- Æthelwealh of Sussex
Æthelwealh ("fl." c. 660-685) (also written Aedilualch, Aethelwalch, Aþelwold, Æðelwold, Æþelwald, or Ethelwalch) was the first historical king of Sussex. All known information about him comes from brief mentions in
Eddius 's The Life of Bishop Wilfrid,Bede 's Ecclesiastical History of England, andThe Anglo-Saxon Chronicle .Æthelwalh became a
Christian while inMercia where King Wulfhere sponsored hisbaptism . At this time the people of Sussex were pagans.In 661, Wulfhere gave Æthelwealh the territories of Meonwara and the
Isle of Wight .Æthelwealh's queen was Eafe (also written Eabae or Ebba), the daughter of Eanfrith (Eanfrid or Eanfridi), a ruler of the Christian
Hwicce people.Wilfrid , the exiled bishop ofYork , came to Sussex in 681 and converted the people to Christianity with King Æthelwealh's approval. Æthelwealh gave Wilfrid land inSelsey where he foundedSelsey Abbey . Wilfrid, however met withCaedwalla a prince of theGewissae , then operating as a bandit in Sussex, and came to a mutual agreement to advance one another's interestsShortly after this, in 685, Cædwalla, a West Saxon prince, invaded Sussex and killed Æthelwealh.
His name means "noble foreigner".
Legacy
Aethelwealh is mentioned in "
The Way of Wyrd " , a novel by ProfessorBrian Bates References
*cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Æthelwalh 1
work =
publisher =Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
date =
url = http://eagle.cch.kcl.ac.uk:8080/pase/DisplayPerson.jsp?personKey=652
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-03-30
*cite web
last =Bede
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Book 4
work = Ecclesiastical History of England
publisher = Medieval Sourcebook
date =
url = http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/bede-book4.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-03-30
*cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Eafe 1
work =
publisher =Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
date =
url = http://eagle.cch.kcl.ac.uk:8080/pase/DisplayPerson.jsp?personKey=1629
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-03-30
*cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Eanfrith 3
work =
publisher =Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
date =
url = http://eagle.cch.kcl.ac.uk:8080/pase/DisplayPerson.jsp?personKey=1637
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-03-30
*cite web
last = Ingram
first = J.H. trans.
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
work =
publisher =Project Gutenberg
date = 1996-09-01
url = http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext96/angsx10.txt
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-03-30External links
*cite web
last = la iconBede
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Liber Quartus
work = Historiam Ecclesiasticam Gentis Anglorum
publisher = The Latin Library
date =
url = http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/bede/bede4.shtml
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-03-30
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.