Magonsæte
Magonsæte was a minor kingdom in the Anglo-Saxon period which became part of the greater Kingdom of the Mercians, and was ruled by an underking. It is thought to have been coterminous with the Diocese of Hereford.
The British territory of Powys anciently has its capital at Pengwern; possibly Shrewsbury. This was conquered by Oswiu of Northumbria in 656, while he was overlord of the Mercians, and the western part of Powys, in what became Shropshire and Herefordshire, was then occupied by English settlers. One centre of settlement was based at the old Roman town of Magnae or in Old Welsh Cair Magon, by modern Kenchester near Hereford.[1]
The underkingdom of the Western Hecani existed in the late 7th and early 8th centuries, of which three rulers are known: Merewalh, Mildfrith, and Merchelm. By the later 8th century, the region would seem to have been reincorporated into Mercia, perhaps as Westerna, becoming known as the Magonsæte by the 9th century.
Smaller tribes of the Magonsæte included the Temersæte near Hereford and the Hahlsæte near Ludlow.
