seljuk Turks,
and the latter holds the Council of Clermont to call up volunteers.
1096-1099 – The Duchy of Normandie, the Duchy of Bretaigne, and the
Kingdom of Alba join the Imperium Romanum and other states in the First
Crusade in the Holy Land. The Romans reconquer western Anatolia and
Nicaea, which returns to the Basilea Rhomain, and recover Antioch, Edessa,
Tripoli, and Palestine, in which the Latins erect the Kingdom of Jerusalem,
the County of Edessa, the Principality of Antioch, and the County of Tripoli.

1097 – Edgar mac Maíl Choluim overthrows his uncle Domnall Ban, King of
Alba, and his brother Edmund, Prince of Cumbria, with the help of his
brothers Alexander and David and with his uncle Edgar Aetheling of the
Cerdicingas as general. Domnall is mutilated and imprisoned while Edmund
is forced into tonsure and sent to Somerset.

1098 – Hugh d’Avranches, Earl of Chester, and Hugh de Montgomery, Earl

of Shrewsbury, move to recapture Anglesey, facing the alliance of Cadwgan
ap Bleddyn of ‘Deheubarth’ and Gruffydd ap Cynan of Gwynedd. The
outcome is determined when the Normans offer a higher price to the Danish
fleet hired by Gruffydd, and the two Welsh kings flee to Ireland.

Meanwhile, Magnus III Barefoot Olafsson, King of Norway, leads an

expedition into the Irish Sea to impose Norwegian rule on the Kingdom of
the Isles. He encounters the invasive Normans at the Battle of Anglesey
Sound, which he wins after shooting the Earl of Shrewsbury in the eye.

1099 – Edgar Aetheling and many of his companions serve the Basilea
Rhomain in the Varangian Guard for a number of years.

The victorious Crusaders establish the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Principality of

Antioch, County of Edessa, and County of Tripoli.

The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem is founded.

1100 – By this year, the Welsh Marches grow to include the earldoms of
Chester, Shrewsbury, Hereford, and Gloucester (roughly, the counties of
Cheshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, and Gloucestershire),
along with the Welsh shires of Monmouth, Flint, Montgomery, Brecknock,
Glamorgan, Radnor, Carmarthen, and Pembroke, taking in two-thirds of the
country, which is divided between Marchia Walliae and Pura Walliae.

Henri I Beauclerc of England marries Matilda (formerly Edith), daughter of

Maíl Choluim III of Alba and St. Margaret, a descendant of both the Cenel
Connaill and the Cerdicingas.
1107 – Edgar I of Alba dies, leaving in his will Strathcluid to his brother
Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim as ‘prince of the Cumbrians’.

1109 – The Diocese of Ely is created, initially covering the Isle of Ely and
Cambridgeshire.

1111 – The Synod of Fiadh-mic-Oenghusa aims to reduce the number of

sees in Ireland and begins to plan the organization of regular territorial
dioceses. Later in the year, the Synod of Usnagh divides Meath between the
bishops of Meath and of Clonmacnoise.

1113 – Death of Benedict, last hereditary Bishop of Cornouaille (Quimper).

David I, Prince of the Cumbrians, adds the lands in the Merse to his realm.

The Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem is chartered.

1114 – Henri I Beauclerc of the English and Normandie leads a three-

pronged invasion of Cymru, with the northern prong led by Alexander I mac
Malcolm, King of Alba, the center prong led by himself, and the southern
prong led by Gilbert fitz Richard de Clare, Lord of the Honour of Clare.
Gruffydd ap Cynan of Gwynedd and Owain ap Cadwgan sue for peace.

1116 – Gruffydd ap Rhys of Deheubarth rises against the Normans,

attacking the castles Llanmyddyrifi, Swansea, Camarthen, Kidwelly, and
Aberystwyth. However, the last of these proves such a disaster that his
army disperses.

1118 – Hywel ab Ithel, king of Rhôs and Rhufoniog, wins the Battle of Maes
Maen Cymro against Goronwy, Rhuiddid, and Llywarch, sons of Owain ap
Edwin, lords of Dyffryn Clwyd, but dies of wounds received in the battle six
weeks later.

The Synod of Rath Breasil attempts to establish territorial dioceses with

secular clergy as the norm in Ireland, 24 dioceses divided between the
metropolitan sees of Armagh and Cashel, both of which claim primacy.
Three already existing territorial dioceses, Dublin, Wexford, and Waterford,
are not part of the synod, already having joined themselves to Canterbury.

1119 – The Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon is founded in
Jerusalem.

1120 – The Almohad Berbers establish a Caliphate that soons covers the
remaining Muslim territories in the Iberian peninsula.
1121 – Maredudd ap Bleddyn, king of Powys, raids into Cheshire, which
provokes Henry I of England into a retaliatory invasion, forcing Maredudd
into Eryri (Snowdonia).

1124-1230 – The MacWilliams-MacHeth Wars in Scotland. The former

descend from William, son of Duncan II, while the latter descend from
Alexander mac Crinan, Maolcuim Ceanmor’s elder brother. Both William and
Alexander married into the royal dynasty of Moireabh, and the wars, often
fought with the two families as allies, are a continuation of the Fortrenn-
Circinn/Verturones-Caledonii rivalry that goes back to the 2nd century CE.

1124 – David I mac Maolcoluim usurps his nephew Maolcoluim mac

Alexander I and takes the throne of Scuin, uniting Alba with Cumbria and
the Merse as the Kingdom of Scots, with his full official title (not used in
public, however) being ‘King of the Brets & Scots’. The influx of Norman,
Breton, and Flemish nobles increases exponentially.

David promulgates the Leges inter Brettos et Scotto (‘Laws of the Brets and
Scots’), which remain the dominant law of the land until the end of the First
Scottish War of Independence in 1305, when they are abolished by Edward I
of England after his invasion, although parts of the code, notably the law of
Galanas (similar to eraic in Ireland or weregild in England) continue in effect
until the end of the 16th century. And while monarchs are commonly called
‘King of Scots’, their full official title is ‘Rex Brettorum et Scotorum’ through
the reign of Alexander III, though the title is never used in public.

1125 – The Lordship of Galloway is annexed to Scotland.

Cadwallon ap Gruffydd of Gwynedd kills his maternal uncles Meilyr, Rhiryd,

amd Gronw, sons of Owain, and annexes their cantref of Dyffryn Clwyd from
Powys into his own kingdom.

1126 – Edgar the Atheling, last of the Cerdicingas in the male line, dies in
Scotland.

1130-1134 - Maolcoluim mac Alasdair rises against David I in Alba with the
support of Oengus mac mheic Lulach, king of Moreb. After David’s Mercian
general, Edward Siwardson, defeats the Moravian forces, William fitz
Duncan, son of Donnchad II and son-in-law of Oengus mac mheic Lulach,
becomes ruler of Moreb and progenitor of the MacWilliams.

1130 – The Normans in southern Italy raise their county into the Kingdom
of Sicily, which lasts until 1816 when its becomes part of the Kingdom of the
Two Sicilies, with its seat at Naples, though the realm falls to the House of
Hohenstaufen (Swabia) rulers of the Imperium Romanum Sacrum in 1198.

1132 – Cadwallon ap Gruffydd of Gwynedd is killed at the Battle of

Nanheudwy against the men of Powys.

1133 – The Diocese of Carlisle is created out of the Diocese of Durham.

1135 – Henry I of the English dies, intending to have his daughter Matilda,
Empress of the Imperium Romanum Sacrum and Countess of Anjou, succeed
him, but she is usurped by her cousin Estienne de Blois, Count of Boulogne.

1136 – Gruffydd ap Rhys, King of ‘Deheubarth’, joins Owain ap Gruffydd,

heir of Gwynedd, and his brother Cadwaladr in a general rising against the
Normans, which begins with the killing of Richard fitz Gilbert de Clare, Lord
of Ceredigion. The revolt includes the Battle of Llwchwr and the Battle of
Crug Mawr. They drive the occupiers from all of Cymru except Carmarthen,
though they take that the next year. Gwynedd annexes Ceredigion.

1138-1153 – The Anarchy. The Kingdom of England and the Duchy of

Normandie are consumed by civil war between Empress Matilda, daughter of
Henri I Beauclerc, and Estienne de Blois, King of the English, who usurped
the throne of England upon Henri I’s death. Matilda is supported by her
half-brother Robert of Gloucester and her uncle David I of Scots. The
fighting ends with Stephen accepting Matilda’s son by Geoffrey of Anjou,
Henry FitzEmpress, as as his designated heir in the Treaty of Wallingford.

1140 – Somerled mac Gillebride, grandson of Gilledomnan of the Isles who

was expelled to Ireland, becomes king of Kintyre by marrying Ragnailt,
daughter of Olaf, king of Mann and the Isles.

Turlough O’Connor, king of Connacht, makes himself Ard Ri Eireann.

1141 – Baldwin de Redvers becomes the first Earl of Devon.

Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd joins Ranulph de Geron, Earl of Chester, in an attack

against Lincoln.

1142 – The Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus is founded in Jerusalem.

1143 - Owain Gwynedd strips his brother Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd of his

lands in Ceredigion over his involvement in the murder of Anarawd ap
Gruffydd ap Rhys, a prince of ‘Deheubarth’.
1146 – Owain Gwynedd (ap Gruffydd ap Cynan) captures Mold Castle
(Bailey Hill, Flintshire).

1147-1149 – The Kingdom of England, the Duchy of Normandie, the Duchy

of Bretaigne, and the Kingdom of Scots join the Imperium Romanum and
other states in the Second Crusade, which attempts to recover the County of
Edessa, but fails abysmally in that goal.

1147 – The conservative Almohads replace the Almoravids on the Iberian

peninsula.

1150 – Owain Gwynedd captures Rhuddlan Castle (in Denbighshire) and the
surrounding lands of Tegeingl, which encroach on the borders of Powys.
Madog ap Maredudd, king thereof, with assistance of Ranulf de Gernon, Earl
of Chester, gives him battle at Coleshill, but is forced to retreat.

1152 – The Synod of Kells establishes 32 dioceses in Ireland, including

those formerly subject to Canterbury (Dublin and Waterford), distributed
among four provinces headed by Dublin, Cashel, Tuam, and Armagh, the
last of which is given the primacy of all Ireland.

1154-1242 – The ‘Angevin Empire’ (known in France as ‘Plantagenet

Empire’) in England, Anjou, Normandy, Ireland, Gascony, Guyenne, Poitou,
Maine, Touraine, Saintonge, Marche, Perigord, Limousin, Nantes, and
Quercy. Client realms include Wales, Britanny, Cornwall, and Toulouse.

1154 – Estienne (Stephen) I of the English dies and is succeeded by Henry

FitzEmpress as Henry II, first of the Angevins, the House of Anjou.

1155 – Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd is driven from Powys into exile.

Pope Adrian IV, the first and only English Patriarch of Rome, issues a Papal
Bull granting Henry II of the English lordship over Ireland.

Turlough O’Connor, High King of Ireland, King of Connacht, and King of

Teora Connacht, assembles the most massive fleet in the history of Ireland
to invade the kingdom of Ailech and bring it to heel. The northerners defend
themselves with a fleet hired from Godred Olafsson of Mann and the Isles,
Fergus of Galloway, and Somerled of Kintyre, led by Mac Skellig. After
plundering most of Tir Connaill then Inishowen, O’Connor’s fleet meets the
Hebrideans off the peninsula and begins a naval battle that lasts two days.
They defeat the mercenaries, but have so many casualties, including their
commander, Rory Mor O’Dowd, that they have to return south.
1156-1196 – The House of Penthièvre rules the Duchy of Bretaigne.

1156 – After the major but mostly indecisive Battle of the Epiphany against
Godred, Somerled mac Gillebride, King of Kintyre, becomes King of the
South Isles when Godred agrees to cede the islands south of Ardnamurchan:
Islay, Jura, Mull, Tiree, Coll, Iona, Arran, and Bute.

Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn of Aileach becomes Ard Ri Eireann upon the

death of his old nemesis, Turlough O’Connor.

1157 – Henry II of the English leads a massive invasion of Perfeddwlad in

Gwynedd (Rhôs, Rhufoniog, Dyffryn Clywd, Tegeingl; basically, Gwynedd Is
Conwy), including one-third of the knights of England and a number of
infantry, while Henry FitzRoy, Lord of Narbeth Castle (Henry I’s natural son
by Nest ferch Rhys ap Tewdwr of ‘Deheubarth’) leads a fleet to occupy Ynys
Môn and cut off Owain’s supplies. FitzRoy’s expedition meets with disaster,
in which he is killed. Henry II’s land forces are defeated at the Battle of
Ewloe. However, negotiations lead to Owain ap Gruffydd withdrawing west
of River Clwyd and abandoning Rhuddlan and Tegeingl.

1158 – Somerled drives Godred from his seat on the Isle of Mann to
become king of Mann and all the Isles as well as lord of Kintyre.

1159 – Rhys ap Gruffydd of ‘Deheubarth’ attacks Anglo-Norman castles and

settlements in southern Cymru.

1160 – Madog ap Maderudd of Powys dies and his son and heir Llywelyn is
killed soon after, so the kingdom is divided. North of River Rhaeadr
the cantref of Penllyn goes to his illegitimate son Owain Brogyntyn; the
cantrefs of Maelor and Iâl go to Gruffydd ap Madog; and the cantref of
Swydd y Waun goes to Owain Fychan ap Madog. South of the River
Rhaeadr, the cantrefs of Cyfeiliog, Ystlyg, and Caereinion go to Owain ap
Gruffydd, Madog’s nephew. Cantref Mochnant straddling River Rhaedr goes
to Iorwerth Goch ap Maredudd, Madog’s half-brother.

Owain ap Guffudd of Gwynedd is soon able to force Owain Brogyntyn to

become his vassal, and thus adds Penllyn to his kingdom.

1162 – Rhys ap Gruffydd of ‘Deheubarth’ captures Llandovery (in

Carmarthenshire)

1163 – Henry II of the English invades ‘Deheubarth’ and captures Rhys ap

Gruffydd, taking him to England. Rhys is released with his lands given back
the next year after he promises to pay homage.
1164 – Death of Somerled in Renfrew at the hands of the House of Stewart
after he comes ashore under a flag of truce. Godred regains his pre-1158
territories.

1165 – Gwynedd, Powys, ‘Deheubarth’, and the smaller realms form an

alliance against England. Henry II of England declares war and invades, but
is force to withdraw.

1166 – Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn dies, and Ruaidhri O Conchobhair, king

of Connacht, becomes Ard Ri h-Eireann. Ruaidhri and his allies, Tiernan
O’Rourke of Beifne and the Vikings of Dublin, depose Muirchertach’s former
ally Diarmud MacMurrough of Leinster, who seeks assistance among the
Cambro-Normans in Cymru.

Rhys ap Gruffydd of ‘Deheubarth’ captures Cardigan Castle.

Owain ap Maredudd and Owain ap Madog take Mochnant from Iorwert Goch
and divide it between them. Owain ap Maredudd, joins the lands south of
River Rhaeadr (Mochnant Uwch Rhaeadr, Cyfeiliog, Ystlyg, Caereinion) to
form Powys Cyfeiliog, later to be known as Powys Wenwynwyn after his son.

1167 – Owain Gwynedd recaptures Rhuddlan Castle and Basingwerk, and

advances as far as River Dee.

1169 – Armies of Cambro-Normans under Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of

Pembroke, also known as Strongbow, invade Ireland, taking Waterford,
Wexford, and Dublin at the invitation of Diarmud, former king of Leinster, to
help him regain his throne. MacMurrough is reinstated as king of Leinster
and Strongbow marries his daughter, Aoife of Leinster.

1170 – According to Welsh legend, Madoc ap Owain Gwynedd sails to the

Americas, replicating the feat of the Irish St. Brendan the Navigator six and
a half centuries earlier and preceding that of the Templar pilot Cristofo
Colombo by three centuries and twenty-two years. This story later plays a
major part in England’s case against Spain for prior discovery, and therefore
ownership, of the New World.

1171 – Henry II of the English makes Rhys ap Gruffydd of ‘Deheubarth’ his

Justiciar of South Wales.

Diarmuid dies and Strongbow becomes king of Leinster.

1172 - Henry II of the English, worried about Strongbow’s growing power,
invades Ireland in force and secures submission of all the Hiberno-Norman
lords and many of the Gaelic ones, then proclaims himself ‘Lord of Ireland’.

1173-1174 – Revolt against Henry II of the English, Normandie, and Anjou

by his wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitane, three of his sons (Henry the Young
King, Richard, & Geoffrey), and numerous Anglo-Norman, Norman, Angevin,
Poitevin, and Breton lords, allied with the Kingdom of Scots. It ends after
the defeat of the Scottish army and the capture of William the Lyon at the
Battle of Alnwick.

