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I. The Prologue.
1. Nennius, the lowly
minister and servant of the servants of God, by the grace of God, disciple
of St. Elbotus, [Or Elvod, bishop of Bangor, A.D. 755, who first adopted
in the Cambrian church the new cycle for regulating Easter.] to all the
followers of truth sendeth health.
Be it known to your charity, that being dull in intellect and rude of
speech, I have presumed to deliver these things in the Latin tongue, not
trusting to my own learning, which is little or none at all, but partly
from traditions of our ancestors, partly from writings and monuments of
the ancient inhabitants of Britain, partly from the annals of the Romans,
and the chronicles of the sacred fathers, Isidore, Hieronymus, Prosper,
Eusebius, and from the histories of the Scots and Saxons, although our
enemies, not following my own inclinations, but, to the best of my
ability, obeying the commands of my seniors; I have lispingly put together
this history from various sources, and have endeavored, from shame, to
deliver down to posterity the few remaining ears of corn about past
transactions, that they might not be trodden under foot, seeing that an
ample crop has been snatched away already by the hostile reapers of
foreign nations. For many things have been in my way, and I, to this day,
have hardly been able to understand, even superficially, as was necessary,
the sayings of other men; much less was I able in my own strength, but
like a barbarian, have I murdered and defiled the language of others. But
I bore about with me an inward wound, and I was indignant, that the name
of my own people, formerly famous and distinguished, should sink into
oblivion, and like smoke be dissipated. But since, however, I had rather
myself be the historian of the Britons than nobody, although so many are
to be found who might much more satisfactorily discharge the labour thus
imposed on me; I humbly entreat my readers, whose ears I may offend by the
inelegance of my words, that they will fulfil the wish of my seniors, and
grant me the easy task of listening with candour to my history. For
zealous efforts very often fail: but bold enthusiasm, were it in its
power, would not suffer me to fail. May, therefore, candour be shown where
the inelegance of my words is insufficient, and may the truth of this
history, which my rustic tongue has ventured, as a kind of plough, to
trace out in furrows, lose none of its influence from that cause, in the
ears of my hearers. For it is better to drink a wholesome draught of truth
from the humble vessel, than poison mixed with honey from a golden goblet.
2. And do not be loath,
diligent reader, to winnow my chaff, and lay up the wheat in the
storehouse of your memory: for truth regards not who is the speaker, nor
in what manner it is spoken, but that the thing be true; and she does not
despise the jewel which she has rescued from the mud, but she adds it to
her former treasures.
For I yield to those who
are greater and more eloquent than myself, who, kindled with generous
ardour, have endeavoured by Roman eloquence to smooth the jarring elements
of their tongue, if they have left unshaken any pillar of history which I
wished to see remain. This history therefore has been compiled from a wish
to benefit my inferiors, not from envy of those who are superior to me, in
the 858th year of our Lord's incarnation, and in the 24th year of Mervin,
king of the Britons, and I hope that the prayers of my betters will be
offered up for me in recompence of my labour. But this is sufficient by
way of preface. I shall obediently accomplish the rest to the utmost of my
power.
II. The Apology
of Nennius
Here begins the apology of
Nennius, the historiographer of the Britons, of the race of the Britons.
3. I, Nennius, disciple of
St. Elbotus, have endeavoured to write some extracts which the dulness of
the British nation had cast away, because teachers had no knowledge, nor
gave any information in their books about this island of Britain. But I
have got together all that I could find as well from the annals of the
Romans as from the chronicles of the sacred fathers, Hieronymus, Eusebius,
Isidorus, Prosper, and from the annals of the Scots and Saxons, and from
our ancient traditions. Many teachers and scribes have attempted to write
this, but somehow or other have abandoned it from its difficulty, either
on account of frequent deaths, or the often recurring calamities of war. I
pray that every reader who shall read this book, may pardon me, for having
attempted, like a chattering jay, or like some weak witness, to write
these things, after they had failed. I yield to him who knows more of
these things than I do.
III. The History
4, 5. From Adam to the
flood, are two thousand and forty-two years. From the flood of Abraham,
nine hundred and forty-two. From Abraham to Moses, six hundred. [And
forty, according to Stevenson's new edition. The rest of this chronology
is much contracted in several of the manuscripts, and hardly two of them
contain it exactly the same.] From Moses to Solomon, and the first
building of the temple, four hundred and forty-eight. From Solomon to the
rebuilding of the temple, which was under Darius, king of the Persians,
six hundred and twelve years are computed. From Darius to the ministry of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the fifteenth year of the emperor Tiberius,
are five hundred and forty-eight years. So that from Adam to the ministry
of Christ and the fifteenth year of the emperor Tiberius, are five
thousand two hundred and twenty-eight years. From the passion of Christ
are completed nine hundred and forty-six; from his incarnation, nine
hundred and seventy-six: being the fifth year of Edmund, king of the
Angles.
6. The first age of the
world is from Adam to Noah; the second from Noah to Abraham; the third
from Abraham to David; the fourth from David to Daniel; the fifth to John
the Baptist; the sixth from John to the judgment, when our Lord Jesus
Christ will come to judge the living and the dead, and the world by fire.
The first Julius. The second Claudius. The third Severus. The fourth
Carinus. The fifth Constantius. The sixth Maximus. The seventh Maximianus.
The eighth another Severus Aequantius. The ninth Constantius. [This list
of the Roman emperors who visited Britain, is omitted in many of the MSS.]
Here beginneth the history
of the Britons, edited by Mark the anchorite, a holy bishop of that
people.
7. The island of Britain
derives its name from Brutus, a Roman consul. Taken from the south-west
point it inclines a little towards the west, and to its northern extremity
measures eight hundred miles, and is in breadth two hundred. It contains
thirty three cities, [V.R. Twenty-eight, twenty-one. ] viz.
1. Cair ebrauc (York).
2. Cair ceint (Canterbury).
3. Cair gurcoc (Anglesey?).
4. Cair guorthegern [Site unknown]
5. Cair custeint (Carnarvon).
6. Cair guoranegon (Worcester).
7. Cair segeint (Silchester).
8. Cair guin truis (Norwich, or Winwick).
9. Cair merdin (Caermarthen).
10. Cair peris (Porchester).
11. Cair lion (Caerleon-upon-Usk).
12. Cair mencipit (Verulam).
13. Cair caratauc (Catterick).
14. Cair ceri (Cirencester).
15. Cair glout (Gloucester).
16. Cair luillid (Carlisle).
17. Cair grant (Grantchester, now Cambridge).
18. Cair daun (Doncaster), or Cair dauri (Dorchester).
19. Cair britoc (Bristol).
20. Cair meguaid (Meivod).
21. Cair mauiguid (Manchester).
22. Cair ligion (Chester).
23. Cair guent (Winchester, or Caerwent, in Monmouthshire).
24. Cair collon (Colchester, or St. Colon, Cornwall).
25. Cair londein (London).
26. Cair guorcon (Worren, or Woran, in Pembrokeshire).
27. Cair lerion (Leicester).
28. Cair draithou (Drayton).
29. Cair pensavelcoit (Pevensey, in Sussex).
30. Cairtelm (Teyn-Grace, in Devonshire).
31. Cair Urnahc (Wroxeter, in Shropshire).
32. Cair colemion (Camelet, in Somersetshire).
33. Cair loit coit (Lincoln).
These are the names of the
ancient cities of the island of Britain. It has also a vast many
promontories, and castles innumerable, built of brick and stone. Its
inhabitants consist of four different people; the Scots, the Picts, the
Saxons and the ancient Britons.
8. Three considerable
islands belong to it; one, on the south, opposite the Armorican shore,
called Wight; [Inis-gueith, or Gueith] another between Ireland and
Britain, called Eubonia or Man; and another directly north, beyond the
Picts, named Orkney; and hence it was anciently a proverbial expression,
in reference to its kings and rulers, "He reigned over Britain and its
three islands."
9. It is fertilized by
several rivers, which traverse it in all directions, to the east and west,
to the south and north; but there are two pre-eminently distinguished
among the rest, the Thames and the Severn, which formerly, like the two
arms of Britain, bore the ships employed in the conveyance of riches
acquired by commerce. The Britons were once very populous, and exercised
extensive dominion from sea to sea.
10. [The whole of this, as
far as the end of the paragraph, is omitted in several MSS.] Respecting
the period when this island became inhabited subsequently to the flood, I
have seen two distinct relations. According to the annals of the Roman
history, the Britons deduce their origin both from the Greeks and Romans.
