Hengist and Horsa

Home > ... > People > History > British and Irish History: Biographies > ...

Essential reading Compare
side-by-side A Dictionary of World History A Dictionary of British History The Columbia Encyclopedia, ...

Hengist and Horsa

Hengist and Horsa , names of two brothers who, according to tradition, led the Jutish invasion of Britain and founded the kingdom of Kent . Hengist would more properly be written Hengest. They are said to have been invited by Vortigern in 449 to help the Britons defend themselves against the Picts and Scots to the north, to have settled in Kent, and to have fought a battle with Vortigern, in which Horsa was killed (c.455). The names may all be mythical, but historians generally agree that in the 5th cent. a Jutish chief and his retinue did arrive in Kent, did serve a British king, and did revolt, and that various battles prepared the way for the later settlement of Kent by the Jutes.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1E1-HengistN" title="Facts and information about Hengist and Horsa">Hengist and Horsa</a>

Give this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"Hengist and Horsa." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 22 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Hengist and Horsa." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (December 22, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-HengistN.html

"Hengist and Horsa." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved December 22, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-HengistN.html

Learn more about citation styles

Hengist and Horsa

A Dictionary of British History | 2004 | | Â© A Dictionary of British History 2004, originally published by Oxford University Press 2004. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Hengist and Horsa Reputed founders of the kingdom of Kent and its royal house. Bede was the first to identify the two brothers as the leaders of Germanic forces invited to Britain by Vortigern in 449; fuller accounts are provided in the 9th‐cent. Anglo‐Saxon Chronicle and Historia Brittonum

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O43-HengistandHorsa" title="Facts and information about Hengist and Horsa">Hengist and Horsa</a>

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

JOHN CANNON. "Hengist and Horsa." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 22 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN CANNON. "Hengist and Horsa." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (December 22, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-HengistandHorsa.html

JOHN CANNON. "Hengist and Horsa." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved December 22, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-HengistandHorsa.html

Learn more about citation styles

Hengist

A Dictionary of World History | 2000 | Â© A Dictionary of World History 2000, originally published by Oxford University Press 2000. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Hengist and Horsa Jutish brothers, leaders of the first Anglo-Saxon invasion of England. According to BEDE, they were invited by King VORTIGERN to help reinforce British resistance to the raiding Picts and Scots (c.449). The ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE claimed that Hengist and Horsa were joint kings of Kent and that when Horsa was killed (455) in battle, Aesc, the son of Hengist (died c.488), succeeded him.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O48-HengistHorsa" title="Facts and information about Hengist and Horsa">Hengist and Horsa</a>

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"Hengist." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 22 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Hengist." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (December 22, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-HengistHorsa.html

"Hengist." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved December 22, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-HengistHorsa.html

Learn more about citation styles

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries and thesauruses

Rate these entries|See all related entries

Free newspaper and magazine articles

The Continental homelands of the Anglo-Saxons.
Magazine article from: Contemporary Review; 12/1/2002

Facts and information from other sites

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

	About the Saxon Rebellion and the Massacre at Amesbury Magazine article from: Arthuriana; 4/1/2006; ; 700+ words ; ...mercenaries under their leaders, Hengist and Horsa, to fight the Picts. However...arrived, led by the brothers Hengist and Horsa, they were welcomed by Vortigern...He fought vigorously against Hengist and Horsa and in four battles drove them...
	Gad fly - Mekon merry Newspaper article from: The Northern Echo; 5/14/2008; ; 700+ words ; ...been inspired by the Saxon invaders Hengist and Horsa when they landed in Kent. It reminded...he asked a favourite teacher what HORSA huts - well remembered, little...was beneath that very spot that Horsa fought his first battle on English...
	WONDER HORSE; You might expect ROY STRONG, the scourge of so much modern art, to detest the Stallion of the South. Read on ...(News) Newspaper article from: The Daily Mail (London, England); 2/12/2009; 700+ words ; ...Legend has it that when two Saxon brothers, Hengist and Horsa, led an invasion of England and founded...banner on which there was a white horse. Hengist's name actually means 'white horse' and Horsa's means 'stallion'. There could be...
	The Continental homelands of the Anglo-Saxons. Magazine article from: Contemporary Review; 12/1/2002; ; 700+ words ; ...settling in Britain. According to the Venerable Bede, the first historian of the English people, the first Jutes, Hengist and Horsa landed at Ebbsfleet in the Isle of Thanet in 449; and the Jutes later settled in Kent, southern Hampshire, and...
	If we really lived by Canada's constitution we would look to the Bible for our laws. Magazine article from: Canadian Speeches; 3/1/2000; ; 700+ words ; ...The unwritten part enshrines our Common Law heritage, which goes back to about 450 A.D., when two Danes named Hengist and Horsa were invited -- well, they said they were invited -- to unify the government of Britain. They established a royal...
	TIME OUT: QUIZ CHALLENGE.(Features) Newspaper article from: Daily Post (Liverpool, England); 9/25/2008; 447 words ; ...World taken? 5. Where is the launch site for Europe's Ariane space rockets? ANSWER QUIZ CHALLENGE: 1 Capri; 2 Hengist and Horsa; 3 Gary Cooper; 4 The Tempest; 5 Kourou, French Guiana.
	TIME OUT: Quiz of the Day.(Features) Newspaper article from: The Journal (Newcastle, England); 2/11/2008; 521 words ; ...century cookery writer Mrs Beeton? 10. Which area of Sydney is known as the bohemian quarter? ANSWERS: 1 Capri; 2 Hengist and Horsa; 3 Gary Cooper; 4 The Tempest; 5 Kourou, French Guiana; 6 You're Beautiful; 7 Gaborone; 8 New Zealand...
	QUIZ CHALLENGE.(Features) Newspaper article from: Daily Post (Liverpool, England); 9/11/2006; 340 words ; ...mathematical name for the highest point of a triangle? 5. Which hand-held percussion instruments are associated with flamenco dancing? ANSWERS QUIZ CHALLENGE: 1 The retina' 2 Hengist and Horsa' 3 The Maquis' 4 The apex' 5 Castanets.
	Ancient & modern Magazine article from: The Spectator; 3/25/2000; ; 601 words ; ...homogenised mass. It is keeping the politicians out which is the problem. Meanwhile, we should all start demanding vast EU grants to explore our family links with Julius Caesar, Hengist and Horsa and William the Conqueror. Peter Jones
	Y llaeth wedi suro a'r mel yn chwerw; Westgate.(News) Newspaper article from: Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales); 4/11/2002; 700+ words ; ...credwn y chwedlau, plant Abraham ydynt i gyd - un garfan yn disgyn o Isaac a'r llall o Ishmael. A'r sefyllfa Hengist a Horsa hon sydd yn gyfrifol am y tywallt gwaed anfaddeuol ar hyn o bryd. Nid oedd Hitler yn ei lawn bwyll meddir: yr oedd...