Learnings: The Legendary Brothers
Legend says that after they were banished Hengist and Horsa travelled the sea with three boats.
They had been recruited as mercenaries by Vortigern, ruler of the former Roman province province of Britannia, to protect his people from invaders. In exchange, he offered to pay them a monthly sum. The brothers did as Vortigern requested, defeating his enemies.
But once peace was won, Hengist invited his family and friends from beyond the sea to join him in Britannia. He told them that there was land enough for everyone, and that the people living there were too weak and gentle to resist them.
More and more Germanic tribes came to live in Britannia, and the brothers soon asked Vortigern to increase his payments. They asked for more and more, and eventually, Vortigern refused. In response, the Germanic tribes waged war against all the British tribes, beginning the era of the Anglo-Saxons in Britain.
According to the Venerable Bede, a famous monk and scribe from Northumbria, Hengist and Horsa were direct descendants of Woden, the Anglo-Saxon version of the Scandinavian Odin. Woden is portrayed her as the ancestor of kings.