BattlefieldsBattle of Cirencester — Penda and the Hwicce
Early Medieval

Battle of Cirencester — Penda and the Hwicce

628
Gloucestershire, England
Also known as: Penda's Western Campaign 628
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Gloucestershire, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Wessex (Cynegils / Cwichelm)
Forces
c. 1,500–2,500 Wessex; Cirencester encounter.
VS
Victor
Mercia (Penda)
Forces
c. 1,500–2,500 Mercia
Outcome
Mercian victory; Thames valley Cotswolds secured; Hwicce sub-kingdom established
The Battle

History & Significance

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Penda fought the West Saxons at Cirencester and that thereafter they made peace. The battle was part of Penda's establishment of Mercian dominance over the Cotswold region and the creation of the Hwicce as a Mercian sub-kingdom covering Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. Cirencester — the second-largest Roman city in Britain — was a prize worth fighting for. The Hwicce's cathedral at Worcester grew from this conquest.

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