1S06.] Sdtltment of the Anglo-Saxons in Britain. 



231 



fliaU not venturr to determine, thou2;h I 

 Tiidicr iiicliiie lo believe the latter, becnufe 

 notie ut'tlio ancieucliilLoaans deduce his 

 pedigree from Odin. Some yearti before 

 ijiis time (A. D. 471,) the Saxons are 

 faid, from Britain, to h.ive r.iiaged the 

 Iriih cosdts, imj to have c-aricd off their 

 fii'il booty t'iuin thence, in the year 

 -481 Vortii;crn loft his life : Lis name is 

 ■curled by the ancient Enirlilli, eloecially 

 by the BritiOi LilkirirHi.s, v. bo relate that 

 Jje was burnt to death by the iloinan Au- 

 rclius ArnbroiiU-5, in Ca;ubria or Corn- 

 viill, in the city of Diu-Gurti^irn, which 

 Le had hiinlclf founded, nnd called after 

 his own name ; after which Aurelius was 

 advaacod to the throne, who is alio call- 

 ed by quite a different name, IJihci- Ftn- 

 drdgon.* There wor.- houtj\er in other 

 parts ot Britain nr.my pettv kings befides 

 iiiin, as may be ii;ca in Oildas. Aure- 

 lius firtt applied himfelf to relhning fome- 

 'whut of order and f^ood condition in his 

 country ; tlien, «ith fonie other Britilh 

 kin^s, he took the field again!!; l-'Ua, with 

 wlioin a buttle vv;is fought at McaixndtfS 

 Bunwiifttdf. After a great ilaughter on 

 both tides, Ella was d. iven o!F the field ; 

 on uhichhefent to his native country 

 for fielh troops. 



Aurelius now turned his forces asrainft 

 the Angles, who liad fettled in Northuin- 

 berkind, whom he thought the more dan- 

 gerous for their bordering upon the coun- 

 tries of the PicHs and Scots, who were 

 often vilited by the Danes and Norwe- 

 gians, by which they might ealily obtain 

 alliftance from thofe warlike people. 

 During tlie war Hengit died, (A D. 4'J8,) 

 viho had firlt conducted the Jutes and 

 Angles into Britain, and who had con- 

 fjuered Kent, where the fueceeding kings 

 defceiided from him for more than three 

 liuudred years. Orrich, or Efea, his Ion, 

 who was then in Northumberland, on re-- 

 »:ei\ing intelligence of the death of his 

 father, repaired to Kent ; and no niilita- 

 ry exploits having been recorded either 

 oJ" him or of his inn and grandfon, it 

 feeuis that they were contented with 



the fore^ioing notc5, except two, (one, p. 

 S"'.', concerning the ufe of Saxons for En- 

 glifh ; the other, p 311, concerning kcl as 

 the n.inic of ihips,) ire by the Tranfl.itor. 



• The Chronology, the avt-nts ot'the times, 

 iiiid tht contradictory ac' ountv of the hii'to- 

 rjans, cm no ot'ier way DC ;econciled, than 

 by alluming that (.'thsr and Aurtlius have 

 keen one pcrfon, th<jujh GaltVid makes tliem 

 two brofiers. 'I his allowed, I Ihould con- 

 jecture thjt Utiicr v.as his Britilli, Aure- 

 t-ehu- Arnbvolius his Uowajj, and FenJragon 

 iiii furnanic< 



the country tliey poflreifed, and with 

 the precedence which was conceded 

 them by the other .inglifh and Sa\oii 

 princes in Britain, becaufe they defceiid- 

 ed from the firll conqueror. 



The departure of Orrich from North- 

 umberland lunicd the balance of power 

 in favour of Aureliui, who beliegi.d Oc'ra, 

 the fon, and illilid, or Eofa, the brolier, 

 of Hors, in York, where he compelled 

 them to furrender. Oti.i came out of 

 the city, having a ch.ain in his hand, and 

 faad lircwed on his head. " My Cods 

 arc vaiiquilhed, (lie faid,) and thy God is 

 victorious. It' thou v.ilr not Ihew niercv, 

 tie me witii this chain." But Aurelius, 

 after the advice of Biliiop Eldad, granted 

 them pardon, and placed them on the 

 frontiers of Scotlai;d, to defend the conn- 

 try againft the incin-hons of the ['icts and 

 Scots, (A.D. 489.) He formed an alli- 

 ance with them, and bellow ed on Ocfa 

 the title of duke, which his fucccii'ors 

 bore for a long time, nnti! Ida again af- 

 fumetl the title of king. After this Au- 

 relius caufed the churches that had bceu 

 burnt and dellroyed in NortJiuinberland 

 to be rebuilt, and put every thing there. 

 in the belt polfible condition. 



But while he waa thus virtorious in 

 the North, Ella gatliered ftreugth in 

 the South. Having received coulido- 

 rable reinforcements from Saxony, ha 

 laid fiege to Andicdcfcejli:!; a fortilied 

 place near the fea. vvhi'ch is now call- 

 ed Peinfey, in .'^uf!'ex. The liege was 

 protratted trir foine time by the Bri- 

 tons continually haralling him witJi their 

 light-troops, who were arcliers, and 

 quickly retreated whenever lie purfued 

 them. To obviate this, he contriv- 

 ed to divide his army into two bodies, 

 V ith one of which he made head againii 

 the Britons, while with the other he at- 

 tacked the city, which at lengtii he took, 

 and turned into a lieap of ft.jnes, haviu" 

 put all the inhabitimt^, nut one excepted^ 

 to the fwordj^and thereby confirmed the 

 afiertion of .Salvianui, an autlior frwia 

 thofe times, that the Saxons were e.K- 

 tremely cruel, uheivas he much com- 

 mends them lijr chnftity ; which account 

 highly agrees with what St Bonifacius re- 

 lates of (liem in u later period, namelv, iu 

 the 8th centiiiy. By this conquelt Ella 

 laid the fomidution ui iJie kiiiirdom of 

 SuUex, aud from that time he "airLimei 

 the appellation of kiuL'. 



Hardly had Aanelius mnrchcd his 

 forces towards the Ibutji, before (J6ta 

 and Eofa took up arms, and coming from 

 the fiontiers of Scotland as far as^York, 



kiJ 



