Re: The Mysterious Wihtgar

steveandkate,

oops - Didn't spot your response - thanks for the analysis.

The dates and events in the AS Chronicle are regularly used as fact in histories of the Isle of Wight.
Yet, there are problems.

Archaeology suggests there were Britons in the east and Jutes in the west of the island before Cerdic, the alleged Saxon (with a British name) founder of Wessex (and thereby England) arrived to capture it for ever for the Germanic races. It is an important, if little known and confused, moment in British history.

According to the AS Chronicles:

In 514, Stuf and Wihtgar fought the Britons
In 530, Cerdic and Cynric seized 'Wihte ealond' and killed a few men at 'Wihtgarabyrg'
In 534, Cerdic passed away and the kinsmen 'Stuf' and 'Wihtgar' were given 'Wihte ealond'
In 544, Wihtgar died and he was buried at 'Wihtgarabyrg' (always assumed to be the later central island capital Carisbrook)

So, 'Wihtgarabyrg' appears to be named after someone called 'Wihtgar', although it already had his name by the time he arrived.

The most important ancient harbour in the British east of the island was Brading (derived from the Celtic for dwellers on a hill). So, yes, it could be that the chroniclers made a mistake and 'Wihtgar' and 'Stuf' were not people at all. Which rather leaves the British attacking themselves...

yep, I'm confused too. hehe