Difference between revisions of "Wars of Unification"

Revision as of 18:36, 3 September 2016

The Wars of Unification were the wars waged by Cyneric the Great against the other Arrene kingdoms in modern day Arrenland. They resulted in all of the island of Arrenland, excluding Riddland in the south, coming under the rule of Cyneric, who declared himself brytenwalda, or great king.

Cyneric ascends to the throne of Hylland and war with Ephesia

In 312, the Sigeberht of Hylland was killed in battle against the forces of Wigheard of Ephesia in the Battle of Wicsham. His teenage son Cyneric and his councilors sought peace with Wigheard and agreed to pay tribute for ten years. Cyneric’s resentment of Wigheard became very evident in records by 315.

Cyneric stopped paying tribute in 317 and raised the fyrd. Wigheard also raised the Ephesian fyrd and attacked Hylland. The two armies met near the village of Berewic in the Battle of Berewic. There, the Ephesian army was defeated and withdrew back into Ephesia, fortifying itself in Rodeburh, where they were besieged by the Hyllander forces. In 318, Wigheard capitulated and Cyneric imposed harsh terms. Wigheard was to pay tribute, a portion of his fyrd was to be put into the service of Cyneric, and much disputed territory was ceded to Hylland.

Invasion of Holte

At the time, the Kingdom of Holte was the other major Arrene kingdom in the northern half of the island. The king of Holte, Cuthred, had been an ally of Wigheard during the war which killed Cyneric’s father Sigeberht. Cyneric’s troops from the Ephesian campaign, having been replenished by Ephesian fyrdmen, conducted a sudden invasion of Holte. Cuthred had been deeply disturbed by the outcome of the war between Ephesia and Hylland, however he had believed that Hylland’s army would be too depleted after the conflict to threaten him immediately. Cuthred’s hastily assembled army was routed in the Battle of Escanham. Cuthred was forced to abdicate and his young nephew Bucca was placed on the throne. The fyrd of Holte was put at the service of Cyneric as well.

Homage of Sundorland and formation of the Kingdom of Arrenland

The final Arrene kingdom to fall to Cyneric was the Kingdom of Sundorland in the southeastern part of the island. The king of Sundorland, seeing the growing power of Cyneric's empire and the relative weakness of his own, pledged his loyalty to Cyneric in order to avoid any potential aggression.

Having received the homage of Sundorland and having control over Ephesia and Holte, Cyneric proclaimed himself brytenwalda and declared the formation of a new, united realm called the Arrena cynerice, or the Kingdom of the Arrenes, in 324. He declared himself the overlord of all Arrenes and Riddland was the only Arrene kingdom on mainland Arrenland which managed to stay independent.

Resistance of Riddland

The Kingdom of Riddland, located on the southernmost tip of the island, was ruled by King Wulfric I at the time of Cyneric's ascension. He had stayed neutral during the Ephesian invasion of Hylland, however he became increasingly worried about Cyneric's rapid expansion of control over the rest of the island. In 323, Wulfric I assembled a council of witan (wise men, or councilors), including ealdermen and þegens from around the kingdom and they met in Ashport to decide a course of action. The assembled witan decided not to submit and to resist any attempts to subjugate Riddland.

When, in 324, the entire island besides Riddland had been united and Cyneric of Arrenland took the title brytenwalda, an invasion seemed imminent. King Wulfric I called the fyrd to arms and assembled an army. In the spring of 325, a Arrenlander army led by Ælfric of Brocford crossed into Riddland. The Riddish army, led by Wulfric I, adopted a strategy of non-engagement, and was pursued across the country. The campaign came to a climax in the Battle of Aldwic, in which Ælfric, frustrated with the Riddlanders' refusal to commit to a battle, rushed his troops across a river ford in order to attack the Riddish army. The Riddish, in turn, attacked the Arrenlanders, whose troops were severely hampered by the boggy terrain. The Arrenlanders were routed back across the ford and Ælfric was captured and later used as a bargaining chip in negotiations.

King Cyneric blamed Ælfric for the defeat, but decided to send a delegation to negotiate for peace. In the following truce, known as the Peace of Burneforca, Ælfric was released and a 5-year truce was agreed to. The Riddish agreed to pay a tribute of 10,000 shillings.