History of the Kings of Britain Part 4 ppt

The city being finished, and theisland now enjoying peace, Claudius returned to Rome, having toArviragus the government of the British islands.. Arviragus revolting from the Romans, Vesp

state The nobility hereupon persuaded him to lay aside thoughts of war,and be content with ClaudiusÕs promise; representing to him at the sametime, that it was no disgrace to be subject to the Romans, who enjoyedthe empire of the whole world By these and many other arguments hewas prevailed upon to hearken to their advice, and make his submission

to Caesar After which Claudius sent to Rome for his daughter, Andthen, with the assistance of Arviragus, reduced the Orkney and theprovincial islands to his power

Chapter 15 Claudius gives his daughter Genuissafor a wife to Arviragus, and returns to Rome

As soon as the winter was over, those that were sent for ClaudiusÕsdaughter returned with her, and presented her to her father ThedamselÕs name was Genuissa, and so great was her beauty, that it raisedthe admiration of all that saw her After her marriage with the king, shegained so great an ascendant over his affections, that he in a mannervalued nothing but her alone: insomuch that he as desirous to have theplace honoured where the nuptials were solemnized and moved Claudius

to build a city upon it, for a monument to posterity of so great and happy

a marriage Claudius consented to it, and commanded a city to be built,which after his name is called Kaerglou, that is Gloucester, to this day,and is situated on the confines of Dimetia and Loegria, upon the banks ofthe Severn But some say that it derived its name from Duke Gloius, ason that was born to Claudius there, and to whom, after the death ofArviragus, fell the dukedom of Dimetia The city being finished, and theisland now enjoying peace, Claudius returned to Rome, having toArviragus the government of the British islands At the same time theapostle Peter founded the Church of Antioch; and afterwards coming toRome, was bishop there, and sent Mark, the evangelist, into Egypt topreach the gospel which he had written

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Chapter 16 Arviragus revolting from the Romans,

Vespasian is sent into Britain

After the departure of Claudius, Arviragus began to show hiswisdom and courage, to rebuild cities and towns, and to exercise sogreat authority over his own people, that he became a terror to the kings

of remote countries But this so elevated him with pride that he despisedthe Roman power, disdained any longer subjection to the senate, andassumed to himself the sole authority in every thing Upon this newsVespasian was sent by Claudius to procure a reconciliation withArviragus, or to reduce him to the subjection of the Romans When,therefore, Vespasian arrived at the haven of Rutupi, Arviragus met him,and prevented his entering the port For he brought so great an armyalong with him, that the Romans, for fear of his falling upon them, durstnot come ashore Vespasian upon this withdrew from that port, andshifting his sails arrived at the shore of Totness As soon as he waslanded, he marched directly to besiege Kaerpenhuelgoit, now Exeter;and after lying before it seven days, was overtaken by Arviragus and hisarmy, who gave him battle That day great destruction was made in botharmies, but neither got the victory The next morning, by the mediation

of queen Genuissa the two leaders were made friends, and sent theirmen over to Ireland As soon as winter was over, Vespasian returned toRome, but Arviragus continued still in Britain Afterwards, when hegrew old, he began to show much respect to the senate, and to governhis kingdom in peace and tranquillity He confirmed the old laws of hisancestors, and enacted some new ones, and made very ample presents toall persons of merit So that his fame spread over all Europe, and he wasboth loved and feared by the Romans, and became the subject of theirdiscourse more than any king in his time Hence Juvenal relates how acertain blind man, speaking of a turbot that was taken, said:

ÒRegem aliquem capies, aut de temone Britanno

Decidet Arviragus.Ó

Arviragus shall from his chariot fall,

Or thee his lord some captive king shall call

In war none was more fierce than he, in peace none more mild, nonemore pleasing, or in his presents more magnificent When he had finishedhis course of life, he was buried at Gloucester, in a certain temple which

he had built and dedicated to the honour of Claudius

Chapter 17 Rodric, leader of the Picts, is vanquished by Marius

His son Marius, a man of admirable prudence and wisdom, succeededhim in the kingdom In his reign a certain king of the Picts, namedRodric, came from Scythia with a great fleet, and arrived in the northpart of Britain, which is called Albania, and began to ravage that country.Marius therefore raising an army went in quest of him, and killed him inbattle, and gained the victory; for a monument of which he set up a stone

in the province, which from his name was afterwards calledWestmoreland, where there is an inscription retaining his memory to thisday He gave the conquered people that came with Rodric liberty toinhabit that part of Albania which is called Caithness, that had been along time desert and uncultivated And as they had no wives, theydesired to have the daughters and kinswoman of the Britons But theBritons refused, disdaining to unite with such a people Having suffered

a repulse here, they sailed over into Ireland, and married the women ofthat country and by their offspring increased their number But let thusmuch suffice concerning them, since I do not propose to write the history

of this people, or of the Scots, who derived their original from them andthe Irish Marius, after he had settled the island in perfect peace, began

to love the Roman people, paying the tribute that was demanded of him;and in imitation of his fatherÕs example practised justice, law, peace, andevery thing that was honourable in his kingdom

