Cutha Cathwulf
Encyclopedia
Cutha Cathwulf was the third son of Cuthwine
and consequently a member of the House of Wessex
. Although a member of the direct male line from Cynric
to Egbert
, (see House of Wessex family tree
), Cathwulf was never king. He is said to have been born in c. 592 and his death date is unknown.
His brothers were Cynebald and Cedda
; his son was Ceolwald of Wessex
; nothing more of his life is known.
Due to the similarity of his name to his father's name, and the shadowy nature of early Anglo-Saxon genealogies, it appears that he was often confused with his father Cuthwine. For example, Caedwalla was said to be the son of Cedda and the grandson of Cutha, where Cutha here presumably refers to Cuthwine, since Cedda is also said to be the brother of Cathwulf, the name by which Cutha Cathwulf was more commonly known.
, son of Ceawlin, son of Cynric, the son of Cerdic, the first of the Saxons to come across the sea from Germany; and he and his people were still relatively out of place in a world dominated by the Britons. He was born in the final year of his father's time as prince of the Saxons.
Ceawlin lost the throne of Wessex in June 592. The annal for that year in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
reads, at least in part: “Here there was great slaughter at Woden’s Barrow, and Ceawlin was driven out.” Woden’s Barrow is a tumulus, now called Adam’s Grave, at Alton Priors, Wiltshire
. His opponent was Ceol, the next king of Wessex, who ruled for six years. The origins of the battle are unclear; it is probable that nothing more than greed and a lust for power motivated Ceol. Cuthwine, then twenty-seven, was a commander in the fateful battle; but upon defeat, as the rightful heir to the throne, he fled the place along with his young sons.
The following year (593) saw the deaths of Ceawlin and all his brothers in unclear circumstances, although most likely in another battle. Cuthwine escaped from this defeat also, and went into exile to the east with his young family. If Ceol and Ceolwulf made efforts to eradicate the members of the original branch of the ruling family, they were unsuccessful. At any rate the Cuthwines remained at large during this period, far from fugitives after the first few years of their supposed exile.
Ceol, described as a ruthless leader, was a son of another prince called Cutha (the brother of Ceawlin and a son of Cynric) and hence a cousin of Cuthwine; and Ceolwulf
, his brother, reigned for seventeen years after him. Great fragmentation of control among the West Saxons occurred at this time: Ceol and Ceolwulf were in control of Wiltshire, as opposed to the upper Thames valley
where Cuthwine and his household were almost certainly based.
Cathwulf had two brothers; Cynebald, born 585, and Cedda
, born 590. The name of their mother is not recorded, but it is possible that she died in the tumult surrounding Cuthwine's flight into exile given that Cuthwine had no more children after that time.
overran the kingdom (in return for Cenwalh's repudiation of Penda's sister) and was for three years king, sending Cenwalh into exile in East Anglia. Cathwulf is recorded as having been present at the negotiations along with his brothers (although some sources say it was Cuthwine, which could of course mean his father), but little more is known of his activities. Nevertheless, much can be deduced. If this experienced prince was not the sole ruler of Wessex during the years of Cenwalh's exile (naturally in a subservient position to Penda) then it is likely that he was a member of the ruling body; but, given the tangled diplomacy of the times and his eastern power base, it is equally likely that he aided Cenwalh in his successful attempt to regain the throne in 648.
After this, he appears infrequently as a shadowy figure, apparently already passing into legend among the common people as a result of his long-held position against the (at times) brutal role of Ceol and his family. He probably died sometime during the second period of Cenwalh's reign, as he would have been past eighty by the year 672 when Cenwalh died, and there are no records of him doing anything in the turbulent times succeeding Cenwalh's death. It seems inconceivable that he would have lived to see the reinstatement of his line to the throne of Wessex.
This enigmatic prince and his long roster of descendants were not forgotten by the West Saxons, however. When the line of Ceol finally became extinct, first Caedwalla of Wessex
and then Ine of Wessex
became king; the first a great-nephew, and the second a grandson of Cathwulf. Nowadays he occurs in many places simply as one of a long list of names in the descent from Egbert
back to the dawn of time, but it is thanks to him that this continuous descent can be traced at all.
where the household of Cathwulf was based became too small to comfortably hold the three brothers. As the youngest, Cathwulf was the one who was forced to move - at any rate this is a sensible deduction given that he later turns up in what is now east Devon
, on the western marches of Wessex and in constant conflict with Dumnonia
. This was a Celtic tribe that inhabited Cornwall
, although in Cathwulf's time their sphere of influence was much greater, extending over most of what is now Devon as well. The chronology of English dominance over Cornwall is unclear, but inevitably at about this time Cornwall came into conflict with the westerly-expanding kingdom of Wessex. There are no recorded charters or legal agreements showing Cornwall as part of Wessex. Furthermore, there is little economic, military, social, cultural or archaeological evidence that Wessex established control over Cornwall, certainly not in those early days.
