sides to the Saxon fleets.
The successive colonies which issued, in the period of a century, from
the mouths of the Elbe, the Weser, and the Rhine, were principally
composed of three valiant tribes or nations of Germany; the _Jutes_, the
_old Saxons_, and the _Angles_. The Jutes, who fought under the peculiar
banner of Hengist, assumed the merit of leading their countrymen in the
paths of glory, and of erecting, in Kent, the first independent kingdom.
The fame of the enterprise was attributed to the primitive Saxons; and
the common laws and language of the conquerors are described by the
national appellation of a people, which, at the end of four hundred
years, produced the first monarchs of South Britain. The Angles were
distinguished by their numbers and their success; and they claimed the
honor of fixing a perpetual name on the country, of which they occupied
the most ample portion. The Barbarians, who followed the hopes of rapine
either on the land or sea, were insensibly blended with this triple
confederacy; the _Frisians_, who had been tempted by their vicinity to
the British shores, might balance, during a short space, the strength
and reputation of the native Saxons; the _Danes_, the _Prussians_, the
_Rugians_, are faintly described; and some adventurous _Huns_, who had
wandered as far as the Baltic, might embark on board the German vessels,
for the conquest of a new world. But this arduous achievement was not
prepared or executed by the union of national powers. Each intrepid
chieftain, according to the measure of his fame and fortunes, assembled
his followers; equipped a fleet of three, or perhaps of sixty, vessels;
chose the place of the attack; and conducted his subsequent operations
according to the events of the war, and the dictates of his private
interest. In the invasion of Britain many heroes vanquished and fell;
but only seven victorious leaders assumed, or at least maintained, the
title of kings. Seven independent thrones, the Saxon Heptarchy, were
founded by the conquerors, and seven families, one of which has been
continued, by female succession, to our present sovereign, derived
their equal and sacred lineage from Woden, the god of war. It has
been pretended, that this republic of kings was moderated by a general
council and a supreme magistrate. But such an artificial scheme of
policy is repugnant to the rude and turbulent spirit of the Saxons:
their laws are silent; and their imperfect annals aff