Myrging

The Myrgings was a clan and peoples of Saxon origin which together with their king Eadgils of the Myrgings are only mentioned in the Old English poem Widsith. They are mentioned as the people of the scop Widsith. They appear to have been the neighbours of the Angles and Offa of Angel who was involved in a war against them. Perhaps they were a dynasty or clan competing for power with Offa over the rule of the Angles though Offa slew two Myrging princes probably the sons of Eadgils not to be confused with the Swedish king Eadgils this Eadgils was later killed by Ket and Wig the sons of Freawine a governor of Schleswig who challenged Eadgils to combat while he was pillaging in the Angle lands, Freawine was killed in combat and the Myrgings then probably captured Schelswig as they are said to have settled or had holdings at Schelswig though eventually to be defeated by Offa.

Although the Myrgings only appear in the Old English poem Widsith and not in any other source there is enough evidence to say that the Myrgings vanished leaving no trace probably assimilated to the surrounding Angles or were successfully conquered by Offa who was said to have won a great Kingdom which is most probably that of the conquered Myrgings if so the Myrgings sense they no longer have a king anymore the only one to submit to would be Offa.

The Myrgings lived south of Angeln near the Eider (river) and according to some sources near Schleswig which was the center of the Angles, The Myrgings were descended from Saxons who probably had settled in that area a few centuries earlier and probably merged with another tribe to form the Myrgings, Kemp Malone an American etymologist writing in 1944 suggested the word "Myrging" to mean "Mire Dwellers" or "Mire-District Dwellers" he also suggested the name points to a miry or marshy habitat for the tribe and that the Myrgings also expanded beyond Schleswig and gave the Myrgings there a name called the With-Myrgings and said they were a sub-tribe from them he also said that the With-Myrgings holded the marshy areas and that they were the ones at war with Offa of Angel, He also said that the With-Myrgings joined the Angles on there migration to Britain.

Kings of the Myrgings

A list of kings of the Myrgings has been preserved which is found in Widsith though only two have been named the rest have not been named nor have been written down, So the following list of the kings is what has been listed in Widsith, Dates are given as the events took place in the 5th century and by the time of Eadgils death the Myrgings were conquered by Offa of Angel and he installs himself as there king until 456 when he dies his son Angeltheow abolished the kingdom and unified the Myrgings under one ruler after this the Myrgings disappeared. However a branch from the them known as the With-Myrgings survived and later migrated to Britian along with the Angles in the 5th and 6th centuries.

References

[1] Kemp Malone Myrgings.

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