Gewisse
Sign in to saveThe Gewisse ( ; ) were a tribe or ruling clan of the Anglo-Saxons. Their first location, mentioned in early medieval sources, was the upper Thames region, around Dorchester on Thames. However, some scholars suggest that the Gewisse had origins among the ancient Britons at Cair-Caratauc (Old Sarum) in Wiltshire. According to Saxon folklore, the Gewisse were the founders of the kingdom of Wessex.
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- Etymology
- History
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The Gewisse ( ; ) were a tribe or ruling clan of the Anglo-Saxons. Their first location, mentioned in early medieval sources, was the upper Thames region, around Dorchester on Thames. However, some scholars suggest that the Gewisse had origins among the ancient Britons at Cair-Caratauc (Old Sarum) in Wiltshire. According to Saxon folklore, the Gewisse were the founders of the kingdom of Wessex.
==Etymology== The name was first documented as Gewissorum in the eighth century as an ethnonym of the West Saxons. Its origin is uncertain. The Old English adjective means "reliable" or "sure", and its corresponding noun means "certainty". Eilert Ekwall proposed that the similarity in toponymy between the kingdoms of the Gewisse and Hwicce suggests a common origin, and an analysis by Richard Coates concluded that Hwicce was of Brittonic origin.