Wars of Unification

The Wars of Unification were the wars waged by Cyneric the Great against the other Arrene kingdoms in modern day Arrenland. They resulted in all of the island of Arrenland, excluding Riddland in the south, coming under the rule of Cyneric, who declared himself bretwalda ("great king") of all Arrenland.

Cyneric ascends to the throne of Hylland and war with Ephesia

In 312, the Sigeberht of Hylland was killed in battle against the forces of Wigheard of Ephesia in the Battle of Wicsham. His teenage son Cyneric and his councilors sought peace with Wigheard and agreed to recognize Wigheard's hegemony and pay tribute.

Cyneric stopped paying tribute in 317, leading Wigheard to attack in order to reassert his authority. Cyneric's and Wigheard's forces met near the village of Berewic in the Battle of Berewic. There, the Ephesian army was defeated and withdrew back into Ephesia, fortifying itself in Rodeburh, where they were besieged by the Hyllander forces. In 318, a failed sortie led Wigheard to surrender and Cyneric imposed harsh terms. Wigheard was to pay tribute, a portion of his fyrd was to be put into the service of Cyneric, and much disputed territory was ceded to Hylland.

Conquest of Holte, Sundorland, and Beorney

At the time, the Kingdom of Holte was the other major Arrene kingdom in the northern half of the island. The king of Holte, Cuthred, had been an ally of Wigheard during the war which killed Cyneric’s father Sigeberht. After resting and replenishing his army, Cyneric conducted a sudden invasion of Holte. Cuthred had been deeply disturbed by the outcome of the war between Ephesia and Hylland, however he did not believe that he was in immediate danger, and so was caught off-guard. Cuthred’s hastily assembled army was routed in the Battle of Escanham. Cuthred was forced to abdicate and his young nephew Bucca was placed on the throne. The fyrd of Holte was pressed into the service of Cyneric as well.

In 320, Cyneric led a fleet in an invasion of Beorney, which ruled many of the islands north of Arrenland. He won a naval engagement off of Beorney's southern coast and captured the town shortly after, imposing very similar terms upon Beorney's king as he did in Ephesia and Holte. Cyneric launched an invasion of Sundorland, in southeastern Arrenland, in 323. Before any battle was fought, the king of Sundorland sued for peace, recognizing Cyneric as overlord. Having control over almost all of modern-day Arrenland, Cyneric proclaimed himself bretwalda and declared the formation of a new, united realm called the Arrena cynerice, or the Kingdom of the Arrenes, in 324. He declared himself the overlord of all Arrenes.

Resistance of Riddland

The Kingdom of Riddland, located on the southernmost tip of the island, was ruled by King Wulfric I at the time of Cyneric's ascension. Wulfric became increasingly worried about Cyneric's rapid expansion over the rest of the island. In 323, Wulfric assembled a council of witan (wise men or councilors) from around the kingdom and they met in Ashport to decide a course of action. The assembled witan decided not to submit and to resist any attempts to subjugate Riddland.

When, in 324, the entire island besides Riddland had been united and Cyneric of Arrenland took the title bretwalda, an invasion seemed imminent. King Wulfric I assembled an army. In the spring of 325, a Arrenlander army led by Ælfric of Brocford crossed into Riddland. Notably, unlike Cyneric's previous invasions, Cyneric did not personally command the Riddish expedition. The Riddish army, led by Wulfric I, adopted a strategy of non-engagement, and was pursued across the country. The campaign came to a climax in the Battle of Aldwic, in which Ælfric, frustrated with the Riddlanders' refusal to commit to a battle, rushed his troops across a river ford in order to attack the Riddish army. The Riddish, in turn, attacked the Arrenlanders, whose troops were severely hampered by the boggy terrain. The Arrenlanders were routed back across the ford and Ælfric was captured and later used as a bargaining chip in negotiations.

King Cyneric blamed Ælfric for the defeat but decided to send a delegation to negotiate peace. In the following truce, known as the Peace of Burneforca, Ælfric was released and a 5-year truce was agreed to. The Riddish agreed to pay a tribute of 10,000 shillings.