Tytila of East Anglia
Encyclopedia
Tytila was a pagan king of East Anglia, an Anglo-Saxon
kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk
and Suffolk
. Early sources, including Bede
's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
, identify him as a member of the Wuffingas dynasty. A later chronicle dates his reign from 578, but he is not known to have definitely reigned and nothing of his life is known.
family, the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of the East Angles, who may have been descendants of an earlier Scandinavia
n dynasty. His name is the Anglo-Saxon form of the Gothic Totila
. He is a semi-historical figure.
Tytila is included in a number of different tallies. In Bede
's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
, Tytila is named as the father of Rædwald and the son of Wuffa
, 'Erat autem praefatus rex Reduald natu nobilis, quamlibet actu ignobilis, filius Tytili, cuius pater fuit Uuffa...' . The 9th century Welsh monk Nennius
, in his Historia Brittonum, also lists Tytila, naming him as the father of Eni of East Anglia
, '...Uffa, who begat Tytillus, who begat Eni,...' whilst relating the origin of the kings of East Anglia. Tytila is included in an East Anglian royal tally that lists the ancestors of King Ælfwald and that names many, but not all, of the early East Anglian kings. The tally, which forms part of the Anglian collection
, comes from the 12th century Textus Roffensis
.
dated Tytila's reign from 578, but his source of information is unknown and the accession date may have been a guess on the part of the chronicler. Tytila's son and successor, Raedwald, the greatest of the Wuffingas monarchs, is the first East Anglian king who is more than a semi-historical figure, although much information about him, including the year of his death, is conjectural. The finds from the excavations of the two separate cemeteries at Sutton Hoo
in Suffolk
and at other sites in East Anglia point to close connections at this time between south-eastern Britain, the Frankish Rhinelands
, the Eastern Mediterranean
and of growing royal prestige and authority, reflected by the magnificent grave-goods discovered in the main burial-ship at Sutton Hoo.
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
and Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. Early sources, including 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...
's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
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...
, identify him as a member of the Wuffingas dynasty. A later chronicle dates his reign from 578, but he is not known to have definitely reigned and nothing of his life is known.
The Wuffingas dynasty
Tytila was a member of the WuffingWuffing
The Wuffingas were the ruling dynasty of the kingdom of East Anglia, the long-lived Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. The Wuffingas took their name from Wuffa, an early East Anglian king. It has been argued that the Wuffingas may have originated...
family, the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of the East Angles, who may have been descendants of an earlier Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n dynasty. His name is the Anglo-Saxon form of the Gothic Totila
Totila
Totila, original name Baduila was King of the Ostrogoths from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the territories in Italy that the Eastern Roman Empire had captured from his Kingdom in 540.A relative of...
. He is a semi-historical figure.
Tytila is included in a number of different tallies. In 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...
's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
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...
, Tytila is named as the father of Rædwald and the son of Wuffa
Wuffa of East Anglia
Wuffa is supposed to have ruled the East Angles from c. 571 to c. 578. East Anglia was a long-lived Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk....
, 'Erat autem praefatus rex Reduald natu nobilis, quamlibet actu ignobilis, filius Tytili, cuius pater fuit Uuffa...' . The 9th century Welsh monk Nennius
Nennius
Nennius was a Welsh monk of the 9th century.He has traditionally been attributed with the authorship of the Historia Brittonum, based on the prologue affixed to that work, This attribution is widely considered a secondary tradition....
, in his Historia Brittonum, also lists Tytila, naming him as the father of Eni of East Anglia
Eni of East Anglia
Eni or Ennius was a member of the Wuffing family, the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of East Anglia. He was the son of Tyttla and brother of Raedwald, both kings of East Anglia.There is no historical evidence that Eni ever ruled the East Angles himself...
, '...Uffa, who begat Tytillus, who begat Eni,...' whilst relating the origin of the kings of East Anglia. Tytila is included in an East Anglian royal tally that lists the ancestors of King Ælfwald and that names many, but not all, of the early East Anglian kings. The tally, which forms part of the Anglian collection
Anglian collection
The Anglian collection is a collection of Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies and regnal lists. These survive in four manuscripts; two of which now reside in the British Library...
, comes from the 12th century Textus Roffensis
Textus Roffensis
The Textus Roffensis, or in full, Textus de Ecclesia Roffensi per Ernulphum episcopum , refers to a manuscript in which two originally separate manuscripts written about the same time, between 1122 and 1124, are bound together...
.
Reign
Nothing is known of Tytila's life or his rule, as no written records have survived from this period in East Anglian history. The mediaeval chronicler Roger of WendoverRoger of Wendover
Roger of Wendover , probably a native of Wendover in Buckinghamshire, was an English chronicler of the 13th century.At an uncertain date he became a monk at St Albans Abbey; afterwards he was appointed prior of the cell of Belvoir, but he forfeited this dignity in the early years of Henry III,...
dated Tytila's reign from 578, but his source of information is unknown and the accession date may have been a guess on the part of the chronicler. Tytila's son and successor, Raedwald, the greatest of the Wuffingas monarchs, is the first East Anglian king who is more than a semi-historical figure, although much information about him, including the year of his death, is conjectural. The finds from the excavations of the two separate cemeteries at Sutton Hoo
Sutton Hoo
Sutton Hoo, near to Woodbridge, in the English county of Suffolk, is the site of two 6th and early 7th century cemeteries. One contained an undisturbed ship burial including a wealth of Anglo-Saxon artefacts of outstanding art-historical and archaeological significance, now held in the British...
in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
and at other sites in East Anglia point to close connections at this time between south-eastern Britain, the Frankish Rhinelands
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
, the Eastern Mediterranean
History of the Mediterranean region
The history of the Mediterranean region is the history of the interaction of the cultures and people of the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea —the central superhighway of transport, trade and cultural exchange between diverse peoples...
and of growing royal prestige and authority, reflected by the magnificent grave-goods discovered in the main burial-ship at Sutton Hoo.
- See Wuffingas for a more complete family tree.