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Vortigern (/ˈvɔːrtɪdʒɜːrn/;[1]Old Welsh:Guorthigirn,Guorthegern;Welsh:Gwrtheyrn;Old English:Wyrtgeorn;Old Breton:Gurdiern,Gurthiern;Irish:Foirtchern;Latin:Vortigernus,Vertigernus,Uuertigernus, etc.), also speltVortiger,Vortigan,Voertigern andVortigen, was a 5th-centurywarlord inBritain, known perhaps as aking of the Britons or at least connoted as such in the writings ofBede. His existence is contested by scholars and information about him is obscure. He also appears in some manuscripts ofDe Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae byGildas, and it is debated whether the name Vortigern was in the authorial version.
Bede associates him with the "superbus tyrannus" said in Gildas to have invited the Saxons (who Bede, but not Gildas, says were led byHengist and Horsa) to aid him in fighting thePicts and theScots, whereupon they revolted, killing his son in the process[2] and forming theKingdom of Kent. It is said that he took refuge inNorth Wales, and that his grave was inDyfed or theLlŷn Peninsula. Gildas later denigrated the proud tyrant for his misjudgement and also blamed him for the loss of Britain. He is cited at the beginning of the genealogy of the earlyKings of Powys.
The cleric and polemicistGildas wroteDe Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae (On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain) in the last decades of the fifth century or the first decades of the sixth century. It is described by the historian François Kerlouégan as "the only witness of any stature to give information about the still little-known world of sub-Roman Britain".[3] Gildas describes the devastation wrought by invasions of Picts and Scots after the Romans left Britain, and condemns what he sees as the disastrous error of inviting the Saxons in as mercenary defenders. Gildas writes, in a translation byMichael Winterbottom:
Winterbottom's translation is based on an edition byTheodor Mommsen in 1894 of the earliest surviving text ofDe Excidio, a Canterbury manuscript dating to the tenth century, which does not mention Vortigern.[5][6] Two other texts ofDe Excidio preserved in Continental manuscripts do mention Vortigern as the "proud tyrant", but the principal one is in poor textual condition and Mommsen ignored it as being inferior. Until the 1970s, scholars thought that Gildas did not name Vortigern on the basis of Mommsen's edition, but in 1977David Dumville argued that the Continental texts may be superior to the Canterbury one, and that a new analysis of the texts is needed which might well conclude that Vortigern is named in Gildas's original text.[7] Dumville's comment that a new analysis is needed has been accepted by Winterbottom, who stated that he was using Mommsen's edition as the best then available,[8] and byE. A. Thompson, who cited Dumville's article and commented that it may be clear whether Vortigern's name should be inserted inDe Excidio when a new edition becomes available.[9] Historians think that the case for thinking that Gildas referred to Vortigern is strengthened by the fact that Vortigern means something like "high king" inOld Welsh, and "proud tyrant" is thought to be a typical Gildasian word play on Vortigern's name.[10][11]
The first extant text considering Gildas' account isBede, writing in the early- to mid-8th century. He mostly paraphrases Gildas in hisEcclesiastical History of the English People andThe Reckoning of Time, adding several details, perhaps most importantly the name of this "proud tyrant", whom he first callsVertigernus (in hisChronica Maiora) and laterVurtigernus (in hisHistoria Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum). TheVertigernus form may reflect an earlierCeltic source or a lost version of Gildas.[12] Bede also gives names in theHistoria to the leaders of the Saxons,Hengist and Horsa, specifically identifying their tribes as the Saxons,Angles andJutes (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 withValentinian, and the forty-sixth fromAugustus, ruled the empire seven years." Michael Jones notes that there are several arrival dates in Bede. In H.E. 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.[12]
TheHistoria Brittonum (History of the Britons) was attributed until recently toNennius, a monk fromBangor, 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 ofincest (perhaps confusing Vortigern with the Welsh kingVortiporius, accused by Gildas of the same crime), oath-breaking, treason, love for a pagan woman, and lesser vices such as pride.
TheHistoria Brittonum recounts many details about Vortigern and his sons. Chapters 31–49 tell how Vortigern (Guorthigirn) deals with the Saxons andSaint Germanus of Auxerre. Chapters 50–55 deal withSaint Patrick. Chapter 56 tells about King Arthur and his battles. Chapters 57–65 mention English genealogies, mingled withEnglish andWelsh history. Chapter 66 gives important chronological calculations, mostly on Vortigern and theAnglo-Saxon settlement of Britain.
Excluding what is taken from Gildas, there are a number of traditions:
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 theIsle of Man about the time of writing theHistoria 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.
TheHistoria Brittonum relates four battles occurring in Kent, apparently related to material in theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle (see below). It claims that Vortigern's sonVortimer 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 theHistoria 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.
TheAnglo-Saxon Chronicle provides dates and locations of four battles which Hengest and his brother Horsa fought against the British in the county of Kent.[15] 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 "British" and "Welsh", which is not unusual for this part of theChronicle. TheChronicle locates theBattle of Wippedesfleot as the place where the Saxons first landed, dated 465 inWippedsfleot and thought to beEbbsfleet nearRamsgate. The year 455 is the last date when Vortigern is mentioned.
