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Anglo-Saxon 'Tribes' on a Map

First compiled in around the seventh to eighth centuries, the 'Tribal Hidage' lists thirty-five Anglo-Saxon 'tribes' (i.e. peoples/kingdoms) and their respective size/wealth measured in units of land called 'hides'. How many of the Anglo-Saxon peoples recorded in the Tribal Hidage can you name?
Modern English equivalents of names are included where applicable.
The positions of peoples on the map are approximate; see stickied comment.
Hæthfeldlande (Hatfieldland) is excluded; see stickied comment.
Sources here, here, here, and here.
Quiz by jdmercia
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Last updated: May 17, 2024
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First submittedMay 16, 2024
Times taken9
Average score20.6%
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Hides
Tribe
100,000
Westsexena (West Saxons)
30,000
East engle (East Angles)
30,000
Myrcna (Mercians)
15,000
Cantwarena (Kent-folk)
7,000
Eastsexena (East Saxons)
7,000
Hwinca (Hwicce-folk)
7,000
Lindesfarona (Lindsey-folk)
7,000
Westerna (Magon-folk)
7,000
Suþsexena (South Saxons)
7,000
Wocensætna (Wrekin-folk)
5,000
Noxgaga
3,500
Hendrica
2,000
Ohtgaga
1,200
Cilternsætna (Chiltern-folk)
1,200
Herefinna
1,200
Pecsætna (Peak-folk)
1,200
Unecungaga
900
Wigesta
600
Arosætna (Arrow-folk)
600
Bilmiga
600
Eastwilla
600
Elmedsætna (Elmet-folk)
600
Norþ gyrwa (North Gyrwe-folk)
600
Suþ gyrwa (South Gyrwe-folk)
600
Spalda (Spalding-folk)
600
Westwilla
600
West wixna
600
Widerigga
600
Wihtgara (Wight-folk)
300
East wixna
300
Færpinga
300
Gifla
300
Hicca (Hitchin-folk)
300
Sweordora
2 Comments
jdmercia
+1
Level 83
May 16, 2024
The Tribal Hidage was primarily an economic assessment. One 'hide' was defined as enough land to support one homestead - therefore the greater a group's number of hides, the greater their territory and wealth.

Hæthfeldlande (Hatfieldland) was mentioned in the Tribal Hidage but was recorded as part of Lindsey, without an independent hidage assessment. Therefore, while it is one of the thirty-five tribes listed, I have decided to see it as included within Lindsey.

The list likely originated in Mercia, although some historians think the absence of the Northumbrian kingdoms (Bernicia and Deira) indicates a Northumbrian perspective. Were there more tribes that the compilers ignored? Were all the groups included in the list seen to be equally distinct and independent? We do not know.

Also, the term Anglo-Saxon should not be taken entirely literally. Elmet and the Cilternsætna are known to have had native British rulers at various times.

jdmercia
+1
Level 83
May 16, 2024
There is a spectrum of certainty regarding the geographical positions of groups mentioned in the Tribal Hidage. Major kingdoms that we know a lot about or groups whose names have been preserved in modern place-names can be placed on a map with a high degree of certainty. Others, however, have been lost to time. These were the Dark Ages, after all.

Groups whose general locations are definitively known: East Anglia, Elmet, Essex, Hicca, Hwicce, Kent, Lindsey, Mercia, Spalda, Sussex, Wessex, Westerna, Wihtwara, Wocensætna.

Groups whose locations are uncertain but likely: Arosætna, Bilmiga, Cilternsætna, Gifla, N+S Gyrwe, Pecsætna, Sweordora, E+W Willa, E+W Wixna.

Groups whose locations are unknown and involve a lot of guesswork: Færpinga, Hendrica, Herefinna, Noxgaga, Ohtgaga, Unecungaga, Widerigga, Wigesta.

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