Page "Ælle of Sussex" Paragraph 2

Ælle was the first king recorded by the 8th century chronicler Bede to have held " imperium ", or overlordship, over other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

In the late 9th-century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle ( around four hundred years after his time ) Ælle is recorded as being the first bretwalda, or " Britain-ruler ", though there is no evidence that this was a contemporary title.

Ælle's death is not recorded and although he may have been the founder of a South Saxon dynasty, there is no firm evidence linking him with later South Saxon rulers.

The 12th century chronicler Henry of Huntingdon produced an enhanced version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle that included 514 as the date of Ælle's death, but this is not secure.