deliriouslove1970. The life & times of Gary and Denise Flanders. (Free and worth every penny. If you would like to compliment the editor, send to garytheflan@deliriouslove1970.com. If you would like to complain, call your mother.)

Wessex, one of the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England, whose ruling dynasty eventually became kings of the whole country. In its permanent nucleus, its land approximated that of the modern counties of Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, and Somerset. At times its land extended north of the River Thames, and it eventually expanded westward to cover Devon and Cornwall. The name Wessex is an elision of the Old English form of “West Saxon.”

The Anglo Saxons hold that Wessex was founded by Cedric The Great. Cerdic (/ˈtʃɜːrdɪtʃ/CHER-ditch; Latin: Cerdicus) is described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as a leader of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, being the founder and first king of Wessex, reigning from around 519 to 534 AD.

Cedric was an important figure in British history, but the exact place of his birth is disputed. Of more significance was Alfred The Great. He was the first native born king who was given the title of ‘The Great.’

Alfred was a scholar and humble man who related well to the people. He was not trained as a military leader like his siblings yet he is the one credited with defeating the Danes (the Vikings) and saving all of Britain.

Considered to be the ‘savior’ of Britain he has been venerated throughout British history.

It is a privilege of traveling to discover the significance of something you experience. Alfred The Great is buried in Westminster Abbey in London. We have stood and read the plaques of this important historical figure.

Wessex has often used the symbol of a Wyvern, an early type of dragon. Both Henry of Huntingdon and Matthew of Westminster talk of a golden dragon being raised at the Battle of Burford in 752 by the West Saxons. Dragons were in wide use throughout Europe as battle standards.

Carlovingian Calvary using a dragon banner in battle in the 800’s. Carlovingians were named after Charlemagne.

In the 1970s, William Crampton, founder of the British Flag Institute (of which I am a member), designed a flag with a golden wyvern on a red field which was soon adopted as the official flag of Wessex.