Aelle

Anglo-Saxon ruler [fl. 5th century]

Also known as: Aella, Aelli

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Quick Facts

Also spelled:: Aella, or Aelli

Flourished:: 5th century ad

Also Known As:: Aelli; Aella

Flourished:: c.451 - c.500

Role In:: Heptarchy

See all related content

Aelle (flourished 5th century ad) was an Anglo-Saxon ruler who is credited with the foundation of the kingdom of the South Saxons, or Sussex. Aelle is said to have landed near Selsey Bill (in modern West Sussex, Eng.) in 477. He immediately made war on the Britons, and in 491 he and his son Cissa massacred a British garrison at the former Roman fort of Anderida (modern Pevensey, East Sussex). His subsequent fate is unknown, but the 8th-century historian Bede wrote that Aelle was the first king to be recognized as overlord of all the English peoples south of the Humber. Drawing on Bede, the 9th-century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle described Aelle as the first bretwalda (“ruler of Britain”).

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.