1175 – William de Broase, Lord of Bramber, carries out the Abergavenny

Massacre of Seisyll ap Dyfnwal of Castell Arnallt and other Welsh leaders to
his castle for a Christmas feast, at which he has his men murder them all.

1185-1550 – The Medieval Inquisition.

1185 – Welsh raiders sack Cardiff.

John, younger brother of Richard I Coeur de Lion, King of the English, is

made direct ruler of Ireland but stays only eight months, leaving under
threat of a revolt.

In Bretagne, the ‘Assize of Count Geoffroi’ introduces the right of

primogeniture in the duchy, ending the division of fiefs among after the
death of the holder. It lists Bretaigne’s nine baronies at this time: Ancenis,
Châteaubriant, Retz, Rohan, Penthièvre, Fougères, La Rouche-Bernard,
Vitré, Léon, and Pontchâteau.

The Second Bulgarian Empire frees itself from the Basilea Rhomain and
reasserts itself as master of the Balkans, this time even more so.

1187 – Muslim forces under Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub (Saladin), Sultan
of Egypt under the Abbasid Caliphate, conquer the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Owain Fychan dies, and his lands, Swydd y Waun and Mochnant Is Rhaeadr,
pass to Gruffydd ap Madog, who joins them to his lands of Maelor and Iâl to
create the principality of Powys Fadog.

1189-1192 – The Kingdom of England, the Duchy of Normandie, the Duchy

of Bretaigne, and the Kingdom of Scots join the Imperium Romanum and
other states in the Third Crusade attempting to restore the Kingdom of
Jerusalem to its full territories, but fails except for the recapture of Acre.
1189 – Henry II dies, and is succeeded as King of the English by his son
Richard I Coeur de Lion, to whom Rhys ap Gruffydd feels he owes no fealty
and so begins taking Norman territory and castles again.

1190 – The Order of the Hospital of Saint Mary of Jerusalem is founded. Its
members become better known as the Teutonic Knights.

1194 – Battle of Aberconwy between Llywelyn ap Ioreth, aided by cousins

Gruffudd ap Cynan and Maredudd ap Cynan, and Daffydd ap Owain Gwynedd
for control of the kingdom of Gwynedd.

1196-1203 – The House of Plantagenet rules the Duchy of Bretaigne in the

person of Arthur I, son of Duchess Constance and Geoffrey II, Duke of
Bretaigne jure uxoris and 3rd Earl of Richmond as the fourth son of Henry II
King of England.

1196 – Former Crusader William Fitz Osbert, better known as William

Longbeard, leads a revolt of the poor against a group of corrupt rich
Londoners that include his own brother. Longbeard travels to Normandy to
make clear to Richard his loyalty to him, but Hubert Walter, Archbishop of
Canterbury, has him arrested, tried for disturbing public order, and hanged
after being dragged through the streets. His followers promptly declare him
a martyr.

1197 – Rhys ap Gruffydd of ‘Deheubarth’, undisputed leader of Pura Wallia,

dies, and his realm splits among his warring sons.

The Diocese of Bath becomes the Diocese of Glastonbury when its see
moves to the latter, known as the Diocese of Bath and Glastonbury until
1219, when it became the Diocese of Bath. Since 1245, it has been the
Diocese of Bath and Wells.

1198 – Gwenwynwyn ab Owain, Prince of Powys Cyfeiliog, besieges

Paincastle, held by William de Braoise, Lord of Bramber. Llywelyn ap Ioreth
lends support, but Gwenwynwyn’s forces are defeated heavily by an army
led by Geoffrey Fitz Peter, Earl of Essex and Justiciar of England.

Death of Ruaidri mac Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair of Connacht, last of the old

High Kings of Ireland.

The Armenian principality of Cilicia is raised to a kingdom.

1199 – Richard I Coeur de Lion of the English is shot in the shoulder with a
quarrel, a crossbow bolt, and the wound becomes gangrenous, leading to his
death. His brother succeeds him as John I, King of England, a title used by
English monarchs thereafter (except for the queens).

1200-1240 – Reign of Llywelyn Fawr ap Ioreth over Gwynedd and Cymru.

1200 – Treaty of Le Goulet between John I of England and Philip II of

France, ending their war over the Duchy of Normandie. In it, Philip supports
John’s claim to the kingship of England, abandoning his previous support for
that of Arthur I of Bretaigne, and in return gains suzerainty over the
continental lands of the Angevin Empire. The Channel Isles remain with the
English Crown, and the Duchy of Aquitaine is not included in the cessions as
Eleanor, Duchess in her own right and John’s mother, still lives.

Gruffud ap Cynan of Gwynedd dies, leaving Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, known to

history as Llywelyn Fawr, as sole master of the realm.

1202-1214 - Anglo-French War, between France and England, Normandie,

and the Imperium Romanum. During the war, England loses Normandie to
France, and the Imperium Romanum gives up its quest to reunite the
Carolingian Empire by annexing the former Francia Occidentalis.

1202 - The Fourth Crusade begins in 1202 with the intention of

reconquering the Holy Land, but instead attacks the Basilea Rhomain.

1203-1213 – The House of Penthièvre again rules the Duchy of Bretaigne.

1204 – After the capture of Konstantinoupolis, the Crusaders divide the

conquered territory into the possessions of the Republic of Venice (primarily
Crete) and those of the Imperium Romaniae (Latin Empire) and its vassel
states: Kingdom of Thessalonika, Principality of Achaea, Duchy of Athens,
and Duchy of Naxos. Rhodes becomes the international headquarters of the
Knights Hospitaller.

The surviving ‘Greek’ portions of the empire include the Empire of Nicaea,
the Empire of Trebizond, and the Despotate of Epirus.

1205 – Llywelyn Fawr of Gwynedd marries Joan, natural daughter of King

John of England.

1208 – Gwenwynwyn ab Owain of Powys Cyfeiliog begins attacking the

Welsh Marches and King John of England takes him prisoner, conficating his
lands. Meanwhile, Llywelyn Fawr seizes Cerdigion, Aberystwyth, and Powys
Cyfeiliog. Two years later, King John restores his lands in the Marches and
convinces Llywelyn to give him back Powys Cyfeiliog.
1209 – Llywelyn Fawr accompanies John I of England on a campaign in
Scotland against William the Lyon.

1210 – Llywelyn Fawr forms an alliance with William de Braose, Lord of

Bramber, which brings him into conflict with John I.

1211 – John I of England invades Gwynedd, then withdraws, reinvading a

little later. The other Welsh rulers turn on Llywelyn Fawr the second time,
and Llywelyn surrenders, forced to give up the Perfeddwlad as part of the
terms of peace.

1212 – Llywelyn Fawr ap Iorweth of Gwynedd leads an uprising of the Welsh

against John I of England along with Gwenwynwyn of Powys Cyfeiliog,
Maedog ap Gruffydd Maelor of Powys Fadog, Mailgun ap Rhys of Ceredigion
(western ‘Deheubarth’), and Rhys Grg ap Rhys of Ystrad Tywi (‘eastern
Deheubarth’). He also wins support from Pope Innocent III, who has
already placed the kingdom of England under interdict. Within two months,
Llywelyn is able to win back all of Gwynedd but the castles of Deganwy and
Rhuddlan, which he succeeds in taking the next year.

The ‘Children’s Crusade’ takes place this year.

1213-1221 – The House of Thouars rules the Duchy of Bretaigne.

1213 - John I Plantagenet, King of England, submits to the universal rule of

the See of Rome.

1214 – Outcome of the Battle of Bouvines secures the French crown’s

sovereignty over Normandie and Bretaigne, thus severing the latter’s
connection with Cornwall once and for all, along with ending the Anglo-
French War.

A joint invasion by Domnall Ban mac Domnaill of the MacWilliams, Cinaed of

the MacHeths, and an Irish prince is defeated by Ferchar mac in t-Sagairt,
Abbot of Applecross, who becomes Mormaer of the new territory of Ross.

1215-1217 - First Barons’ War

1215 – With the support of Prince Louis of France and Alexander II, King of
Scots, the twenty-five ‘Barons of Runnymede’ seize London and force John I,
King of England, to sign the Magna Carta Liberatum drafted by Stephen
Cardinal Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury; however, he breaks his word
almost as soon as hostilities cease, as do the Barons of Runnymede, and
Pope Innocent III annuls the charter. These events lead to the First Barons’
War (1215-1217).

A group of Norman barons calling themselves the ‘Army of God and the Holy
Church’ led by Robert Fitzwalter rebel against King John of England after he
reneges on the promises he made at Runnymede. They invite Prince Louis,
son and heir of Philip Augustus of France, to intervene and take over the
throne, which he does, not only sending troops but coming himself.
Although Louis comes to control nearly all the country, save for two castles,
the reason for the nobles support of him dies along with John in late 1216,
and the war ends early the next year with the Treaty of Lambeth.

Llywelyn Fawr ap Iorweth, King of Gwenydd, allies with the rebellious barons
and seizes the castles of Cardigan, Carmarthen, Kidwelly, and several other
places, though mainly for his own benefit.

Ednyfed Fychan ap Cynwrig, husband of Gwenllian, daughter of Rhys ap

Gruffydd, deceased last undisputed king of ‘Deheubarth’, becomes Seneschal
to Llywelyn Fawr.

1216 – Llywelyn Fawr ap Iorweth of the House of Aberffraw, king of

Gwenydd, becomes Prince of Cymru in all but name at the Council of
Aberdyfi, acknowledged as such by ‘Deheubarth’, Powys, and the rest of
Pura Wallia. However, he himself uses the title ‘Prince of North Wales’.

1217-1221 – The Fifth Crusade, by the kings of Austria, Hungary,

Jerusalem, and Antioch, attempting to take back Jerusalem.

1219 – Pierre I Mauclerc de Dreux, Duke of Bretagne jure uxoris,

participates in the capture of Marmand, after which all inhabitants are
slaughtered save the commander and his knights, and the Siege of
Toulouse, which is abandoned after six weeks, both part of the Albigensian
Crusade in the Languedoc.

1221-1341 – The House of Dreux rules the Duchy of Bretaigne.

1223 – Marcher Lord Hubert de Burgh retakes Carmarthen, Cardigan, and

Montgomery.

Fearchar mac an t-Sagairt, abbot of Applecross, delivers a final defeat to the

MacHeths, sending them north, where they become the Mackays of
Strathnaver.
1224 – The ‘Greek’ Despotate of Epirus conquers the ‘Latin’ Kingdom of
Thessalonika.

1228-1229 – The Sixth Crusade, by Frederick II of the Imperium Romanum

Sacrum.

1228 – First mention of Robin Hood of Barnsdale in Yorkshire.

1230 – Llywelyn Fawr begins using the title Prince of North Wales and Lord
of Snowdonia.

After the defeat of Gillescop, last of the MacWilliam claimants, Alexander II

King of Scots orders that his surviving three-year old daughter be brought to
the town of Forfar. Following the king’s explicit instructions, William Comyn,
Earl of Buchan and Justiciar of Scotland, takes the toddler into the town
square in full view of the people, and reads the king’s command for the little
girl’s fate. Finished, Comyn grabs the innocent girl’s ankles and dashes her
head against the town pillar, destroying the poor young innocent girl in a
smear of brains and blood and crushed bone, as per the royal instructions.

1233 – A Spanish document mentions an estate in Castro de Rey, Lugo,

“belonging to those men called Bretons”.

1234 – Death of Alan, last of the independent Lords of Galloway.

1235 - Gille Ruadh leads the Galwegian Revolt in the name of Thomas mac
Alan against the takeover and partion of Galloway by Alexander II.

1237 – The Hebrides and other Scottish isles break away from Mann to
become an independent kingdom.

1238-1492 – The Emirate of Granada of the Nasrid dynasty, at least

nominally vassal to the Crown of Castilla.

1238 – Mohammad I ibn Nasr establishes the Emirate of Granada.

The Perateia district of the Empire of Trebizond on Crimea is subjugated by

the Mongols and cut off from its parent. In its place the Principality of
Gothia (Theodoro) springs up.

1240 – Dafydd ap Llywelyn becomes Prince of Cymru upon the death of his
father Llywelyn Fawr ap Iorwerth.
Richard Plantagenet, Earl of Cornwall, leads a dozen English barons and
several hundred knights to the Holy Land as part of the Baron’s Crusade
(1239-1241), supported by the Duchy of Bretaigne and other states, where
the activities involve negotiation of a truce, exchange of prisoners, and the
refortification of Ascalon and Safed

1241 – Henry III of England invades Wales, and Dafydd, Prince of Wales, is
forced to surrender in the Treaty of Gwerneigron, giving up control over the
Perfeddwlad (more or less Flintshire), which the English reoccupy.

1244 – Dafydd Prince of Cymru declares war, and his forces eventually
recover the Perfeddwlad.

1246 – Dafydd ap Llywelyn dies, and his realm is shared between Owain
Goch and Llywelyn, sons of his half-brother Gruffydd, with the latter bearing
the title Prince of Cymru, known as Llywelyn the Last (Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf
in Welsh). Marcher lord Nicolas de Molis invades, defeating the Welsh forces
and forcing them out of the Perfeddwlad in the Treaty of Woodstock.

Ednyfed Fychan ap Cynwrig dies, and his second son by his second wife,
Gruffydd, becomes Seneschal of Gwynedd.

1248-1254 – The Seventh Crusade, by Louis IX of France, attempting to

relieve the Knights Templar in the Levant.

1252 – Owain’s and Llywelyn’s younger brother Dafydd comes of age and
demands a share of the principality, which leads to a civil war which ends
the next year with Llywelyn as sole Prince of Cymru.

1254-1450 – Gaelic Resurgence in Ireland, in which Gaelic culture and

rulers roll back English influence until it is confined mostly inside The Pale,
with most of the Hiberno-Norman houses ‘Beyond The Pale’ going native and
adopting a Gaelic culture.

1255 – The Battle of Bryn Derwin, at which Llywelyn the Last defeats his
brothers Dafydd and Owain to become sole ruler of a greatly truncated
Gwynedd.

1256 – Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Cymru, annexes the Perfeddwlad,

Brycheiniog, Maelienydd, Gwrtheyrnion, and Builth.

1257 – Battle of Cadfan, fought at Coed Llathen and Cymerau by Llywelyn

the Last, Maredudd ap Rhys, and Maredudd ap Owain against an English
invasion force led by Stephen Bauzan, Lord of Breigan and Llansannor and
Seneschal of Glamorgan for Prince Edward, Earl of Chester, to restore Rhys
Fychan, an ally of Prince Edward, to his lands. Rhys Fychan slips away from
the invading army and submits to Llywelyn, however, fortunate for him since
the battle is a resounding victory for the Welsh.

1258-1260 – Reign of Brian Ua Neill as Ard Ri Eireann.

1258 – Llywelyn ap Gruffydd begins using the title Prince of Cymru, as

agreed by his Welsh supporters and the de Comyn family in Scotland with
their allies and supporters.

By this time, Goronwy ap Ednyfed, eldest son of his father’s second wife, is
Seneschal of Gwynedd.

A group of seven barons under the leadership of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl
of Leicester, force Henry III of England to sign the Provisions of Oxford,
handing over much of his power and authority to a council of fifteen nobles,
under the supervision of Parliament, which is to meet three times a year.
These provisions are reinforced and expanded the next year by twenty-four
barons in the Provisions of Westminster.

1261 – The ‘Greek’ Empire of Nicaea reconquers the ‘Latin’ Imperium

Romaniae and reestablishes the Basilea Rhomaion.

1263-1267 - Second Barons’ War. Waged in response to Henry III’s

recalcitrance, de Montfort leads his fellow barons in a rising against the
crown. After Henry and his son Edward (later to become Edward I of
England) are captured at the Battle of Lewes, England is governed without a
monarch until Edward escaped fifteen months later and begins the ultimately
successful drive to restore his father to the throne.

1263 – Battle of Largs between the Scots under Alexander II, King of the
Brets and Scots, and the forces of Hakon Hakonson, King of Norway, and
overlord of Mann and the Isles. Though indecisive, it leads to the cession of
Mann to the Scottish crown two years later upon the death of Magnus
Olafsson, last ruler from the Ui Imhoir.

1265 – Battle of Evesham, at which Prince Edward defeats and kills Simon
de Montfort the Elder.

1267 – In the Treaty of Montgomery, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd obtains

recognition of his title Prince of Cymru, though he remains subject to the
Edward I of England as his feudal overlord.
1268 – Goronwy ap Ednyfed dies, and his half-brother Tudur, son of their
father’s first wife, becomes Seneschal of Gwynedd. His son, Tudur Hen ap
Goronwy, becomes patriarch of the Tudors of Penmynydd.

1270 – The Eight Crusade, by Louis IX of France, targeting Tunis in North

Africa.

1271-1272 – The Kingdom of England joins the Ninth Crusade, led by

Edward Plantagenet, Duke of Gascony and future Edward I of England,
against the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, in attempted coordination with the
Mongol Ilkhanate.

