Kingdom of Haestingas
| Kingdom of Haestingas | ||||||||||
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| Capital | Hastings | |||||||||
| Languages | Old English (Englisc) | |||||||||
| Religion |
Paganism? Western Christianity (Roman Catholicism) |
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| Government | Monarchy | |||||||||
| History | ||||||||||
| • | Established | 6th century? | ||||||||
| • | Disestablished | 771? | ||||||||
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The Haestingas, or Heastingas or Hæstingas, were one of the tribes of Anglo-Saxon Britain. Not very much is known about them. They settled in what became East Sussex sometime before the end of the 8th century. A 12th-century source suggested that they were conquered by Offa of Mercia, in 771. They were also recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (ASC) as being an autonomous grouping as late as the 11th century.
The foundation legend of the Kingdom of the South Saxons is given by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which states that in the year AD 477 Ælle arrived at a place called Cymenshore in three ships with his three sons. Traditionally Cymenshore is thought to have been located around the Selsey area, in the south west of Sussex. However the archaeological evidence indicates that the principal area of settlement in the 5th century, for the South Saxons, has been identified as between the lower Ouse and Cuckmere rivers in East Sussex, based on the number of Anglo-Saxon cemeteries there.
To the east of Pevensey, beyond the Saxon Shore Fort of Anderitum, on the other side of the estuary and marsh and from there to the border with the Kingdom of Kent, were a group of people who settled that were known as the Haestingas. They gave their name to Hastings. Not very much is known of the Haestingas but they were believed to be a separate people to the South Saxons, however there is no archaeological evidence for occupation by Anglo-Saxons in that area of Sussex between the 5th and 8th century. Medieval sources and place name evidence suggest that there were people living there by the late 8th century. Some of the Saxon charters that date from the Kingdom of Sussex provide evidence which suggests the existence of two separate dynasties in Sussex. The charters of King Northelm (or Nunna), who ruled Sussex in the late 7th and early 8th century regularly attest a second king by the name of Watt (or Wattus). The historian C.T. Chevalier has suggested that Watt may have ruled the Haestingas. This is because place-names with the name Watt or What occur in the Hastings region, but are not found in western Sussex. The theory has been seen as a plausible by other historians. Chevalier goes on to suggest that the Haestingas maybe of Frankish origin, however other historians reject this part of the theory as it is based solely on a misinterpretation of the place-name evidence.
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