Page:Sussex Archaeological Collections, volume 6.djvu/120

 probably will, be objected, that the above lengthened and circumstantial account, in those respects differing greatly from the more nearly contemporary histories, being penned many hundred years after the occurrence it narrates, must at the least have been largely indebted for its details to the imagination of the writer. This certainly may be, though it by no means necessarily follows that it is, the fact; because we have good reason to believe, that many historical records formerly existed, even at very early periods, which have long ago perished. And thus it is beyond a possibility, that Henry of Huntingdon may have derived the statements he has preserved from documents which have not descended to us. However that may be, neither his diffuse description, nor the much more concise ones of other English chroniclers contain any clue whereby to ascertain the situation of Andredesceaster, except that it must have been contiguous to a forest and within easy reach of Ella's kingdom. This forest we may safely infer, even from the preceding long quotation, to have been the immense one of Anderida or Andredesweald, which extended completely through Sussex; for it is immediately after mentioning the commencement of the south Saxon kingdom, that our author recounts the fall of Andredesceaster, as if there was a close connection between the city and the district. General consent admits the locality to be either on the southern coast of Kent or on that of Sussex, though various opinions have prevailed as to the precise spot, in favour of which the probabilities preponderate. In the discussion of this question no less than eight places have been named, but of six the claims do not seem sufficiently important to require our present attention, which may be confined to the other two, namely, Newenden in Kent, and Pevensey in Sussex.

But before proceeding further, a few remarks may be offered upon the character of that ancient settlement, of which the position is thus disputed. From the very name, then, whereby it is usually spoken of, we are assured that it was, if not originally founded, yet certainly adopted and retained