It is at the inn The Prancing Pony in the village of Bree that the Hobbits hope to be safe from the screeching Nazgûl on their coal-black horses. The Prancing Pony is also where the Hobbits meet Strider, a wanderer who, in fact, is named Aragorn, the future first king of the Reunited Kingdom. Horses, wanderers, fugitive royalty, alliances, building armies, and first kings - this is what the epic saga of Hengist and Horsa is all about too. This is a saga of the events that happened 1,600 years ago; how in Kent the first Anglo-Saxon kingdom was established. A county that also happens to carry a blood-red flag with a prancing white horse. In this blog post, we will tell the version of events as they are being remembered by the Frisians.
Indeed, according to the Frisian version of the wanderer saga, the brothers Hengist and Horsa have the Frisian nationality. "Come on. This is a bridge or two too far, and too predictable!" one might object with some agitation. Before rosbifs close the internet tab or unfollow us, know that there actually is a lot of shadowiness around the origins of these notorious brothers in those pre-Dark Ages!
The one thing where the oldest texts and most scholars (old and young) agree on, is that the two brothers came from one of the territories on the south-eastern shores of the North Sea. After that, opinions diverge completely. It is like watching a traffic square in Jakarta during rush hour. Being of Jutish, Angle, (Half-)Danish, (Old-) Saxon, and even of Frankish stock, are all options put forward by persons who have devoted much of their life to science. Actually, non of the original sources makes explicit which nationality Hengist (and Horsa) has (Bliss 1983). It is all circumstantial evidence.
Concerning the name Oisc, the name of the son of Hengist as we will see later, it is possible that the name Ansgz written in runes on a shield boss dated early-third century found at Thorsberg in Denmark – the former land of the Angles – is the same as Anchis mentioned in the Ravenna Cosmography (dated ca. 700). And Oisc, which Venerable Bede (ca. 672-735) speaks of, is possibly the same figure as Anchis. Additionally, the shield and the other weapons found at Thorsberg might have belonged to an (foreign) enemy army (Mees 2024). So, still no smoking gun concerning the nationality of Hengist and his son. Note that others think the inscription on the shield boss is basically a senseless rune sequence (Looijenga 1997).
In other words. There is no civil registry of Hengist and Horsa. Neither is their nationality patent-protected. And, with all the distinguished but differing views, there is plenty of free space for the Frisians to push an origin claim as well. At the very least, Frisians can offer a different angle and try to be somewhat relevant for Anglo-Saxon history.
Sjoch dêr de griene greiden, dy pronkje yn maitiidsfleur,
O rûkste it ek net, Hengist! ús âlde heitlânsgeur,
Dy’t komt mei’t twirke út ’t Westen oer fiere mieden wei,
Gjin lân fan iv’ge sinne komt dochs myn lân bynei!
Simke Kloosterman 1933
Sources of the Early Middle Ages
The names and/or story of Hengist (often called Hengest too) and Horsa are found in several early-medieval texts, notably the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Historia brittonum of Nennius, the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum of Bede, the De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae of Gildas, the epic poem Beowulf, and the Finnsburh Fragment. No longer early-medieval, but the Historia Regum Britanniae, a book written by Geoffrey of Monmouth in ca. 1136, and Brut (i.e. Brutus of Troy, king of the Brits) written by priest Layamon in the late twelfth century, are often listed too. That these sources can be a cocktail of fact, fiction and exaggeration, applies to all. Moreover, these texts primarily represent the Anglo-Saxon point of view.
Lastly, we should not forget to list the oldest account testifying of Frisians in Britain, although no word about Hengist and Horsa. This is the De bello Gothico written by the Greek historian Procopius of Caesarea in the mid-sixth century, and therefore offers also a non-Anglo-Saxon perspective. That is two centuries before Bede's account and even three centuries younger than the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (Stenton 1943). As close as we can get to the era of wandering peoples into Britain. Procopius wrote: "The island of Brittia is inhabited by three very populous nations each having a king over it. And the names of these nations are Angiloi, Frissones and those of one name with the island, Brttones." So, Frisians with a king based in Britain (see also note 3).
