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Brothers Hengist and Horsa, were the legendary leaders of the first Anglo-Saxon-Jutish settlers in Britain. Originating from Jutland, Denmark, they fought for Vortigern, the high king of Britain, in his struggle against the Picts from Scotland. between AD 449 and AD 454. Hengist betrayed his master, Vortigern, before becoming king himself. The Jutes subsequently settled in southern Hampshire and Kent.
Hengist and Horsa were sons of Wihtgils, fierce warriors that were brought to Englandas mecenaries by Vortigern. They first arrived in Britain in about AD 449 to Ebbsfleet in the Isle of Thanet. Initially they served their masters well but as The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reveals, they soon turned against him, they 'first of all ... killed and drove away the king's enemies; then, later, they turned on the king and the British, destroying through fire and the sword's edge'.
Horsa was killed in battle, probably at Aylesford, near Maidstone, in AD 455. Hengist and his son, Aesc, however, continued their war in Britain for another 18 years, killing, among others, four companies of Britons and twelve Welsh ealdormen. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle gives evidence of their ferocity. 'The Britons gave up Kent and in great fear fled to London' and 'The Welsh fled as one flees fire'.
Vortigern had unknowingly unleashed a threat to his kingdom with his invitation to the two Jutish brothers. The danger signs had been there from the start: Hengist and Horsa had agreed to help Vortigern on condition that they could bring more warriors with them than the high king had first suggested. Hengist also brought over more of his own family, since his son, Aesc, was sent to fight the Picts, while Ebissa, possibly Hengist's cousin or nephew, challenged the Irish at sea. Hengist's reward for his help was the Isle of Thanet in East Kent, although one of the many legends about him tells a different version of the story: Vortigern apparently liked the look of Hengist's daughter and Hengist agreed the she should marry him in exchange for land. The bargain was made and Vortigern gave Hengist the land of a tribe named the Cantii, who were probably centred around the area now known as Canterbury and the Thanet marshes.
For the acquisitive Hengist, however, this was only the start. He planned to expand on the land Vortigern had handed over. After driving the British tribes out of Kent, Hengist laid claim to the whole of the county. Hengist and his relatives went on to conquer more land in Sussex and the Isle of Wight. Eventually Hengist achieved dominance over southeast Britain.
For the Angles, Jutes and Saxons, Hengist was something of a pioneer. They had been raiding the shores of Britain since the third century AD, when the Romans still ruled. But the next step, settlement, had remained out of their reach. It was Hengist who showed the way. He demonstrated what could be done by force of arms and how much territory could be gained from the relatively weak forces of the native Britons.
At that time the Britons were still hoping that the Romans, who had abandoned Britain by AD 426, would return. However, their last plea to Rome, to which they received no reply, was dated around the time Hengist and Horsa arrived and the Britons were left to defend themselves. Hengis, Horsa and the Jutes proved onlt too well that Britons had no hope of fending off the fierce and ruthless new invaders. This encouraged even more Angles, Jutes and Saxons to follow suit and set up kingdoms that, in time, dominated the whole of England.