THE SAXONS.

2 ?

province of America; where, being charitably chap.received bv a people of the same language and X.manners, they fettled in great numbers, and gavetiie country the name of Brittany

The British writers assign one cause, whichfacilitated the entrance of the Saxons into thisisland; the love, with which Vortigern was atfirst seized for Rovena, tire daughter of Hengist,and which that artful warrior made use of to blindthe eyes of the imprudent monarch ‘ 6 . The samehistorians add , that Vortimer died ; and thatVortigern, being restored to the throne, acceptedof a banquet from Hengist , at Stonehenge; whereZOO of his nobility were treacherously slaughtered,and himself detained captive J7 . But these storiesieem to have been invented by the Welsh authors,in order to palliate the weak resistance made atfirst by their countrvmen, and to account for therapid progress and licentious devastations of theSaxons A

After the death of Vortimer, Ambrosius,a Briton, though of Roman descent, was investedwith the command over lus countrymen, andendeavoured, not without success , to unite themin their resistance against the Saxons. Thosecontests increased the animosity between the twonations , and rouzed the military spirit os the

n Bede, lib. r. cap.15. Ussier, p. 226. Gildas, §. 24.

" Nennius. Galfr. lib. 6. cap. 12.

37 Nennius, cap. 47. Galfr.

Stiilingfleet’s Orig. Brit. p. 324. 325.