On the side of the mother, from Lavinia, the daughter of Latinus, king of
Italy, and of the race of Silvanus, the son of Inachus, the son of
Dardanus; who was the son of Saturn, king of the Greeks, and who, having
possessed himself of a part of Asia, built the city of Troy. Dardanus was
the father of Troius, who was the father of Priam and Anchises; Anchises
was the father of Aeneas, who was the father of Ascanius and Silvius; and
this Silvius was the son of Aeneas and Lavinia, the daughter of the king
of Italy. From the sons of Aeneas and Lavinia descended Romulus and Remus,
who were the sons of the holy queen Rhea, and the founders of Rome. Brutus
was consul when he conquered Spain, and reduced that country to a Roman
province. He afterwards subdued the island of Britain, whose inhabitants
were the descendants of the Romans, from Silvius Posthumus. He was called
Posthumus because he was born after the death of Aeneas his father; and
his mother Lavinia concealed herself during her pregnancy; he was called
Silvius, because he was born in a wood. Hence the Roman kings were called
Silvan, and the Britons from Brutus, and rose from the family of Brutus.
Aeneas, after the Trojan
war, arrived with his son in Italy; and Having vanquished Turnus, married
Lavinia, the daughter of king Latinus, who was the son of Faunus, the son
of Picus, the son of Saturn. After the death of Latinus, Aeneas obtained
the kingdom Of the Romans, and Lavinia brought forth a son, who was named
Silvius. Ascanius founded Alba, and afterwards married. And Lavinia bore
to Aeneas a son, named Silvius; but Ascanius [Other MSS. Silvius] married
a wife, who conceived and became pregnant. And Aeneas, having been
informed that his daughter-in-law was pregnant, ordered his son to send
his magician to examine his wife, whether the child conceived were male or
female. The magician came and examined the wife and pronounced it to be a
son, who should become the most valiant among the Italians, and the most
beloved of all men. [V.R. Who should slay his father and mother, and be
hated by all mankind] In consequence of this prediction, the magician was
put to death by Ascanius; but it happened that the mother of the child
dying at its birth, he was named Brutus; ad after a certain interval,
agreeably to what the magician had foretold, whilst he was playing with
some others he shot his father with an arrow, not intentionally but by
accident. [V.R. He displayed such superiority among his play-fellows, that
they seemed to consider him as their chief.] He was, for this cause,
expelled from Italy, and came to the islands of the Tyrrhene sea, when he
was exiled on account of the death of Turnus, slain by Aeneas. He then
went among the Gauls, and built the city of the Turones, called Turnis.
[Tours.] At length he came to this island named from him Britannia, dwelt
there, and filled it with his own descendants, and it has been inhabited
from that time to the present period.
11. Aeneas reigned over the
Latins three years; Ascanius thirty three years; after whom Silvius
reigned twelve years, and Posthumus thirty-nine [V.R. Thirty-seven] years:
the latter, from whom the kings of Alba are called Silvan, was brother to
Brutus, who governed Britain at the time Eli the high-priest judged
Israel, and when the ark of the covenant was taken by a foreign people.
But Posthumus his brother reigned among the Latins.
12. After an interval of
not less than eight hundred years, came the Picts, and occupied the Orkney
Islands: whence they laid waste many regions, and seized those on the left
hand side of Britain, where they still remain, keeping possession of a
third part of Britain to this day. [See Bede's Eccles. Hist.]
13. Long after this, the
Scots arrived in Ireland from Spain. The first that came was Partholomus,
[V.R. Partholomaeus, or Bartholomaeus] with a thousand men and women;
these increased to four thousand; but a mortality coming suddenly upon
them, they all perished in one week. The second was Nimech, the son of...,
[A blank is here in the MS. Agnomen is found in some of the others.] who,
according to report, after having been at sea a year and a half, and
having his ships shattered, arrived at a port in Ireland, and continuing
there several years, returned at length with his followers to Spain. After
these came three sons of a Spanish soldier with thirty ships, each of
which contained thirty wives; and having remained there during the space
of a year, there appeared to them, in the middle of the sea, a tower of
glass, the summit of which seemed covered with men, to whom they often
spoke, but received no answer. At length they determined to besiege the
tower; and after a year's preparation, advanced towards it, with the whole
number of their ships, and all the women, one ship only excepted, which
had been wrecked, and in which were thirty men, and as many women; but
when all had disembarked on the shore which surrounded the tower, the sea
opened and swallowed them up. Ireland, however, was peopled, to the
present period, from the family remaining in the vessel which was wrecked.
Afterwards, other came from Spain, and possessed themselves of various
parts of Britain.
14. Last of all came one
Hoctor, [V.R. Damhoctor, Clamhoctor, and Elamhoctor] who continued there,
and whose descendants remain there to this day. Istoreth, the son of
Istorinus, with his followers, held Dalrieta; Buile had the island
Eubonia, and other adjacent places. The sons of Liethali [V.R. Liethan,
Bethan, Vethan] obtained the country of the dimetae, where is a city
called Menavia, [St. David's] and the province Guiher and Cetgueli,
[Guiher, probably the Welsh district Gower. Cetgueli is Caer Kidwelly, in
Carmarthenshire] which they held till they were expelled from every part
of Britain, by Cunedda and his sons.
15. According to the most
learned among the Scots, if any onedesires to learn what I am now going to
state, Ireland was a desert, and uninhabited, when the children of Israel
crossed the Red Sea, in which, as we read in the Book of the Law, the
Egyptians who followed them were drowned. At that period, there lived
among this people, with a numerous family, a Scythian of noble birth, who
had been banished from his country and did not go to pursue the people of
God. The Egyptians who were left, seeing the destruction of the great men
of their nation, and fearing lest he should possess himself of their
territory, took counsel together, and expelled him. Thus reduced, he
wandered forty-two years in Africa, and arrived, with his family, at the
altars of the Philistines, by the Lake of Osiers. Then passing between
Rusicada and the hilly country of Syria, they travelled by the river Malva
through Mauritania as far as the Pillars of Hercules; and crossing the
Tyrrhene Sea, landed in Spain, where they continued many years, having
greatly increased and multiplied. Thence, a thousand and two years after
the Egyptians were lost in the Red Sea, they passed into Ireland, and the
district of Dalrieta. [North-western part of Antrim in Ulster] At that
period, Brutus, who first exercised the consular office, reigned over the
Romans; and the state, which before was governed by regal power, was
afterwards ruled, during four hundred and forty-seven years, by consuls,
tribunes of the people, and dictators.
The Britons came to Britain
in the third age of the world; and in the fourth, the Scots took
possession of Ireland. The Britons who, suspecting no hostilities, were
unprovided with the means of defence, were unanimously and incessantly
attacked, both by the Scots from the west, and by the Picts from the
north. A long interval after this, the Romans obtained the empire of the
world.
16. From the first arrival
of the Saxons into Britain, to the fourth year of king Mermenus, are
computed four hundred and twenty eight years; from the nativity of our
Lord to the coming of St. Patrick among the Scots, four hundred and five
years; from the death of St. Patrick to that of St. Bridget, forty years;
and from the birth of Columeille [V.R. Columba] to the death of St Bridget
four years.[Some MSS. add, the beginning of the calculation is 23 cycles
of 19 years from the incarnation of our Lord to the arrival of St. Patrick
in Ireland, and they make 438 years. And from the arrival of St. Patrick
to the cycle of 19 years in which we live are 22 cycles, which make 421
years.]
17. I have learned another
account of this Brutus from the ancient books of our ancestors. [This
proves the tradition of Brutus to be older than Geoffrey or Tyssilio,
unless these notices of Brutus have been interpolated in the original work
of Nennius.] After the deluge, the three sons of Noah severally occupied
three different parts of the earth: Shem extended his borders into Asia,
Ham into Africa, and Japheth in Europe.
The first man that dwelt in
Europe was Alanus, with his three sons, Hisicion, Armenon, and Neugio.
Hisicion had four sons, Francus, Romanus, Alamanus, and Brutus. Armenon
had five sons, Gothus, Valagothus, Cibidus, Burgundus, and Longobardus.
Neugio had three sons, Vandalus, Saxo, and Boganus. From Hisicion arose
four nations--the Franks, the Latins, the Germans, and Britons: from
Armenon, the Gothi, Balagothi, Cibidi, Burgundi, and Longobardi: from
Neugio, the Bogari, Vandali, Saxones, and Tarinegi. The whole of Europe
was subdivided into these tribes. Alanus is said to have been the son of
Fethuir; [This genealogy is different in almost all the MSS] Fethuir, the
son of Ogomuin, who was the son of Thoi; Thoi was the son of Boibus,
Boibus of Semion, Semion of Mair, Mair of Ecthactus, Ecthactus of
Aurthack, Aurthack of Ethec, Ethec of Ooth, Ooth of Aber, Aber of Ra, Ra
of Esraa, Esraa of Hisrau, Hisrau of Bath, Bath of Jobath, Jobath of
Joham, Joham of Japheth, Japheth of Noah, Noah of Lamech, Lamech of
Mathusalem, Mathusalem of Enoch, Enoch of Jared, Jared of Malalehel,
Malalehel of Cainan, Cainan of Enos, Enos of Seth, Seth of Adam, and Adam
was formed by the living God. We have obtained this information respecting
the original inhabitants of Britain from ancient tradition.
