A-Hunting We Go in Merry Old England Quiz

Answer:

Bernicia was established shortly after the Roman withdrawal from Britain. The name is said to be of Celtic origin. Its capital was Bamburgh, in modern-day Northumberland. A pagan kingdom, it merged with Deira in the 7th century AD, at the time of King Eanfrith, who was baptized as a Christian but later reverted to his ancestral religion.

Deira was established at about 450 AD. The name is of Celtic origins, meaning "place of the oaks". Together with neighbouring Bernicia, they merged into the Kingdom of Northumbria in the 7th century AD.

Hwicce was established in the last quarter of the sixth century AD. Its capital was Worcester, in modern-day Worcestershire. It's unknown whether its name is Celtic or Old English and whether its territory corresponded to the pre-Roman and Roman-era Celtic tribe of the Dobunni. First conquered by Penda of Mercia in 628 AD, by the end of the 8th century it had been fully assimilated in Mercia.

Linnuis is also known as Kingdom of Lindsey. It roughly corresponds to modern-day Lincolnshire. The kingdom was Christianized in the 620s, by the mission of Bishop Paulinus and after that, the word "bishop" became even a personal name. Shortly after its conversion, Linnuis was absorbed into the Kingdom of Northumbria.

Haestingas might remind you of the Battle of Hastings and indeed, Hastings was its principal town. A short-lived independent kingdom about which little is known, Haestingas was subdued in 771 AD by King Offa of Mercia.

If the Pecsaete remind you of the Peak District in central-northern England, you are spot on. Their name literally meant "Peak-dweller". They were established in the 6th century, but were rather quickly absorbed into Mercia.

The Tomsaete lived near the Tame River in the West Midlands. Their name was derived from the river and, even after their absorption into Mercia, they retained a memory of their existence as an once-independent group.

The Wreoconsaete are the ones who give their name to the city of Wrexham. They were independent in the 6th century AD, but during the course of the next century, Mercia annexed their area of settlement.

The Wihtwara were the early medieval English dwellers of the Isle of Wight. It is said that the founders of this statelet were of Jutish origins (modern day Denmark and northern Germany). They remained pagan throughout their independent statehood, getting Christianized only after Mercia annexed their island in 661 AD.

The Meonwara derive their name from the River Meon in modern-day Hamphsire. The name of the river is possibly Celtic, but the area was one most densely settled by Jutes and Saxons. Eventually, during the 7th century AD, all the small realms of the West Saxons were united under the banner of the Kingdom of Wessex.

The other five kingdoms and tribes were located in continental Europe. Samogitia is a region in Lithuania, Semigallia in Latvia, Aragon was a Kingdom in Spain, Natangia a small kingdom of Old Prussia (not to be confused with German Prussia, but today being part of Poland and the Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian Federation) and Tavastia is a Finnish region.