History of the Kings of Britain Part 3 pps

Among therest he built one upon the river Uske, near the sea of the Severn, whichwas for a long time called Caerosc, and was the metropolis of Dimetia;but after the invasion of the Roman

city on every side, and endeavoured to level the walls: and to strike agreater terror into the besieged, erected gibbets before the gates of thecity, and threatened to hang up the hostages whom they had given,unless they would surrender But the Romans, nothing moved by thesufferings of their sons and relations, continued inflexible, and resolute

to defend themselves They therefore sometimes broke the force of theenemyÕs engines, by other engines of their own, sometimes repulsedthem from the walls with showers of darts This so incensed the twobrothers, that they commanded four and twenty of their noblesthostages to be hanged in the sight of their parents The Romans,however, were only more hardened at the spectacle, and having received

a message from Gabius and Porsena, their consuls, that they would comethe next day to their assistance, they resolved to march out of the city,and give the enemy battle Accordingly, just as they were ranging theirtroops in order, the consuls appeared with their re-assembled forces,marching up to the attack, and advancing in a close body, fell on theBritons and Allobroges by surprise, and being joined by the citizens thatsallied forth, killed no small number The brothers, in great grief to seesuch destruction made of their fellow soldiers, began to rally their men,and breaking in upon the enemy several times, forced them to retire Inthe end, after the loss of many thousands of brave men on both sides, thebrothers gained the day, and took the city, not however till Gabius waskilled and Porsena taken prisoner This done, they divided among theirmen all the bidden treasure of the city

Chapter 10 Brennius oppresses Italy in a most tyrannical manner

Belinus returns to Britain

After this complete victory, Brennius stayed in Italy, where heexercised unheard-of tyranny over the people But the rest of his actionsand his death, seeing that they are given in the Roman histories, I shallhere pass over, to avoid prolixity and meddling with what others havetreated of, which is foreign to my design But Belinus returned to Britain,which he governed during the remainder of his life in peace; he repaired

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the cities that were falling to ruin, and built many new ones Among therest he built one upon the river Uske, near the sea of the Severn, whichwas for a long time called Caerosc, and was the metropolis of Dimetia;but after the invasion of the Romans it lost its first name, and was calledthe City of Legions, from the Roman legions which used to take up theirwinter quarters in it He also made a gate of wonderful structure inTrinovantum, upon the bank of the Thames, which the citizens call afterhis name Billingsgate to this day Over it he built a prodigiously largetower, and under it a haven or quay for ships He was a strict observer

of justice, and re-established his fatherÕs laws everywhere throughout thekingdom In his days there was so great an abundance of riches amongthe people, that no age before or after is said to have shown the like Atlast, when he had finished his days, his body was burned, and the ashesput up in a golden urn, which they placed at Trinovantum, withwonderful art, on the top of the tower above-mentioned

Chapter 11 Gurgiunt Brabtruc, succeeding his father Belinus,

reduces Dacia, which was trying to shake off his yoke

He was succeeded by Gurgiunt Brabtruc, his son, a sober prudentprince, who followed the example of his father in all his actions, and was

a lover of peace and justice When some neighbouring provinces rebelledagainst him, inheriting with them the bravery of his father, be repressedtheir insolence in several fierce battles, and reduced them to a perfectsubjection Among many other things it happened, that the king of theDacians, who paid tribute in his fatherÕs time, refused not only tribute,but all manner of homage to him This he seriously resented, and passedover in a fleet to Dacia, where he harassed the people with a most cruelwar, slew their king, and reduced the country to its former dependence

Chapter 12 Ireland is given to be inhabited by the Barclenses,

who had been banished out of Spain

At that time, as he was returning home from his conquest through theOrkney islands, he found thirty ships full of men and women; and uponhis inquiring of them the occasion of their coming thither, their leader,named Partholoim, approached him in a respectful and submissivemanner, and desired pardon and peace, telling him that he had beendriven out of Spain, and was sailing round those seas in quest of ahabitation He also desired some small part of Britain to dwell in, thatthey might put an end to their tedious wanderings; for it was now a yearand a half since he had been driven from his country, all of which time heand his company had been out at sea When Gurgiunt Brabtrucunderstood that they came from Spain, and were called Barclenses, hegranted their petition, and sent men with them to Ireland, which wasthen wholly uninhabited, and assigned it to them There they grew upand increased in number, and have possessed that island to this veryday Gurgiunt Brabtruc after this ended his days in peace, and wasburied in the City of Legions, which, after his fatherÕs death, heornamented with buildings and fortified with walls