18. The Britons were thus
called from Brutus: Brutus was the son of Hisicion, Hisicion was the son
of Alanus, Alanus was the son of Rhea Silvia, Fhea Silvia was the daughter
of Numa Pompilius, Numa was the son of Ascanius, Ascanius of Eneas, Eneas
of Anchises, Anchises of Troius, Troius of Dardanus, Dardanus of Flisa,
Flisa of Juuin, Juuin of Japheth; but Japheth had seven sons; from the
first named Gomer, descended the Galli; from the second, Magog, the Scythi
and Gothi; from the third, Madian, the Medi; from the fourth, Juuan, the
Greeks; from the fifth, Tubal, arose the Hebrei, Hispani, and Itali; from
the sixth, Mosoch, sprung the Cappadoces; and from the seventh, named
Tiras, descended the Thraces: these are the sons of Japheth, the son of
Noah, the son of Lamech.
19. [Some MSS. add, I will
now return to the point from which I made this digression.] The Romans,
having obtained the dominion of the world, sent legates or deputies to the
Britons to demand of them hostages and tribute, which they received from
all other countries and islands; but they, fierce, disdainful, and
haughty, treated the legation with contempt.
Then Julius Caesar, the
first who had acquired absolute power at Rome, highly incensed against the
Britons, sailed with sixty vessels to the mouth of the Thames, where they
suffered shipwreck whilst he fought against Dolobellus, (the proconsul of
the British king, who was called Belinus, and who was the son of
Minocannus who governed all the islands of the Tyrrhene Sea), and thus
Julius Caesar returned home without victory, having had his soldiers
Slain, and his ships shattered.
20. But after three years
he again appeared with a large army, and three hundred ships, at the mouth
of the Thames, where he renewed hostilities. In this attempt many of his
soldiers and horses were killed; for the same consul had placed iron pikes
in the shallow part of the river, and this having been effected with so
much skill and secrecy as to escape the notice of the Roman soldiers, did
them considerable injury; thus Caesar was once more compelled to return
without peace or victory. The Romans were, therefore, a third time sent
against the Britons; and under the command of Julius, defeated them near a
place called Trinovantum [London], forty-seven years before the birth of
Christ, and five thousand two hundred and twelve years from the creation.
Julius was the first exercising supreme power over the Romans who invaded
Britain: in honour of him the Romans decreed the fifth month to be called
after his name. He was assassinated in the Curia, in the ides of March,
and Octavius Augustus succeeded to the empire of the world. He was the
only emperor who received tribute from the Britons, according to the
following verse of Virgil: "Purpurea intexti tollunt aulaea Britanni."
21. The second after him,
who came into Britain, was the emperor Claudius, who reigned forty-seven
years after the birth of Christ. He carried with him war and devastation;
and, though not without loss of men, he at length conquered Britain. He
next sailed to the Orkneys, which he likewise conquered, and afterwards
rendered tributary. No tribute was in his time received from the Britons;
but it was paid to British emperors. He reigned thirteen years and eight
months. His monument is to be seen at Moguntia (among the Lombards), where
he died in his way to Rome.
22. After the birth of
Christ, one hundred and sixty-seven years, king Lucius, with all the
chiefs of the British people, received baptism, in consequence of a
legation sent by the Roman emperors and pope Evaristus. [V.R. Eucharistus.
A marginal note in the Arundel MS. adds, "He is wrong, because the first
year of Evaristus was A.D. 79, whereas the first year of Eleutherius, whom
he ought to have named, was A.D. 161." Usher says, that in one MS. of
Nennius he found the name of Eleutherius.]
23. Severus was the third
emperor who passed the sea to Britain, where, to protect the provinces
recovered from barbaric incursions, he ordered a wall and a rampart to be
made between the Britons, the Scots, and the Picts, extending across the
island from sea to sea, in length one hundred and thirty-three miles: and
it is called in the British language Gwal. [Or, the Wall. One MS. here
adds, "The above-mentioned Severus constructed it of rude workmanship in
length 132 miles; i.e. from Penguaul, which village is called in Scottish
Cenail, in English Peneltun, to the mouth of the river Cluth and
Cairpentaloch, where this wall terminates; but it was of no avail. The
emperor Carausius afterwards rebuilt it, and fortified it with seven
castles between the two mouths: he built also a round house of polished
stones on the banks of the river Carun [Carron]: he likewise erected a
triumphal arch, on which he inscribed his own name in memory of his
victory.] Moreover, he ordered it to be made between the Britons, and the
Picts and Scots; for the Scots from the west, and the Picts from the
north, unanimously made war against the Britons; but were at peace among
themselves. Not long after Severus dies in Britain.
24. The fourth was the
emperor and tyrant, Carausius, who, incensed at the murder of Severus,
passed into Britain, and attended by the leaders of the Roman people,
severely avenged upon the chiefs and rulers of the Britons, the cause of
Severus. [This passage is corrupt, the meaning is briefly given in the
translation.]
25. The fifth was
Constantius the father of Constantine the Great. He died in Britain; his
sepulchre, as it appears by the inscription on his tomb, is still seen
near the city named Cair segont (near Carnarvon). Upon the pavement
of the above-mentioned city he sowed three seeds of gold, silver and
brass, that no poor person might ever be found in it. It is also called
Minmanton. [V.R. Mirmantum, Mirmantun, Minmanto, Minimantone. The
Segontium of Antoninus, situated on a small river named Seiont, near
Carnarvon.]
26. Maximianus [This is an
inaccuracy of Nennius; Maximus and Maximianus were one and the same
person; or rather no such person as Maximianus ever reigned in Britain.]
was the sixth emperor that ruled in Britain. It was in his time that
consuls [Geoffrey of Monmouth gives the title of consul to several
British generals who lived after this time. It is not unlikely that the
town, name, and dignity, still lingered in the provinces after the Romans
were gone, particularly as the cities of Britain maintained for a time a
species of independence.] began, and that the appellation of Caesar was
discontinued: at this period also, St. Martin became celebrated for his
virtues and miracles, and held a conversation with him.
27. The seventh emperor was
Maximus. He withdrew from Britain with all his military force, slew
Gratian, the king of the Romans, and obtained the sovereignty of all
Europe. Unwilling to send back his warlike companions to their wives,
children, and possessions in Britain, he conferred upon them numerous
districts from the lake on the summit of Mons Jovis, to the city called
Cant Guic, and to the western Tumulus, that is, to Cruc Occident. [This
district, in modern language, extended from the great St. Bernard in
Piedmont to Cantavic in Picardy, and from Picardy to the western coast of
France.] These are the Armoric Britons, and they remain there to the
present day. In consequence of their absence, Britain being overcome by
foreign nations, the lawful heirs were cast out, till God interposed with
his assistance. We are informed by the tradition of our ancestors that
seven emperors went into Britain, though the Romans affirm there were
nine.
28. Thus, aggreeably to the
account given by the Britons, the Romans governed them four hundred and
nine years. After this, the Britons despised the authority of the Romans,
equally refusing to pay them tribute, or to receive their kings; nor durst
the Romans any longer attempt the government of a country, the natives of
which massacred their deputies.
29. We must now return to
the tyrant Maximus. Gratian, with his brother Valentinian, reigned seven
years. Ambrose, bishop of Milan, was then eminent for his skill in the
dogmata of the Catholics. Valentinianus and Theodosius reigned eight
years. At that time a synod was held at Constantinople, attended by three
hundred and fifty of the fathers, and in which all heresies were
condemned. Jerome, the presbyter of Bethlehem, was then universally
celebrated. Whilst Gratian exercised supreme dominion over the world,
Maximus, in a sedition of the soldiers, was saluted emperor in Britain,
and soon after crossed the sea to Gaul. At Paris, by the treachery of
Mellobaudes, his master of the horse, Gratian was defeated and fleeing to
Lyons, was taken and put to death; Maximus afterwards associated his son
victor in the government. Martin, distinguished for his great virtues, was
at this period bishop of Tours. After a considerable space of time,
Maximus was divested of royal power by the consuls Valentinianus and
Theodosius, and sentenced to be beheaded at the third mile-stone from
Aquileia: in the same year also his son Victor was killed in Gaul by
Arbogastes, five thousand six hundred and ninety years from the creation
of the world.