The events happened in the first half of the fifth century AD. This was the era of the Wandering of Peoples. A time when the Romans left their northern limes and retreated south. In 410, the Romans had pulled out of Britannia altogether and left the defence to the Britons themselves. Also in the Lower River Rhine area, the Romans had retreated south into Belgium, which at present is more or less the linguistic border between the French and Dutch languages. Creating a vacuum as it were that sucked in the Germanic tribes from the north (Fouracre 2005). Furthermore, much of the southern North Sea coastal area had been depopulated from the second quarter of the fourth century. From around the year 425, tribes from the Elbe-Weser triangle, including people from southern Scandinavia, began to reoccupy the empty barren, coastal lands again. They would constitute the (New) Frisians. The fifth century was also the start of the adventus Saxonum 'coming of the Saxons' moving to Britain. A barbarian invasion, peeling off much of the four-centuries-old, Romano-British varnish.
Note that ‘Saxons’ initially was an umbrella term for a confederation of Germanic North Sea tribes. A broad and vague name. Similar as with the Franks, the Alamanni, the Goths, etc. These big confederacies arose from the third century onward and their (temporarily) war-leaders were able to exert power over sizeable territories. Sometimes in alliance with the Romans, but when turned against them, they posed a serious regional security threat for the empire. These confederacies also lay the bases for the foundation of the early Germanic kingdoms bordering the North Sea. For more about the confederacies and what it meant for the identities and political organization of the Germanic peoples, read our blog post Our civilization - It all began with piracy.
Cultural ties between the early Anglo-Saxons and the Frisians were very close until the seventh century. Their material and economic culture was very similar. They spoke the same language and shared the same runic alphabet. Well connected through trade and power and elite networks. The kinship and ties are clear from archaeological, linguistical and DNA research. By the year 600, small Anglo-Saxon and Frisian kingdoms had developed on both sides of the southern North Sea coast. These were the three Anglo-Saxon kingdoms located in southern East Anglia, Essex and eastern Kent, and the two Frisian kingdoms located at the mouth of the River Rhine and in the north of Westergo (Nicolay 2017, 2023, Betten 2018, Lugt 2021). See the map below.
It is also from the second half of the sixth century that so-called ideological charged traditions of aristocratic households start to develop (Fleming 2010). Leitmotiv of these ideologies was: unruly warriors from afar who were legitimized to rule, and entitled to have privileges in contrast to the native people they govern. Royal pedigrees were construed too. Often with a deity, mostly Woden, as originating ancestor (Fahey 2015). The last quarter of the sixth century is from when the first historic kings are known, like those from Mercia and East Anglia.
The history of Hengist and Horsa, as it is documented in those early-medieval, predominantly Anglo-Saxon texts, broadly goes as follows:
Hengist and Horsa were warriors of noble descent but without a country. They were sons of Wihtgils (also Victgils or Wichtgils), son of Witta (also Vitta), son of Wecta (also Vecta or Wechta), son of Woden, son of Frealaf, son of Fredulf, son of Finn, son of Folcwald, son of Geat. The reason for their statelessness is not clear, but it might have had to do with the armed conflict between the Danes and the Frisians, in which the Jutes played an important role as well. During this conflict, the Frisian King Finn was slain. This happened around 420. In other words, a regional conflict that had an impact on the tribes living along the southern North Sea.
Ġewiton him ða wīġend wīca neosian
frēondum befeallen, Frȳsland ġesēon,
hāmas ond hēaburh. Henġest ðā ġȳt
wælfāgne winter wunode mid Finne;
hē unhlitme eard ġemunde,
Then Finn’s warriors left the land, returning to Frisia, bereft of their friends, to their forts and houses. But Hengest stayed at Finn’s place during that death-stained winter; he deeply longed for his native land, (Beowulf, after transl. by Mitchel 2017)
With three ceóls 'keels' (Old English synonym for ship) the two brothers sailed for Britannia in the year 428 or 449 (dates differ). The arrival of these warriors was on the initiative of the noted arrogant King Vortigern (also Vurtgern), overking of the Britons, who was in search of warriors to help withstand the incursions of northern tribes. Probably continuing the modus operandi of the Romans of recruiting Celtic/Germanic tribesmen for the imperial army (Henson 2006). See also our blog post Frisian mercenaries in the Roman Army.
