over to Africa in 429, took Carthage in 439, and founded a Vandal kingdom there. About the same time the Alans and the Suevi settled in Spain. 4. 408.-Alaric penetrated to Rome, which capitulated. He again appeared before Rome in 409; and sacked it in 410. In the latter year Alaric died. 5. 412. The Visi-goths entered Spain, and founded a monarchy there in 414, which included the north of Spain and the south-west of Gaul. Its capital was Toulouse. In 472 they drove the Alans into Africa; and they subjugated the Suevi in 568. 1. THE Britons, who had lived in peace under Roman protection, were in a wretched plight when that was withdrawn. The Picts and the Scots, breaking through the unguarded walls, pillaged the northern country. The Vikings1 of the North Sea coasts, who had hardly been kept in check by the Roman fleets, descending on the east and the south, sailed up the rivers in their light flat-bottomed skiffs, burning and slaying without mercy. Vortigern, a British prince, is said to have asked the aid of the Vikings against the Picts. The men he invited were Jutes, or people of Jutland, men of great size, with blue eyes, ruddy complexion, and yellow hair; practised in war, using the axe, the sword, the spear, and the mace. 449 A.D. 1 2. The story of the Teutonic2 settlement in Britain, though true in some points, rests on uncertain tradition. It is, that two Jutish chiefs, named Hengest and Horsa,3 Vikings. That is, 'sons of the vic" Low-German (English, Friesian, Dutch, or wic, the Norse word for a bay or creek. Flemish) and High-German (Old, MidThe word, therefore, means bay-dwell- dle, and Modern). The Scandinavian ers, or creekers. It should be remem- branch includes Danish, Swedish, and bered that the termination is -ing, not Norwegian, as well as Icelandic and -king. Faroic. 2 Teutonic.-The Teutonic is one of the seven stocks of the Aryan family of languages. (See Note 1, p. 21.) Of this stock there are two branches, the Germanic and the Scandinavian. The Germanic branch is subdivided into 3 Hengest and Horsa. -"Hengest" means horse, and "Horsa" means mare. As the standard of Kent has been a horse from early times, the story has been supposed to mean that the Jutes were led by their standards. were hired by Vortigern, and landed at Ebbsfleet, on the coast of Thanet in Kent. After they had repelled the enemies of Vortigern, they turned their arms against himself, seized Kent, and invited their kindred over to share the spoil. For more than a century after this, bands of these Teutonic invaders continued to pour on the southern and eastern shores of Britain, driving the inhabitants west and north before them. They came not only as soldiers to conquer the country, but as colonists to occupy it with their wives and children. The Britons, having for centuries felt the scourge of the Saxons, called all the invaders by that name; but, in truth, they belonged to three tribes-the Jutes, the Saxons, and the Angles or Anglians. 3. The Jutes1 settled in Kent and on the Isle of Wight. The Saxons, from Holstein2 and Friesland,3 settled chiefly in the south. The Anglians, from Schleswig,1 landed on the east coast and soon spread over the midland and northern districts, occupying most of the land. All these were kinsmen,-brothers, as it were, of the same family. They spoke the same tongueEnglish; they worshipped the same gods (chief of whom was Odin or Woden), and had the same Valhalla for their heaven; and they were ruled by the same laws and customs. When they had made the land fairly their own, they called it after themselves, Englaland, England,-"the land of the English." 4. The number of independent States was constantly changing. The following list comprises all those which at any time had a separate standing :— I. Kent, founded by Jutes under Hengest, 457 A.D. VII. Deira (Anglians), combined with Bernicia into Northumbria, 603 A.D. VIII. East Anglia (Anglians), founded by Uffa, 575 A.D.; divided into North-folk and South-folk. IX. Middle Anglia (Anglians), west of East Anglia. X. Southumbria (Anglians), south of the Humber. XI. Mercia (including Middle Anglia and Southumbria), the midland region, from East Anglia to Wales, and from the Humber to the Thames; founded by Cridda, 582 A.D. 5. The Welsh,1 as the English called the Britons, fought bravely for their country. Their chief leader was Arthur, king of the Silures in South Wales; but most of his history is legendary, being derived from poets and chroniclers who, long afterwards,2 wrote about him and his "Knights of the Round Table." Still, there is no reason to doubt that he gained many victories over the heathen, as the Welsh, who were then Christians, called the English. He gained a great victory over the West Saxons at Mount Badon (Badbury, Dorsetshire), which checked the advance of the West Saxons for a whole generation. Shortly after 552, however, the West Saxons crossed the Thames, and advanced northward and westward. The Welsh were now driven into the remote west, and were separated into three provinces,-West Wales (Cornwall and Dorset), North Wales (Wales proper), and Cumbria. tonic settlement of Britain rest? The names of the Jutish leaders? Where did they land? When? What did they do after they had repelled the Picts? How long, after this, did Teutonic bands continue to arrive? In what capacity did they come? What did QUESTIONS.-1. In what state were the Britons after the departure of the Romans? Who harassed them in the north? Who, in the east and the south? Whose aid did they ask? Whence did these men come? What was their character? 2. On what does the story of the Teu- the Britons call them? Why? To 1 Welsh.-That is, "foreigners," or "barbarians." The Greeks, in like manner, called all those who spoke languages which they did not understand, barbarians." 2 Long afterwards.-The legends of Arthur had their origin among the Celts of Brittany, and were first embodied in history by Geoffrey of Monmouth, who died in 1154. |