116 



SettlemeMof the Anglo-Saxons in Britain. [Sept.-I, 



and the Germans their cifenhandler, iron- 

 raoiiKCr ; backhandk-r, bookfellcr ; p/mlc- 

 handkr,liGde-i\c:ii\i:r ; tvch-handler, wool- 

 Icii-drapcr, and many olher.s, which con- 

 vey more ideas comhuit'd in the word in 

 quellion than that of limply parcelling 

 out. Your'fe, ^c. 



Leicefter, . \l. M. 



June 20, 1806. 



Tor tfijt Monthlif Magazine. 



SETTLEMENT Oj' l/tC AX GI.0-3AX0XS in 



' BRITAIN. F7v;n suiiJi's great ini- 



TOEy of DENMARK. 



T^>'GST eafily prevailed on Vorti- 

 gcrn to invite tVom Anglia (anno C. 

 4 jS) Oet.a the Ion, and Elifta the brother of 

 Mors, a:id to jihice them on the frontiers 

 of Deira and Scotland, at the wail of the 

 Jloinans. Thefe came in 300 (hips, with 

 16,000 men, bciides wives and children, 

 and obtained habitations as at^recd. — 

 They did ail of them, for fome time, s^ood 

 fervice againit the Pkts and Scots, 

 and even made war on the Ori^neys ; but 

 as their fliips and numbers continually 

 augmented, the Britons at lail iirew un- 

 eafy, particularly as they faw that both 

 Britons and Angles intermarried ; on 

 which account they broke the alliance, 

 and made open war on the singles, under 

 the condu6t of Vortimer, the? fon of \'or- 

 tigern; for the latter kept quiet, though, 

 on .iccount of his wife, l;c leaned molt 

 to the fide of the Angles. This was, ac- 

 cording to the manners of the times, car- 

 ried on with great cruelty on both fides. 

 Cities and churclies were burned, pricfts 

 and iinanncd multitudes were butcl.'crcd, 

 towns dellroyC'l, walls, towers, and aJtars 

 demoiilhed. It lalicd lor more than 200 

 years, with various fortune; liowever, fo 

 that the Angles made more progrefs, 

 and the Britons were gradually compelled 

 to fly to mountains, caverns, and woods, 

 whence they could not venluie without 

 meeting fervitude or death ; and at lad 

 they were flmt up m Cornwall and Wales. 

 Many of them iled into France, where 

 they fettled ill A rmorica, and gave name 

 to the countrv called P-rilaimy ; and there 

 they were, for a thoufand vears afterwards, 

 governed by their o« n Dukes, under the 

 fupreiuacy, iiowevei-, of the French Kings. 

 TiiB principal caules of the ill-fuccefs of 

 the Britons were thefc, tliat they were 

 difunited witlau themfelves, and divided 

 into fcveral petty llates anil kingdoms, 

 which could not, perhaps, be ot'nerwife 

 expected, when they were abandimed to 

 themfelves,-after having for a lengtli of 

 time been {jovcnieci by the Ilonians. — 



Befides, the Angles were artful ciioui;b 

 tj make alliance with the Scots and Picts 

 agaiull the Britons, which alfo occafioned 

 that the part of Scotland formerly occu- 

 pied by the Romans to fall into the hands 

 of the former, tcjgetherwith a great partof 

 Northumberlantl, But as the Britons 

 complained of the Angles, lb neitlitr did 

 thefe w-ant matter of complaint againft 

 them; cfpecially tliey upbraided them 

 ^^ ith not ha\-ing furnilhcd futiicient provi- 

 fions and clothes, to which the Britons 

 replied, that tliey no more wanted their 

 aflillance, ami that they might return to 

 their homes. The lirll battle was fought 

 near the Derweut, in Yorklhirc, in which 

 the Britons obtained the victory, and 

 killed many Angles. Next year (455) 

 they fought at Ailcsford, oo tlie Medway, 

 in Kent. Here Catigas, the fon of V'or- 

 tigern, was llain by llors, \\ ho avus, how- 

 ever, immediately killed by \'ortimer; 

 yet Hcngli, remained mailer of the 

 field of battle, and he and his fon Efca, 

 or Orich, obtained the fuprcmacy over 

 all the Angles. But in three ful)fcqueiit 

 actions he was worlied, and once obliged 

 to fly to the ille of Thanct ; another time 

 to his lleet, whence he lent home for new 

 reinforcements, which he -received. In 

 one of thefe actions it miifl have been, 

 that St. Gerniamis, by his ingenuity, 

 as it is fail!, procured the viclory to the 

 Bi-itons. I\'.ow licnglt found himfelf 

 ftfong enough to venture another battle 

 (457), in which, at Crayford, then Cre- 

 nciifbrd, in Kent, 4000 Britons were 

 flain, with four of tlieir leaders, when 

 the reft fled with terror to London. A 

 misfortune happened to tliem fome years 

 after (160), by the death of the gidlant 

 \'ortimer, upon \v'hich Hengfl pretended 

 to be willing to make pesice. For this 

 purpofe an aflembly was lield at Salifbnry 

 (461), whore llengll gave a treat to V^or- 

 tigern and the principal Biitilh chiefs; 

 having previimlly concerted with his peo- 

 ple, that when he faid to them, " nimed 

 eurc faxes" i. e. take your faxes (tho 

 fwords of the Saxons), they fliould pull 

 th.em out of their boots, and kill each 

 his neighbour; for which purnofc he had 

 placed them alternately witn the Bri- 

 tons at table : in this manner ijOO emi- 

 nent Britons arc faid to have loll tlieir 

 hves, though for a while they defended 

 thrnifelves with Itones and flicks, as vs-ell 

 as tliey could ; only one, whole imme was 

 FIdol, Tnade fo vigorous a defence with a 

 pole, that he efcaped with his life. After 

 this the Angles took York, J.incohi, and 

 Wincheftcr, and did not fet Vortigern, 

 whom 



