1806] 
the peninfula.* The reafon why Vor- 
tigein and his brother caft their eyes upon 
the Saxons, was no doubt this, that they 
were powerful at fea, hardy and warlike 
people, and fram the third century well 
known from their naval expeditions, and 
inroads into Gaul, Scandria, Walland, 
(by which is meant Zealand, one of the 
United Provinces,) and even Britain, 
where they had appeared fometimes as 
friends, and at other times as enemies. 
In the beginning, however, it appears that 
only Jutes and Angles went oyer to 
Britain ; for it is found that Hengft and 
Hors, the firft that went on that occafion, 
(A. C. 449,) fettled in Kent and in Nor- 
thumberland ; but the firft of thefe coun- 
tics was peopled by Jutes, the latter by 
Angles. It lafled fome time before the 
real Saxons fettled in Britain; and it 
even feems, that of the-Saxons to the 
fouth of the Elbe burt few have come 
there ; at leaff none of the feven Engiifh 
peoples in Britain are defcended trom them, 
vnlefs perhaps that of Suffex. I fhall nor 
_deny, however, but fome of them, and 
* The author is of opinion that the Sax.’ 
ons derive their name from fax, their com- 
mon weapon, a kind of fhort fword, with 
Only one edge. They were originally a 
branch of the Teutonians, and their firft 
name was Ambrones. They were afterwards 
known by that of Saxons, ‘inhabiting at firft 
in three iflands tu the north of the Elbe, (of 
which Heligoland, then much greater in ex- 
tent, muft have been one,) and part of the 
Cherfonefus Cimbricus; In the third century 
they lived partly to the north, partly to the 
fouth, of the Elbe, and probably along the 
northern coaft of Germany, towards Hol- 
land. The origin of the Angles is rather un- 
certain. It is not improbable, however, that 
they are of Swevic defcent, and lived fir(t 
between the mountains of Harts and the ri- 
vers Aller, Wefer, and Elbe, whence they 
migrated into the fouthern part of the penin- 
fula, after them calied Anglia (now Slef- 
wic,) partly invited by the depopulated ftate 
of that country ; occafionally invited by the 
great emigrations of the Cimbri and Teutoni, 
_and lately that of the Longobardi ; partly 
induced by fear of the Romans, who about 
the year 20 carried their arms-as. far as the 
Elbe. Shortly after this time we find them 
fettled in Anglia, and in part. of Holftein 
and Vagria, where they foon coalefced with 
the Jutes and the Saxons, if not into one 
commonweal, yet into one people, having 
manners, language, laws, and religion, in 
common with them, The Jutes, originally 
Jotes, feem to have been the firft inhabitants 
Jof the peninfula, to which they gave their 
. Name, and to have come thither from Ger- 
“™maliy. 
Settlement of the Anglo-Saxons in Britain. 
“people Angles. 
have yet retained their language. 
Opinion this emigration and conqueit of 
309 
alfo of the Frifians, have joined the expe- 
ditions ; as even it appears that many 
from the Danith iflands have gone over to 
Britain 5 which is confirmed both by the 
vicinity and uniformity of thefe people, 
which the weak government of Ingel, 
(the fon and faccelir of Frode,) and his 
triend(hip and affinity with the Saxons, 
(he was married toa Saxon princefs,) gives 
us reafon to fuppofe, and which is exprefs~ 
ly faid by Nennius and others, authors of 
the gth century. But they were few cem- 
pared tothe Angles and Saxons, and they 
were therefore in Britain comprifed under 
that denomination. And that the whole 
mafs of the people that fettled in Britain 
was not.at lait called Saxons,* though the 
Saxons were the main people of which the 
Angles were but a branch, but on the 
contrary Englifh from the Angles, may 
be accounted for from thefe reafons: that 
‘the firft leaders Hengft and Hors were 
from Slefwic, the capital of the Angles, 
and that the Anglés afterwards went over 
in fuch numbers, that their own country 
for a long time was almolt deftitute of in- 
habitants and deferted 5; and in Britain 
they filled Eal-Anglia, Mercia, and Nor- | 
thumbeland, which is more than jtwo- 
thirds of the whole country. Befides, 
the firt Bricifh Saxons that éame to Rome 
were from Northumberland, confequently 
Angles, by which it got into ule with 
the Roman miffionaries to call the whole 
From the Jutes only the 
inhabitants of Kent, of the Ifleof Wight, 
of fome traéts of Weffex, and thofe of 
Nottingham, are defcended ; but from 
the real Saxons, thofe of Weflex, Effex,! 
and, Suffex. To what number thefe peo- 
ple emigrated, may be concluded from 
this, that they changed the name of Bri- 
tain into that of England, that of the 
Britith people into that of Anglo-Saxons 
or Englifh ; fo that hardly a trace was 
left in the country of Britons or Romans, 
which the prefent Englifh language fhews. 
The former were compelled to fly to the 
extremities of the country into Cornwall 
and Wales, in the latter of which they 
In my 
England is the greateft exploit ever per- 
form<d by the Danes 5 for we may very 
* The real Scots, however, and the 
Welch, continued tocalithe Englith Saxons, 
In the Cimbric, Armorican, and Irifh lan- 
guages, they were alfo called Saxons; be- 
caufe that was the general name which im- 
plied that of the Angles. See Liuyd’s Ar- 
chzologia, 
SS = SS FS pS SMES ewe en ee ee re eee 
aS = SD OS Ee 
