Bede records Aethelbert of Kent as being dominant at the close of the 6th century, but power seems to have shifted northwards to the kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. Aethelbert and some of the later kings of the other kingdoms were recognised by their fellow kings as Bretwalda. The so-called 'Mercian Supremacy' dominated the 8th century, though again it was not constant. Aethelbald and Offa, the two most powerful kings, achieved high status. This period has been described as the Heptarchy, though this term has now fallen out of academic use. The word arose on the basis that the seven kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia, Kent, East Anglia, Essex, Sussex and Wessex were the main polities of south Britain. More recent scholarship has shown that theories of the 'heptarchy' are not grounded in evidence, and it is far more likely that power fluctuated between many more 'kingdoms'. Other politically important 'kingdoms' across this period include: Hwicce, Magonsaete, Kingdom of Lindsey
the first several hundred years of the Anglo-Saxon era, primarily because the invaders were an illiterate people. It is known that they established separate kingdoms: the Saxons settled in the South and West, the Angles in the East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria and the Jutes in Kent. They probably thought of themselves as separate peoples, but they shared a common language and similar customs. *The 7 Anglo-Saxon kingdoms The first of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, which was popularly known as the Heptarchy (or the Seven Kingdoms), was founded in the latter half of the 5th century. Englan was divided into seven ancient kingdoms: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex and Wessex. The period supposedly lasted until the kingdoms began to consolidate into larger units, but the actual events marking this transition are debatable. *St Patric and the Christianization of Ireland was a Christian missionary and is the patron saint of Ireland
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