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HISTORY OF BRITAIN TEXTS (I)

WEEKS 1-3 (corresponding roughly to BBC videos 1 Beginnings to 3 Dynasty, incl)

Excerpts from

Gaius Julius Caesar Commentaries on the Gallic War
XX.-XXII. His design upon Britain; preparations for the expedition.XXIII.-XXVII.
Carries it into effect; the defeat and surrender of the Britons.
http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/caesar/gallic_e4.html#27

20 During the short part of summer which remained, Caesar, although
in these countries, as all Gaul lies toward the north, the winters are early,
nevertheless resolved to proceed into Britain, because he discovered that in
almost all the wars with the Gauls succors had been furnished to our enemy
from that country; and even if the time of year should be insufficient for
carrying on the war, yet he thought it would be of great service to him if he
only entered the island, and saw into the character of the people, and got
knowledge of their localities, harbors, and landing-places, all which were for
the most part unknown to the Gauls. For neither does any one except
merchants generally go thither, nor even to them was any portion of it
known, except the sea-coast and those parts which are opposite to Gaul.
Therefore, after having called up to him the merchants from all parts, he
could learn neither what was the size of the island, nor what or how
numerous were the nations which inhabited it, nor what system of war they
followed, nor what customs they used, nor what harbors were convenient for
a great number of large ships.

21 He sends before him Caius Volusenus with a ship of war, to
acquire a knowledge of these particulars before he in person should make a
descent into the island, as he was convinced that this was a judicious
measure. He commissioned him to thoroughly examine into all matters, and
then return to him as soon as possible. He himself proceeds to the Morini
with all his forces. He orders ships from all parts of the neighboring
countries, and the fleet which the preceding summer he had built for the war
with the Veneti, to assemble in this place. In the mean time, his purpose
having been discovered, and reported to the Britons by merchants,
ambassadors come to him from several states of the island, to promise that
they will give hostages, and submit to the government of the Roman people.
Having given them an audience, he after promising liberally, and exhorting
them to continue in that purpose, sends them back to their own country, and
[dispatches] with them Commius, whom, upon subduing the Atrebates, he
had created king there, a man whose courage and conduct he esteemed, and
who he thought would be faithful to him, and whose influence ranked highly
in those countries. He orders him to visit as many states as he could, and
persuade them to embrace the protection of the Roman people, and apprize
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them that he would shortly come thither. Volusenus, having viewed the
localities as far as means could be afforded one who dared not leave his ship
and trust himself to barbarians, returns to Caesar on the fifth day, and
reports what he had there observed.

22 While Caesar remains in these parts for the purpose of procuring
ships, ambassadors come to him from a great portion of the Morini, to plead
their excuse respecting their conduct on the late occasion; alleging that it
was as men uncivilized, and as those who were unacquainted with our
custom, that they had made war upon the Roman people, and promising to
perform what he should command. Caesar, thinking that this had happened
fortunately enough for him, because he neither wished to leave an enemy
behind him, nor had an opportunity for carrying on a war, by reason of the
time of year, nor considered that employment in such trifling matters was to
be preferred to his enterprise on Britain, imposes a large number of
hostages; and when these were brought, he received them to his protection.
Having collected together, and provided about eighty transport ships, as
many as he thought necessary for conveying over two legions, he assigned
such [ships] of war as he had besides to the quaestor, his lieutenants, and
officers of cavalry. There were in addition to these eighteen ships of burden
which were prevented, eight miles from that place, by winds, from being
able to reach the same port. These he distributed among the horse; the rest of
the army, he delivered to Q. Titurius Sabinus and L. Aurunculeius Cotta, his
lieutenants, to lead into the territories of the Menapii and those cantons of
the Morini from which ambassadors had not come to him. He ordered P.
Sulpicius Rufus, his lieutenant, to hold possession of the harbor, with such a
garrison as he thought sufficient.

23 These matters being arranged, finding the weather favorable for his
voyage, he set sail about the third watch, and ordered the horse to march
forward to the further port, and there embark and follow him. As this was
performed rather tardily by them, he himself reached Britain with the first
squadron of ships, about the fourth hour of the day, and there saw the forces
of the enemy drawn up in arms on all the hills. The nature of the place was
this: the sea was confined by mountains so close to it that a dart could be
thrown from their summit upon the shore. Considering this by no means a fit
place for disembarking, he remained at anchor till the ninth hour, for the
other ships to arrive there. Having in the mean time assembled the
lieutenants and military tribunes, he told them both what he had learned
from Volusenus, and what he wished to be done; and enjoined them (as the
principle of military matters, and especially as maritime affairs, which have
a precipitate and uncertain action, required) that all things should be
performed by them at a nod and at the instant. Having dismissed them,
meeting both with wind and tide favorable at the same time, the signal being
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given and the anchor weighed, he advanced about seven miles from that
place, and stationed his fleet over against an open and level shore.

