Possible Origin of "Edgin"
Hello all,
In doing some research on medieval history, I came across something quite interesting.Apparently, near the close of the 9th century, there was a fight for Wessex between Alfred the Great and Guthrum, a Dane.The battle raged on until Alfred and his men fought the decisive battle at the Battle of Edington.After the battle and treaties were signed (skipping some other minor bits of history of course) some of Alred's men stayed near Edington, as these men were basically nomads after Guthrum had torn apart their former villages.Edington was not a pleasant place, in fact, some sources site it as being "swamp-like," but there were some references also to people taking on the last name of Edington because they were proud of their victory over Guthrum and the Danes.Edington, as I found out later, appears to have been changed somewhere in the 14th to 17th centuries (no major sites available), where it was shortened to Edgin, Edgen, Edging, and Edgenton.Edgin was the most popular variation it seemed.
I hope this information helps anyone who is interested.I almost hesitated putting this up because of my lack of sources, but after visiting what seem to be hundreds of web sites and looking through countless books, this was the best I could come up with.
I am open to any modifications/corrections in this and welcome your feedback.My email address is [email protected]