1277 – In the First Welsh War of Independence, Edward I of England

declares Llywelyn, Prince of Cymru, a rebel, because the latter had stayed
close to the de Montfort family and married Eleanor, Simon’s daughter. At
the end of the resulting invasion, Llywelyn’s authority is restricted to
Gwynedd Uwch Conwy (west of River Conwy) in the Treaty of Aberconwy.

(Note: Gwynedd Is Conwy, the land east of River Conwy, is also known as Y
Perfeddwlad, ‘The Middle Land’, being between Gwynedd’s core and the rival
realm of Powys.)

Also, Powys Fadog passes to the English and is broken up into lordships.

1282 – The abuses of Edward’s royal officers in Wales lead to another

uprising. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd of Cymru dies in the Battle of Orewin Bridge
and is succeeded as Prince of Cymru by his brother Dafydd.

1283 – A war between England and Cymru ends with the conquest of the
latter by Edward I of England and the execution of Dafydd ap Gruffydd by
hanging, drawing, and quartering, an execution devised by Edward
especially for him. Edward incorporates Cymru as ‘Wales’ into England by
statute the following year.

1284 – In the Statute of Rhuddlan (a royal ordinance of Edward I of

England, not an Act of Parliament), the kingdom of Gwynedd is divided into
Caernarfonshire, Menrionethshire, Anglesey, and Flintshire. The first three
are placed under a Justiciar for North Wales, a Chamberlain of North Wales,
and an Exechequer of North Wales. Flintshire is placed under the Justiciar of
Chester based in the County Palatinate of Cheshire. The former honours of
Cardigan and Carmarthen become Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire under
the Jusitciar of South Wales at Carmarthen. The rest of Cymru, now
officially ‘Wales’, is divided into Marcher Lordships.
1286-1290 – The House of Sverre in Scotland. Margaret, Maid of Norway,
is titular Queen of Scots, but the realm is governed by Guardians. An infant
upon becoming queen, she dies at sea on the voyage to Scotland to be
enthroned at her coronation.

1286 – Death of Alexander III, last ‘King of the Brets and Scots’ from the
‘House of Dunkeld’, the Cenel Conaill in Scotland.

1291 – Enraged at the death of his father, Malcolm, at the hands of English
‘peace-keeping’ troops, William Wallace of Ellerslie leaves the seminary in
St. Andrews and begins a guerrilla campaign based in Selkirk Forest.

The Mamluk Sultanate captures Acre, the last territory of the Crusaders in
the Levant, ending the Kingdom of Jerusalem, though the monarchs of
Cyprus claim the title of King (Queen) of Jerusalem until their own fall (to
Venice) in 1489.

1292-1296 - The House of Balliol rules Alba.

1292 – John Balliol, Lord of Galloway, is crowned King of Scots at Scone,

the last to be crowned on the Stone of Destiny.

1293 – The Diocese of Durham becomes the County Palatinate of Durham.

The Third Swedish Crusade, this time into southern Finland against the
Karelians.

1294 – Leading a rising planned months in advance that launches across

Wales simultaneously on Michaelmas, Madog ap Llywelyn of a cadet branch
of the House of Aberffraw becomes Prince of Wales. A primary reason for
the revolt is the refusal of the Welsh to go to war in Scotland.

1295 – The Welsh rising ends at the Battle of Maes Moydog on 5 March, and
while Madog is captured later, he is not executed, only kept prisoner. In
Wales this is marked as the beginning of the Gwenoliaid Cymreig, the ‘Welsh
Swallows’, mercenaries in Europe, particularly in France and Flanders, but
also in Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, later even in England, like the
Wild Geese of the Irish and the Scots.

1296-1304 – First War of Scottish Independence.

1296 – Sack of Berwick. Battle of Dunbar. Edward I of England removes

the Stone of Destiny from Caislean Credi (Moot Hill) and takes it to
Westminister Abbey.
1297 – Andrew Murray of Petty escapes from Chester Castle and begins a
rising against the English in the north to match that of Wallace in the south.
Battle of Stirling Bridge. Wallace and Murray are proclaimed Guardians of
Scotland; Murray dies shortly thereafter.

1298 – Battle of Falkirk. Wallace resigns and resumes the guerrilla warfare
that he had begun earlier in 1291, while the armies of the great lords fight
more conventional warfare.

1302 – The island of Arwad off the coast of Syria, the very last stronghold
of the Knights Templar as well as of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the Levant,
falls to the Mamluks, who despite promises of safe conduct massacre all the
bowmen and Syrian helpers and imprison the Templars.

1303 - Scottish forces led by John Comyn, Simon Fraser, Henry Sinclair,
William Wallace, and former Templar knight Prior Abernethy, inflict a
devastating defeat upon English forces led by John Seagrave at the Battle of
Roslin, which takes place in three stages, with the Scots each time
obliterating a force equal in size to their own.

1305-1378 - The ‘Babylonian Captivity of the Church’, with the move of the
Papacy to Avignon, France.

1305 – Wallace is betrayed by his servant by Jack Short, captured at

Robroyston, outside of Glasgow, by John de Mentieth, taken to London to be
‘tried’, then hanged, drawn, and quartered at Smithfield Market.

1306-1328 – Second War of Scottish Independence.

1306 – Robert the Bruce is crowned King of Scots at Scone, but is later
defeated at the Battle of Methven, after which he takes up Wallace’s guerrilla
tactics for some time.

1307 – Newly enthroned Edward II of England makes his Gascon favorite

Piers Gaveston Earl of Cornwall.

Philip IV of France arrests all the Knights Templar in his kingdom and begins
torturing false confessions out of them. During their inquisition, several of
the Templars are recorded to have confessed to following ‘Bafomet’, later
rendered Baphomet, with the accounts giving various descriptions of this
demon or false god; Bafomet, however, is a French corruption of the name
Muhammad dating back to the early 13th century.
The Seljuk Sultanate of Rum falls to the Ottomans.

1310 – The English province of the Knights Templar, up to this point one of
England’s strongest allies in its fight to re-subdue Scotland, is dissolved,
with Edward II of England seizing their assets in England and Ireland; a
large number of the Templars join the Scottish cause. There, according to
popular legend, they merge with their sister Knights Hospitaller as the ‘Order
of St. John and the Temple’ until the Reformation.

1311 – Discontent with setbacks in the war against Scotland and hatred of
his favorite Piers Gaveston lead a number of barons and prelates forcing
Edward II to sign the Ordinances of 1311. The most important of these is
channeling funds from the royal household to the Exchequer. The twenty-
one signatories and guarantors are known as the ‘Lords Ordainer’.

1312 – Philip IV of France intimidates Pope Clement V into disbanding the

entire Templar order and turning over its assets and surviving personnel to
the Hospitallers, though the order still survives in Portugal as the Knights of
Christ and in Aragon as the order of Montessa (as well as in Scotland, if
legend is true).

1314 – Battle of Bannockburn. Fall of Stirling Castle. For all intents and
purposes, this is the end of English domination of Scotland until 1603.

Revolt in Glamorgan while Edward II is busy in Scotland.

Jacques de Molay and other senior Templar leaders in France are burned at
the stake.

1315-1318 – Edward Bruce, brother of Robert of Scots, is made High King

of Ireland by all the major Gaelic ruling families and several of the Hiberno-
Norman ones, his reign ending with his life at the Battle of Faughart in
County Oriel (later Co. Louth).

1316 – Llywelyn Bren, lord of Senghenydd, leads an uprising in Wales

against Payn de Tuberville, administrator of the Welsh holdings of the
Earldom of Gloucester. After the Marcher Lords muster in force, he
surrenders, asking pardon for his followers. Despite the entreaties of
Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, and Roger Mortimer, Earl of March,
his jailer Hugh Despenser the Younger, Royal Chamberlain and Lord of
Glamorgan, has him hanged, drawn, and quartered.
1320 – Declaration of Arbroath by the “Community of the Realm” of
Scotland to Pope John XXII of unconditional support for Robert the Bruce as
King of Scots.

1321-1322 – The Despenser War, a rebellion against Edward II of England,

largely over his new favorite Hugh le Despenser the Younger, heir of the Earl
of Winchester. The rebels led by Marcher Lords Roger de Mortimer and
Humphrey de Bohun are known as the ‘Contrariants’. It ends in defeat for
the rebels at the Battle of Boroughbridge in Yorkshire, northwest of York,
with the execution of many, though Roger Mortimer escapes to France.

1312-1325 – The “Very Old Customs of Bretaigne” is written down.

1326 – Queen Isabella of England, wife of Edward II and sister of Charles IV

le Bel de Capet of France, and her lover former Lord Ordainer Roger
Mortimer invade England with much support from the relatives of the
Contrairiants, the Lords Ordainer, and the Marcher Lords. They despose
Edward II and install his minor son Edward III as King of England.

Edward II flees to Pantybrad in Wales, where he is captured by locals and

turned over to the new rulers. The former king and his close allies are
executed, Hugh le Despenser the Younger and Edmund Fitzalan by hanging,
drawing, and quartering.

Fitzalan, heir to the Earl of Arundel, is of Breton descent and a distant cousin
of Walter Stewart, High Steward of Scotland and son-in-law of Robert the
Bruce, King of Scots.

1328 – Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton ends the war between Scotland

and England.

1329 – Only a year after the treaty ending the Second Scottish War of
Independence, Robert the Bruce dies, and his minor son succeeds him as
David II, with his father Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray, as regent, who
is succeeded as regent by the Domhnall II, Earl of Mar, in 1332.

1330 – The Battle of Teba, between Castile and Granada, in which a large
number of Scottish knights led by James Douglas, veterans of the Wars of
Independence on their way to the Levant with the heart of Robert the Bruce,
take part. Douglas’ party in the vanguard of pursuit of the fleeing Moors
becames surrounded, fighting the last man. When the Moors learn who the
dead are, they return their bodies to the Christians with a guard of honour,
the casket containing the Bruce’s heart atop Douglas’ chest.
1332-1357 – Third War of Scottish Independence.

1332 – Edward Balliol, son of John, and the ‘Disinherited’ invade Scotland in
the minority of David, landing in Fife.

1336 - Iain mac Donald of Islay becomes the first ‘Lord of the Isles’. The
Lordship of the Isles eventually grows to include the Western Isles, the
Earldom of Ross, Moidart, Knoydart, Garmoran, Morvern, Kintyre,
Ardnamurchan, and the Glens of Antrim.

1337-1453 – The Hundred Years’ War between the House of Valois and the
House of Plantagenet, which breaks out after the House of Capet dies out.
Burgundie, Aquitaine, Anjou, and Normandie fight for the Plantagenets.

1337-1360 – The Edwardian War phase of the Hundred Years’ War.

1337 – Edward of Woodstock, known as the Black Prince, becomes the first
heir apparent to the throne of England to be designated ‘Duke of Cornwall’, a
title carried by succeeding heirs into the 21st century.

1340 – The Basilea Rhomaion reabsorbs the ‘Greek’ Despotate of Epirus.

1341-1365 – The Breton War of Succession, part of the Hundred Years

War, between the Counts of Blois, supported by France and Upper Bretagne
and the House of Montfort, supported by England and Lower Bretagne.

It begins when Jean III le Bon dies without designated heir, leaving his niece
Jeanne la Boiteuse de Penthièvre, married to Charles de Blois, Count of
Blois, to dispute the duchy with Jean III’s half brother Jean de Montfort,
married to Jeanne de Flandre, who claims the title as Jean IV. France moves
swiftly to capture Jean de Montfort and install Jeanne la Boiteuse as Duchess
of Bretagne and Charles de Blois as Duke jure uxoris.

1342 – Robert Bertrand, deputy of Phillipe IV de Valois, King of France,

chooses Blain Castle, owned by Olivier IV de Clisson, as his headquarters in
the matter of settling the Breton succession. Meanwhile, Jeanne la Flamme
de Flandre, wife of Jean de Montfort, rallies his supporters in Vannes and
sends her son, the later John IV (pretender) of Bretagne, to secure an
alliance with Edward III of England.

In August, English 1,350 troops under the direct command of Edward III
land in Brest, who, with allies from the de Montfort camp, eventually capture
Vannes after the city’s fourth siege of the year, with prisoners including
Olivier IV de Clisson, the garrison’s able commander.
1343 – Truce of Malestroit between Edward III of England and Philippe VI of
France. Because of the low ransom for his release in exchange for Ralph de
Stafford, Earl of Stafford, Olivier de Clisson comes under suspicion by
Phillipe VI of France of having made a treasonous deal with Edward III. De
Clisson is lured to a tournament expecting safe passage only to be arrested,
tried, and beheaded for alleged treason. Later that year, Philippe VI has
fourteen more Breton lords executed.

In response, Olivier’s wife Jeanne Louise de Belleville swears revenge

against Philippe VI and against Charles de Blois, which she takes in the form
of a flotilla of pirate ships known as the Black Fleet in addition to land
campaigns. Her sea attacks were known for their ferocity; after taking a
ship, she would have her men kill all those aboard save one. This ferocity,
along with her bravery and tactical prowess, earned her the nickname
“Lionne Sanglante” (‘Bloody Lioness; “Lioness of Brittany” to the English).

Edward the Black Prince, already Duke of Cornwall, becomes the second heir
to the throne of England and the first in a line that continues into the 21st
century to be designated Prince of Wales.

1344 – In the War of the Breton Succession, Jean de Montfort is released

and regains control of Vannes backed by the English. Charles de Blois
besieges, captures, and sacks Quimper.

1345 – Henry de Shaldeforde, attorney for Edward the Black Prince, and his
retinue are ambushed on the road between Harlech and Carnarfon and
massacred to the last man, an event known as the St. Valentine’s Day
Massacre since it happened on 14 February (584 years before the more
famous one in the North Side of Chicago in 1929).

Jean de Montfort dies, at which his wife Jeanne la Flamme, goes mad with
grief; their son and his heir, also Jean, is only four years old.

1347 – Battle of La Roche-Derrien in the War of the Breton Succession, at

which Charles de Blois is captured, to spend the next five years in England.

1351 – Combat of the Thirty in the War of the Breton Succession, won by
the Blésistes over the Montfortists; there were actually thirty-one fighters on
each side.

1352 – Battle of Mauron in the War of the Breton Succession, a victory for
the Anglo-Breton army supporting the de Montforts, led by Walter Bentley,
King's Lieutenant of Brittany and new husband of Jeanne de Belleville,
“Lionne Sanglante”, over the Franco-Breton Army supporting Charles de
Blois, which lost 800 troops with 600 taken prisoner to 600 dead on the side
of de Monfort and England.

Establishment of the États de Bretagne, which develops into the parliament

of Bretagne, in the midst of the War of Succession.

1353 – In the Treaty of Westminster, Charles de Blois is recognized as Duke

of Bretagne and signs a perpetual peace with England.

1357 – The Third War of Scottish Independence ends with the Treaty of
Berwick and the restoration of David II.

1362 – Jean (V) de Montfort returns to Bretagne from England at age 22,
and begins overtures to Charles de Blois, intending to make a treaty
between them dividing Bretagne.

1363 – Jeanne de Penthièvre, Duchess of Bretagne, misunderstanding or

disagreeing with the attempted rapproachment to peacable end the War of
the Breton Succession, relaunches to active conflict which has been dormant
for a decade.

1364 – Battle of Auray in the War of the Breton Succession, of the in which
Charles de Blois, Duke of Bretagne, is killed.

1365-1514 – The House of Montfort rules the Duchy of Bretagne.

1365 – The First Treaty of Guérande, ending the War of the Breton
Succession in which male-to-male succession goes to the House of Montfort,
unless there is no male heir, in which case the succession defaults to the
House of Penthièvre.

== Brithonic Houses Rule in the Isles ==

1371-1714 – The House of Stewart/Stuart, descended from Hereditary

Seneschals of the Archbishop of Dol in Bretagne, rules the Kingdom of Scots.

1371 – David II Bruce, King of Scots, dies without heir and is succeeded by
his nephew Robert Stewart, High Steward of Scotland, son of his father
Robert’s half-sister Marjorie and Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of
Scotland, thus becoming the first Scottish monarch of Brythonic descent and
founding its Brythonic dynasty.
1372 – Owain Lawgoch ap Thomas ap Rhodri, brother of Llywelyn ap
Gruffydd, declares he intends to regain the kingdom of Gwynedd, and lands
in Guernsey to begin, with the support of France. However, Charles IV
recalls him in order to send him to Spain.

1375 – The Earldom of Caithness passes to the Scottish Crown.

1373 – Upon discovering a secret treaty between the Duchy of Bretagne

and the Kingdom of England along with the impending arrival of four
thousand mercenaries from across the channel, the people of Bretagne rise
up against Jean IV de Montfort, Duke of Bretagne, led by Olivier V de
Clisson, Bertrand du Guesclin, and Olivier de Mauny. Jean IV decides to take
a sabbatical in England, where he stays the next four years while Charles V
le Sage of France uses as an opportunity to attempt annexation.

