Editing Vortigern (section)

==Medieval accounts==
===Gildas===
The 6th-century cleric and historian [[Gildas]] wrote ''[[De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae]]'' ({{langx|en|On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain}}) in the first decades of the 6th century. In Chapter 23, he tells how "all the councillors, together with ''that proud usurper''" [''omnes consiliarii una cum superbo tyranno''] made the mistake of inviting "the fierce and impious [[Saxons]]" to [[Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain|settle in Britain]].<ref>Gildas, ''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae'', chapter XXIII, text and translation of the quoted passage in {{cite web |url=http://www.vortigernstudies.org.uk/artsou/gildvort.htm |title=Gildas and Vortigern |first= Robert |last=Vermaat |work=Vortigern Studies |access-date=2010-01-28 |publisher=Vortigernstudies.org.uk}}</ref> According to Gildas, apparently, a small group came at first and was settled "on the eastern side of the island, by the invitation of the unlucky [''infaustus''] usurper". This small group invited more of their countrymen to join them, and the colony grew. Eventually the Saxons demanded that "their monthly allotments" be increased and, when their demands were eventually refused, broke their treaty and plundered the lands of the [[Romano-British culture|Romano-British]].

It is not clear whether Gildas used the name Vortigern. Most editions published currently omit the name. Two manuscripts name him: ''MS. A'' (Avranches [[Manuscript|MS]] 162, 12th century), refers to ''Uortigerno''; and ''Mommsen's MS. X'' (Cambridge University Library MS. Ff. I.27) (13th century) calls him ''Gurthigerno''.<ref name=snyder>{{Cite book |last=Snyder |first=Christopher A. |author-link=Christopher Snyder (historian)|year=1998 |title=An Age of Tyrants: Britain and the Britons A.D. 400–600 |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press |publication-date=1998 |location=University Park |page=305 |isbn=0-271-01780-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AFxFkwmnRJMC&q=Gurthigerno&pg=PA305 }}</ref> Gildas never addresses Vortigern as the king of Britain. He is termed a [[usurper]] (''tyrannus''), but not solely responsible for inviting the Saxons. To the contrary, he is portrayed as being aided by or aiding a "Council", which may be a government based on the representatives of all the "cities" (''civitates'') or a part thereof. Gildas also does not consider Vortigern as bad; he simply qualifies him as "unlucky" (''infaustus'') and lacking judgement, which is understandable, as these mercenaries proved to be faithless.

Gildas adds several small details that suggest either he or his source received at least part of the story from the [[Anglo-Saxons]]. The first is when he describes the size of the initial party of Saxons, stating that they came in three {{lang|ang|cyulis}} (or "keels"), "as they call ships of war". This may be the earliest recovered word of English. The second detail is his repetition that the visiting Saxons were "told by a certain soothsayer among them, that they should occupy the country to which they were sailing three hundred years, and half of that time, a hundred and fifty years, should plunder and despoil the same."<ref name=snyder/> Both of these details are unlikely to have been invented by a Roman or [[Celtic Britons|Brittonic]] source.

Modern scholars have debated the various details of Gildas' story. One topic of discussion has been about the words Gildas uses to describe the Saxons' subsidies (''annonas'', ''epimenia'') and whether they are legal terms used in a treaty of ''[[foederati]]'', a late [[Roman Empire|Roman]] political practice of settling allied barbarian peoples within the boundaries of the empire to furnish troops to aid the defence of the empire. Gildas describes how their raids took them "sea to sea, heaped up by the eastern band of impious men; and as it devastated all the neighbouring cities and lands, did not cease after it had been kindled, until it burnt nearly the whole surface of the island, and licked the western ocean with its red and savage tongue" (chapter 24).

===Bede===
The first extant text considering Gildas' account is [[Bede]], writing in the early- to mid-8th century. He mostly paraphrases Gildas in his ''[[Ecclesiastical History of the English People]]'' and ''[[The Reckoning of Time]]'', adding several details, perhaps most importantly the name of this "proud tyrant", whom he first calls ''Vertigernus'' (in his {{lang|la|Chronica Maiora}}) and later ''Vurtigernus'' (in his {{lang|la|Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum}}). The ''Vertigernus'' form may reflect an earlier [[Celtic Britons|Celtic]] source or a lost version of Gildas.<ref name="Jones, Michael p.58">{{cite book |title=The End of Roman Britain |last=Jones |first=Michael E. |year=1996 |publisher=Cornell University Press |location=Ithaca, NY |isbn=978-0-8014-2789-3 |page=58 |oclc=34029750}}</ref> Bede also gives names in the {{lang|la|Historia}} to the leaders of the Saxons, [[Hengist and Horsa]], specifically identifying their tribes as the Saxons, [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]] and [[Jutes]] (''H.E.'', 1.14–15). Another significant detail that Bede adds to Gildas' account is calling Vortigern the king of the British people.

