Cap. III. Of the Ancient Names or Denominations
of this Iland.
Dis, Samothes.
IN the diligent perusall of their treatises, who haue written of
the state of this our Iland, I find that at the first it séemed
to be a parcell of the Celtike kingdome, whereof Dis otherwise called
Samothes, one of the sonnes of Japhet was the Saturne or originall
beginner, and of him thencefoorth for a long while called
Samothea. Afterward in processe of time, when desire of rule began to
take hold in the minds of men, and ech prince endeuoured to enlarge
Neptunus Marioticus.
his owne dominions: Albion the sonne of Neptune, Amphitrite surnamed
Marioticus (bicause his dominions laie among the ilands of the
Mediterran sea, as those of Plutus did on the lower grounds neere
vnto shore, as contrariwise his father Jupiter dwelled on the high
hils néerer to heauen) hearing of the commodities of the
countrie, and plentifulnesse of
The first conquest of Britaine.
soile here, made a voiage ouer, and finding the thing not onelie
correspondent vnto, but also farre surmounting the report that went
of this Iland, it was not long after yer he inuaded the same by force
of armes, brought it to his subiection in the 29. yeare after his
grandfathers decease, and finallie changed the name thereof into
Albion, whereby the former denomination after Samothes did grow out
of mind, and fall into vtter forgetfulnesse. And thus was this Iland
bereft at on time both of hir ancient name, and also of hir lawfull
succession
Britaine under the Celts 341. yeares.
of princes descended of the line of Japhet, vnder whom it had
continued by the space of 341. yeares and nine princes, as by the
Chronologie following shall easilie appeere.
Goropius our neighbor being verie nice in the denomination of our
Iland, as in most other points of his huge volume of the originall of
Antwarpe lib, 6. (whom Buchanan also followeth in part) is brought
into great doubt, whether Britaine was called Albion of the word Alb,
white; or Alp an hill; as Bodinus is no lesse troubled with fetching
the same ab Oibijs, or as he wresteth it, ab Albijs gallis. But here
his inconstancie appeareth, in that in his Gotthadamca liber. 7. he
taketh no lesse paines to bring the Britaines out of Denmarke, whereby
the name of the Iland should be called Vridania, Freedania, Brithania,
or Bridania, tanquam libera Dania, as another also dooth to fetch the
originall out of Spaine, where Breta signifieth soile or earth. But as
such as walke in darkenesse doo often straie, bicause they wot not
whither they go euen so doo these men, whilest they séeke to
extenuate the certeintie of our histories, and bring vs altogither to
uncerteinties & their coniectures. They in like maner, which will
haue the Welshmen come from the French with this one question, vnde
Walli nisi a Gallis, or from some Spanish colonie, doo greatlie
bewraie their oversights; but most of all they erre that endeuour to
fetch it from Albine the imagined daughter of a forged Dioclesian,
wherewith our ignorant writers haue of late not a little stained our
historie, and brought the sound part thereof into some discredit and
mistrust: but more of this hereafter.
Neptune God of the sea.
Now to speake somewhat also of Neptune as by the waie (sith I haue
made mention of him in this place) it shall not be altogither
impertinent. Wherfore you shall vnderstand, that for his excellent
knowledge in the art of nauigation (as nauigation then went) he was
reputed the most skilfull prince that lined in his time. And therfore,
and likewise for his courage & boldnesse in aduenturing to and
fro, he was after his decease honoured as a god,
The maner of dressing of chips in old time.
and the protection of such as trauelled by sea committed to his
charge. So rude also was the making of ships wherewith to saile in his
time (which were for the most part flat bottomed and broad) that for
lacke of better experience to calke and trim the same after they were
builded, they vsed to naile them ouer with rawe hides of bulles,
buffles, and such like, and with such a kind of nauie (as they say)
first Samothes, & then Albion arriued in this Iland, which vnto me
doth not séeme a thing impossible. The northerlie or artike
regions, doo not naile their ships with iron, which they vtterly want,
but with wooden pins, or els they bind the planks togither verie
artificiallie with bast ropes, osiers, rinds of trées, or twigs
of popler, the substance of those vessels being either of fir
or pine, sith oke is verie deintie & hard to be had amongst
them. Of their wooden anchors I speake not (which neuerthelesse are
common to them, and to the Gothlanders) more than of ships wrought of
wickers, sometime vsed in our Britaine, and couered with leather euen
in the time of Plinie, lib. 7. cap. 56. as also botes made of rushes
and réeds, &c. Neither haue I iust occasion to speake of
ships made of canes, of which sort Staurobates, king of India fighting
against Semiramis, brought 4000. with him and fought with hir the
first battell on the water that euer I read of, and vpon the riuer
Indus, but to his losse, for he was ouercome by hir power, & his
nauie either drowned or burned by the furie of hir souldiers.