30. Thrice were the Roman
deputies put to death by the Britons, and yet these, when harassed by the
incursions of the barbarous nations, viz. Of the Scots and Picts,
earnestly solicited the aid of the Romans. To give effect to their
entreaties, ambassadors were sent, who made their entrance with
impressions of deep sorrow, having their heads covered with dust, and
carrying rich presents, to expiate the murder of the deputies. They were
favourably received by the consuls, and swore submission to the Roman
yoke, with whatever severity it might be imposed. The Romans, therefore,
came with a powerful army to the assistance of the Britons; and having
appointed over them a ruler, and settled the government, returned to Rome:
and this took place alternately during the space of three hundred and
forty-eight years. The Britons, however, from the oppression of the
empire, again massacred The Roman deputies, and again petitioned for
succour. Once more the Romans undertook the government of the Britons, and
assisted them in repelling their neighbours; and, after having exhausted
the country of its gold, silver, brass, honey, and costly vestments, and
having besides received rich gifts, they returned in great triumph to
Rome.
31. After the above-said
war between the Britons and Romans, the assassination of their rulers, and
the victory of Maximus, who slew Gratian, and the termination of the Roman
power in Britain, they were in alarm forty years. Vortigern then reigned
in Britain. In his time, the natives had cause of dread, not only from the
inroads of the Scots and Picts, but also from the Romans, and their
apprehensions of Ambrosius. [These words relate evidently to some cause of
dispute between the Romans, Ambrosius, and Vortigern. Vortigern is said to
have been sovereign of the Dimetae, and Ambrosius son to the king of the
Damnonii. The latter was half a Roman by descent, and naturally supported
the Roman interest: the former was entirely a Briton, and as naturally
seconded by the original Britons.]
In the meantime, three
vessels, exiled from Germany, arrived in Britain. They were commanded by
Horsa and Hengist, brothers, and sons of Wihtgils. Wihtgils was the son of
Witta; Witta of Wecta; Wecta of Woden; Woden of Frithowald; Frithowald of
Frithuwulf; Frithuwulf of Finn; Finn of Godwulf; Godwulf of Geat, who, as
they say, was the son of a god, not [V.R. not the God of gods, the Amen,
the Lord of Hosts, but one of their idols which they worshipped.] of the
omnipotent God and our Lord Jesus Christ (who before the beginning of the
world, was with the Father and the Holy Spirit, co-eternal and of the same
substance, and who, in compassion to human nature, disdained not to assume
the form of a servant), but the offspring of one of their idols, and whom,
blinded by some demon, they worshipped according to the custom of the
heathen. Vortigern received them as friends, and delivered up to them the
island which is in their language called Thanet, and, by the Britons,
Ruym. [Sometimes called Ruoichin, Ruith-in, or "river island," separated
from the rest of Kent and the mainland of Britain by the estuary of the
Wantsum, which, though now a small brook, was formerly navigable for large
vessels, and in Bede's time was three stadia broad, and fordable only at
two places.] Gratianus Aequantius at that time reigned in Rome. The Saxons
were received by Vortigern, four hundred and forty-seven years after the
passion of Christ, and, [The rest of this sentence is omitted in some of
the MSS] according to the tradition of our ancestors, from the period of
their first arrival in Britain, to the first year of the reign of king
Edmund, five hundred and forty-two years; and to that in which we now
write, which is the fifth of his reign, five hundred and forty-seven
years.
32. At that time St.
Germanus, distinguished for his numerous virtues, came to preach in
Britain: by his ministry many were saved; but many likewise died
unconverted. Of the various miracles which God enabled him to perform, I
shall here mention only a few: I shall first advert to that concerning an
iniquitous and tyrannical king, named Benlli. [King of Powys. V.R. Benli
in the district of Ial (in Derbyshire); in the district of Dalrieta;
Belinus; Beluni; and Benty.] The holy man, informed of his wicked conduct,
hastened to visit him, for the purpose of remonstrating him. When the man
of God, with his attendants, arrived at the gate of the city, they were
respectfully received by the keeper of it, who came out and saluted them.
Him they commissioned to communicate their intention to the king, who
returned a harsh answer, declaring, with an oath, that although they
remained there a year, they should not enter the city. While waiting for
an answer, the evening came on, and they knew not where to go. At length,
came one of the king's servants, who bowing himself before the man of God,
announced the words of the tyrant, inviting them, at the same time, to his
own house, to which they went, and were kindly received. It happened,
however, that he had no cattle, except one cow and a calf, the latter of
which, urged by generous hospitality to his guests, he killed, dressed and
set before them. But holy St. Germanus ordered his companions not to break
a bone of the calf; and, the next morning, it was found alive uninjured,
and standing by its mother.
33. Early the same day,
they again went to the gate of the city, to solicit audience of the wicked
king; and, whilst engaged in fervent prayer they were waiting for
admission, a man, covered with sweat, came out, and prostrated himself
before them. Then St. Germanus, addressing him, said "Dost thou believe in
the Holy Trinity?" To which the man having replied, "I do believe," he
baptized, and kissed him, saying, "Go in peace; within this hour thou
shalt die: the angels of God are waiting for thee in the air; with them
thou shalt ascent to that God in whom thou has believed.: He, overjoyed,
entered the city, and being met by the prefect, was seized, bound, and
conducted before the tyrant, who having passed sentence upon him, he was
immediately put to death; for it was a law of this wicked king, that
whoever was not at his labour before sun-rising should be beheaded in the
citadel. In the meantime, St. Germanus, with his attendants, waited the
whole day before the gate, without obtaining admission to the tyrant.
34. The man
above-mentioned, however, remained with them. "Take care," said St.
Germanus to him, "that none of your friends remain this night within these
walls. Upon this he hastily entered the city, brought out his nine
sons, and with them retired to the house where he had exercised such
generous hospitality. Here St. Germanus ordered them to continue, fasting;
and when the gates were shut, "Watch," said he, "and whatever shall happen
in the citadel, turn not thither your eyes; but pray without ceasing, and
invoke the protection of the true God." And, behold, early in the night,
fire fell from heaven, and burned the city, together with all those who
were with the tyrant, so that not one escaped; and that citadel has never
been rebuilt even to this day.
35. The following day, the
hospitable man who had been converted by the preaching of St. Germanus,
was baptized, with his sons, and all the inhabitants of that part of the
country; and St. Germanus blessed him, saying, "a king shall not be
wanting of thy seed for ever." The name of this person is Catel Drunlue:
[Or Cadell Deyrnllug, prince of the Vale Royal and the upper part of
Powys.] "from hence-forward thou shalt be a king all the days of thy
life." Thus was fulfilled the prophecy of the Psalmist: "He raiseth up the
poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the needy out of the dunghill." And
agreeably to the prediction of St. Germanus, from a servant he became a
king: all his sons were kings, and from their offspring the whole country
of Powys has been governed to this day.
36. After the Saxons had
continued some time in the island of Thanet, Vortigern promised to supply
them with clothing and provision, on condition they would engage to fight
against the enemies of his country. But the barbarians having greatly
increased in number, the Britons became incapable of fulfilling their
engagement; and when the Saxons, according to the promise they had
received, claimed a supply of provisions and clothing, the Britons
replied, "Your number is increased; your assistance is now unneccessary;
you may, therefore, return home, for we can no longer support you;" and
hereupon they began to devise means of breaking the peace between them.
37. But Hengist, in whom
united craft and penetration, perceiving he had to act with an ignorant
king, and a fluctuating people, incapable of opposing much resistance,
replied to Vortigern, "We are, indeed, few in number; but, if you will
give us leave, we will send to our country for an additional number of
forces, with whom we will fight for you and your subjects." Vortigern
assenting to this proposal, messengers were despatched to Scythia, where
selecting a number of warlike troops, they returned with sixteen vessels,
bringing with them the beautiful daughter of Hengist. And now the
Saxon chief prepared an entertainment, to which he invited the king, his
officers, and Ceretic, his interpreter, having previously enjoined his
daughter to serve them so profusely with wine and ale, that they might
soon become intoxicated. This plan succeeded; and Vortigern, at the
instigation of the devil, and enamoured with the beauty of the damsel,
demanded her, through the medium of his interpreter, of the father,
promising to give for her whatever he should ask. Then Hengist, who had
already consulted with the elders who attended him of the Oghgul [V.R. Who
had come with him from the island of Oghgul, Oehgul
(or Tingle), Angul. According to Gunn, a small island in the duchy of
Sleswick in Denmark, now called Angel, of which Flensburg is the
metropolis. Hence the origin of the Angles.] race, demanded for his
daughter the province, called in English, Centland, in British, Ceint,
(Kent.) This cession was made without the knowledge of the king,
Guoyrancgonus, [ V.R. Gnoiram cono, Goiranegono, Guiracgono. Malmesbury,
Gorongi; Camden, Guorong, supposed to mean governor, or viceroy.] who then
reigned in Kent, and who experienced no inconsiderable share of grief,
from seeing his kingdom thus clandestinely, fraudulently, and imprudently
resigned to foreigners. Thus the maid was delivered up to the king, who
slept with her, and loved her exceedingly.
