Anglo-Saxon name of Pevensey?
Rocky3
I'm looking for the origins of the name Pevensey, the first place reached
by William the Conqueror in October 1066. I'm not sure that Pevensey is the
original Anglo-Saxon name and I would like to find a confirm of it or more
informations. I tried to read the orginal version of the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle in the year 1066 but the original text has only 2-3 lines where I
didn't found the name.
Could you help me?
Thank you anyway!
Rocky3
--
"Il sapere e la ragione parlano, l'ignoranza ed il torto urlano".
Arturo Graf / Indro Montanelli / Anonimo
kelly 6424
Modern "Pevensey" formerly, and earlier known as "Pevensea" (18th c.etc)
derives from Peven's ( and or Peffen's) + "ea" ( anglo-saxon for river)...
Kelly Gray
NYC
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Rocky3
> Modern "Pevensey" formerly, and earlier known as "Pevensea" (18th c.etc)
>
> derives from Peven's ( and or Peffen's) + "ea" ( anglo-saxon for river)...
Thank you very much!
Matt Tompkins
> I'm looking for the origins of the name Pevensey, the first place reached
> by William the Conqueror in October 1066. I'm not sure that Pevensey is the
> original Anglo-Saxon name and I would like to find a confirm of it or more
> informations. I tried to read the orginal version of the Anglo-Saxon
> Chronicle in the year 1066 but the original text has only 2-3 lines where I
> didn't found the name.
The Place-names of Sussex (A Mawer and FS Stenton, London, 1930, p 443)
gives several pre-conquest references to Pevensey. It is mentioned in
the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in connection with events in 1046 and 1049 as
Peuenesea and Pefenesae, and in various charters dated 788, 790 and 947
as Paevenisel, Peueneisel and Pefenesea respectively (though the
charters only survive in copies made in the 12C). In Domesday Book
(1086) it is Pefenesea and in the Bayeux Tapestry Pevenesae.
All sources agree that the first element is an otherwise unknown
Anglo-Saxon personal name Pefen or something like it. Ekwall believes
the second element to have been the AS word for river - 'ea' - but
Mawer and Stenton plump for As 'eg' which they translate as marshy
ground. Nottingham University's Institute for Name Studies' website
hedges its bets and proposes either river or small island ('ea' or
'egeth').
Matt Tompkins
Rocky3
> The Place-names of Sussex (A Mawer and FS Stenton, London, 1930, p 443)
> gives several pre-conquest references to Pevensey. It is mentioned in
> the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in connection with events in 1046 and 1049 as
> Peuenesea and Pefenesae, and in various charters dated 788, 790 and 947
> as Paevenisel, Peueneisel and Pefenesea respectively (though the
> charters only survive in copies made in the 12C). In Domesday Book
> (1086) it is Pefenesea and in the Bayeux Tapestry Pevenesae.
Oh, it's a very exhaustive explanation. Thank you!!
Do you have also informations about Hastings? I found Haestinga and
Heastinga... but I don't know if they are correct.
Bye :-)
Matt Tompkins
> Heastinga... but I don't know if they are correct.
On page 534 Place-names of Sussex gives quite a few 11C and earlier
occurrences of Hastings, from Domesday Book, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,
12C copies of 8C charters, and even coins (which named the mint where
they were coined), where it was spelled variously:
Hastingas, Haestinga, Hestinga, Hestenga, Hestingport and
Haestingaceaster.
Matt Tompkins
Rocky3
> Hastingas, Haestinga, Hestinga, Hestenga, Hestingport and
> Haestingaceaster.
Perfect! Thank you!
Alex Maxwell Findlater
He had assumed that it was a place-name, but I pointed out that the
occurences of the word in the AS Chronicle are all in relation to
either a people or a region. This is of course borne out by the
etymology, for it is Hasta-ingas, ie the the descendants of Hasta,
perhaps even that famous Hengist or his associate Horsa.
If we take Hastingas to be the people of the region, then the absence
of any known AS settlement on the site of modern Hastings would make
sense. It would also do away with the necessity for William of
Normandy to arrive at an awkward little inlet, benath cliffs, which
would have been very dangerous to land at and almost impossible to get
up onto the top of the cliffs from, in the face of an enemy.
It has always seemed to me much more probable that he landed at
Pevensea, which had been a Roman fort and was most probably the Burghal
Hidage burgh known as Hastings (500 hides). The land here is low and
difficult to defend, hence the fort. Incidentally I would suggest that
Eorpeburnan at 314 hides was probably Rye.