The Sumorsaete were an

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- ...

group living in what is now Somerset, presumably around the town of Somerton. They are evidently the source of the county's name. The group may have been established as early as 577, when the Saxons conquered part of the area from the Britons, but they are not mentioned by name until 845. They may have been related to the obscure

Glastening Glastening (or ''Glastenning'') refers to an old Welsh pedigree mentioned by William of Malmesbury possibly associated with Glastonbury. Associated genealogies Modern and medieval historians have sought to associate various versions of the same O ...

or Glestinga, who may be the source of the name Glastonbury.

Name

The name ''Sumorsǣte'' is

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

and may be a shortened form of ''Sumortūnsǣte'', meaning "the people living at or dependent upon Sumortūn", i.e. the modern town of Somerton. The origin of Somerton itself is unknown; it may mean 'The sea-lake enclosure' from the

''sae'', ''mere'' and ''tun'' or possibly "summer farmstead", from ''sumer'' and -''tūn''. The first known use of the name ''Somersæte'' was in 845, after the region fell to the Saxons. When King Alfred coined the future county motto 'Sumorsǣte ' in the ninth century, he referred to the people of Somerset as the ''Sumortūnsǣte''.

History

The Sumoraete may have been related in some way to the obscure ''

'' or ''Glestinga'', about whom almost nothing is known, but whose name has been connected to nearby Glastonbury. One of the

Harleian genealogies __NOTOC__ The Harleian genealogies are a collection of Old Welsh genealogies preserved in British Library, Harley MS 3859. Part of the Harleian Library, the manuscript, which also contains the ''Annales Cambriae'' (Recension A) and a version of th ...

dating to the 10th century begins with a certain "Glast", who came to "Glastening" from ''

Luit-Coyt Letocetum is the ancient remains of a Roman Britain, Roman settlement. It was an important military staging post and posting station near the junction of Watling Street, the Roman military road to north Wales, and Icknield Street, Icknield (or ...

'' (modern Lichfield in England). This pedigree also appears in later versions, though it is unclear if these version intend a person named "Glas" or a kindred group. The native Britons of the Southwest at this time spoke a variant of the

Common Brittonic Common Brittonic ( cy, Brythoneg; kw, Brythonek; br, Predeneg), also known as British, Common Brythonic, or Proto-Brittonic, was a Celtic language spoken in Britain and Brittany. It is a form of Insular Celtic, descended from Proto-Celtic, a ...

language ancestral to Cornish. Anglo-Saxon settlers introduced

. The Anglo-Saxons established control over much of what is now England by 600, but were held off at British-held Somerset. However, by the early 8th century King Ine of Wessex had pushed the boundaries of the West Saxon kingdom far enough west to include Somerset. The Saxon royal palace in Cheddar was used several times in the 10th century to host the Witenagemot. The earliest fortification of Taunton started for King Ine of Wessex and Æthelburg, in or about the year 710 AD. However, according to the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...

'' this was destroyed 12 years later. Somerset, like Dorset to the south, held the West Saxon advance from Wiltshire/Hampshire back for over a century, remaining a frontier between the Saxons and the Romano-British Celts. The Saxons conquered

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

following the Battle of Deorham in 577, and the border was probably established along the line of the Wansdyke to the north of the

Mendip Hills The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the Frome valley in the east, the hills ...

. Then

Cenwalh of Wessex Cenwalh, also Cenwealh or Coenwalh, was King of Wessex from c. 642 to c. 645 and from c. 648 until his death, according to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', in c. 672. Penda and Anna Bede states that Cenwalh was the son of the King Cynegils baptis ...

broke through at Bradford-on-Avon in 652, and the Battle of Peonnum possibly at Penselwood in 658, advancing west through the

Polden Hills Polden may refer to: * Chilton Polden, rural village and civil parish near Edington, north of the Polden Hills in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, England * East Polden Grasslands, Site of Special Scientific Interest on the Polden Hills in Somer ...

to the

River Parrett The River Parrett flows through the counties of Dorset and Somerset in South West England, from its source in the Thorney Mills springs in the hills around Chedington in Dorset. Flowing northwest through Somerset and the Somerset Levels to it ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumortunsete And Glestinga Tribes Peoples of Anglo-Saxon England History of Somerset

Name

History

See also

References