Ine of Wessex Totally Explained

Everything about Ine Of Wessex totally explained

Ine was King of Wessex from 688 to 726. He was unable to retain the territorial gains of his predecessor, Cædwalla, who had brought much of southern England under his control and expanded West Saxon territory substantially. By the end of Ine's reign the kingdoms of Kent, Sussex and Essex were no longer under West Saxon domination; however, Ine maintained control of what is now Hampshire, and consolidated and extended Wessex's territory in the western peninsula.
Ine is noted for his code of laws, which he issued in about 694. These laws were the first issued by an Anglo-Saxon king outside Kent. They shed much light on the history of Anglo-Saxon society, and reveal Ine's Christian convictions. Trade increased significantly during Ine's reign, with the town of Hamwic (now Southampton) becoming prominent. It was probably during Ine's reign that the West Saxons began to mint coins, though none have been found that bear his name.
Ine abdicated in 726 to go to Rome, leaving the kingdom to "younger men", in the words of the contemporary chronicler Bede. He was succeeded by Æthelheard.

Genealogy and accession

Early sources agree that Ine was the son of Cenred, and that Cenred was the son of Ceolwald; further back there's less agreement. Ine's siblings included a brother, Ingild, and two sisters, Cuthburh and Cwenburg. Cuthburh was married to King Aldfrith of Northumbria, and Ine himself was married to Æthelburg.
The genealogy of Ine and of the kings of Wessex is known from two sources: the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the West Saxon Genealogical Regnal List. The Chronicle was created in the late ninth century, probably at the court of Alfred the Great, and some of its annals incorporated short genealogies of kings of Wessex. These are often at variance with the more extensive information in the Regnal List. The inconsistencies appear to result from the efforts of later chroniclers to demonstrate that each king on the list was descended from Cerdic, the founder, according to the Chronicle, of the West Saxon line in England.
Ine's predecessor on the throne of Wessex was Cædwalla, but there's some uncertainty about the transition from Cædwalla to Ine. Cædwalla abdicated in 688 and departed for Rome to be baptised. According to the West Saxon Genealogical Regnal List, Ine reigned for 37 years, abdicating in 726. These dates imply that he didn't gain the throne until 689, which could indicate an unsettled period between Cædwalla's abdication and Ine's accession. Ine may have ruled alongside his father, Cenred, for a period: there's weak evidence for joint kingships, and stronger evidence of subkings reigning under a dominant ruler in Wessex, not long before this time. Ine acknowledges his father's help in his code of laws, and there's also a surviving land-grant that indicates Cenred was still reigning in Wessex after Ine's accession.

Reign

The extent of West Saxon territory at the start of Ine's reign is fairly well known. The upper Thames valley on both sides of the river had long been the territory of the Gewisse, though Cædwalla had lost territory north of the river to the kingdom of Mercia before Ine's accession. To the west, Ceawlin of Wessex is known to have reached the Bristol Channel one hundred years before. The West Saxons had since expanded further down the southwestern peninsula, pushing back the boundary with the British kingdom of Dumnonia, which was probably roughly equivalent to modern Devon and Cornwall. On the West Saxons’ eastern border was the kingdom of the East Saxons, which included London and what is now Surrey. To the southeast were the South Saxons, on the coast east of the Isle of Wight. Beyond Sussex lay the kingdom of Kent. Ine’s predecessor, Cædwalla, had made himself overlord of most of these southern kingdoms, though he hadn't been able to prevent Mercian inroads along the upper Thames.
Ine kept the South Saxons, who had been conquered by Cædwalla in 686, in subjugation for a period. King Nothhelm of Sussex is referred to in a charter of 692 as a kinsman of Ine (perhaps by marriage). Sussex was still under West Saxon domination in 710, when Nothhelm is recorded as having campaigned with Ine in the west against Dumnonia. Evidence for Ine's early control of Surrey comes from the introduction to his laws, in which he refers to Eorcenwald, bishop of London, as "my bishop". Ine's subsequent relations with the East Saxons are illuminated by a letter written in 704 or 705 by Bishop Wealdhere of London to Brihtwold, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The letter refers to "disputes and discords" that had arisen "between the king of the West Saxons and the rulers of our country". The rulers that Wealdhere refers to are Sigeheard and Swaefred of the East Saxons, and the cause of the discord was the East Saxons' sheltering of exiles from the West Saxons. Ine had agreed to peace on the condition that the exiles were expelled. A council at Brentford was planned to resolve the disputes. By this point Surrey had clearly passed out of West Saxon control. but in 722 an exile named Ealdberht fled to Surrey and Sussex, and Ine invaded Sussex as a result. Three years later Ine invaded again, this time killing Ealdberht. Sussex had evidently broken away from West Saxon domination some time before this.

