History of Devon - Devon in Anglo Saxon Times

Devon in Anglo Saxon Times

By the 9th century, the major threat to peace in Devon came from Viking raiders. To confound them, Alfred the Great refortified Exeter as a defensive burh, followed by new erections at Lydford, Halwell and Pilton, although these fortifications were relatively small compared to burhs further east, suggesting these were protection for only the elite. The English defeated a combined Cornish and Danish force at Callington in 832. Edward the Elder built similarly at Barnstaple and Totnes. Sporadic Viking incursions continued, however, until the Norman Conquest, including the disastrous defeat of the Devonians at the Battle of Pinhoe (1001). A few Norse placenames remain as a result, for example Lundy Island. The men of Devon are said by Asser to have fought the Danes at the battle of the Battle of Cynwit in 878, which may have been at Kenwith Castle or Countisbury, although Cannington in Somerset is also claimed as the site of the battle. In 894, the Danes attempted to besiege Exeter but were driven off by King Alfred but it was sacked in 1001.

Devon formed part of the bishopric of Sherborne (Dorset) after this was set up in 705 AD. In the early 10th century, King Athelstan refounded the monastery at Exeter. Roman Catholicism gradually took over from Celtic Christianity as minster churches were established across the county. Devon was given its own bishopric in 905, initially at Bishop's Tawton, though it quickly moved to Crediton. As part of the general move towards urban cathedrals in the late Saxon period, Bishop Leofric eventually transferred his see to the old abbey at Exeter in 1050. The boundary between Devon and Cornwall was fixed as the east bank of the River Tamar by King Athelstan of Wessex in 936.