Anglo-Saxon society.

2. _Government._--Internally the various states seem to have been organized
on very similar lines. In every case we find kingly government from the
time of our earliest records, and there is no doubt that the institution
goes back to a date anterior to the invasion of Britain (see OFFA;
WERMUND). The royal title, however, was frequently borne by more than one
person. Sometimes we find one supreme king together with a number of
under-kings (_subreguli_); sometimes again, especially in the smaller
kingdoms, Essex, Sussex and Hwicce, we meet with two [v.04 p.0590] or more
kings, generally brothers, reigning together apparently on equal terms.
During the greater part of the 8th century Kent seems to have been divided
into two kingdoms; but as a rule such divisions did not last beyond the
lifetime of the kings between whom the arrangement had been made. The kings
were, with very rare exceptions, chosen from one particular family in each
state, the ancestry of which was traced back not only to the founder of the
kingdom but also, in a remoter degree, to a god. The members of such
families were entitled to special wergilds, apparently six times as great
as those of the higher class of nobles (see below).

The only other central authority in the state was the king's council or
court (_