ENG 
clous enemy. The peace of the cities, and the fecurity 
of the fortifications, were diligently reftored, by the p;u 
ternal care of Theodofms; who with a ftrojjg-band con- 
finbd the trembling Caledonians to the northern angle ol 
the illand ; and perpetuated, by the name and fettlement 
of the new province of Valentia, the-glories of the reign 
of Va'lentinian. The voice of poetry and panegyric may 
add, perhaps with fome degree of truth, that tire un¬ 
known regions of Thule were ftained with the blood of 
the Pi bis; that the o'ars of Theodofms dalhed the waves 
of the Hyperborean ocean ; and that the diftant Orkneys 
were the fcene of his naval victory over the Saxon pi¬ 
rates. He then left the province with a fair, as well as 
fplendid, reputation, A. D. 370, vvitlt the fatisfaCtion of 
having reftored Britain to perfect tranquillity. 
In the joint reign of the fucceeding emperors, Valen- 
tinian II. and Gratian, Maximus ufurped the fovereignty 
in Britain. It is not very important to enquire from what 
caufes litis revolt was produced. Accident is commonly 
the parent of diforder; the feeds of rebellion had tor 
fome time been difteminated among the legions in the 
illand ; and the name of Maximus was proclaimed by 
the tumultuary but unanimous voice, both of the 
foldiers and of the- provincials. The emperor, Or the 
rebel, for his title was not yet afeertained by fortune, 
was a native of Spain, the countryman, the fellow-fol- 
dier, and the rival, of Theodofms,' whofe elevation he 
had not feen without fome emotions of envy : the events' 
of hrs life had long lince fixed him in Britain ; and lie is 
faid to have contracted marriage with the daughter of a 
wealthy lord of Caernarvonfhire. But he was not in¬ 
verted with the authority either of governor or general. 
His abilities, and even his integrity, are flattered by the 
partial writers of that age. In the midft of the tumult, 
lie artfully refufed to afeend the throne; and fome credit 
appears to have been given to his own pofitive declara¬ 
tion, that he was compelled, to accept the dangerous pre- 
fent of the imperial purple. 
From the moment that Maximus hadviolated his alle¬ 
giance, he could not hope to reign, or even to live, if 
he confined his ambition within the narrow limits of Bri¬ 
tain. He boldly relblved to prevent the defigns of Gra¬ 
tian ; tlie youth of Britain crowded to his ftandard, and 
he invaded Gaul with a fleet and army, which were long 
afterwards remembered, as the emigration of a confidera- 
hle part of the Britifh nation. The whole emigration 
confirted of 30,000 foldiers, and 100,000 plebians, who 
fettled in Bretagne. The emperor Gratian, in his peace¬ 
ful refidence of Paris, was alarmed by their hoftile ap¬ 
proach ; and the darts which he idly wafted on lions 
and bears, might'have been employedjrtore honourably 
againft the rebels. The armies of Gaul, inftead of op- 
pofing the march of Maximus received him with joyful 
acclamations. The emperor fled towards Lyons, with 
a train of only three hundred horfe ; and, in the cities 
along the road, where he hoped to find a refuge, or at 
leaft a paflage, he was taught, by cruel experience, that 
every gate is flint againft the unfortunate. Gratian was 
amufed by proteftations of doubtful fidelity by the per¬ 
fidious governor of the Lyonefe, till the arrival of An- 
dragathius, the general of the cavalry of Maximus, put 
an end to his fufpenfe. That fanguinary officer executed, 
without remorfe, the orders of the ufurper. Gratian, as 
he role from 1'upper, was delivered into the hands of the 
a (fulfill ; -and his body was even denied to the.pious en¬ 
treaties of his brother Valentinian. The ufurper Maxi¬ 
mus, however, foon after this, met his fate in the plains 
of Italy, where his head was fevered from his body by 
the common foldiers in the victorious army of Theodo- 
fius, A.D. 388. Britain, in the mean while, was not for¬ 
gotten : Theodofius was aware of the marauding watch- 
fulnefs of the Scots and PiCts, and he therefore wifely 
counteracted them : thefe warlike nations were kept in 
awe by Chryfantius, who, being entrufled with the go- 
L A N D. A43 
vernment of the illand, acquitted himfelf in that capacity 
with equal juftice and reputation. 