Dumnonia and Mercia

In 710, Ine and Nothhelm fought against Geraint of Dumnonia, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; Ine's advance brought him control of what is now Devon, the new border with Dumnonia being the river Tamar. records that in 722 the British defeated their enemies at the Hehil. The "enemies" must be Ine or his people, but the location is unidentified; historians have suggested locations in both Cornwall and Devon.
Ine fought a battle with the Mercians under Ceolred at Woden’s Barrow in 715, but the result isn't recorded. Woden’s Barrow is a tumulus, now called Adam’s Grave, at Alton Prior, Wiltshire. Ine may not have recovered any of the lands north of the Thames that had belonged to the West Saxons under previous kings, but it's known that he controlled the southern bank: a charter dated 687 shows him giving land to the church at Streatley on the Thames and at nearby Basildon.

Other conflicts

In 721, the Chronicle records that Ine slew one Cynewulf, of whom nothing else is known, though his name suggests a connection to the Wessex royal line. A quarrel apparently arose in the royal family soon afterwards: in 722, according to the Chronicle, Ine's queen Æthelburg destroyed Taunton, which her husband had built earlier in his reign.
   The growth of trade after about 700 was paralleled by an expansion of the area of circulation of the sceat, the common coin of the day, to include the upper Thames valley. In the 670s or 680s, a code was issued in the names of Hlothhere and Eadric of Kent. The next kings to issue laws were Wihtred of Kent and Ine.
   The dates of Wihtred’s and Ine’s laws are somewhat uncertain, but there's reason to believe that Wihtred’s laws were issued on 6 September, 695, while Ine’s laws were written in 694 or shortly before. Another sign of collaboration is that Wihtred’s laws use gesith, a West Saxon term for noble, in place of the Kentish term eorlcund. It is possible that Ine and Wihtred issued the law codes as an act of prestige, to re-establish authority after periods of disruption in both kingdoms. The oldest surviving manuscript, and only complete copy, is Corpus Christi College, Cambridge MS 173, which contains both Alfred’s and Ine’s law codes and the oldest extant text of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Two more partial texts survive. One was originally a complete copy of Ine's laws, part of British Library MS Cotton Otho B xi, but that manuscript was largely destroyed in 1731 by a fire at Ashburnham House in which only Chapters 66 to 76.2 of Ine's laws escaped destruction. A fragment of Ine’s laws can also be found in British Museum MS Burney 277.
   One of the laws states that common land might be enclosed by several ceorls (the contemporary name for Saxon freemen). Any ceorl who fails to fence his share, however, and allows his cattle to stray into someone else's field is to be held liable for any damage caused. It is clear from this and other laws that tenants held the land in tenure from a lord; the king's close involvement indicates that the relationship between lord and tenant was under the king's control.
   The laws that deal with straying cattle provide the earliest documentary evidence for an open-field farming system. They show that open-field agriculture was practiced in Wessex in Ine's time, and it's probable that this was also the prevalent agricultural method throughout the English midlands, and as far north and east as Lindsey and Deira. Not all of Wessex used this system, however: it wasn't used in Devon, for example.
   Another law specified that anyone accused of murder required at least one high-ranking person among his "oath-helpers". An oath-helper would swear an oath on behalf of an accused man, to clear him from the suspicion of the crime. Ine's requirement implies that he didn't trust an oath sworn only by peasants. It may represent a significant change from an earlier time when a man's kin were expected to support him with oaths.
   The laws made separate provision for Ine's English and British subjects and were neither oppressive to the British nor completely even-handed. The evidence they provide for the incomplete integration of the two populations is supported by research into placename history, the history of religious houses, and local archaeology, which indicates that the western part of Wessex was thinly settled by the Germanic newcomers at the time the laws were issued.

Christianity

Ine was a Christian king, who ruled as a patron and protector of the church. The introduction to his laws names his advisors, among whom are Eorcenwald, Bishop of London and Hædde, Bishop of Winchester; Ine says that the laws were also made with the advice and instruction of "all my ealdormen, and chief councillors of my people, and also a great assembly of the servants of God". The laws themselves demonstrate Ine's Christian convictions, though the need for a fine for failing to baptise a child or to tithe indicates that some Christian practices had yet to take firm root. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle also records that Ine built a minster at Glastonbury. This must refer to additional building or re-building since there was already a British monastery at Glastonbury.
Ine has been credited with supporting the establishment of an organized church in Wessex, though it isn't clear that this was his initiative. He is also connected with the oldest known West Saxon synods, presiding at one himself and apparently addressing the assembled clerics.

Abdication and succession

In 726, Ine abdicated, with no obvious heir and, according to Bede, left his kingdom to "younger men" in order to travel to Rome, where he died; his predecessor, Cædwalla, had also abdicated to go to Rome. A trip to Rome was thought to aid one's chance of a welcome in heaven, and according to Bede, many people went to Rome for these reasons: ". . . both noble and simple, layfolk and clergy, men and women alike." Ine's successor was King Æthelheard; it isn't known whether Æthelheard was related to Ine, though some later sources state that Æthelheard was Ine's brother-in-law. Æthelheard's succession to the throne was disputed by an ætheling, Oswald, and it may be that Mercian support for Æthelheard in the unsettled aftermath of Ine's abdication both helped establish Æthelheard as king and also brought him into the sphere of influence of Æthelbald, the king of Mercia.

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