Isle of Wight The oldest records that give a name for the Isle of Wight are from the Roman Empire: it was then called "Vectis" or "Vecta" in Latin, "Iktis" or "Ouiktis" in Greek. From the Anglo-Saxon period Latin "Vecta", Old English "Wiht" and Old Welsh forms "Gueid" and "Guith" are recorded. In Domesday Book it is "Wit"; the modern Welsh name is "Ynys Wyth" ("ynys" = island). These are all variant forms of the same name, possibly Celtic in origin. It may mean "place of the division", because the island divides the two arms of the Solent. The Isle of Wight is
History of the Isle of Wight are retained in the county archaeological centre. From about 685-686 the island can be considered part of Wessex, and after the West Saxon kings ruled all England, then part of England. The Anglo Saxon Chronicle tells how "Wiht-land" suffered from Viking raids: ""And then another time they lay in the Isle of Wight, and meanwhile ate out of Hampshire and of Sussex"". Alfred the Great's navy defeated the Danes in 871 after they had "ravaged Devon and the Isle of Wight". Around 900 the kingdom was divided into shires, and the island became part of the shire of Hampshire. During