Chapter 13 Guithelin, reigning after Gurgiunt Brabtruc,

the Martian law is instituted by Martia, a noble woman

After him Guithelin wore the crown, which he enjoyed all his life,treating his subjects with mildness and affection He had for his wife anoble lady named Martia, accomplished in all kinds of learning Amongmany other admirable productions of her wit, she was the author ofwhat the Britons call the Martian law This also among other things kingAlfred translated, and called it in the Saxon tongue, _a Marchitle Lage.Upon the death of Guithelin, the government of the kingdom remained

in the hands of this queen and her son Sisilius, who was then but sevenyears old, and therefore unfit to take the government upon himselfalone

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Chapter 14 GuithelinÕs successors in the kingdom

For this reason the mother had the sole management of affairscommitted to her, out of a regard to her great sense and judgment But

on her death, Sisilius took the crown and government After him reignedKimarus his son, to whom succeeded Danius his brother After his deaththe crown came to Morvidus, whom he had by his concubine Tangustela

He would have been a prince of extraordinary worth, had he not beenaddicted to immoderate cruelty, so far that in his anger he sparednobody, if any weapon were at hand He was of a graceful aspect,extremely liberal, and of such vast strength as not to have his match inthe whole kingdom

Chapter 15 Morvidus, a most cruel tyrant, after the conquest

of the king of the Morini, is devoured by a monster

In his time a certain king of the Morini arrived with a great force inNorthumberland, and began to destroy the country But Morvidus, withall the strength of the kingdom, marched out against him, and foughthim In this battle he alone did more than the greatest part of his army,and after the victory, suffered none of the enemy to escape alive For hecommanded them to be brought to him one after another, that he mightsatisfy his cruelty in seeing them killed; and when he grew tired of this,

he gave orders that they should be flayed alive and burned During theseand other monstrous acts of cruelty, an accident happened which put aperiod to his wickedness There came from the coasts of the Irish sea, amost cruel monster, that was continually devouring the people upon thesea-coasts As soon as he heard of it, he ventured to go and encounter italone; when he had in vain spent all his darts upon it, the monster rushedupon him, and with open jaws swallowed him up like a small fish

Chapter 16 Gorbonian, a most just king of the Britons.

He had five sons, whereof the eldest, Gorbonian, ascended thethrone There was not in his time a greater lover of justice and equity, or

a more careful ruler of the people The performance of due worship tothe gods, and doing justice to the common people, were his continualemployments Through all the cities of Britain, he repaired the temples ofthe gods, and built many new ones In all his days, the island aboundedwith riches, more than all the neighbouring countries For he gave greatencouragement to husbandman in their tillage, by protecting themagainst any injury or oppression of their lords; and the soldiers he amplyrewarded with money, so that no one had occasion to do wrong toanother Amidst these and many other acts of his innate goodness, hepaid the debt of nature, and was buried at Trinovantum

Chapter 17 Arthgallo is deposed by the Britonsand is succeeded by Elidure, who restores him again his kingdom

After him Arthgallo, his brother, was dignified with the crown, and

in all his actions he was the very reverse of his brother He everywhereendeavoured to depress the nobility, and advance the baser sort of thepeople He plundered the rich, and by those means amassed vasttreasures But the nobility, disdaining to bear his tyranny any longer,made an insurrection against him, and deposed him; and then advancedElidure, his brother, who was afterwards surnamed the pious, onaccount of his commiseration to Arthgallo in distress For after fiveyearsÕ possession of the kingdom, as he happened to be hunting in thewood Calaterium, be met his brother that had been deposed For he hadtravelled over several kingdoms, to desire assistance for the recovery ofhis lost dominions, but had procured none And being now no longerable to bear the poverty to which he was reduced, he returned back toBritain, attended only by ten men, with a design to repair to those whohad been formerly his friends It was at this time, as he was passingthrough the wood, his brother Elidure, who little expected it, got sight of

