[*]
[* Amm. Marcell. lib. xxvii. cap. 7. lib. xxviii. cap. 7]
In order to oppose their inroads, the Romans had established an officer,
whom they called "Count of the Saxon shore;" and as the naval arts can
flourish among a civilized people alone, they seem to have been more
successful in repelling the Saxons than any of the other barbarians by
whom they were invaded. The dissolution of the Roman power invited them
to renew their inroads; and it was an acceptable circumstance that
the deputies of the Britons appeared among them, and prompted them to
undertake an enterprise to which they were of themselves sufficiently
inclined.[*]
[* W. Malms, p. 8.]
Hengist and Horsa, two brothers, possessed great credit among the
Saxons, and were much celebrated both for their valor and nobility. They
were reputed, as most of the Saxon princes, to be sprung from Woden, who
was worshipped as a god among those nations, and they are said to be his
great grandsons;[*] a circumstance which added much to their authority.
[* Bede, lib. i. cap. 15. Chron. Sax. p. 13. Nennius, cap.
28.]
We shall not attempt to trace any higher the origin of those princes
and nations.
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