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

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• heptarchies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of heptarchy

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

heptarchy

One thousand years have now elapsed since Egbert laid the foundation of England's glory, by uniting the kingdoms of the heptarchy.

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 10, No. 279, October 20, 1827 by Various

He could hardly have been ignorant of what had occurred in England in the century previous—how Alfred had broken up the Saxon heptarchy and made himself practically sole king in England.

From Beauties and Antiquities of Ireland by T. O. Russell

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 Hugh Quigley

Trifling as this place now seems, it must have been the manor-house of Solihull, under the Saxon heptarchy; but went to decay so long ago as the conquest.

From An History of Birmingham (1783) by William Hutton

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 Henry Coppee