A Source Book of Mediaeval History Part 7

8. The Saxon Invasion (cir. 449)

The Venerable Bede, the author of the pa.s.sage given below, was born about 673 in Northumberland and spent most of his life in the Benedictine abbey of Jarrow on the Tyne, where he died in 735. He was a man of broad learning and untiring industry, famous in all parts of Christendom by reason of the numerous scholarly books that he wrote.

The chief of these was his _Ecclesiastical History of the English People_, covering the period from the first invasion of Britain by Caesar (B.C. 55) to the year 731. In this work Bede dealt with many matters lying properly outside the sphere of church history, so that it is exceedingly valuable for the light which it throws on both the military and political affairs of the early Anglo-Saxons in Britain.

As an historian Bede was fair-minded and as accurate as his means of information permitted.

The Angle and Saxon seafarers from the region we now know as Denmark and Hanover had infested the sh.o.r.es of Britain for two centuries or more before the coming of Hengist and Horsa which Bede here describes.

The withdrawal of the Roman garrisons about the year 410 left the Britons at the mercy of the wilder Picts and Scots of the north and west, and as a last resort King Vortigern decided to call in the Saxons to aid in his campaign of defense. Such, at least, is the story related by Gildas, a Romanized British chronicler who wrote about the year 560, and this was the view adopted by Bede. Recent writers, as Mr. James H. Ramsay in his _Foundations of England_, are inclined to cast serious doubts upon the story because it seems hardly probable that any king would have taken so foolish a step as that attributed to Vortigern.[70] At any rate, whether by invitation or for pure love of seafaring adventure, certain it is that the Saxons and Angles made their appearance at the little island of Thanet, on the coast of Kent, and found the country so much to their liking that they chose to remain rather than return to the over-populated sh.o.r.es of the Baltic.

There are many reasons for believing that people of Germanic stock had been settled more or less permanently in Britain long before the traditional invasion of Hengist and Horsa. Yet we are justified in thinking of this interesting expedition as, for all practical purposes, the beginning of the long and stubborn struggle of Germans to possess the fruitful British isle. While Visigoths and Ostrogoths, Vandals and Lombards were breaking across the Rhine-Danube frontier and finding new homes in the territories of the Roman Empire, the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes from the farther north were led by their seafaring instincts to make their great movement, not by land, but by water, and into a country which the Romans had a good while before been obliged to abandon. There they were free to develop their own peculiar Germanic life and inst.i.tutions, for the most part without undergoing the changes which settlement among the Romans produced in the case of the tribes whose migrations were towards the Mediterranean.

Source--Baeda, _Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum_ [Bede, "Ecclesiastical History of the English People"], Bk. I., Chaps. 14-15. Translated by J. A. Giles (London, 1847), pp.

23-25.

[Sidenote: The Britons decide to call in the Saxons]

They consulted what was to be done,[71] and where they should seek a.s.sistance to prevent or repel the cruel and frequent incursions of the northern nations. And they all agreed with their king, Vortigern, to call over to their aid, from the parts beyond the sea, the Saxon nation; which, as the outcome still more plainly showed, appears to have been done by the inspiration of our Lord Himself, that evil might fall upon them for their wicked deeds.

[Sidenote: The Saxons settle in the island]

In the year of our Lord 449,[72] Martian, being made emperor with Valentinian, the forty-sixth from Augustus, ruled the Empire seven years. Then the nation of the Angles, or Saxons, being invited by the aforesaid king, arrived in Britain with three long s.h.i.+ps, and had a place a.s.signed them to reside in by the same king, in the eastern part of the island,[73] that they might thus appear to be fighting for their country, while their real intentions were to enslave it. Accordingly they engaged with the enemy, who were come from the north to give battle, and obtained the victory; which, being known at home in their own country, as also the fertility of the islands and the cowardice of the Britons, a larger fleet was quickly sent over, bringing a still greater number of men, who, being added to the former, made up an invincible army. The newcomers received from the Britons a place to dwell, upon condition that they should wage war against their enemies for the peace and security of the country, while the Britons agreed to furnish them with pay.