1377 – Hearing that Owain Lawgoch is planning another invasion, this time
backed by Castile, the English government sends a Scot, John Lamb, to
assassinate him. After working his way into his target’s confidence, he does
so in 1378.

1378-1417 – The Papal Schism, with one Pope in Rome and another in
Avignon; England supports the former while Scotland, along with France,
supports the latter.

1379 – Jeanne de Penthièvre, Viscountess of Limoges, Jean I, Viscount of

Rohan, and Jean IV de Beaumanoir, Marshal of Bretagne, form a league to
call Duke Jean IV back to Bretagne to stand against Charles V, and he
returns to triumphantly reconquer the duchy.

1381 – In the Second Treaty of Guérande, between Jean IV, Duke of

Bretagne, and Charles V, King of France, Jean IV receives back all his
property in exchange for swearing allegiance to Charles V along with
dismissal of all his English advisors and troops, and the neutrality of
Bretagne in the war between France and England is imposed.

1400-1421 – The Last (Second) War of (Welsh) Independence, aka the

‘Welsh Revolt’, aka the ‘Glyndŵr Uprising’, against England.

1400 – The Welsh uprising begins in Gwynedd when Owain Glyndŵr of the
line of Powys is declared Prince of Wales. A little earlier, the Tudors of
Penmynydd (brothers Rhys, Gwilym, and Maredudd) launched a guerrilla war
on Anglesey, and after Glyndŵr declares himself, they swear allegiance.
Notable among Glyndŵr’s supporters are Rhys, Gwilym, and Maredudd, sons
of Tudur ap Goronwy of Penmynydd, for which Rhys was executed in 1412,
and Gwilym pardoned in 1413 only to die the same year, while Maredudd
disappeared after 1405 and is presumed to have died in 1406.

1402 – The Battle of Homildon Hill is fought in Northumberland in which the

the Scots led by Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas, George Douglas,
Earl of Angus, Thomas Dunbar, Earl of Moray, and Murdoch Stewart,
Justiciar North of the Forth (and heir to the Duke of Albany) are defeated by
the English led by Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, his son Henry
‘Hotspur’ Percy, and George Dunbar, Earl of Dunbar & March (also Lord of
the Isle of Mann). All the major Scots generals were captured.

1403 – The Battle of Shrewsbury in Shropshire in which the rebels from the
north led by Henry ‘Hotspur’ Percy, Thomas Percy, Earl of Worchester, and
Archibald Douglas, Earl of Douglas, are defeated by the army of Henry IV of
England and his son Henry of Wales.

1404 – With nearly all Wales under his control, Owain Glyndŵr secures a
formal alliance with the Kingdom of France, as well as looser alliances with
the Duchy of Bretagne and the Kingdom of Scots.

1405 – The Tripartite Indenture between Owain Glyndŵr, Prince of Wales,

Edmund Mortimer, second son of the 3rd Earl of March, and Henry Percy, 1st
Earl of Northumberland. Glyndwr is to be given Wales plus the English part
of the Welsh Marches; Percy is to get Northumberland, Durham, Yorkshire,
Cumberland, Westmoreland, Lancashire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire,
Leicestershire, Rutland, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, and Norfolk, and
Mortimer is to get the rest of the south.

1406 – Owain Glyndŵr, Prince of Wales, reinstates the Cyfraith Hywel,

which were superceded in 1284 by the Statutes of Rhuddlan.

1409 – After a number of setbacks, Owain Glyndŵr, Prince of Wales, loses

his last stronghold, Harlech Castle, and from then on pursues a guerrilla war.

1412 – Owain Glyndŵr carries out one of his last known major actions, with
he and his most faithful followers fighting their way out of an ambush by the
English king’s men in Brecon, capturing and later ransoming Welsh supporter
of the English king Dafydd Cam. This is the last time he is seen by his
enemies. According to legend (with a strong probability of truth), he took
refuge in Kentchurch Court, Herefordshire, the home of his daughter Alys,
second wife of Sir John Skydmore of Kentchurch, a marriage which was
secret at the time, and possibly at their other estates as well.
Early in the war (1402), Glyndŵr had besieged Sir John, a loyal servant of
the Crown, in Carreg Cennen Castle in Carmarthenshire for a whole year.
Sir John was my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-
great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-
grandfather (by his first wife, Blanche ferch John).

1415 – Owain Glyndŵr, Prince of Wales, reportedly dies this year, according
to his former follower Welsh priest Adam of Usk.

1419-1434 – The Kingdom of England joins the Imperium Romanum and

other states in the Hussite Crusades.

1421 – Maredudd ap Owain accepts the pardon of Henry V of England,

bringing the Welsh Revolt officially to an end.

1428 – Owain Tudur, of the Tudors of Penmynydd, marries dowager Queen

Catherine of Valois, widow of Henry V of England of the House of Lancaster
(High Sheriff of Cornwall, 1400-1404) and mother of King Henry VI. They
have two sons, Edmund and Jasper, who play significant parts in later
English and Welsh history.

1431-1445 – The Council of Florence defines Papal Supremacy and

attempts to resolve differences between the Patriarchate of Rome and those
of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem to affect a reunion,
but it ultimately fails. The chief sticking points are the Filioque clause in the
Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, Purgatory, and Papal Primacy, the first
being the question on which agreement is never reached.

1433 – The marriage of Sir John Skydmore and Alys ferch Owain is publicly
exposed in Parliament by Edmund Beaufort, of the family who have held
Glyndŵr’s former lands since 1400, which Sir John and Alys have tried to
regain since 1430.

1437 – The Bonville-Courtenay Feud in Devonshire begins when Henry VI of

England appoints William Bonville as Steward of the County of Cornwall, an
office traditionally attached to the Earldom of Devon, held by the Courtenays
since 1335 and by Thomas Courtenay, 13th Earl, since 1422.

1440 – In an attempt to dispel the antagonism between Bonville and

Courtenay, Henry VI of England names the Earl of Devon Steward of the
royal Duchy of Cornwall, which has the opposite of the intended effect.

1445 – William Bonville is created Baron of Bonville and of Chewton.

Edmund Tudor, eldest son of Owen Tudor and Catherine of Valois and half-
brother to Henry VI, marries Margaret Beaufort, great-granddaughter of
John of Gaunt, 3rd son of Edward III and father of Henry IV.

1453 – With the defeat of the English in the Battle of Castillon, the Hundred
Years’ War ends; the French population has been reduced by two-thirds due
to various causes stemming directly from the war, while the English have
been kicked out of every part of France save for the Pale of Calais.

Konstantinoupolis falls to the armies of the Ottoman Sultanate, and the

Basilea Rhomain, the Imperium Romanum, comes to an end. At the time,
the city’s population has fallen to under 50,000. Mehmed II, Sultan of the
conquering Ottomans, assumes the title Kaysar-I Rum (Caesar Romanus),
carried by his successors until the dissolution in the early 20th century.

1455-1487 – The Wars of the Roses in England (mostly) between the

House of Lancaster (descended from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, 3rd
son of Edward III) and the House of York (descended from Edmund of
Langley, Duke of York, 4th son of Edward III), whose main claim to the
throne is by marriage of Richard of Conisburgh, Earl of Cambridge, 2nd son
of Edmund of Langley, to Anne de Mortimer, great-grandaughter of Lionel of
Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, 2nd son of Edward III, through her father, Roger
de Mortimer, 4th Earl of March.

In Devonshire, the Bonvilles support the Yorkists while the Courtenays

support the Lancastrians.

In Wales, the main antagonists are Jasper Tudor, 18th Earl of Pembroke, on
the side of the Lancastrians, and William Herbert, Baron of Raglan and later
19th Earl of Pembroke, on the side of the Yorkists.

1455 – The Battle of Clyst Heath, climax though not the end of the Bonville-
Courtenay Feud.

1456 – The Ottomans conquer the ‘Latin’ Duchy of Athens.

1457 – Henry VI of England creates for his son Edward of Winchester,

Prince of Wales, the Council of Wales and the Marches to oversee Wales, the
Marches, Cheshire, and Cornwall.

1458 – Thomas Courtenay, 13th Earl of Devon, dies, but the feud continues.
1461 – Owain Tudur is beheaded on orders of Edward, Earl of March (and
later Edward IV), after being captured following the Battle of Mortimer’s
Cross in Herefordshire.

William Bonville, 1st Baron Bonville and Chewton, is beheaded in February

on orders of Prince Edward after the Second Battle of St. Albans, while
Thomas Courtenay, 14th Earl of Devon, is beheaded in April on orders of
Edward IV after the Battle of Towton. These deaths end the local feud (but
not the Wars of the Roses).

The ‘Greek’ Empire of Trebizond, fragment of the Basilea Rhomain and

independent since 1204, falls to the Ottoman Sultanate.

1465 – The brief War of the Public Weal of rebellious nobles against Louis
XI, King of France, a precursor to the Mad War and the Franco-Breton War,
ends with the king signing the Treaty of Conflans with Charles le Téméraire
de Burgundie, Count of Charolais, and Charles de Valois, Duke of Berri (the
actual leaders of the League of Public Weal); the Treaty of Caen with the
François II, Duke of Bretaigne (front leader of the League, granting him
Montfort and Étampes and the power of regale); the Treaty of Saint-Maur,
with the other rebellious lords of the League.

1471 – Edward IV of the House of York becomes King of England. He

defeats Margaret of Anjou’s army at the Battle of Tewkesbury, and most of
the Lancastrian supporters, including Henry Tudor, seek refuge with
François II, Duke of Bretaigne.

1473-1474 – Siege of St. Michael’s Mount (in Mounts Bay, Cornwall, not
Mont-Saint-Michel off the coast of Coutances, France). John de Vere, Earl of
Oxford, one of the principal commanders of the Lancastrian forces in the
War of the Roses, seizes the mount and holds it against 6000 troops of
Edward IV of the House of York.

1483 – Buckingham’s Rebellion, led by Henry Stafford, Duke of

Buckingham, and Henry Tudor, senior remaining claimant to the throne of
England from the House of Lancaster. The rebellion unravels, Buckingham is
executed on orders of Richard III, and Tudor returns to Bretaigne.

Louis XI le Prudent de Valois of France dies, and is succeeded by his toddler

son Charles VIII, with the latter’s older sister Anne de Beaujieu, Duchess of
Burgundie, as regent.

1484 – Louis de Valois, Duke of Orléans (later Louis XII of France, known
before that as Louis d’Orléans) and spouse of Jeanne la Boiteuse since 1476,
contests the regency of Anne de Beaujieu, but the États Généraux of that
year at Tours sides with Anne. In November, d’Orléans concludes a treaty
with François II of Bretagne which includes marriage of the latter’s daughter
Anne (Anne de Bretagne) to the former, once his marriage to Jeanne la
Boiteuse de France is annulled (but the attempt to do so failed).

1485-1714 – England is ruled by dynasties of Brithonic descent, first by the

Tudors of Penmynydd in Wales, then by the Stuarts of Scotland descended
from the Seneschals of the Archbishop of Dol in Britanny.

1485-1603 – The Tudors of Penmynydd rule the Kingdom of England and

the Kingdom of Ireland.

1485-1488 – Le Guerre Folle (‘The Mad War’) of the Duchy of Bretaigne,

Duchy of Lorraine, Lordship of Alberet, Principality of Orange, and County of
Angoulême, allied with the Imperium Romanum Sacrum, Crown of Castille,
and Kingdom of England, against the Kingdom of France.

1485 – François II of Bretagne signs the Peace of Bourges suspending

active hostilies between Bretagne and France for a year.

At the Battle of Bosworth Field in Leicestershire, Henry Tudor defeats

Richard III decisively, and becomes King of England and France, and Lord of
Ireland. Notable among his supporters is Rhys ap Gruffydd, whose family
have been longtime supporters of the House of Lancaster and who is thought
to have personally dispatched Richard.

Duke François II establishes the Parlement of Bretaigne at Vannes.

1487-1491 – The Franco-Breton War, which some consider a phase of the

greater ‘Guerre Folle’ (‘Mad War’).

1487 – In the Châteaubriant Agreement instigated by Françoise de Dinan,

Baroness of Châteaubriant, certain Breton lords ask Charles VIII, King of
France, through his Regent, Anne de Beaujieu, to intervene in internal
Breton affairs, but only to capture Louis d’Orléans and his chief supporter
François de Dunois. France invades Bretagne with 15,000 troops to the
duchy’s 600 lancers and 16,000 foot, supported by mercenaries from Léon
and allies from Cornwall (the one north of the Channel). France’s forces
capture considerable Breton territory, but Breton forces take most of it back
by the beginning of the next year.

1488 – François II, Duke of Bretagne, and Louis de Valois, Duke of Orléans,
are declared rebels by the Parlement de Paris at the beginning of the year.
The second expedition of France into Bretagne is more successful, with
François II, Duke of Bretagne, defeated at the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-
Cormier and forced to sign the Treaty of Verger (Sablé) robbing the duchy of
much of its autonomy. François dies a month after a fall from his horse
shortly, and his daughter Anne becomes Duchess, with Françoise de Dinan,
Baroness of Châteaubriant, as her governess and regent.

1489 – Treaty of Redon between the Duchy of Bretagne and the Kingdom of
England in which Henry VII of England agrees to provide 6000 every spring
to be paid and maintained by Bretagne. Anne, daughter of François II, is
crowned Duchess of Bretagne at Rennes. At the end of the year, the Breton
party signs onto the Peace of Frankfurt agreed to by Maximilian I of Austria,
Rex Romanorum, and Charles VIII le Affable, King of France, in July.

1490 – A peasant jacquerie in Cornouaille led by Jean l’Ancien is massacred

by Spanish mercenaries at Pratanros.

1491 – The Franco-Breton War ends in November, with the signing of the
Treaty of Rennes. On the advice of the États de Bretagne, Anne, Duchess of
Bretagne, marries Charles VIII of France in December. Under the Treaty of
Verger, she has to marry his cousin Louis XII after he dies in 1498.

1497 - The First Cornish Rebellion takes place, involving poor Cornish
farmers in protest against taxes imposed by Henry VII to fund his war
against Scotland. It is led by James Tuchet, 7th Baron Audley, Thomas
Flamank, and Michael An Gof, with support from men in Devon, Somerset,
and other counties in England. It ends in defeat at the Battle of Deptford
Bridge (or of Blackheath) in Middlesex, near London.

The Second Cornish Rebellion occurs the same year, led by pretender to the
throne of England Perkin Warbeck, supported by the gentry of Cornwall and
the defeated Yorkist faction. Warbeck’s supporters proclaim him Richard IV
at Bodmin Moor, but he deserts his forces upon hearing of Henry VII’s
approach, and the English king receives the surrender of the remaining army
at Tauton, Somerset.

1498 – Louis d’Orléans becomes King of France upon the death of Charles
VIII le Affable, also inheriting his wife, Anne de Bretagne, under the terms of
the 1488 Treaty of Verger, after he finally obtains an annulment of his
marriage to Jeanne de Valois, sister of Charles VIII.

1502 – Treaty of Perpetual Peace between James IV Stewart of Scots and

Henry VII Tudor of England aimed at ending two centuries of intermitent
warfare between the two countries. The terms of the treaty include
marriage of James IV to Margaret Tudor, eldest daughter of Henry VII; the
marriage lasts, though the peace does not.

1512 – In the Battle of Saint-Mathieu, part of the War of the League of

Cambrai, Breton warships fight alongside French warships defending against
an attack by the English.

1514-1589 – The House of Valois rules the Duchy of Bretagne as its Dukes.

1517 – The Reformation begins when Martin Luther sends his ‘Ninety-five
Theses’ to Albert von Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz, then nails them to
the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, seat of the Duchy of Saxe-
Wittenberg in the Imperium Romanum Sacrum (a possession of the House of
Wettin, which comes to rule the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
in beginning of the 20th century with the accession of Edward VII).

1525 – Rhys ap Thomas dies, and Henry VIII of England grants most of his
titles and estates to William Devereaux, 10th Baron Ferrers of Chartley,
rather than letting them pass to his grandson Rhys ap Gruffydd (whose
father predeceased Rhys ap Thomas).

1531 – Rhys ap Gruffydd Fitz-Urien (my great-great-great-great-great-

great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather) is beheaded
for high treason against Henry VIII after being convicted of plotting with
James V of Scots to become Prince of Wales, though the actual cause is his
conflict with William Deveraux, Lord Ferrers. Rhys is also a strong Catholic,
an opponent of Anne Boleyn (his niece by marriage, along with his wife
Catherine Howard’s other niece, Catherine Howard), and an ally of Catherine
of Aragon and Cardinal Wolsey.

Henry VIII of England, France, and Ireland declares himself Supreme Head
of the Church of England in a letter to Pope Clement VII.

