Elessa of Ƿeſsex II of Þe Elſiens

• Preferred Name: Elessa of Ƿeſsex II of Þe Elſiens^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}
  
• Alternate Name: Elesa of Wessex
  
• Alternate Name: Aelle ap Elesens of Wessex
  
• Gender: M
  
• FSID: L8MB-85F
  
• Birth: 439 in Ancient, Sachsen, Germany at LATI: N1 LONG: E3.25
  
• Death: 514 in Ancient, Sachsen, Germany at LATI: N1 LONG: E3.25
  
• Notes:

  === Life Sketch ===
  Elesa identified as the father of Cerdic and the son of Elsa. The name of Elesa's mother is not recorded.
  
  Elessa and Isaive are identified as the parents of Cerdic, with Elessa specifically identified as his father. From this we know Isaive was his mother. Some sources seem to indicate that Cerdic was illegitimate, therefore we do not know with certainty if Isaive and Elessa were married.
  
  Cerdic (Elesa's son) landed in what is today Hampshire in 495 with his son Cynric in five ships. It is not known with certainty from where Cerdic came. It has been surmised that he was a native Britton, or that he came from Jutland and the Saxon coast.
  
  Cerdic, first king of the West Saxons (519–534), is recorded as descended from Woden. This mythical descent is set out in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: "Woden/Bældæg/Brand/Frithugar/Freawine/Wig/Gewis/Esla/Elesa/Cerdic".
  
  Elesa has been identified by some scholars with the Romano-British Elasius, the "chief of the region", met by Germanus of Auxerre.
  
  [ Grosjean, P., Analecta Bollandiana, 1957. Hagiographie Celtique pp. 158–226.
  Nicholl, D. (1958) Celts, Romans and Saxons, Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review, Vol. 47, No. 187 (Autumn 1958), p. 300]
  
  There is no evidence that Elesa was a king or ruler as some have identified him, although it is a possibility.
  
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  Elesa
  Birthdate: estimated between 403 and 463
  Death: (Date and location unknown)
  Immediate Family:
  Son of Esla and N.N.
  Husband of Isaive.
  Father of Cerdic, king of the West Saxons and (Poss) daughter of Elesa Mother of Withgar ....

1. Cerdic King of Wessex, b. 2 MAY 467 in Saxony     d. 11 SEP 534 in Wessex, Berkshire, England

1. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Aluca (Elesa, Elrea) -
   Author: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; M J Swanton, Translator, Ed. {1998}, Page number: AD 854
   Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2736742397
   
