Old English Chronicles Part 44

-- 58. Hengist begat Octa, who begat Ossa, who begat Eormenric, who begat Ethelbert, who begat Eadbald, who begat Ercombert, who begat Egbert.

THE ORIGIN OF THE KINGS OF EAST-ANGLIA.

-- 59. Woden begat Ca.s.ser, who begat t.i.tinon, who begat Trigil, who begat Rodmunt, who begat Rippa, who begat Guillem Guercha,[335] who was the first king of the East Angles. Guercha begat Uffa, who begat Tytillus, who begat Eni, who begat Edric, who begat Aldwulf, who begat Elric.

THE GENEALOGY OF THE MERCIANS.

-- 60. Woden begat Guedolgeat, who begat Gueagon, who begat Guithleg, who begat Guerdmund, who begat Ossa, who begat Ongen, who begat Eamer, who begat Pubba.[336] This Pubba had twelve sons, of whom two are better known to me than the others, that is Penda and Eawa. Eadlit is the son of Pantha, Penda, son of Pubba, Ealbald, son of Alguing, son of Eawa, son of Penda, son of Pubba. Egfert, son of Offa, son of Thingferth, son of Enwulf, son of Ossulf, son of Eawa, son of Pubba.

THE KINGS OF THE DEIRI.

-- 61. Woden begat Beldeg, Brond begat Siggar, who begat Sibald, who begat Zegulf, who begat Soemil, who first separated[337] Deur from Berneich (_Deira from Bernicia_.) Soemil begat Sguerthing, who begat Giulglis, who begat Ulfrea, who begat Iffi, who begat Ulli, Edwin, Osfrid, and Eanfrid. There were two sons of Edwin, who fell with him in battle at Meicen,[338] and the kingdom was never renewed in his family, because not one of his race escaped from that war; but all were slain with him by the army of Catguollaunus,[339] king of the Guenedota. Oswy begat Egfrid, the same is Ailguin, who begat Oslach, who begat Alhun, who begat Adlsing, who begat Echun, who begat Oslaph. Ida begat Eadric, who begat Ecgulf, who begat Leodwald, who begat Eata, the same is Glinmaur, who begat Eadbert and Egbert, who was the first bishop of their nation.

Ida, the son of Eoppa, possessed countries on the left-hand side of Britain, _i.e._ of the Humbrian sea, and reigned twelve years, and united[340] Dynguayth Guarth-Berneich.

-- 62. Then Dutigirn at that time fought bravely against the nation of the Angles. At that time, Talhaiarn Cataguen[341] was famed for poetry, and Neirin, and Taliesin and Bluchbard, and Cian, who is called Guenith Guaut, were all famous at the same time in British poetry.

The great king, Mailcun,[342] reigned among the Britons, _i.e._ in the district of Guenedota, because his great-great-grandfather, Cunedda, with his twelve sons, had come before from the left-hand part, _i.e._ from the country which is called Manau Gustodin, one hundred and forty-six years before Mailcun reigned, and expelled the Scots with much slaughter from those countries, and they never returned again to inhabit them.

-- 63. Adda, son of Ida, reigned eight years; Ethelric, son of Adda, reigned four years. Theodoric, son of Ida, reigned seven years.

Freothwulf reigned six years. In whose time the kingdom of Kent, by the mission of Gregory, received baptism. Hussa reigned seven years. Against him fought four kings, Urien, and Ryderthen, and Guallauc, and Morcant.

Theodoric fought bravely, together with his sons, against that Urien.

But at that time sometimes the enemy and sometimes our countrymen were defeated, and he shut them up three days and three nights in the island of Metcaut; and whilst he was on an expedition he was murdered, at the instance of Morcant, out of envy, because he possessed so much superiority over all the kings in military science. Eadfered Flesaurs reigned twelve years in Bernicia, and twelve others in Deira, and gave to his wife Bebba, the town of Dynguoaroy, which from her is called Bebbanburgh.[343]

Edwin, son of Alla, reigned seventeen years, seized on Elmete, and expelled Cerdic, its king. Eanfled, his daughter, received baptism, on the twelfth day after Pentecost, with all her followers, both men and women. The following Easter Edwin himself received baptism, and twelve thousand of his subjects with him. If any one wishes to know who baptized them, it was Rum Map Urbgen:[344] he was engaged forty days in baptizing all cla.s.ses of the Saxons, and by his preaching many believed on Christ.