The Germanic warband landed at Ypwines fleot, possibly modern Ebbsfleet on the shores of the Isle of Thanet in Kent. They were given the isle to live. In return war-leaders Hengist and Horsa were asked to help the Britons (i.e. Romano-Brits) with their fights against the Picts and the Gaels. Since the Romans had retreated from Britannia, the Picts and the Gaels had become a growing security concern for the kingdom.
After Hengist and Horsa, forty more ceóls arrived. Attracted by the stories that the land was fertile and the Britons were cowards. Timid and weak. These new sǽhenġestas 'sea-horses' (an Old English kenning for ship) were filled with wild Angles, Jutes and Saxons, hated by God and men, and led by Hengist's son and nephew, namely Œric Osic (also Æsc, Ocha or Octha) and Ebissa. During the Battle of Aegels threp, modern Aylesford according to the saga, in the year 455, Horsa is killed. Œric Oisc fights together with his father in many battles hereafter during which thousands of their enemies were killed.
But then the snake bit his own tail. Perhaps because the Britons did not pay the Germanic mercenaries anymore. After having fought for the Britons, these warriors, the cubili leaenae barbarae ‘barbaric brood of lion cubs’, turned against them and allied with the Celtic tribes. It led to massive destruction of the country. Houses and buildings were destroyed and clergymen murdered. Indeed, Hengist and his son, warriors with loyalties only to themselves, in full gallop.
In some of the sagas, Rowena, the beautiful daughter of Hengist, fulfils a treacherous role. Rowena was married to King Vortigern. After a great battle between King Vortigern, together with Hengist and Horsa, and his eldest son Voritmer, Voritgern loses his kingdom and was exiled. Rowena remains at the court and manages to seduce the new king. During a banquet she put poison, which she carried in an ampule hidden in her bosom beneath her breasts, in the wine of King Vortimer. After Vorimer's death, Vortigern returns to the throne.
From Hengist’s son Œric Oisc, whose last name means 'god', the Kentish royal house descends: the Oiscingas. Œric Oisc acceded to the throne in the year 488.
It is obvious that the experiences of Hengist and Horsa are a typical myth of origin, as there were many in Europe. These had in common that it was foreigners who established a new nation. Additionally, the Anglo-Saxon and Frisian origin myths have in common that they have a marine character (Fouracre 2005, IJssennagger 2017). In the case of the Frisians, it was the three brothers Friso, Saxo, and Bruno who came from overseas and founded Frisia, Saxony, and Brunswyck respectively. The number three is typical for Germanic origin sagas (Vollrath 1993). Also in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it is often three ships that arrive on the English shores with the founders of a new kingdom. And for three times hundred years would the Saxons take possession of England. For more about these myths of origin, read our blog post We'll drive our ships to new land.
As an anecdote, statesman Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was attracted to these sagas about founding fathers from overseas too. He once expressed that he would envision a great seal of the United States with one side depicting Moses and the Israelites, and the other side Hengist and Horsa (Webster 2012). Yes, the America as the adventus Saxonum revisited. Over time, all three settlement stories (Israel, Britain and America) have been enriched with multiple perspectives, to put it diplomatically. Of course, the Israelites did not come sailing over water but walked through the water.
Curious are the names Hengist and Horsa. These are not proper first names. They mean 'stallion and horse'. We came across several explanations for their unusual names. In a fictional novel their names are clarified for their father's passion for horses (Poage 2023). A more serious explanation we found is that they were simply nicknames, poetic inventions, or noms de guerre of warriors (Durham 2023). Concerning animal war names, think also of the warrior Beowulf meaning 'bee-wolf', a kenning for a bear.