The Britons in Dumnonia were cut off from their allies in Wales by Ceawlin of Wessex's victory at Dyrham in 577, but since sea travel was easier than land, the blow may not have been severe. Clemen ap Bledric
is thought to have been king when the Britons fought the Battle of Beandun (possibly Bindon near Axmouth
in east Devon) in 614. The battle site suggests that the Dumnonian army was invading Wessex using the Roman road eastward from Exeter
to Dorchester and was intercepted by a West Saxon garrison marching south. The Flores Historiarum
, attributed incorrectly to Matthew of Westminster
, states that the Britons were still in possession of Exeter in 632, when it was bravely defended against Penda of Mercia
until relieved by Cadwallon
, who engaged and defeated the Mercians with "great slaughter to their troops". Geoffrey of Monmouth
also details an account of the siege in his pseudo-historic Historia Brittonum, stating that Cadwallon made an alliance with the British nobility.
From this circumstantial evidence comes further consolidation that the boundary between Wessex and Dumnonia ran through east Devon, more or less where Cathwulf was based. A theory can thus be deduced; that Cathwulf, unwelcome in the lands of his brothers or in the land closely controlled by the king Cynegils, was forced to move to the very edges of the kingdom. He and his people may even have been sent there in the hope that they would be killed by the Dumnonians.
The date of the move is unclear, although if it was before 614 then Cathwulf would have been the West Saxon commander at the Battle of Beandun mentioned above. This seems likely.
It is known that Cathwulf married a Dumnonian princess Gwynhafar, almost certainly a daughter of Clemen ap Bledric
, as part of a (temporary, at least) alliance - probably the one mentioned above by Geoffrey of Monmouth, or maybe an earlier one. The marriage was perhaps unsuccessful, as he is believed to only have had one son, Ceolwald of Wessex
.
Cuthwine
Cuthwine, born c. 565, was a member of the House of Wessex, son of Ceawlin of Wessex. After the deposition of his father Ceawlin from the throne of Wessex in 592 he did not inherit the throne which passed to his cousin, Ceol...
and consequently a member of the House of Wessex
House of Wessex
The House of Wessex, also known as the House of Cerdic, refers to the family that ruled a kingdom in southwest England known as Wessex. This House was in power from the 6th century under Cerdic of Wessex to the unification of the Kingdoms of England....
. Although a member of the direct male line from Cynric
Cynric of Wessex
Cynric was King of Wessex from 534 to 560. Everything known about him comes from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. There he is stated to have been the son of Cerdic, and also to have been the son of Cerdic's son, Creoda...
to Egbert
Egbert of Wessex
Egbert was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was Ealhmund of Kent...
, (see House of Wessex family tree
House of Wessex family tree
The following chart is a family tree of the kings of the House of Wessex, a dynasty whose members were Kings of Wessex, and then, from Athelstan onwards, Kings of England....
), Cathwulf was never king. He is said to have been born in c. 592 and his death date is unknown.
His brothers were Cynebald and Cedda
Cedda
Cedda was the second son of Cuthwine and consequently a member of the Wessex family. He was born c. 590 and his death date is unknown...
; his son was Ceolwald of Wessex
Ceolwald of Wessex
Ceolwald of Wessex was a member of the House of Wessex . Although a member of the direct male line from Cynric to Egbert, Ceolwald was never king. His birth and death dates are unknown....
; nothing more of his life is known.
Due to the similarity of his name to his father's name, and the shadowy nature of early Anglo-Saxon genealogies, it appears that he was often confused with his father Cuthwine. For example, Caedwalla was said to be the son of Cedda and the grandson of Cutha, where Cutha here presumably refers to Cuthwine, since Cedda is also said to be the brother of Cathwulf, the name by which Cutha Cathwulf was more commonly known.
Early life
Cathwulf was born in tumultuous times. He was the third son of CuthwineCuthwine
Cuthwine, born c. 565, was a member of the House of Wessex, son of Ceawlin of Wessex. After the deposition of his father Ceawlin from the throne of Wessex in 592 he did not inherit the throne which passed to his cousin, Ceol...
, son of Ceawlin, son of Cynric, the son of Cerdic, the first of the Saxons to come across the sea from Germany; and he and his people were still relatively out of place in a world dominated by the Britons. He was born in the final year of his father's time as prince of the Saxons.
