ons, Essex of the East Saxons. (See map opposite.) Finally, a
band of Angles came from a little corner, south of the peninsula of
Denmark, which still bears the name of Angeln. They took possession
of all of eastern Britain not already appropriated. Eventually, they
came to control the greater part of the land, and from them, all the
other tribes, when fused together, got the name of Angles or English
(S50). (See map opposite.)

38. Resistance made by the Britons; King Arthur.

Meanwhile the Britons had plucked up courage and made the best fight
they could. They were naturally a brave people (SS2, 18). The fact
that it took the Saxons more than a hundred years to get a firm grip
on the island shows that fact. The legend of King Arthur's exploits
also illustrates the valor of the race to which he belonged.
According to tradtion this British Prince, who had become a convert to
Christianity (S25), met and checked the invaders in their isolent
march of triumph. The battle, it is said, was fought at Mount Badon
or Badbury in Dorsetshire. There, with his irresistable sword,
"Excalibur," and his stanch British spearmen, Arthur compelled his
foes to acknowledge that he was not a myth but a man[1] able "to break
the heathen and uphold the Christ."

[1] See "Arthur" in the "Dictionary of National British Biography";
and Professor Rowley in Low and Pulling's "Dictionary of English
History," p. 434. See also Geoffrey of Monmouth's "History of the
Britons" and Tennyson's "Idylls of the King."

39. The Saxons or English force the Britons to retreat.

But though King Arthur may have checked the pagan Saxon invaders, he
could not drive them out of the country. They had come to stay. On
the other hand, many Britons were forced to take refuge among the
hills of Wales. There they continued to abide. That ancient stock
never lost its love of liberty. More than eleven centuries later
their spirit helped to shape the destinies of the New World. Thomas
Jefferson andseveral of the other signers of the Declaration of
American Independence were either of Welsh birth or of direct Welsh
descent.

40. Gregory and the English Slaves.

The next period, of nearly eighty years, is a dreary record of
constant battles and bloodshed. Out of this very barbarism a
regenerating influence finally arose.

In their greed for grain, some of the English tribes did not hesitate
to sell their own children into bondage. A number of these