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Bede, A History of the English Church and PeopleChapters 14, 15, 16, 22, 23

Chapter 14: The Britons, made desperate by famine, drive the Barbarians out of theirland. There soon follows an abundance of corn, luxury, plague, and doom on thenation

Meanwhile the famine which left a lasting memory of its horrors to posterity distressedthe Britons more and more. Many were compelled to surrender to the invaders; others,trusting in Gods help where no human hand could save them, continued theirresistance. Making frequent sallies from the mountains, caves, and forests, they beganat length to inflict severe losses on the enemy who had plundered their country for somany years. Thereupon the Irish pirates departed to their homes unabashed, intendingto return after a short interval, while the Picts remained inactive in the northernparts of the island, save for occasional raids and forays to plunder the Britons.When the depredations of its enemies had ceased, the land enjoyed an abundance ofcorn without precedent in former years; but with plenty came an increase in luxury,followed by every kind of crime, especially cruelty, hatred of truth, and love of

falsehood. If anyone happened to be more kindly or truthful than his neighbours, hebecame a target for all weapons of malice as though he were an enemy of Britain. Andnot only the laity were guilty of these things, but even the Lords flock and theirpastors. Giving themselves up to drunkenness, hatred, quarrels, and violence, theythrew off the easy yoke of Christ. Suddenly a terrible plague struck this corrupt people,and in a short while destroyed so large a number that the living could not bury thedead. But not even the death of their friends or the fear of their own death wassufficient to recall the survivors from the spiritual death to which their crimes haddoomed them. So it was that, not long afterwards, an even more terrible retributionovertook this wicked nation. For they consulted how they might obtain help to avoid orrepel the frequent fierce attacks of their northern neighbours, and all agreed with theadvice ot their king, Vortigern, to call on the assistance of the Saxon peoples across the

sea. This decision, as its results were to show, seems to have been ordained by God as apunishment on their wickedness.

Chapter 15: The Angles are invited into Britain. At first they repel the enemy, but sooncome to terms with them, and turn their weapons against their own allies.

In the year of our Lord 449, Martian became Emperor with Valentinian, the forty-sixth insuccession from Augustus, ruling for seven years. In his time the Angles or Saxons cameto Britain at the invitation of King Vortigem in three longships, and were granted landsin the eastern part of the island on condition that they protected the country:nevertheless, their real intention was to subdue it. They engaged the enemy advancingfrom the north, and having defeated them, sent hack news of their success to their

homeland, adding that the country was fertile and the Britons cowardly. Whereupon alarger fleet quickly came over with a great body ol warriors, which, when joined to theoriginal forces, constituted an invincible army. These also received from the Britonsgrants ot land where they could settle among them on condition that they maintainedthe peace and security of the island against all enemies in return for regular pay.These new-comers were from the three most formidable races ot Germany, the Saxons,Angles, and Jutes. From the Jutes are descended the people of Kent and the Isle ofWight and those in the province of the West Saxons opposite the Isle of Wight who arecalled Jutes to this day. From the Saxons -that is, the country now known as the land of

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the Old Saxons- came the East, South and West Saxons. And from the Angles -that is, thecountry known as Angulus, which lies between the provinces of the Jutes and Saxons andis said to remain unpopulated to this day- are descended the East and Middle Angles,the Mercians, all the Northumbrian stock (that is, those peoples living north ot the riverHumber), and the other English peoples. Their first chieftains are said to have been thebrothers Hengist and Horsa. The latter was subsequently killed in battle against the

Britons, and was buried in east Kent, where a monument bearing his name still stands.They were the sons of Wictgils, whose father was Witta, whose father was Wecta, son ofWoden, from whose stock sprang the royal house of many provinces.It was not long before such hordes of these alien peoples vied together to crowd intothe island that the natives who had invited them began to live in terror. Then all of asudden the Angles made an alliance with the Picts, whom by this time they had drivensome distance away, and began to turn their arms against their allies. They began bydemanding a greater supply of provisions; then, seeking to provoke a quarrel,threatened that unless larger supplies were forthcoming, they would terminate theirtreaty and ravage the whole island. Nor were they slow to carry out their threats. Inshort, the fires kindled by the pagans proved to be Gods just punishment on the sins ofthe nation, just as the fires once kindled by the Chaldeans destroyed the walls and

buildings of Jerusalem. For, as the just Judge ordained, these heathen conquerorsdevastated the surrounding cities and countryside, extended the conflagration from theeastern to the western shores without opposition and established a stranglehold overnearly all the doomed island. Public and private buildings were razed; priests were slainat the altar; bishops and people alike, regardless of rank, were destroyed with fire andsword, and none remained to bury those who had suffered a cruel death. A fewwretched survivors captured in the hills were butchered wholesale, and others,desperate with hunger, came out and surrendered to the enemy for food, although theywere doomed to lifelong slavery even if they escaped instant massacre. Some fledoverseas in their misery; others, clinging to their homeland, eked out a wretched andfearful existence among the mountains, forests, and crags, ever on the alert lot danger.