Those who came over were of the three most powerful nations of Germany--Saxons, Angles, and Jutes. From the Jutes are descended the people of Kent and of the Isle of Wight, and those also in the province of the West Saxons who are to this day called Jutes, seated opposite to the Isle of Wight. From the Saxons, that is, the country which is now called Old Saxony, came the East Saxons, the South Saxons, and the West Saxons. From the Angles, that is, the country which is called Anglia, and which is said, from that time, to remain desert to this day, between the provinces of the Jutes and the Saxons, are descended the East Angles, the Midland Angles, Mercians, all the race of the Northumbrians, that is, of those nations that dwell on the north side of the River Humber, and the other nations of the English.

[Sidenote: Hengist and Horsa]

[Sidenote: The Saxons turn against the Britons]

The first two commanders are said to have been Hengist and Horsa.

Horsa, being afterwards slain in battle by the Britons,[74] was buried in the eastern part of Kent, where a monument bearing his name is still in existence. They were the sons of Victgilsus, whose father was Vecta, son of Woden; from whose stock the royal races of many provinces trace their descent. In a short time swarms of the aforesaid nations came over into the island, and they began to increase so much that they became a terror to the natives themselves who had invited them. Then, having on a sudden entered into a league with the Picts, whom they had by this time repelled by the force of their arms, they began to turn their weapons against their confederates. At first they obliged them to furnish a greater quant.i.ty of provisions; and, seeking an occasion to quarrel, protested that unless more plentiful supplies were brought them they would break the confederacy and ravage all the island; nor were they backward in putting their threats in execution.

[Sidenote: Their devastation of the country]

They plundered all the neighboring cities and country, spread the conflagration from the eastern to the western sea without any opposition, and covered almost every part of the island. Public as well as private structures were overturned; the priests were everywhere slain before the altars; the prelates and the people, without any respect of persons, were destroyed with fire and sword; nor were there any to bury those who had been thus cruelly slaughtered. Some of the miserable remainder, being taken in the mountains, were butchered in heaps. Others, driven by hunger, came forth and submitted themselves to the enemy for food, being destined to undergo perpetual servitude, if they were not killed upon the spot. Some, with sorrowful hearts, fled beyond the seas.

Others, continuing in their own country, led a miserable life among the woods, rocks, and mountains, with scarcely enough food to support life, and expecting every moment to be their last.[75]

9. The Mission of Augustine (597)

How or when the Christian religion was first introduced into Britain cannot now be ascertained. As early as the beginning of the third century the African church father Tertullian referred to the Britons as a Christian people, and in 314 the British church was recognized by the Council of Arles as an integral part of the church universal.

Throughout the period of Roman control in the island Christianity continued to be the dominant religion. When, however, in the fifth century and after, the Saxons and Angles invaded the country and the native population was largely killed off or driven westward (though not so completely as some books tell us), Christianity came to be pretty much confined to the Celtic peoples of Ireland and Wales. The invaders were still pagans wors.h.i.+ping the old Teutonic deities Woden, Thor, Freya, and the rest, and though an attempt at their conversion was made by a succession of Irish monks, their pride as conquerors seems to have kept them from being greatly influenced. At any rate, the conversion of the Angles and Saxons was a task which called for a special evangelistic movement from no less a source than the head of the Church. This movement was set in operation by Pope Gregory I.

(Gregory the Great) near the close of the sixth century. It is reasonable to suppose that the impulse came originally from Bertha, the Frankish queen of King Ethelbert of Kent, who was an ardent Christian and very desirous of bringing about the conversion of her adopted people. In 596 Augustine (not to be confused with the celebrated bishop of Hippo in the fifth century) was sent by Pope Gregory at the head of a band of monks to proclaim the religion of the cross to King Ethelbert, and afterwards to all the Angles and Saxons and Jutes in the island. On Whitsunday, June 2, 597, Ethelbert renounced his old G.o.ds and was baptized into the Christian communion.

The majority of his people soon followed his example and four years later Augustine was appointed "Bishop of the English." After this encouraging beginning the Christianizing of the East, West, and South Saxons went steadily forward.

Source--Baeda, _Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum_, Bk.

I., Chaps. 23, 25-26. Adapted from translation by J. A. Giles (London, 1847), pp. 34-40 _pa.s.sim_.

