Certainly

The Gewissæ (also Gewisse ) were a Saxon ethnic group who settled on the Upper Thames in England towards the end of the 5th century . It is possibly named after Gewis , a mythical ancestor of the Wessex kings . According to another view is the name from the Old English word certainly ( "certainly, safe, reliable") is derived.

history

England around 540

According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , Cerdic and Cynric went ashore in Britain around the year 495 and are said to have established their kingship after long battles for 519. Around 577 the Gewissæ under Ceawlin made an advance to the northwest and were probably able to conquer the southern part of Gloucestershire at the Battle of Deorham . It is not possible to define the area of influence of the early kings precisely, especially since there were certainly repeated border shifts. Ceawlin's influence was so significant that he was referred to as Bretwalda ("Oberkönig").

Archaeological finds from around 600 also point to a kingship that was important for this time. Finds show contacts with the Kingdom of Kent , the Franconian Empire and even as far as Byzantium . 614 succeeded King Cynegils (611-642) and his son Cwichelm an important victory against the British at Beandun (probably Bampton in Oxfordshire ), in the wake of which he won the east Cornwall . Around 617 there were apparently successful battles against the Kingdom of Essex for unknown reasons . The battle of Cirencester against the rising Penda of Mercia in 628 ended in a negotiated peace for King Cynegils and the loss of supremacy over the kingdom of Hwicce . Around the year 634 King Cynegils allowed the missionary Birinus to preach in his kingdom and 635 to establish a diocese in Dorcic . In the late 660s, the Gewissæ lost the areas north of the Thames to Mercia and the focus of the settlement shifted to the southwest.

Under Caedwalla (685–688) the Gewissæ conquered Surrey , the Isle of Wight and gained dominance over Sussex and Essex . His brother Mul (686-687) was briefly King of Kent . Caedwalla was the last ruler to be called "King of the Gewissæ". The name Seaxe ("Saxony") replaced the old tribe name in the course of the 7th century, which finally gave way to the name Westseaxe ("West Saxony", Wessex ) in the early 8th century . These name changes reflect the political development from tribal kingship to territorial rule.

swell

Beda Venerabilis : Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum , Online in the Medieval Sourcebook (English)
anonymous: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , online in Project Gutenberg (English)

literature

Certain . In: Heinrich Beck , Dieter Geuenich , Heiko Steuer (Eds.): Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde , Volume 12 , de Gruyter, 1998, ISBN 978-3-11-016227-1 , p. 48ff.
Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 .
Barbara Yorke : Wessex in the early Middle Ages (Studies in the Early History of Britain) , Continuum, 1995, ISBN 978-0718518561 .
DP Kirby: The Earliest English Kings , Routledge, London-New York 2000, ISBN 978-0415242110 .

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b ^c Barbara Yorke: Certain . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 , pp. 203-204.
^ ^A ^b ^c ^d Barbara Yorke: Wessex in the early Middle Ages (Studies in the Early History of Britain) , Continuum, 1995, ISBN 978-0718518561 , pp. 34-35.
↑ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 495 to 519
↑ The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 577 in Project Gutenberg (English)
↑ ^a ^b Beda: HE 2.5
↑ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 614
↑ ^a ^b Barbara Yorke: Wessex in the early Middle Ages (Studies in the Early History of Britain) , Continuum, 1995, ISBN 978-0718518561 , pp. 57-59.
↑ RC Love: Birinus . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 , p. 67.
↑ Simon Keynes: Kings of the West Saxons . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 , pp. 511-514.

[enc203-1] A ^b ^c Barbara Yorke: Certain . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 , pp. 203-204.

[babs34-2] A ^b ^c ^d Barbara Yorke: Wessex in the early Middle Ages (Studies in the Early History of Britain) , Continuum, 1995, ISBN 978-0718518561 , pp. 34-35.

[asc495-3] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 495 to 519

[4] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 577 in Project Gutenberg (English)

[he2-5-5] Beda: HE 2.5

[asc614-6] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 614

[babs57-7] Barbara Yorke: Wessex in the early Middle Ages (Studies in the Early History of Britain) , Continuum, 1995, ISBN 978-0718518561 , pp. 57-59.

[enc67-8] RC Love: Birinus . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 , p. 67.

[enc511-9] Simon Keynes: Kings of the West Saxons . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 , pp. 511-514.