2. Title: The chronicle of Æthelweard by Ethelwerd, d. 998
   Publication: Name: https://archive.org/details/chronicleofthelw0000ethe/page/n133/mode/1up;
   Note: A translated version of "Chronicon Æthelweardi" (The Chronicle of Æthelweard) It provides a page for page translation: Æthelweard's original work on one page, shadowed by a translation into modern English on the following page. Page 33 and 34 of the III book provide a pedigree from Alfred and his father Æthelwulf, back to his father King Ecgbyrht, stretching back 32 generations to an ancestor named Sceaf. Alfred >Æthelwulf >Ecgbyrht >Ealhmund >Eafa >Eoppa >Ingild >Cenred >Ceolwald >Cuthwine >Ceawlin >Cynric >Cerdic >Elesa >Esla >Gewis >Wig >Freawine >Frithogar >Brond >Baldr >Woden >Frithowald >Frealaf >Frithowulf >Fin >Godwulf >Geat >Tetwa >Beow >Scyld >Sceaf. "...filius Ecgbyrhti regis, cuius auus Ealhmund, proauus Eafa, atauus Eoppa, abauus Ingild, Ines frater, Occidentalium Anglorum regis, qui Romae finierat uitam, traxemntque supra dicti reges a Genred rege originem. Genred fuit filius Geoluuald. Auus quippe eius Cuthuuine, proauus / Ceaulin, atauus Cynric, abauus Cerdic, qui et primus possessor Brittanniae partis occidentalis superatos exercitus Brittannorum, cuius pater fuit Elesa, auus Esla, proauus Geuuis, atauus Vuig, abauus Freauuine, sextus pater eius Frithogar, Septimus Brond, octauus Balder, nonus Vuothen, decimus Frithouuald, undecimus Frealaf, duodecimus Frithouulf, tertius decimus Fin, quartus decimus Goduulfe, quintus decimus Geat, sextus decimus Tetuua, septimus decimus Beo, octauus decimus Scyld, nonus decimus Scef. Ipse Scef cum uno dromone aduectus est in insula oceani que dicitur Scani, armis circundatus, eratque ualde recens puer, et ab incolis illius terrae ignotus. Attamen ab eis suscipitnr, et ut familmrem diMgenti animo eum custodiexnnt, et post in regem eligunt; de cuius prosapia ordinem trahit Adulf rex. Transmeatusque est tunc numerus annornm. qum.qviagessimus quintus, ex quo Ecgbyrht cepit regnare. Page n134 Winchester. The above-mentioned king was the son of King Ecgbyrht, and his grandfather was Ealhmund, his great-grandfather Eafa, his great-great-grandfather Eoppa, his great-great-great-grandfather Ingild, brother of Ine, king of the West Saxons, who died in Rome, and these kings derived their origin from Cenred. Cenred was the son of Ceolwald. His grandfather was Cuthwine, his great-grandfather Ceawlin, his great-great-grand- father Cynric, his great-great-great-grandfather Cerdic, who was the first possessor of the western area of Britain, after he had overcome the armies of the Britons. And his father was Elesa, his grandfather Esla, his great-grandfather Gewis, his great-great-grandfather Wig, his great-great-great-grandfather Freawine, his sixth father Frithogar, his seventh Brond, his eighth Baldr, his ninth Woden, his tenth Frithowald, his eleventh Frealaf, his twelfth Frithowulf, his thirteenth Fin, his fourteenth Godwulf, his fifteenth Geat, his sixteenth Tetwa, his seventeenth Beow, his eighteenth Scyld, his nineteenth Sceaf. And this Sceaf arrived with one light ship in the island of the ocean which is called Skaney, with arms all round him. He was a very young boy, and unknown to the people of that land, but he was received by them, and they guarded him with diligent attention as one who belonged to them, and elected him king. From his family King Æthelwulf derived his descent. And the number of fifty-five years had passed since Ecgbyrht began to reign."
   
3. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Aelle (Ella) Of Elisens The Bretwalda* - Founder:
   Author: Great Britain to 1688 a Modern History. 1961, Maurice Ashley, the University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor., Page number: Ashley Vol. 1 page 24.
   Note: Founder:
   Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2737223051
   
