Cerdic, King of the West Saxons

Justin Durand

3/19/2015 at 8:09 AM

A widely circulated genealogy from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says Cerdic was a son of Elesa, King of the Saxons, and a descendant of Odin.

That genealogy is now known to be spurious, having been borrowed from the kings of Bernicia to enhance the prestige of the West Saxon dynasty. Cerdic's name is not Saxon. It's a form of the British name Ceretic (Ceredig, Caradoc).

"Kenneth Sisam has shown that this pedigree resulted from a process of elaboration upon a root pedigree borrowed from the kings of Bernicia, and hence prior to Cerdic himself it has no historical basis." (Kenneth Sisam, "Anglo-Saxon Royal Genealogies", Proceedings of the British Academy, vol. 39, pp. 287–348 (1953))

Shouldn't we disconnect Cerdic from Elesa, and add a curator note?

Gustavo Ferrero Gómez PRO

3/19/2015 at 8:25 AM

GENI has tons and tons of profiles that have the same origin. Many times I've traced my ancestors and have reached mythological characters. Yes, I believe GENI should make a difference between fake and real, it will be a difficult task, but for the sake of truth and accuracy it should be done.

Justin Durand

3/19/2015 at 8:55 AM

I guess I'm thinking that there is a difference between a long list of names with no way to tell where the fantasy begins, and something where we can actually find the invention.

Douglas Laurance Saunders

3/19/2015 at 8:56 AM

Adding an explanatory note would be OK, but I think these obviously mythical genealogies are useful, in that they show what and how people thought of these folks. It's an obvious attempt to justify a 'divine right of kings', but that belief was pretty commonly held. Let them stay.

Jean Denis

3/19/2015 at 11:25 AM

Hi So does it mean that my 26 gr, grandfother is not real.
How can it be that i have for kings in my ancestry, and i am so poor?

Private User

3/19/2015 at 11:44 AM

Jean Denis Joseph Paul Belanger is Cerdic, King of the West Saxons' 37th great grandson. Who is your 26th grandfather?

Private User

3/19/2015 at 11:50 AM

My suggestion would be to adjust Cerdic's fathers name to fictitious.

Justin Durand

3/19/2015 at 12:08 PM

Some things to consider:

1. Cutting a relationship is not the same thing as deleting the profiles. It would still be possible to have a note in Cerdic's profile that the Anglo Saxon Chronicle said he was a son of Elesa, with a link to Elesa's profile.

2. The Scandinavians on Geni are cutting lines this way when they can be shown to be false, but (so far) leaving them when there is no evidence either way.

3. Elesa might have been a real person. Some historians think he was the same person as Elasius, "the chief of that region" who met St. Germanus of Auxerre during Germanus' visit to Britain about 429.

4. Elesa might have been originally an ancestor of the Bernician royal family in north eastern England. The argument is that the Wessex kings grafted their ancestor Cerdic on to Elesa in order to make their ancestry more distinguished.

Jason Scott Wills C

3/19/2015 at 12:08 PM

Best to leave it till we get relationship locking.

Private User

3/19/2015 at 12:31 PM

I agree on not cutting off anything, yet, but some footnote would be done in the profiles. Well, I can live with this one. ; )

Folklore is Ulf Ingvar Göte Martinsson's 42nd great grandfather!

http://www.geni.com/path/Ulf-Martinsson+is+related+to+Folklore?from...

Cerdic, King of the West Saxons - Fake Genealogy

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