Hengist And Horsa: Legendary Anglo-Saxon Warrior Brothers And Leaders Of First Settlers In Britain

A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - According to very ancient poems, Odin's sons, Weldegg, Beldegg, Sigi, Skiold, Sæming, and Yngvi, became kings of Franconia, East Saxony, West Saxony, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, and from them are descended the Saxons, Hengist and Horsa, and the royal families of the Northern lands.

Hengist and Horsa arriving in Britain, by Richard Rowlands (1605). Public Domain

But one question is: who were the legendary warrior brothers Hengist and Horsa? Interesting is also whether they existed.

According to Anglo-Saxon tradition, these two heroes, Hengist and Horsa (meaning 'stallion' and 'horse'), were invited to Sub-Roman Britain by the British ruler Vortigern to help him defend against invading Scots and Picts attacking from the North.

After landing at "Wippidsfleet" (Ebbsfleet), Hengist and Horsa successfully drove off the invaders. It is said the two heroes played an essential part in the foundation of the kingdom of Kent.

Immediately after successfully fighting with the enemy, they received a land grant in Kent from Vortigern.

Hengist from John Speed's 1611 "Saxon Heptarchy". Image credit: Professor Liam Thompson - Public Domain

For ages after the arrival of the Saxons under the warlords Hengist and Horsa in 449 AD, the aboriginal inhabitants possessed the whole western coast of Britain. These people were engaged in continuous battles with the invaders.

Archaeological evidence has revealed traces of Germanic settlers in Canterbury in the late 300s; however, the main settlement probably took place in the 450s, under the leadership of the two warlord brothers, Hengest and Horsa.

Some historians have suggested that they are only mythical founding figures, divine twins like Romulus and Remus, rather than real people.

Hengest (also spelled Hengist) and Horsa are said to have been Jutes and sons of Wihtgils, a semi-legendary Jutish chieftain, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, one of the few literary sources for England's history during the period following the Roman presence and preceding the Norman invasion.

The brothers in Edward Parrott's Pageant of British History (1909). Image credit:  Sir Edward Parrott - The Pageant of British History - Public Domain

According to the English historian and theologian Bede, the two brothers were Jutes, generally assumed to have come from Jutland in Denmark.

Hengest and Horsa arrived shortly after 449 with three shiploads of 'Angles or Saxons' at the invitation of Vortigern, king of the Britons (who flourished 425–450). They came to his allies to help him against the Picts, attacking from the North between 446 and 454 AD.

It needs to be specified, however, where, in Britain, this Vortigern had his seat. Was it located in the northwest, closer to the Picts region, or in the south?

The Chronicle also says that Hengest and Horsa fought against Katigern, the second son of Vortigern, near Epiford, and Horsa was killed at Aegelsthrep (possibly Aylesford, Kent) in 455.

The Venerable Bede mentions a monument to him located in east Kent; Horstead, near Aylesford, may be named for him; the Chronicle says that Hengist began to reign in 455 and that he fought against the Britons; it implies that Hengist died in 488.

Updated on Sep 19, 2023

Written by A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com Staff Writer

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