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him, and forgetting all injuries, ran to him, and affectionately embracedhim Now as be had long lamented his brotherÕs affliction, he carried himwith him to the city Alclud, where he hid him in his bed-chamber Afterthis, he feigned himself sick, and sent messengers over the wholekingdom, to signify to all his prime nobility that they should come tovisit him Accordingly, when they were all met together at the city where

he lay, he gave orders that they should come into his chamber one byone, softly, and without noise: his pretence for which was, that their talkwould be a disturbance to his head, should they all crowd in together.Thus, in obedience to his commands, and without the least suspicion ofany design, they entered his house one after another But Elidure hadgiven charge to his servants, who were set ready for the purpose, to takeeach of them as they entered, and cut off their heads, unless they wouldagain submit themselves to Arthgallo his brother Thus did he with everyone of them apart, and compelled them, through fear, to be reconciled toArthgallo At last the agreement being ratified, Elidure conductedArthgallo to York, where he took the crown from his own head, and put

it on that of his brother From this act of extraordinary affection to hisbrother, he obtained the surname of Pious Arthgallo after this reignedten years, and made amends for his former maladministration, bypursuing measures of an entirely opposite tendency, in depressing thebaser sort, and advancing men of good birth; in suffering every one toenjoy his own, and exercising strict justice towards all men At lastsickness seizing him, he died, and was buried in the city Kaerleir

Chapter 18 Elidure is imprisoned by Peredure,after whose death he is a third time advanced to the throne

Then Elidure was again advanced to the throne, and restored to hisformer dignity But while in his government he followed the example ofhis eldest brother Gorbonian, in performing all acts of grace; his tworemaining brothers, Vigenius and Peredure, raised an army, and madewar against him, in which they proved victorious; so that they took himprisoner, and shut him up in the tower at Trinovantum, where they

placed a guard over him They then divided the kingdom betwixt them;that part which is from the river Humber westward falling to VigeniusÕsshare, and the remainder with all Albania to PeredureÕs After sevenyears Vigenius died, and so the whole kingdom came to Peredure, whofrom that time governed the people with generosity and mildness, sothat he even excelled his other brothers who had preceded him, nor wasany mention now made of Elidure But irresistible fate at last removedhim suddenly, and so made way for ElidureÕs release from prison, andadvancement to the throne the third time; who finished the course of hislife in just and virtuous actions, and after death left an example of piety

to his successors

Chapter 19 The names of ElidureÕs thirty-three successors

Elidure being dead, GorbonianÕs son enjoyed the crown and imitatedhis uncleÕs wise and prudent government For he abhorred tyranny, andpractised justice and mildness towards the people, nor did he everswerve from the rule of equity After him reigned Margan, the son ofArthgallo, who, being instructed by the examples of his immediatepredecessors, held the government in peace To him succeededEnniaunus, his brother, who took a contrary course, and in the sixth year

of his reign was deposed, for having preferred a tyrannical to a just andlegal administration In his room was placed his kinsman Idwallo, the son

of Vigenius, who, being admonished by EnniaunusÕs ill success, became astrict observer of justice and equity To him succeeded Runno, the son ofPeredure, whose successor was Geruntius, the son of Elidure After himreigned Catellus, his son; after Catellus, Coillus; after Coillus, Porrex;after Porrex, Cherin This prince had three sons, Fulgenius, Eldadus, andAndragius, who all reigned one after another Then succeeded Urianus,the son of Andragius; after whom reigned in order, Eliud, Cledaucus,Cletonus, Gurgintius, Merianus, Bleduno, Cap, Oenus, Sisilius,Blegabred This last prince, in singing and playing upon musicalinstruments, excelled all the musicians that had been before him, so that

he seemed worthy of the title of the God of Jesters After him reigned

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Arthmail, his brother; after Arthmail, Eldol; to whom succeeded inorder, Redion, Rederchius, Samuilpenissel, Pir, Capoir, and Cligueillusthe son of Capoir, a man prudent and mild in all his actions, and whoabove all things made it his business to exercise true justice among hispeople