24 But the barbarians, upon perceiving the design of the Romans, sent
forward their cavalry and charioteers, a class of warriors of whom it is their
practice to make great use in their battles, and following with the rest of
their forces, endeavored to prevent our men landing. In this was the greatest
difficulty, for the following reasons, namely, because our ships, on account
of their great size, could be stationed only in deep water; and our soldiers, in
places unknown to them, with their hands embarrassed, oppressed with a
large and heavy weight of armor, had at the same time to leap from the
ships, stand amid the waves, and encounter the enemy; whereas they, either
on dry ground, or advancing a little way into the water, free in all their limbs
in places thoroughly known to them, could confidently throw their weapons
and spur on their horses, which were accustomed to this kind of service.
Dismayed by these circumstances and altogether untrained in this mode of
battle, our men did not all exert the same vigor and eagerness which they
had been wont to exert in engagements on dry ground.

25 When Caesar observed this, he ordered the ships of war, the
appearance of which was somewhat strange to the barbarians and the motion
more ready for service, to be withdrawn a little from the transport vessels,
and to be propelled by their oars, and be stationed toward the open flank of
the enemy, and the enemy to be beaten off and driven away, with slings,
arrows, and engines: which plan was of great service to our men; for the
barbarians being startled by the form of our ships and the motions of our
oars and the nature of our engines, which was strange to them, stopped, and
shortly after retreated a little. And while our men were hesitating [whether
they should advance to the shore], chiefly on account of the depth of the sea,
he who carried the eagle of the tenth legion, after supplicating the gods that
the matter might turn out favorably to the legion, exclaimed, Leap, fellow
soldiers, unless you wish to betray your eagle to the enemy. I, for my part,
will perform my duty to the commonwealth and my general. When he had
said this with a loud voice, he leaped from the ship and proceeded to bear
the eagle toward the enemy. Then our men, exhorting one another that so
great a disgrace should not be incurred, all leaped from the ship. When those
in the nearest vessels saw them, they speedily followed and approached the
enemy.

26 The battle was maintained vigorously on both sides. Our men,
however, as they could neither keep their ranks, nor get firm footing, nor
follow their standards, and as one from one ship and another from another
assembled around whatever standards they met, were thrown into great
confusion. But the enemy, who were acquainted with all the shallows, when
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from the shore they saw any coming from a ship one by one, spurred on
their horses, and attacked them while embarrassed; many surrounded a few,
others threw their weapons upon our collected forces on their exposed flank.
When Caesar observed this, he ordered the boats of the ships of war and the
spy sloops to be filled with soldiers, and sent them up to the succor of those
whom he had observed in distress. Our men, as soon as they made good
their footing on dry ground, and all their comrades had joined them, made
an attack upon the enemy, and put them to flight, but could not pursue them
very far, because the horse had not been able to maintain their course at sea
and reach the island. This alone was wanting to Caesars accustomed
success.

27 The enemy being thus vanquished in battle, as soon as they
recovered after their flight, instantly sent ambassadors to Caesar to negotiate
about peace. They promised to give hostages and perform what he should
command. Together with these ambassadors came Commius the Altrebatian,
who, as I have above said, had been sent by Caesar into Britain. Him they
had seized upon when leaving his ship, although in the character of
ambassador he bore the generals commission to them, and thrown into
chains: then after the battle was fought, they sent him back, and in suing for
peace cast the blame of that act upon the common people, and entreated that
it might be pardoned on account of their indiscretion. Caesar, complaining,
that after they had sued for peace, and had voluntarily sent ambassadors into
the continent for that purpose, they had made war without a reason, said that
he would pardon their indiscretion, and imposed hostages, a part of whom
they gave immediately; the rest they said they would give in a few days,
since they were sent for from remote places. In the mean time they ordered
their people to return to the country parts, and the chiefs assembled from all
quarter, and proceeded to surrender themselves and their states to Caesar.