38. Hengist, after this,
said to Vortigern, "I will be to you both a father and an adviser; despise
not my counsels, and you shall have no reason to fear being conquered by
any man or any nation whatever; for the people of my country are strong,
warlike, and robust: if you approve, I will send for my son and his
brother, both valiant men, who at my invitation will fight against the
Scots, and you can give them the countries in the north, near the wall
called Gual." [Antoninus's wall.] The incautious sovereign having assented
to this, Octa and Ebusa arrived with forty ships. In these they sailed
round the country of the Picts, laid waste the Orkneys, and took
possession of many regions, even to the Pictish confines.[Some MSS. add,
"beyond the Frenesic, Fresicum (or Fresic) sea," i.e. which is between us
and the Scotch. The sea between Scotland and Ireland. Camden translates it
"beyond the Frith;" Langhorne says, "Solway Frith."]
But Hengist continued, by
degrees, sending for ships from his own country, so that some islands
whence they came were left without inhabitants; and whilst his people were
increasing in power and number, they came to the above-named province of
Kent.
39. In the meantime,
Vortigern, as if desirous of adding to the evils he had already
occasioned, married his own daughter, by whom he had a son. When this was
made known to St. Germanus, he came, with all the British clergy, to
reprove him: and whilst a numerous assembly of the ecclesiastics and laity
were in consultation, the weak king ordered his daughter to appear before
them, and in the presence of all to present her son to St. Germanus, and
declare that he was the father of the child. The immodest [V.R. "Immodest"
is omitted in some MSS] woman obeyed; and St. Germanus, taking the child,
said, "I will be a father to you, my son; nor will I dismiss you till a
razor, scissors, and comb, are given to me, and it is allowed you to give
them to your carnal father." The child obeyed St. Germanus, and going to
his father Vortigern, said to him, "Thou art my father; shave and cut the
hair of my head." The king blushed, and was silent; and, without replying
to the child, arose in great anger, and fled from the presence of St.
Germanus, execrated and condemned by the whole synod.
40. But soon after, calling
together his twelve wise men, to consult what was to be done, they said to
him, "Retire to the remote boundaries of your kingdom; there build and
fortify a city [V.R. You shall find a fortified city in which you may
defend yourself.] to defend yourself, for the people you have received are
treacherous; they are seeking to subdue you by stratagem, and, even during
your life, to seize upon all the countries subject to your power, how much
more will they attempt, after your death!" The king, pleased with this
advice, departed with his wise men, and travelled through many parts of
his territories, in search of a place convenient for the purpose of
building a citadel. Having, to no purpose, travelled far and wide, they
came at length to a province called Guenet; [V.R. Guined, Guoienet,
Guenez, North Wales.] and having surveyed the mountains of Heremus, [V.R.
Heremi, Heriri, or Eryri, signifying eagle rocks, the mountains of
Snowdon, in Carnarvonshire. The spot alluded to is supposed to be Dinas
Emrys, or the fortress of Ambrosius.] they discovered, on the summit of
one of them, a situation, adapted to the consturction of a citadel. Upon
this, the wise men said to the king, "Build here a city: for, in this
place, it will ever be secure against the barbarians." Then the king sent
for artificers, carpenters, stone-masons, and collected all the materials
requisite to building; but the whole of these disappeared in one night, so
that nothing remained of what had been provided for the constructing of
the citadel. Materials were, therefore, from all parts, procured a second
and third time, and again vanished as before, leaving and rendering every
effort ineffectual. Vortigern inquired of his wise men the cause of this
opposition to his undertaking, and of so much useless expense of labour?
They replied, "You must find a child born without a father, put him to
death, and sprinkle with his blood the ground on which the citadel is to
be built, or you will never accomplish your purpose."
41. In consequence of this
reply, the king sent messengers through-out Britain, in search of a child
born without a father. After having inquired in all the provinces, they
came to the field of Aelecti, [V.R. Elleti, Electi, Gleti. Supposed to be
Bassalig in Monmouthshire.] in the district of Glevesing, [The district
between the Usk and Rumney, in Monmouthshire.] where a party of boys were
playing at ball. And two of them quarrelling, one said to the other, "O
boy without a father, no good will ever happen to you." Upon this, the
messengers diligently inquired of the mother and the other boys, whether
he had had a father? Which his mother denied, saying, "In what manner he
was conceived I know not, for I have never had intercourse with any man;"
and then she solemnly affirmed that he had no mortal father. The boy was,
therefore, led away, and conducted before Vortigern the king.
42. A meeting took place
the next day for the purpose of putting him to death. Then the boy said to
the king, "Why have your servants brought me hither?" "That you may be put
to death," replied the king, "and that the ground on which my citadel is
to stand, may be sprinkled with your blood, without which I shall be
unable to build it." "Who," said the boy, "instructed you to do this?" "My
wise men," answered the king. "Order them hither," returned the boy; this
being complied with, he thus questioned them: "By what means was it
revealed to you that this citadel could not be built, unless the spot were
previously sprinkled with my blood? Speak without disguise, and declare
who discovered me to you;" then turning to the king, "I will soon," said
he, "unfold to you every thing; but I desire to question your wise men,
and wish them to disclose to you what is hidden under this pavement:" they
acknowledging their ignorance, "there is," said he, "a pool; come and
dig:" they did so, and found the pool. "Now," continued he, "tell me what
is in it;" but they were ashamed, and made no reply. "I," said the boy,
"can discover it to you: there are two vases in the pool;" they examined
and found it so: continuing his questions, "What is in the vases?" they
were silent: "there is a tent in them," said the boy; "separate them, and
you shall find it so;" this being done by the king's command, there
was found in them a folded tent. The boy, going on with his questions,
asked the wise men what was in it? But they not knowing what to reply,
"There are," said he, "two serpents, one white and the other red; unfold
the tent;" they obeyed, and two sleeping serpents were discovered;
"consider attentively," said the boy, "what they are doing." The serpents
began to struggle with each other; and the white one, raising himself up,
threw down the other into the middle of the tent, and sometimes drove him
to the edge of it; and this was repeated thrice. At length the red one,
apparently the weaker of the two, recovering his strength, expelled the
white one from the tent; and the latter being pursued through the pool by
the red one, disappeared. Then the boy, asking the wise men what was
signified by this wonderful omen, and they expressing their ignorance, he
said to the king, "I will now unfold to you the meaning of this mystery.
The pool is the emblem of this world, and the tent that of your kingdom:
the two serpents are two dragons; the red serpent is your dragon, but the
white serpent is the dragon of the people who occupy several provinces and
districts of Britain, even almost from sea to sea: at length, however, our
people shall rise and drive away the Saxon race from beyond the sea,
whence they originally came; but do you depart from this place, where you
are not permitted to erect a citadel; I, to whom fate has allotted this
mansion, shall remain here; whilst to you it is incumbent to seek other
provinces, where you may build a fortress." "What is your name?" asked the
king; "I am called Ambrose (in British Embresguletic)," returned the boy;
and in answer to the king's question, "What is your origin?" he replied,
"A Roman consul was my father." Then the king assigned him that city, with
all the western Provinces of Britain; and departing with his wise men to
the sinistral district, he arrived in the region named Gueneri, where he
built a city which, according to his name, was called Cair Guorthegirn.
[An ancient scholiast adds, "He then built Guasmoric, near Lugubalia
[Carlisle], a city which in English is called Palmecaster." Some
difference of opinion exists among antiquaries respecting the site of
vortigern's castle or city. Usher places it at Gwent, Monmouthshire, which
name, he ways, was taken from Caer-Went, near Chepstow. This appears to
agree with Geoffrey's account, {illegible} See Usher's Britan. Eccles.
cap. v. p.23. According to others, supposed to be the city from the ruins
of which arose the castle of Gurthrenion, in Radnorshire, Camden's
Britannia, p.479. Whitaker, however, says that Cair Guorthegirn was the
Maridunum of the Romans, and the present Caermarthen. (Hist. Of
Manchester, book ii. c. 1.) See also Nennius, sec.47.]
