Imaginary depiction of Cerdic from John Speed's 1611 "Saxon Heptarchy".

Cerdic of Wessex (d. 534) was the King of Wessex (519–534) and is regarded as the ancestor of all subsequent Kings of Wessex. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... John Speed (1542-1629) was a historian, now best remembered as the cartographer whose maps of English counties are often found framed in homes throughout the UK. He was born at Farndon in Cheshire, and went into his fathers tailoring business where he worked until he was about 50... Events January 1 - Decimus Theodorius Paulinus appointed consul, the last to hold this office in the West. ... Map of the British Isles circa 802 Wessex was one of the seven major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (the Heptarchy) that preceded the Kingdom of England. ... Telephone Area Code for much of Southwestern Ontario, Canada including cities of Windsor and Kitchener Cerdic becomes king of Wessex The synagogues of Ravenna are burnt down in a riot; Theodoric the Great orders them to be rebuilt at Ravennas expense. ... Events January 1 - Decimus Theodorius Paulinus appointed consul, the last to hold this office in the West. ...

Official life and career

Britain, c. 500 AD.

According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Cerdic landed in Hampshire in 495 with his son Cynric in three keels (ships). He is said to have fought a British king named Natanleod at Netley in Hampshire and slain him in 508, and to have fought at Charford (Cerdic's ford) in 519, after which he became first king of Wessex. The conquest of the Isle of Wight is also mentioned among his campaigns, and it was later given to his kinsmen, Stuf and Wihtgar (who had supposedly arrived with the West Saxons in 514). Cerdic is said to have died in 534 and was succeeded by his son Cynric. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1262x829, 324 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): King Arthur States in Medieval Britain Battle of Mons Badonicus Cerdic of Wessex Constantine III of... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1262x829, 324 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): King Arthur States in Medieval Britain Battle of Mons Badonicus Cerdic of Wessex Constantine III of... The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals narrating the history of the Anglo-Saxons and their settlement in Great Britain. ... Hampshire, sometimes historically Southamptonshire or Hamptonshire, (abbr. ... Cynric of Wessex (Cynric means roughly Royal Ruler) ruled as king of Wessex from 534 to 560. ... Natanleod, Natanleag, Nazaleod, or Nudd Lludd was a British king who, in 508, was defeated and killed by a band of West Saxons under the command of Cerdic and his son or grandson Cynric at the Battle of Netley. ... Netley railway station Netley, sometimes called Netley Abbey, is a village on the south coast of Hampshire, in the UK, situated close to the city of Southampton. ... Hampshire, sometimes historically Southamptonshire or Hamptonshire, (abbr. ... Map of the British Isles circa 802 Wessex was one of the seven major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (the Heptarchy) that preceded the Kingdom of England. ... The Isle of Wight is an English island and county, off the southern English coast, to the south of the county of Hampshire, between the Solent and the English Channel. ... Map of the British Isles circa 802 Wessex was one of the seven major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (the Heptarchy) that preceded the Kingdom of England. ... Cynric of Wessex (Cynric means roughly Royal Ruler) ruled as king of Wessex from 534 to 560. ...

The early history of Wessex in the Anglo-Saxon chronicle is clearly muddled. David Dumville has suggested that Cerdic's true regnal dates are 538-554. Some scholars suggest that Cerdic was the Saxon leader defeated by the British at the battle of Mount Badon, which was probably fought sometime between 490 and 518. This cannot be the case if Dumville is correct, and others assign this battle to Ælle or another Saxon leader. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals narrating the history of the Anglo-Saxons and their settlement in Great Britain. ... Professor David Norman Dumville (b. ... March 12 - Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city in the hands of the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius. ... Events The Byzantine general Narses reconquers all of Italy. ... In the Battle of Mount Badon (Latin Mons Badonicus, Welsh Mynydd Baddon) Romano-British and Celts inflicted a severe defeat on an invading Anglo-Saxon army sometime in the decade before or after 500. ... Events April 1 - The majority of Odoacers army, including his magister militum Tufa, surrenders to Theodoric the Great in Milan. ... Events July 9 - Justin becomes Roman emperor September 29 - Severus, Patriarch of Antioch is deposed by a synod for his Monophysitism. ... Ælle was king of the South Saxons from 477 to perhaps as late as 514, and was named Bretwalda by Bede, who adds that he was overlord of the English south of the Humber river. ...

It should also be noted that while Cerdic's area of operation was, according to the Chronicle, in the area north of Southamption, there is also stronger archaeological evidence of early Anglo-Saxon activity in the area around Dorchester-on-Thames. This is the later location of the first West Saxon bishopric, in the first half of the seventh century, so it appears likely that the origins of the kingdom of Wessex are more complex than the version provided by the surviving traditions.^[1] Dorchester-on-Thames is a village on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England. ...

Some scholars have gone so far as to suggest that Cerdic is purely a legendary figure, and had no actual existence, but this is a minority view. However, the earliest source for Cerdic, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, was put together in the late ninth century; though it probably does record the extant tradition of the founding of Wessex, the intervening four hundred years mean that the account cannot be assumed to be accurate.^[2][3]

Cerdic is allegedly an ancestor to Egbert of Wessex, and therefore would be an ancestor of not only the modern British monarchy under Elizabeth II, but virtually every royal lineage in Europe.However recent research has shown that the legend of King Arthur & The Knights of the Round Table could actually have been based on Cerdic as his relative's names are very similar to those of King Arthur and other similarities are shown see [*http://www.wessex.me.uk/chfront.html] Egbert (also Ecgbehrt or Ecgbert, means roughly The shining edge of a blade) (c. ... The British monarchy is a shared monarchy; this article describes the monarchy from the perspective of the United Kingdom. ... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of sixteen sovereign states, holding each crown and title equally. ...