1532 – The Edict of Union of the Duchy of Bretagne and the Kingdom of
France incorporates Bretagne into France, ending the independence of the
centuries-old Brithonic realm. After this date, the duchy becomes an
appanage of the Crown of France, similar to that of the Principality of Wales
and the Duchy of Cornwall to the Crown of England. However, the region is
still allowed to operate under its own laws, though its Parlement’s court of
justice is cancelled.

1534 – Henry VIII, King of England, declares the Church of England

independent of the See of Rome and himself Defender of the Faith.
1536 – The ‘Act of Law and Justice in like Form as it is in this Realm’ unifies
the Principality of Wales and the March of Wales, abolishes the Marcher
Lordships, and imposes English law and the English language in Wales,
abolishing use of Welsh in official settings. It also creates five new shires
(Monmouth, Brecon, Radnor, Denbigh, and Montgomery) in addition to the
first six (Carmarthen, Cardigan, Anglesey, Caernarfon, Merioneth, and Flint)
as wells turning existing counties palatine, Pembroke and Glamorgan into
shires. Wales can also send representatives to Parliament in London.

The Fitzgeralds of Kildare rebel against England. After putting them down,
Henry VIII, as Lord of Ireland, forces the Irish Parliament to declare him
head of the Church of Ireland as well. Most of the population, however,
does not adopt the new faith and remains Catholic. It is entirely plausible
that if he had not attempted the imposition, Ireland would have gone
Protestant or Reformed on its own, as Scotland did under John Knox.

Henry VIII of England, France, and Ireland orders and begins the dissolution
of the monastic houses in England, Wales, Cornwall, and Ireland. At the
time, England by itself had 900 of these. The process lasts until 1549, with
their libraries and many of their buildings destroyed and their land, money,
and possessions confiscated to the royal treasury, with most of the land sold
off to wealthy men.

1537 – Henry VIII orders the end of the celebration of saints’ feast days, an
order with limited success, at least in the short term, and none at all in
Devon and Cornwall.

1538 – Henry VIII bans religious pilgrimages like those to St. Michael’s
Mount off the western coast of Cornwall.

1539 – The diocese with its see at Lichfield is renamed for its see as the
Diocese of Lichfield.

1540 – Henry VIII orders the destruction of saints’ shrines throughout his
realms.

1541 – Henry VIII has himself declared King of Ireland by the Irish
Parliament, then begins the Tudor Reconquest of Ireland with the aim of
Anglicizing its gentry. The “pacification” begins with an attempt to plant
voluntary colonies of English around Ireland on land leased from landowners.

1542 – The Council of Wales and the Marches, previously a prerogative of

the King of England, becomes a statutory body of Parliament on behalf of
Arthur, the infant Prince of Wales (and later his brother Henry), with
responsibility for Wales and the Marches of Cheshire, Shropshire,
Herefordshire, Worcestershire, and Gloucestershire. Bristol is exempted in
1562, Cheshire in 1569.

The ‘Act for Certain Ordinances in the King’s Dominion and Principality of
Wales’ creates a Court of Great Sessions for Wales, with 12 shires in four
circuits, but with Monmouth attached to the Oxford circuit.

Death of James V Stuart, King of Scots; succession of his daughter, Mary, as

Queen of Scots, scion of both the House of Stuart and the House of Tudor,
though she returns to France, only coming back after her husband, the
Dauphin of France then King of France, dies.

1543 – In the Rough Wooing, Henry VIII of England attempts to force the
realm of Scotland to allow marriage between his son, the future Edward VI,
to the infant Mary, Queen of Scots. The war ends with the Battle of Pinkie
Cleugh, the last pitched battle between the Kingdom of Scots and the
Kingdom of England. The Scottish forces are led by James Hamilton, 2nd
Earl of Arran and Regent, and Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, while
the English forces are led by Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset. The
disaster for the Scots is so bad it becomes as Black Saturday.

1547 – Death of Henry VIII Tudor of England and of Ireland; succession of

his son as Edward VI Tudor.

Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, orders on behalf of Edward VI of

England, France, and Ireland as the Lord Protector the closure of all
hospitals, colleges, guilds, and chapels throughout the realms, and in doing
so seriously damages a vast network for supporting the social welfare of the
poor and common people in all those realms.

1549 – The Prayer Book Rebellion, also known as the Western Rising,
begins in reaction against the innovation in Cornwall and Devon (in effect,
the Diocese of Exeter), which has had its own liturgy and calendar, close to
but differing on important points from those of Salisbury, upon which much
of the Book of Common Prayer is largely based.

In addition to the BCP enforcing use of the English language, Henry VIII’s
earlier Dissolution of Monasteries has led to the end of formal scholarship
which had previously supported Cornish and Devonian identities. Fighting
involves the Siege of Exeter, several battles, capture of many castles by the
rebel army, and the Massacre of Dryst Heath, with the first engagement
being the Battle of Fenny Bridges (28 July) and the last at the Battle of
Sampford Courtenay (17 August).

1553 – Death of Edward VI Tudor of England and of Ireland. Succession of

his designated heir, Lady Jane Grey (aka Lady Jane Dudley). She is called
the ‘Nine Days Queen’ due to her deposition nine days after her coronation
by Edward’s eldest sister Mary I Tudor.

A staunch Roman Catholic who is also Queen of Spain by virtue of her

marriage to Philip II Hapsburg, Mary I launches a severe backlash against
Protestants in the realm, including the burning at the stake of nearly 300
people for heresy. However, she shows no favor towards her co-religionists
in Ireland and the plantations continue.

The Parlement of Bretagne is recreated, now meeting at Rennes half the

year, then at Nantes half the year.

1556 – The attempted Plantation of Offaly and Laois begins in the face of
overwhelming resistance from the O’Connors and O’Moores, the targets of
the Plantation, and ultimately fails, despite the massacre of the leaders of
the latter clan under a flag of truce in 1578.

1558 – Mary I of England and Ireland cedes the Pale of Calais, the final
Continental territory of the English crown, to France. Death of Mary later in
the year and succession of her sister as Elizabeth I Tudor.

1560-1603 – Reign of Grainne ni Mhaille as ri ban Umaill.

1561 – Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, finally returns to her realm.

1561 – The Parlement of Bretagne meets solely in Rennes beginning this

year.

1562-1598 – The Wars of Religion in the Kingdom of France

1565 – In five months of brutal fighting, the Knights Hospitaller break the
Ottoman Sultanate attempt to conquer the Isle of Malta.

1567 – Richard Davies, William Salesbury, and Thomas Huet complete the
first modern Welsh translations of the New Testament and the Book of
Common Prayer. (By contrast, the BCP is not translated into Cornish until
1980 and the New Testament not until 2002.)
Mary of Scots is forced to abdicate in favor of her infant son by the deceased
Henry Stuart, Earl of Lennox, who is then proclaimed James VI (Stuart),
King of Scots. She seeks refuge with Elizabeth I of England.

1569 -1573 – First Desmond Rebellion.

1570 – The Ottomans conquer the Republic of Venice’s Kingdom of Cyprus.

1570s – The attempted Plantation of County Antrim, which the O’Neills of

Clandeboy and MacDonnells of Antrim, the targets, resist fiercely with help
from the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland. After the murder of 200
of the O’Neills, including the chief and his family, by the Earl of Essex in
1574 and the massacre of 600 MacDonnells on Rathlin Island by Francis
Drake, Elizabeth I, appalled at the slaughter, calls a halt.

1579 – The Ottomans annex the ‘Latin’ Duchy of Naxos, last remaining
vassal state of the former ‘Latin’ Imperium Romaniae.

1584 – Beginning of the Plantation of Munster, more widespread than

earlier efforts but ultimately no more successful, at least until after the end
of the Nine Years’ War, when it is reinstituted.

1587 – Mary Stuart, former Queen of Scots, is beheaded in England for her
part in a revolt planned to overthrow Elizabeth I and execute her.

1588 – William Morgan completes the first Welsh translation of the whole
Bible: Old Testament, Apocrypha, and New Testament. (By contrast, the
whole Bible is not translated into Cornish until 2011.)

Blessed as a Crusade by Pope Sixtus V, Patriarch of Roma, Spain launches

the ill-fated ‘Enterprise of England’ to depose Elizabeth I and restore the
country to Catholicism that becomes known as the Spanish Armada.

1589 – Bretagne is riven between supporters of the Huguenots and the

Catholic League after Henri III de Valois, the last of that house, is
assassinated, the first regicide in France since the Early Middle Ages, and
Henri de Navarre of the House of Bourbon becomes Henri IV.

1590 – The Brittany Campaign, part of the eight of the French Wars of
Religion, begins when Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercoeur and Governor
of Bretagne, invites the Spanish navy to use Bretagne to harbor the ships of
its rebuilt armada. His primary interest in doing so is to reestablish the
independence of Bretagne from France.
1592 – Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercoeur and Governor of Bretagne,
defeats the invading army of France with the help of Spanish troops.

1593-1603 – Nine Years’ War. Although fought all over the country in
resistance to Plantations, most of the action takes place in the North, under
the Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone and Hugh Roe O’Donnell, Lord of Tyrconnell,
Hugh Maguire, Lord of Fermanagh, and others, including Grainne Ni Mhaille,
who lead the Irish side.

1598 – The Edict of Nantes proclaimed by Louis XII of France, along with
the Peace of Vervins between Bretagne and France, marks the end of the
Brittany Campaign and the Wars of Religion that have riven France since
1562, and signals the departure of the Spanish fleet.

1603-1707 – The Breton-descended House of Stuart rules the Kingdom of

England as well as the Lordship of Ireland along with the Kingdom of Scots.

1603 – Union of Crowns: James VI of Scots becomes James I of England,

Scotland, France, and Ireland as well upon the death of Elizabeth I.

1606 – Following a deal with O’Neill of Clandeboy, the ‘unofficial’ plantation

of Cos. Antrim and north Down by Hamilton and Montgomery begins.

1607 – Flight of the Earls (Tyrone and Tyrconnell). The intention of Hugh
O’Neill and Rory O’Donnell is to secure Spanish assistance for a new rising,
but their lands are declared forfeit and seized, along with those of all native
landowners following the insurgency of Cahir O’Doherty in 1608.

1610 – Beginning of the Ulster Plantation under James VI and I; the

targetted counties include Antrim, Down, Tyrone, Cavan, Fermanagh, and
Donegal, with the settlers being removed from the Borders, Galloway, and
Ayrshire regions of southwest Scotland, and the corresponding areas in
northern England. After this year, the Stuarts sponsor more and more
plantations, as well as Protestant immigration from Continental Europe. It is
worth noting that prior to this, Catholic landlords in Ireland had already been
importing tenants from these very same regions, and that many of those
planted were Catholic as well as Protestant and Dissenter.

1613 – Through the creation of numerous Protestant-dominated burghs, the

crown manages to overthrow the Catholic majority in the Irish parliament.
County Coleraine in Ulster is dissolved and along with additional territory
becomes County Londonderry. A new walled city of Londonderry is built
across from the destroyed city of Derry.
1625 - James VI and I dies; Charles I of England, of Scots, and of Ireland
takes the throne.

The ruling tribes of Iar Connacht (O’Flahertys, O’Malleys, MacThomas

Joyces, MacConroys, MacConnors, MacDonoughs, O’Hallorans,
MacConneelys, O’Duans, and O’Lees), the last remaining holdouts against
legal Anglicization, are forced to give up governing their lands and people
under native Irish law.

1639-1653 – The Wars of the Three Kingdoms, known in Cornwall as the

Wars of the Five Peoples (Cornish, Welsh, English, Scottish, and Irish).

These included the First Bishops’ War (in Scotland, 1639); the Second
Bishops’ War (in Scotland, 1640); the Irish Rebellion (1641); the Irish
Confederate Wars (1641-1653); the First English Civil War (1642-1646); the
Scottish Civil War (1644-1649); the Second English Civil War (1648-1649);
the Third English Civil War (1649-1651); the Anglo-Scottish War (1650-
1651); and the Cromwell War in Ireland (1649-1653).

Throughout the period, Cornwall is predominantly Cavalier (Royalist), while

Devon is mostly Roundhead (Parliamentarian) in the cities and towns but
mostly Cavalier in its countryside. Wales is solidly Cavalier, except in Little
England Beyond Wales (southern Pembrokeshire and southeastern
Carmarthenshire) and sees no major actions in the First English Civil War.

1639-1640 - Bishops Wars in Scotland. The Covenanters, led militarily by

James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, take power in Scotland.

1640-1649 – Years of the Long Parliament.

1641-1652 - Irish Confederate Wars, or Eleven Years War. It starts with

an attempted coup d’etat by the Catholic gentry, but quickly turns to
sectarian violence in the face of the vast overreaction by Dublin Castle and
subsequent attack on the civilian population. In reponse, the native Gaelic
majority rises, massacring “settlers” in numbers which the latest estimates
give as 4,000, with another 12,000 dying from starvation, exposure, and
disease.

In an attempt to regain control and halt the atrocities, early leaders of the
rebellion establish the Catholic Confederation of Ireland, composed of
previously antagonistic native Gaelic and Hiberno-Norman or ‘Old English’
populations. The Confederates fight as allies of the Royalists, but only in
their own country against English Parliamentarians and Scottish Covenanters
sent by the government of Edinburgh, in the midst of internecine strife.
Owen Roe O’Neill, son of Hugh, returns from Spain to take command of the
Confederate armies, but dies of disease in 1649 not long after Oliver
Cromwell lands with a huge army. Cromwell undertakes the thorough
reconquest of the country, accompanied by widespread atrocities condoned
and encouraged by him, most notably the horrific massacre of the the
Confederate defenders at Drogheda, in what are acknowledged as the most
ruthless parts of the Wars.

1642-1646 - First English Civil War.

1642 – Royalists institute a blockade of Plymouth in Devon that lasts from

August 1642 through January 1646.

The first engagement of any consequence, though admittedly little, is the

Battle of Babylon Hill near Yeovil, Somerset, on 7 September, which is a
nominal victory for the Parliamentarians.

Royalists lay the Siege of Exeter in December that lasts into January, but
withdraw leaving the port to the Parliamentarians.

1643 – The Battle of Braddock Down, Cornwall, on 19 January is a victory

for the Royalists.

The Battle of Stratton, Cornwall, on 15 May is another victory for the

Royalists.

The Battle of Lansdowne, Somerset, on 5 July is yet another victory for the
Cornish Royalists, but a Pyrrhic one as they have lost too many casualties
and are forced to withdraw.

The Battle of Roundway Down in Wiltshire on 13 July is a victory for the

Royalists.

With the Storming of Bristol 23-26 July, resulting in its capture from the
Parliamentarians, the Royalists control almost all the West Country.

In the Battle of Hayes Barton, Devon, on 31 July, the Parliamentarians from

Exeter push back the Royalist besiegers.

Exeter finally falls to the Royalists on 7 September.

Dartmouth falls to the Royalists on 5 October.

The Royalists start the Siege of Plymouth in October, maintaining it into
December, but then have to withdraw.

1644-1645 - Scottish Civil War. Realizing the threat to Charles I, Montrose

comes out of retirement and leads the Covenanters against the allies of
Cromwell’s Roundheads in Scotland. He is assisted by a 2000-man
contingent of well-disciplined troops lent from the Irish Confederation under
Alistair MacColla. After securing the country in a series of six battles,
Montrose is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Scotland. Ultimately, though, the
effort fails and Montrose departs for Norway, to return after Charles’ regicide
only to be captured and hanged.

1644 – The Battle of Loswithiel in Cornwall is fought in two stages from 21

August through 2 September, with a victory for the Royalists.

1645 – The Battle of Naseby in Northamptonshire on 14 June is such a

disaster for the Royalist army, including much of the Cornish force, that it
represents the turning point of the war.

The New Model Army arrives in the West Country.

Cromwell wins the Battle of Langport, Somerset, on 10 July

The New Model Army begins the Siege of Tiverton, Devon, on 15 October,
and it surrenders four days later.

1646 – The Parliamentarians under Cromwell rout the Royalists at the Battle
of Bovey Heath on 9 January.

Dartmouth falls to the New Model Army on 18 January.

Battle of Torrington, Devon, 16 Feb

The Western Royalist Army under Ralph Hopton surrenders to the New Model
Army under Thomas Fairfax at Tresillian Bridge near Truro on 15 March.

The Royalist garrison at Exeter surrenders to Thomas Fairfax on 13 April.

The Royalist garrison at Barnstaple surrenders to Thomas Fairfax 19 April.

Pendennis Castle, last major stronghold still in Royalist hands in the West
Country, falls on 17 August after a siege of 155 days.

1648-1649 - Second English Civil War.

1648 – The Second English Civil War begins in Pembrokeshire, the
Parliamentarian garrisons in Pembrokshire rebelling over not being paid and
their leaders refusing to step down after being ordered to do so by the Army
Council, which doesn’t trust them because they are moderate. The rebels
establish contact with Prince Charles, but the former Royalists stay in so as
not to violate their parole. Their defeat at the Battle of St. Fagans in
Glamorgan on 8 May largely ends their revolt, but not the wider war.

