Cedric

Cedric is another example of a literary name invention; this time the name was coined by Scottish author Sir Walter Scott in his classic 1819 novel “Ivanhoe”. Set in medieval 12th century England, Cedric of Rotherwood is the father of the novel’s central character Ivanhoe, around whom the plot’s action takes place. Cedric is a powerful Saxon landowner bitterly living among the Normans who successfully conquered England in 1066 (a century earlier) and took over the country’s monarchy and most of its land from the Anglo-Saxons. It is believed that Cedric was modeled after a real-life historical figure named Cerdic of Wessex (Sir Walter Scott may have inadvertently misspelled the name). The historic 6th century Cerdic is credited as the first King of Wessex and the first forebearer of the House of Wessex – a ruling Saxon family of the kingdom of Wessex (southwestern England); the same lineage that later came to rule over a unified England starting with Alfred the Great, King of the Anglo-Saxons, in the late 9th century. Edward the Confessor was the last King of England from the House of Wessex who ruled up until 1066 just before the Normans crossed the English Channel to come kick some Anglo-Saxon butt. So in essence, the House of Wessex (also known as the House of Cerdic) had almost omnipotent ruling power over all of England and all of the Anglo-Saxons for two centuries before the Normans arrived to upset the apple cart. It’s no wonder that Scott chose the name Cedric, a character who symbolizes the “good ole days” for the Anglo-Saxons and a man who desperately hates the Normans in general. Etymologists believe that Cerdic is a name of Celtic origin (from the Brythonic language, rather than the Gaelic one, representing the pre-Anglo-Saxon Britons such as the Welsh and Cornish people) – coming from the ancient Celtic name Caratācos which itself is derived from the Celtic element “car” meaning “love”. What’s ironic is that the character Cedric of “Ivanhoe” represents “hatred” for the Normans in England – or, conversely, “love” for his Saxon people (it’s no accident that Sir Walter Scott chose this name for his character). In some ways Cedric is the ultimate Anglo-Saxon name and therefore WASPy and erudite by nature. The name Cedric also entered the American imaginations with the publication of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s children’s novel “Little Lord Fauntleroy” (1886) featuring the central character of Cedric Errol – a rags-to-riches hero for late 19th century children, and whose popularity was on par with Harry Potter of today (see literary references below). Today the name Cedric is rarely used although he appears on some European naming charts (Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and France) – it’s ironically uncommon among English speakers.