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Chapter 18 Marius dying, is succeeded by Coillus

As soon as he had ended his days, his son Coillus took upon him thegovernment of the kingdom He had been brought up from his infancy atRome, and having been taught the Roman manners, had contracted amost strict amity with them He likewise paid them tribute, and declinedmaking them any opposition, because he saw the whole world subject tothem, and that no town or country was out of the limits of their power

By paying therefore what was required of him, he enjoyed his kingdom

in peace: and no king ever showed greater respect to his nobility, notonly permitting them to enjoy their own with quiet, but also bindingthem to him by his continual bounty and munificence

Chapter 19 Lucius is the first British king that embraces

the Christian faith, together with his people

Coillus had but one son, named Lucius, who, obtaining the crownafter his fatherÕs decease, imitated all his acts of goodness, and seemed

to his people to be no other than Coillus himself revived As he hadmade so good a beginning, he was willing to make a better end: forwhich purpose he sent letters to pope Eleutherius, desiring to beinstructed by him in the Christian religion For the miracles whichChristÕs disciples performed in several nations wrought a conviction inhis mind; so that being inflamed with an ardent love of the true faith, heobtained the accomplishment of his pious request For that holy pope,upon receipt of this devout petition, sent to him two most religiousdoctors, Faganus and Duvanus, who, after they had preached concerningthe incarnation of the Word of God, administered baptism to him, andmade him a proselyte to the Christian faith Immediately upon this,people from all countries, assembling together, followed the kingÕsexample, and being washed in the same holy laver, were made partakers

of the kingdom of heaven The holy doctors, after they had almostextinguished paganism over the whole island, dedicated the temples, thathad been founded in honour of many gods, to the one only God and hissaints, and filled them with congregations of Christians There were then

in Britain eight and twenty flamens, as also three archflamens, to whosejurisdiction the other judges and enthusiasts were subject These also,according to the apostolic command, they delivered from idolatry, andwhere they were flamens made them bishops, where archflamens,archbishops The seats of the archflamens were at the three noblest cities,viz London, York, and the City of Legions, which its old walls andbuildings show to have been situated upon the river Uske inGlamorganshire To these three, now purified from superstition, weremade subject twenty-eight bishops, with their dioceses To themetropolitan of York were subject Deira and Albania, which the greatriver Humber divides from Loegria To the metropolitan of Londonwere subject Loegria and Cornwall These two provinces the Severndivides from Kambria or Wales, which was subject to the City ofLegions.

Chapter 20 Faganus and Duvanus give an account at Rome

of what they had done in Britain

At last, when they had made an entire reformation here, the twoprelates returned to Rome, and desired the pope to confirm what theyhad done As soon as they had obtained a confirmation, they returnedagain to Britain, accompanied with many others, by whose doctrine theBritish nation was in a short time strengthened in the faith Their namesand acts are recorded in a book which Gildas wrote concerning thevictory of Aurelius Ambrosius; and what is delivered in so bright atreatise, needs not to be repeated here in a meaner style

Book V.

Chapter 1 Lucius dies without issue, and is a benefactor to the churches

In the meantime, the glorious king Lucius highly rejoiced at the greatprogress which the true faith and worship had made in his kingdom, andpermitted the possessions and territories which formerly belonged to thetemples of the gods, to be converted to a better use, and appropriated to,Christian churches And because a greater honour was due to them than

to the others, he made large additions of lands and manor-houses, andall kinds of privileges to them Amidst these and other acts of his greatpiety, he departed this life in the city of Gloucester, and was honourablyburied in the cathedral church, in the hundred and fifty-sixth year afterour LordÕs incarnation He had no issue to succeed him, so that after hisdecease there arose a dissension among the Britons, and the Romanpower was much weakened

Chapter 2 Severus, a senator, subdues part of Britain:

his war with Fulgenius

When this news was brought to Rome, the senate despatchedSeverus, a senator, with two legions, to reduce the country to subjection