Boudicca's Rebellion, 61 AD
A contemporary account by the Roman historian, Tacitus, about the nearly-successful
British uprising led by Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni.
http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/tacitus.html

Chapter 30. [The Druids at Mona Island] present day isle of Anglesey (Wales)

On the opposite shore stood the Britons, close embodied, and prepared for action.
Women were seen running through the ranks in wild disorder; their apparel funeral;
their hair loose to the wind, in their hands flaming torches, and their whole
appearance resembling the frantic rage of the Furies. The Druids were ranged in
order, with hands uplifted, invoking the gods, and pouring forth horrible imprecations.
The novelty of the fight struck the Romans with awe and terror. They stood in stupid
amazement, as if their limbs were benumbed, riveted to one spot, a mark for the
enemy. The exhortations of the general diffused new vigour through the ranks, and
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the men, by mutual reproaches, inflamed each other to deeds of valour. They felt the
disgrace of yielding to a troop of women, and a band of fanatic priests; they advanced
their standards, and rushed on to the attack with impetuous fury.

The Britons perished in the flames, which they themselves had kindled. The island
fell, and a garrison was established to retain it in subjection. The religious groves,
dedicated to superstition and barbarous rites, were levelled to the ground. In those
recesses, the natives [stained] their altars with the blood of their prisoners, and in the
entrails of men explored the will of the gods. While Suetonius was employed in
making his arrangements to secure the island, he received intelligence that Britain had
revolted, and that the whole province was up in arms.


Chapter 31. [Causes of Boudicca's revolt]

Prasutagus, the late king of the Icenians, in the course of a long reign had amassed
considerable wealth. By his will he left the whole to his two daughters and the
emperor in equal shares, conceiving, by that stroke of policy, that he should provide at
once for the tranquility of his kingdom and his family.

The event was otherwise. His dominions were ravaged by the centurions; the slaves
pillaged his house, and his effects were seized as lawful plunder. His wife, Boudicca,
was disgraced with cruel stripes; her daughters were ravished, and the most illustrious
of the Icenians were, by force, deprived of the positions which had been transmitted
to them by their ancestors. The whole country was considered as a legacy bequeathed
to the plunderers. The relations of the deceased king were reduced to slavery.

Exasperated by their acts of violence, and dreading worse calamities, the Icenians had
recourse to arms. The Trinobantians joined in the revolt. The neighboring states, not
as yet taught to crouch in bondage, pledged themselves, in secret councils, to stand
forth in the cause of liberty. What chiefly fired their indignation was the conduct of
the veterans, lately planted as a colony at Camulodunum. These men treated the
Britons with cruelty and oppression; they drove the natives from their habitations, and
calling them by the [shameful] names of slaves and captives, added insult to their
tyranny. In these acts of oppression, the veterans were supported by the common
soldiers; a set of men, by their habits of life, trained to licentiousness, and, in their
turn, expecting to reap the same advantages. The temple built in honour of Claudius
was another cause of discontent. In the eye of the Britons it seemed the citadel of
eternal slavery. The priests, appointed to officiate at the altars, with a pretended zeal
for religion, devoured the whole substance of the country. To over-run a colony,
which lay quite naked and exposed, without a single fortification to defend it, did not
appear to the incensed and angry Britons an enterprise that threatened either danger or
difficulty. The fact was, the Roman generals attended to improvements to taste and
elegance, but neglected the useful. They embellished the province, and took no care to
defend it.

Chapter 35. [Boudicca addresses her army]

Boudicca, in a [chariot], with her two daughters before her, drove through the ranks.
She harangued the different nations in their turn: "This," she said, "is not the first time
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that the Britons have been led to battle by a woman. But now she did not come to
boast the pride of a long line of ancestry, nor even to recover her kingdom and the
plundered wealth of her family. She took the field, like the meanest among them, to
assert the cause of public liberty, and to seek revenge for her body seamed with
ignominious stripes, and her two daughters infamously ravished. From the pride and
arrogance of the Romans nothing is sacred; all are subject to violation; the old endure
the scourge, and the virgins are deflowered. But the vindictive gods are now at hand.
A Roman legion dared to face the warlike Britons: with their lives they paid for their
rashness; those who survived the carnage of that day, lie poorly hid behind their
entrenchments, meditating nothing but how to save themselves by an ignominious
flight. From the din of preparation, and the shouts of the British army, the Romans,
even now, shrink back with terror. What will be their case when the assault begins?
Look round, and view your numbers. Behold the proud display of warlike spirits, and
consider the motives for which we draw the avenging sword. On this spot we must
either conquer, or die with glory. There is no alternative. Though a woman, my
resolution is fixed: the men, if they please, may survive with infamy, and live in
bondage."

