BOOK PENDA. 3 Gall. p. 116. Guilgles Iffi, Ulli, or Ella. On these genealogies we may remark, that they mention four sons of Woden, and deduce distinct descendants from each; that they give also Woden's ancestry; and as the different kings must have preserved their own pedigrees, the tendency of the whole is to make Woden a real personage. If we take 30 years as the average life of each of the descendants, these genealogies place the chronology of Woden between 200 and 300 years after the Christian æra. Thus Cerdic's nine ancestors from 496, the date of his invasion, would, on this computation, place Woden 225 years after Christ; Ida's nine from 547, in 277; Ella's eleven from 560, in 230; Penda's eleven from 626, in 296. The four from Hengist would make him one generation later, but this looks like an imperfect genealogy. One of the most ancient ICELANDIC documents that now exist is the LANGFEDGATAL. It was used both by Ara Frode and by Snorre. It calls Odin the king of the Tyrkia, who are supposed to be Turks, and gives him the following ancestry, deducing him from THOR : "From him descended most of the kingly races in the north part of the world. He was king of the Tyrkia. He fled from the Romans to the north." It then deduces, through two lines of descendants from him, by two other sons than those who head the Anglo-Saxon dynasties, the Kings of Norway and Denmark. CHAP. Haldan Hvit-bein, or white feet RAGNAR LODBROG This Icelandic document inserts twenty-nine kings between Oden and Harald Harfagre, who acceded in 873. But twenty BOOK of these sovereigns perished violently, and therefore thirty years would be too large an average for every one. If we allow twenty years each for those who died by violence, and thirty for the other nine, this would station Oden about 203 years after the Christian æra. The same northern authority puts twenty-three kings between Oden and Ragnar Lodbrog, who acceded about 812. As in these turbulent parts few Baltic kings died naturally, we cannot take a higher average for all than twenty-five years; and this computation would place Oden about 237 years after Christ. Therefore, on the whole, we may consider Woden, or Odin, to have really lived and reigned in the north, and may place his real chronology as not earlier than 200, nor later than 300 years of the Christian æra. CHAP. III. Ancient BRITISH Accounts of the Battles with the WEST SAXONS, and the authentic History of ARthur. CHAP. 530. Battle of Llong SOME of the battles mentioned by the ancient Welsh poets are those between Cerdic and the Britons; one of these is the battle at Llongborth. In this conflict Arthur was the commander in chief'; and Geraint ab Erbin was a prince of Devonshire, borth. united with him against the Saxons. Llywarch Hen, in his elegy on his friend, describes the progress of the battle. The shout of onset, and the fearful obscurity which followed the shock, are succeeded by the terrible incidents which alarm humanity into abhorrence of war. The edges of the blades in contact, the gushing of blood, the weapons of the heroes with gore fast dropping, men surrounded with terror, the crimson gash upon the chieftain's brow, biers with the dead and reddened men, a tumultuous running together, the combatants striving in blood to the knees, and ravens feasting on human 2 prey, compose the dismal picture which this ancient bard has transmitted to us of a battle in which he was personally engaged. THE Valiant Geraint was slain; "slaughtering his foes he fell." The issue of the conflict is not 2 Ib. p. 3-7. The 20th triad names him as 1 Llywarch Hen's Elegies, p. 9. 3 Llywarch Hen's Elegies, p. 7. one of the Llynghessawg, the naval commanders of Britain. The Welsh genealogies make him the son of Constantine of Cornwall, from Gwen, the daughter of Gyngar. They give him a son named Seliff. Bodedd y Saint, Welsh Arch. vol. ii. p. 33. III. 530. BOOK precisely stated, but some ambiguous expressions concur, with the absence of all triumphant language, to indicate that the Britons did not prevail. As Llongborth literally implies the haven of ships, and was some harbour on the southern coast, we may consider this poem as describing the conflict at Portsmouth when Porta landed. The Saxon Chronicle says, that a very noble British youth fell on that occasion, but does not mention his Battle on name. He LLYWARCH mentions another battle on the the Llawen. Llawen, in which Arthur was engaged. Gwen, the poet's favourite son, exerted himself in the struggle. The battle was at the ford of Morlas. The bard describes his son as watching the preceding night, with his shield on his shoulder. compares his impetuosity to the assault of the eagle; and laments him as the bravest of his children. "As he was my son, he did not retreat." Of the event of the battle, he only says, that Arthur did not recede. 5 Battle of Of the other contests which ensued before Wessex was colonised by Saxons, we have no further information from the British writers, except of the battle at Bath. GILDAS intimates, that, until the battle of Bath, the Saxons and the Britons alternately conquered; and that this was almost the last, but not the least slaughter of the invaders. Nennius makes it the twelfth of Arthur's battles. " The position of this battle has been disputed, but it seems to have oc 6 4 Sax. Chron. 17. Fl. Wig. 206. 5 Llywarch Hen's Elegy on Old Age, p. 131-135. |