Who was the semi-legendary Anglo-Saxon ruler of Kent of the 5th century, who along with his brother Horsa, was hired by the British warlord Vortigern to fight against the Picts?
"pseudo-historical twelfth century work ""The History of the Kings of Britain"", Geoffrey of Monmouth adapted and greatly expanded the account in the ""History of the Britons"". Hengist and Horsa appear in books 6 and 8: Geoffrey records that three brigandines or long galleys arrived in Kent, full of armed men and commanded by two brothers, Hengist and Horsa. Vortigern was then staying at Dorobernia (Canterbury), and ordered that the ""tall strangers"" be received peacefully and brought to him. When Vortigern saw the company, he immediately observed that the brothers ""excelled all the rest both in nobility and in gracefulness of"
"the burial site of Catigern, brother of Vortimer and son of Vortigern following a battle with the Saxon Horsa in the mid fifth century AD - listed in the ""Anglo-Saxon Chronicle"" as taking place in 455 AD. In 1947, one of the stones from the kerb was removed. Some Countless Stones, also known as Little Kit's Coty House lie 450m to the south at 51°18'57.64""N 0°30'4.93""E. They are a group of about 20 sarsen stones in a tight cluster. These are the remains of a burial mound which was damaged in 1690, before reliable records were made. The name ""Kits"
"Catigern Catigern () is a figure of Welsh tradition, said to be a son of Vortigern, the tyrannical King of the Britons, and the brother of Vortimer. A figure of this name also appears in the Welsh genealogies, though he is given different parentage. Catigern is nearly exclusively known for a tradition in which he fell in battle with the Saxons. The earliest mention of Catigern appears in the ""Historia Brittonum"", written in the 9th century and attributed to the monk Nennius. Chapters 43–45 say that after the British king Vortigern had been appeasing the Saxons, his son Vortimer rose"
"arose in Kent due to a dispute between Hengest and Vortigern's son. After losing several battles, the Saxons finally defeated the British by treacherously attacking them once the two parties had convened for a meeting. Some additional details of the Hengest and Horsa legend are found in the ""Anglo-Saxon Chronicle"". The ""Chronicle"" then records subsequent Saxon arrivals, including that of Cerdic, the founder of Wessex, in 495. The ""Anglo-Saxon Chronicle"", the primary written source for the founding of Wessex, states that Cerdic and Cynric landed in Britain with five ships in 495. Although the entry mentions Cynric as Cerdic's son,"
"Ohthere Ohthere (also ""Ohtere""), Old Norse Óttarr vendilkráka (""Vendelcrow""; in Modern Swedish ""Ottar Vendelkråka"") is a semi-legendary king of Sweden of the house of Scylfings, who would have lived during the 6th century (fl. c. 515 – c. 530). His name can be reconstructed as Proto-Norse *""Ōhta-harjaz"" or *""Ōhtu-harjaz"". The ""harjaz"" element is common in Germanic names and has a meaning of ""warrior, army"" (whence English ""harry""); by contrast, the ""oht"" element is less frequent, and has been tentatively interpreted as ""fearsome, feared"". A prince of the Swedes, Ohthere and his brother Onela conducted successful raids against the Geats after"
"a minor character in William Henry Ireland's play ""Vortigern and Rowena"", which was initially touted as a lost work by William Shakespeare. The Neolithic chamber tomb of Kit's Coty House, located near Aylesford, is identified with Catigern's tomb in local legend. Catigern Catigern () is a figure of Welsh tradition, said to be a son of Vortigern, the tyrannical King of the Britons, and the brother of Vortimer. A figure of this name also appears in the Welsh genealogies, though he is given different parentage. Catigern is nearly exclusively known for a tradition in which he fell in battle with"
"against the enemy and engaged them in four battles. At the third of these, the Battle of Epsford (Aylesford), Catigern fell, as did the Saxon leader Horsa. Chapter 48 also mentions Catigern, naming him as Vortigern's second son, after Vortimer and before Pascent and Faustus, and reiterates that he died in the same battle as Horsa. Neither mention is clear as to which side Catigern served on, but context implies he was fighting alongside his brother against the Saxons. The ""Anglo-Saxon Chronicle"" describes this battle and the death of Horsa in the entry for 455, though it does not mention"
"Near the middle of the fifth century the invasions begot a degree of permanent Germanic control, when according to a legend that is perhaps grounded in rudimentary fact, the mercenary brothers Hengist and Horsa, recruited from the Germanic tribes by a British king, turned against him, plundered the island, and established rule in Kent. At some time, according to an assertion made by Bede and backed up by similarities in the grave goods, the Kentish population seems to have also formed a settlement on the Isle of Wight and another across the Solent, near Southampton Water. A story in the"