Chapter 37. [The decisive battle]

The engagement began. The Roman legion presented a close embodied line. The
narrow defile gave them the shelter of a rampart. The Britons advanced with ferocity,
and discharged their darts at random. In that instant, the Romans rushed forward in
the form of a wedge. The auxiliaries followed with equal ardour. The cavalry, at the
same time, bore down upon the enemy, and, with their pikes, overpowered all who
dared to make a stand. The Britons betook themselves to flight, but their waggons in
the rear obstructed their passage. A dreadful slaughter followed. Neither sex nor age
was spared. The cattle, falling in one promiscuous carnage, added to the heaps of
slain. The glory of the day was equal to the most splendid victory of ancient times.
According to some writers, not less than eighty thousand Britons were put to the
sword. The Romans lost about four hundred men, and the wounded did not exceed
that number. Boudicca, by a dose of poison, [ended] her life. Poenius Postumius, the
Prefect in the camp of the second legion, as soon as he heard of the brave exploits of
the fourteenth and twentieth legions, felt the disgrace of having, in disobedience to the
orders of his general, robbed the soldiers under his command of their share in so
complete a victory. Stung with remorse, he fell upon his sword, and expired on the
spot.

De Excidio Britanniae, c.540
Sixth century diatribe written by the monk, Gildas, giving some insight into darkage
Britain and the situation that gave rise to the legend of Arthur.
http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/gildas.html


In "De Excidio Britanniae", St. Gildas (sometimes called "The Wise"), a 6th century
British monk, denounced in the most aggressive language possible, the terrible
wickedness of his times. He is the only substantial source which survives from the
time of the Anglo-Saxon conquest of Britain, and the best source prior to the much
more impressive work of the Venerable Bede (who completed his "Ecclesiastical
History of the English People" almost 200 years later, in 731). Below are some
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excerpts from "De Excicio Britanniae" concerning that portion of the fifth century
when the events occurred which are now believed to be the millieu out of which came
the legend of King Arthur. It is curious that a personage so great as Arthur is not
mentioned at all. It is also curious that the only person connected with the Arthur
story, who is mentioned, is Ambrosius Aurelianus.

SAXON (etymology): Seax (or Sax or Seaxe,) essentially means sword. Saxon
means 'Sons of the Sword' (or Seax). It was a common weapon amongst early Anglo-
Saxon tribes, such as the Engles (Angles) in Denmark in the 5th Century AD, the
original tribe of English. The Lang Seax was a single edged sword. Shorter versions
of the Seax were used for eating and as tools.
(http://www.englandandenglishhistory.com/steadfast-stedefaest)

Note: the new settlers were a mixture of people from north Germany, Denmark and
northern Holland. If we use the modern names for the countries they came from, the
Saxons, Franks and Frisians were German-Dutch, the Angles were southern Danish,
and Jutes were northern Danish.
.............................................................

Chapter 23
Then all the councillors, together with that proud tyrant Gurthrigern [Vortigern], the
British king, were so blinded, that, as a protection to their country, they sealed its
doom by inviting in among them (like wolves into the sheep-fold), the fierce and
impious Saxons, a race hateful both to God and men, to repel the invasions of the
northern nations. Nothing was ever so pernicious to our country, nothing was ever so
unlucky. What palpable darkness must have enveloped their minds--darkness
desperate and cruel! Those very people whom, when absent, they dreaded more than
death itself, were invited to reside, as one may say, under the selfsame roof. Foolish
are the princes, as it is said, of Thafneos, giving counsel to unwise Pharaoh. A
multitude of whelps came forth from the lair of this barbaric lioness, in three cyuls, as
they call them, that is, in three ships of war, with their sails wafted by the wind and
with omens and prophecies favourable, for it was foretold by a certain soothsayer
among them, that they should occupy the country to which they were sailing three
hundred years, and half of that time, a hundred and fifty years, should plunder and
despoil the same. They first landed on the eastern side of the island, by the invitation
of the unlucky king, and there fixed their sharp talons, apparently to fight in favour of
the island, but alas! more truly against it. Their mother-land, finding her first brood
thus successful, sends forth a larger company of her wolfish offspring, which sailing
over, join themselves to their bastard-born comrades. From that time the germ of
iniquity and the root of contention planted their poison amongst us, as we deserved,
and shot forth into leaves and branches. The barbarians being thus introduced as
soldiers into the island, to encounter, as they falsely said, any dangers in defence of
their hospitable entertainers, obtain an allowance of provisions, which, for some time
being plentifully bestowed, stopped their doggish mouths. Yet they complain that
their monthly supplies are not furnished in sufficient abundance, and they
industriously aggravate each occasion of quarrel, saying that unless more liberality is
shown them, they will break the treaty and plunder the whole island. In a short time,
they follow up their threats with deeds.

