Right-believing (Ruler) 8th century

Ine of Wessex & Queen Ethelburga

8th century (Ine reigned 689 – 726)

Also known as Ina, King of Wessex, and his wife Ethelburga

A king of Wessex, a wise lawgiver and restorer of Glastonbury, who with his queen abdicated and went to Rome to end their days in devotion; he founded the English hospice there (c. 740)

Feast Day

September 8

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Commemorated as

The Holy Right-Believing Ine, King of Wessex, and his Queen Ethelburga

Life

Ine was King of Wessex from 689 to 726 and is venerated, together with his queen Ethelburga (Æthelburg), among the pre-schism Western saints of the English Church. He is remembered as a lawgiver and a patron of churches who, late in life, abdicated his throne and went with his wife on pilgrimage to Rome, where both ended their days. The pair are commemorated on September 8.

Ine's reign of some thirty-seven years was one of the longest among the early West Saxon kings. Around 694 he issued a written code of laws, the first promulgated by an Anglo-Saxon king outside Kent; it dealt with Christian observance, civil and legal matters, and the organization of agriculture, and is noted as the earliest documentary evidence for an open-field farming system in England. He was associated with the building of churches in Wessex, among them Wells, built around 705 at the suggestion of Bishop Aldhelm, and the minster at Glastonbury, which he built or rebuilt on the site of an older British monastery.

His later years were marked by warfare and dynastic difficulty. The sources record campaigns against Geraint of Dumnonia in 710, a battle at Woden's Barrow in Wiltshire in 715, and invasions of Sussex in 722 and 725. His queen Ethelburg is recorded as having destroyed the fortress of Taunton in 722 during one of his absences. In 726 Ine abdicated, leaving no clear heir, and travelled to Rome with Ethelburg; both died there. The tradition credits Ine with founding the Schola Saxonum, a hospice in Rome for English pilgrims, which a later chronicler dates to 727.

Timeline 7 moments Read Hide

689 Accession Ine becomes King of Wessex.
c. 694 Law code issued Issues the first Anglo-Saxon law code outside Kent.
c. 705 Foundation at Wells Associated with the building at Wells on Bishop Aldhelm's advice.
710 Campaign against Dumnonia Fights Geraint of Dumnonia.
722 Destruction of Taunton Queen Ethelburg destroys the fortress of Taunton.
726 Abdication and pilgrimage Ine abdicates and travels with Ethelburg to Rome.
727 Schola Saxonum By tradition, founds the English pilgrims' hospice in Rome.

Contributions & Legacy

2 contributions Read Hide

Lawgiver and Church-Builder

The law code of Ine is among the most important surviving documents of early Anglo-Saxon kingship. Issued around 694, it ranged across religious duties, legal procedure, and the regulation of land and labour, and it survives because it was later appended to the laws of King Alfred. Historians value it both as a witness to West Saxon society and as early evidence for the organization of farming.

Ine's reign also saw the strengthening of the Church in Wessex. He is connected with the foundation at Wells, built around 705 on the advice of Bishop Aldhelm, and with Glastonbury, which he is said to have built or rebuilt as a minster where an earlier British monastic community had stood. His sister Cuthburh is recorded as the founder of the abbey of Wimborne.

Abdication and Pilgrimage to Rome

In 726 Ine gave up his throne. According to Bede he left the kingdom to younger men, and he set out for Rome with his queen. Both Ine and Ethelburg died in the city. The tradition associates Ine with the founding of the Schola Saxonum in the Borgo district, a hospice for poor English pilgrims, which the chronicler Roger of Wendover dates to 727; some accounts instead credit a later king with the foundation.

Ethelburg herself is a notable figure in the records of the reign. She is remembered for the destruction of Taunton in 722, undertaken while Ine was campaigning against the South Saxons; the sources differ as to whether she acted to flush out the rebel Ealdbert or to deny him the stronghold. She accompanied her husband to Rome and died there as well.

Sources: Latin Saints of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Rome