As soon as he was arrived, he came to a battle with the Britons, part ofwhom he obliged to submit to him, and the other part which he couldnot subdue he endeavoured to distress in several cruel engagements, andforced them to fly beyond Deira into Albania Notwithstanding whichthey opposed him with all their might under the conduct of Fulgenius,and often made great slaughter both of their own countrymen and of theRomans For Fulgenius, brought to his assistance all the people of the

islands that he could find, and so frequently gained the victory Theemperor, not being able to resist the irruptions which he made,commanded a wall to be built between Deira and Albania, to hinder hisexcursions upon them; they accordingly made one at the common chargefrom sea to sea, which for a long time hindered the approach of theenemy But Fulgenius, when he was unable to make any longerresistance, made a voyage into Scythia, to desire the assistance of thePicts towards his restoration And when he had got together all theforces of that country, he returned with a great fleet into Britain, andbesieged York Upon this news being spread through the country, thegreatest part of the Britons deserted Severus, and went over toFulgenius However this did not make Severus desist from his enterprise:but calling together the Romans, and the rest of the Britons that adhered

to him, he marched to the siege, and fought with Fulgenius; but theengagement proving very sharp, he was killed with many of hisfollowers: Fulgenius also was mortally wounded Afterwards Severuswas buried at York, which city was taken by his legions He left twosons, Bassianus and Geta, whereof Geta had a Roman for his mother, butBassianus a Briton Therefore upon the death of their father the Romansmade Geta king, favouring him on account of his being a Roman by bothhis parents: but the Britons rejected him, and advanced Bassianus, asbeing their countryman by his motherÕs side This proved the occasion of

a battle between the two brothers, in which Geta was killed; and soBassianus obtained the sovereignty

Chapter 3 Carausius advanced to be king of Britain

At that time there was in Britain one Carausius, a young an of meanbirth, who, having given proof of his bravery in many engagements,went to Rome, and solicited the senate for leave to defend with a fleetthe maritime coasts of Britain, from the incursions of barbarians; which ifthey would grant him, he promised to do more for the honour andservice of the commonwealth, than by delivering up to them thekingdom of Britain The senate, deluded by his specious promises,

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granted him his request, and so, with his commission sealed, he returned

to Britain Then by wicked practices getting a fleet together, he enlistedinto his service a body of the bravest youths, and putting out to sea,sailed round the whole kingdom, causing very great disturbance amongthe people In the meantime he invaded the adjacent islands, where hedestroyed all before him, countries, cities, and towns, and plundered theinhabitants of all they had By this conduct he encouraged all manner ofdissolute fellows to flock to him in hope of plunder, and in a very shorttime was attended by an army which no neighbouring prince was able tooppose This made him begin to swell with pride, and to propose to theBritons, that they should make him their king; for which consideration hepromised to kill and banish the Romans, and free the whole island fromthe invasions of barbarous nations Accordingly obtaining his request, hefell upon Bassianus and killed him, and then took upon him thegovernment of the kingdom For Bassianus was betrayed by the Picts,whom Fulgenius his motherÕs brother had brought with him into Britain,and who being corrupted by the promises and presents of Carausius,instead of assisting Bassianus, deserted him in the very battle, and fellupon his men; so that the rest were put into a consternation, and notknowing their friends from their foes, quickly gave ground, and left thevictory to Carausius Then he, to reward the Picts for this success, gavethem a habitation in Albania, where they continued afterwards mixedwith the Britons

Chapter 4 Allectus kills Carausius, but is afterwards

himself slain in flight by Asclepiodotus

When the news of these proceedings of Carausius arrived at Rome,the senate commissioned Allectus, with three legions, to kill the tyrant,and restore the kingdom of Britain to the Roman power No sooner was

he arrived, than he fought with Carausius, killed him, and took uponhimself the government After which he miserably oppressed the Britons,for having deserted the commonwealth, and adhered to Carausius Butthe Britons, not enduring this, advanced Asclepiodotus, duke of

Cornwall, to be their king, and then unanimously marched againstAllectus, and challenged him to battle He was then at London,celebrating a feast to his tutelary gods; but being informed of the coming

of Asclepiodotus, he quitted the sacrifice, and went out with all his forces

to meet him, and engaged with him in a sharp fight But Asclepiodotushad the advantage, and dispersed and put to flight AllectusÕs troops, and

in the pursuit killed many thousands, as also king Allectus himself Afterthis victory, Livius Gallus, the colleague of Allectus, assembled the rest

of the Romans, shut the gates of the city, and placed his men in thetowers and other fortifications, thinking by these means either to make astand against Asclepiodotus, or at least to avoid imminent death ButAsclepiodotus seeing this laid siege to the city, and sent word to all thedukes of Britain, that he had killed Allectus with a great number of hismen, and was besieging Gallus and the rest of the Romans in London;and therefore earnestly entreated them to hasten to his assistance,representing to them withal, how easy it was to extirpate the whole race