But to proceed, when the said Albion had gouerned here in this countrie by
the space of seauen yeares, it came to passe that both he and his
brother Bergion were killed by Hercules at the mouth of Rhodanus, as
the said Hercules passed out of Spaine by the Celtes to go ouer into
Italie, ani vpon this occasion (as I gather among the writers) not
vnworthie to be remembred. It happened in time of Lucus king of the
Celts, that Lestrigo and his issue
Lestrigo.
(whome Osyris his grandfather had placed ouer the Janigenes) did
exercise great tyrannie,
Janigenes were the postetitie of Noah in Italie.
not onelie ouer his owne kingdome, but also in molestation of such
princes as inhabited round about him in most intollerable
maner. Moreouer he was not a little incouraged in these his dooings
by Neptune his father, who thirsted greatly to leaue his
xxxiii. sonnes
Neptune had xxxiii. sounes.
settled in the mightiest kingdoms of the world, as men of whom he had
alreadie conceiued this opinion, that if they had once gotten foot
into any region whatsoeuer, it would not be long yer they did by some
meanes or other, not onelie establish their seats, but also increase
their limits to the better maintenance of themselues and their
posteritie for euermore. To be short therefore, after the giants, and
great princes, or mightie men of the world had conspired and slaine
the aforsaid Osyris, onlie for that he was an obstacle vnto them in
their tyrannous dealing; Hercules his sonne, surnamed Laabin, Lubim,
or Libius, in the reuenge of his fathers death, proclaimed open
warres against them all, and going from place to place, he ceased not
to spoile their kingdomes, and therewithall to kill them with great
courage that fell into his hands. Finallie, hauing among sundrie
other ouercome the Lomnimi
Lomnimi. Geriones.
or Geriones in Spaine and vnderstanding that Lestrigo and his sonnes
did yet remaine in Italie he directed his viage into those parts, and
taking the kingdome of the Celts in his waie, he remained for a
season with Lucus the king of that countrie, where he also maried
Galathea. Galates, or Kelts.
his daughter Galathea, and begat a sonne by hir, calling him after
his mothers name Galates, of whom in my said Chronologie I haue
spoken more at large.
In the meane time Albion vnderstanding how Hercules intended to
make warres against his brother Lestrigo, he thought good if it were
possible to stop him that tide, and therefore sending for his brother
Bergion out of the Orchades (where he also reigned as supreame
Bergion.
lord and gouernour) they ioined their powers, and sailed ouer into
France. Being arriued
Pomponius Mela cap. de Galha.
there, it was not long yer they met with Hercules and his armie,
neare vnto the mouth of the riuer called Roen (or the Rhodanus) where
happened a cruell conflict betwéene them, in which Hercules
and his men were like to haue lost the day, for that they were in
maner wearied with long warres, ana their munition sore wasted in the
last viage that he had made for Spaine. Herevpon Hercules perceiuing
the courages of his souldiours somewhat to abate, and seeing the want
of artillerie like to be the cause of his fatall daie and present
ouerthrowe at hand, it came suddenlie into his mind to will each of
them to defend himselfe by throwing stones at his enimie, whereof
there laie great store then scattered in the place. The policie
Strabo, lib. 4.
was no sooner published than hearkened vnto and put in execution,
whereby they so preuailed in the end, that Hercules wan the field,
their enimies were put to flight, and Albion and his brother both
slaine, and buried in that plot. Thus was Britaine rid of a tyrant,
Lucus king of the Celts deliuered from an vsurper (that dailie
incroched vpon him, building sundrie cities and holds, of which some
were placed among the Alps & called after his owne name, and
other also euen in his owne kingdome on that side) and Lestrigo
greatlie weakened by the slaughter of his brethren. Of this inuention
of Hercules in like sort it
commeth, that Jupiter father vnto Hercules (who indeed was none other
but Osyris) is feigned to throw downe stones from heauen vpon Albion
and Bergion, in the defense of his sonne: which came so thicke vpon
them, as if great drops of raine or haile should haue descended from
aboue, no man well knowing which waie to turne him from their force,
they came so fast and with so great a violence.
But to go forward, albeit that Albion and his power were thus
discomfited and slaine, yet the name that he gaue unto this Iland died
not, but still remained vnto the time of Brute, who arriuing
héere in the 1116. before Christ, and 2850. after the creation
of the world, not onelie changed it into Britaine (after it had beene
called Albion, by the space of about 600. yeares) but to declare his
souereigntie ouer the rest of the Ilands also that lie scattered round
about it, he called them all after the same maner, so that Albion was
said in time to be Britanniarum insula maxima, that is, The greatest
of those Iles that beare the name of Britaine, which Plinie also
confirmeth, and Strabo in his first and second bookes denieth
not. There are some, which vtterlie denieng that this Iland tooke hir
name of Brute, doo affirme it rather to be so called of the rich
mettals sometime carried from the mines there into all the world as
growing in the same. Vibius Sequester also saith that Calabria was
sometime called Britannia,
Ob immensam affluentiam totius
delitiæ atque vbertatis, that was to be found heerein. Other
contend that it should be written with P (Pritannia.) All which
opinions as I absolutelie denie not, so I willinglie leane vnto none
of them in peremptorie maner, sith the antiquitie of our historie
carrieth me withall vnto the former iudgements. And for the same cause
I reiect them also, which deriue the aforesaid denomination from
Britona the nymph, in following Textor (or Prutus or Prutus the sonne
of Araxa) which Britona was borne in Creta daughter to Mars, and fled
by sea from thence onelie to escape the villanie of Minos, who
attempted to rauish and make hir one of his paramours: but if I should
forsake the authoritie of Galfride, I would rather leane to the report
of Parthenius, whereof elsewhere I haue made a more large
rehersall.
