castle Guinnion, during which Arthur bore the image of St. Mary, mother of God and always virgin, on his shoulders, and by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the blessed Mary his mother, the Saxons were routed the whole of that day, and many of them perished with great slaughter. The ninth battle he fought at the city Leogis', which in the British tongue is called "Kaerlion." The tenth he fought on the bank of a river which we call Tractiheuroit; the eleventh, on a hill which is named Brevoin, where he routed the people we call Cathbregion. The twelfth was a hardfought battle with the Saxons on Mount Badon, in which 440 of the Britons fell by the swords of their enemies in a single day, none of their host acting in concert, and Arthur alone receiving succour from the Lord. These battles and battle-fields are described by Gildas the historian, but in our times the places are unknown, the Providence of God, we consider, having so ordered it that popular applause and flattery, and transitory glory, might be of no account. At this period there were many wars, in which sometimes the Saxons, sometimes the Britons, were victors; but the more the Saxons were defeated, the more they recruited their forces by invitations sent to the people of all the neighbouring countries.

The kingdom of Essex, that is, of the East-Saxons, was founded, as far as we can collect from old writers, by Erchenwin, who was the son of Offa, who was the son of Biedcan, who was the son of Sigewlf, who was the son of Spoewe, who was the son of Gesac, who was the son of Andesc, who was the son of Saxnat. Slede, the son of Erchenwin, succeeded his father in the kingdom of Essex; he married the daughter of Ermeric, king of Kent, and sister of Ethelbert. His son by her, Sibert, was the first king of Essex converted to the Christian faith.

[A.D. 530.] Meanwhile, Cerdic, with his son Kenric, having assembled a great army, fought at Wit-land, and being successful in the war, reduced the whole island after a prodi

2

1 Or Legionis, of the legion.

Henry of Huntingdon quotes Nennius under this name. See cc. 63-4 of the Hist. Nenn.

E

gious slaughter of the enemy in battle at Witgaresburg, in

Four years afterwards
Latin is called "Vecta,
Cerdic, the first king of
On his death [A.D. 534]
26 years, in the times

the thirteenth year of his reign. Certic conferred the island, which in on his nephews, Stuf and Witgar. Wessex, reigned eighteen years. Kenric, his son, reigned after him of the Emperor Justinian, whose reign lasted 38 years, and when Vigilius was Pope.

[A.D. 538.] In the fifth year of Kenric, the sun was eclipsed from daylight to the third hour, in the month of March; and in the seventh year of his reign [A.D. 540], it was eclipsed from the third to almost the ninth hour, on the xii. kal. July [20th June], so that the stars were visible. In the tenth year of Kenric's reign, died Witgar, and was buried at Witgaresburg, which derived its name from him.

The kingdom of the Northumbrians dates from the thirteenth year of the reign of Kenric. The chiefs of the Angles who subdued that province, after a series of severe battles, elected Ida, a young nobleman of the highest rank, king. He was the son of Eoppe1, the son of Esc3, the son of Inguim, the son of Angenwite, the son of Aloc, the son of Beonoc, the son of Brand, the son of Bældæt, the son of Woden, the son of Fredelaf, the son of Fredewlf, the son of Fin, the son of Godwlf, the son of Heatæ. Ida, a valiant prince, reigned twelve years, indefatigable and always in arms. He built Bebanburgh', fortifying it by surrounding it with an earthen mound, and afterwards with a wall. He began his reign in the year of grace 547.

[A.D. 552.] Kenric, in the eighteenth year of his reign fought against the Britons, who advanced with a great army as far as Salisbury; but having assembled an auxiliary force from all quarters, he engaged them triumphantly, overthrowing their numerous army, and completely routing and dispersing it. In the twenty-second year of his reign

7 Bamborough Castle, in Northumberland. See Saxon Chronicle. Henry of Huntingdon, who attributes both the bridge and the wall to King Ida, is followed by M. of Westminster, an. 548.

[A.D. 556], Kenric, with his son Ceaulin, had another battle with the Britons, which was after this manner: to avenge the defeat which they had sustained five years before, the Britons assembled vast numbers of their bravest warriors, and drew them up near Banbury. Their battle array was formed in nine battalions, a convenient number for military tactics, three being posted in the van, three in the centre, and three in the rear, with chosen commanders to each, while the archers and slingers and cavalry were disposed after the Roman order. But the Saxons advanced to the attack in one compact body with such fury, that the standards being dashed together and borne down, and the spears being broken, it became a hand-to-hand fight with the sword. The battle lasted till night-fall without either party being able to claim the victory. Nor is that wonderful, considering that the warriors were men of extraordinary stature, strength, and resolution; while in our days they are so degenerate, that when armies come into collision, one or other of them is put to flight at the first onset. Kenric, having reigned 26 years, died [A.D. 560], and Ceaulin his son reigned in his stead 30 years. In the same year, Ida, king of Northumbria, also died, and after him Ella reigned 30 years, though he was not the son of Ida, but the son of Iffa, the son of Uscfrea, the son of Witgils, the son of Westrefalcna, the son of Sefugil, the son of Seabald, the son of Sigegeat, the son of Wepdeg, the son of Woden, the son of Fredealaf.

