The list of monarchs of the Anglo-Saxon

kingdom of Sussex la, Regnum Sussaxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the South Saxons , capital = , era = Heptarchy , status = Vassal of Wessex (686–726, 827–860)Vassal of Mercia (771–796) , governm ...

(or South Saxons) contains substantial gaps, as the chronological details relating to Sussex during the

heptarchy The Heptarchy were the seven petty kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England that flourished from the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain in the 5th century until they were consolidated in the 8th century into the four kingdoms of Mercia, Northumbria, Wess ...

is generally poorly documented. No authentic

South Saxon Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

king list or genealogy exists, unlike what can be found for other

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

kingdoms. Most kings are known only from Anglo-Saxon charters, some of which are forgeries, which makes it difficult to date the reigns of each king. The monarchs were either known as kings or

ealdormen Ealdorman (, ) was a term in Anglo-Saxon England which originally applied to a man of high status, including some of royal birth, whose authority was independent of the king. It evolved in meaning and in the eighth century was sometimes applied ...

. According to the charters, most kings did not govern alone:

Nothhelm Nothhelm (sometimes Nothelm;Mayr-Harting ''Coming of Christianity'' p. 69 died 739) was a medieval Anglo-Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury. A correspondent of both Bede and Boniface, it was Nothhelm who gathered materials from Canterbury for Bede' ...

reigned with two or three colleagues and

Oslac Óslác is a theophoric Anglo-Saxon given name, cognate to Old Norse ''Ásleikr''/''Áslákr'' (Latinised ''Ansleicus'', modern Scandinavian ''Aslak'') and to Old High German ''Ansleh'' (''Anslech'', ''Ansleccus''). It is composed of '' ós'' "god" ...

with four. The locations of the lands granted in their charters indicate that they reigned jointly and that there was no division of territory. Such joint reigns can also be demonstrated for the

Hwicce Hwicce () was a tribal kingdom in Anglo-Saxon England. According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', the kingdom was established in 577, after the Battle of Deorham. After 628, the kingdom became a client or sub-kingdom of Mercia as a result of the ...

, the

East Saxons la, Regnum Orientalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the East Saxons , common_name = Essex , era = Heptarchy , status = , status_text = , government_type = Monarch ...

, and the

West Saxons la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...

. Indeed, “ ere is nothing remarkable in the existence of two or even more contemporary kings in the same people in the seventh century. The ancient idea that royal dignity was a matter of birth rather than of territorial rule still survived at this date.” The traditional residence of the South Saxon kings was at Kingsham, once outside the southern walls of

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

although within its modern boundaries.Alec Hamilton-Barr. ''In Saxon Sussex''. The Arundel Press, Bognor Regis. p 29

Kings and Ealdormen of the South Saxons

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Monarchs Of Sussex

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

ru:Список королей Сассекса

Kings and Ealdormen of the South Saxons

See also

Notes

References