43. At length Vortimer, the
son of Vortigern, valiantly fought against Hengist, Horsa, and his people;
drove them to the isle of Thanet, and thrice enclosed them within it, and
beset them on the Western side.
The Saxons now despatched
deputies to Germany to solicit large reinforcements, and an additional
number of ships: having obtained these, they fought against the kings and
princes of Britain, and sometimes extended their boundaries by victory,
and sometimes were conquered and driven back.
44. Four times did Vortimer
valorously encounter the enemy; [Some MSS. here add, "This Vortimer, the
son of Vortigern, in a synod held at Guartherniaun, after the wicked king,
on account of the incest committed with his daughter, fled from the face
of Germanus and the British clergy, would not consent to his father's
wickedness; but returning to St. Germanus, and falling down at his feet,
he sued for pardon; and in atonement for the calumny brought upon Germanus
by his father and sister, gave him the land, in which the forementioned
bishop had endured such abuse, to be his for ever. Whence, in memory of
St. Germanus, it received the name Guarenniaun (Guartherniaun,
Gurthrenion, Gwarth Ennian) which signifies, a calumny justly retorted,
since, when he thought to reproach the bishop, he covered himself with
reproach."] the first has been mentioned, the second was upon the river
Darent, the third at the Ford, in their language called Epsford, though in
ours Set thirgabail, [According to Langhorne, Epsford was afterwards
called, in the British tongue, Saessenaeg habail, or 'the slaughter of the
Saxons.'] there Horsa fell, and Catigern, the son of Vortigern; the fourth
battle he fought was near the stone [V.R. "The stone of Titulus, thought
to be Stone in Kent, or Larger-stone in Suffolk.] on the shore of the
Gallic sea, where the Saxons being defeated, fled to their ships.
After a short interval
Vortimer died; before his decease, anxious for the future prosperity of
his country, he charged his friends to inter his body at the entrance of
the Saxon port, viz. upon the rock where the Saxons first landed; "for
though," said he, "they may inhabit other parts of Britain, yet if you
follow my commands, they will never remain in this island." They
imprudently disobeyed this last injunction, and neglected to bury him
where he had appointed. [Rapin says he was buried at Lincoln; Geoffrey, at
London.]
45. After this the
barbarians became firmly incorporated, and were assisted by foreign
pagans; for Vortigern was their friend, on account of the daughter [V.R.
Of his wife, and no one was able manfully to drive them off because they
had occupied Britain not from their own valour, but by God's permission.]
of Hengist, whom he so much loved, that no one durst fight against him-in
the meantime they soothed the imprudent king, and whilst practising every
appearance of fondness, were plotting with his enemies. And let him that
reads understand, that the Saxons were victorious, and ruled Britain, not
from their superior prowess, but on account of the great sins of the
Britons: God so permitting it.
For what wise man will
resist the wholesome counsel of God? The Almighty is the King of kings,
and the Lord of lords, ruling and judging every one, according to his own
pleasure.
After the death of
Vortimer, Hengist being strengthened by new accessions, collected his
ships, and calling his leaders together, consulted by what stratagem they
might overcome Vortigern and his army; with insidious intention they sent
messengers to the king, with offers of peace and perpetual friendship;
unsuspicious of treachery, the monarch, after advising with his elders,
accepted the proposals.
46. Hengist, under pretence
of ratifying the treaty, prepared an entertainment, to which he invited
the king, the nobles, and military officers, in number about three
hundred; speciously concealing his wicked intention, he ordered three
hundred Saxons to conceal each a knife under his feet, and to mix with the
Britons; "and when," said he, "they are sufficiently inebriated, &c. cry
out, 'Nimed eure Saxes,' then let each draw his knife, and kill his man;
but spare the king, on account of his marriage with my daughter, for it is
better that he should be ransomed than killed."
The king with his company,
appeared at the feast; and mixing with the Saxons, who, whilst they spoke
peace with their tongues, cherished treachery in their hearts, each man
was placed next to his enemy. After they had eaten and drunk, and were
much intoxicated, Hengist suddenly vociferated, "Nimed eure Saxes!"
and instantly his adherents drew their knives, and rushing upon the
Britons, each slew him that sat next to him, and there was slain three
hundred of the nobles of Vortigern. The king being a captive, purchased
his redemption, by delivering up the three provinces of East, South, and
Middle Sex, besides other districts at the option of his betrayers.
47. St. Germanus admonished
Vortigern to turn to the true God, and abstain from all unlawful
intercourse with his daughter; but the unhappy wretch fled for refuge to
the province Guorthegirnaim, [A district of Radnorshire, forming the
present hundred of Rhaiadr.] so called from his own name, where he
concealed himself with his wives: but St. Germanus followed him with all
the British clergy, and upon a rock prayed for his sins during forty days
and forty nights.
The Blessed man was
unanimously chosen commander against the Saxons. And then, not by the
clang of trumpets, but by praying, singing hallelujah, and by the cries of
the army to God, the enemies were routed, and driven even to the sea.
[V.R. This paragraph is omitted in the MSS.] Again Vortigern ignominiously
flew from St. Germanus to the kingdom of the Dimetae, where, on the river
Towy, [The Tobias of Ptolemy] he built a castle, which he named Cair
Guothergirn. The saint, as usual, followed him there, and with his clergy
fasted and prayed to the Lord three days, and as many nights. On the third
night, at the third hour, fire fell suddenly from heaven, and totally
burned the castle. Vortigern, the daughter of Hengist, his other wives,
and all the inhabitants, both men and women, miserably perished: such was
the end of this unhappy king, as we find written in the life of St.
Germanus.
48. Others assure us, that
being hated by all the people of Britain, for having received the Saxons,
and being publicly charged by St. Germanus and the clergy in the sight of
God, he betook himself to flight; and, that deserted and a wanderer, he
sought a place of refuge, till broken hearted, he made an ignominious end.
Some accounts state, that the earth opened and swallowed him up, on the
night his castle was burned; as no remains were discovered the following
morning, either of him, or of those who were burned with him.
He had three sons: the
eldest was Vortimer, who, as we have seen, fought four times against the
Saxons, and put them to flight; the second Categirn, who was slain in the
same battle with Horsa; the third was Pascent, who reigned in the two
provinces Builth and Guorthegirnaim, [In the northern part of the present
counties of Radnor and Brecknock.] after the death of his father. These
were granted him by Ambrosius, who was the great king among the kings of
Britain. The fourth was Faustus, born of an incestuous marriage with his
daughter, who was brought up and educated by St. Germanus. He built a
large monastery on the banks of the river Renis, called after his name,
and which remains to the present period. [V.R. The MSS. add, 'and he had
one daughter, who was the mother of St. Faustus.']
49. This is the genealogy
of Vortigern, which goes back to Fernvail, [Fernvail, or Farinmail,
appears to have been king of Gwent or Monmouth.] who reigned in the
kingdom of Guorthegirnaim, [V.R. 'Two provinces, Builth and
Guorthegirnaim.'] and was the son of Teudor; Teudor was the son of
Pascent; Pascent of Guoidcant; Guoidcant of Moriud; Moriud of Eltat; Eltat
of Eldoc; Eldoc of Paul; Paul of Meuprit; Meuprit of Braciat; Braciat of
Pascent; Pascent of Guorthegirn, Guorthegirn of Guortheneu; Guortheneu of
Guitaul; Guitaul of Guitolion; Guitolion of Gloui. Bonus, Paul, Mauron,
Guotelin, were four brothers, who built Gloiuda, a great city upon the
banks of the river Severn, and in Birtish is called Cair Gloui, in Saxon,
Gloucester. Enough has been said of Vortigern.
50. St. Germanus, after his
death, returned into his own country. [V.R. All this to the word 'Amen,'
in other MSS. is placed after the legend of St. Patrick.] At that time,
the Saxons greatly increased in Britain, both in strength and numbers. And
Octa, after the death of his father Hengist, came from the sinistral part
of the island to the kingdom of Kent, and from him have proceeded all the
kings of that province, to the present period.