Bede also supplies the date, 449, which was traditionally accepted but has been considered suspect since the late 20th century: "[[Marcian]] being made emperor with [[Valentinian III|Valentinian]], and the forty-sixth from [[Augustus]], ruled the empire seven years." Michael Jones notes that there are several arrival dates in Bede. In H.E.&nbsp;1.15 the arrival occurs within the period 449–455; in 1.23 and 5.23 another date, c. 446, is given; and in 2.14 the same event is dated 446 or 447, suggesting that these dates are calculated approximations.<ref name="Jones, Michael p.58"/>

===''Historia Brittonum''===
[[File:Vortigern-Dragons.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Detail from [[Lambeth Palace Library]] MS 6 folio 43v illustrating an episode in ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'' (c. 1136). Pictured above, Vortigern sits at the edge of a pool whence two dragons emerge, [a crimson dragon representing Uther Pendragon defeating the white dragon that represents Vortigern] which do battle in his presence.]]

The ''[[Historia Brittonum]]'' (History of the Britons) was attributed until recently to [[Nennius]], a monk from [[Bangor, Gwynedd]], and was probably compiled during the early 9th century. The writer mentions a great number of sources. Nennius wrote more negatively of Vortigern, accusing him of [[incest]] (perhaps confusing Vortigern with the Welsh king [[Vortiporius]], accused by Gildas of the same crime), oath-breaking, treason, love for a pagan woman, and lesser vices such as pride.

The ''Historia Brittonum'' recounts many details about Vortigern and his sons. Chapters 31–49 tell how Vortigern (Guorthigirn) deals with the Saxons and [[Saint Germanus of Auxerre]]. Chapters 50–55 deal with [[Saint Patrick]]. Chapter 56 tells about King Arthur and his battles. Chapters 57–65 mention English genealogies, mingled with [[History of England|English]] and [[History of Wales|Welsh history]]. Chapter 66 gives important chronological calculations, mostly on Vortigern and the [[Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain]].

Excluding what is taken from Gildas, there are a number of traditions:
* Material quoted from a ''Life of Saint Germanus''. These excerpts describe Germanus of Auxerre's incident with one [[Benlli]], an inhospitable host seemingly unrelated to Vortigern who comes to an untimely end, but his servant provides hospitality and is made the progenitor of the kings of Powys. They also describe Vortigern's son by his own daughter, whom Germanus raises, and Vortigern's own end caused by fire from heaven.<ref>{{Cite DWB|id=s-GWRT-HEY-0400 |last=Williams|first=Ifor|year=1959|title=Gwrtheyrn (Vortigern)}}</ref>
It has been suggested that the saint mentioned here may be no more than a local saint or a tale that had to explain all the holy places dedicated to a St. Germanus or a "Garmon", who may have been a Powys saint or even a bishop from the [[Isle of Man]] about the time of writing the ''Historia Brittonum''. The story seems only to be explained as a slur against the rival dynasty of Powys, suggesting that they did not descend from Vortigern but from a mere slave.
* A number of calculations attempting to fix the year when Vortigern invited the Saxons into Britain. These are made by the writer, naming interesting persons and calculating their dates, making several mistakes in the process.
* Genealogical material about Vortigern's ancestry, including the names of his four sons ([[Vortimer]], [[Pascent]], [[Catigern]], and Faustus), his father Vitalis, his grandfather Vitalinus, and his great-grandfather Gloui, who is probably just an eponym which associates Vortigern with [[Glevum]], the civitas of [[Gloucester]].
* The story of why Vortigern granted land in Britain to the Saxons, first to [[Isle of Thanet|Thanet]] in exchange for service as ''foederati'' troops, then to the rest of Kent in exchange for marriage to Hengest's daughter,<ref name=Lupack/> then to [[Kingdom of Essex|Essex]] and [[Kingdom of Sussex|Sussex]] after a banquet where the Saxons treacherously slew all of the leaders of the British but saved Vortigern to extract this ransom.
* The tale of [[Ambrosius Aurelianus]] and the two [[European dragon|dragons]] found beneath [[Dinas Emrys]].<ref name=Lupack>[https://d.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/theme/Vortigern Lupack, Alan. "Vortigern", The Camelot Project, University of Rochester]</ref>

The ''Historia Brittonum'' relates four battles occurring in Kent, apparently related to material in the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' (see below). It claims that Vortigern's son [[Vortimer]] commanded the Britons against Hengest's Saxons. Moreover, it claims that the Saxons were driven out of Britain, only to return at Vortigern's invitation a few years later, after the death of Vortimer.

The stories preserved in the ''Historia Brittonum'' reveal an attempt by one or more anonymous British scholars to provide more detail to this story, while struggling to accommodate the facts of the British tradition.