A rising in Cornwall is prompted by the massacre of 70 Royalists in the town

of Penzance on 16 May. The hurriedly assembled army of 500 is defeated at
Gear Camp near Helford River, ending the rising.

The Republic of the Seven Netherlands (United Provinces) declares war on

the Isles of Scilly, which are still in Royalist hands.

1649 – At the end of the latest war, Cromwell orders the execution of
Charles I. His son, Charles, is almost immediately recognized as King of
Scots by the Scottish Parliament, in Jersey, and some of the American
colonies, most notably the Commonwealth of Virginia. Meanwhile,
Cromwell’s New Model Army purges the Long Parliament of members who do
not acceed to Charles’ execution; what is left is known as the Rump
Parliament.

1650-1651 - Third English Civil War. Charles Stuart, son of Charles I, is

enthroned as King of Scots in Edinburgh, but is driven out shortly thereafter
by an army under Cromwell.

1651 – The Royalist garrison on the Isles of Scilly surrenders to the

Parliamentarians on 23 May, but a peace treaty with the Netherlands is not
signed until 1986.

1652 – Beginning of the Cromwellian Plantation, the harshest of all

Plantations, with Catholic landowners banished to Connacht, all Catholics
banned from living in any towns, and thousands transported to the West
Indies as indentured servants, which is the 17th century equivalent of
sending them to concentration camps. Catholics are also banned from
serving in Parliament.

1653-1654 – Glencairn’s Rising, led by William Cunningham, Earl of

Glencairn, under commission by Charles II, King of Scots. A large part of
the reason for its failure is dissension between Glencairn’s Lowlanders and
the Highlanders under John Middleton, Earl of Middleton.
1653 – Cromwell dismisses the Rump Parliament by force and sets in its
place a Barebones Parliament controlled by the New Model Army. Six
months later, he likewise dismisses it and declares himself Lord Protector.

1659 – Oliver Cromwell dies and his son Richard succeeds him for a short
time before the New Model Army overthrows him and re-establishes the
Rump Parliament.

1660 - Restoration of the monarchy after the Council of State and Rump
Parliament implode. Charles I of Scots becomes Charles I of England and of
Ireland also.

1669 – The Republic of Venice loses Crete to the Ottoman Sultanate.

1675 – Revolt of the Papier Timbré in the west of France over the Paris
government taxes to support Louis XIV’s war against the Republic of the
Seven United Netherlands. Led in Lower Brittany by Sébastien Le Balp, it
takes on an anti-aristocrat tone and is known as the Revolt of the Bonnets
Rouges and Revolt of the Torrebens. Rennes is also a major center of the
revolt, and for that, Louis XIV punishes the city by transferring the
Parlement of Bretagne to Vannes.

1680 - The Killing Time (1680-1688) begins in Scotland when Presbyterian

minister Richard Cameron publishes the Sanquhar Declaration renouncing
allegiance to the crown and denouncing the designation of James Stuart,
Duke of York, as heir presumptive to the throne. It ends with the Glorious
Revolution.

1685 – Charles I dies. His brother succeeds him as James VII of Scots and
James II of England and of Ireland.

In the aftermath of the Monmouth Rebellion (led by natural son of Charles II

James Scott, Duke of Monmouth and Duke of Buccleuch) trying and failing to
depose James II & VII, ‘Hanging Judge’ George Jeffries holds one of his
‘bloody assizes’ in Exeter.

1688-1697 – War of the Grand Alliance, which includes the Williamite War
in Ireland and King William’s War in the Americas.

1688 – The Glorious Revolution begins. In the face of an invasion by

Holland with 53 warships and 20,000 troops under Prince William Nassau of
Orange landing at the port of Brixham in Devon, James VII and II abdicates
his throne in London. The London Parliament invites Mary Stuart, his eldest
daughter, and her husband, William of Orange, to take the throne as Mary II
Orange-Nassau née Stuart of England, Scots, and Ireland, and as William III
of England and Ireland and William II of Scots.

1689-1691 – Williamite War in Ireland and Dundee's Rising in Scotland. In

contrast to popular belief, the war is about politics rather than religion or
ethnicity, with the Williamite and Jacobite armies both sometimes nearly
equally composed of Catholics and Protestants; it is William of Orange,
however, who has the Vatican’s blessing, along with a contingent of the
Swiss Guard which includes its musicians, who are in the vanguard of his
army at the Battle of the Boyne, a relatively minor battle now celebrated as
a major Protestant triumph by the Orange Order.

1689 – The Council of Wales and the Marches is abolished, to the shrugs of
the region’s gentry and inhabitants.

1690 – The Parlement of Bretagne returns to Rennes.

1694 – Mary II dies of smallpox, leaving William III and II as sole ruler of
England, Scotland, and Ireland.

1695 – Beginning of the Penal Laws in Ireland, directed mostly against

Catholics but effecting other non-Anglicans such as Presbyterians and
Episcopalians as well.

1697 – Thomas Aikenhead becomes the last person executed for blasphemy
in Scotland, his most damning crime being that he admitted preferring
Muhammed to Jesus.

1698 – Elspeth McEwan of St. John’s Town of Dalry in Galloway, is the last
witch to be burned to death in southern Scotland.

1701 – Death of the former James VII and II; his son, James Francis
Edward, inherits his claims and is called James VIII and III by the Jacobites.

1702 – William III and II dies, and Anne Oldenberg née Stuart, Mary II’s
younger sister, assumes the thrones of England, of Scots, and of Ireland.

1704 – A law is passed requiring officeholders in Ireland to be members of

the Established (Anglican) Church of Ireland. Presbyterians (and Scottish
Episcopalians in Ireland are banned from serving in Parliament, and the
marriages of Presbyterians and other Dissenters are not legally recognized.
The Registration Act for Catholic clergy.
1706 – Robert Wylie, staunchly Presbyterian minister of Hamilton parish,
publishes the pamphlet A 1706 manifesto for an armed rising against
incorporating union, addressed to James Douglas, 4th Duke of Hamilton.
Meanwhile, Jacobite leader George Lockhart of Carnwath conspires with
Cameronian leader Cunningham of Eckatt for just such a rising, to include an
attempt to disperse the Scottish Parliament and thereby prevent the Union,
but it never materializes after they are dissuaded by John Ker of Kersland,
agent for James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry.

1707-1714 – The Brithonic-descended House of Stuart rules the Kingdom

of Great Britain.

1707 – Act of Union 1707, uniting the Parliaments of England and Scotland.
Queen Anne's title is now Queen of Great Britain.

1708 - First Jacobite Rising in Scotland, led by James Douglas, Duke of

Hamilton, with the support of the Cameronians, the most extreme of the
Covenanters. The primary motive is to destroy the Union; restoration of the
Stuart dynasty in the person of James VIII and III is only a secondary goal.
The Rising never gets off the ground, however, reported most widely due to
the dithering of Hamilton.

1713 – Great Britain gains the former territory of Nova Scotia (Acadie),
Rupert’s Land, and Newfoundland in the Treaty of Utrecht.

== Modern Era ==

1714-1901 – The House of Welf of Hanover rules Great Britain and Ireland.

1714 – Queen Anne dies; Parliament invites George Welf, Prince-elector of

Hanover and Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg, to take the throne as George I of
Great Britain and Ireland.

1715 - Second Jacobite Rising in Scotland, led by the John Erskine, 23rd
Earl of Mar.

Jacobite Rising in Cornwall. The armed rising planned by James Butler,

Duke of Ormond, and Henry St. John, Viscount Bolingbroke, which aimed to
capture Bristol, Exeter, and Plymouth, is aborted after the plans are revealed
to the government. On 7 October, the Old Pretender is proclaimed James III
and VIII by a group of staunch Jacobites in the market square of St. Columb
Major, Cornwall; the militia is called out, and the ‘rebels’ flee.
1718-1720 – The Pontcallec conspiracy in Bretagne, arising from the
antitax movement, led by a small faction of the Breton nobility, ends with
four of its leaders beheaded.

1719 - Third Jacobite Rising in Scotland, led by Murray of Tullibardine and

George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal.

1727 – Janet Horne of Dornoch, Sutherland, becomes the last person in

Scotland and in the Isles to be burned as a witch.

1745-1746 - Fourth Jacobite Rising, led by Bonnie Prince Charlie, the

Young Pretender (in the name of his father, James VIII and III, the Old
Chevalier), and Lord George Murray, supported by 800 men from the Royal
Scots and Irish Brigade regiments of France, with half their force made up of
Scottish Episcopalians from the Lowlands. Harsh penal laws follow for the
Highlanders, with no exemptions even for Hanoverian supporters: Gaelic is
forbidden to be spoken, the wearing of tartan and kilts and the playing of
bagpipes are outlawed, clans are broken up, lands are seized, etc.

1766 – Death of James the Old Chevalier; succession to his claims of his
son, called Charles III of England, of Scots, and of Ireland by his Jacobite
supporters, known to history as the Young Pretender.

1788 – Death of Charles, the Young Pretender; succession to the Stuart

claims of his brother Henry, Cardinal Duke of York, called Henry IX by
Jacobite supporters.

1789 – A group of anti-royalist representatives of Bretagne attends the

Estates General and later the National Constituent Assembly in support of
the revolution as the Club Breton. By November, it becomes the ‘Society of
the Revolution’, but is better known as the ‘Jacobin Club’ because it meets in
the Dominican monastery Couvent des Jacobins de la rue Saint-Honoré.

Unfortunately for Breton nationalists, Bretagne’s special autonomous status

is abolished by the Revolutionary government along with its États de
Bretagne and the Parlement de Bretagne at Rennes. Its traditional des pays
are replaced with five departements: Finistiere, Côte d’ Armor, Morbihan, Ille
& Vilaine, and Loire Atlantique (which correspond roughly to the ancient
divisions of Cornouaille, Domnonée, Vannetais, Rennais, and Nantais).

1790 – Moderate former members of Club Breton, led by Jean Sylvain

Bailly, Mayor of Paris, and Gilbert du Motier, commander of the National
Guard, form the Patriotic Society of 1789 within the Jacobin Club, which at
its peak becomes second only to the Jacobin Club in influence.
The National Convention promulgates the Civil Constitution of the Church,
nationalizing the property of the Catholic Church, abolished regular clergy,
and organized the Church of France with secular priests, who would be
required to take a loyalty oath to the new regime. Not surprisingly, Pope
Pius VI, Patriarch of Rome, condemned the action, leading to a split between
‘constitutional clergy’ and ‘refractory clergy’.

At around the same time, the Convention also abolished the Gabelle, or salt
tax (initiated in 1360), from which the aristocracy, clergy, and bourgeoisie
were more or less exempt. Along with the civil constitution of the clergy,
this caused significant unrest in Bretagne because hundreds made their
living off salt smuggling profits made possible by the tax. (The Gabelle was
reinstituted by Napoleon in 1806, terminated and reinstated by the Second
Republic, and finally abolished once-and-for-all in 1945.)

1791 – The Society of the Revolution becomes the ‘Society of Friends of the
Constitution Meeting at the Jacobins in Paris’.

Following the Champs du Mar Massacre, the members of the Patriotic

Society of 1789 leave the Jacobins, largely due to pressure from the
Girondins over their opposition to war with Austria, to become the ‘Society of
Friends of the Constitution’, better known as the ‘Feuillants Club’.

In Bretagne, Armand Tuffin de la Rouërie (who led the 1st Legion of Dragoon
in the American Continental Army during the Revolution there) organizes the
L'Association bretonne (Breton Association) with the aims of restoring the
special status of Bretagne as well as the maintenance of the monarchy.

1792-1800 – The Chouannerie in Bretagne, Maine, Anjou, and Normandy

north of the River Loire against the Republicans of the National Convention,
often in conjunction with revolts in the Vendée south of the Loire. Although
often lumped together, the two were separate if parallel, with the slogan
“God and our country” in the north but the slogan “God and our king” in the
south. While the cause for the Vendéens were primarily Royalist, for the
Bretons, that came secondary or even tertiary to local concerns.

1792 – Insurrection of the Paris Commune; the palace of Tuilleries is

stormed and the royals taken into custody. The September Massacres.

Plans of the Breton Association for a rising this year in conjunction with an
invasion by Prussian forces are aborted (permanently, it turns out) after
defeat of that army led by Charles-Guillaume-Ferdinand de Brunswick-
Wolfenbüttel, Duke of Brunswick, at the Battle of Valmy by the Republican
army led by François Christophe Kellermann and Charles François Dumouriez
and reinforced by the National Guard.

Peasants in Bretagne who are unconnected with the Breton Association start
a jacquerie (French term for peasant revolt) which evolves into a guerrilla
war, primarily over the call for volunteers to defend the Revolution.

The ‘Society of Friends of the Constitution meeting at the Jacobins in Paris’

becomes the ‘Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality’. The
club is increasingly polarized between the Montagnards of Maximilien
Robespierre and the Girondins whose most prominent leaders are Jacques
Pierre Brissot, Jean-Marie Roland, and François Buzot, and whose members
include Anglo-American Thomas Paine.

1793 – The mass conscription decreed by the Montegnard-controlled

Constituent Assembly leads to directly to rebellion in the Vendée and sudden
explosive growth of activity in Bretagne from guerrilla war to open mass
rebellion. Those in the Vendée are able to establish a rebel-controlled zone,
but those north of River Loire are put down by the army.

After the Vendéens experience a number of setbacks, they cross to the

north, join with surviving Choauns, and achieve a significant victory at the
Battle of Nantes. A few months later, though, they are soundly defeated
themselves at the Battle of Cholet that year. Then a group of 800 Breton
and Mainot insurgents led by Jean Cottereau (along with brothers Pierre,
François, and René, all four of whom used the nom-de-guerre ‘Choaun’) and
Aimé Picquet du Boisguy captured a large number of Republicans, whom
they released upon parole not to fight anymore. Then the tide turned again
in the Galerne Expedition and the disastrous Battle of Le Mans.

While Picquet continued with the royalists, Cottereau led his group of
peasants back into the forests, launching a guerrilla war known as the
Choaunnerie, as did another for a separate band, Jean-Louis Treton (as did
Picquet). Most Choauns were peasants, weavers, and artisans, along with
nobles, who were most of the officers.

The Montagnards purge the Girondins from the Jacobin Club as well as from
the National Convention. Death of radical political journalist and politician
Jean-Paul Marat. Beginning of the Reign of Terror, in which two-thirds of the
victims are peasants and proles.

La Rouërie dies of natural causes , but twenty other leaders of the Breton
Association are captured, sent to Paris, and guillotined in the Reign of Terror
by the Montagnards.
1794 – Joseph-Geneviève, Count of Puisaye, presents himself as successor
to La Rouërie and comes to be recognized as the Choaun general-in-chief of
the Catholic and Royal Army of Bretagne.

Jean Cottereau, alias Choaun, dies in a small skirmish in Misedon in the

(former) county of Maine. His two sisters, Perrine and Renée, were arrested
and guillotined along with his brother Pierre. François had earlier in the year
died of wounds from the Battle of Le Mans.

1795 – After many successes the past year-and-a-half, Puisaye loses

support after the rout following the attempt by the English to land forces of
French emigrats at Quiberon to support the Choauns and the Catholic and
Royal Army of the Vendée. The Choauns split into the Catholic and Royal
Army of Vannes under Georges Cadoudal and the Royal Army of Rennes and
Fougères, which continued to follow Puisaye. A little later, the Catholic and
Royal Army of Maine, Anjou, and Upper Brittany is formed, led by Marie Paul
de Scépeaux de Bois-Guignot.

1797 – The French invasion of Wales, part of the Wars of the First Coalition
(between the coalition members and the Kingdom of France, then the First
Republic of France). Initially it is to be a three-pronged attack in support of
the Society of United Irishmen, with two diversionary forces landing at
Newcastle and Liverpool (the second later changed to Bristol) while the main
force landed at Bantry Bay.

All three invasions fail on their first attempt to even land, and those at
Newcastle and Bantry Bay are abandoned. On its second attempt to invade,
a force of 1400 known as La Légion Noire (formally ‘La Seconde Légion des
Francs’) under command of Irish-American Col. William Tate lands at Carreg
Gwastad Point in Pembrokeshire (rather than Bristol). This leads to the
Battle of Fishguard against the Pembrokeshire Militia and the Fishguard &
Newport Volunteer Infantry. It never comes to actual fighting, though, with
Tate surrendering his command unconditionally. They are later exchanged
for English prisoners of France in 1798.

According to local history, a cobbler’s wife named Jemima Nicholas gathers a

dozen women and capture a detached body of twelve French soldiers, drunk
at the Royal Oak pub in Fishguard, for which she is gets a pension for life.

