编年史中威塞克斯的早期历史被认为是不可靠的,有重复的事件报导和看似矛盾的信息[22]。大卫·邓维尔(英语:David Dumville)认为彻迪克真正的统治日期是538年至554年。一些学者认为,彻迪克是在巴顿山战役(英语:Battle of Badon)中被英格兰人击败的撒克逊领袖,可能在490年(也可能更晚,但不迟于518年)战斗。如果邓维尔是正确的,情况就不是这样,而其他人将这场战斗误以为是埃尔或另一位撒克逊领导人,因此威塞克斯王国的起源似乎比仍存在的传统版本提供的资料更复杂[23]。
一些学者甚至认为彻迪克是一个纯粹的传奇人物,但这是少数人的看法。《盎格鲁-撒克逊编年史》是彻迪克的最早来源,于9世纪后期编纂而成。虽然它可能确实记录了威塞克斯建立的现存传统看法,但其间的400年意味著不能假设该资料来源是准确的[24][25]。史册《盎格鲁-撒克逊编年史》,以及该来源对后来国王记载中的家谱血统,都描述了彻迪克由他的儿子金里克继承。然而,作为编年史手稿序言的族谱君主名单反而在他们之间插入了一代人,表明彻迪克是克里奥达(英语:Creoda of Wessex)的父亲和金里克的祖父[26]。
Kirby, D. P. (1965) Problems of Early West Saxon History, The English Historical Review, January 1965, Vol. 80, No. 314, Oxford University Press, pp. 10–29.
Walker, H. E. (1956), "Bede, and the Gewissae: The Political Evolution of the Heptarchy and Its Nomenclature", The Cambridge Historical Journal, 1956, Vol. 12, No. 2, Cambridge University Press, pp. 174–186
Yorke, B. (1989), "The Jutes of Hampshire and Wight and the origins of Wessex", in The Origins of Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms, Bassett, S. (ed.), Leicester University Press, London and New York, pp. 85–92, p. 96.
Eagles, B., 2001. Anglo-Saxon presence and culture in Wiltshire c. AD 450-c. 675. In: Ellis, P D.;, ed. Roman Wiltshire and After. Papers in Honour of Ken Annable. Wiltshire Archaeological Society, pp. 199-233. p. 204
Sir Charles Oman (Oman, England Before the Conquest, 1910:244) found the Wessex annals in the Chronicle "meagre and inexplicable", "confused and suspicious"; Oman's speculation that events in the annals had been duplicated was taken up in detail by Kenneth Harrison (Harrison, "Early Wessex Annals in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" The English Historical Review86 No. 340 (July 1971:527–533).