Cissa of Sussex facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cissa |
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Artist's impression of three Saxon ships
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| King of Sussex? | |
| Reign | 514–567? |
| Predecessor | Ælle |
| Successor | Æðelwealh |
| Issue | Unknown |
Cissa (/ˈtʃɪsɑː/) was a person from early English history. He was part of an Anglo-Saxon group that arrived in Britain around the year 477. They landed in three ships at a place called Cymensora. Cissa's father, Ælle, led this group, which also included Cissa's two brothers. They are said to have fought against the local Britons. Their conquest of the area that became Sussex, England, continued with more battles. They fought near Mecredesburne in 485 and at Pevensey in 491. The old stories say they defeated their opponents completely at Pevensey.
The main source for this story is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. This is a very old collection of historical records written in Old English. It was put together much later, during the time of Alfred the Great, about 400 years after the landing at Cymensora. One reason for the chronicle was to show the family trees of the West Saxon kings. While many facts in the chronicle can be checked, the story of Sussex's beginning with Ælle and his three sons cannot be fully proven. We know that Anglo-Saxons did settle in eastern Sussex in the fifth century. However, they did not settle in the west, where Cymensora was likely located. The city of Chichester is supposedly named after Cissa. Its name first appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 895.
Contents
Understanding Cissa's Story
This section explores what we know about Cissa and the early Anglo-Saxon arrivals. It looks at old writings and discoveries from the ground.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A Key Source
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle lists Cissa as one of Ælle's three sons. It says they arrived in Britain in 477 at Cymenshore. This place is traditionally thought to be in the Selsey area of Sussex. The Chronicle describes three battles:
- At Cymenshore in 477.
- Near Mercredesburne in 485.
- At Pevensey in 491, where it claims all Britons were killed.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was first put together in Winchester around 891. This was the capital of Wessex. Copies were then sent to monasteries and updated over time. These texts cover Anglo-Saxon history from the mid-fifth century until 1154. Before the Norman Conquest in 1066, they were mostly in Old English. After the Conquest, scribes often used Latin.
The original Chronicle was ordered by Alfred the Great (who ruled from 871 to 899). This was over 400 years after Cissa's supposed time. Because of this, historians question how accurate the events and dates are for the fifth century. The information for this early period is unclear. Some parts of the text seem like poetry. This suggests the stories might have come from oral traditions, like sagas or epic poems. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was also used for propaganda. It showed the kings of Wessex in a good light. Wessex had taken over the Kingdom of Sussex, which Ælle supposedly founded, during the rule of Egbert of Wessex (802 to 839).
What Archaeology Tells Us
No archaeological evidence has been found to support the existence of Ælle and his three sons in the Chichester or Selsey area. There are no early Anglo-Saxon burial-grounds in the Chichester area. This suggests that Saxons did not arrive there until more than a hundred years after Ælle's traditional lifetime. Some people have suggested that Chichester was an independent area of Britons in the late fifth century. However, no archaeological finds or place names support this idea either.
Also, only two early Anglo-Saxon objects have been found west of the River Arun. These objects are from the sixth century, which is later than Ælle's time. One object was a small brooch found in a Roman cemetery in Chichester. Because it was found alone, it might have belonged to a Saxon woman who lived and died in a British community, not in a Saxon settlement.
Was Cissa a King?
No written Anglo-Saxon sources say that Cissa was ever a king. The chronicler Bede, who wrote in the 8th century, said that Ælle was the first king to have imperium, or power, over other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. But Bede does not mention Ælle's sons.
The first source that says Cissa was king is from the Anglo-Norman chronicler, Henry of Huntingdon. He wrote between 1130 and 1154. It seems he used his imagination to fill in missing parts of history. Henry of Huntingdon got much of his information from Bede. The 13th-century chronicler Roger of Wendover used Henry's work as his main source. It is possible that both Henry and Roger had access to information from old manuscripts or oral stories that are now lost.
Both Henry of Huntingdon and Roger of Wendover give longer versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entries about Ælle and his sons. Both authors assumed that Ælle was followed by his "son" Cissa. They also gave a date for this "succession." Roger of Wendover even gave a death date for Cissa: 590. If Cissa arrived in Britain in 477, this would mean he was at least 123 years old when he died! This is very unlikely. Some historians suggest that "died in 590" might have been a mistake for "died aged 90." Historians agree that these later medieval chronicles might not be a reliable source for early history.
Clues from Place Names
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The early part of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle often uses eponyms. An eponym is when a place or thing is named after a person. The chronicle's entry for 477 names Ælle's sons as Cymen, Wlenking, and Cissa. All three of Ælle's 'sons' have names that "conveniently link to ancient or surviving place-names."
- Cymenshore, the landing place, is named after Cymen.
- Lancing is named after Wlenking.
- Chichester is named after Cissa.
It's possible that the names of Ælle's sons came from these place names as the legends of the South Saxons grew. Or perhaps the legends themselves led to the place names.
Another place name possibly linked to Cissa (pronounced 'Chissa') is the Iron Age hill fort Cissbury Ring. This is near Cissbury. William Camden said it "plainly bespeaks it the work of king Cissa." However, the idea that Cissbury is linked to Cissa was invented by historians in the 16th century. Records show that Cissbury was known by different names over time, like Sissabury in 1610 and Cesars Bury in 1663. A local story suggests the camp was built and named after Cæsar.
It is thought that Cissbury might have been used in the late Anglo-Saxon period. This was during the reigns of Ethelred II and Cnut, possibly as a mint (a place where coins are made). Old Iron Age forts were sometimes used as mints during dangerous times, like when there were many Viking raids. However, archaeologists have not found proof that Cissbury was occupied by Anglo-Saxons.
See also