Another explanation would be that Hengist and Horsa are, in fact, totally fictional, and their horsy names likewise. Argumentum a contrario that because the names are not true names, Hengist and Horsa can't be historic either (Fleming 2010), is too simple. It implies causality that is not there. Others are of the opinion they were real (Tolkien; see Webster 2012, Henson 2006). There are also theories saying Ebissa and Octha were the real names of the dreaded duo.
The names Hengist and Horsa can also originate from the so-called 'divine twins' which is part of (reconstructed) proto-Indo-European mythology, often part of horses, battle and a woman who plays a role. Some examples are: the brothers Castor and Pollux, who were famous horsemen as well, the saints Boris and Gleb, the twins of the Gaulish horse goddess Epona, and the founders of Rome Romulus and Remus. Hengist and Horse - the Frisian pendants of Romelus and Remus (Jongstra 2024). The history or legend of two other Frisian brothers of more or less at the same place and time as Hengist and Horsa, namely Brittany around the year 500, in line with this mythology too, is that of Corsold and Coarchion (see note 1 below).
Then there is another, not fully understood tradition. Farmsteads on the northern Germany and the northeast of the Netherlands -indeed, including parts of former Frisia- were adorned with crossed horse head gables, or gable signs with two rampart horse figures, known as 'Hengst und Hors'. A tradition that existed way until the late nineteenth century (Webster 2012, Simek 2021, Van Renswoude 2021). Interestingly, by and large the region Hengist and Horsa could have originated from. This makes a natural link to the next topic of this blog post: the Frisian way of looking at Hengist and Horsa.
One more remark before we look at the figures Hengist and Horsa through the eyes of the Frisians.
Above we inserted the flag of the county of Kent. Interestingly, the northwest of Germany and northeast of the Netherlands use the same heraldic symbol, called the Saksenros or Sachsenross 'Saxon horse/steed', as their colours and on their coat of armours. The region of Twente in the Netherlands, and the regions of Westphalia and Lower Saxony in Germany, for example, have a same flag as Kent, namely a white prancing horse against a red background. A reminder of the era of the Wandering of Peoples (Kuipers, Jensma & Vries 2011).
A final remark concerns the toponym 'Hengst' in the western Wadden sea area. It is a sand bank between the islands of Texel and Vlieland north of the gully Vogelzwin. There is not a clearcut explanation for this toponym. It can refer to skinny, spawned salmon returning to sea after having laid eggs known as hengst in the Netherlands, it can refer to a fisherman annex beachcomber Jack IJlst whose nickname was Hengst and who lived in the early nineteenth century, or it can refer to a Flemish flatboat type called a hengst. Since no one has a clue, we like to drop a non-biased, fourth explanation: it is a reference to Hengist who once roamed these shores and set sail from this coast to England.
At the Wadden Sea too, in the Dollart Bight, the toponym Hengstegat exists, which translates to 'hengst-hole/area'. Legend connects it with the strong horse of King Radbod. Or has it to do with salmon as well? Lastly, because we are getting confused, Hengst is also an Iron Age Wallanlage 'hill fortress' on the island of Rügen in the northeast of Germany.
A Frisian perspective on Hengist and Horsa
The saga is documented by Frisian chroniclers, historians and writers from the early-fifteenth century onward and thus can predate this date. To list the most important ones: the Chronicon Frisiae by monk Worp of monastery Thabor at Tirns written between 1400-1417, the Croniicke, ende warachtige beschryvinghe van Vrieslant by Ocka Scharlensis written in 1597, the Chronique ofte historische geschiedenisse van Vrieslant by Pierium Winsemium written in 1622, the Volledige Chronyk van Oostfrieslant by Eggerik Beninga written in 1723, and the Chronik der friesischer Uthland by Christian Peter Hansen written in 1856. New variations to the epic saga are Hengist en Horsa. 419 nei Kristus by Simke Kloosterman written in 1933, Het Zwaard, de Zee en het Valse Hart by Theun de Vries written in 1966, and Rowena. De sage van een Friese prinses by Pieter Winsemius written in 2016.