Ceawlin lost the throne of Wessex in June 592. The annal for that year in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
reads, at least in part: “Here there was great slaughter at Woden’s Barrow, and Ceawlin was driven out.” Woden’s Barrow is a tumulus, now called Adam’s Grave, at Alton Priors, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. His opponent was Ceol, the next king of Wessex, who ruled for six years. The origins of the battle are unclear; it is probable that nothing more than greed and a lust for power motivated Ceol. Cuthwine, then twenty-seven, was a commander in the fateful battle; but upon defeat, as the rightful heir to the throne, he fled the place along with his young sons.
The following year (593) saw the deaths of Ceawlin and all his brothers in unclear circumstances, although most likely in another battle. Cuthwine escaped from this defeat also, and went into exile to the east with his young family. If Ceol and Ceolwulf made efforts to eradicate the members of the original branch of the ruling family, they were unsuccessful. At any rate the Cuthwines remained at large during this period, far from fugitives after the first few years of their supposed exile.
Ceol, described as a ruthless leader, was a son of another prince called Cutha (the brother of Ceawlin and a son of Cynric) and hence a cousin of Cuthwine; and Ceolwulf
Ceolwulf
Ceolwulf, occasionally spelt Ceolwulph, may refer to:*Ceolwulf of Denmark, possible King of Denmark*Ceolwulf I of Mercia, King of Mercia*Ceolwulf II of Mercia, King of Mercia*Ceolwulf of Northumbria , King of Northumbria...
, his brother, reigned for seventeen years after him. Great fragmentation of control among the West Saxons occurred at this time: Ceol and Ceolwulf were in control of Wiltshire, as opposed to the upper Thames valley
Thames Valley
The Thames Valley Region is a loose term for the English counties and towns roughly following the course of the River Thames as it flows from Oxfordshire in the west to London in the east. It includes parts of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, North Hampshire, Surrey and west London...
where Cuthwine and his household were almost certainly based.
Cathwulf had two brothers; Cynebald, born 585, and Cedda
Cedda
Cedda was the second son of Cuthwine and consequently a member of the Wessex family. He was born c. 590 and his death date is unknown...
, born 590. The name of their mother is not recorded, but it is possible that she died in the tumult surrounding Cuthwine's flight into exile given that Cuthwine had no more children after that time.
Later life
Details about the activities of Cathwulf during most of his life in exile are very hard to come by. He and his brothers remained in a powerful position throughout the reign of Cynegils, son of Ceol; and then Cenwalh, son of Cynegils, became king. In the year 645 Penda of MerciaPenda of Mercia
Penda was a 7th-century King of Mercia, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom in what is today the English Midlands. A pagan at a time when Christianity was taking hold in many of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Penda took over the Severn Valley in 628 following the Battle of Cirencester before participating in the...
overran the kingdom (in return for Cenwalh's repudiation of Penda's sister) and was for three years king, sending Cenwalh into exile in East Anglia. Cathwulf is recorded as having been present at the negotiations along with his brothers (although some sources say it was Cuthwine, which could of course mean his father), but little more is known of his activities. Nevertheless, much can be deduced. If this experienced prince was not the sole ruler of Wessex during the years of Cenwalh's exile (naturally in a subservient position to Penda) then it is likely that he was a member of the ruling body; but, given the tangled diplomacy of the times and his eastern power base, it is equally likely that he aided Cenwalh in his successful attempt to regain the throne in 648.
After this, he appears infrequently as a shadowy figure, apparently already passing into legend among the common people as a result of his long-held position against the (at times) brutal role of Ceol and his family. He probably died sometime during the second period of Cenwalh's reign, as he would have been past eighty by the year 672 when Cenwalh died, and there are no records of him doing anything in the turbulent times succeeding Cenwalh's death. It seems inconceivable that he would have lived to see the reinstatement of his line to the throne of Wessex.
This enigmatic prince and his long roster of descendants were not forgotten by the West Saxons, however. When the line of Ceol finally became extinct, first Caedwalla of Wessex
Caedwalla of Wessex
Cædwalla was the King of Wessex from approximately 685 until he abdicated in 688. His name is derived from the British Cadwallon. He was exiled as a youth, and during this time attacked the South Saxons and killed their king, Æthelwealh, in what is now Sussex. Cædwalla was unable to hold the...
and then Ine of Wessex
Ine of Wessex
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...
became king; the first a great-nephew, and the second a grandson of Cathwulf. Nowadays he occurs in many places simply as one of a long list of names in the descent from Egbert
Egbert
Several Anglo-Saxon persons were named Ecgberht . The name itself means "Bright Edge," such as that of a blade.*Ecgberht of Kent *Saint Egbert , hermit and missionary...
back to the dawn of time, but it is thanks to him that this continuous descent can be traced at all.