4. Title: Elessa father of Cerdic in "Cerdic" World History Encyclopedia
   Publication: Name: https://www.worldhistory.org/Cerdic/;
   Note: Cerdic (r. 519-534 CE) was King of the West Saxons and the founder of Wessex. His influence was so profound that later genealogies of the English monarchy would claim that all the sovereigns of Britain, save for Canute, Hardecanute, the Harolds, and William the Conqueror, were descended from him. Precisely why he was so influential is debated, however, in that the ancient sources conflict in their accounts of his life, who he was, and what he accomplished - so much so that a number of historians in the present day question whether Cerdic even existed. Early sources, traditional legends, and later novels claim he fought against King Arthur but also claim he was granted Wessex by that king. There are also historians who claim Cerdic was the historical figure upon whom the Arthurian legends are based and link both Arthur and Cerdic to the Welsh hero Caradoc Vreichvras, while other writers claim Cerdic was the model for Mordred in the Arthurian cycles. He is alternately described as a British earl who led a Saxon army, an English noble, a Saxon commander, a Welsh hero, and an English king. His depiction in the 2004 CE film King Arthur is emblematic of the problem in identifying who he actually was. That film (in which he is played by Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard), which presented itself as historically accurate and claimed to draw on original sources, portrays Cerdic as a Saxon warlord who is defeated by Arthur at the Battle of Badon; Cerdic is never mentioned in any account of Badon, even though it seems he was well-known enough that he would have been, had he been engaged there. IT IS GENERALLY ACCEPTED THAT CERDIC WAS AN ACTUAL HISTORICAL FIGURE WHO FOUNDED WESSEX; THE DETAILS, HOWEVER, WERE LOST, RESULTING IN EMBELLISHMENTS TO HIS LIFE. The primary sources on Cerdic's life and reign are the historian Nennius (9th century CE), The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles (9th-12th centuries CE), and Geoffrey of Monmouth (12th century CE), among others. As the information about him in these sources is so slight, later writers seem to have felt compelled to fill in these blanks, which has resulted in various interpretations of Cerdic's life. The fact that so many later writers felt the need to do so is testimony to how important Cerdic was in English history. It is generally accepted that Cerdic was an actual historical figure who founded Wessex and then embarked on campaigns to expand his kingdom and, essentially, founded the nation known today as England; the details of these campaigns, however, were never recorded or were lost, resulting in the embellishments to his life noted above. Cerdic in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles are manuscripts first begun in the late 9th century CE under the reign of Alfred the Great (849-899 CE). They continued to be written, edited, and rewritten through the 12th century CE and record the history of Britain from 1 BCE through 1154 CE. The problems with the reliability of The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles have been noted by many historians over the centuries and, chief among these difficulties is that the entries (recorded in one or two lines per event per year) provide little detail of the events and often repeat themselves in different years. A further difficulty is in understanding exactly which year is being referenced since the practice of dating the beginning of the year to January 1st had not yet been implemented. Some scribes seem to recognize the start of the new year as Christmas, while others date it to Easter. An entry, then, for 519 CE, might actually have taken place in 520 or 518 CE. In the case of Cerdic, these problems have forced historians to agree on which dates are most likely correct and work from there. Although a narrative of Cerdic's life and reign can be constructed by this method, it does not mean that the generally accepted dates are the correct ones. Britain, c. 600 CE Britain, c. 600 CE Hel-hama (CC BY-NC-SA) Historian John Morris, in his controversial 1973 CE work The Age of Arthur, makes many claims that have been criticized by historians but are quite often accurate when describing the sources one must rely on. Regarding The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, he writes: The early West Saxon entries in the Saxon Chronicle are exceptionally confused, duplicated under different dates and, at first sight, contradictory. The confusion has a special cause. The easier ambiguities of the Kent and Sussex annals are the consequences of fading memory and of tradition ill-understood; but the Wessex entries are the deliberate contrivance of ninth-century scholars, devised to serve the political needs of their own day. Their story is that the kingdom of Wessex owed its origin to Cerdic, who was in command of a number of separate Saxon forces under named leaders, at a date that was originally set at about 480. Cerdic is the only founder of an English kingdom who has an unequivocably British name. His pedigrees alone are patent inventions, for his 'ancestors' are lifted from the straightforward traditions of other English dynasties, and later Wessex kings are represented as his descendants by improbable and contradictory links that credit some of them with two or three different fathers. (103-104) The standard version of Cerdic's story that Morris refers to relates how Cerdic arrived in Hampshire in 495 CE with his son, Cynric, in five ships and instantly defeated the Welsh (or, alternately, the Britons). After this victory, he established a home base in Wessex from which he campaigned further to establish the Kingdom of the West Saxons by 519 CE when he was crowned king. This version of his life is based on the entries in The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, which read: 495: This year came two leaders into Britain, Cerdic and Cynric his son, with five ships, at a place that is called Cerdic's-ore. And they fought with the Welsh the same day. 508: This year Cerdic and Cynric slew a British king, whose name was Natanleod, and five thousand men with him. After this was the land named Netley, from him, as far as Charford. 