Then it was, that the
magnanimous Arthur, with all the kings and military force of Britain,
fought against the Saxons. And though there were many more noble than
himself, yet he was twelve times chosen their commander, and was as often
conqueror. The first battle in which he was engaged, was at the mouth of
the river Gleni. [Supposed by some to be the Glem, in Lincolnshire;
but most probably the Glen, in the northern part of Northumberland.] The
second, third, fourth, and fifth, were on another river, by the Britons
called Duglas, [Or Dubglas. The little river Dunglas, which formed the
southern boundary of Lothian. Whitaker says, the river Duglas, in
Lancashire, near Wigan.] in the region Linuis. The sixth, on the river
Bassas. [Not a river, but an isolated rock in the Frith of Forth, near the
town of North Berwick, called "The Bass." Some think it is the river
Lusas, in Hampshire.] The seventh in the wood Celidon, which the Britons
call Cat Coit Celidon. [The Caledonian forest; or the forest of Englewood,
extending from Penrith to Carlisle.] The eighth was near Gurnion castle,
[Variously supposed to be in Cornwall, or Binchester in Durham, but most
probably the Roman station of Garionenum, near Yarmouth, in Norfolk.]
where Arthur bore the image of the Holy Virgin, [V.R. The image of the
cross of Christ, and of the perpetual virgin St. Mary.] mother of God,
upon his shoulders, and through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
the holy Mary, put the Saxons to flight, and pursued them the whole day
with great slaughter. [V.R. For Arthur proceeded to Jerusalem, and there
made a cross to the size of the Saviour's cross, and there it was
consecrated, and for three successive days he fasted, watched, and prayed,
before the Lord's cross, that the Lord would give him the victory, by this
sign, over the heathen; which also took place, and he took with him the
image of St. Mary, the fragments of which are still preserved in great
veneration at Wedale, in English Wodale, in Latin Vallis-doloris. Wodale
is a village in the province of Lodonesia, but now of the jurisdiction of
the bishop of St. Andrew's, of Scotland, six miles on the west of that
heretofore noble and eminent monastery of Meilros.] The ninth was at the
City of Legion, [Exeter.] which is called Cair Lion. The tenth was on the
banks of the river Trat Treuroit. [Or Ribroit, the Brue, in Somersetshire;
or the Ribble, in Lancashire. ] The eleventh was on the mountain Breguoin,
which we call Cat Bregion. [Or Agned Cathregonion, Cadbury, in
Somersetshire; or Edinburgh] The twelfth was a most severe contest, when
Arthur penetrated to the hill of Badon. [Bath.] In this engagement, nine
hundred and forty fell by his hand alone, no one but the Lord affording
him assistance. In all these engagements the Britons were successful. For
no strength can avail against the will of the Almighty.
The more the Saxons were
vanquished, the more they sought for new supplies of Saxons from Germany;
so that kings, commanders, and military bands were invited over from
almost every province. And this practice they continued till the reign of
Ida, who was the son of Eoppa, he, of the Saxon race, was the first king
in Bernicia, and in Cair Ebrauc (York).
When Gratian Aequantius was
consul at rome, because then the whole world was governed by the Roman
consuls, the Saxons were received by Vortigern in the year of our Lord
four hundred and forty-seven, and to the year in which we now write, five
hundred and forty-seven. And whosoever shall read herein may receive
instruction, the Lord Jesus Christ affording assistance, who, co-eternal
with the Father and the Holy Ghost, lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen. In those days Saint Patrick was captive among the Scots. His
master's name was Milcho, to whom he was a swineherd for seven years. When
he had attained the age of seventeen he gave him his liberty. By the
divine impulse, he applied himself to reading of the Scriptures, and
afterwards went to Rome; where, replenished with the Holy Spirit, he
continued a great while, studying the sacred mysteries of those writings.
During his continuance there, Palladius, the first bishop, was sent by
pope Celestine to convert the Scots [the Irish]. But tempests and signs
from God prevented his landing, for no one can arrive in any country,
except it be allowed from above; altering therefore his course from
Ireland, he came to Britain and died in the land of the Picts. [At Fordun,
in the district of Mearns, in Scotland-Usher.]
51. The death of Palladius
being known, the Roman patricians, Theodosius and Valentinian, then
reigning, pope Celestine sent Patrick to convert the Scots to the faith of
the Holy Trinity; Victor, the angel of God, accompanying, admonishing, and
assisting him, and also the bishop Germanus.
Germanus then sent the
ancient Segerus with him as a venerable and praiseworthy bishop, to king
Amatheus, [V.R. Germanus "sent the elder Segerus with him to a wonderful
man, the holy bishop Amathearex." Another MS. "Sent the elder Segerus, a
bishop, with him to Amatheorex."] who lived near, and who had prescience
of what was to happen; he was consecrated bishop in the reign of that king
by the holy pontiff, [V.R. "Received the episcopal degree from the holy
bishop Amatheorex." Another MS. "Received the episcopal degree from
Matheorex and the holy bishop."] assuming the name of Patrick, having
hitherto been known by that of Maun; Auxilius, Isserninus, and other
brothers were ordained with him to inferior degrees.
52. Having distributed
benedictions, and perfected all in the name of the Holy Trinity, he
embarked on the sea which is between the Gauls and the Britons; and after
a quick passage arrived in Britain, where he preached for some time. Every
necessary preparation being made, and the angel giving him warning, he
came to the Irish Sea. And having filled the ship with foreign gifts and
spiritual treasures, by the permission of God he arrived in Ireland, where
he baptized and preached.
53. From the beginning of
the world, to the fifth year of king Logiore, when the Irish were
baptized, and faith in the unity of the individual Trinity was published
to them, are five thousand three hundred and thirty years.
54. Saint Patrick taught
the gospel in foreign nations for the space of forty years. Endued with
apostolical powers, he gave sight to the blind, cleansed the lepers, gave
hearing to the deaf, cast out devils, raised nine from the dead, redeemed
many captives of both sexes at his own charge, and set them free in the
name of the Holy Trinity. He taught the servants of God, and he wrote
three hundred and sixty-five canonical and other books relating to the
catholic faith. He founded as many churches, and consecrated the same
number of bishops, strengthening them with the Holy Ghost. He ordained
three thousand presbyters; and converted and baptized twelve thousand
persons in the province of Connaught. And, in one day baptized seven
kings, who were the seven sons of Amalgaid. [King of Connaught.] He
continued fasting forty days and nights, on the summit of the mountain
Eli, that is Cruachan-Aichle; [A mountain in the west of Connaught, county
of Mayo, now called Croagh-Patrick.] and preferred three petitions to God
for the Irish, that had embraced the faith. The Scots say, the first was,
that he would receive every repenting sinner, even at the latest extremity
of life; the second, that they should never be exterminated by barbarians;
and the third, that as Ireland [V.R. that no Irishman may be alive on the
day of judgment, because they will be destroyed seven years before in
honour of St. Patrick.] will be overflowed with water, seven years before
the coming of our Lord to judge the quick and the dead, the crimes of the
people might be washed away through his intercession, and their souls
purified at the last day. He gave the people his benediction from the
upper part of the mountain, and going up higher, that he might pray for
them; and that if it pleased God, he might see the effects of his labours,
there appeared to him an innumerable flock of birds of many coulours,
signifying the number of holy persons of both sexes of the Irish nation,
who should come to him as their apostle at the day of judgment, to be
presented before the tribunal of Christ. After a life spent in the active
exertion of good to mankind, St. Patrick, in a healthy old age, passed
from this world to the Lord, and changing this life for a better, with the
saints and elect of God he rejoices for evermore.
55. Saint Patrick resembled
Moses in four particulars. The angel spoke to him in the burning bush. He
fasted forty days and forty nights upon the mountain. He attained the
period of one hundred and twenty years. No one knows his sepulchre, nor
where he was buried; sixteen [ V.R. Fifteen.] years he was in captivity.
In his twenty-fifth year, he was consecrated bishop by Saint Matheus,
[V.R. By the holy bishop Amatheus.] and he was eighty-five years the
apostle of the Irish. It might be profitable to treat more at large of the
life of this saint, but it is now time to conclude this epitome of his
labours.[Here ends the Vatican MS. collated by Mr. Gunn.]
[Here endeth the life of
the holy bishop, Saint Patrick.] (After this, the MSS. give as 56., the
legend of king Arthur, which in this edition occurs in 50.)
Genealogy of the kings of
Bernicia. [These titles are not part of the original work, but added in
the MSS. by a later hand.]
57. Woden begat Beldeg, who
begat Beornec, who begat Gethbrond, who begat Aluson, who begat Ingwi, who
begat Edibrith, who begat Esa, who begat Eoppa, who begat Ida. But Ida had
twelve sons, Adda, Belric, Theodric, Ethelric, Theodhere, Osmer, and one
queen, Bearnoch, Ealric. Ethelric begat Ethelfrid: the same is
Aedlfred Flesaur. For he also had seven sons, Eanfrid, Oswald, Oswin,
Oswy, Oswudu, Oslac, Offa. Oswy begat Alfrid, Elfwin, and Egfrid. Egfrid
is he who made war against his cousin Brudei, king of the Picts, and he
fell therein with all the strength of his army, and the Picts with their
king gained the victory; and the Saxons never again reduced the Picts so
as to exact tribute from them. Since the time of this war it is called
Gueithlin Garan. But Oswy had two wives, Riemmelth, the daughter of Royth,
son of Rum; and Eanfled, the daughter of Edwin, son of Alla.
