User:JMvanDijk/Sandbox 12/Box18

House of Wessex Cerdicings
Golden Wyvern of Wessex
Country	Kingdom of Wessex Kingdom of England
Founded	c. 519
Founder	Cerdic of Wessex
Final ruler	Edward the Confessor
Titles	King of Wessex King of England
Dissolution	in or after 1125, death of Edgar Ætheling
Deposition	1066, death of Edward the Confessor

The House of Wessex, also known as the Cerdicings and the West Saxon dynasty, refers to the family, traditionally founded by Cerdic, that ruled Wessex in Southern England from the early 6th century. The house became dominant in southern England after the accession of King Ecgberht in 802. Alfred the Great saved England from Viking conquest in the late ninth century and his grandson Æthelstan became first king of England in 927. The disastrous reign of Æthelred the Unready ended in Danish conquest in 1014. Æthelred and his son Edmund Ironside attempted to resist the Vikings in 1016, but after their deaths the Danish Cnut the Great and his sons ruled until 1042. The House of Wessex then briefly regained power under Æthelred's son Edward the Confessor, but lost it after the Norman Conquest in 1066. All kings of England since Henry II have been descended from the House of Wessex through Henry I's wife Matilda of Scotland, who was a great-granddaughter of Edmund Ironside.

Genealogy

To Alfred the Great

The chart shows their (claimed) descent from the traditional first king of Wessex, Cerdic, down to the children of Alfred the Great. A continuation of the tree into the 10th and 11th centuries can be found at English monarchs family tree.

The tree is largely based on the late 9th-century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the West Saxon Genealogical Regnal List (reproduced in several forms, including as a preface to the [B] manuscript of the Chronicle), and Asser's Life of King Alfred. These sources are all closely related and were compiled at a similar date, and incorporate a desire in their writers to associate the royal household with the authority of being a continuation of a unified line of kingship descended from a single original founder.

One apparently earlier pedigree survives, which traces the ancestry of King Ine back to Cerdic. This first appears in a 10th-century manuscript copy of the "Anglian collection" of Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies. The manuscript is thought to have been made at Glastonbury in the 930s during the reign of King Æthelstan  (whose family traced their own royal descent back to Cerdic via a brother of King Ine), but the material may well date back to the earliest reconstructable version of the collection, c. 796; and possibly still further back, to 725–6. Compared to the later texts, this pedigree gives an ancestry for Ceolwald as son of Cuthwulf son of Cuthwine which in the later 9th-century texts sometimes seems confused; and it states Cynric as son of Creoda son of Cerdic, whereas the Chronicle annals go to some length to present Cerdic and Cynric as a father-and-son pair who land in and conquer the southern part of Wessex together (a narrative now considered spurious by historians).

Many of the links shown are disputed. Egbert, who became King of Wessex in 802, was probably of Kentish origin, and his ancestry back to Cerdic may have been invented to legitimize his claim to the throne of Wessex. There are also a number of discrepancies between different sources.

Key

•   - The red border indicates the monarchs
•   - The bolded border indicates the close relatives of the monarchs (parents, spouses and children)
•   - The thin border indicates other relatives