-- 64. Oswald son of Ethelfrid, reigned nine years; the same is Oswald Llauiguin;[345] he slew Catgublaun (Cadwalla),[346] king of Guenedot,[347] in the battle of Catscaul,[348] with much loss to his own army. Oswy, son of Ethelfrid, reigned twenty-eight years and six months.

During his reign, there was a dreadful mortality among his subjects, when Catgualart (Cadwallader) was king among the Britons, succeeding his father, and he himself died amongst the rest.[349] He slew Penda in the field of Gai, and now took place the slaughter of Gai Campi, and the kings of the Britons, who went out with Penda on the expedition as far as the city of Judeu, were slain.

-- 65. Then Oswy restored all the wealth, which was with him in the city, to Penda; who distributed it among the kings of the Britons, that is, Atbert Judeu. But Catgabail alone, king of Guenedot, rising up in the night, escaped, together with his army, wherefore he was called Catgabail Catguommed. Egfrid, son of Oswy, reigned nine years. In his time the holy bishop Cuthbert died in the island of Medcaut.[350] It was he who made war against the Picts, and was by them slain.

Penda, son of Pybba, reigned ten years; he first separated the kingdom of Mercia from that of the North-men, and slew by treachery Anna, king of the East Anglians, and St. Oswald, king of the North-men. He fought the battle of Cocboy,[351] in which fell Eawa, son of Pybba, his brother, king of the Mercians, and Oswald, king of the North-men, and he gained the victory by diabolical agency. He was not baptized, and never believed in G.o.d.

-- 66. From the beginning of the world to Constantinus and Rufus, are found to be five thousand six hundred and fifty-eight years.

Also from the two consuls, Rufus and Rubelius, to the consul Stilicho, are three hundred and seventy-three years.

Also from Stilicho to Valentinian, son of Placida, and the reign of Vortigern, are twenty-eight years.

And from the reign of Vortigern to the quarrel between Guitolinus and Ambrosius, are twelve years, which is Guoloppum, that is Catgwaloph.[352] Vortigern reigned in Britain when Theodosius and Valentinian were consuls, and in the fourth year of his reign the Saxons came to Britain, in the consuls.h.i.+p of Felix and Taurus, in the four hundredth year from the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

From the year in which the Saxons came into Britain, and were received by Vortigern, to the time of Decius and Valerian, are sixty-nine years.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 249: And forty, according to Stevenson's new edition. The rest of this chronology is much contracted in several of the ma.n.u.scripts, and hardly two of them contain it exactly the same.]

[Footnote 250: This list of the Roman emperors who visited Britain, is omitted in many of the MSS.]

[Footnote 251: V.R. Twenty-eight, twenty-one.]

[Footnote 252: Site unknown. See note at sec. 42, p. 404.]

[Footnote 253: Inis-gueith, or Gueith.]

[Footnote 254: The whole of this, as far as the end of the paragraph, is omitted in several MSS.]

[Footnote 255: Other MSS. Silvius.]

[Footnote 256: V.R. Who should slay his father and mother, and be hated by all mankind.]

[Footnote 257: V.R. He displayed such superiority among his play-fellows, that they seemed to consider him as their chief.]

[Footnote 258: Tours.]

[Footnote 259: V.R. Thirty-seven.]

[Footnote 260: See Bede's Eccles. Hist. pp. 5, 6, note.]

[Footnote 261: V.R. Partholomaeus, or Bartholomaeus.]

[Footnote 262: A blank is here in the MS. Agnomen is found in some of the others.]

[Footnote 263: V.R. Damhoctor, Clamhoctor, and Elamhoctor.]

[Footnote 264: V.R. Liethan, Bethan, Vethan.]

[Footnote 265: St. David's.]

[Footnote 266: Guiher, probably the Welsh district Gower. Cetgueli is Caer Kidwelly, in Carmarthens.h.i.+re.]

[Footnote 267: North-western part of Antrim in Ulster.]

[Footnote 268: V.R. Columba.]

[Footnote 269: Some MSS. add, the beginning of the calculation is 23 cycles of 19 years from the incarnation of our Lord to the arrival of St. Patrick in Ireland, and they make 438 years. And from the arrival of St. Patrick to the cycle of 19 years in which we live are 22 cycles, which make 421 years.]

[Footnote 270: This proves the tradition of Brutus to be older than Geoffrey or Tyssilio, unless these notices of Brutus have been interpolated in the original work of Nennius.]

[Footnote 271: This genealogy is different in almost all the MSS.]

[Footnote 272: Some MSS. add, I will now return to the point from which I made this digression.]

[Footnote 273: There is here some corruption or defect in the original.

See Geoffrey of Monmouth, p. 139 of this volume.]