Vortigern, King of Britain
After King Alaric of the Goths captured Rome in 409, proclaiming the prefect of the city, Attalus, as emperor and himself the prefect -- in retaliation for the refusal by the deposed emperor, Honorius, to honor the gold, land and Imperial office due to him and his people for services rendered -- a Roman general stationed in Britain - Constantine - having been declared Emperor by his men - amassed a huge army, crossed the channel, gained the support of the fractured Roman troops he found there, took over Spain and negotiated with Honororius to become co-emperor, marrying Honorius's half sister, Galla Pladida, having a daughter and a son, Valentinian (who later became emperor), and died in 421.
In rushing to defend Rome, General Constantine had left Britain defenceless and when Britain turned to Rome for help against the Picts in the north with a petition entitled 'the groans of the Britons' the once-mighty empire was unable to help them.
The Britons then appealed to their countrymen in the kingdom of Armorica (Bretagne) who were ruled by Aldroen (the fourth king from Conan, to whom Maximian had given that kingdom and in doing so had drained Britain of a huge population to colonize it).
Aldroen was sympathetic, but did not want to rule Britain himself. Instead, he offered his brother Constantine of Armorica and two thousand men who arrived at Totnes in Devon, marshaled the young men they found there into a bigger army and defeated the invaders. Constantine of Armorica was then crowned king of Britain, and his three sons -- Constans, Aurelius Ambrosius and Uther Pendragon -- were to play an amazing role in the history of Britain and of western civilization, too.
Unfortunately, Constantine was killed by a treacherous Pict in his service, and on the advice of Vortigern, the ambitious consul of the Gewisseans (a province near Wales), the easily manipulated Constans was chosen as successor and soon after Vortigern contrived his assassination by the Picts and became king himself on the basis of his marriage to Severa, the daughter of King Constantine's predecessor and national hero, Magnus Maximus. The two other sons of Constantine of Armorica, Aurelius Ambrosius and Uther Pendragon, fled to Amorica, planning to return and regain their kingdom. The Picts, learning that Vortigern had tricked his Pict retainers into killing Constans and then had them killed to protect himself, resumed war on Britain
Faced with continuing Pict wars and the fear of Aurelius Ambrosius and Uther Pendragon returning with an army to depose him, Vortigern made use of the peaceful arrival in Kent of three Saxon long galleys commanded by the brothers Hengist and Horsca. It was the custom in German Saxony in times of overpopulation to cast lots requiring superfluous men to leave and find a new home for themselves.
Vortigern allowed them to stay and granted them land in return for helping him defeat the Picts. This they did, and then Hengist took advantage of Vortigern's continuing threat from Aurelius Ambrosius and Uther Pendragon to gain permission to invite more Saxons into Britain. With eighteen long galleys full of Saxon soldiers came Hengist's daughter, Rowen, whom Vortigern married to the disgust of his three sons by a former wife (Vortimer, Catigern and Pascentius).
As his new father-in-law, Hengist was able to manipulate Vortigern into bringing over his two sons Octa and Ebissa and giving them territories in Britain. With them came 300 long galleys full of Saxon soldiers, and without Vortigern's permission Hengist continued to bring over more Saxons who married the local girls and incurred the wrath of local men -- also the Christian clergy who despised the Pagan Saxons.
Vortigern loved the Saxons, so his son Vortimer took advantage of this unrest to get himself made king and that done he then expelled the Saxons, forcing them to leave their wives and children in Britain. Furious, his step-mother Rowen contrived to have Vortimer poisoned, and when Vortigern and Rowen regained their kingdom they invited Hengist and the Saxons to return. Hengist had other plans. He came with 300,000 men and when Vortigern expressed horror at this invasion he was reassured by Hengist that the Saxons did not know that Vortimer was dead, but upon hearing that news he was willing to send back to Germany all the men that Vortigern wanted him to.
At a peaceful meeting to discuss the matter, Hengist ordered his men to conceal daggers under their cloaks and at an appointed moment they massacred 460 unarmed British dignitaries who had met with them. Vortigern was captured and in return for his life ceded to the Saxons his kingdom. He then took refuge in Cambria as the Saxons laid waste to London, York, Lincoln and Winchester slaughtering everyone in their sight.
At this point in time, Aurelius Amrosius and Uther Pendragon arrived in Britain with 10, 000 men and what remained of the Britons gathered together to greet him and anoint Aurelius as their rightful king. They implored him to get rid of the Saxons, but he was intent on gaining revenge on Vortigern for the murder of his brother. He burned down the Cambrian tower with Vortigern hiding in it, and upon hearing this news Hengist fled with the Saxons to Scotland where he mustered strength to meet the new king. The Saxons were defeated, Hengist was beheaded and his son, Octa, besieged at York, surrenders and is granted clemency as well as a peace treaty with a grant of land bordering Scotland.
Meanwhile, Vortigern's youngest son Pascentius had fled to Germany where he amassed a vast army of willing recruits with promises of land and wealth and, after an unsuccessful incursion in the north gained the support of the Irish king, Gillomanius, and landed in Cambria where they were met by Uther Pendragon who, upon hearing that his brother Aurelius Ambrosius had been poisoned by a Saxon disguised as a priest, took to battle with ferocity as the new king and killed both Pascentius and Gillomanius.
