Cynric

Cynric () was King of Wessex from 534 to 560. Everything known about him comes from the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. There, he is stated to have been the son of Cerdic, who is considered the founder of the kingdom of Wessex. However, the Anglian King-list and parts of the West Saxon Genealogical Regnal List (which may partly derive from the Anglian King-list and was a source for the ''Chronicle''), instead says that Cynric was the son of Cerdic's son Creoda. Similarly, the paternal genealogy of Alfred the Great given in Asser's ''The Life of King Alfred'', includes the name Creoda, while the account of the king's maternal ancestry in the same work calls Cynric son of Cerdic.

Name

The name ''Cynric'' has an ostensibly straightforward Old English etymology meaning "Kin-ruler". However, this name's normal Old English form is ''Cyneric''. As some scholars have proposed that both his predecessor, Cerdic, and successor, Ceawlin, had Celtic names, an alternative etymology has been postulated, deriving the name from Brittonic "Cunorix", meaning "Hound-king" (which developed into ''Cinir'' in Old Welsh, ''Kynyr'' in Middle Welsh).

Conquest

The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' describes Cerdic and Cynric with five ships landing in the area around Southampton in 495.A theory specifically identifies the site of the landing, at Cerdicesora, as Christchurch Harbour so that the axis of penetration was along the Avon. According to the chronicle, the two are described as aristocratic " aldormen" but only assumed rule over the Gewissae (as the West Saxons were known before the late 7th century) in 519. This implies that Cynric was not a royal leader. He and his father were only elevated to kingship when they allegedly conquered the heartlands of the future Wessex.

Rule

During his reign, as described in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', the Saxons expanded into Wiltshire against strong resistance and captured ''Searobyrig'', or Old Sarum, near Salisbury, in 552. In 556, he and his son Ceawlin won a battle against the Britons at ''Beranburh'', now identified as Barbury Castle. If these dates are accurate, then it is unlikely that the earlier entries in the ''Chronicle'', starting with his arrival in Britain with his father Cerdic in 495, are correct. David Dumville has suggested that his true regnal dates are 554–581.Barbara Yorke: ''Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England'', Routledge, London-New York 2002, , p. 133. Some note that Ceawlin's origin and relationship with Cynric are obscure. Chroniclers merely suggested that they were relatives or that he was Cynric's son to legitimize the later Wessex lineage.

In popular culture

In the 2004 film ''King Arthur'', Cerdic and Cynric were depicted as Saxon invaders and were killed, respectively, by King Arthur and Lancelot at the Battle of Badon Hill (Mons Badonicus). Cynric was portrayed by Til Schweiger.

See also

* House of Wessex family tree

Notes

References

* Laing, L.R. (1975), ''The archaeology of late Celtic Britain and Ireland, c. 400-1200 AD,'' Taylor & Francis.
*
* Sims-Williams, P. (1983), ''The settlement of England in Bede and the "Chronicle"'' from ''Anglo-Saxon England, Vol. 12'', pp. 1–41, Cambridge University Press.
* Whittock, M.J. (1986), ''The Origins of England 410-600'' Croom Helm.

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cynric Of Wessex

560 deaths
Arthurian characters
English heroic legends
Anglo-Saxon warriors
Sub-Roman monarchs
West Saxon monarchs
6th-century English monarchs
Year of birth unknown
House of Wessex