Meonwara or Meonsæte is the name of a people of probable Jutish origin who colonised what is now known as the Meon Valley, an area in southern Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, during the late 5th century and early 6th century.

Area of settlement

The land that the Meonwara Jutes settled was the valley of the River Meon

River Meon

The River Meon is a river that flows through an area of Hampshire in southern England known as the Meon Valley, it flows generally southwards from the South Downs to the Solent. For most of its route it is a chalk stream, with a length of 21 miles .The River Meon rises approximately...

 and also part of southern Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

 across the Solent

Solent

The Solent is a strait separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of England.The Solent is a major shipping route for passengers, freight and military vessels. It is an important recreational area for water sports, particularly yachting, hosting the Cowes Week sailing event annually...

 from the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

Sources

The Anglo Saxon Chronicle records a series of landings between 449

449

Year 449 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Astyrius and Romanus...

 and 514

514

Year 514 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cassiodorus without colleague...

CE

Common Era

Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

 of Anglo Saxon people in this area. While the identity of those in the later landings are described as "West Saxons" those in the earlier landings are without description and generally considered to be the Jutes. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle the founders of Meonwara were Port and his two sons Bieda and Maegla. These were later followed by Wihtgar and his brother Stuf who are said to have colonised the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

 (the name Wight derived from Wihtgar).

The Anglo Saxon Chronicle gives a brief description of the Jutes who lived in southern Wessex:

"From the Jutes are descended the men of Kent, the Wightwarians (that is, the tribe that now dwelleth in the Isle of Wight), and that kindred in Wessex

Wessex

The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...

 that men yet call the kindred of the Jutes.

Another source of information comes from Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum

Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum

The Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum is a work in Latin by Bede on the history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict between Roman and Celtic Christianity.It is considered to be one of the most important original references on...

by Bede

Bede

Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...

:

"The Jutes are descended the people of Kent and the Isle of Wight and those in the province of the West Saxons opposite the Isle of Wight who are called Jutes to this day."

Archaeological findings have uncovered evidence, in the valley of the River Hamble

River Hamble

The River Hamble is a river in Hampshire, England. It rises near Bishop's Waltham and flows for some 7.5 miles through Botley, Bursledon and Swanwick before entering Southampton Water near Hamble-le-Rice and Warsash....

 and elsewhere, that these early colonists were probably Jutes

Jutes

The Jutes, Iuti, or Iutæ were a Germanic people who, according to Bede, were one of the three most powerful Germanic peoples of their time, the other two being the Saxons and the Angles...

, and not Saxons.