Constantine of Cornwall (c.435 - c.443)

Constantine was a king of Dumnonia in the early fifth century. A later king of the same name also ruled Dumnonia in the mid-fifth century and picking the two lives apart has led to a great deal of uncertainty and confusion in the sources. How a king of Dumnonia gained a Cornish epithet is unclear. It may suggest that the royal family emerged from Cornwall or that Constantine was the man who brought Cornwall securely under the control of Dumnonia.

Born in c.411, Constantine succeeded his father, Conomor, in or around 435. From the few sources available, his reign appears to have been stable and uneventful. Dumnonia proved to be fiercely resistant to direct Roman rule and the Romans chose instead to manage it as a semi-independent province rather than occupy it militarily. Consequently, Dumnonia established itself as an independent kingdom with a strong and legitimate leader very soon after the Roman withdrawal. Also, being so far west, Dumnonia was not yet threatened by Saxon advances.

From the Welsh genealogies, Constantine appears to have had a brother, Dunstan, of whom very little is known and at least three sons. On his death in c.443, following Celtic tradition, his kingdom was divided between two of his sons. The eldest, Erbin, inherited the main kingdom of Dumnonia while his younger brother, Merion, ruled as a sub-king in Cornubia. The fate of the middle son, Digain, is unknown. Through Erbin, Constantine is recorded as the grandfather of Geraint, a later King of Dumnonia and an important character in Arthurian folklore.

The Middle Saxons / Middel Seaxe

Throughout the fifth century, bands of Saxons migrated across the North Sea from their homeland in northern Germany to the vulnerable shores of Kent. Along with bands of Thames Valley Saxons, the Middle Saxons moved up the Thames Valley but stopped at Londinium and settled to the north and west of the city. Londinium had been largely abandoned by the British and would remain so until the seventh century but the new settlers must have been a threatening presence for the British enclave of Caer Mincip.

Unlike their neighbours, the Middle Saxons never formed a lasting, cohesive kingdom. Instead they appear to have been a confederation of related but independent smaller Saxon groups who occupied an undefined territory (Middlesex) sandwiched between the West Saxons, the East Saxons, Kent and the Suther-ge. Northwards expansion was restricted by the British of Caer Mincip, who fended off the invaders until its collapse in the late sixth century.

Many of the early Middle Saxons came from Kent and were probably originally laeti employed by the British to defend Kent against Pictish and Irish raiders. It’s likely that these laeti took part in Hengist’s successful conquest of Kent in 455 - 457 and the Middle Saxons remained under Kentish influence for the next century and a half. Like the rest of the Saxon kingdoms, the Middle Saxons were severely weakened by the defeat at Mons Badonicus; most probably the reason for the continued survival of the British enclaves of Caer Mincip and Cynwidion. Kent’s power waned throughout the second half of the sixth century and the Middle Saxons, along with the Suther-ge, fell under East Saxon dominance by 600. By 730, the East Saxons lost control of the Middle Saxons to Mercia and any independence the Middle Saxons may have managed to hold on to was lost.

St. Erbin of Dumnonia (c.443 - c.480)

Born around 427, Erbin was a son of Constantine of Cornwall. After his father’s death in c.443, his kingdom was divided between two of his sons, an entirely normal practice in Celtic Britain. As the eldest son, Erbin became king of Dumnonia while his younger brother, Merion, ruled the sub-kingdom of Cornwall. Welsh genealogies list a third brother, Digain, but very little is known about him and it is entirely possible that he died as a young man.

Very little is known about his reign and, from the lack of mentions in any later sources, its presumed that it was largely peaceful and uneventful. Erbin had at least one son, Geraint, an important character in Arthurian folklore and Erbin’s successor following his death in c.480. According to some legends, he was also the father of Guinevere, the wife of King Arthur. As Geraint’s father, Erbin is mentioned in Geraint and Enid, a romance in the Mabinogion, a collection of medieval Welsh manuscripts. He is also listed as a saint in Welsh genealogies and is traditionally associated with Erbistock in Denbighshire. His feast day is 13 January.

Hengist & Horsa

Hengist and Horsa were two early and semi-historical Anglo-Saxon chieftains who arrived in Britain in the mid-fifth century. After the Roman legions abandoned Britain at the beginning of the fifth century, the island was left vulnerable to invasion. Saxon pirates attacked from the east, the Picts and Scotti poured over Hadrian's Wall and the Irish raided along the west coast. It was not a good time to be Romano-British; cities were sacked and civilians were raped, murdered and enslaved as bands of marauders fought and pillaged their way across Britain.

An 8th century carving from Northumbria. The carving shows Hengist (represented as a stallion) grieving over the burial mound of his brother, Horsa. 

By the middle of the fifth century, the Romano-British had had enough. In 449, probably out of desperation, King Vortigern, along with his council of nobles, invited a pair of Saxon princes, Hengist and Horsa, to bring their men over to Britain and fight off the raiders in return for booty and land. This tried and tested Roman strategy worked. The Jutish mercenaries fought off the raiders and settled somewhere, either on the Isle of Thanet (unlikely) or somewhere along the east coast. Some time later Hengist and Horsa began a hostile takeover of Kent. Traditionally, this started with Hengist's daughter, Rowena, seducing the drunken Vortigern at a feast. Madly in love, the king promises Hengist anything he desires in return for his daughter's hand. Hengist's price was Kent. Understandably annoyed, Vortigern's son, Vortimer, deposed his father and raised an army against the Saxons. Historically, its more likely that either there was a disagreement over payment, or, seeing how weak the British defences were, the brothers got greedy.

After a few skirmishes, Hengist's mercenaries defeated Vortimer's men at Aeglesthrep (probably Aylesford). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records four battles in all. The results are not recorded but the geographical sequence suggests a Saxon retreat with the last battle fought at Wippedesfloet where, twenty years earlier, the brothers had first landed. Horsa died during this time, presumably in battle, as did Vortimer and his younger brother, Catigern. At some point during this period, the legend goes on to tell of the Night of the Long Knives. Hengist invited Vortigern and his men to make peace but in the midst of the feast, the Saxons massacred the Britons in cold blood. The only survivor was Vortigern himself who, chained and imprisoned, was forced to give up his lands to Hengist. Hengist ruled as King of Kent until his death in 488. His son, Oisc, succeeded to the throne.

As always with early Anglo-Saxon history, its difficult to untangle fact from legend. Hengist and Horsa are probably mythical figures but their story is likely based in fact. A Jutish chief did arrive in Kent in the fifth century. He and his men did serve a British king and they did revolt, fighting several battles against the Britons and gaining the British kingdom of Kent. There is no direct evidence that the Night of the Long Knives happened but the tale is preserved in ancient bardic songs so there may be a kernel of truth in there somewhere.