King Natanleod

In the Anglo-Saxon chronicles, there is an entry for the year 508AD which refers to a British king called Natanleod who is killed by King Cerdic of Wessex with 5,000 of his men at a place called Netley Marsh. According to the Anglo-Saxon chronicles, 

“This year Cerdic and Cynric slew a British king, whose name was Natanleod, and five thousand men with him. After this was the land named Netley, from him, as far as Charford.”

Netley Marsh is in Hampshire on the south coast of England. King Cerdic supposedly landed on the south coast with his son Cynric in 495AD with ship loads of Anglo-Saxon warriors. When the Romans withdrew from Britannia in 410AD, the Anglo-Saxons, Scots and Picts raided Britannia. A king of the Britons called Vortigern supposedly recruits the Anglo-Saxons as mercenaries to fight the Scots and Picts. After defeating the Scots and Picts, the Anglo-Saxons turn on Vortigern and the Britons. Ambrosius Aurelianus, a Roman Briton rallies the Britons and defeats the Anglo-Saxons. He is followed by King Arthur who defeats the Anglo-Saxons at the battle of Mons Badon in 537AD.

So who is King Natanleod? There are very few ideas as to who this king was. I think Natanleod is a Pictish name. Natan would be the Pictish name, Nechtan, and leod would be the Old English for chief. So it simply means chief Nechtan. It’s possible there was a local king called Natanleod who fought a battle with King Cerdic of Wessex. However, it would have been an unusual name. There are no kings called Natanleod in the Welsh king lists. I think the Scots and Picts were dragged into the conflict with the Anglo-Saxons. The 16th century Scottish historian, Hector Boece, explains that King Arthur had an alliance with the Scots and the Picts.

There is a king of the Picts called Nechtan I who lived during the 5th century. He reigned from around 456 to 480AD. He was also known as Nechtan Celcamoth (Nechtan the Great). He was sent into exile to Ireland by his brother Drust, but returned and claimed the Pictish kingship. It’s possible that Nechtan I led an army of Picts to help the Britons fight the Anglo-Saxons. The dates don’t exactly coincide. However, the dates for this time period are quite unreliable, so Nechtan I may be the same individual as Natanleod.