of the Romans out of Britain, provided they would all join their forcesagainst the besieged At this summons came the Dimetians, Venedotians,Deirans, Albanians, and all others of the British race And as soon as theyappeared before the duke, he commanded vast numbers of engines to bemade, to beat down the walls of the city Accordingly every one readilyexecuted his orders with great bravery, and made a violent assault uponthe city, the walls of which were in a very short time battered down, and

a passage made into it After these preparations, they began a bloodyassault upon the Romans, who, seeing their fellow soldiers falling beforethem without intermission, persuaded Gallus to offer a surrender on theterms of having quarter granted them, and leave to depart: for they werenow all killed except one legion, which still held out, Gallus consented tothe proposal, and accordingly surrendered himself and his men toAsclepiodotus, who was disposed to give them quarter; but he wasprevented by a body of Venedotians, who rushed upon them, and thesame day cut off all their heads upon a brook within the city, which fromthe name of the commander was afterwards called in the British tongueNautgallim, and in the Saxon Gallembourne

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Chapter 5 Asclepiodotus obtains the crown

DiocletianÕs massacre of the Christians in Britain

The Romans being thus defeated, Asclepiodotus, with the consent ofthe people, placed the crown upon his own head, and governed thecountry in justice and peace ten years, and curbed the insolence andoutrages committed by plunderers and robbers In his days began thepersecution of the emperor Diocletian; and Christianity, which from thetime of king Lucius had continued fixed and undisturbed, was almostabolished over the whole island This was principally owing toMaximianus Herculius, general of that tyrantÕs army, by whose commandall the churches were pulled down, and all the copies of the HolyScriptures that could be found, were burned in the public markets Thepriests who, with the believers under their care, were put to death, andwith emulation pressed in crowds together for a speedy passage to thejoys of heaven, as their proper dwelling place God therefore magnifiedhis goodness to us, forasmuch as he did, in that time of persecution, ofhis mere grace, light up the bright lamps of the holy martyrs to preventthe spreading of gross darkness over the people of Britain; whosesepulchres and places of suffering might have been a means of inflamingour minds with the greatest fervency of divine love, had not thedeplorable impiety of barbarians deprived us of them Among others ofboth sexes who continued firm in the army of Christ, and suffered, wereAlban of Verulam, and Julius and Aaron, both of the City of Legions Ofthese, Alban, out of the fervour of his charity, when his confessor,Amphibalus, was pursued by the persecutors, and just ready to beapprehended first hid him in his house, and then offered himself to diefor him imitating in this Christ himself, who laid down his life for hissheep The other two, after being torn limb from limb, in a mannerunheard of, received the crown of martyrdom, and were elevated up tothe gates of the heavenly Jerusalem

Chapter 6 An insurrection against Asclepiodotus,

by Coel, whose daughter Helena Constantius marries

In the, meantime Coel, duke of Kaercolvin or Colchester, made aninsurrection against king Asclepiodotus, and in a pitched battle, killedhim, and took possession of his crown The senate, hearing this, rejoiced

at the kingÕs death, who had given such disturbance to the Roman powerand reflecting on the damage which they had sustained by the loss of thiskingdom, they sent Constantius the senator, a man of prudence andcourage, who had reduced Spain under their subjection, and who wasabove all the rest industrious to promote the good of the commonwealth.Coel, having information of his coming, was afraid to engage him inbattle, on account of a report, that no king was able to stand before him.Therefore, as soon as Constantius was arrived at the island, Coel sentambassadors to him with offers of peace and submission, on conditionthat he should enjoy the kingdom of Britain, and pay no more than theusual tribute to the Roman state Constantius consented to this proposeand so upon their giving hostages, peace was confirmed between them.The month after Coel was seized with a very great sickness, of which hedied within eight days After his decease, Constantius himself wascrowned, and married the daughter of Coel, whose name was Helena.She surpassed all the ladies of the country in beauty, as she did all others

of the time in her skill in music and the liberal arts Her father had noother issue to succeed him on the throne; for which reason he was verycareful about her education, that she might be better qualified to governthe kingdom Constantius, therefore, having made her partner of his bed,had a son by her called Constantine After eleven years were expired, hedied at York, and bestowed the kingdom upon his son, who, within afew years after he was raised to this dignity, began to give proofs ofheroic virtue, undaunted courage, and strict observance of justicetowards his people He put a stop to the depredations of robbers,suppressed the insolence of tyrants, and endeavoured everywhere torestore peace