Cerdic King of Wessex ?–519-534

Cynric King of Wessex c. 494–534-560

Ceawlin King of Wessex c. 535–560-592

Cutha

Cuthwine b. c. 565

Ceol King of Wessex ?–592-597

Ceolwulf King of Wessex ?–597-611

Cenfus King of Wessex ?–674-674

Cedda b.590

Cuthwulf b.592

Cynegils King of Wessex ?–611-642

Pybba King of Mercia

Æscwine King of Wessex ?–674-676

Cenberht 620-661

Ceolwald

Cwichelm King of Wessex ?–626-636

Centwine King of Wessex ?–676-685

Seaxburh Queen of Wessex ?–672-674

Cenwalh King of Wessex ?–642-645, 648-672

sister of Penda

Penda King of Mercia c. 606 - c. 626-655 King of Wessex 645-648

Eowa

Caedwalla King of Wessex 659–685-688

Mul King of Kent 660-686-687

Cenred b. 640

Cuthred

Osmod

Ingild

Aldfrith King of Northumbria ?–685–704/5

Cuthburh d. c. 718

Cwenburh d. c. 735

Ine King of Wessex c. 670–688-726

Æthelburh

Æthelheard King of Wessex ?–726-740

Cuthred King of Wessex ?–740-756

Eanwulf

Eoppa

Cynric aethling d. 748

Thingfrith

Eafa

Sigeberht King of Wessex ?–756-757

Cyneheard d. 786

Cynewulf King of Wessex ?–757-786

Offa King of Mercia ?–757-796

Ealhmund King of Kent ?–784-784

Beorhtric King of Wessex ?–786-802

Eadburh

Egbert King of Wessex 771/5–802-839

Judith of France

Æthelwulf King of Wessex 795–839-858

Osburh

Æthelstan King of Kent 830–839-858

Æthelbald King of Wessex 831–858-860

Burgred King of Mercia ?–852-874

Æthelswith 833–889

Æthelberht King of Wessex 835–860-865

Æthelred King of Wessex c. 848–865-871

Alfred the Great King of Wessex 849–871-886

English monarchs' family tree

Houses of Wessex, Knýtlinga and Godwinson

Houses of Wessex and Knýtlinga

Alfred the Great King of Wessex 849–899 r.871–899 Ealhswith d.902 Æthelred Lord of the Mercians d.911 Æthelflæd Lady of the Mercians c. 870–918 Ecgwynn Edward the Elder "King of the Anglo-Saxons" c. 874/877–924 r.899–924 Eadgifu of Kent c. 903–966 Ælfflæd Æthelweard d.920.922 Ælfthryth 877–929 Baldwin II the Bald Mgve. of Flanders c. 865–918 Ælfwynn Ruler of Mercia b.c. 888 Æthelstan c. 893/895–939 "King of the Anglo-Saxons r.924–927 "King of the English" r.927–939 Ælfweard of Wessex c. 902–924 Charles III the Simple King of the Franks 879–929 Eadgifu of Wessex 902–after955 Herbert III of Omois 910–980/985 Edwin d.933 Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury Saint Elgiva d.944 Edmund I "King of the English" 921–946 r.939–946 Æthelflæd of Damerham Eadred "King of the English" 923–955 r.946–955 Eadburh of Winchester d.960 Eadgyth of England 910–946 Otto I the Great Holy Roman Emperor 912–973 Eadhild d.937 Hugh the Great Duke of the Franks 898–956 Sigrid the Haughty btwn. 960/972– d.1014 Sweyn Forkbeard "King of the English" 963–1014 r.1013–1014 Gunhild of Wenden Ælfgifu Eadwig All-Fair "King of England" ?–959 r.955–959 Æthelflæd Edgar I the Peaceful "King of England" c. 943–975 r.959–975 Ælfthryth c. 945–1000/1001 Harald II King of Denmark c. 996–998–c. 1018 Estrid Svendsdatter 990/997– 1057/1073 Richard I Comté de Rouen 933–996 Edward the Martyr "King of England" c. 962–978 r.975–978 Edmund c. 966 – c. 970 Ælfgifu of York fl. c. 970 –1002 Æthelred the Unready "King of the English" c. 966–1016 r.978–1013, 1014–1016 Emma of Normandy c. 985–1052 Cnut the Great "King of England" c. 985/995–1035 r.1016–1035 Ælfgifu of Northampton c. 990–after1040 Richard II Duke of Normandy 963–1026 Æthelstan Ætheling 980s–1014 Edmund II Ironside "King of the English" c. 990–1016 r.1016 Ealdgyth c. 992-after1016 Eadred Ætheling d. c. 1012 Eadwig Ætheling d.1017 Godwin Earl of Wessex 1001–1053 Harthacnut "King of England" c. 1018–1042 r.1040–1042 Gunhilda of Denmark c. 1020–1038 Svein Knutsson King of Norway c. 1016–1035 Harold I Harefoot "King of England" c. 1015–1040 r.1035/1037–1040 Harold Godwinson "King of the English" c. 1022–1066 r.1066 Edith of Wessex c. 1025–1075 Edward the Confessor "King of the English" 1003/1005–1066 r.1042–1066 Alfred Aetheling d.1036 Godgifu 1004–c. 1047 Edmund Ætheling c. 1015/1017– before1054 Edward the Exile 1016–1057 Agatha before1030– after1070 Gytha of Wessex d.1098/1107 Gunhild of Wessex Robert I Duke of Normandy 1000–1035 Edgar II the Ætheling "King of England" c. 1051–1126 r.1066 Cristina d. c. 1100 Margaret of Scotland c. 1045–1093 Malcolm III King of Scots c. 1031–1093 William I the Conqueror "King of England" c. 1028–1087 r.1066–1087 Matilda of Scotland c. 1080–1118 Henry I "King of England" c. 1068–1135 r.1100–1135 House of Normandy