===The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''===
The ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' provides dates and locations of four battles which Hengest and his brother Horsa fought against the British in the county of Kent.<ref name=Laycock/> Vortigern is said to have been the commander of the British for only the first battle; the opponents in the next three battles are variously termed "[[Celtic Britons|British]]" and "[[Welsh people|Welsh]]", which is not unusual for this part of the ''Chronicle''. The ''Chronicle'' locates the [[Battle of Wippedesfleot]] as the place where the Saxons first landed, dated 465 in ''Wippedsfleot'' and thought to be [[Ebbsfleet, Thanet|Ebbsfleet]] near [[Ramsgate]]. The year 455 is the last date when Vortigern is mentioned.

The annals for the 5th century in the ''Chronicle'' were put into their current form during the 9th century, probably during the reign of [[Alfred the Great]].<ref name=MS_xxi>{{cite book |last= Swanton|first= Michael|title= The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle|pages=xxi–xxviii |year= 1998|publisher= Routledge |location=New York; London |isbn=0-415-92129-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f8B4NAl2r48C&pg=PR19 }}</ref> The sources are obscure for the fifth century annals; however, an analysis of the text demonstrates some poetic conventions, so it is probable that they were derived from an oral tradition such as [[saga]]s in the form of [[epic poetry|epic poems]].<ref name=jones71>{{Cite book|last=Jones|first=Michael E.|title= The End of Roman Britain|year= 1988|publisher=Cornell University Press|location=Ithaca, New York|isbn=0-8014-8530-4|page=71 }}</ref><ref name=gransen>{{Cite book|last=Gransden|first=Antonia|title=Historical Writing in England c.550-c1307|publisher=Routledge and Kegan Paull|location=London|year=1974|isbn=0-7100-7476-X|pages=36–39}}</ref>

There is dispute as to when the material was written which comprises the ''Historia Brittonum'', and it could be later than the ''Chronicle''. Some historians argue that the ''Historia Brittonum'' took its material from a source close to the ''Chronicle''.

===William of Malmesbury===
Writing soon before [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]], [[William of Malmesbury]] added much to the unfavourable assessment of Vortigern:

{{quotebox|At this time Vortigern was King of Britain; a man calculated neither for the field nor the council, but wholly given up to the lusts of the flesh, the slave of every vice: a character of insatiable avarice, ungovernable pride, and polluted by his lusts. To complete the picture, he had defiled his own daughter, who was lured to the participation of such a crime by the hope of sharing his kingdom, and she had borne him a son. Regardless of his treasures at this dreadful juncture, and wasting the resources of the kingdom in riotous living, he was awake only to the blandishments of abandoned women.|''[[Gesta Regum Anglorum]]''<ref>John Sharpe (trans.), ''The History of the Kings of England and the Modern History of William of Malmsbury'', London: W. Bulmer & Co., 1815.</ref>}}

William does, however, add some detail, no doubt because of a good local knowledge, in ''De Gestis Regum Anglorum'' book I, chapter 23.

===Geoffrey of Monmouth===
[[File:Meeting of Vortigern and Rowena.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|''The First Meeting of Vortigern and Rowena'', painted by [[William Hamilton (painter)|William Hamilton]]]]

The story of Vortigern adopted its best-known form in Geoffrey's pseudohistorical ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]''. Geoffrey names [[Constans II (usurper)|Constans]] the older brother of [[Aurelius Ambrosius]] and [[Uther Pendragon]]. After the death of their father, [[Constantine III (Western Roman Emperor)|Constantinus III]], Vortigern persuades Constans to leave his monastery and claim the throne. Constans proved a weak and unpopular [[puppet monarch]] and Vortigern ruled the country through him until he finally managed Constans' death by insurgent [[Picts]].<ref name=Lupack/>

Geoffrey mentions a similar tale just before that episode, however, which may be an unintentional duplication. Just after the Romans leave, the archbishop of London is put forward by the representatives of Britain to organise the island's defences. To do so, he arranges for continental soldiers to come to Britain. The name of the bishop is Guitelin, a name similar to the Vitalinus mentioned in the ancestry of Vortigern and to the Vitalinus said to have fought with Ambrosius at the [[Battle of Guoloph]]. This Guithelin/Vitalinus disappears from the story as soon as Vortigern arrives. All these coincidences imply that Geoffrey duplicated the story of the invitation of the Saxons,{{Citation needed|date=November 2010}} and that the tale of Guithelinus the archbishop might possibly give some insight into the background of Vortigern before his acquisition of power.

Geoffrey identifies Hengest's daughter as [[Rowena]]. After Vortigern marries her, his sons rebel. Geoffrey adds that Vortigern was succeeded briefly by his son Vortimer, as does the ''Historia Brittonum'', only to assume the throne again when Vortimer is killed.