The names of adventurers Hengist and Horsa also appear as Hengest (and Horsa), and as Engistus and Horsus in the Frisian sagas. In the Dutch and German languages the word hengst means stallion. In the Mid Frisian language the word for stallion is hynst. The Old Frisian word for horse is hors or hars. The proto-Germanic form for horse is hrossa (Must 1959). So, (h)ros hors(e), it is all the same.
The Saga of Hengist and Horsa
how the Frisians pass it on
Udolf Haaron, duke of Frisia, who ruled from AD 360 to 432, had two sons, namely Hengist and Horsa. Hengist was the oldest and two years older than Horsa. When his sons had reached the ages of eleven and thirteen, the duke sent them to Roman Emperor Valentinian in Rome. At the emperor’s court, they would be educated and also trained in the art of combat. After nine years, in the year 383, Hengist and Horsa returned to the citadel of their father in Stavoren, the capital of Frisia.
Two years later, the people bitterly cried for the duke to take measures. The lands were overpopulated. Udolf Haaron ordered that a part of his people had to leave Frisia to avoid a great famine. According to the ancient laws of the ancestors, lot would decide which warriors had to leave the land. These laws did not make any exceptions, and also Hengist and Horsa were chosen by lot. Because they were the sons of the duke, they became the leaders of these strays. Together with Angles and Saxons, they laid their oars in sea and crossed the North Sea to Britannia with three long ships and with favourable winds.
Their landing on the shores of Kent generated a lot of commotion. King Vortigern of the Britons asked duces Hengist and Horsa, who stood out in nobility, beauty, and piety, what had brought them to his kingdom. Hengist explained what had been decided and the reason for it. Now they were hoping to find new fertile land to settle. Although the king was not happy with the fact that the Frisians were heathens and made clear that his god was not theirs, he did see a benefit because they could help him to ward off the Picts and the Scots. “If you will fight for the Britons, your reward would be great,” the king concluded. Not having that many alternatives, Hengist and Horsa and their men swore allegiance to the king. Not long after, the Scots and Picts attacked the kingdom. Hengist and his men fought in the front lines and were decisive in defeating the enemies.
Hengist was a schlauer Friese 'sly Frisian' and had noticed that King Vortigern was not too popular among his subjects. Because of his achievements in battle, Hengist was highly regarded by the king. He proposed to have more brave and warring warriors of Frisia come over to Britannia to help in the fights against the Scots and Picts, to which the king gave his consent. Hengist also asked the king to properly reward him and his men for their services in battle and asked for land to settle. This King Vortigern refused because the laws of his ancestors did not allow granting land to foreigners, as it would also provoke his own people. As a compromise, Hengist asked permission to build a castle as big as one ox-skin spanned. To this the king gave his approval.
Cleverly, Hengist cut the ox-skin into very thin and long strokes and marked the layout of the castle. The castle was named Cancaster, which is known today as Lancaster. When the new groups of Frisian warriors, as agreed with the king earlier, arrived in Britannia, they also settled in this new town of Cancaster. These new forces came in two waves. First a fleet of eleven ships and later a fleet of forty. With these batches of warriors also arrived Hengist’s son Ocha and the daughter of Hengist’s sister. She was named Ronixa and was stunningly beautiful. Who knows, matching the beauty of another Frisian women who would settle for a while in Kent, in the village of Elham, centuries later, namely Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
Then Hengist invited the king to visit his castle and to offer him a banquet. During this banquet, Ronixa was also introduced to King Vortigern. She was beautifully dressed and carried a golden goblet filled with precious wine. Ronixa kneeled before the king and asked him to accept her gift. The king accepted. Ronixa drank some of the wine, handed the goblet to the king, and kissed him according to her nation's tradition.
King Vortigern was, of course, deeply impressed and at once fell in love with Hengist's niece. Some say Satan entered Vortigern's heart because Ronixa was a heathen. The king asked Hengist for permission to marry her. After Hengist had consulted his younger brother Horsa and other chieftains in his retinue, he agreed to the marriage under the condition that the king would grant him the land in the corner of his kingdom named Cantuaria, which is today Canterbury. The love-struck king agreed, and the marriage was celebrated with a great wedding. King Vortigern and Ronixa were both very happy together.