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Chapter 25
Some, therefore, of the miserable remnant, being taken in the mountains, were
murdered in great numbers; others, constrained by famine, came and yielded
themselves to be slaves for ever to their foes, running the risk of being instantly slain,
which truly was the greatest favour that could be offered them: some others passed
beyond the seas with loud lamentations instead of the voice of exhortation. "Thou hast
given us as sheep to be slaughtered, and among the Gentiles hast thou dispersed us."
Others, committing the safeguard of their lives, which were in continual jeopardy, to
the mountains, precipices, thickly wooded forests, and to the rocks of the seas (albeit
with trembling hearts), remained still in their country. But in the meanwhile, an
opportunity happening, when these most cruel robbers were returned home, the poor
remnants of our nation (to whom flocked from divers places round about our
miserable countrymen as fast as bees to their hives, for fear of an ensuing storm),
being strengthened by God, calling upon him with all their hearts, as the poet says,--
"With their unnumbered vows they burden heaven,"
that they might not be brought to utter destruction, took arms under the conduct of
Ambrosius Aurelianus, a modest man, who of all the Roman nation was then alone in
the confusion of this troubled period by chance left alive. His parents, who for their
merit were adorned with the purple, had been slain in these same broils, and now his
progeny in these our days, although shamefully degenerated from the worthiness of
their ancestors, provoke to battle their cruel conquerors, and by the goodness of our
Lord obtain the victory.

The Coming of St. Augustine
Account of the coming of Roman Christianity to the island of Britain in 597, by the
8th century historian, the Venerable Bede.
http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/bedeconv.html

Bede, The Venerable:
Conversion of England, 597 AD
Of all the early historians, Bede, the Venerable, is the most noteworthy and
reliable. In the early eighth century, he was a monk at the monastery of
Jarrow, located in the far north of England, in what is now the county of
Tyne and Wear. His attention to detail and accuracy set him apart from most
other writers in the area of history. His "Ecclesiastical History of the English
People" is a valuable account of the arrival and development of Roman
Christianity to Britain in 597 AD. Below is an excerpt from his account.

The Arrival in Kent of the missionaries sent By Gregory the Great (597)
In the year of our Lord 582, Maurice, the fifty-fourth emperor from Augustus,
ascended the throne and reigned twenty-one years. In the tenth year of his reign,
Gregory, a man renowned for learning and behavior, was promoted to the apostolic
see of Rome,' and presided over it thirteen years, six months, and ten days. He, being
moved by divine inspiration, about the one hundred and fiftieth year after the coming
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of the English into Britain, sent the servant of God, Augustine, and with him several
other monks who feared the Lord, to preach the word of God to the English nation. . .
.
[Augustine, with his companions, 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. On the east of
Kent is the large Isle of Thanet, containing, according to the English way of
reckoning, six hundred families, and divided from the other land by the river
Wantsum, which is about three furlongs across and fordable only in two places, for
both ends of it run into the sea.
In this island landed the servant of our Lord, Augustine, and his companions, being,
as is reported, nearly forty men. They had, by order of the blessed Pope Gregory,
brought interpreters of the nation of the Franks, and sending to Ethelbert, signified
that they were come from Rome, and brought a joyful message, which most
undoubtedly assured to all that took advantage of it everlasting joys in heaven, and a
kingdom that would never end with the living and true God.
Gregory the Great: Instructions to the Missionaries (against pagan religion)
The Letter to Mellitus of 601
When Almighty God shall bring you to the most reverend Bishop Augustine, our
brother, tell him what I have, after mature deliberation on the affairs of the English,
determined upon, namely, that the temples of the idols in that nation ought not to be
destroyed, but let the idols that are in them be destroyed; let holy water be made and
sprinkled in the said temples - let altars be erected, and relics placed. For if those
temples are well built, it is requisite that they be converted from the worship of devils
to the service of the true God; that the nation, seeing that their temples are not
destroyed, may remove error from their hearts and, knowing and adoring the true
God, may the more familiarly resort to the places to which they have been
accustomed.
And because they have been used to slaughter many oxen in the sacrifices to devils,
some solemnity must be substituted for them on this account, as, for instance, that on
the day of the dedication, or of the nativities of the holy martyrs whose relics are there
deposited, they may build themselves huts of the boughs of trees about those churches
which have been turned to that use from temples, and celebrate the solemnity with
religious feasting, no more offering beasts to the devil, but killing cattle to the praise
of God in their eating, and returning thanks to the Giver of all things for their
sustenance; to the end that, whilst some outward gratifications are permitted them,
they may the more easily consent to thee inward consolations of the grace of God.
For there is no doubt that it is impossible to efface every thing at once from their
obdurate minds., because he who endeavors to ascend to the highest place rises by
degrees or steps and not by leaps. This the Lord made himself known to the people of
Israel in Egypt: and yet he allowed them to use the sacrifices which they were wont to
offer to the devil in his own worship, commanding them in his sacrifice to kill beasts
to the end that, changing their hearts they mad lay aside one part of the sacrifice
whilst retained another: that whilest they offered the same beasts which they were
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wont to offer, they should offer them to God, and not to idols, and thus they would no
longer be the same sacrifices.