1797 – The last Doge of the Republic of Venice, founded as the Ducatus
Venetia of the Exarchate of Italiae of the Basilea Rhomain in 697 and
independent since 814, abdicates in 1797 after surrendering to Napoleon
Bonaparte of France.
1799 – The third Choaunnerie, over yet another levy of troops from the
Republic and over the Law on the Suppression of Banditry and Murder in the
Interior (known as the Law of Hostages) spreads to nearly all of Bretagne
before it is put down by Republican forces. It continues on, however, until
Napoleon Bonaparte overthrows the Directory and pursues a new path to
stabilization. By early the next year, all major leaders have come in.

1804 - Francis II Hapsburg, last ruler of the Imperium Romanum Sacrum,

establishes himself as Francis I of the new Empire of Austria.

1806 – Under threat from Napoleon I of France and his armies, the
Imperium Romanum Sacrum dissolves and reorganizes as the Confederation
of the Rhine.

1807 – Death of Henry Cardinal Stuart, Jacobite Duke of York and last
Stuart Pretender to the throne of Great Britain and Ireland. End of the Royal
House of Stuart of Breton origin.

1831 – The Merthyr Rising in Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorganshire, becomes the

first time the red flag is used as a banner of working-class rebellion in the
U.K. The rising is put down by the 93rd Regiment of Foot (Sutherland
Highlanders) after seven days.

1839 – The Newport Rising of Chartists in Monmoutshire, Wales, demanding

democracy and the right to vote. The 45th Regiment of Foot (Sherwood
Foresters) open fire as ordered, killing 10-25 of the 4000 marchers and
wounding fifty, with four soldiers injured. The sentence of the leaders to
hanging, drawing, and quartering is commuted to transportation.

1886 – Cymru Fydd is founded with the aim of obtaining an autonomous

Welsh government, initially confined to Welsh in London, but spreading to
Wales in 1892. However, dissension within the ranks there causes its
collapse in 1896.

1898 – The Breton Regionalist Union forms to promote Breton culture and
regional autonomy.

1911 – The Breton Nationalist Party advocates independence for Bretagne.

It ceases to exist upon the ourbreak of the First World War in 1914.

1919 – The Breton Regionalist Group (GRB) forms to promote racist pan-
Celticism. It later grows into the PAB.
1925 – Plaid Cymru is formed in Wales.

1927 – The Breton Autonomist Party (PAB) forms to work toward the
autonomy of Bretagne, but it falls apart in 1931 due to infighting, two failed
elections, the increasing social strain of the Great Depression, and the split
between the federalists and the nationalists.

1931 – The Breton National Party (PNB) grows out of the aftermath of the
dissolution of the PAB, reviving the programme of the Breton Nationalist
Party of 1911. Inspired by international Celticists and the Irish republican
movement, and it becomes associated with fascism.

1940 – After the Nazi conquest of France, Bretagne with its many harbors
became the primary base to German U-boats preying on Allied ships.

The BNP collaborates with the Nazi occupation and the Vichy government,
and its paramilitary arm, Kadevernn, becomes the Lu Brezon.

1941 – The Vichy government detaches Loire-Inférieure (in the Ancien

Regime known as Pays de Nantais, since 1957 as Loire-Atlantique) from
Bretagne and attaches it to the region of Angers, former capital of the
province of Anjou. No succeeding French government has ever reversed
this, effectively putting their stamp of approval on it.

The Breton Social-National Workers’ Movement (MOSNB) splits from the

PNB, whose membership it considers not fascist enough.

1942 – In the wake of the Nazi invasion of the USSR, the formerly neutral
French Communist Party organizes the FTP (Francs-Tireurs et Partisans),
especially in Bretagne, where the Maquis are strongest in the central
mountain region, and whose party had been actively resisting since 1940.

1943 – Members of Lu Brezon become targets of the FTP in Bretagne; its

commander transforms it into Bezen Kadoudal, later Bezen Perrot; the Nazis
call it Bretonische Waffenverband der SS (Breton Weapons Association of the
SS), whose peak strength is a mere eighty, compared to twenty thousand
maquisards and other fighters in the FTP and other anti-Nazi groups.

1944 – After D-Day, the Maquis in Bretagne are so successful at destroying

the railroads that the German 7th Army give up trying to resupply and
reinforce Normandie through Bretagne.

Battle of Sainte-Marcel: On 18 June, the Maquis of Sainte-Marcel in

Bretagne, formed especially for the Allied invasion with 200 Free French SAS
and 2400 Resistance fighters, is attacked by a Nazi force of 200 Germans
who thought they were against a small unit. The Germans call in
reinforcements, the Maquis call in Allied air support. At nightfall, the Maquis
withdraw, with the FF SAS covering their retreat. The Maquis-FF SAS force
have lost thirty maquisards and six SAS; the Germans have between 300
and 600 killed.

On 12 July, the Nazis discover the base camp of the headquarters cell
Dingson, capturing its members, whom they shoot at dawn.

Allied Brittany Campaign: In August, two corps of the U.S. Army lands in
the west of Bretagne, the 8th Corps moving west toward Brest and the 20th
Corps moving southwest toward Nantes, intending to meet at Lorient. Both
are accompanied by units of the 20,000 Breton fighters of the Resistance
under the overall command of French French of the Interior ‘s Albert Eon.
After heaving fighting and enormous casualties at Brest, rather than capture
Lorient and St. Nazaire, the Allies opt for keeping the pockets sealed until
the end of the war, with the rest of Bretagne freed.

1950 – The Kendalc'h forms in Quimper to preserve and promote Breton

culture and language.

1951 – The centre-left nationalist Mebyon Kernow forms in Cornwall.

1963 – The Breton Liberation Front (FLB) forms advocating complete

independence; it lasts until some time in the 1990s.

1964 – The Breton Democratic Union (UDB) promotes a more left-wing

nationalism, promoting devolution and support of Breton languages, history,
and culture, without complete separation from France.

1971 – The paramilitary nationalist group Breton Republican Army (ARB)

forms as the armed component of FLB. It later changes its name to Breton
Revolutionary Army.

1983 – Emgann, a leftist Breton nationalist movement, forms in the wake of

the rise and collapse of several small right-wing nationalist groups. Some
have accused it of being the legal above ground arm of ARB since the
dissolution of the FLB.

1995 – A group split from Mebyon Kernow establishes the Cornish

Nationalist Party, to fight for home rule but not independence.
1998 – The Government of Wales Act grants the formation of a National
Assembly for Wales (now Senedd Cymru / Welsh Parliament) with a
significant number of new powers.

2001 – The Breton Reunification movement begins, seeking to have the

Loire-Atlantique (formerly Loire-Inférieure, formerly Pays de Nantais),
detached by the Nazi-allied Vichy regime sixty years before in 1941,
reunited with the rest of Bretagne.

2002 – The Breton Party organizes to push for an independent social-

democratic and social-liberal Republic of Bretagne in the EU.

2013 – The Bonnets Rouge in Bretagne protests the new tax on truck
transport.

2021 – The Devon Independence Movement is founded.

APPENDICES
 Kings of Alt Clut/Ystrad Clud/Cumbria
(early ones are legendary and uncertain, but consistent)

Cinhil ap Cluim
|
Cynloyp ap Cinhil
|
Guletic ap Cynloyp

Ceretic (Coroticus) Guletic ap Cynloyp, King of Alt Clut, 410-450

Dumnagual/Dyfnwal I Hen ap Cinuit, King of Alt Clut, 450-475

Erbin, King of Alt Clut, 475-480

Cinuit ap Ceretic, King of Alt Clut, 480-485

Gereint ap Erbin, King of Alt Clut, 485-490

Tutagual (Tudwal Tudclud) I ap Cinuit, King of Alt Clut, 490-495

Caw ap Garwynwyn, King of Alt Clut, 495-501 (deposed)

Domgal/Dumnagual II ap Cinuit, King of Alt Clut, 501-508

|
Clinoch ap Dumnagual, King of Alt Clut, 508-540

Cinbelin ap Dumnagual, King of Alt Clut, 540-558

|
Tutugual (Tudwal) II ap Cinbelin, King of Alt Clut, 559-573
|
Riderch (Rhydderch) Hen ap Tutugual, King of Alt Clut, 573-612

Neithon (Nechtan) ap Guipno, King of Alt Clut, 612-621

|
Beli I ap Neithon, King of Alt Clut, 621-633
|
Owain ap Beli, King of Alt Clut, 633-645

Guret (Gwriad), King of Alt Clut, 645-658

Mermin, King of Alt Clut, 658-682

Elfin ap Owain, King of Alt Clut, 682-693

 Dumnagual III ap Owain, King of Alt Clut, 693-694

Beli II ap Elfin, King of Alt Clut, 694-722

|
Teudebur (Tewdur) ap Beli, King of Alt Clut, 722-752

Rotri, King of Alt Clut, 752-754

Dumnagual IV ap Teudebur, King of Alt Clut, 754-760

|
Owain ap Dumnagual, King of Alt Clut, 760-780
|
Riderch II ap Owain, King of Alt Clut, 780-798
|
Cynan, King of Alt Clut, 798-816

Dumnagual V ap Riderch, King of Alt Clut, 816-?

Custennin, King of Alt Clut, ?-859

Artgal ap Dumnagual, King of Alt Clut, 859-872

|
Rhun ap Arthgal, King of Ystrad Clud, 872-878
|
Eochaid ap Rhun, King of Ystrad Clud, 878-889
(joint-rule with Cyric/Grioghar, King of Picts)

Dyfnwal/Domnall ap Rhun, King of Ystrad Clud, 889-915

|
Owain ap Dyfnwal, King of the Cumbri, 915-937
|
Dyfnwal ap Owain, King of the Cumbri, 937-975

Malcolm ap Owain, King of the Cumbri, 975-997

Owain ap Dynfwal, King of the Cumbri, 997-1015

Owain Foel ap Malcolm, King of the Cumbri, 1015-1034

Maldred mac Crínáin, King of the Cumbri, 1034-1045

Interregnum, 1045-1054
 Malcolm mac Maldred, ‘son of the King of the Cumbrians’, 1054-c. 1070

(In 1070, Maolchuim Ceannmor mac Donnchad seized Cumbria and gave it
to his son and heir to rule until his succession, a tradition that lasted until
David I merged it into Alba upon his accession to the throne.)

Edward mac Máel Coluim, Prince of Cumbria, 1070-1093

Edmund mac Máel Coluim, Prince of Cumbria, 1094-1097
Étgar mac Maíl Choluim, King of Scots and Prince of Cumbria, 1097-1107
Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim, ‘Prince of the Cumbrians’, 1107-1124
 Kings of Gwynedd
(early ones are legendary and uncertain, but consistent)

House of Cunedda

Tegid (Tacitus)
|
Padarn (Paternus) Beisrudd of the Votadini
|
Edern (Eternus) of the Votadini
|
Cunedda Wledig ap Edern, 1st King of Guynet (Venedotia, Gwynedd)
(his wife was said to be Gwawl, daughter of Coelistus, aka Coel Hen
Godebog, legendary last Dux Britanniarum at Eboracum. He moved from
Guotodin to Venedotia to repel the Uí Liatháin.)
|
Einion Yrth ap Cunedda, King of Guynet
|
Cadwallon Lawhir ap Einion, King of Guynet
|
Maelgwn Wledig ap Cadwallon, King of Guynet, -547
(aka Maelgwn Hir and Maelgwn Gwynedd)
|
Rhun Hir ap Maelgwn, King of Guynet, 547-586
|
Beli ap Rhun, King of Guynet, 586-599
|
Iago ap Beli, King of Guynet, 599-616
|
Cadfan ap Iago, King of Guynet, 613-625
|
Cadwallon ap Cadfan, King of Guynet, 625-634

House Unknown

Cadafael Cadomedd ap Cyndfeddw, King of Guynet, 634-655

House of Cunedda

Cadwaladr Fenigaid ap Cadwallon, King of Guynet, 655-682

|
Idwal Iwrch ap Cadwaladr, King of Guynet, 682-720
|
Rhodri Molwynog ap Idwal, King of Guynet, 720-754
 House Unknown

Caradog ap Meiron, King of Guynet, 754-798

House of Cunedda

Cynan Dindaethwy ap Rhodri, King of Guynet, 798-816

|
Hywel ap Rhodri, King of Guynet, 814-825

House of Manaw

Merfyn Frych ap Gwriad, King of Guynet, 825-844

(aka Merfyn Camwri; his mother was Esyllt, eldest daughter of Cynan
Dindaethwy; became king after defeating the other sons of Rhodri; claimed
by some to be a descendant of Llywarch Hen, bard and former king of
Argoed, thru Elidyr ap Sandde, who moved the family to Ynys Manaw from
Powys in 750)
|
Rhodri Mawr ap Merfyn, King of Guynet, 844-878
|
House of Aberffraw

Anarawd ap Rhodri Mawr, King of Guynet, 878-916

(founder of the House of Aberffraw, so named after the seat of their branch
of the family descended from Rhodir Mawr)
|
Idwal Foel ab Anarawd, King of Guynet, 916-942

House of Dinefwr

Hywel Dda ap Cadell, King of Ceredigion (‘Seisyllwg’), 909-920, King of

Ceredigion and Dyfed (‘Deheubath’), 920-950, King of Powys, 942-950, King
of Guynet, 942-950
(his father Cadell was the second son of Rhodri Mawr)

House of Aberffraw

Iago ab Idwal, joint King of Guynet, 950-979

Ieuaf ab Idwal, joint King of Guynet, 950-969
(the brothers drove out the sons of Hywel Dda and ruled jointly until Iago
imprisoned Ieuaf, who remained there until his death in 988)
|
 Hywel ab Ieuaf, King of Guynet, 979-985
(usurped his uncle but apparently had no interest in freeing his father)

Cadwallon ab Ieuaf, King of Guynet, 985-986

(succeeded upon the death of his brother by natural causes)

House of Dinefwr

Owain ab Hywel Dda, King of ‘Deheubarth’ and Powys, 950-986, King of

Guynet, 986-988
|
Maredudd ab Owain, King of ‘Deheubarth’ and Powys, 988-999, King of
Guynet, 988-999

House of Aberffraw

Cynan ab Hywel, King of Guynet, 999-1005

House Unknown

Aeddan ap Blegywyrd, King of Guynet, 1005-1018

House of Rhuddlan

Llywelyn ap Seisyll, King of Guynet, 1018-1023

House of Aberffraw

Iago ab Idwal ap Meurig, King of Guynet, 1023-1039

(great-grandson of Idwal Foel; killed by his own men)

House of Rhuddlan

Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, King of Guynet, 1039-1063; King of (all) Cymru,

1055-1063

House of Matharafal

Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, King of Powys and King of Guynet, 1063-1075

Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn, King of Guynet, 1063-1070
(the brothers were installed in both kingdoms by Harold Godwinson, King of
the English, and Tostig Godwinson, Earl of Northumbria)
 House of Arwystli

Trahaern ap Caradog, King of Guynet, 1075-1081

(cousin of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, seized Gwenydd after Bleddyn’s death)

House of Aberffraw

Gruffydd ap Cyban, King of Guynet, 1081-1137

|
Owain Fawr ap Gruffydd, King of Guynet, 1137-1170
(first to use the title Prince of Cymru)
|
Hywel ab Owain, King of Guynet, 1170

Daffydd ab Owain, King of Guynet, 1170-1175, King of Gwynedd Is Conwy

1175-1195

Rhodri ab Owain, King of Gwynedd Uwch Conwy, 1175-1195

Principality of Cymru

Llywelyn Fawr ab Iorwerth, King of Guynet, 1195-1240, Prince of Cymru,

1200-1240
(son of Iorwerth Drwyndwn ap Owain, eldest son of Owain Fawr, who did not
become king because of a nose defect)
|
Dafydd ap Llwelyn, King of Guynet and Prince of Cymru, 1240-1246

Owain Goch ap Gruffydd, King of Guynet and Prince of Cymru, 1246-1255

(son of Gruffydd, eldest legitimate son of Llywelyn Fawr; restricted to
Gwynedd Uwch Conwy by the Treaty of Woodstock in 1247)

Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf ap Gruffydd, King of Gwynedd Uwch Conwy, 1255-
1256, King of Guynet (incl. Gwynedd Is Conwy), 1256-1282, Prince of
Cymru, 1258-1282

Dafydd ap Gruffydd, King of Guynet and Prince of Cymru, 1282-1283

(the first notable executed by hanging, drawing, and quartering)

*****
 House of Meirionydd

Madog ap Llywelyn, Prince of Cymru, 1294-1295

(from a minor branch of the House of Aberffraw)

*****

House of Aberffraw

Owain Lawgoch ap Thomas ap Rhodri, pretender to Guynet and to Cymru,

1363-1378
(his grandfather, Rhodri, was brother to Llywelyn the Last)

*****

House of Glyndyfrdwy

Owain Glyndŵr ap Gruffydd, Prince of Powys Fadog and Lord of Glyndyfrdwy,

1370-1415, Prince of Cymru, 1404-1415

(a descendant of several Welsh royal lines thru both his mother and his
father; he disappeared in 1412 and is widely believed to have died at the
Scudamore estate of Kentchurch Court in Herefordshire and been buried
there; his daughter and heiress Alys was the second wife of its owner, Sir
John, but there is no record of them having children together)

*****

House of Dinefwr

Rhys ap Gruffydd Fitz-Urien, d. 1531

(not from the House of Dinefwr branch of the House of Aberffraw, but from
the house which had come to possess Dinefwr Castle; he never claimed to
be Prince of Cymru, but he was found guilty of conspiring with James V of
Scots to overthrow Henry VIII and become so, for which he was beheaded.
He was uncle by marriage to two wives of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and
Catherine Howard, both of whom were also beheaded.)
 Kings of Dumnonia (‘Duvnent’ in Common Brittonic)
(early ones are legendary and uncertain, but consistent)

According to 19th century German historian Johann Martin Lappenberg in his

1845 work History of England under the Anglo-Saxon Kings, Dumnonia
included Cornweahle, Defnascir, Thornsaetas, Sumorsaetas, and Wiltsaetas.

