Ceawlin of Wessex
Ceawlin may have been the son of Cynric of Wessex and the grandson of Cerdic. He was active during the last years of the Anglo-Saxon expansion. The chronology of Ceawlin’s life is highly uncertain. His reign is variously listed as lasting seven, seventeen, or thirty-two years.
About Ceawlin of Wessex in brief
Ceawlin may have been the son of Cynric of Wessex and the grandson of Cerdic. He was active during the last years of the Anglo-Saxon expansion. The chronology of Ceawlin’s life is highly uncertain. His reign is variously listed as lasting seven, seventeen, or thirty-two years. He died in 593, having been deposed the year before, possibly by his successor, Ceol. He is recorded in various sources as having two sons, Cutha and Cuthwine, but the genealogies in which this information is found are known to be unreliable. The history of the sub-Roman period in Britain is poorly sourced and the subject of a number of important disagreements among historians. It appears, however, that in the fifth century raids on Britain by continental peoples developed into migrations. The newcomers included Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians. These peoples captured territory in the east and south of England, but at about the end of the fifth Century, a British victory at the battle of Mons Badonicus halted the advance for fifty years. Near the year 550, the British began to lose ground once more, and within twenty-five years, it appears that control of almost all of southern England was in the hands of the invaders. The two main written sources for early West Saxon history are the. Anglo- Saxon Chronicle and the West. Saxon Genealogical Regnal List. The Chronicle is a set of annals which were compiled near the year 890, during the reign of King Alfred the Great of Wes.sex.
They record earlier material for the older entries, which were assembled from earlier annals that no longer survive. Although there are many unanswered questions about the chronology and activities of the early WestSaxon rulers, it is clear that CeAWlin was one of the key figures in the final Anglo- saxon conquest of southern Britain. It survives in several forms, including a preface to the manuscript of the Chronicle, as well as a list of the kings who bore the title “bretwalda”, or “Britain-ruler”. That list shows a gap in the early sixth century that matches Gildas’s version of events. Almost twenty annals appear interspersed through the next hundred years. Although the most of these annals provide most of what is known about most of the annals, the authenticity of many of the entries is uncertain. It was compiled with the desire to influence the reigns of Alfred and the list is a list that is influenced by both the Chronicle and by the West Saxnical Regal List, both of which are influenced by the desire of the historians to preserve the history of West Saxons. It is also possible that the names of some of the rulers are not recorded in the list, including the lengths of their reigns, because they may not have been accurate.
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