heptarchy

American  

[hep-tahr-kee] / ˈhɛp tɑr ki /

noun

plural

heptarchies

1. (often initial capital letter) the seven principal concurrent Anglo-Saxon kingdoms supposed to have existed in the 7th and 8th centuries.

2. government by seven persons.

3. an allied group of seven states or kingdoms, each under its own ruler.

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heptarchy British  

/ ˈhɛptɑːkɪ /

noun

1. government by seven rulers

2. a state divided into seven regions each under its own ruler

3. 1. the seven kingdoms into which Anglo-Saxon England is thought to have been divided from about the 7th to the 9th centuries _ad : Kent, East Anglia, Essex, Sussex, Wessex, Mercia, and Northumbria

   2. the period when this grouping existed

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Other Word Forms

• heptarch noun
• heptarchal adjective
• heptarchic adjective
• heptarchical adjective
• heptarchist noun

Etymology

Origin of heptarchy

First recorded in 1570–80; hept- ( def. ) + -archy

Example Sentences

But, as in the Saxon times this country was an heptarchy, it is now a strange sort of PENTARCHY.

From Selections from the Speeches and Writings of Edmund Burke by Burke, Edmund

The outcome of the heptarchy was the Earls or Ealdermen; this was the only order of nobility among the Saxons; they corresponded to the position of lieutenants of counties, and were appointed for life.

From Landholding in England by Fisher, Joseph, the younger, of Youghal

But the priests in the heptarchy, after the first missionaries, were wholly Saxons, and almost as ignorant and barbarous as the laity.

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 04 by Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis)

You would have England return to the conditions of the Saxon heptarchy.

From The Quest of the Simple Life by Dawson, William J.

The band now struck up again, and played a waltz--a dance new to our country, but older than the heptarchy.

From Snarleyyow by Marryat, Frederick