"became credited with real deeds in the distant past. They cite parallels with figures such as the Kentish Hengist and Horsa, who may be totemic horse-gods that later became historicised. Bede ascribed to these legendary figures a historical role in the 5th-century Anglo-Saxon conquest of eastern Britain. It is not even certain that Arthur was considered a king in the early texts. Neither the ""Historia"" nor the ""Annales"" calls him """"rex"""": the former calls him instead """"dux bellorum"""" (leader of battles) and """"miles"""" (soldier). Historical documents for the post-Roman period are scarce, so a definitive answer to the question of"
"cannot either be said with certainty to be a true prehistoric megalith. Folkloric local stories have become attached to the White Horse Stones and nearby Kit's Coty House, related to a legendary 6th century battle between Anglo-Saxons led by Hengist and Horsa, and a British group led by Vortimer. The Anglo-Saxon chronicle records a battle at Aylesford (two miles from the site), but this, and other medieval sources, do not mention the stones. In 1576, William Lambarde proposed that Kit's Coty House marked the grave of the British leader's brother, Categern, and suggested that Horsa's grave was located at the"
"depicted fighting the Picts and the Scots in the north. Astier’s Arthur, by contrast, apparently stays close to his fortress Kaamelott, where he is attacked by Angles and Saxons but also by Attila and his Hun, Burgundians, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Vikings, Visigoths—just about every ""barbarian"" people that was on the move in Europe then (though Attila was active earlier and the Vikings later), except for the Franks, ancestors of the French (though a historically Frankish leader, Chlodoric, does lead ""barbarians"" against Arthur). The Picts, however, represented by Arthur’s mother-in-law Séli, and the Irish, represented by a federated king, are Arthur’s allies"
"expanded upon in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ""Historia regum Britanniae"", a fictional account of the rulers of Britain. There the Britons abandon Vortigern and elevate Vortimer to be king of Britain. After he has driven out the Saxons, Vortimer is poisoned by his stepmother Rowena (a Saxon) and Vortigern regains the crown. Vortimer Vortimer (Old Welsh Guorthemir, ), also known as Saint Vortimer (, ""Vortimer the Blessed""), is a figure in British tradition, a son of the 5th-century Britonnic ruler Vortigern. He is remembered for his fierce opposition to his father's Saxon allies. In Geoffrey of Monmouth's ""Historia Regum Britanniae"", he"
"had been permitted to settle in these areas as farmers. According to tradition, the Saxons (and other tribes) first entered Britain en masse as part of an agreement to protect the Britons from the incursions of the Picts, Gaels and others. The story, as reported in such sources as the ""Historia Brittonum"" and Gildas, indicates that the British king Vortigern allowed the Germanic warlords, later named as Hengist and Horsa by Bede, to settle their people on the Isle of Thanet in exchange for their service as mercenaries. According to Bede, Hengist manipulated Vortigern into granting more land and allowing"
"contributed armies, generals, and maybe an emperor to the Roman empire; but in ""Kaamelott,"" Britain is an aggregate of kingdoms which perceives Rome as an occupying force and Arthur perhaps as a Pétain for having made peace with the Romans. The enemies of the historical Britons in the 5th century were the Picts to the north, the Irish (aka the Scots), and the north-Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons, and Jutes) who had originally been brought in as mercenaries to fight the Picts. Arthur enters history as the victor of twelve battles of the British against the Saxons and is also often"
"Hengist succeeded him as king, followed in turn by his son Æsc. In 456 Hengest and Æsc battled the Britons at Crecganford (probably Crayford). The Britons then fled Kent for their London stronghold. A similar account is provided in Bede's ""Ecclesiastical History"": that the people of Kent and Isle of Wight were descended from Jutish settlers, and that Horsa was killed in battle against the Britons, adding that his body was buried in east Kent. The accuracy of these accounts is questioned; S. E. Kelly states that ""the legendary details are easy to dismiss"". Scholars often view Hengist and Horsa"
"Ambrosius Aurelianus Ambrosius Aurelianus (; Anglicised as Ambrose Aurelian and called Aurelius Ambrosius in the ""Historia Regum Britanniae"" and elsewhere) was a war leader of the Romano-British who won an important battle against the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century, according to Gildas. He also appeared independently in the legends of the Britons, beginning with the 9th-century ""Historia Brittonum"". Eventually he was transformed into the uncle of King Arthur, the brother of Arthur's father Uther Pendragon, and predeceases them both. Due to Gildas' description of him, Ambrosius is one of the figures called the Last of the Romans. Ambrosius Aurelianus is"
