Kingdom of Essex

Quick Facts: Who was Kingdom of Essex?

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Kingdom of Essex

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An early medieval English kingdom, one of the seven traditional Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

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Origins & Early Life

The Kingdom of the East Saxons, referred to as the Kingdom of Essex (), was an early medieval English kingdom, constituting one of the seven traditional kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon period. It was founded in the 6th century and covered the territory later occupied by the counties of Essex, Middlesex, much of Hertfordshire and (for a short while) west Kent. The last king of Essex was Sigered of Essex, who in 825 ceded the kingdom to Ecgberht, King of Wessex. The Kingdom of Essex was bounded to the north by the River Stour and the Kingdom of East Anglia, to the south by the River Thames and Kent, to the east lay the North Sea and to the west Mercia. The territory included the remains of two provincial Roman capitals, Colchester and London.

Career & Major Achievements

The kingdom included the Middle Saxon Province, which included the area of the later County of Middlesex and most, if not all, of Hertfordshire Although the province is ever recorded only as part of the East Saxon Kingdom, charter evidence shows that it was not part of its core territory. In the core area, it granted charters freely, but further west, it did so while making reference to its Mercian overlords. At times, Essex was ruled jointly by co-Kings, and it thought that the Middle Saxon Province is likely to have been the domain of one of the co-kings. The links to Essex between Middlesex and parts of Hertfordshire were long reflected in the Diocese of London, re-established in 604 as the East Saxon see, and its boundaries continued to be based on the Kingdom of Essex until the nineteenth century. The East Saxons also had intermittent control of Surrey.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

For a brief period in the 8th century, the Kingdom of Essex controlled west Kent. The modern English county of Essex maintains the historic northern and the southern borders but covers only the territory east of the River Lea, the other parts being lost to neighbouring Mercia during the 8th century. In the Tribal Hidage it is listed as containing 7,000 hides. Although the kingdom of Essex was one of the kingdoms of the Heptarchy, its history is not well documented. It produced relatively few Anglo-Saxon charters and no version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; in fact, the only mention in the chronicle concerns Bishop Mellitus.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Kingdom of Essex

True or False: “The Kingdom of Essex was always entirely independent from Mercian influence throughout its entire existence.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): Charter evidence shows that while the core area granted charters freely, further west in the Middle Saxon Province, references were often made to Mercian overlords.

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