William of Newburgh's Preface
In the preface to his history of Britain, Newburgh is one of the very few contemporary
voices expressing negativity about Geoffrey of Monmouth and his "History of the
Kings of Britain." (against the veracity of the account of King Arthur)
http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/newburgh_preface.html


Preface to the Historia Rerum Anglicarum
by William, Monk of Newburgh Priory, Yorkshire (c. 1198)

Virtually the entire preface to the "Historia Rerum Anglicarum" is given over to
scathing criticism of Geoffrey of Monmouth, personally, and his "History of the
Kings of Britain." William of Newburgh neither approved of Geoffrey's Briton-
centric viewpoint, nor his embellishment of what William believed to be true history.
----------------------------------------
[4] Indeed, the Britons, by the retreat of the Romans, becoming once more at their
own disposal -- nay, left to themselves for their own destruction, and exposed to the
depredation of the Picts and Scots -- are said to have had Vortigern for king, by whom
the Saxons, or Angles, were invited over for the defense of the kingdom: they arrived
in Britain under the conduct of Hengist, and repelled the irruptions of the barbarians
for a time; but afterward, having discovered the fertility of the land, and the
supineness of its inhabitants, they broke their treaty, and turned their arms against
those by whom they bad been invited over, and confined the miserable remains of the
people, now called the Welsh who had not been dispersed -- within inaccessible
woods and mountains. The Saxons, moreover, had, in the course of succession, most
valiant and powerful kings; among whom was Ethelberht, great-grandson of Hengist,
who, having extended his empire from the Gallic ocean to the Humber, embraced the
easy yoke of Christ at the preaching of Augustine. Alfred, too, king of
Northumberland, subdued both the Britons and the Scots with excessive slaughter.
Edwin, who succeeded Alfred, reigned at the same time over the Angles and Britons;
Oswald, his successor, governed all the nations of Britain.

[5] Now, since it is evident that these facts are established with historical authenticity
by the venerable Bede, it appears that whatever Geoffrey has written, subsequent to
Vortigern, either of Arthur, or his successors, or predecessors, is a fiction, invented
either by himself or by others, and promulgated either through an unchecked
propensity to falsehood, or a desire to please the Britons, of whom vast numbers are
said to be so stupid as to assert that Arthur is yet to come, and who cannot bear to
hear of his death. Lastly, he makes Aurelius Ambrosius succeed to Vortigern (the
Saxons whom he had sent for being conquered and expelled), and pretends that he
governed all England superexcellently; he also mentions Utherpendragon, his brother,
as his successor, whom, he pretends, reigned with equal power and glory, adding a
vast deal from Merlin, out of his profuse addiction to lying. On the decease of
Utherpendragon, he makes his son Arthur succeed to the kingdom of Britain -- the
fourth in succession from Vortigern, in like manner as our Bede places Ethelberht, the
patron of Augustine, fourth from Hengist in the government of the Angles. Therefore,
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the reign of Arthur, and the arrival of Augustine in England, ought to coincide.

[6] But how much plain historical truth outweighs concerted fiction may, in this
particular, be perceived even by a purblind man through his mind's eye. Moreover, he
depicts Arthur himself as great and powerful beyond all men, and as celebrated in his
exploits as he chose to feign him. First, he makes him triumph, at pleasure, over
Angles, Picts, and Scots; then, he subdues Ireland, the Orkneys, Gothland, Norway,
Denmark, partly by war, partly by the single terror of his name. To these he adds
Iceland, which, by some, is called the remotest Thule, in order that what a noble poet
flatteringly said to the Roman Augustus, "The distant Thule shall confess thy sway,"
might apply to the British Arthur. Next, he makes him attack, and speedily triumph
over, Gaul -- a nation which Julius Caesar, with infinite peril and labor, was scarcely
able to subjugate in ten years -- as though the little finger of the British was more
powerful than the loins of the mighty Caesar. After this, with numberless triumphs, he
brings him back to England, where he celebrates his conquests with a splendid
banquet with his subject-kings and princes, in the presence of the three archbishops of
the Britons, that is London, Carleon, and York -- whereas, the Britons at that time
never had an archbishop. Augustine, having received the pall from the Roman pontiff,
was made the first archbishop in Britain; for the barbarous nations of Europe, though
long since converted to the Christian faith, were content with bishops, and did not
regard the prerogative of the pall. Lastly, the Irish, Norwegians, Danes, and Goths,
though confessedly Christians, for a long while possessed only bishops, and had no
archbishops until our own time.


