CHAP. XIV.- —THE BRITONS, COMPELLED BY FAMINE, DROVE

THE BARBARIANS OUT OF THEIR TERRITORIES; SOON AFTER
THERE ENSUED PLENTY OF CORN, LUXURY, PLAGUE, AND THE
SUBVERSION OF THE NATION.

recover their

In the meantime, the aforesaid famine distressing the The Britons Britons more and more, and leaving to posterity lasting courage." memorials of its mischievous effects, obliged many of them to submit themselves to the depredators; though others still held out, confiding in the Divine assistance, when none was to be had from men. These continually made excursions from the mountains, caves, and woods, and, at length, began to inflict severe losses on their enemies, who had been for so many years plundering the country. The Irish robbers thereupon returned home, in order to come again soon after. The Picts, both then and afterwards, remained quiet in the farthest part of the island; save that, sometimes, they would do some mischief, and carry off booty from the Britons.

When, however, the ravages of the enemy at length ceased, the island began to abound with such plenty of grain as had never been known in any age before; with plenty, luxury increased, and this was immediately attended with all sorts of crimes; in particular, cruelty, hatred of truth, and love of falsehood; insomuch, that if any one among them happened to be milder than the rest, and inclined to truth, all the rest abhorred and persecuted him, as if he had been the enemy of his country. Nor were the laity only guilty of these things, but even our Lord's own flock, and his pastors also, addicting themselves to drunkenness, animosity, litigiousness, contention, envy, and other such like crimes, and casting off the light yoke of Christ. In the meantime, on a sudden, a severe plague fell upon that corrupt generation, which soon destroyed such numbers of them, that the living were scarcely sufficient to bury the dead:

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dem suorum nec timore mortis hi, qui supererant, a morte animæ, qua peccando sternebantur, revocari poterant; unde non multo post acrior gentem peccatricem ultio diri sceleris secuta est. Initum namque est consilium quid agendum, ubi quærendum esset præsidium ad evitandas vel repellendas tam feras tamque creberrimas gentium aquilonalium irruptiones, placuitque omnibus cum suo rege Vortigerno, ut Saxonum gentem de transmarinis partibus in auxilium vocarent; quod Domini nutu dispositum esse constat, ut veniret contra improbos malum, sicut evidentius rerum exitus probavit.

CAP. XV.-UT INVITATA BRITANNIAM GENS

ANGLORUM

PRIMO QUIDEM ADVERSARIOS LONGIUS EJECERIT; SED NON MULTO POST, JUNCTO CUM HIS FEDERE, IN SOCIOS ARMA VERTERIT.

ANNO ab incarnatione Domini quadringentesimo quadragesimo nono, Marcianus cum Valentiniano, quadragesimus sextus ab Augusto, regnum adeptus, septem annis tenuit. Tunc Anglorum sive Saxonum gens, invitata a rege præfato, in Britanniam tribus longis navibus advehitur, et in orientali parte insulæ, jubente eodem rege, locum manendi, quasi pro patria pugnatura, re autem vera hanc expugnatura, suscepit. Inito ergo certamine cum hostibus, qui ab aquilone ad aciem venerant, victoriam sumsere Saxones. Quod ubi domi nunciatum est, simul et insulæ fertilitas ac segnitia Britonum, mittitur confestim illo classis prolixior armatorum ferens manum fortiorem, quæ præmissæ adjuncta cohorti invincibilem fecit exercitum. Susceperunt ergo qui advenerunt, donantibus Britannis, locum habitationis inter eos, ea conditione ut hi pro patriæ pace et salute contra adver

yet, those that survived, could not be withdrawn from the spiritual death, which their sins had incurred, either by the death of their friends, or the fear of their own. Whereupon, not long after, a more severe vengeance, for their horrid wickedness, fell upon the sinful nation. They consulted what was to be done, and where they should seek assistance to prevent or repel the cruel and frequent incursions of the northern nations; and they all, agreed with their King Vortigern to call over to their aid from the parts beyond the sea, the Saxon nation; which, as The Saxons the event still more evidently showed, appears to have A.D. 447. been done by the appointment of our Lord himself, that evil might fall upon them for their wicked deeds.

CHAP. XV. THE ANGLES BEING INVITED INTO BRITAIN,
AT FIRST OBLIGED THE ENEMY TO RETIRE TO A DISTANCE;
BUT NOT LONG AFTER, JOINING IN LEAGUE WITH THEM,

TURNED THEIR WEAPONS UPON THEIR CONFEDERATES.

invited.

arrive.

