Cerdic and his son Cynric landed in the area of Southhampton in 495 A.D., and then moved north into what is now Hampshire and Wiltshire to found The Kingdom of the West Saxons or Wessex. Cerdic met great resistance from the last of the Romano-Britons under a shadowy leader who lays as good a claim as any to having been the "real" King Arthur. Cerdic was crowned as the 1st King of West Saxons at Winchester 532, although some say he reigned from 519 on. The times were very chaotic, and although leaders such as Cerdic are historical figures, much of the actual history is shrouded in legend.

Legendary Beginnings

The ancient Kings of Scotland claimed a legendary antiquity beginning with Gaythelos, son of a King of Greece who went to Egypt during the time of Moses where he married a daughter of the Pharaoh. Not to be outdone, the Kings of Wessex developed a legendary ancestry beginning with the Biblical Adam and Eve. This legendary genealogy is recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a collection of documents commissioned by Alfred the Great in the late 9th century.

The entry in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year A.D. 854 relates the descent of Æthelwulf, Alfred the Great's father:

"And Æthelwulf was the son of Egbert, Egbert of Ealhmund, Ealhmund of Eafa, Eafa of Eoppa, Eoppa of Ingild; Ingild was the brother of Ina, king of the West-Saxons, who held that kingdom thirty-seven winters, and afterwards went to St. Peter, where he died. And they were the sons of Cenred, Cenred of Ceolwald, Ceolwald of Cutha, Cutha of Cuthwin, Cuthwin of Ceawlin, Ceawlin of Cynric, Cynric of Creoda, Creoda of Cerdic, Cerdic of Elesa, Elesa of Esla, Esla of Gewis, Gewis of Wig, Wig of Freawine, Freawine of Frithugar, Frithugar of Brond, Brond of Balday, Balday of Woden, Woden of Frithuwald, Frithuwald of Freawine, Freawine of Frithuwualf, Frithuwulf of Finn, Finn of Godwulf, Godwulf of Great, Great of Taetwa, Taetwa of Beaw, Beaw of Sceldwa, Sceldwa of Heremod, Heremod of Itermon, Itermon of Hathra, Hathra of Hwala, Hwala of Bedwig, Bedwig of Sceaf; that is, the son of Noah, who was born in Noah's ark: Laznech, Methusalem, Enoh, Jared, Malalahel, Cainion, Enos, Seth, Adam the first man, and our Father, that is, Christ. Amen."

The pre-Christian Kings of Wessex claimed a descent that originated with King Priam of Troy through the Viking god Thór. This line, from Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda, proceeds:

"Priam, High King of Troy; Tróán; Thór; Lóridi; Einridi, Vingethor, Vingerner, Móda; Magi; Seskef; Bedwig; . . . " This line then proceeds as for the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle from Bedwig, son of Sceaf who was born in Noah's ark. It is interesting to note that although the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle gave the kings a Christian origin, it includes the Norse god Woden or Odin who married the god Frigg or Frígídá.

However, as with the Scots, history knows nothing of this prior to about 500 AD, at which point the name of Cerdic emerges from the mists of legend as a Saxon invader who established himself as King of Wessex.