Heptarchy

Heptarchy, the name sometimes applied to the seven kingdoms supposed to have been established by the Saxons in England. The term is completely misleading if it be taken to mean that there were neither more nor less than seven distinct kingdoms in the country down to the time of Egbert; but is permissible enough if taken to mean only that the chief kingdoms at various periods from the 5th to the 9th century were Wessex, Sussex, Kent, Essex, East Anglia, Mercia, and Northumbria (see ENGLAND). The shadowy sovereignty of the Bretwalda is discussed under that head.