Peace of Wedmore
Ninth century agreement between the English and Danes (Danish Vikings who
invaded Angle Land in the year 865), establishing the Danelaw.
King Alfred, Saxon king of Wessex, fought the Vikings and won, but could not drive
them out of England.
http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/danelaw.html

The Peace of Wedmore
The Peace of Wedmore is an agreement reached between the King Alfred
and Guthrum, Danish King of East Anglia, around the year 878. It
established a firm frontier, north and east of which would come to be called
the Danelaw, between Alfred's England and Danish held territories.

This is the peace that King Alfred and King Guthrum, and the witan of all the English nation, and all
the people that are in East Anglia, have all ordained and with oaths confirmed, for themselves and for
their descendants, as well for born as for unborn, who reck of God's mercy or of ours.
1. Concerning our land boundaries: Up on the Thames, and then up on the Lea, and along the Lea unto
its source, then straight to Bedford, then up on the Ouse unto Watling Street.
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2. Then is this: If a man be slain, we estimate all equally dear, English and Danish, at viii half marks of
pure gold; except the ceorl who resides on rented land and their [the Danes'] freedmen; they also are
equally dear, either at cc. shillings.
3. And if a king's thegn be accused of manslaying, if he dare clear himself on oath, let him do that with
12 king's thegns. If any one accuse that man who is of less degree than the king's thegn, let him clear
himself with xi of his equals and with one king's thegn. And so in every suit which may be more than
iv mancuses. [A money of account representing thirty pence] And if he dare not, let him pay for it
threefold, as it may be valued.
4. And that every man know his warrantor in acquiring slaves and horses and oxen.
5. And we all ordained on that day that the oaths were sworn, that neither bond nor free might go to the
host without leave, no more than any of them to us. But if it happen that from necessity any of them
will have traffic with us or we with them, with cattle and with goods, that is to be allowed in this wise:
that hostages be given in pledge of peace, and as evidence whereby it may be known that the party has
a clean back.

The Battle of Hastings, 1066
William of Malmesbury's description of William of Normandy's conquest of England
http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/battle1066.html

Source: James Harvey Robinson, ed., Readings in European History, 2 Vols. (Boston:
Ginn & Co., 1904-06), Vol. I: From the Breaking up of the Roman Empire to the
Protestant Revolt, pp. 224-229
William of Malmesbury:
The Battle of Hastings, 1066
The courageous leaders mutually prepared for battle, each according to his national
custom. The English, as we have heard, passed the night without sleep, in drinking
and singing, and in the morning proceeded without delay against the enemy. All on
foot, armed with battle-axes, and covering themselves in front by the juncture of their
shields, they formed an impenetrable body which would assuredly have secured their
safety that day had not the Normans, by a feigned flight, induced them to open their
ranks, which till that time, according to their custom, had been closely compacted.
King Harold himself, on foot, stood with his brothers near the standard in order that,
so long as all shared equal danger, none could think of retreating. This same standard
William sent, after his victory, to the pope; it was sumptuously embroidered with gold
and precious stones, and represented the figure of a man fighting.
On the other hand, the Normans passed the whole night in confessing their sins, and
received the communion of the Lord's body in the morning. Their infantry, with bows
and arrows, formed the vanguard, while their cavalry, divided into wings, was placed
in the rear. The duke, with serene countenance, declaring aloud that God would favor
his as being the righteous side, called for his arms; and when, through the haste of his
attendants, he had put on his hauberk the hind part before, he corrected the mistake
with a laugh, saying "The power of my dukedom shall be turned into a kingdom."
Then starting the Song of Roland, in order that the warlike example of that hero might
stimulate the soldiers, and calling on God for assistance, the battle commenced on
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both sides, and was fought with great ardor, neither side giving ground during the
greater part of the day.
This was a fatal day to England, and melancholy havoc was wrought in our dear
country during the change of its lords. For it had long adopted the manners of the
Angles, which had indeed altered with the times; for in the first years of their arrival
they were barbarians in their look and manner, warlike in their usages, heathens in
their rights. After embracing the faith of Christ, by degrees and, in process of time, in
consequence of the peace which they enjoyed, they relegated arms to a secondary
place and gave their whole attention to religion. I am not speaking of the poor, the
meanness of whose fortune often restrains them from overstepping the bound of
justice; I omit, too, men of ecclesiastical rank, whom sometimes respect for their
profession and sometimes the fear of shame suffers not to deviate from the true path; I
speak of princes, who from the greatness of their power might have full liberty to
indulge in pleasure. Some of these in their own country, and others at Rome, changing
their habit, obtained a heavenly kingdom and a saintly intercourse. Many others
during their whole lives devoted themselves in outward appearance to worldly affairs,
but in order that they might exhaust their treasures on the poor or divide them
amongst monasteries.

