Anglo-Saxon England Map, c. 8th Century — The Heptarchy under Mercian Supremacy

Hand-painted and historically researched map of Anglo-Saxon Britain during the era of Mercian supremacy in the eighth century. This period marked the political ascendancy of the Kingdom of Mercia, which exercised overlordship across much of southern England while Northumbria retained its independence in the north.

Rather than presenting the so-called “Heptarchy” as a fixed or neatly defined system of seven equal kingdoms, this map reflects the political realities of early medieval Britain: shifting hierarchies, regional dominance, and fluid frontiers. The principal Anglo-Saxon polities—Mercia, Wessex, Northumbria, East Anglia, Kent, Sussex, and Essex—are depicted within the context of Mercian hegemony, emphasizing overlordship rather than modern concepts of centralized sovereignty.

This revised edition corrects earlier anachronisms and aligns more closely with contemporary evidence. Later heraldic coats of arms—unknown to the early medieval period—have been removed and replaced with symbols attested in early sources, including the raven banner associated with Scandinavian forces and traditional emblems linked to Wessex.

The map also incorporates Insular Minuscule script, the distinctive writing system used in Britain and Ireland during this period and famously preserved in manuscripts such as the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels. This stylistic choice reinforces the intellectual and monastic culture that shaped early medieval Britain, replacing later Gothic scripts that would not have been in use at the time.

Borders and territorial divisions are based on current historical scholarship and reflect the political landscape as it would have appeared in the eighth century, rather than projecting later medieval England backward onto an earlier era. The result is a historically grounded visualization of Anglo-Saxon political geography before the unification of England.