EARTHWORKS NEAR BRUTON. 49 



Roman model, their religion was derived from Rome, and 

 though not what they had been during the times of Roman 

 occupation, they were a civilized and Christian people 

 when the storm of Saxon invasion burst upon them with 

 its overwhelming torrent. 



Mr. Sharon Turner, in his invaluable History of the 

 Anglo Saxons, says that we ought not to consider the 

 Saxon.invasion as a barbarization of the country, inasmuch 

 as they brought with them the germs of niany valuable 

 institutions, but, " Pace tanti viri," I believe that we shall 

 have but a very erroneous idea of the State of things in this 

 Island during the 5th and 6th centuries, unless we do con- 

 sider it a very complete barbarization of the country. The 

 early Saxons appear to have been as fierce and bloodthirsty 

 a race of sa vages as ever laid waste a conquered land ; the 

 total disappearance of the Romano-British people, even 

 their language being entirely lost in that part of the 

 Island conquered by the Saxons; the State of the Roman 

 remains found from time to time, almost every building 

 having been destroyed by violence, and most of them by 

 fire, the name of Flamdyn, or the flame-bearer, bestowed 

 by the Welsh bards upon Ida the Saxon conqueror of the 

 North, all bear witness to the exterminating nature of the 

 war, which for füll 200 years raged with unceasing fury 

 through the length and breadth of the land, while the 

 names of Hengist and Horsa, Vortigern and Vortimer, 

 Aurelius Ambrosius, Caradoc of the Iron Arm, Natan 

 Leod, and Arthur (Ida and Cerdric), fill us with doubt as to 

 whether they are historical or purely mythical characters. 

 With regard to the last two, I myself feel but little doubt ; 

 the death of Geraint ap Erbin is circumstantially related 

 by the Welsh poet, and I see no more reason to doubt 

 tliat Arthur Amherawdr, a manifest corruption of the Latin 



VOL. VII., 1 S.j6-7, PART II. 6 



