heptarchy

American  

[hep-tahr-kee] / ˈhɛp tɑr ki /

noun

heptarchies plural

1. (often initial capital letter) the seven principal concurrent Anglo-Saxon kingdoms supposed to have existed in the 7th and 8th centuries.

2. government by seven persons.

3. an allied group of seven states or kingdoms, each under its own ruler.

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heptarchy British  

/ ˈhɛptɑːkɪ /

noun

1. government by seven rulers

2. a state divided into seven regions each under its own ruler

3. 1. the seven kingdoms into which Anglo-Saxon England is thought to have been divided from about the 7th to the 9th centuries _ad : Kent, East Anglia, Essex, Sussex, Wessex, Mercia, and Northumbria

   2. the period when this grouping existed

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• heptarchal
  adjective
• heptarchic
  adjective
• heptarchist
  noun
• heptarchical
  adjective
• heptarch
  noun

Inflected Forms

noun

• heptarchies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of heptarchy

First recorded in 1570–80; hept- ( def. ) + -archy

Example Sentences

Princes, chieftains, and warriors of the name were renowned before Charlemagne or Alfred ascended the throne, or before any of the petty princes of the heptarchy ruled over the barbarous Saxons.

From The Cross and the Shamrock Or, How To Defend The Faith. An Irish-American Catholic Tale Of Real Life, Descriptive Of The Temptations, Sufferings, Trials, And Triumphs Of The Children Of St. Patrick In The Great Republic Of Washington. A Book For The Entertainment And Special Instructions Of The Catholic Male And Female Servants Of The United States. by Quigley, Hugh

But, as in the Saxon times this country was an heptarchy, it is now a strange sort of pentarchy.

From The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 02 (of 12) by Burke, Edmund

Which medley, canton'd in a heptarchy, A rhapsody of nations to supply, Among themselves maintain'd eternal wars, And still the ladies loved the conquerors.

From The True-Born Englishman A Satire by Defoe, Daniel

The band now struck up again, and played a waltz--a dance new to our country, but older than the heptarchy.

From Snarleyyow by Marryat, Frederick

The kingdoms of the heptarchy, or octarchy, had been united under the dominion of Egbert, the King of Wessex, in the year 827, and thus formed the kingdom of England.

From English Literature, Considered as an Interpreter of English History Designed as a Manual of Instruction by Coppee, Henry