Chapter 20 HeliÕs three sons; the first of whom, viz Lud,

gives name to the city of London

Next to him succeeded his son Heli, who reigned forty years He hadthree sons, Lud, Cassibellaun, and Nennius; of whom Lud, being theeldest, succeeded to the kingdom after his fatherÕs death He becamefamous for the building of cities, and for rebuilding the walls ofTrinovantum, which he also surrounded with innumerable towers Helikewise commanded the citizens to build houses, and all other kinds ofstructures in it, so that no city in all foreign countries to a great distanceround could show more beautiful palaces He was withal a warlike man,and very magnificent in his feasts and public entertainments And though

he had many other cities, yet he loved this above them all, and resided in

it the greater part of the year; for which reason it was afterwards calledKaerlud, and by the corruption of the word, Caer-london; and again bychange of languages, in process of time, London; as also by foreignerswho arrived here, and reduced this country under their subjection, it wascalled Londres At last, when he was dead, his body was buried by thegate which to this time is called in the British tongue after his name,Parthlud, and in the Saxon, Ludesgata He had two sons, Androgeus andTenuantius, who were incapable of governing on account of their age:and therefore their uncle Cassibellaun was preferred to the kingdom intheir room As soon as he was crowned, he began to display hisgenerosity and magnificence to such a degree, that his fame reached todistant kingdoms; which was the reason that the monarchy of the wholekingdom came to be invested in him, and not in his nephews.Notwithstanding Cassibellaun, from an impulse of piety, would notsuffer them to be without their share in the kingdom, but assigned a

large part of it to them For he bestowed the city of Trinovantum, withthe dukedom of Kent, on Androgeus; and the dukedom of Cornwall onTenuantius But he himself, as possessing the crown, had the sovereigntyover them, and all the other princes of the island.

Book 4.

Chapter 1 Julius Caesar invades Britain

About this time it happened, (as is found in the Roman Histories) thatJulius Caesar, having subdued Gaul, came to the shore of the Ruteni Andwhen from thence he had got a prospect of the island of Britain, heinquired of those about him what country it was, and what peopleinhabited it Then fixing his eyes upon the ocean, as soon as he wasinformed of the name of the kingdom and the people, he said: ÒIn truth

we Romans and the Britons have the same origin, since both aredescended from the Trojan race Our first father, after the destruction ofTroy, was Aeneas; theirs, Brutus, whose father was Sylvius, the son ofAscanius, the son of Aeneas But I am deceived, if they are not verymuch degenerated from us, and know nothing of the art of war, sincethey live separated by the ocean from the whole world They may beeasily forced to become our tributaries, and subjects to the Roman state.But before the Romans offer to invade or assault them, we must sendthem word that they pay tribute as other nations do, and submitthemselves to the senate; for fear we should violate the ancient nobility

of our father Priamus, by shedding the blood of our kinsmen.Ó All which

he accordingly took care to signify in writing to Cassibellaun; who ingreat indignation returned him an answer in the following letter

Chapter 2 CassibellaunusÕs letter to Julius Caesar.

ÒCassibellaun, king of the Britons, to Caius Julius Caesar We cannotbut wonder, Caesar, at the avarice of the Roman people, since theirinsatiable thirst for money cannot let us alone, though the dangers of theocean have placed us in a manner out of the world; but they must havethe presumption to covet our substance, which we have hitherto enjoyed

in quiet Neither is this indeed sufficient: we must also choose subjectionand slavery to them, before the enjoyment of our native liberty Yourdemand, therefore, Caesar, is scandalous, since the same vein of nobilityflows from Aeneas in both Britons and Romans, and one and the samechain of consanguinity unites us: which ought to be a band of firm unionand friendship It was that, which you should have demanded of us, andnot slavery: we have learned to admit of the one, but never to bear theother And so much have we been accustomed to liberty, that we areperfectly ignorant what it is to submit to slavery And if even the godsthemselves should attempt to deprive us of our liberty, we would, to theutmost of our power, resist them in defence of it Know then, Caesar,that we are ready to fight for that and our kingdom, if, as you threaten,you shall attempt to invade Britain.Ó

Chapter 3 Caesar is routed by Cassibellaun

On receiving this answer, Caesar made ready his fleet, and waited for

a fair wind to execute his threats against Cassibellaun As soon as thewind stood fair, he hoisted his sails, and arrived with his army at themouth of the river Thames The ships were now just come close to land,when Cassibellaun with all his forces appeared on his march againstthem, and coming to the town of Dorobellum, he consulted with hisnobility how to drive out the enemy There was present with himBelinus, general of his army, by whose counsel the whole kingdom wasgoverned There were also his two nephews, Androgeus, duke ofTrinovantum, and Tenuantius duke of Cornwall, together with threeinferior kings, Cridious, king of Albania, Guerthaeth of Venedotia, and