"repeatedly stripped of troops to support usurpers' claims to the Roman empire, and after 410 the Roman armies never returned. Sources for events after this date are extremely scarce, but a tradition, reported as early as the mid-6th century by a British priest named Gildas, records that the British sent for help against the barbarians to Aetius, a Roman consul, probably in the late 440s. No help came. Subsequently, a British leader named Vortigern is supposed to have invited continental mercenaries to help fight the Picts who were attacking from the north. The leaders, whose names are recorded as Hengest"
"Octa of Kent Octa (or Octha) (c. 500 – 543) was an Anglo-Saxon King of Kent during the 6th century. Sources disagree on his relationship to the other kings in his line; he may have been the son of Hengist or Oisc, and may have been the father of Oisc or Eormenric. The dates of his reign are unclear, but he may have ruled from 512 to 534 or from 516 to 540. Despite his shadowy recorded history Octa made an impact on the Britons, who describe his deeds in several sources. The 9th-century ""Anglo-Saxon Chronicle"", one of the most"
"Horsa. When Bede wrote his ""Ecclesiastical History of the English People"", he adapted Gildas's narrative and added details, such as the names of those involved. To the ""proud tyrant"" he gave the name Vortigern, and the Saxon commanders he named Hengest and Horsa. Further details were added to the story in the ""Historia Brittonum"", which was partially written by Nennius. According to the ""Historia"", Hengest and Horsa fought the invaders of Britain under the condition of gaining the Island of Thanet. The daughter of Hengest, Rowena, later arrived on a ship of reinforcements, and Vortigern married her. However, a war"
"Eorcenberht of Kent Eorcenberht of Kent (also Ærconberht, Earconberht, or Earconbert) (died 14 July 664) was king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Kent from 640 until his death, succeeding his father Eadbald. The Kentish Royal Legend (also known as the Mildrith legend) suggests that he was the younger son of Eadbald and Emma of Austrasia, and that his older brother Eormenred was deliberately passed over, although another possibility is that they ruled jointly. According to Bede (""HE"" III.8), Eorcenberht was the first king in Britain to command that pagan ""idols"" (cult images) be destroyed and that Lent be observed. It"
"was based on the battle standard of two Saxon chiefs, Hengist (stallion) and Horsa (horse) who invaded Britain more than 1,400 years ago, landing at Ebbsfleet in 449 AD. On the crowning of Hengist's son, Eric, as the first King of Kent, their standard, a white horse known as Invicta, became the emblem of Kent. It was adopted in more modern times as the ensign of Kentish Units in the British Army. Kent has always been the principal hop growing area of the UK, and John Tooth was born in Kent. He made the white horse rampant his company's trademark."
"Saxons, but on account of his wife he would not. Consequently, his subjects turned against him and took his son Vortimer for their king. The Saxons and the Britons, led by Vortimer, met in four battles. In the second, Horsa and Vortimer's brother, Catigern, slew one another. By the fourth battle, the Saxons had fled to Thanet, where Vortimer besieged them. When the Saxons could no longer bear the British onslaughts, they sent out Vortigern to ask his son to allow them safe passage back to Germany. While discussions were taking place, the Saxons boarded their ships and left, leaving"
"earlier than now thought accurate. The first record of a battle fought by Ceawlin is in 556, when he and his father, Cynric, fought the native Britons at ""Beran byrg"", or Bera's Stronghold. This now is identified as Barbury Castle, an Iron Age hill fort in Wiltshire, near Swindon. Cynric would have been king of Wessex at this time. The first battle Ceawlin fought as king is dated by the ""Chronicle"" to 568, when he and Cutha fought with Æthelberht, the king of Kent. The entry says ""Here Ceawlin and Cutha fought against Aethelberht and drove him into Kent; and"
"King Arthur King Arthur was a legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the late 5th and early 6th centuries. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical existence is debated and disputed by modern historians. The sparse historical background of Arthur is gleaned from various sources, including the ""Annales Cambriae"", the ""Historia Brittonum"", and the writings of Gildas. Arthur's name also occurs in early poetic sources such as ""Y Gododdin"". Arthur is a central figure in the legends making"
"was established under Egbert who extended control west into Cornwall before defeating the Mercians at the Battle of Ellendun in 825. Four years later, he received submission and tribute from the Northumbrian king, Eanred. The history of the fifth and sixth centuries is particularly difficult to access, peppered with a mixture of mythology, such as the characters of Hengist and Horsa, and legend, such as St Germanus's so-called ""Alleluia Victory"" against the Heathens, and half-remembered history, such as the exploits of Ambrosius Aurelianus and King Arthur. However, the belief that the Saxons wiped or drove out all the native Britons"