The genealogy of the kings
of Kent.
58. Hengist begat Octa, who
begat Ossa, who begat Eormenric, who begat Ethelbert, who begat Eadbald,
who begat Ercombert, who begat Egbert.
The origin of the kings of
East-Anglia.
59. Woden begat Casser, who
begat Titinon, who begat Trigil, who begat Rodmunt, who begat Rippa, who
begat Guillem Guercha, [Guercha is a distortion of the name of Uffa, or
Wuffa, arising in the first instance from the pronunciation of the British
writer; and in the next place from the error of the
transcriber--Palgrave.] who was the first king of the East Angles. Guercha
begat Uffa, who begat Tytillus, who begat Eni, who begat Edric, who begat
Aldwulf, who begat Elric.
The genealogy of the
Mercians.
60. Woden begat Guedolgeat,
who begat Gueagon, who begat Guithleg, who begat Guerdmund, who begat
Ossa, who begat Ongen, who begat Eamer, who begat Pubba. [Or Wibba.] This
Pubba had twelve sons, of whom two are better known to me than the others,
that is Penda and Eawa. Eadlit is the son of Pantha, Penda, son of Pubba,
Ealbald, son of Alguing, son of Eawa, son of Penda, son of Pubba. Egfert,
son of Offa, son of Thingferth, son of Enwulf, son of Ossulf, son of Eawa,
son of Pubba.
The kings of the Deiri.
61. Woden begat Beldeg,
Brond begat Siggar, who begat Sibald, who begat Zegulf, who begat Soemil,
who first separated [V.R. Conquered.] Deur from Berneich (Deira from
Bernicia.) Soemil begat Sguerthing, who begat Giulglis, who begat Ulfrea,
who begat Iffi, who begat Ulli, Edwin, Osfrid and Eanfrid. There were two
sons of Edwin, who fell with him in battle at Meicen, [Hatfield, in the
West Riding of Yorkshire. See Bede's Eccles. Hist.] and the kingdom was
never renewed in his family, because not one of his race escaped from that
war; but all were slain with him by the army of Catguollaunus, [Cadwalla,
king of the Western Britons.] king of the Guendota. Oswy begat Egfrid, the
same is Ailguin, who begat Oslach, sho begat Alhun, who begat Adlsing, who
begat Echun, who begat Oslaph. Ida begat Eadric, who begat Ecgulf, who
begat Leodwald, who begat Eata, the same is Glinmaur, who begat Eadbert
and Egbert, who was the first bishop of their nation.
Ida, the son of Eoppa,
possessed countries on the left-hand side of Britain, i.e. of the Humbrian
sea, and reigned twelve years, and united [V.R. United the castle, i.e.
Dinguerin and Gurdbernech, which two countries were in one country, i.e.
Deurabernech; Anglice Diera and Bernicia. Another MS. Built Dinguayrh
Guarth Berneich.] Dynguayth Guarth-Berneich.
62. Then Dutgirn at that
time fought bravely against the nation of the Angles. At that time,
Talhaiarn Cataguen [Talhaiarn was a descendant of Coel Godebog, and
chaplain to Ambrosius.] was famed for poetry, and Neirin, and Taliesin and
Bluchbard, and Cian, who is called Guenith Guaut, were all famous at the
same time in British poetry.
The great king, Mailcun,
[Better known as Maelgwn.] reigned among the Britons, i.e. in the district
of Guenedota, because his great-great-grandfather, Cunedda, with his
twelve sons, had come before from the left-hand part, i.e. from the
country which is called Manau Gustodin, one hundred and forty-six years
before Mailcun reigned, and expelled the Scots with much slaughter from
those countries, and they never returned again to inhabit them.
63. Adda, son of Ida,
reigned eight years; Ethelric, son of Adda, reigned four years. Theodoric,
son of Ida, reigned seven years. Freothwulf reigned six years. In whose
time the kingdom of Kent, by the mission of Gregory, received baptism.
Hussa reigned seven years. Against him fought four kings, Urien, and
Ryderthen, and Guallauc, and Morcant. Theodoric fought bravely, together
with his sons, against that Urien. But at that time sometimes the enemy
and sometimes our countrymen were defeated, and he shut them up three days
and three nights in the island of Metcaut; and whilst he was on an
expedition he was murdered, at the instance of Morcant, out of envy,
because he possessed so much superiority over all the kings in military
science. Eadfered Flesaurs reigned twelve years in Bernicia, and twelve
others in Deira, and gave to his wife Bebba, the town of Dynguaroy, which
from her is called Bebbanburg. [Bambrough. See Bede, iii. 6, and Sax.
Chron. A.D. 547.]
Edwin, son of Alla, reigned
seventeen years, seized on Elmete, and expelled Cerdic, its king. Eanfled,
his duaghter, received baptism, on the twelfth day after Pentecost, with
all her followers, both men and women. The following Easter Edwin himself
received baptism, and twelve thousand of his subjects with him. If any one
wishes to know who baptized them, it was Rum Map Urbgen: [See Bede's
Eccles. Hist. From the share which Paulinus had in the conversion of the
Northumbrian king, it has been inferred that he actaully baptized him; but
Nennius experssly states, that the holy sacrament was administered by
Rhun, the son of Urien. The Welsh name of Paulinus is Pawl Hen, or Polin
Eagob. ] he was engaged forty days in baptizing all classes of the Saxons,
and by his preaching many believed on Christ.
64. Oswald son of
Ethelfrid, reigned nine years; the same is Oswald Llauiguin; [Llauiguin,
means the "fair," or the "bounteous hand."] he slew Catgublaun (Cadwalla),
[This name has been variously written; Bede spells it Caedualla
(Cadwalla); Nennius, Catgublaun; the Saxon Chronicle, Ceadwalla; and the
Welsh writers, Cadwallon and Kalwallawn: and though the identity of the
person may be clearly proved, it is necessary to observe these particulars
to distinguish him from Cadwaladr, and from another Caedualla or
Caedwalla, a king of the West Saxons; all of whom, as they lived within a
short time of each other, have been frequently confounded
together.--Rees's Welsh Saints.] king of Guenedot, [Gwynedd, North Wales.]
in the battle of Catscaul, [Bede says at Denis's brook.] with much loss to
his own army. Oswy, son of Ethelfrid, reigned twenty-eight years and six
months. During his reign, there was a dreadful mortality among his
subjects, when Catgualart (Cadwallader) was king among the Britons,
succeeding his father, and he himself died amongst the rest.[The British
chronicles assert that Cadwallader died at Rome, whilst Nennius would lead
us to conclude that he perished in the pestilence at home.] He slew Penda
in the field of Gai, and now took place the slaughter of Gai Campi, and
the kings of the Britons, who went out with Penda on the expedition as far
as the city of Judeu, were slain.
65. Then Oswy restored all
the wealth, which was with him in the city, to Penda; who distributed it
among the kings of the Britons, that is Atbert Judeu. But Catgabail alone,
king of Guenedot, rising up in the night, excaped, together with his army,
wherefore he was called Catgabail Catguommed. Egfrid, son of Oswy, reigned
nine years. In his time the holy bishop Cuthbert died in the island of
Medcaut. [The isle of Farne] It was he who made war against the Picts, and
was by them slain.
Penda, son of Pybba,
reigned ten years; he first separated the kingdom of Mercia from that of
the North-men, and slew by treachery Anna, king of the East Anglians, and
St. Oswald, king of the North Men. He fought the battle of Cocboy, in
which fell Eawa, son of Pybba, his brother, king of the Mercians, and
Oswald, king of the North-men, and he gained the victory by diabolical
agency. He was not baptized, and never believed in God.
66. From the beginning of
the world to Constantinus and Rufus, are found to be five thousand
six hundred and fifty-eight years. Also from the two consuls, Rufus and
Rubelius, to the consul Stilicho, are three hundred and seventy-three
years. Also from Stilicho to Valentinian, son of Placida, and the reign of
Vortigern, are twenty-eight years. And from the reign of Vortigern to the
quarrel between Guitolinus and Ambrosius, are twelve years, which is
Guoloppum, that is Catgwaloph. [In Carmarthenshire. Perhaps the town now
called Kidwelly.] Vortigern reigned in Britain when Theodosius and
Valentinian were consuls, and in the fourth year of his reign the Saxons
came to Britain, in the consulship of Felix and Taurus, in the four
hundredth year from the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
From the year in which the
Saxons came into Britain, and were received by Vortigern, to the time of
Decius and Valerian, are sixty-nine years.
End of History Of The
Britons, by Nennius |