Family and move to Devon
In about the year 620 it appears that the upper Thames valleyThames Valley
The Thames Valley Region is a loose term for the English counties and towns roughly following the course of the River Thames as it flows from Oxfordshire in the west to London in the east. It includes parts of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, North Hampshire, Surrey and west London...
where the household of Cathwulf was based became too small to comfortably hold the three brothers. As the youngest, Cathwulf was the one who was forced to move - at any rate this is a sensible deduction given that he later turns up in what is now east Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, on the western marches of Wessex and in constant conflict with Dumnonia
Dumnonia
Dumnonia is the Latinised name for the Brythonic kingdom in sub-Roman Britain between the late 4th and late 8th centuries, located in the farther parts of the south-west peninsula of Great Britain...
. This was a Celtic tribe that inhabited Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, although in Cathwulf's time their sphere of influence was much greater, extending over most of what is now Devon as well. The chronology of English dominance over Cornwall is unclear, but inevitably at about this time Cornwall came into conflict with the westerly-expanding kingdom of Wessex. There are no recorded charters or legal agreements showing Cornwall as part of Wessex. Furthermore, there is little economic, military, social, cultural or archaeological evidence that Wessex established control over Cornwall, certainly not in those early days.
The Britons in Dumnonia were cut off from their allies in Wales by Ceawlin of Wessex's victory at Dyrham in 577, but since sea travel was easier than land, the blow may not have been severe. Clemen ap Bledric
Clemen ap Bledric
Clemen ap Bledric was a 7th century King of Dumnonia .-Family, life and rule:...
is thought to have been king when the Britons fought the Battle of Beandun (possibly Bindon near Axmouth
Axmouth
Axmouth is a village and civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England, near the mouth of the River Axe. The village itself is about 1 km inland, although the parish extends to the sea. The village is near Seaton and Beer...
in east Devon) in 614. The battle site suggests that the Dumnonian army was invading Wessex using the Roman road eastward from Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
to Dorchester and was intercepted by a West Saxon garrison marching south. The Flores Historiarum
Flores Historiarum
The Flores Historiarum is a Latin chronicle dealing with English history from the creation to 1326 . It was compiled by various persons and quickly acquired contemporary popularity, for it was continued by many hands in many manuscript traditions...
, attributed incorrectly to Matthew of Westminster
Matthew of Westminster
Matthew of Westminster, long regarded as the author of the Flores Historiarum, is now thought never to have existed.The error was first discovered in 1826 by Francis Turner Palgrave, who said that Matthew was "a phantom who never existed," and later the truth of this statement was completely proved...
, states that the Britons were still in possession of Exeter in 632, when it was bravely defended against Penda of Mercia
Penda of Mercia
Penda was a 7th-century King of Mercia, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom in what is today the English Midlands. A pagan at a time when Christianity was taking hold in many of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Penda took over the Severn Valley in 628 following the Battle of Cirencester before participating in the...
until relieved by Cadwallon
Cadwallon
Cadwallon is a Welsh name, derived from an earlier Old Welsh version of the same name spelled Caswallawn. The name honours Cassivelaunus who was the pre-Roman king of the British Catuvellauni tribe who successfully resisted the Romans in 55 BC....
, who engaged and defeated the Mercians with "great slaughter to their troops". Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth was a cleric and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur...
also details an account of the siege in his pseudo-historic Historia Brittonum, stating that Cadwallon made an alliance with the British nobility.
From this circumstantial evidence comes further consolidation that the boundary between Wessex and Dumnonia ran through east Devon, more or less where Cathwulf was based. A theory can thus be deduced; that Cathwulf, unwelcome in the lands of his brothers or in the land closely controlled by the king Cynegils, was forced to move to the very edges of the kingdom. He and his people may even have been sent there in the hope that they would be killed by the Dumnonians.
The date of the move is unclear, although if it was before 614 then Cathwulf would have been the West Saxon commander at the Battle of Beandun mentioned above. This seems likely.
It is known that Cathwulf married a Dumnonian princess Gwynhafar, almost certainly a daughter of Clemen ap Bledric
Clemen ap Bledric
Clemen ap Bledric was a 7th century King of Dumnonia .-Family, life and rule:...
, as part of a (temporary, at least) alliance - probably the one mentioned above by Geoffrey of Monmouth, or maybe an earlier one. The marriage was perhaps unsuccessful, as he is believed to only have had one son, Ceolwald of Wessex
Ceolwald of Wessex
Ceolwald of Wessex was a member of the House of Wessex . Although a member of the direct male line from Cynric to Egbert, Ceolwald was never king. His birth and death dates are unknown....
.