The eldest son from the king's first marriage, Prince Gortenir, together with the earls and thegns of the kingdom, disagreed with all these developments and demanded repeatedly from the king that the Frisians be expelled from the country. A male offspring from this marriage would have consequences for the succession to the throne. Moreover, Ronixa was a heathen. King Vortigern refused to listen to his son and principal advisors in the wiðrædde ('council of witnesses'). Perhaps knowing how difficult it is to curb migration (Dale 2024). Now Prince Gortenir and the noblemen plotted against the king and declared Gortenir king. Next, an army was raised against the Frisians. During this battle, Horsa died and the Frisians suffered a great defeat. Nearly all Frisians were driven out of Britannia, including Hengist.
Gortenir's victory was short. Not long after, he was poisoned, and so his father Vortigern became king again. Ronixa urged Vortigern to send for Hengist, which he did. Hengist was instructed to come in secrecy to Britannia and only with a small warband. Sly Hengist, however, ignored these instructions and landed with a great number of ships with many bold warriors of great stature. King Vortigern and his noblemen were furious and wanted to drive out the Frisians. Ronixa notified Hengist of the intentions of the Britons. In reaction, Hengist sent a courier to the king to inform him that the Frisians were not here to make trouble nor war. He only wanted to ask the king to accept Frisian warriors in the king's service for the defence of the realm. Hengist asked for a time and place to negotiate.
"Talking can't hurt," King Vortigern must have thought, and he went along with Hengist's proposal. The king decided that they would meet on the 1st of May. That day, when both parties would come together, no weapons were allowed in the great hall. But Hengist instructed his men to take knives with them and to hide these under their feet. When Hengist would give the signal in their own, undecipherable language: "Nimath ure saxa!" ('draw your knives'), they would surprise and kill all the Britons present (see note 4). So it was done. During the assembly, between three hundred and four hundred and fifty -numbers differ- Britons were slaughtered, including all their noblemen. The purge is remembered as 'The Treason of the Long Knives'. King Vortigern was taken prisoner and forced to leave his crown to Hengist.
Hengist took control over the kingdom and reoccupied the lands they before had lost. And because Hengist and the Frisians were filled with revenge and anger over the death of Prince Horsa and other Frisian men, they exerted great terror in Britannia. Moreover, because Hengist and his men worshipped Wodan and Frigge, many Britons renounced the Christian faith and turned to heathendom. Only later, when Hengist's successors were converted, would the people return to Christendom again.
The Frisian tradition of the saga of Hengist and Horsa has been told in different variations. We have taken the liberty to merge the different elements where possible and as long they were not conflicting each other. We took the version documented by Waling Dykstra (1895) as the central one. We followed, however, the ending of other versions whereby Hengist and his son Oisc became the first rulers of Kent. In the version of Dykstra, Hengist does not become king. Instead, soon after the Treason of the Long Knives he was captured and beheaded. All other Frisians were either killed, driven from the country, or sold as slave.
Other elements that differ between the different versions is first of all the number and timing of ships the Frisians, and other tribes, sailed with. In other versions, the Frisians initially arrived with three ships and later eleven more ships came. Also about the personage Princess Ronixa exist conflicting stories. She is presented both as daughter and as niece of Hengist. Furthermore, she is known as Rowena or Rouuenne too, and sometimes as a treacherous woman (Webster 2012, Winsemius 2016). Not surprisingly, in Anglo-Saxon versions of the saga, Rowena/Ronixa is the one who poisons King Vortimer/Gortenir, whilst in the Frisian version of the saga it is left open who the murderer is. True to the tradition, characters Rowena MacLeod and Rowena Ravenclaw are witches in the television series Supernatural and in the film series Harry Potter, respectively.
Also, the area within Frisia wherefrom the Frisians drove their ships to Britannia differs. In the Mid-Frisian versions of the saga, the town of Stavoren is where everything takes place. Whilst in the North-Frisian versions they set sail from either the town of Tønder, or from the harbour at Wenningstedt on the Wadden Sea island of Sylt (Hansen 1856). The North-Frisians sagas speak of sylter Friesenhäuptlinge (Muuß 1933), or of Westfriesen (i.e. Frisians from the province of Friesland) who sailed from the region of Nordfriesland (Hansen 1856). A last remark concerns the differences on where and when the Frisians were granted land to settle. In other versions, namely, the Frisians were given the right to settle on the Isle of Thanet.
