Germanic names

[authun]

He (Cerdic) is a great example of our Germanic Names puzzle.

I'm always suspicious of the way names were recorded. The early scribes were largely British clerics and they taught the later germanic scribes. Also, there are some howlers. Barbara Yorke urges caution:

"Thus the Chronicle describes a victory in 508 by Cerdic and Cynric over a British king called Natanleod after whom, it is said, the district of Natanleage was named. In fact the name of this rather marshy area of Hamphire derives from the OW word naet, meaning wet and it would appear that the name of a completely ficticious king has been taken from the place rather than the other way around."

Cerdic may even be a transposition error, Cedric. It's a puzzle which will never be solved.

best
Harry A