Origins

Curiously, the name Cerdic is thought to be British – a form of the name Ceretic – rather than Germanic in origin. One explanation for this is the possibility that Cerdic's mother was British and that he was given a name used by his mother's people; if so, this would provide evidence for a degree of mixing, both cultural and biological, between the invaders and the native British.

J.N.L. Myres noted that when Cerdic and Cynric first appear in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 495 they are described as ealdormen, which at that point in time was fairly junior rank. Myres remarks that "It is thus odd to find it used here to describe the leaders of what purports to be an independent band of invaders, who origins and authority are not otherwise specified. It looks very much as if a hint is being conveyed that Cerdic and his people owed their standing to having been already concerned with administrative affairs under Roman authority on this part of the Saxon Shore." Furthermore, it is not until 519 that Cerdic and Cynric are recorded as "beginning to reign", suggesting that they ceased being dependent vassals or ealdormen and became independent Kings in their own right. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals narrating the history of the Anglo-Saxons and their settlement in Great Britain. ... Events Cerdic of Wessex raids Hampshire. ... An Ealdorman, or Alderman, was the prior magistrate of a British shire in AD 900 to 1100. ... Telephone Area Code for much of Southwestern Ontario, Canada including cities of Windsor and Kitchener Cerdic becomes king of Wessex The synagogues of Ravenna are burnt down in a riot; Theodoric the Great orders them to be rebuilt at Ravennas expense. ...

Summing up, Myres believed that It is thus possible ... to think of Cerdic as the head of a partly British noble family with extensive territorial interests at the western end of the "Litus Saxonicum. As such he may well have been entrusted in the last days of Roman, or sub-Roman authority with its defence. He would then be what in later Anglo-Saxon terminology could be described as an ealdorman. ... If such a dominant native family as that of Cerdic had already developed blood-relationships with existing Saxon and Jutish settlers at this end of the Saxon Shore, it could very well be tempted, once effective Roman authority had faded, to go further. It might have taken matters into its own hands and after eliminating any surviving pockets of resistance by competing British chieftains, such as the mysterious Natanleod of annal 508, it could 'begin to reign' without recognizing in future any superior authority." Births Deaths Gerren I Llyngesog ab Erbin, King of Dumnonia. ...

Some would disagree with Myres, as Cerdic is reported to have landed in Hampshire. Some also would say that the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle proves that Cerdic was indeed a Saxon, however it does not prove that he had no Celtic blood. Some scholars believe that it is likely that his mother was a British Celt who left for the Continent or perhaps was a Continental Celt. Geoffrey Ashe postulates he may be a son of Riothamus. Geoffrey Ashe is a writer of non-fiction books. ... Riothamus (also spelled Riotimus, Rigothamus, Rigotamos), was a military leader and considered King of the Brittones (c. ...

Modern times

The name Cedric (as opposed to Cerdic) arose from a misspelling in the novel Ivanhoe. For other uses, see Ivanhoe (disambiguation). ...

Cerdic is the main protagonist in the historical novel Conscience of the King (1951) by the English author Alfred Duggan. A historical novel is a novel in which the story is set among historical events, or more generally, in which the time of the action predates the lifetime of the author. ... Conscience of the King (1951) is a historical novel by the English author Alfred Duggan. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto)1 Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Monarch Queen Elizabeth II... Evelyn Waughs Preface to Count Bohemond Alfred Duggans death on 4th April 1964 brought to an abrupt end a literary career of peculiar interest. ...

In the 2004 film King Arthur, Cerdic and Cynric were depicted as Saxon invaders, and were killed, respectively, by Arthur and Lancelot at the Battle of Badon Hill (Mons Badonicus). Cerdic was portrayed by Stellan Skarsgård. Bernard Cornwell names him as rival to Aelle of Sussex, in his Warlord Chronicles. A movie poster for King Arthur. ... In the Battle of Mount Badon (Latin Mons Badonicus, Welsh Mynydd Baddon) Romano_British and Celts inflicted a severe defeat on an invading Anglo-Saxon army sometime in the decade before or after 500. ... Stellan SkarsgÃ¥rd (help· info) (born June 13, 1951, Gothenburg, Sweden) is a Swedish actor. ... Bernard Cornwell OBE (born February 23, 1944) is a prolific and popular English historical novelist. ... Ælle was king of the South Saxons from 477 to perhaps as late as 514, and was named Bretwalda by Bede, who adds that he was overlord of the English south of the Humber river. ...

It is suggested that Cerdic's name is commemorated in the village of Chearsley in Buckinghamshire, which was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Cerdeslai. This is assumed to be the place mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as Cerdicesleah, where King Cerdic and his son Cynric defeated the Britons in 527. Chearsley is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. ... A line drawing entitled Domesday Book from Andrew Williamss Historic Byways and Highways of Old England. ...

References

1. ^ Fletcher, Richard (1989). Who's Who in Roman Britain and Anglo-Saxon England. Shepheard-Walwyn, 22-23. ISBN 0-85683-089-5. 
2. ^ Hunter Blair, Peter (1960). An Introduction to Anglo-Saxon England. Cambridge University Press, 34-35. 
3. ^ Campbell, John; John, Eric & Wormald, Patrick (1991). The Anglo-Saxons. Penguin Books, 26. ISBN 0-14-014395-5. 

External links

• http://www.fabpedigree.com/s036/f014287.htm A pedigree depicting his legendary descent from Woden.
• http://www.fabpedigree.com/s004/f020760.htm A pedigree depicting his suggested connection to Arthurian legend.
• http://www.postroman.info/anglo_saxon/chronicle4.htm The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle which says he and his son arrived in Hampshire (at Cerdic's Ore) from the continent.