It is altogither impertinent, to discusse whether Hercules came
into this Iland after the death of Albion, or not, although that by an
ancient monument seene of late, as I heare, and the cape of Hartland
or Harcland in the West countrie (called Promontorium Herculis in old
time) diuers of our British antiquaries doo gather great likelihood
that he should also be here. But sith his presence or absence maketh
nothing with the alteration of the name of this our region and
countrie, and to search out whether the said monument was but some
token erected in his honour of later time (as some haue beene
elsewhere, among the Celts framed, & those like an old criple with
a bow bent in one hand & a club in the other, a rough skin on his
backe, the haire of his head all to be matted like that of the
Irishmens, and drawing manie men captiue after him in chaines) is but
smallie auailable, and therefore I passe it ouer as not incident to my
purpose. Neither will I spend any time in the determination, whether
Britaine had beene sometime a parcell of the maine, although it should
well séeme so to haue beene, bicause that before the generall
floud of Noah, we doo not read of Ilands, more than of hils and
vallies. Wherfore as Wilden Arguis also notèth in his
philosophie and tractation of meteors, it is verie likelie that they
were onelie caused by the violent motion and working of the sea, in
the time of the floud, which if S. Augustine had well considered, he
would neuer haue asked how such creatures as liued in Ilands far
distant from the maine could come into the arke, De
ciuit. lib. 16. cap 7. howbeit in the end he concludeth with another
matter more profitable than his demand.
As for the speedie and timelie inhabitation thereof, this is mine
opinion, to wit, that it was inhabited shortlie after the diuision of
the earth. For I read that when each capteine and his companie had
their portions assigned vnto them by Noah in the partition that he
made of the whole among his posteritie, they neuer ceased to trauell
and search out the vttermost parts of the same, vntill they found out
their bounds allotted, and had seene and vewed their limits, euen vnto
the verie poles. It shall suffice therefore onelie to haue touched
these things in this manner a farre off, and in returning to our
purpose, to proceed with the rest concerning the
denomination of our Iland, which was knowne vnto most of the
Gréekes for a long time, by
Yet Timeus, Ephotus, and some of the Grecians, know the name
Britannia, as appeareth also by Diodorus,
&c. before the comming of Cesar.
none other name than Albion, and to saie the truth, euen vnto
Alexanders daies, as appeareth by the words of Aristotle in his De
mundo, and to the time of Ptolomie: notwithstanding that Brute, as I
haue said, had changed the same into Britaine, manie hundred yeares
before.
After Brutus I doo not find that anie men attempted to change it
againe, vntill the time that Theodosius, in the daies of Valentinianus
and Valens endeuoured, in the remembrance of the two aforesaid
Emperours, to call it Valentia, as Marcellinus saith. But as this
deuise tooke no hold among the common sort, so it retained still the
name of Britaine, vntill the reigne of Ecbert, who about the 800 yeare
of Grace, and first of his reigne, gaue foorth an especiall edict,
dated at Winchester, that it should be called Angles land, or
Angel-landt, for which in our time we doo pronounce it England. And
this is all (right honorable) that I haue to say, touching the
scuerall names of this Iland, vtterlie misliking in the meane season
their deuises, which make Hengist the onlie parent of the later
denomination, whereas Ecbert, bicause his ancestours descended from
the Angles one of the sixe nations that came with the Saxons into
Britaine (for they were not all of one, but of diuers countries, as
Angles, Saxons, Germans, Switzers, Norwegiens, Jutes otherwise called
Jutons, Vites, Gothes or Getes, and Vandals, and all comprehended
vnder the name of Saxons, bicause of Hengist the Saxon and his
companie that first arriued here before anie of the other) and therto
hauing now the monarchie and preheminence in maner of this whole
Iland, called the same after the name of the countrie from whence he
derived his originall, neither Hengist,
Of this opinion is
Belforest, lib. 3. cap. 44.
neither anie Queene named Angla, neither whatsoeuer deriuation ab
Angulo, as from a corner of the world bearing swaie, rr hauing ought
to doo at all in that behalfe.
