Wuffingas

The Wuffingas, Uffingas or Wiffings were the ruling dynasty of East Anglia, the long-lived Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. The Wuffingas took their name from Wuffa, an early East Anglian king. Nothing is known of the members of the dynasty before Rædwald, who ruled from about 599 to 624. The Viking invasions of the ninth century or dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century may have led to the destruction of the documents relating to the rule of the Wuffingas.

The last of the Wuffingas kings was Ælfwald, who died in 749: he was succeeded by kings whose lineage is unknown.

Family tree

The following family tree includes the Wuffingas kings from Wehha to Ælfwald. They are numbered in order of ruling. Ecgric of East Anglia was also a member of the Wuffingas house, but his exact descent is not decided. He may have been Sigeberht's brother, or his step-brother.

The kingdom of East Anglia was invaded by peoples from northern Europe during the 5th and 6th centuries. Historical sources relating to the genealogy of the East Anglian kings include the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' and Bede's ''Ecclesiastical History'', both compiled many years after the kingdom was formed, as well as a pedigree of Ælfwald contained in the Anglian collection that dates from the 9th century. In the pedigree, Ælfwald is claimed to descend from the god Wōden.

After 749, East Anglia was ruled either by the rulers of Mercia, or by kings whose genealogy is not known.

Cultural associations

The author Sam Newton has claimed that the poem ''Beowulf'' may have been composed during the reign of Ælfwald. Before the end of his rule, East Anglia contained a group of ecclesiastical centres, all of which had strong associations with the Wuffingas dynasty. These included the sees at Dommoc and Helmham, St. Botulph's monastery at Icanho, the religious foundations at Ely and Dereham founded by daughters of Anna, the minster at Blythburgh and the monastery founded by Sigeberht prior to his abdication and subsequent death in battle.

After comparing Sutton Hoo with archaeological sites in Sweden, the archaeologist Sune Lindqvist suggested in 1948 that the Wuffingas may have been related to the Royal House of Uppsala, and so descended from Wiglaf.

References

Bibliography

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Further reading

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External links

Dr Sam Newton's Wuffing Website
* William of Malmesbury's ''Chronicle of the Kings of England from the earliest period to the reign of King Stephen'', Book 1, "Of the kings of the East Angles" i
English
and i
Latin

{{Royal houses of Britain and Ireland

East Anglian monarchs