BRETWALDA  , a word used in the Anglo-Saxon See also:

• CHRONICLE (from Gr. Xpovos, time)

Chronicle under the date 827, and also in a See also:

• CHARTER (Lat. charta, carta, from Gr. Xap-rns, originally for papyrus, material for writing, thence transferred to paper and from this material to the document, in O. Eng. boc, book)

charter of sEthelstan, See also:

• KING
• KING (O. Eng. cyning, abbreviated into cyng, cing; cf. O. H. G. chun- kuning, chun- kunig, M.H.G. kiinic, kiinec, kiinc, Mod. Ger. Konig, O. Norse konungr, kongr, Swed. konung, kung)
• KING [OF OCKHAM], PETER KING, 1ST BARON (1669-1734)
• KING, CHARLES WILLIAM (1818-1888)
• KING, CLARENCE (1842–1901)
• KING, EDWARD (1612–1637)
• KING, EDWARD (1829–1910)
• KING, HENRY (1591-1669)
• KING, RUFUS (1755–1827)
• KING, THOMAS (1730–1805)
• KING, WILLIAM (1650-1729)
• KING, WILLIAM (1663–1712)

king of the See also:

• ENGLISH

English . It appears in several variant forms (brytenwalda, bretenanwealda, &c.), and means most probably " See also:

• LORD
• LORD (O. Eng. hldford, i.e. hldfweard, the warder or keeper of bread, hlIf, loaf; the word is not represented in any other Teutonic language)
• LORD, JOHN (1810-1894)

lord of the Britons " or " lord of See also:

• BRITAIN (Gr. Hperavuml vi7vot, Bperravia; Lat. Britannia, rarely Britannia)

Britain "; for although the derivation of the word is uncertain, its earlier syllable seems to be cognate with the words Briton and Britannia . In the Chronicle the See also:

• TITLE (0. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. titulus)

title is given to See also:

• ECGBERT, or ECGBERHT (d. 766)
• ECGBERT, or ECGBERHT (d. 839)

Ecgbert, king of the English, " the eighth king that was Bretwalda," and retrospectively to seven See also:

• KINGS, FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF

kings who ruled over one or other of the English kingdoms . The seven names are copied from See also:

• BEDE, BEDA, or B
• BEDE, CUTHBERT

Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica, and it is interesting to See also:

• NOTE
• NOTE (Lat. nota, mark, sign, from noscere, to know)

note that the last king named, Oswiu of See also:

• NORTHUMBRIA (regnum Northanhymbrorum)

Northumbria, lived 150 years before Ecgbert . It has been assumed that these seven kings exercised a certain superiority over a large See also:

• PART

part of See also:

• ENGLAND
• ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF

England, but if such superiority existed it is certain that it was extremely vague and was unaccompanied by any unity of organization . Another theory is that Bretwalda refers to a See also:

• WAR
• WAR (O. Eng. werre, Fr. guerre, of Teutonic origin; cf. O.H.G. werran, to confound)

war-leadership, or imperium, over the English See also:

• SOUTH
• SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

south of the See also:

• HUMBER

Humber, and has nothing to do with Britons or Britannia . In support of this explanation it is urged that the title is given in the Chronicle to Ecgbert in the See also:

• YEAR

year in which he " conquered the See also:

• KINGDOM

kingdom of the Mercians and all that was south of the Humber." Less likely is the theory of See also:

• PALGRAVE, FRANCIS TURNER (1824-1897)
• PALGRAVE, SIR FRANCIS (1788-1861)

Palgrave that the Bretwaldas were the successors of the pseudo-emperors, See also:

• MAXIMUS
• MAXIMUS, ST (c. 58o-662)

Maximus and See also:

• CARAUSIUS, MARCUS AURELIUS

Carausius, and claimed to See also:

• SHARE (O. Eng. scearu, chiefly in compounds, e.g. land-scearu, a share of land, from sceran to cut; cf. " shear" )

share the imperial dignity of See also:

• ROME
• ROME (Roma)

Rome; or that of See also:

• KEMBLE
• KEMBLE, JOHN MITCHELL (1807-1857)

Kemble, who derives Bretwalda from the See also:

• BRITISH

British word breotan, to distribute, and translates it " widely ruling." With regard to Ecgbert the word is doubtless given as a title in See also:

• IMITATION (Lat. imitatio, from intitari, to imitate)

imitation of its earlier use, and the same remark applies to its use in AEthelstan's charter . See E . A . See also:

• FREEMAN
• FREEMAN, EDWARD AUGUSTUS (1823-1892)

Freeman, See also:

• HISTORY

History of the See also:

• NORMAN
• NORMAN, SIR HENRY WYLIE (1826-1904)

Norman See also:

• CONQUEST

Conquest, vol. i . (See also:

• OXFORD
• OXFORD, EARLS OF
• OXFORD, EDWARD DE VERE, 17TH EARL
• OXFORD, JOHN DE VERE, 13TH EARL OF (1443-1513)
• OXFORD, PROVISIONS OF
• OXFORD, ROBERT DE VERE, 9TH EARL OF (1362-1392)
• OXFORD, ROBERT HARLEY, 1ST

Oxford, 1877) ; W . See also:

• STUBBS [STUBBES], PHILIP (c. 1555-c. 161o)
• STUBBS [STUnnE], JOHN
• STUBBS, WILLIAM (1825-1901)

Stubbs, Constitutional History, vol. i .

(Oxford, 1897) ; J . R . See also:

• GREEN, A
• GREEN, ALEXANDER HENRY (1832—1896)
• GREEN, DUFF (1791—1875)
• GREEN, JOHN RICHARD (1837—1883)
• GREEN, MATTHEW (1696-1737)
• GREEN, THOMAS HILL (1836-1882)
• GREEN, VALENTINE (1739–1813)
• GREEN, WILLIAM HENRY (.1825–1900)

Green, The Making of England, vol. ii . (See also:

• LONDON

London, 1897) ; F . Palgrave, The Rise and Progress of the English See also:

• COMMONWEALTH

Commonwealth (London, 1832) ; J . M . Kemble, The See also:

• SAXONS

Saxons in England (London, 1876) ; J . Rhys, See also:

• CELTIC

Celtic Britain (London, 1884) .