In the early part of the reign of Honorius, A. D. +07, 
the vigilance of Stilicho, his brave, but ill-fated, general, 
bad fuccefsfuily guarded the illand of Britain from her in- 
ceftant enemies both of the ocean, the mountains, and the 
Irifti court. But thole reftlefs barbarians could not neg¬ 
lect the fair opportunity of the foreign war, when the walls 
and ftations of Britain were (tripped of the Roman troops. 
If any of the legionaries were permitted to return from 
the Italian expedition, their report of the court and cha¬ 
racter of Honorius mult have tended to dilfolve the bonds 
of allegiance, and to exafperate the feditious temper of 
the Britons. The fpiritof revolt was revived by the ca¬ 
pricious violence of the foldiers; and the unfortunate, 
but ambitious, candidates, who were the objeCls of their 
choice, were the inftruments, and at length the victims, 
of their palfion. Marcus was the firlt whom, in their 
phrenzy, they fet up as the emperor of Britain. They 
then violated, by the hafty murder of Marcus, the oath 
of fidelity which they had impofed on themfelves; and 
their difapprobation of his manners may feem to inferibe 
an honourable epitaph on his tomb. Gratian, another un¬ 
fortunate Roman, was the next whom they adorned with 
the tit le of king of Britain ; and, at the end of four months, 
Gratian experienced the fate of his predecelfor. The me¬ 
mory of the great Conftantine, whom the Britiftt legions 
had given to the church and to the empire, fuggefted the 
lingular motive of their third choice. They dilcovered in 
the ranks a private foldier of the name of Conftantine, and 
their impetuous levity had already feated himon the throne, 
before they perceived his incapacity to govern. Yet the 
authority of Conftantine was lefs precarious, and his go¬ 
vernment Was more fuccefsful, than the tranfient reigns 
of Marcus and of Gratian. He nevertlvelefs metafimilar 
fate with his two predeceflbrs, and was put to death as a 
traitor. 
The Britons, during the bloody war of thelaft king they 
had let up, with the army of Honorius, became an eafy 
prey to their old enemies the Scots, PiCts, and other 
northern nations, who ravaged the country with fire and 
fword, and reduced the natives to the molt deplorable 
condition. Supplications were now made to Honorius; 
and ope legion was fentover, which defeated the invaders 
with great (laughter, and chafed them into their ancient 
limits: but thefe auxiliaries had no fooner returned to 
the continent, than the barbarians poured in upon the 
Britilh territories like an overwhelming torrent, and re¬ 
venged their late defeat by marking their progrefs with 
(laughter,, rapine, and defolation. The Britons again made 
application to Rome, and again obtained the alliftance of 
one legion, which proved effectual for their relief: but 
Honorius, fatigued with thefe repeated expeditions, and 
reduced to extremities at home, informed the Britons 
that they mult no longer loek to Rome for fttccour ; lie 
exhorted them to provide for their own fecurity by an 
exertion eff their ancient bravery ; and urged the neceftity 
of maintaining their independence againft an enemy, whole 
ftrength was not, in reality, fttperior to theirown. Hetlieu 
relinquilhed all farther claim to Britain, after the greatefl 
part of it had been fubjeCt to the Roman empire for the 
(pace of near four hundred years. 
This revolution dilTolved the artificial fabric of the ci¬ 
vil and military government, which had been ellablilhed 
at the expence of much blood and treafure, in Britain; 
and the independent country, during a period of forty 
years, till the defeent of the Saxons, appears to have 
been ruled by the authority of the clergy, the nobles, 
and the municipal towns. Zolimus, who alone has pre- 
ferved the memory of this lingular event, very accurately 
obferves, that the letters of Honorius' were addrell'ed to 
the cities of Britain. Under the protection of the Ro¬ 
mans, ninety-two confiderable towns had arifen in the (e- 
veral parts of the province ; and, among thefe, thirty, 
three 