In the sixth year of Ceaulin's reign in Wessex, Ethelbert, that great king, began to reign in Kent1. He was the third of the English kings who ruled all their eastern provinces which are divided by the river Humber, and the neighbouring boundaries, from the northern kingdom. The first who possessed this supreme power2 was Ælla, king of the EastSaxons; the second, Ceaulin, king of the West-Saxons; the third, as just stated, Ethelbert, king of Kent; the fourth,

The Saxon Chronicle fixes the accession of Ethelbert in the first year of Ceaulin, instead of the sixth, in which it appears to agree with the computation of Bede. See book i. c. 5.

2 These paramount kings were called Bretwalda. The rank was personal and not hereditary.

Redwald, king of the East-Angles, who, during the lifetime of Ethelbert, held the government of his own state. The fifth monarch was Edwin, king of the Northumbrians, the most powerful people of all who inhabited Britain. His dominion extended over all the tribes both of the English and Britons, with the exception of the people of Kent. He also reduced to the dominion of the English, the Isle of Man and the other islands which lie between Britain and Ireland. Sixthly, Oswald, king of Northum bria, a prince of great sanctity, held the sovereignty of the various nations within the same boundaries. Seventhly, Oswy, his brother, in a short time established his rule with almost equal limits; and he also subjugated and rendered tributary most of the tribes of Scots and Picts who occupied the northern districts of Britain. The eighth was Egbert, king of Wessex, whose rule extended as far as the Humber. The ninth was Alfred, his grandson, who esta blished his authority in all parts of the kingdom. The tenth was Edgar, great-grandson of Alfred, a brave though peaceful king, whose dominion, or at least his ascendancy, extended over all the English and Scottish people; which his successors inherit to the present day. It was in the time of Ethelbert that the English were converted to the Christian faith, which will be diligently treated of in the sequel of our history1.

[A.D. 568.] Ceaulin, in the ninth year of his reign, with his brother Chuta, two very valiant men, were compelled by various causes to engage in war with Ethelbert, who had arrogantly intruded himself into their kingdom. In a battle fought at Mirandune2, his two generals, Oslap and Cneban, thunderbolts of war, with a vast number of their followers, were slain, and Ethelbert himself was pursued as far as Kent. This is remarkable as the first international war among the English kings.

[A.D. 571.] In the twelfth year also of Ceaulin, his brother Cutha fought a battle with the Britons at Bedeanford, now called Bedford, the chief town of the neighbouring dis

1 In Book iii. following.

2 Query, Merton, in Surrey. Some MSS. read Wipandune or Wibban dune.

trict. In this battle he was victorious, and the fruits of his arms were four fortified places, namely, Lienbirig, Aelesbury, Benesintune, and Ecgnesham1; but Cutha, a great man, the king's brother, died the same year.

The founder of the kingdom of East-Anglia, which includes Norfolk and Suffolk, was Uffa, from whom the kings of the East-Angles were called Uffingas. It was afterwards held by his brother Titulus, the bravest of the East-Anglian kings.

[A.D. 577.] Ceaulin, with his son Cuthwine, in the eighteenth year of his reign fought a battle with the Britons at Deorham2. Three British kings, Commagil, Candidan, and Farinmagil, led their followers against them splendidly and skilfully arrayed, so that the conflict was very obstinate. But the Almighty gave the victory on that day to his enemies, and discomfited his own people, who had foolishly offended Him, so that the three Christian kings were slain, and the survivors from the slaughter were put to flight. The Saxons pursued them fiercely, taking three important towns, Gloucester, Cirencester, and Bath.

[A.D. 584.] In the twenty-fifth year of his reign, Ceaulin and Cuthwine again fought with the Britons at Fedhanlea3. The battle was fought with great loss and fury on both sides. Cuthwine, overcome by numbers, was struck down and slain; and the English were routed and put to flight. But the king Ceaulin succeeded in rallying his troops, and snatched the victory from those who had been at first victors, and, pursuing the vanquished, gained much land and great booty.

Crida, as far as we learn from old records, was the first king of Mercia. Such were the beginnings of the several English kingdoms, of which I have pointed out the dates and revolutions as clearly as I could from what we find in the books of ancient writers, bringing them into relation with the æras of the kings of Wessex.

[A.D. 590-596.] Ceaulin died in the thirtieth year of his

1 Lygcanburh (Petrie), Lenbury (Ingram). The three last places are clearly Ailesbury, Benson, and Ensham.-See Sax. Chron.

2 Dyrham, in Gloucestershire.

3 Frethern, near the Severn in Gloucestershire.