Battle of Aylesford

Battle of Aylesford
Part of theAnglo-Saxon settlement of Britain
Anglo-Saxon Migration in the 5th century
Date 455 AD Location Aylesford,Kent Result Unclear
Belligerents
Anglo-Saxons	Britons
Commanders and leaders
Hengist Horsa†	PossiblyVortigern Vortimer Catigern†
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

TheBattle of AylesfordorEpsford(Old English:Æȝelesford) was fought betweenBritonsandAnglo-Saxonsrecorded in theAnglo-Saxon Chronicleand theHistoria Brittonum.Both sources concur that it involved the Anglo-Saxon leadersHengist and Horsaon one side and the family ofVortigernon the other, but neither says who won the battle. It was fought near Æglesthrep, presumed to beAylesford,inKent.

History

The ninth-centuryAnglo-Saxon Chroniclementions the battle in the entry for 455. According to the text, the Anglo-Saxon leadersHengist and HorsafoughtVortigern,King of the Britons,in the battle. Horsa was slain, and Hengist and his sonOiscbecame theKings of Kent:

Her Hengest 7 Horsa fuhton wiþ Wyrtgeorne þam cyninge, in þære stowe þe is gecueden Agælesþrep, 7 his broþur Horsan man ofslog; 7 æfter þam Hengest feng to rice 7 Æsc his sunu.

This year Hengest and Horsa fought with Wurtgern the king on the spot that is called Aylesford. His brother Horsa being there slain, Hengest afterwards took to the kingdom with his son Esc.

TheHistoria Brittonum,also written in the ninth century, contains a variant account of the battle. Chapters 43–45 indicate that Vortigern's sonVortimer,not Vortigern himself, rose against the Saxons and engaged them in four battles. The third of these battles was fought "at the Ford, in their language calledEpsford,though in oursSet thirgabail."At this battle Horsa fell, as did Vortimer's brotherCatigern.TheHistoriadoes not say who won the battle, saying specifically that during Vortimer's campaign the Saxons "sometimes extended their boundaries by victory, and sometimes were conquered and driven back."According to the text, the Britons successfully ousted the Saxons at the fourth battle, fought "near the stone on the shore of the Gallic sea".However, Vortimer's death shortly after ensured the victory was short-lived. TheAnglo-Saxon Chronicleaccount is similarly grim for the Britons, saying that they were forced to forsake Kent for good following Hengest and Oisc's bloody victory atCrayfordin 457.

TwoNeolithicchamber tombsnear Aylesford,Kit's Coty HouseandWhite Horse Stone,are identified in local tradition as the burial places of Catigern and Horsa respectively.

There is a possibility that Agælesþrep is actually Rochester as 'Agæles' translates from the Saxon as 'Eagles' and 'þreáp' translates as 'troops' so is the 'Place of the Eagle troops' - the Eagle being the Roman Legion symbol, hence the place where the Roman Legions were based. Please refer toto translate Saxon words, orto translate a place name. If Hengest and Horsa wanted to take over Kent, then from their landing at Thanet they would have taken Watling Street towards London, and if Vortigern/Vortimer was looking for a good place to stop them, a Roman Fort on Watling Street would have been much better proposition than a ford across the Medway.

References

• Bately, Janet M. (1986).The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A Collaborative Edition. Vol. 3: MS. A. Cambridge.Cambridge: D.S. Brewer.ISBN0-85991-103-9.