Editing Wessex (section)

=== Anglo-Saxon settlement ===
{{Main|Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain}}
[[Image:Cherdik - John Speed.JPG|thumb|Imaginary depiction of Cerdic from [[John Speed]]'s 1611 "Saxon Heptarchy"]]Theories about the settlement of Saxons, Jutes and Angles in Britain are divided into two categories by the historian [[Peter Hunter Blair]] (1956), namely "Welsh" and "English". 

==== The Welsh tradition ====

The Welsh tradition is exemplified by [[Gildas]], in ''[[De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae]]''. In brief, it states that after the Romans left, the [[Celtic Britons]] managed to continue for a time without any major disruptions. However, when finally faced with northern invaders, a certain unnamed ruler in Britain (called "a proud tyrant" by Gildas) requested assistance from the [[Saxons]] in exchange for land. 

There were no conflicts between the British and the Saxons for a time, but following "a dispute about the supply of provisions" the Saxons warred against the British and severely damaged parts of the country. In time, however, some Saxon troops left Britain; under [[Ambrosius Aurelianus]], the British subsequently defeated those who remained. 

A lengthy conflict ensued, in which neither side gained any decisive advantage until the Britons routed the Saxons at the [[Battle of Mons Badonicus]]. After this, there occurred a peaceful period for the Britons, under which Gildas was living at the time he wrote the ''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae''.<ref>Blair 2003, pp. 13–14</ref> 

==== The English tradition ====

One of the "English" traditions about the Saxon arrival concerns [[Hengest and Horsa]]. When [[Bede]] wrote his ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'', he adapted Gildas' narrative and added details, such as the names of those involved. To the "proud tyrant" he gave the name [[Vortigern]], and the Saxon commanders he named Hengest and Horsa. 

Further details were added to the story in the ''[[Historia Brittonum]]'', which was partially written by [[Nennius]]. According to the ''Historia'', Hengest and Horsa fought the invaders of Britain under the condition of gaining the Island of [[Isle of Thanet|Thanet]]. The daughter of Hengest, Rowena, later arrived on a ship of reinforcements, and Vortigern married her. 

However, a war arose in Kent due to a dispute between Hengest and Vortigern's son. After losing several battles, the Saxons finally defeated the British by treacherously attacking them once the two parties had convened for a meeting. Some additional details of the Hengest and Horsa legend are found in the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]''. The ''Chronicle'' then records subsequent Saxon arrivals, including that of Cerdic, the founder of Wessex, in 495.<ref>Blair 2003, pp. 14–16</ref>

==== The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle ====

According to the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'', [[Cerdic of Wessex]] and his son [[Cynric of Wessex]] landed in southern Hampshire in 495, but this account is not regarded by historians as reliable due to duplication of ''Chronicle'' entries and evidence that the area was first occupied by [[Jutes]]. Although the entry mentions Cynric as Cerdic's son, a different source lists him as the son of Cerdic's son, [[Creoda of Wessex]].<ref name="Yorke2002">{{cite book |first1=Barbara |last1=Yorke |title=Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England |date=1990 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781134707249 |pages=130–131}}</ref> 

The ''Chronicle'' continues, stating that "Port, and his two sons Bieda and Mægla", landed at [[Portsmouth]] in 501 and killed a high-ranking British nobleman.<ref name="Giles, p. 9">Giles, p. 9</ref> In 508, Cerdic and Cynric slew British king [[Natanleod]] along with five thousand of his men<ref name="Giles, p. 9"/> (though the historicity of Natanleod has been disputed),<ref>Yorke 2002, p. 4</ref> and Cerdic became the first king of Wessex in 519. 

The Saxons attacked Cerdicesford<ref>"Cerdicesford" is known with certainty to be [[Charford]]. (Major, p. 11)</ref> in 519, intending to cross the [[River Avon, Hampshire|River Avon]] and block a road which connected [[Old Sarum]] and [[Badbury Rings]], a British stronghold. The battle appears to have ended as a draw, and the expansion of Wessex ended for about thirty years. This is likely due to losses suffered during the battle and an apparent peace agreement with the Britons. 

The battle of [[Mons Badonicus]] is believed to have been fought around this time. [[Gildas]] states that the Saxons were completely defeated in the battle, in which [[King Arthur]] participated according to [[Nennius]]. This defeat is not recorded in the ''Chronicle''.<ref>Major, Albany F. ''Early Wars of Wessex'' (1912), pp. 11–20</ref> The thirty-year period of peace was temporarily interrupted<ref>Major, p. 19</ref> when, according to the ''Chronicle'', the Saxons conquered the [[Isle of Wight]] in 530 at a battle near [[Carisbrooke]].<ref name="Giles, p. 9"/>

Cynric became the ruler of Wessex after Cerdic died in 534, and reigned for twenty-six years.<ref name="Giles, p. 9"/> The sources do agree that [[Ceawlin]], who succeeded Cynric in about 581, is the son of Cynric; he usually is named as the father of Cuthwine.<ref>See the "Genealogical Tables" in the appendices to Swanton, ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''.</ref> Ceawlin's reign is thought to be more reliably documented than those of his predecessors, though the ''Chronicle'''s dates of 560 to 592 are different from the revised chronology. Ceawlin overcame pockets of resisting Britons to the northeast, in the [[Chilterns]], [[Gloucestershire]] and [[Somerset]]. The capture of [[Cirencester]], [[Gloucester]] and [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] in 577, after the pause caused by the battle of Mons Badonicus, opened the way to the southwest.

Ceawlin is one of the seven kings named in Bede's ''[[Ecclesiastical History of the English People]]'' as holding ''"imperium"'' over the southern English: the ''Chronicle'' later repeated this claim, referring to Ceawlin as a ''[[bretwalda]]'', or "Britain-ruler". Ceawlin was deposed, perhaps by his nephew, [[Ceol]], and died a year later. 

Six years later, in about 594, Ceol was succeeded by a brother, [[Ceolwulf of Wessex|Ceolwulf]], who was succeeded in his turn in about 617 by [[Cynegils of Wessex]]. The genealogies do not agree on Cynegils' pedigree: his father is variously given as Ceola, Ceolwulf, Ceol, Cuthwine, Cutha or Cuthwulf.

The tradition embodied in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', and in the genealogies of the West Saxon dynasty, is open to considerable doubt. This is largely because the founder of the dynasty and a number of his alleged descendants had [[Common Brittonic|Brittonic]] Celtic, rather than Anglo-Saxon Germanic, names.<ref>Kenneth Jackson (1953) ''Language and History in Early Britain.'' Edinburgh. pp. 554, 557, 613 and 680.</ref> The name Cerdic is derived from the British name Caraticos.<ref>Parsons, D. (1997) ''British Caraticos, Old English Cerdic'', Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies, 33, pp, 1–8.</ref><ref>J.T. Koch  (2006) Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO, {{ISBN|1851094407}}, pp. 394–395</ref> This may indicate that Cerdic was a native Briton, and that his dynasty became anglicised over time.<ref>J.T. Koch (2006) Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO, {{ISBN|1851094407}}, pp. 392–393</ref><ref>Yorke 1995, pp. 190–191</ref><ref>J.N.L. Myres (1989) The English Settlements. Oxford University Press, pp. 146–147</ref> Other members of the dynasty possessing Celtic names include [[Ceawlin]] and [[Cædwalla]]. Cædwalla, who died as late as 689, was the last West Saxon king to possess a Celtic name.<ref>Yorke, B. (1990), ''Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England,'' London: Seaby, {{ISBN|1852640278}} pp.138–139</ref>