In the year of our Lord 449, Martian being made em- The Saxons peror with Valentinian, and the forty-sixth from Au- A.D. 449. gustus, ruled the empire seven years. Then the nation of the Angles, or Saxons, being invited by the aforesaid king, arrived in Britain with three long ships, and had a place assigned them to reside in by the same king, in the eastern part of the island, that they might thus appear to be fighting for their country, whilst their real intentions were to enslave it. Accordingly they engaged with the enemy, who were come from the north to give battle, and obtained the victory; which being known at home in their own country, as also the fertility of the island, and the cowardice of the Britons, a more considerable fleet was quickly sent over, bringing a still greater number of men, which, being added to the former, made up an invincible army. The new comers received of the Britons a place to inhabit, upon condition that they should wage war against their enemies for the peace and

sarios militarent, illi militantibus debita stipendia conferrent.

Advenerant autem de tribus Germaniæ populis fortioribus, id est, Saxonibus, Anglis, Jutis. De Jutarum origine sunt Cantuarii et Vectuarii, hoc est, ea gens quæ Vectam tenet insulam, et ea quæ usque hodie in provincia Occidentalium Saxonum Jutarum natio nominatur, posita contra ipsam insulam Vectam. De Saxonibus, id est, ea regione, quæ nunc Antiquorum Saxonum cognominatur, venere Orientales Saxones, Meridiani Saxones, Occidui Saxones. Porro de Anglis, hoc est, de illa patria quæ Anglia dicitur, et ab eo tempore usque hodie manere deserta inter provincias Jutarum et Saxonum perhibetur, Orientales Angli, Mediterranei Angli, Mercii, tota Northanhumbrorum progenies, id est, illarum gentium quæ ad Boream Humbri fluminis inhabitant, ceterique Anglorum populi, sunt orti. Duces fuisse perhibentur eorum primi duo fratres Hengist et Horsa; e quibus Horsa, postea occisus in bello a Britonibus, hactenus in orientalibus Cantiæ partibus monumentum habet suo nomine insigne. Erant autem filii Victgilsi, cujus pater Vitta, cujus pater Vecta, cujus pater Woden, de cujus stirpe multarum provinciarum regium genus originem duxit.

Non mora ergo, confluentibus certatim in insulam gentium memoratarum catervis, grandescere populus cœpit. advenarum, ita ut ipsis quoque, qui eos advocaverant, indigenis essent terrori. Tum subito inito ad tempus fœdere cum Pictis, quos longius jam bellando pepulerant, in socios arma vertere incipiunt; et primum quidem annonas sibi eos affluentius ministrare cogunt, quærentesque occasionem divortii, protestantur, nisi profusior sibi alimentorum copia daretur, se cuncta insulæ loca, rupto fœdere, vastaturos; neque aliquanto segnius minas effectibus prosequuntur. Siquidem, ut breviter dicam, accensus manibus paganorum ignis, justas de sceleribus populi Dei ultiones expetiit, non illius impar qui quondam

Horsa.

security of the country, whilst the Britons agreed to A.D. 449. furnish them with pay. Those who came over were of the three most powerful nations of Germany-Saxons, ? Angles, and Jutes. From the Jutes are descended the people of Kent, and of the Isle of Wight, and those also in the province of the West-Saxons who are to this day called Jutes, seated opposite to the Isle of Wight. From the Saxons, that is, the country which is now called Old Saxony, came the East-Saxons, the South-Saxons, and the West-Saxons. From the Angles, that is the country which is called Anglia, and which is said, from that time, to remain desert to this day, between the provinces of the Jutes and the Saxons, are descended the EastAngles, the Midland-Angles, Mercians, all the race of the Northumbrians, that is, of those nations that dwell on the north side of the river Humber, and the other nations of the English. Their first two commanders are said to have been Hengist and Horsa. Of whom, Horsa, Hengist and being afterwards slain in battle by the Britons, was buried in the eastern parts of Kent, where a monument, bearing his name, is still in existence. They were the sons of Victgilsus, whose father was Vecta, son of Woden; from whose stock the royal race of many provinces deduce their original. In a short time, swarms of the aforesaid nations came over into the island, and they began to increase so much, that they became terrible to the natives themselves who had invited them. Then, having on a sudden entered into a league with the Picts, whom they had by this time repelled by the force of their arms, they began to turn their weapons against their confederates. At first they obliged them to furnish a greater quantity of provisions; and seeking an occasion to quarrel, protested, that unless more plentiful supplies were brought them, they would break the confederacy, and ravage all the island; nor were they backward in putting their The Saxons threats in execution. In short, the fire kindled by the the Britons. hands of these pagans, proved God's just revenge for

turn against