Gewisse
| Gewisse | |
|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Anglo-Saxon |
| Location | (near) Dorchester on Thames |
Coordinates: 51°38′37″N 1°09′59″W / 51.643656°N 1.166439°W
The Gewisse /jɛˈwiːsə/ (Old English; Latin: Geuissæ) was a tribe or clan of Anglo-Saxon England, based in the upper Thames region around Dorchester on Thames.
The name of the tribe may be derived from an Old English word for "reliable" or "sure", (cf. German gewiss = "certain, sure"). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle presents an eponymous ancestor figure, named Giwis.Eilert Ekwall proposed that the similarity in toponymy between the kingdoms of the Gewisse and Hwicce suggests a common origin.
The Gewisse captured Searobyrig in 552 and Beranbyrig from the Britons in 556.Birinus converted the Gewisse to Christianity in 636 by baptising their king Cynegils and establishing the Diocese of Dorchester. The Gewisse killed the three sons of Sæbert of Essex in about 620, defeated the Britons at the Battle of Peonnum in 660 and by 676 had sufficient control over what is now Hampshire to establish a see at Winchester.
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