Whenever we turn our eyes to the past, especially to England's, concerning monarchy's history, often we come to wonder who were those who ruled the kingdom before the infamous Plantagenets and their predecessors, the kings who came from the House of Normandy. Previously discussed on this blog, the head of its house was the viking Rollo whose famous descendant was William the Conqueror, who defeated the last Anglo-Saxon King, Harold II, to sit in the English throne as William I. However, before this came to happen, we ask ourselves who were the Anglo-Saxons who governed England? It is known, nevertheless, that there were five kingdoms long way before the process of uniting such realms resulted in the reign later governed by other Houses, such as the Normans and their sucessors.
These five kingdoms were known as the realms of East Anglia, Wessex, Essex, Northumbria and Mercia. Each one had its own rules and was commanded by their own leaders, chiefs of different tribes and, finally, kings. So today we will discuss one of them named Cerdic, who was said to be the first king of Wessex, an ancestor of Alfred the Great. We question ourselves, thus: what is known about the reign of Cerdic? Who was he as a historical character? Our aim is only a humble attempt to enlight to the public knowledge this figure who is certainly "famous" amongst the medievalists.
There is nothing about Cerdic's early life, except perhaps some suppositions surrouding his origins. For example, it is supposed that he came from a tribe of Saxons known by the name of 'Gewiss' and that, in fact, his name is of celtic origin, which might point out to the fact his mother was possibly a British and his father, a Saxon. We can perceive it here next:
"It has been suggested that Cerdic headed a British power bloc which, with Germanic mercenaries or help that was related to him throught intermarriage to Jutes or Saxons, staged a takeover and was able to set up a viable Brito-Saxon kingdom. Scholar K Sisam points out (in Anglo-Saxon Royal Genealogies, 1953) that Cerdic's pedigree has no independent authority. It has been put together from that of the Bernician kings and his real ancestry is unknown. He evidently could not claim descent from any Germanic family of importance. This seems to strenghten the possibilty of him having position and/or power with Romano-British society. Even the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (ASC) describes him and his 'son', Cynric, as earldormen, a term normally used in ninth century England for someone who was a prominent official having authority both civil and military, over a specific teritory forming part of a kingdom."
What we know of Cerdic, however, comes straight from The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, as we see some fragments of events concerning the king's conquest below:
"A.D. 495. This year came two leaders into Britain, Cerdic and Cynric his son, with five ships, at a place that is called Cerdic's-ley. And they fought with the Welsh the same day. (...)
"A.D. 508. This year Cerdic and Cynric slew a British king, whose name was Natanleod, and five thousand men with him. After this was the land named Netley, from him, as far as Charford.
"A.D. 519. This year Cerdic and Cynric undertook the government of the West-Saxons; the same year they fought with the Britons at a place now called Charford. From that day have reigned the children of the West-Saxons kings."
"A.D 527. This year Cerdic and Cynric fought with the Britons in the place that is called Cerdic's-ley."
"A.D. 529. This year Cerdic and Cynric took the isle of Wight, and slew many men in Carisbrook."
"A.D. 534. This year died Cerdic, the first king of the West-Saxons. Cynric his son succeeded to the government, and reigned afterwards twenty-six winters. And they gave to their two nephews, Stuff and Wihtgar, the whole of the isle of Wight."
Despite the legitimacy of the ASC as a historical document, it is problematic to understand the figure of Cerdic based on this alone, since these Chronicles were written during the reign of King Alfred the Great, and it favours the victories and the settlement of the Saxons, his ancestors, over the British rather than to enlight the event as it was. Nonetheless, it is important to perceive how the late 9th century saw Cerdic, as a conqueror coming from a foreigner tribe who could also be seen as a figure of resistance before the last Romans enduring in Britain, which some historians believe him to be the inspiration of King Arthur, or as a Saxon who defeated the Welsh, probably causing the separation from these nations for good.
We have, so far, questioned where he came from, and the results were, as discussed, very limited. Looking back at his deeds, how can we trace the person he was? What kind of leader was he? How did his tribe manage to settle in what later would be known as kingdom of Essex?