[Sidenote: Pope Gregory I. sends missionaries to Britain]

[Sidenote: They become frightened at the outlook]

In the year of our Lord 582, Maurice, the fifty-fourth from Augustus, ascended the throne,[76] and reigned twenty-one years. In the tenth year of his reign, Gregory, a man renowned for learning and piety, was elected to the apostolical see of Rome, and presided over it thirteen years, six months and ten days.[77] He, being moved by divine inspiration, in the fourteenth year of the same emperor, and about the one hundred and fiftieth after the coming of the English into Britain, sent the servant of G.o.d, Augustine,[78]

and with him several other monks who feared the Lord, to preach the word of G.o.d to the English nation. They, in obedience to the Pope's commands, having undertaken that work, were on their journey seized with a sudden fear and began to think of returning home, rather than of proceeding to a barbarous, fierce, and unbelieving nation, to whose very language they were strangers; and this they unanimously agreed was the safest course.[79] In short, they sent back Augustine, who had been appointed to be consecrated bishop in case they were received by the English, that he might, by humble entreaty, obtain consent of the holy Gregory, that they should not be compelled to undertake so dangerous, toilsome, and uncertain a journey. The Pope, in reply, sent them an encouraging letter, persuading them to proceed in the work of the divine word, and rely on the a.s.sistance of the Almighty. The substance of this letter was as follows:

[Sidenote: Gregory's letter of encouragement]

"Gregory, the servant of the servants of G.o.d, to the servants of our Lord. Forasmuch as it had been better not to begin a good work than to think of abandoning that which has been begun, it behooves you, my beloved sons, to fulfill the good work which, by the help of our Lord, you have undertaken. Let not, therefore, the toil of the journey nor the tongues of evil-speaking men deter you. With all possible earnestness and zeal perform that which, by G.o.d's direction, you have undertaken; being a.s.sured that much labor is followed by an eternal reward. When Augustine, your chief, returns, whom we also const.i.tute your abbot,[80] humbly obey him in all things; knowing that whatsoever you shall do by his direction will, in all respects, be helpful to your souls. Almighty G.o.d protect you with his grace, and grant that I, in the heavenly country, may see the fruits of your labor; inasmuch as, though I cannot labor with you, I shall partake in the joy of the reward, because I am willing to labor. G.o.d keep you in safety, my most beloved sons. Dated the 23rd of July, in the fourteenth year of the reign of our pious and most august lord, Mauritius Tiberius, the thirteenth year after the consuls.h.i.+p of our said lord."

[Sidenote: Augustine and his companions arrive in Kent]

Augustine, thus strengthened by the confirmation of the blessed Father Gregory, returned to the work of the word of G.o.d, with the servants of Christ, and arrived in Britain. The powerful Ethelbert was at that time king of Kent. He had extended his dominions as far as the great River Humber, by which the Southern Saxons are divided from the Northern.[81] On the east of Kent is the large isle of Thanet containing according to the English reckoning 600 families, divided from the other land by the River Wantsum, which is about three furlongs over and fordable only in two places, for both ends of it run into the sea.[82] In this island landed the servant of our Lord, Augustine, and his companions, being, as is reported, nearly forty men. By order of the blessed Pope Gregory, they had taken interpreters of the nation of the Franks,[83] and sending to Ethelbert, signified that they were come from Rome and brought a joyful message, which most undoubtedly a.s.sured to all that took advantage of it everlasting joys in heaven and a kingdom that would never end, with the living and true G.o.d. The king, having heard this, ordered that they stay in that island where they had landed, and that they be furnished with all necessaries, until he should consider what to do with them. For he had before heard of the Christian religion, having a Christian wife of the royal family of the Franks, called Bertha;[84] whom he had received from her parents upon condition that she should be permitted to practice her religion with the Bishop Luidhard, who was sent with her to preserve her faith.[85]

[Sidenote: Augustine preaches to King Ethelbert]

Some days after, the king came to the island, and sitting in the open air, ordered Augustine and his companions to be brought into his presence. For he had taken precaution that they should not come to him in any house, lest, according to an ancient superst.i.tion, if they practised any magical arts, they might impose upon him, and so get the better of him. But they came furnished with divine, not with magic virtue, bearing a silver cross for their banner, and the image of our Lord and Savior painted on a board; and singing the litany, they offered up their prayers to the Lord for the eternal salvation both of themselves and of those to whom they were come.