The rule of Vortigern's family thus came to an end, but the Saxons he loved so much continued to plague the country.
In rushing to defend Rome, General Constantine had left Britain defenceless and when Britain turned to Rome for help against the Picts in the north with a petition entitled 'the groans of the Britons' the once-mighty empire was unable to help them.
The Britons then appealed to their countrymen in the kingdom of Armorica (Bretagne) who were ruled by Aldroen (the fourth king from Conan, to whom Maximian had given that kingdom and in doing so had drained Britain of a huge population to colonize it).
Aldroen was sympathetic, but did not want to rule Britain himself. Instead, he offered his brother Constantine of Armorica and two thousand men who arrived at Totnes in Devon, marshaled the young men they found there into a bigger army and defeated the invaders. Constantine of Armorica was then crowned king of Britain, and his three sons -- Constans, Aurelius Ambrosius and Uther Pendragon -- were to play an amazing role in the history of Britain and of western civilization, too.
Unfortunately, Constantine was killed by a treacherous Pict in his service, and on the advice of Vortigern, the ambitious consul of the Gewisseans (a province near Wales), the easily manipulated Constans was chosen as successor and soon after Vortigern contrived his assassination by the Picts and became king himself on the basis of his marriage to Severa, the daughter of King Constantine's predecessor and national hero, Magnus Maximus. The two other sons of Constantine of Armorica, Aurelius Ambrosius and Uther Pendragon, fled to Amorica, planning to return and regain their kingdom. The Picts, learning that Vortigern had tricked his Pict retainers into killing Constans and then had them killed to protect himself, resumed war on Britain
Faced with continuing Pict wars and the fear of Aurelius Ambrosius and Uther Pendragon returning with an army to depose him, Vortigern made use of the peaceful arrival in Kent of three Saxon long galleys commanded by the brothers Hengist and Horsca. It was the custom in German Saxony in times of overpopulation to cast lots requiring superfluous men to leave and find a new home for themselves.
Vortigern allowed them to stay and granted them land in return for helping him defeat the Picts. This they did, and then Hengist took advantage of Vortigern's continuing threat from Aurelius Ambrosius and Uther Pendragon to gain permission to invite more Saxons into Britain. With eighteen long galleys full of Saxon soldiers came Hengist's daughter, Rowen, whom Vortigern married to the disgust of his three sons by a former wife (Vortimer, Catigern and Pascentius).
As his new father-in-law, Hengist was able to manipulate Vortigern into bringing over his two sons Octa and Ebissa and giving them territories in Britain. With them came 300 long galleys full of Saxon soldiers, and without Vortigern's permission Hengist continued to bring over more Saxons who married the local girls and incurred the wrath of local men -- also the Christian clergy who despised the Pagan Saxons.
Vortigern loved the Saxons, so his son Vortimer took advantage of this unrest to get himself made king and that done he then expelled the Saxons, forcing them to leave their wives and children in Britain. Furious, his step-mother Rowen contrived to have Vortimer poisoned, and when Vortigern and Rowen regained their kingdom they invited Hengist and the Saxons to return. Hengist had other plans. He came with 300,000 men and when Vortigern expressed horror at this invasion he was reassured by Hengist that the Saxons did not know that Vortimer was dead, but upon hearing that news he was willing to send back to Germany all the men that Vortigern wanted him to.
At a peaceful meeting to discuss the matter, Hengist ordered his men to conceal daggers under their cloaks and at an appointed moment they massacred 460 unarmed British dignitaries who had met with them. Vortigern was captured and in return for his life ceded to the Saxons his kingdom. He then took refuge in Cambria as the Saxons laid waste to London, York, Lincoln and Winchester slaughtering everyone in their sight.
At this point in time, Aurelius Amrosius and Uther Pendragon arrived in Britain with 10, 000 men and what remained of the Britons gathered together to greet him and anoint Aurelius as their rightful king. They implored him to get rid of the Saxons, but he was intent on gaining revenge on Vortigern for the murder of his brother. He burned down the Cambrian tower with Vortigern hiding in it, and upon hearing this news Hengist fled with the Saxons to Scotland where he mustered strength to meet the new king. The Saxons were defeated, Hengist was beheaded and his son, Octa, besieged at York, surrenders and is granted clemency as well as a peace treaty with a grant of land bordering Scotland.
Meanwhile, Vortigern's youngest son Pascentius had fled to Germany where he amassed a vast army of willing recruits with promises of land and wealth and, after an unsuccessful incursion in the north gained the support of the Irish king, Gillomanius, and landed in Cambria where they were met by Uther Pendragon who, upon hearing that his brother Aurelius Ambrosius had been poisoned by a Saxon disguised as a priest, took to battle with ferocity as the new king and killed both Pascentius and Gillomanius.
The rule of Vortigern's family thus came to an end, but the Saxons he loved so much continued to plague the country.
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