The annals for the 5th century in theChronicle were put into their current form during the 9th century, probably during the reign ofAlfred the Great.[16] 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 assagas in the form ofepic poems.[17][18]
There is dispute as to when the material was written which comprises theHistoria Brittonum, and it could be later than theChronicle. Some historians argue that theHistoria Brittonum took its material from a source close to theChronicle.
Writing soon beforeGeoffrey of Monmouth,William of Malmesbury added much to the unfavourable assessment of Vortigern:
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.
William does, however, add some detail, no doubt because of a good local knowledge, inDe Gestis Regum Anglorum book I, chapter 23.
The story of Vortigern adopted its best-known form in Geoffrey's pseudohistoricalHistoria Regum Britanniae. Geoffrey namesConstans the older brother ofAurelius Ambrosius andUther Pendragon. After the death of their father,Constantinus III, Vortigern persuades Constans to leave his monastery and claim the throne. Constans proved a weak and unpopularpuppet monarch and Vortigern ruled the country through him until he finally managed Constans' death by insurgentPicts.[14]
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 theBattle 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] 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 asRowena. After Vortigern marries her, his sons rebel. Geoffrey adds that Vortigern was succeeded briefly by his son Vortimer, as does theHistoria Brittonum, only to assume the throne again when Vortimer is killed.
The inscription on thePillar of Eliseg, a mid-9th centurystone cross inLlangollen, northernWales, gives theOld Welsh spelling of Vortigern: Guarthi[gern], (the inscription is now damaged and the final letters of the name are missing), believed to be the same person as Gildas's "superbus tyrannus", Vortigern.[20] The pillar also states that he was married toSevira, the daughter ofMagnus Maximus,[15] and gave a line of descent leading to theroyal family of Powys, who erected the cross. Some historians, notablyNikolai Tolstoy andDavid Dumville, have declared this connection either a doubtful tradition or Powysianpropaganda.[21][22]
It has occasionally been suggested by scholars that Vortigern might be aroyal title, rather than a personal name. The name inBrittonic literally means "Great King" or "Overlord", composed of the elements *wor- "over-, super" and *tigerno- "king, lord, chief, ruler" (compareOld Bretonmachtiern,Cornishmyghtygern[23] a type of local ruler - literally "pledge chief")[24] in medievalBrittany andCornwall.
However, the element *tigerno- was a regular one in Brittonic personal names (compareKentigern,Catigern, Ritigern, Tigernmaglus, et al.) and, as *wortigernos (or derivatives of it) is not attested as a common noun, there is no reason to suppose that it was used as anything other than a personal name. In fact, anOld Irish cognate of it,Foirtchern, was a fairly common personal name in medieval Ireland, further lending credence to the notion that Vortigern was a personal name and not a title.
A valley on the north coast of theLlŷn Peninsula, known asNant Gwrtheyrn or "Vortigern's Gorge", is named after Vortigern, and until modern times had a small barrow known locally as "Vortigern's Grave", along with a ruin known as "Vortigern's Fort". However, this conflicts with doubtful reports that he died in his castle on theRiver Teifi inDyfed ("Nennius") or his tower atThe Doward inHerefordshire (Geoffrey of Monmouth).
Other fortifications associated with Vortigern are atArfon inGwynedd,Bradford on Avon inWiltshire,Carn Fadryn in Gwynedd,Clwyd in Powys,Llandysul in Dyfed,Old Carlisle inCumberland,Old Sarum in Wiltshire,Rhayader inPowys,Snowdon andStonehenge in Wiltshire.[25]
Vortigern's story remained well known after theMiddle Ages, especially inGreat Britain. He is a major character in twoJacobean plays, the anonymousThe Birth of Merlin andThomas Middleton'sHengist, King of Kent, first published in 1661. His meeting with Rowena became a popular subject in 17th-century engraving and painting, e.g.,William Hamilton's 1793 workVortigern and Rowena (above right). He was also featured in literature, such asJohn Lesslie Hall's poems about the beginnings of England.[26]
One of Vortigern's most notorious literary appearances is in the playVortigern and Rowena, which was promoted as a lost work ofWilliam Shakespeare when it first emerged in 1796. However, it was soon revealed as aliterary forgery written by the play's purported discoverer,William Henry Ireland, who had previously forged a number of other Shakespearean manuscripts. The play was at first accepted as Shakespeare's by some in the literary community, and received a performance atLondon'sDrury Lane Theatre on 2 April 1796. The play's crude writing, however, exposed it as a forgery, and it was laughed off stage and not performed again. Ireland eventually admitted to the hoax and tried to publish the play by his own name, but had little success.[27][28]
| Legendary titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Consul of the Gewisseans | Unknown |
| Preceded by | King of Britain first reign | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | King of Britain second reign | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Vitalis | King of Powys c. 418 – c. 435 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
