The Sumorsaete were an Anglo-Saxon group living in what is now

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, presumably around the town of

Somerton Somerton may refer to: Places Australia * Somerton, New South Wales * Somerton Park, South Australia, a seaside Adelaide suburb ** Somerton Man, unsolved case of an unidentified man found dead in 1948 on the Somerton Park beach * Somerton, Victoria ...

. They are evidently the source of the county's name. The group may have been established as early as 577, when the Saxons conquered part of the area from the

Britons British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...

, but they are not mentioned by name until 845. They may have been related to the obscure Glastening or Glestinga, who may be the source of the name

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...

Name

The name ''Sumorsǣte'' is

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

and may be a shortened form of ''Sumortūnsǣte'', meaning "the people living at or dependent upon Sumortūn", i.e. the modern town of Somerton. The origin of Somerton itself is unknown; it may mean 'The sea-lake enclosure' from the

''sae'', ''mere'' and ''tun'' or possibly "summer farmstead", from ''sumer'' and -''tūn''. The first known use of the name ''Somersæte'' was in 845, after the region fell to the Saxons. When

King Alfred Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who ...

coined the future county motto 'Sumorsǣte ' in the ninth century, he referred to the people of Somerset as the ''Sumortūnsǣte''.

History

The Sumoraete may have been related in some way to the obscure '' Glastening'' or ''Glestinga'', about whom almost nothing is known, but whose name has been connected to nearby

. One of the

Harleian genealogies __NOTOC__ The Harleian genealogies are a collection of Old Welsh genealogies preserved in British Library, Harley MS 3859. Part of the Harleian Library, the manuscript, which also contains the ''Annales Cambriae'' (Recension A) and a version of ...

dating to the 10th century begins with a certain "Glast", who came to "Glastening" from '' Luit-Coyt'' (modern

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

in England). This pedigree also appears in later versions, though it is unclear if these version intend a person named "Glas" or a kindred group. The native

of the Southwest at this time spoke a variant of the Common Brittonic language ancestral to Cornish. Anglo-Saxon settlers introduced

. The Anglo-Saxons established control over much of what is now England by 600, but were held off at British-held Somerset. However, by the early 8th century King

Ine of Wessex Ine, also rendered Ini or Ina, ( la, Inus; c. AD 670 – after 726) was King of Wessex from 689 to 726. At Ine's accession, his kingdom dominated much of southern England. However, he was unable to retain the territorial gains of his predecesso ...

had pushed the boundaries of the West Saxon kingdom far enough west to include Somerset. The Saxon royal palace in

Cheddar Cheddar most often refers to either: *Cheddar cheese *Cheddar, Somerset, the village after which Cheddar cheese is named Cheddar may also refer to: Places * Cheddar, Ontario, Canada * Cheddar Yeo, a river which flows through Cheddar Gorge and t ...

was used several times in the 10th century to host the

Witenagemot The Witan () was the king's council in Anglo-Saxon England from before the seventh century until the 11th century. It was composed of the leading magnates, both ecclesiastic and secular, and meetings of the council were sometimes called the Wi ...

. The earliest fortification of

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

started for King

and Æthelburg, in or about the year 710 AD. However, according to the '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' this was destroyed 12 years later. Somerset, like

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

to the south, held the West Saxon advance from Wiltshire/Hampshire back for over a century, remaining a frontier between the Saxons and the Romano-British Celts. The

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

conquered Bath following the

Battle of Deorham The Battle of Deorham (or Dyrham) is claimed as a decisive military encounter between the West Saxons and the Britons of the West Country in 577. The battle, which was a major victory for Wessex's forces led by Ceawlin and his son, Cuthwine, ...

in 577, and the border was probably established along the line of the Wansdyke to the north of the Mendip Hills. Then Cenwalh of Wessex broke through at

Bradford-on-Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon or Bradford upon Avon) is a town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset, which had a population of 9,402 at the 2011 census. The town's canal, historic buildings, s ...

in 652, and the

Battle of Peonnum The Battle of Peonnum was fought about AD 660 between the West Saxons under Cenwalh and the Britons of what is now Somerset in England. It was a decisive victory for the Saxons, who gained control of Somerset as far west as the River Parrett. The ...

possibly at

Penselwood Penselwood is a village and civil parish in the English county of Somerset. It is located north east of Wincanton, south east of Bruton, west of Mere, and north west of Gillingham. The south-east of the parish borders Zeals and Stourhead in ...

in 658, advancing west through the Polden Hills to the River Parrett.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumortunsete And Glestinga Tribes Peoples of Anglo-Saxon England History of Somerset

Name

History

See also

References