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, and also (in the regnal list in the preface) to have been the son of Cerdic's son, Creoda. During his reign it is said that 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.^[2] 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.

Etymology

The name Cynric has a straightforward Old English etymology meaning "kin-ruler." However, as both his predecessor, Cerdic, and successor, Ceawlin, might have Celtic names, an alternative etymology has been postulated from "Cunorix" which would mean "hound-king" in Old British (rendered as Cinir in Old Welsh, Kynyr in Middle Welsh).^[3] In 1967 a stone was found at Wroxeter in a Sub-Roman context (dating to c. 460 - 475 AD^[4]) with the inscription CUNORIX MACUS MAQVI COLINE, which translates as "Cunorix ('Hound-king') son of Maqui-Coline ('Son-of-Holly'), both of which are regarded as Irish personal names.^[5][6]

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.

Notes

References

• Peter Clemoes, Simon Keynes, Michael Lapidge, (1981) Anglo-Saxon England, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-03834-0
• Laing, L.R., (1975) The archaeology of late Celtic Britain and Ireland, c. 400-1200 AD, Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-416-82360-2
• John Nowell Linton Myres, (1989) The English Settlements, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-282235-7

See also

• House of Wessex family tree