heptarchy
Americannoun
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(often initial capital letter) the seven principal concurrent Anglo-Saxon kingdoms supposed to have existed in the 7th and 8th centuries.
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government by seven persons.
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an allied group of seven states or kingdoms, each under its own ruler.
noun
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government by seven rulers
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a state divided into seven regions each under its own ruler
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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
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the period when this grouping existed
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of heptarchy
First recorded in 1570–80; hept- ( def. ) + -archy
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It is true, we can derive from no quarter a favourable opinion of the state of England after the Saxon invasion, and during the tumultuous and bloody government of the heptarchy.
From The Grammar of English Grammars by Brown, Goold
His victories in these wars resulted in the final establishment of his authority over the entire heptarchy, and this made him in fact, though not in name, the first real king of England.
From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 04 by Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis)
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
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
They are not all equal in rank, and even in the work of that heptarchy of genius, there were trivial things to be found....
From Stories of Authors, British and American by Chubb, Edwin Watts
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
