Westerne facts for kids
The Westerne were an Anglo-Saxon group of people who lived a long time ago, probably in what is now western England. Their name likely meant "the western people." We don't know a lot about them, not even exactly where they lived.
We mostly know about the Westerne from an old document called the Tribal Hidage. This list was created around the 700s in a powerful kingdom called Mercia. It helped the Mercian rulers understand how much tax or tribute different areas should pay.
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Where Did the Westerne Live?
The Tribal Hidage list suggests that the Westerne lived on the western edge of Mercia's main territory. They might have been connected to another group called the Magonsaetan, who lived near the towns of Leominster and Hereford.
There aren't many Anglo-Saxon burial sites in that area. This might mean that when Mercia took over, they didn't completely change the local people or their customs. Instead, they might have taken control of an area that was already organized by the local British people, possibly a Roman-British area known as the civitas of the Cornovii. A civitas was like a Roman administrative region.
How Important Were They?
The Tribal Hidage listed the Westerne as having 7,000 "hides." A hide was a way to measure land, usually enough to support one family. This number put them in the same group as other smaller kingdoms of the time, like Lindsey, the Hwicce, the East Saxons, and the South Saxons.
It's likely that the Westerne's area was ruled by an ealdorman. An ealdorman was a powerful noble who represented the kings of Mercia and helped manage the region for them.
What Happened to the Westerne?
The Westerne eventually became part of the larger Kingdom of Mercia. However, their region continued to be an important political area for a long time. Even as late as 1016, a leader named Eadric, who was an ealdorman, led the Magonsaetan (who might have been connected to the Westerne) against King Cnut. This shows that the area remained a distinct region even after being absorbed into a larger kingdom.
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