To trace the timeline, we can rely on Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, as the following excerpt shows:
"According to tradition, Cerdic and his (young) son Cynric, together with Saxon and possibly some Jutish companions, land in five ships on the south coast at Cerdices ora (Cerdic's Shore, possibly the western side of the Solent), and begin a takeover of the local Jutish, Saxon and sub-Roman territories. The Jutes and Saxons who are already settled there are apparently already referring to themselves as the West Seaxe (...). The fighting begins on the same day as Cerdic 'arrives', suggesting that his potential power play begins in violence or immediate resistance. If Cerdic is in fact a Briton who rebels against the remaining central authority then, given his location, he could be serving as magistrate of the Belgae territory of Caer Gwinntguic until he seizes part of the tribe's territory in order to found his own little empire."
So we have another interpretation of who Cerdic possibly had been: a man of noble birth, if he was indeed a magistrate, but one conscious of his own ambitions which leaded him to be crowned in later years as the first king of Wessex. This realm of his was named so because, as said above, the Saxons there residing styled themselves as West-Saxons. Wessex, thus, is the result of these names.
Those were, we must remember, turbulent days, so the arrival of Cerdic, as even the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles states, brought conflits which contested his presence, since he was not well seen by his enemies. However, Cerdic defeated all of those rivals, and, until the end of his reign, marked by the year of 534, he continued with the process of establishment, a result of his successful conquest. We assume, then, that he had the support of minor tribes, with the victory he had in the battles that helped to place him on the throne. Below, we have a better idea of how this occurred:
"Cerdic (...) defeats Natanleod's Britons. Afterwards the area is known as Natan leag (...). Having established a beachhead and killed the (possibly) legitimate governor or ruler, Cerdic may be the only hope in the region for strong governance, with the result that Britons, Saxons and Jutes join him. (...) After defeating Britons at Cerdices ford (...) Cerdic is declared king of the West Seaxe"
As a historical character, thus, we understand him as, based on the facts collected, a warrior figure of his time. Early Middle Ages is also marked by the constant migrations and a similar scenario can be stated over the next centuries, especially with the Viking's invasions, leaving a mark to when the cruzades began. Cerdic, for whatever reasons, migrated to the east and there established. His own name is cause for debates concerning its origins, with some consense stating that it was Briton name, which might indicate he was a son of a Briton mother and Saxon father. In some bibliographies here consulted, there can be found discussions of the reasons that leaded him to establish there, as we pointed out before: was he an ambitious magistered or an earldorman bound to another man by vassal connections? These connections came to an end only when one's overlord died. So perhaps with his death, was there a way open to Cerdic to conquer that settlement?
In truth, we can only but especulate. Based where informations converge, some assumptions can be made, but this will be the limit of the construction of a character that was definitely very important to the history of Great-Britain. However, the closest source that could bring some enlightment of his person is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, even though those were written a few centuries later, when Cerdic was already dead.
What is most discussed about Cerdic is: was he really the famous King Arthur, supposedly said to have been the "father" of England, or was he just an inspiration? This have been a discussion amongst historians that, even nowadays, have come to no concrete results. Apparently, there are differences in times between Vortigern and Cerdic, but, if they did happen to live in the same context, Cerdic was a loyal man to the former and had been gone to Brittany, only to reclaim the lands in Wessex laterwards. It is, though, a topic that could drive long arguments, of pros and cons, which would lead us away from the main subject. So if Cerdic was really Arthur or if he inspired this medieval figure, we will possibly never know.
Bilbiography:
https://ia902605.us.archive.org/2/items/Anglo-saxonChronicles/anglo_saxon_chronicle.pdf
http://steventill.com/2009/04/07/famous-people-in-medieval-history-cerdic-first-king-of-wessex/
http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsBritain/EnglandWessex.htm
http://www.robertsewell.ca/england.html
http://levigilant.com/Bulfinch_Mythology/bulfinch.englishatheist.org/arthur/Caradoc-Vreichvras.htm#c
http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Kings-Queens-of-Wessex/
http://www.ancient.eu/Cerdic/
http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/saxon_22.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerdic_of_Wessex
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário