Æscwine (alternative spellings include Erkenwine, Erchenwin, Erchenwine) 94 AD-587 ADin the

Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies A number of royal genealogies of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, collectively referred to as the Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies, have been preserved in a manuscript tradition based in the 8th to 10th centuries. The genealogies trace the succession of th ...

is listed as the first

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

. If historical, he would have flourished during the 6th century.

Background

Little evidence is available for his existence. His name ''Æscwine'' first appears in an East-Saxon genealogy which is imperfectly preserved in

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

Add. MS 23211, presumably of the late 9th century. Here he is said to be father to King Sledd and himself a son of Offa, son of Bedca, son of Sigefugl, son of Swæppa, son of Antsecg, son of Gesecg, son of Seaxnet (

euhemerized Euhemerism () is an approach to the interpretation of mythology in which mythological accounts are presumed to have originated from real historical events or personages. Euhemerism supposes that historical accounts become myths as they are exagge ...

god of the Saxons), whom the later genealogies make son of

Woden Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory ...

. Further information is supplied by works of historians writing in the 12th and 13th centuries, who appear to have used pre-Conquest material, ''viz.,''

Henry of Huntingdon Henry of Huntingdon ( la, Henricus Huntindoniensis; 1088 – AD 1157), the son of a canon in the diocese of Lincoln, was a 12th-century English historian and the author of ''Historia Anglorum'' (Medieval Latin for "History of the English"), ...

's ''Historia Anglorum'',

Roger of Wendover Roger of Wendover (died 6 May 1236), probably a native of Wendover in Buckinghamshire, was an English chronicler of the 13th century. At an uncertain date he became a monk at St Albans Abbey; afterwards he was appointed prior of the cell o ...

's ''Flores Historiarum'' and

Matthew Paris Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris ( la, Matthæus Parisiensis, lit=Matthew the Parisian; c. 1200 – 1259), was an English Benedictine monk, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey ...

's ''Chronica Majora''. These, however, substitute the name ''Æscwine'' with ''Erkenwine'' or ''Erchenwine'' as Sledd's father. Both these names seem to betray Kentish connections. On no known authority, Roger of Wendover and Matthew Paris state that Erkenwine founded the kingdom in 527 and reigned from that year to 587, when he died and was succeeded by his son Sledd. The reputed length of his reign appears unlikely for the time. Alternatively, genealogies included in the works of

William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as " ...

and

John of Worcester John of Worcester (died c. 1140) was an English monk and chronicler who worked at Worcester Priory. He is usually held to be the author of the ''Chronicon ex chronicis''. ''Chronicon ex chronicis'' The ''Chronicon ex chronicis'' is a world wi ...

make Sledd the first king of Essex and genealogies for later kings Offa, Sigered and Swithred in Add. MS 23211 converge on Sledd. According to tradition, he is remembered for having rebelled against Octa, King of Kent, he defeated him in battle in 527 at a site near modern-day Millfields in Hackney, establishing the

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

References

Books

*Yorke, Barbara. "The Kingdom of the East Saxons." ''Anglo-Saxon England'' 14 (1985): 1–36. {{DEFAULTSORT:Aescwine of Essex 6th-century English monarchs East Saxon monarchs Founding monarchs People whose existence is disputed Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown