Wuffingas

The Kingdom of East Anglia was founded by peoples migrating from northern Europe during the 5th and 6th centuries. Historical sources relating to the genealogy of the East Anglian kings include the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the 8th century English monk Bede's Ecclesiastical History, both compiled many years after the kingdom was formed, as well as a pedigree of Ælfwald contained in the Anglian collection that dates from the 9th century. In the pedigree, Ælfwald is claimed to descend from the god Wōden. The earliest kings of East Anglia were known as the Wuffingas, named after the semi-historical founder of the dynasty, Wuffa. Rædwald (died ) is the first of the country's kings known to have ruled. Bede identified Rædwald's father as Tytil and his grandfather as Wuffa; their respective accession dates of 571 and 578 were given by the 13th century English chronicler Roger of Wendover. The lists Wehha, father of Wuffa as the first of the Wuffingas, which perhaps sets the date for the origins of the dynasty to the middle of the 6th century. Wuffa is thought to mean "little wolf", suggesting that the dynastic name Wuffingas translates as "kin of the wolf", making it etymologically the same as the Wulfings clan named in Beowulf and the Old English poem "Widsith". The parallels between the Sutton Hoo burials, which are thought to commemorate a Wuffingas king, and the Swedish burials at Vendel has led some historians, such as Rupert Bruce-Mitford to put forward a Scandinavian origin for the Wuffingas dynasty, although others regard this as unproven. ==Dynasty==

After 749, East Anglia was ruled either by the rulers of Mercia, or by kings whose genealogy is not known. ==Centres of royal power==

Sutton Hoo, the site of two early medieval cemeteries dating from the 6th to 7th centuries, lies along a bank of the tidal estuary of the River Deben. It stands from the North Sea and below the lowest convenient fording place. It formed a path of entry into East Anglia during the period that followed the end of Roman imperial rule in the 5th century. The territory between the Orwell and the watersheds of the Alde and Deben rivers may have been an early centre of royal power for the Wuffingas kings, originally centred upon Rendlesham or Sutton Hoo, and a primary component in the formation of the East Anglian kingdom. In the early 7th century, Gipeswic (modern Ipswich) began its growth as a centre for foreign trade, Botolph's monastery at Iken was founded by royal grant in 654, and Bede identified Rendlesham as the site of Æthelwold's royal dwelling. ==Cultural associations==

The author Sam Newton has claimed that the Old English epic poem Beowulf may have been composed during the reign of Ælfwald. Before the end of his rule, East Anglia contained a group of ecclesiastical centres, all of which had strong associations with the Wuffingas dynasty. These included the sees at Dommoc and Helmham, Botwulf of Thorney's monastery at Icanho, the religious foundations at Ely and Dereham founded by daughters of Anna, the minster at Blythburgh and the monastery founded by Sigeberht prior to his abdication and subsequent death in battle. ==References==