Chapter 16: Under the leadership of Ambrosious, a Roman, the Britons win their firstvictory against the Angles [c. AD 493]

When the victorious invaders had scattered and destroyed the native peoples andreturned to their own dwellings, the Britons slowly began to take heart and recovertheir strength, emerging from the dens where they had hidden themselves, and joiningin prayer that God might help them to avoid complete extermination. Their leader atthis time was Ambrosius Aurelianus, a man of good character and the sole survivor ofRoman race from the catastrophe. Among the slain had been his own parents, who wereof royal birth and title. Under his leadership the Britons took up arms, challenged theirconquerors to battle, and with Gods help inflicted a defeat on them. Thenceforwardvictory swung first to one side and then to the other, until the battle of Badon Hill,

when the Britons made a considerable slaughter of the invaders. This took place aboutforty-four years after their arrival in Britain: but I shall deal with this later.

Chapter 22: The Britons enjoy a respite from foreign invasions, but exhaust themselvesin civil wars and plunge into worse crimes

Meanwhile Britain enjoyed a rest from foreign, though not from civil, wars. Amid thewreckage of deserted cities destroyed by the enemy, the citizens who had survived theenemy now attacked each other. So long as the memory of past disaster remained fresh,

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kings and priests, commoners and nobles kept their proper rank. But when those whoremembered died, there grew up a generation that knew nothing of these things andhad experienced only the present peaceful order. Then were all restraints of truth andjustice so utterly abandoned that no trace of them remained, and very few of thepeople even recalled their existence. Among other unspeakable crimes, recorded withsorrow by their own historian Gildas, they added this -that they never preached the

Faith to the Saxons or Angles who dwelt with them in Britain. But God in his goodnessdid not utterly abandon the people whom he had chosen; for he remembered them, andsent this nation more worthy preachers of truth to bring them to the Faith.

Chapter 23: The holy Pope Gregory sends Augustine and other monks to preach to theEnglish nation, and encourages them in a letter to persevere in their mission [AD 596]

In the year of our Lord 582, Maurice, fifty-fourth in succession from Augustus, becameEmperor, and ruled for twenty-one years. In the tenth year of his reign, Gregory, aneminent scholar and administrator, was elected Pontiff of the apostolic Roman see, andruled it for thirteen years, six months, and ten days. In the fourteenth year of thisEmperor, and about the one hundred and fiftieth year after the coming of the English to

Britain, Gregory was inspired by God to send his servant Augustine with several otherGod-fearing monks to preach the word of God to the English nation. Having undertakenthis task in obedience to the Popes command and progressed a short distance on theirjourney, they became afraid, and began to consider returning home. For they wereappalled at the idea of going to a barbarous, fierce, and pagan nation, of whose verylanguage they were ignorant. They unanimously agreed that this was the safest course,and sent back Augustine -who was to be consecrated bishop in the event of their beingreceived by the English- so that he might humbly request the holy Gregory to recallthem from so dangerous, arduous, and uncertain a journey. In reply, the Pope wrotethem a letter of encouragement, urging them to proceed on their mission to preachGods word, and to trust themselves to his aid. This letter ran as follows:Gregory, Servant of the servants of God, to the servants of our Lord. My very dear sons,

it is better never to undertake any high enterprise than to abandon it when once begun.So with the help of God you must carry out this holy task which you have begun. Do notbe deterred by the troubles of the journey or by what men say. Be constant and zealousin carrying out this enterprise which, under Gods guidance, you have undertaken: andbe assured that the greater the labour, the greater will be the glory of your eternalreward. When Augustine your leader returns, whom We have appointed your abbot,obey him humbly in all things, remembering that whatever he directs you to do willalways be to the good of your souls. May Almighty God protect you with His grace, andgrant me to see the result of your labours in our heavenly home. And although my officeprevents me from working at your side, yet because I long to do so, I hope to share inyour joyful reward. God keep you safe, my dearest sons.Dated the twenty-third of July, in the fourteenth year of the reign of the most pious

Emperor Maurice Tiberius Augustus, and the thirteenth year after his Consulship: thefourteenth indiction.