Chart of Family Tree

House of Wessex Family Tree

Attributed coat of arms

A coat of arms was attributed by medieval heralds to the Kings of Wessex. These arms appear in a manuscript of the thirteenth century, and are blazoned as Azure, a cross patonce (sometimes a cross fleury or cross moline) between five martlets Or. The assigning of arms to the West Saxon kings is prochronistic, as heraldry did not develop in a form as we know it until the twelfth century. These arms continued to be used to represent the kingdom for centuries after their invention. They have been incorporated into heraldic charges of institutions that associate themselves with Wessex, especially Edward the Confessor, where they are used at Westminster Abbey and in the arms of the City of Westminster. The arms attributed to Edward were probably based on the design of a type of coin minted during his reign. This silver penny, often called a 'cross/eagle' type, showed an equal-armed cross within a circle, with birds depicted in the spaces between the arms of the cross.

Succession to the English Throne/Succession crisis, 1120–1124

Henry's first wife, Matilda of Scotland

On 11 November 1100 Henry married Matilda, the daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland, in Westminster Abbey. Henry was now around 31 years old, but late marriages for noblemen were not unusual in the 11th century. The pair had probably first met earlier the previous decade, possibly being introduced through Bishop Osmund of Salisbury. Historian Warren Hollister argues that Henry and Matilda were emotionally close, but their union was also certainly politically motivated. Matilda had originally been named Edith, an Anglo-Saxon name, and was a member of the West Saxon royal family, being the niece of Edgar the Ætheling, the great-granddaughter of Edmund Ironside and a descendant of Alfred the Great. For Henry, marrying Matilda gave his reign increased legitimacy, and for Matilda, an ambitious woman, it was an opportunity for high status and power in England.

All kings of England since Henry II have been descended from the House of Wessex through Henry I's wife Matilda of Scotland, who was a great-granddaughter of Edmund Ironside.

====>From The Anarchy

After Henry's death, the English throne was taken not by his daughter Matilda, but by Stephen of Blois, ultimately resulting in civil war. Stephen was the son of Stephen-Henry of Blois, one of the powerful counts of northern France, and Adela of Normandy, daughter of William the Conqueror. Stephen and Matilda were thus first cousins. His parents allied themselves with Henry, and Stephen, as a younger son without lands of his own, became Henry's client, travelling as part of his court and serving in his campaigns. In return he received lands and was married to Matilda of Boulogne in 1125, the daughter and only heiress of the Count of Boulogne, who owned the important continental port of Boulogne and vast estates in the north-west and south-east of England. By 1135, Stephen was a well established figure in Anglo-Norman society, while his younger brother Henry had also risen to prominence, becoming the Bishop of Winchester and the second-richest man in England after the king. Henry of Winchester was keen to reverse what he perceived as encroachment by the Norman kings on the rights of the church.

However, the English rules of succession in this age were not hard and fast. Under the Anglo-Saxon system, any prince of the Royal House was deemed eligible to succeed if they were deemed "throne worthy" Aetheling. This could be passed on from father to daughter to son.

On the other hand, the Empress Matilda had several factors in her favor. First, she was the only living legitimate child of the previous king. Second, she was married to a powerful in his own right, Geoffrey "Plantagenet", Count of Anjou, whose lands bordered on the Duchy of Normandy. Third, she had a following in Normandy. Finally, she was, through her mother, a descendant of the old Anglo-Saxon Royal line, the House of Wessex. Matilda's mother, also Matilda, had originally been named Edith, an Anglo-Saxon name, and was a member of the West Saxon royal family, being the niece of Edgar the Ætheling, the great-granddaughter of Edmund Ironside and a descendant of Alfred the Great. For Henry, marrying Matilda gave his reign increased legitimacy.. All kings of England since Henry II have been descended from the House of Wessex through the Empress and her son, Henry II of England.

Bibliography

• Hollister, C. Warren; Baldwin, John W. (1978). "The Rise of Administrative Kingship: Henry I and Philip Augustus". The American Historical Review. 83 (4): 867–05. doi:10.2307/1867650. ISSN 0002-8762. JSTOR 1867650.
• Hollister, C. Warren (2003). Frost, Amanda Clark (ed.). Henry I. New Haven, US and London, UK: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-09829-7.