British and Irish History: Biographies

The Oxford Companion to... The Oxford Dictionary of... The Concise Oxford Companion... Further reading

Hengist

The Oxford Companion to British History | 2002 | | 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. The stories concerning them should be seen as part of Kentish foundation legends rather than as records of actual events. ‘Stallion’ and ‘Horse’ are more likely to have been horse-deities than genuine ancestors and with their alliterating names recall other legendary founding pairs of the Indo-European world such as Romulus and Remus.

Barbara Yorke

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

MLA
Chicago
APA

JOHN CANNON. "Hengist." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN CANNON. "Hengist." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-HengistHorsa.html

JOHN CANNON. "Hengist." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-HengistHorsa.html

Learn more about citation styles

Hengist

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

Hengist and Horsa (d. 488 and d. 455), semi-mythological Jutish leaders. According to Bede the brothers were invited to Britain by the British king Vortigern in 449 to assist in defeating the Picts and later established an independent Anglo-Saxon kingdom in Kent.

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

MLA
Chicago
APA

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Hengist." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Hengist." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-HengistHorsa.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Hengist." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-HengistHorsa.html

Learn more about citation styles

Hengist

The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature | 2003 | | Copyright

Hengist and Horsa, the traditional leaders of the Jutes who, according to Bede (Ecclesiastical History), landed at Ebbsfleet in 449 and were given by Vortigern the Isle of Thanet for a dwelling-place.

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

MLA
Chicago
APA

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Hengist." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Hengist." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-HengistHorsa.html

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Hengist." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-HengistHorsa.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

	The restoration English history plays of Roger Boyle, earl of... Magazine article from: Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900; 6/22/2003
	The need for Lavinia's voice: Titus Andronicus and the telling of... Magazine article from: Shakespeare Studies; 1/1/2001
	Blame it on Bede.(Features) Newspaper article from: Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales); 8/2/2005