514: This year came the West-Saxons into Britain, with three ships, at the place that is called Cerdic's-ore. And Stuf and Whitgar fought with the Britons and put them to flight. 519. This year Cerdic and Cynaric undertook the government of the West-Saxons; the same year they fought with the Britons at a place now called Charford. From that day have reigned the children of the West-Saxon kings. 527: This year Cerdic and Cynric fought with Britons in the place that is called Cerdic's-ley. 530: This year Cerdic and Cynric took the Isle of Wight, and slew many men in Carisbrook. 534: This year died Cerdic, the first king of the West-Saxons. Cynric his son succeeded to the government and reigned afterwards 26 winters. And they gave to their two nephews, Stuf and Wihtgar, the whole of the Isle of Wight. This account is straightforward enough but lacks the details from which to create a complete story; this is why later writers felt the need to supply their own details. Drawing upon the earlier sources, historian George H. Townsend created his work The Manual of Dates in 1862 CE and, for 520 CE, wrote how Cerdic "fought the reknowned King Arthur." Other scholars have also suggested a strong link with Arthur, some claiming Cerdic was Arthur's son or nephew and others claiming they were adversaries. The battle of 527 CE at Cerdic's-ley is another possibility (besides the 520 CE conflict), proposed as a battle between Cerdic and Arthur. It is accepted, however, that in 530 CE Cerdic conquered the Isle of Wight, having already established his kingdom and clearly having at his disposal an army and navy. These entries in the Chronicles and later interpretations from other sources epitomize the difficulty in reconciling the sources of the time into a single, cohesive narrative. The historian Nennius, who is thought to have written his History of the Britons in 828 CE, claims Arthur never lost a single one of his famous twelve battles which would have taken place in the 6th century CE. It seems unlikely, if Arthur had defeated Cerdic in 520 or 527 CE, that he would have then allowed him to continue ruling in Wessex, much less go on to conquer the Isle of Wight in his own name and for his own glory. Cerdic as Arthur The historians John C. and Joseph W. Rudmin claim that the difficulty of reconciling the ancient sources on Cerdic with those of Arthur is easily solved once one recognizes that they were the same person. Regarding Cerdic's founding of Wessex and his subsequent rule, and the claim that Arthur ruled the same territory at the same time, they write: There is no good solution to the problem of Arthur presiding over the territory and time of the founding of the Saxon kingdom of Wessex - unless he presided over it! If, in the year 500, the ruler of south-central Britain was Arthur, and the ruler of south-central Britain was Cerdic, then Arthur was Cerdic. For over a thousand years, the literature of Britain has had a lost king and a forgotten victory. Now the identity of the national hero of Wales has been discovered, and he has turned out to be the founder of the kingdom of England (24). The evidence, they point out, speaks for itself once one realizes that Cerdic is identical to the Welsh hero Caradoc Vreichvras (also known as Caradoc Breifbras in the Arthurian legends). To cite only a few of the comparisons they make: "Arthur" and "Vreichvras" both mean "strong arm"; both are associated with Wessex and, especially, Winchester; both are illegitimate sons; both dominate the region later known as Wessex c. 500 CE; Arthur is the son of Uther and Igerna while Cerdic is the son of Elessa and Isaive; and Arthur marries Guinevere of Cornwall, Cerdic marries Guignier of Cornwall. All of these similarities, it is claimed, prove Arthur and Cerdic to be one historical figure whose exploits were so notable that they were mythologized by later writers as the Arthurian Le
   Page: The evidence, they point out, speaks for itself once one realizes that Cerdic is identical to the Welsh hero Caradoc Vreichvras (also known as Caradoc Breifbras in the Arthurian legends). To cite only a few of the comparisons they make: "Arthur" and "Vreichvras" both mean "strong arm"; both are associated with Wessex and, especially, Winchester; both are illegitimate sons; both dominate the region later known as Wessex c. 500 CE; Arthur is the son of Uther and Igerna while Cerdic is the son of Elessa and Isaive; and Arthur marries Guinevere of Cornwall, Cerdic marries Guignier of Cornwall. All of these similarities, it is claimed, prove Arthur and Cerdic to be one historical figure whose exploits were so notable that they were mythologized by later writers as the Arthurian Legends, which were finally collected, edited, and substantially expanded upon by Sir Thomas Malory in the 15th century CE.