Nevertheless, the attention to literature and religion had gradually decreased for
several years before the arrival of the Normans. The clergy, contented with a little
confused learning, could scarcely stammer out the words of the sacraments; and a
person who understood grammar was an object of wonder and astonishment. The
monks mocked the rule of their order by fine vestments and the use of every kind of
food. The nobility, given up to luxury and wantonness, went not to church in the
morning after the manner of Christians, but merely, in a careless manner, heard
matins and masses from a hurrying priest in their chambers, amid the blandishments
of their wives. The commonalty, left unprotected, became a prey to the most
powerful, who amassed fortunes, either by seizing on their property or by selling their
persons into foreign countries; although it is characteristic of this people to be more
inclined to reveling than to the accumulation of wealth. . .
Drinking in parties was a universal practice, in which occupation they passed entire
nights as well as days. They consumed their whole substance in mean and despicable
houses, unlike the Normans and French, who live frugally in noble and splendid
mansions. The vices attendant on drunkenness, which enervate the human mind,
followed; hence it came about that when they engaged William, with more rashness
and precipitate fury than military skill, they doomed themselves and their country to
slavery by a single, and that an easy, victory. For nothing is less effective than
rashness; and what begins with violence quickly ceases or is repelled.


Henry I I and Becket
A largely objective account of Henry II's struggles with his recalcitrant Archbishop of
Canterbury (Thomas Becket) by William of Newburgh
http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/becketnewburgh.html

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[]
The bishops having returned from the council to their several sees, the royal and the
priestly powers began to be at variance in England, and no small commotion arose
concerning the prerogatives of the clergy. For it was intimated by the judges to the
king, (who was diligently occupied in the concerns of the state, and who had ordered
all malefactors to be indiscriminately banished,) that many crimes against public
order, such as thefts, rapines, and murders, were repeatedly committed by the clergy,
to whom the correction of lay jurisdiction could not be extended. Finally, it was
declared, in his presence, that during his reign more than a hundred murders had been
committed by the clergy in England alone. Hereupon the king, waxing extremely
indignant, enacted laws, in the heat of his passion, against ecclesiastical delinquents,
wherein he gave evidence of his zeal for public justice, though his severity rather
exceeded the bounds of moderation.

[]
Thus, when the king had enacted certain statutes against the chaff of the holy order,
that is to say, for the examination or punishment of the guilty clergy, in which perhaps
(as it has been said) he exceeded the bounds of moderation, he conceived that they
would be fully ratified could they be confirmed by the consent of the bishops.
Therefore, having assembled the prelates, to procure their sanction by any means
whatsoever, he so allured the whole of them with the exception of one, by
blandishments, or terrified them with alarms, that they deemed it necessary to yield to
and obey the royal pleasure, and set their seals to the enactment of these new
constitutions - I say, with the exception of one, for the archbishop of Canterbury was
alone inflexible, and remained unshaken by every assault. Upon this, the kings fury
became more vehemently incensed against him, in proportion as he appeared more
indebted to the royal munificence for what had been given and received. Hence the
king became hostile to him, and, seeking every occasion to attack him, demanded an
account of everything he had formerly done in the kingdom, in his office as
chancellor. The archbishop, with intrepid freedom, replied, that having discharged his
secular duties, he had been completely transferred to the church by the prince in
whose service he had been engaged, and that matters of bygone date ought not to be
urged against him, but this more for a pretext than for truth.

Edward Grims witness account of Beckets murder
From Lee, Christopher M. (1997). This Sceptred Isle. London: BBC Books. P 71

...The wicked knight leapt suddenly upon him, cutting off the top of the crown which
the unction of sacred chrism had dedicated to God. Next he received a second blow
on the head, but still he stood firm and immovable. At the third blow he fell on his
knees and elbows, offering himself a living sacrifice, and saying in a low voice, 'For
the name of Jesus and the protection of the Church, I am ready to embrace death.' But
the third knight inflicted a terrible wound as he lay prostrate. By this stroke, the crown
of his head was separated from the head in such a way that the blood white with the
brain, and the brain no less red from the blood, dyed the floor of the cathedral. The
same clerk who had entered with the knights placed his foot on the neck of the holy
priest and precious martyr, and, horrible to relate, scattered the brains and blood about
the pavements, crying to the others, 'Let us away, knights; this fellow will arise no
more