Who was Hengist?
Historical Note
As a point of interest whereas the Romans kept meticulous records of everything, the Dark Ages, the period in British history following the Romans departure, little was written down at all; news and events were passed on from generation to generation through a culture of long story telling around great log fires, by the time the Venerable Bede began to write these stories down, much embellishment had occurred and real events had become the stuff of legend, King Arthur is from the same period as is the poem Beowulf, Hengist is mentioned in both these great sagas. The difficulty is unravelling the true historical facts from the myth grown from the celebration of those events. Many stories are corroborated by archaeological finds but these are usually just tantalising snippets. In Anglo Saxon, Hengist and Horsa mean stallion and horse respectively, according to legend the twin brothers were so called due to their large physical stature and strength. However at the time in middle Europe there were religions which worshipped twin brothers (imagine the wonder and magic of two identical offspring) and also religions which worshipped the horse. So are the stories an extension of the peoples' religious belief or real events which became part of their religious beliefs, or cult followings borne of real people and real events?
Hengist, Mercenary, Prince, Adventurer
In 410 AD, after 400 years of rule, the Roman army and its Government withdrew from Britannia. There are no records to show who took over running the country, but it is fairly certain that many Romans stayed, as they would have had generations of family born in Britannia. It is possible that a few Roman officials remained as well keeping their positions of authority unwilling to leave the country they had come to love and call their own.
With the Roman armies gone, raiders from Ireland and the Picts from Caledonia (Scotland) took advantage of this situation and began carrying out regular attacks. One leader vowed to end these attacks and his name has passed down through history - Vortigern.
In 449 AD Vortigern began hiring the fiercest fighters known, Saxon and Jute mercenaries and he recruited the best, the Jute twin brothers named Hengist and Horsa, renown for their battle prowess.
In return for their services, Vortigern promised Hengist and Horsa great riches.
The two brothers and their men landed at Pegwell Bay, Kent, and stayed in Vortigern's palace. Britannia had plenty of rich farmland which as a legacy of the Roman occupation was well managed and productive, Hengist saw this and wanted it for his people. His tribe, the Jutes, came from a small area of Denmark which had become overcrowded, they were seeking a new homeland when Vortigern hired them.
After they won the first battle against the Picts, Vortigern gave the Jutes the Isle of Thanet to live on. Hengist told Vortigern that they needed to send for more men to help protect Britannia, Vortigern agreed.
The additional men needed more land. The Jute warlord told Vortigern they didn't need much, just a 'hide of land'. He agreed, thinking it would do no harm to give the Jutes a tiny piece of land the size of a bull hide. But Hengist was cunning and legend goes, that he sought the largest bull, slew it, and cut it's hide round and round into a very fine, thin strip of leather. This he stretched and laid out upon the ground in a huge circle, enclosing a parcel of land large enough to build a fortress on.
One of the new arrivals was Hengist's daughter Rowena. She has also been referred to as Renwein, Ronwin, and Ronixen. She was of course young, very blonde, very beautiful, very beguiling and very blue-eyed and seduced Vortigern.
Vortigern wanted her and asked Hengist for her hand in marriage and the Jute warlord made a deal and gave his blessing in exchange for the whole of what is now Kent. Vortigern married Rowena and gave Kent to the Jutes. This upset the other Princes of Britannia and also upset Vortigen's three sons who were livid and ready to go to war against their own father and his Jute friends.
In 455 AD Vortigern's eldest son, Vortimer, took up his sword against his father and his Jute army commanded by Hengist. They fought four fierce battles, Hengist and his men were defeated, his brother Horsa was killed, Hengist retreated back to the Isle of Thanet with the remains of his army and then left Britannia.
Hengist's daughter Rowena, stayed behind with the women and children, she took it upon herself to rid her father Hengist and her husband Vortigern of her stepson Vortimer. She brewed a fatal poison and bribed Vortimer's servant to administer the poison. Vortimer died, she then sent word to her father Hengist to return, which he did with shiploads of men.
Now Vortigern saw Hengist as a threat to Britannia and began to raise an army against him. Hengist feigned peaceful intent assuring Vortigern he had only come back to fight Vortimer, as he was now dead he would depart and go back to Denmark but leave some of his men to protect him against his foes. Hengist further proposed that all the Princes of Britannia, meet himself and his Jute warriors for a treaty of peace at the Cloister of Ambrius, near Stonehenge.
This is the legendary feast known as the 'Night of the Long Knives'.
All weapons had been checked and given up before the feast began but Hengist's had ordered his men to hide daggers in their boots, Hengist gave the signal, his men drew their long knives and stabbed the man next to him. Only one survived, Eldol, he was spared his life for the price of Essex, Sussex and Middlesex.
Vortigern was now a man on the run from the Saxons, Jutes and his own countrymen. He retreated to Snowdonia were he had a stronghold. The castle was placed under siege by the forces of Aureiilsu Ambrosia and his brother Uther Pendragon (father of King Arthur) who had returned from exile in Brittany to avenge their father Constan's death. Vortigern had instigated his murder and siezed his throne many years before. Rather then wait out a long drawn out siege they set fire to the tower and Vortigern was burned alive.
After this not only did the Jutes have a strong hold on Britainnia but so did the Saxons from Saxony and the Anglii from a part of what is now Germany and the Franks came over from France as well. To this day, the country is still referred to as England, or the 'Land of the Angles', and we speak English, which was originally the language of the Angles and of course the French refer to Britain as Angleterre. The Anglo Saxon Chronicles says that Hengist died in AD 488 but does not explain how and in what circumstances.
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