bretwalda means A title given to some of the rulers of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from the 5th century onwards who had achieved overlordship of some or all of the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.
Why “bretwalda” is a great word
BRETWALDA — [Noun] A title applied in retrospect to certain Anglo-Saxon kings who held a recognized, if often unstable, pre-eminence over other kings in Britain. Learned borrowing from Old English bretwalda, brytenwealda, probably from Bryten ("Britain") + -walda, -wealda (from wealdan, "to rule"). Unlike "high king," a generic and often anachronistic label, or "imperator," a title of Roman and imperial absolutism, "bretwalda" implies a temporary and personal dominion rooted in martial success, tribute, and the wary allegiance of regional rulers. It is the gleam of a borrowed Roman torque around a warrior's neck, the brief silences in the mead-hall when one king enters, and the chronicler's pen imposing a lineage on a century of fire and migration—a title bestowed by history on a moment of fragile order, already collapsing back into the dark.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Old English bretwalda.
noun
- A title given to some of the rulers of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from the 5th century onwards who had achieved overlordship of some or all of the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.