Caradoc, 290-305

Donault, 305-340

Conan Meriadoc ap Gereint, 340-387

|
Gadeon ap Conan, 387-390
|
Guoremor ap Gadeon, 390-400

Tutual ap Guoremor, 400-410

|
Conomor ap Tutual, 410-435
|
Constantine Corneu ap Conomor, 435-443
|
Erbin ap Constantine, 443-480
|
Geraint Llyngesic ab Erbin, 480-514
|
Cado ap Geraint, 514-530
|
St. Constantine ap Cado, 530-560
|
Gerren (Gwrgan?) rac Denau ap Constantine, 560-598

Bledric ap Constantine, 598-613

|
Clemen ap Bledric, 613-633
|
Petroc Baladrddellt ap Clemen, 633-661

Donyarth ap Culmin, 661-700

Geraint, 700-710
 Ithel Eiddyn (the Rock) ap Donyarth (c.710–c.715)
|
Dumnagual Boifunall (of Boifunall) ap Ithel (of Boifunall) (fl. c.730s)
|
Cawrdolli ap Dumnagual (fl. c.750s)
|
Oswallt ap Cawrdolli (fl. c.770s)
|
Hernam ap Oswallt (fl. c.790s)

Kings of the ‘Westwealhas’ under Westseaxna

Hopkin ap Hernam (fl. c.810s)

Mordaf ap Hopkin (fl. c.830s)

Fferferdyn ap Mordaf (fl. c.850s)

Donyarth (c.865–c.878)

Eluid ap Fferferdyn (fl. c.880s)

Alanorus ap Eluid (fl. c.890s)

Huwal (‘king of the West Wealhas’) (early 10th century)

Native Ealdormen and Earls of Cornwall

Conan (c.926–c.937)

Rolope ap Alanorus (fl. c.940s)

Vortegyn Helin (‘Vortegyn the High Lord’) ap Rolope (fl. c.960s) as ‘Duke of
Cornweahle and Westseaxna’

Veffyne ap Vortegyn (fl. c.980s) as ‘Duke of Cornweahle and Westseaxna’

Alured ap Veffyne (fl. c.1000s) as ‘Duke of Cornweahle and Westseaxna’

Godwyn ap Alured (fl. c.1010) as ‘Duke of Cornweahle and Westseaxna’

(possibly same as Godwin, Earl of Wessex)
 Herbert fitz Godwyn (fl. c.1050)

Condor of Cornwall (c.1066–c.1068)

Brian mab Odo of Brittany (1068-1075), as first ‘Earl of Cornwall’

Robert, Comte de Mortaigne (1075–c.1084)

William fitz Robert de Mortaigne (c.1084–c.1104)

Cadoc ap Condor (1104-1140)

*Alan fitz Stephan de Tréguier (1140-1141)

**Reginald Fitzroy de Dunstanville (1141-1175)

*Alan fitz Stephan was Brian of Brittany’s nephew and also the 1st Earl of
Richmond. He surrendered the Earldom of Cornwall after being tortured into
to doing so after his capture at the Battle of Lincoln by Ranulf de Geron, 4th
Earl of Chester.

**Avice ferch Cadoc married Reginald Fitzroy, natural son of Henry I of the
English, who became Earl of Cornwall and Sheriff of Devonshire.
 MONARCHS OF BRETAGNE

Monarchs of Bretagne were variously designated as ‘kings’, ‘dukes’, or

‘princes’, and often were monarchs of one of the lands smaller constituent
realms dominant over the others.

Legendary Kings

According to legend as described in The Dream of Macsen Wledig, the

founder of Bretagne was Conan Meriadoc, to whom Macsen Wledig (Magnus
Maximus) gave Armorica in the late 4th century. No reliable records of
rulers of Bretagne exist until the 9th century. The names on this list were
taken from the websites The History Files and Early British Kingdoms, where
their sources are given. I’ve left out the years due to doubtful authenticity,
but have listed the names out of respect for tradition.

Conan Meriadoc

Erbin mab Conan

Gradlon mab Erbin

Salaun I mab Gradlon

Aldrien mab Selyfan

Budig mab Aldrien

Maxenri mab Budig

Rivon mab Budig

Erich mab Aldrien

Budig II mab Erich

Hoël I Mawr mab Budig

Tuedr Mawr mab Hoel

Hoël II Fychan

Alain I (grandson of Budig II)

 Hoël III mab Alain

Salaun II mab Hoel

Judicaël mab Hoel

Alain II Hir mab Judicael

Urbien mab Alain

Judon mab Urbien

Custantin mab Judon

Argant mab Custantin

Frodaldus

Kingdom of Letau

After the death of Charlemagne in 814, the Breton noble Morman was
declared King of Letau by the nobles and people, only to die in battle in 818.
In 822, the Bretons rose again under a new king, Wihomarc mab Argant,
who defeated the army of Louis the Pious of France in battle in 825 only to
be murdered by Breton lord Lambert, Count of Nantes, for making peace
with the Vikings.

Kings of Letau

Nominoë mab Erispoë (of Poher), Missus Domincus in Bretaigne, 833-843,

Duke of Letau, 846-851
(became king by defeating Charles the Bald of France in the Battle of Ballin)
|
Erispoë mab Nominoë, King of Letau, 851-857

Salomon mab Riwallon (III of Poher), King of Letau, 857-874

(became so by assassinating his cousin)

Pascweten mab Ridoredh (of Vannes), King of (southern) Letau, 874-876

Gurvand of Rennes, King of (northern) Brittany, 874-876
(after Pascweten, grandson of Salomon, took part in his assassination, both
men claimed all of Brittany, but largely stayed within their own regions)

Judicaël (brother of Pascweten), King of (southern) Letau, 876-888

 Alain I le Grand, King of (northern) Letau, 876-888

Alain I le Grand, King of (all) Letau, 888-907

Gourmaëlon, Count of Cornuaille, Prince of Brittany, 907-913

== Viking Interregnum, 913-937 ==

Dukes & Duchesses of Bretaigne

From this time, monarchs of Brittany used the title of Duke or Duchess.

House of Nantes

Alain II Barbecorte, Duke of Bretaigne, 938-952

|
Drogon mab Alain, Duke of Bretaigne, 952-958

Hoël I mab Alan (illegitimate), Duke of Bretaigne, 960-981

Guérech mab Alan (illegitimate), Duke of Bretaigne, 981-988

|
Alain III mab Guérech, Duke of Bretaigne(at least in name), 988-990
(murdered by Conan, Count of Rennes)

House of Rennes

Conan I le Tort de Rennes, Duke of Bretaigne, 990-992

|
Geoffroi I mab Conan, Duke of Bretaigne, 992-1008
(mostly over Upper Bretaigne)
|
Alain III mab Geoffroi, Duke of Bretaigne, 1008-1040
(with mother Hawise of Normandy as regent 1008-1026)
|
Conan II mab Alain, Duke of Bretaigne, 1040-1066
(with uncle Eudon, Count of Penthièvre, as regent 1040-1057)

Havoise ferch Alain, Duchess of Bretaigne, 1066-1072

& Hoël II of Cornuaille, Duke of Brittany jure uxoris, 1066-1072

House of Cornuaille

Alain IV Fergnt mab Hoël, Duke of Bretaigne, 1072-1112

 (son of Hawise, with Hoël II as regent, 1072-1084)
|
Conan III le Gros mab Alan, Duke of Bretaigne, 1112-1148
(married Maud Fitzroy, illegitimate daughter of Henry I of England)
|
Berthe ferch Conan, Duchess of Bretaigne, 1148-1156
& Odo II map Geoffrey of Porhoët, Duke jure uxoris, 1148-1156

House of Penthièvre

Conan IV le Petit mab Alain, Duke of Bretaigne, 1156-1166

(son of Bertha and Alan, 1st Earl of Richmond)
(2nd Earl of Richmond, 1146-1171)
|
Constance ferch Conan, Duchess of Bretaigne, 1166-1201
(also Countess of Richmond, 1183-1196)
& (1st) Geoffrey II Plantagenet, Duke jure uxoris, 1181-1186
(4th son of Henry II of England; 3rd Earl of Richmond, 1183-1186)
& (2nd) Guy de Thouars, Duke jure uxoris, 1199-1201

House of Plantagenet

Arthur I mab Geoffrey, Duke of Bretaigne, 1196-1203

(4th Earl of Richmond, 1196-1203)

House of Thouars

Alix ferch Guy, Duchess of Bretaigne, 1203-1221

(with Guy of Thouars as regent, 1203-1213)
& Peter I Mauclerc de Dreux, Duke jure uxoris, 1213-1221
(Earl of Richmond, 1218-1235)

House of Dreux

Jean I le Roux mab Peter, Duke of Bretaigne, 1221-1286

(with Peter Mauclerc as regent, 1221-1237)
(Earl of Richmond, 1268-1286)
|
Jean II mab Jean, Duke of Bretaigne, 1286-1305
(Earl of Richmond, 1286-1305)
(married Beatrice, daughter of Henry III of England)
|
Arthur II mab Jean (II), Duke of Bretaigne, 1305-1312
(his brother John was Earl of Richmond, 1306-1334)
 |
Jean III le Bon mab Arthur, Duke of Bretaigne, 1312-1341
(Earl of Richmond, 1334-1341)

Breton War of Succession

Jeanne la Boiteuse de Penthièvre, Duchess of Bretaigne, 1341-1364

(daughter of Guy de Penthièvre, brother of John II; titular Duchess of
Brittany, 1365-1384)
& Sainte-Charles I de Blois, Duke jure uxoris, 1341-1364

Jean (IV) de Montfort, pretender Duke of Bretaigne, 1341-1345

(6th Earl of Richmond, 1341-1345)
|
Jean (V) de Montfort, pretender Duke of Bretaigne, 1345-1364

House of Montfort

Jean IV le Conquéreur de Montfort, Duke of Bretaigne, 1364-1399

(same as John (IV) de Montfort above; 7th Earl of Richmond, 1371-1382)
|
Jean V le Sage, Duke of Bretaigne, 1399-1442
(8th Earl of Richmond, 1420-1425; titular 1425-1442)
|
François I le Bien-Aimé, Duke of Bretaigne, 1442-1450
(titular Earl of Richmond, 1458-1488)

Pierre II le Simple, Duke of Bretaigne, 1450-1457

(2nd son of John V; titular Earl of Richmond)

Arthur III le Justicier, Duke of Bretaigne, 1457-1458

(2nd son of John (IV) de Monfort; titular Earl of Richmond)

François II, Duke of Bretaigne, 1458-1488

(son of Richard, 4th son of John IV; titular Earl of Richmond)
|
Anne, Duchess of Bretaigne, 1488-1514
(titular Countess of Richmond; Queen of the Romans, 1490-1508; Empress
of the Romans, 1508-1519; Queen of France, 1491-1514; Queen of Naples,
1501-1504)
 House of Valois

Claude, Duchess of Bretaigne, 1514-1524

(daughter of Anne by Louis XII of France; titular Countess of Richmond;
Queen of France, 1515-1524)
& François de Valois, Duke jure uxoris, 1514-1524; King of France, 1515-
1524
|
François III de Valois, Duke of Bretaigne, 1524-1536
(titular Earl of Richmond; Dauphin of France, 1518-1524)
|
Henry de Valois, Duke of Bretaigne, 1536-1547
(titular Earl of Richmond; became Henry II of France in 1547)
 House of Stewart/Stuart

Alan, Dapifer of the Archbishop of Dol-de-Bretagne

|
Flaad fitz Alan (2nd son, came to England at request of Henry I)
|
Alan fitz Flaad
(his eldest son, William, became Lord of Oswestry and ancestor of the Earls
of Arundel; his 3rd son, Jordan, became Dapifer of Dol; his fourth son,
Simon, is thought to be the ancestor of the House of Boyd)
|
Walter fitz Alan (2nd son), 1st High Steward of Scotland, 1150-1177
|
Alan fitz Walter, 2nd High Steward of Scotland, 1178-1204
|
Walter Stewart, 3rd High Steward of Scotland, 1204-1246
|
Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland, 1246-1282
|
James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland, 1283-1309
(a Guardian of Scotland, 1286-1297)
|
Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, 1309-1327
(married Marjorie, daughter of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, 1306-1329)
|
Robert II Stewart, 7th High Steward, 1327-1371, King of Scots, 1371-1390
|
John (Robert III) Stewart, King of Scots, 1390-1406
|
James I Stewart (3rd son), King of Scots, 1406-1437
|
James II Stewart, King of Scots, 1437-1460
|
James III Stewart, King of Scots, 1460-1488
|
James IV Stewart, King of Scots, 1488-1513
(married Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of England)
|
James V Stewart, King of Scots, 1513-1542
|
Mary I Stuart, Queen of Scots, 1542-1587
(married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, grandson of Margaret Tudor and
Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus; she had already changed the spelling
of her surname while in France)
 |
James VI Stuart, King of Scots, 1587-1625, James I, King of England,
Scotland, France, and Ireland, 1603-1625
|
Charles I Stuart, King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, 1625-1649
|
Charles II Stuart (1st son), King of Scots, 1649-1651, King of England,
Scotland, France, and Ireland, 1660-1685 (the ‘Merry Monarch’)
|
James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, recognized but illegimate son of Charles I;
beheaded by his uncle James after an attempted usurpation

James II & VII Stuart (2nd son), King of England, Scotland, France, and
Ireland, 1685-1688 (‘Dismal Jimmy’)
|
Mary II Stuart (1st daughter), Queen of England, Scotland, France, and
Ireland, 1688-1694 (with William III & II Nassau, King of England, Scotland,
France, and Ireland, 1688-1702)
|
Anne Stuart (2nd daughter), Queen of England, Scotland, France, and
Ireland, 1702-1707, Queen of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, 1707-
1714, last recognized sovereign of the House of Stuart

== continuing Jacobite line ==

James II & VII Stuart, the Deposed Pretender, 1688-1701

|
James III & VIII Stuart, the Old Pretender, 1701-1766
|
Charles III Stuart, the Young Pretender, 1766-1788
|
Henry IX Cardinal Stuart, the Last Pretender, 1788-1807
 House of Tudor (of Penmynydd)

Ednyfed Fychan ap Cynwrig, Seneschal of Gwynedd, 1215-1246

(married daughter of Rhys ap Gruffydd of ‘Deheubarth’)
|
Goronwy ab Ednyfed (2nd son), 1st of Penmynydd, Seneschal of Gwynedd,
1256-1268
|
Tudur Hen ap Goronwy, 2nd of Penmynydd
|
Goronwy ap Tudur Hen, 3rd of Penmynydd
|
Tudur ap Goronwy (2nd son), 4th of Penmynydd
(wife Marged ferch Tomos, sister to Elen, mother of Owain Glyndŵr)
|
Maredudd ap Tudur (4th son)
|
Owen Tudor, born Owen ap Maredudd ap Tudur
(married Catherine of Valois, widow of Henry V of England from the House of
Lancaster and mother of the future Henry VI)
|
Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond (7th creation), 1452-1456
|
Henry VII Tudor, 2nd Earl of Richmond (7th creation), 1456-1509; King of
England and France, and Lord of Ireland, 1485-1509
|
Henry VIII Tudor (2nd son), King of England, France, and Ireland, 1509-
1547
|
Edward VI Tudor (eldest surviving son), King of England, France, and
Ireland, 1547-1553

Jane Grey (first cousin), 1553

(designated heir of Edward VI over his eldest sister Mary; niece of Henry
VIII by his sister Mary; dubbed the “Nine Day Queen”)

Mary I Tudor (1st daughter of Henry VIII), Queen of England, France, and
Ireland, 1553-1558

Elizabeth I Tudor (2nd daughter of Henry VIII), Queen of England, France,

and Ireland, 1558-1603