When Augustine had sat down, according to the king's commands, and preached to him and his attendants there present the word of life, the king answered thus: "Your words and promises are very fair, but as they are new to us, and of uncertain import, I cannot approve of them so far as to forsake that which I have so long followed with the whole English nation. But because you are come from afar into my kingdom, and, as I conceive, are desirous to impart to us those things which you believe to be true and most beneficial, we will not molest you, but give you favorable entertainment and take care to supply you with necessary sustenance; nor do we forbid you to preach and win as many as you can to your religion." Accordingly he permitted them to reside in the city of Canterbury, which was the metropolis of all his dominions, and, according to his promise, besides allowing them sustenance, did not refuse them liberty to preach. It is reported that, as they drew near to the city, after their manner, with the holy cross and the image of our sovereign Lord and King, Jesus Christ, they sang this litany together: "We beseech thee, O Lord, in all Thy mercy, that Thy anger and wrath be turned away from this city, and from Thy holy house, because we have sinned. Hallelujah."

[Sidenote: The life of the missionaries at Canterbury]

As soon as they entered the dwelling-place a.s.signed them, they began to imitate the course of life practised in the primitive Church; applying themselves to frequent prayer, watching, and fasting; preaching the word of life to as many as they could; despising all worldly things as not belonging to them; receiving only their necessary food from those they taught; living themselves in all respects in conformity with what they prescribed for others, and being always disposed to suffer any adversity, and even to die for that truth which they preached. In short, several believed and were baptized, admiring the simplicity of their innocent life, and the sweetness of their heavenly doctrine. There was, on the east side of the city, a church dedicated to the honor of St. Martin, built whilst the Romans were still in the island, wherein the queen, who, as has been said before, was a Christian, used to pray.[86] In this they first began to meet, to sing, to pray, to say ma.s.s, to preach, and to baptize, until the king, being converted to the faith, allowed them to preach openly, and build or repair churches in all places.

[Sidenote: Ethelbert converted]

When he, among the rest, induced by the unspotted life of these holy men, and their pleasing promises, which by many miracles they proved to be most certain, believed and was baptized, greater numbers began daily to flock together to hear the word, and forsaking their heathen rites, to a.s.sociate themselves, by believing, to the unity of the church of Christ. Their conversion the king encouraged in so far that he compelled none to embrace Christianity, but only showed more affection to the believers, as to his fellow-citizens in the heavenly kingdom. For he had learned from his instructors and guides to salvation that the service of Christ ought to be voluntary, not by compulsion. Nor was it long before he gave his teachers a settled residence in his metropolis of Canterbury, with such possessions of different kinds as were necessary for their subsistence.[87]

FOOTNOTES:

[70] James H. Ramsay, _The Foundations of England_ (London, 1898), I., p. 121.

[71] Bede has just been describing a plague which rendered the Britons at this time even more unable than usual to withstand the fierce invaders from the north; also lamenting the luxury and crime which a few years of relief from war had produced among his people.

[72] This date is evidently incorrect. Martian and Valentinian III.

became joint rulers of the Empire in 450; hence this is the year that Bede probably meant.

[73] That is, Thanet, which practically no longer exists as an island.

In Bede's day it was separated from the rest of Kent by nearly half a mile of water, but since then the coast line has changed so that the land is cut through by only a tiny rill. The intervening ground, however, is marshy and only partially reclaimed.

[74] This battle was fought between Hengist and Vortimer, the eldest son of Vortigern, at Aylesford, in Kent.

[75] It is by no means probable that the invasion of Britain by the Saxons was followed by such wholesale extermination of the natives as is here represented, though it is certain that everywhere, except in the far west (Wales) and north (Scotland), the native population was reduced to complete subjection.

[76] That is, the throne of the Eastern Empire at Constantinople.

[77] Gregory was a monk before he was elected pope. He held the papal office from 590 to 604 [see p. 90].

[78] Augustine at the time (596) was prior of a monastery dedicated to St. Andrew in Rome.

[79] The missionaries had apparently gone as far as Arles in southern Provence when they reached this decision.

[80] An abbot was the head of a monastery. Should such an establishment be set up in Britain, Augustine was to be its presiding officer.