Alternative History
Register
Advertisement

Cenwalh Cynegiling was the last independent king of the West Saxons, ruling from 643 to 665. The son of Cynegils, and a descendant of Cerdic Elesing, he was one of the leaders of the Saxon army at the Battle of Penn Hill , where he was defeated and killed. With the destruction of the West Saxon army, Cenwalh's lands were left open to plundering and subjugation, and the rump of his kingdom was eventually annexed to Dumnonia.

Cenwalh's sons were all killed in the battle as well, so that his only surviving offspring was a daughter, Ælfwynn. She married Geraint ap Donyarth, second son of King Donyarth of Dumnonia, and who was subsequently installed as sub-king of the former Wessex lands. Their descendants oversaw the assimilation of the Saxons into British society, so that today there is little evidence that the region was ever inhabited by any other than Britons.

Advertisement