Of interest is also the reason why Frisians, together with Angles and Saxons, had to leave their lands. In the version we presented in this blog post, the reason was that the land had become overcrowded and famine was on the brink. In old Swiss sagas telling about their own origins, it is Frisians and Swedes who had to leave their lands because of a famine too. They moved to the Alps and lay the foundation of Switzerland. Here too, men, women and children who had to leave, were chosen by lot. Check our blog blog post Make way for the homesick dead!
Note 1 - About the same time, two other brothers from Frisia caused turmoil in the wider region. These were Corsold and Coarchion, who were warlords operating in Brittany and subdued the Bretons. There are also parallels in both stories on how the Frisians exerted terror over the Britons and Bretons. And, of course, a beautiful woman who plays an important role. For more, read our blog post A Frisian warlord who ruled in Brittany, until his wife cheated on him.
Note 2 - If the reader wants to feel the emotion of what happened during the Treason of the Long Knives, watch the episode of the Red Wedding of Game of Thrones. In the North-Frisians version of the saga the signal to draw their swords was: "Nhmet oure saar!"
Note 3 - With regard to the actuality about the use of the term Anglo-Saxon, as it is supposedly contaminated with racial issues, perhaps it is better to follow historian Procopius and use Anglo-Frisian from now on, although we aren't fully confident this would solve the matter. Not sure either whether Frisian people would agree with this, because up till now they are being left out of these discussions.
Note 4 - Hengist's watchword "nimath ure saxa" in the Frisian saga (Dykstra 1895) is copied from the English sagas, namely "eu Saxones, enimith saxas" 'hey Saxons, draw knives' (Mees 2023). 'The Treason of the Long Knives' has parallels with 'The Night of the Long Knives' that took place in Nazi Germany in the summer of 1934. An operation during which the whole command of the Sturmabteilung 'storm troopers' was brutally murdered extrajudicially in order to consolidate Hitler's power. We speculate, but was the Nazi regime's code name inspired by Hengist's watchword from the old sagas?
Suggested hiking
North Dawns Way, a long-distance pilgrims route of 200 kilometers running from Farnham to Dover. If this is too much and you want to gaze at the white cliffs, hike The White Cliffs of Dover. An easy 6.5 kilometer walk. It covers the last stretch of the North Dawns Way.
Suggested music
Heidevolk, Hengist en Horsa (2018)
Vera Lynn, The White Cliffs of Dover (1942)
Further reading
Aa, van der A.J., Biographische woordenboek der Nederlanden (1867)
Beninga, E., Volledige Chronyk van Oostfrieslant (1723)
Betten, E., Terpen- en Wierdenland (2018)
Brookes, S. & Harrington, S., The Kingdom and People of Kent. AD 400-1066. Their history and archaeology (2010)
Burch, P.J.W., The Origins of Anglo-Saxon Kingship (2015)
Chamber, R.W., Widsith. A Study In Old English Heroic Legend (1912)
Cornelius, A., Croniicke ende warachtige Beschryvinghe van Vrieslant (1597)
Dale, B., Migrant crossings top 10,000 so far this year (2024)
Durham, A., The Roman name of Canterbury and later misunderstandings (2023)
Dykstra, W., Uit Friesland's volksverleden van vroeger en later (1895)
Fahey, R., Woden: Allfather of the English (2015)
Fleming, R., Britain After Rome: The Fall and Rise, 400 to 1070 (2010)
Flierman, D., Hengist and Horsa in Dutch literature (2022)
Fouracre, P. (ed.), The New Cambridge Medieval History, I, c. 500 – c. 700 (2005)
Geerts, P., Suske en Wiske: Het ros Bazhaar (1970)
Hansen, C.P., Chronik der friesischen Uthlande (1856)
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