"Wecta Wecta (Old English: ""Wægdæg"", Old Norse: ""Vegdagr"") is mentioned in the ""Anglo-Saxon Chronicle"" and the ""Historia Brittonum"". Wecta is considered mythological, though he shows up in the genealogies as a Saxon ancestor of Hengest and Horsa and the kings of Kent, as well as of Aella of Deira and his son Edwin of Northumbria. Wecta appears in the ""Prologue to the Prose Edda"" as Vegdeg, one of Woden's sons, a mighty king who ruled East Saxony. Although Wecta is mentioned as the father of Witta and the grandfather of Wihtgils in the ""Anglo-Saxon Chronicle"" and the ""Historia Brittonum"", the"
"They continue their fight and the red dragon finally defeats the white dragon. The boy tells Vortigern that the white dragon symbolises the Saxons and that the red dragon symbolises the people of Vortigern. If Vortigern is accepted to have lived in the 5th century, then these people are the British whom the Saxons failed to subdue and who became the Welsh. The same story is repeated in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ""History of the Kings of Britain"", where the red dragon is also a prophecy of the coming of King Arthur. Note that Arthur's father was named Uther Pendragon ('Pendragon':"
"Eormenric of Kent Eormenric of Kent was King of Kent from c. 534/540 to 564/580. His father may have been Octa of Kent, whom Eormenric succeeded. His son, Æthelberht of Kent, in turn succeeded him around 580/590, according to the ""Anglo-Saxon Chronicle"". Gregory of Tours records that the marriage of Æthelberht to a Frankish princess, Bertha, took place while he was ""filius regis"" (the son of the king), most likely during the reign of his father, whom the genealogies name Eormenric. Therefore, Eormenric can be regarded as the first historical King of Kent. As the date of the marriage is"
"Brittany. In Kent, it is likely that some the Romano-British population remained, as the Roman name for the area, ""Cantiaca"", influenced the name of the new Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the ""Cantware"" (""dwellers of Kent""). The Germanic migration to Britain is noted in textual sources from the late Anglo-Saxon period, most notably Bede's ""Ecclesiastical History of the English People"" and the ""Anglo-Saxon Chronicle""; both rely on oral histories from the fifth century, and were attempts to establish origin myths that would justify the politics of the time. According to the ""Anglo-Saxon Chronicle"", a ""king of the Britons"" known as Vortigern invited two"
"instead interpret the mournful stallion (Old English ""hengist"") at the centre of the right panel as representing Hengist, who, with his brother Horsa, first led the Old Saxons, Angles, and Jutes into Britain, and eventually became the first Anglo-Saxon king in England, according to both Bede's ""Ecclesiastical History of the English People"" and the ""Anglo-Saxon Chronicle"". The miniature person inside the burial mound he grieves over would then be Horsa, who died at the battle of ""Ægelesthrep"" in 455 A.D. and was buried in a flint tumulus at Horsted near Aylesford. Bouman suggests that the female mourner could then be"
"the Roman education of a ""rhetor"", a source of his elaborated and difficult Latin. Gildas' narrative describes the Britons as being too impious and plagued by infighting to fend off the Picts and Scots. They managed some successes against the invaders when they placed their faith in God's hands, but they were usually left to suffer greatly. Gildas mentions a ""proud tyrant"" who Bede names as Vortigern as the person who originally invited Germanic mercenaries to defend the borders, but the identification of this actual historical person has not yet established, so the actual dating of the start of Saxon"
"is Arthur's wizard who, unlike in other works, Arthur treats without reverence; at the end of the novel, while Arthur rants about ""being remembered"" he conjures a vision of the Grail. Cerdic is depicted as a British king allied with the Saxons. The conflict between Vortigern, Hengst and Horsa is mentioned as backstory, with ""Vortigern"" explained as the British term for high king; the king's real name was Vitalis. Arthur's father Uther is also mentioned; both he and Arthur are called Pendragon after their hereditary draco war standard. A review in Publishers Weekly called the novel ""a grim, gritty and"
"offers them provisions in exchange for their service as mercenaries. Vortigern soon proves to be an ""ignorant king"", and the wily Hengest manipulates him into ceding over more land and allowing more settlers to come from Germania. After a dire period of Saxon encroachment, exacerbated by even more disgraceful behavior on Vortigern's part, Vortimer finally rises up against the Saxons. He pushes them back to Thanet, and meets them in four battles. At the third battle Horsa and Vortimer's brother Catigern are slain; at the fourth the Saxons are pushed back to sea. Shortly thereafter, however, Vortimer dies. He asks"