1.3. Of the auncient names of this Iſlande. Cap. 2.

Of the auncient names of this Iſlande. Cap. 2.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 IN the diligent peruſal of their treatiſes that haue written of the ſtate of this our Iſlande, I finde that at the firſt it ſéemed to be a percel of the Celtike kingdome,Dis, Samo|thes. whereof Dis other|wyſe called Samothes, one of the ſonnes of Ia|phet EEBO page image 10 was the Saturne or originall beginner, and of him thenceforth for a long time called Samothea. Afterwarde in proceſſe of tyme when as deſire of rule began to take holde in the myndes of men, & ech Prince endeuored to enlarge his owne dominiõs:Neptunus. Amphitrite Albion. Albion the ſonne of Neptune ſurnamed Mareoticus (whoſe mo|ther alſo was called Amphitrite) hearing of the commodities of the Countrie, and plenti|fulneſſe of ſoyle here, made a voyage ouer, & finding the thing not onely correſpondent vn|to,The firſt conqueſt of Britaine. but alſo farre ſurmounting the report that went of this Iſlande, it was not long after ere he inuaded y^e ſame by force of armes, brought it to his ſubiection, and finally chaunged the name therof into Albion, whereby the former denomination after Samothes did fall into vtter forgetfulneſſe. And thus was this Iſland bereft at one time both of hir auncient name, and alſo of hir lawfull ſucceſſion of Princes deſcended of the lyne of Iaphet,Britaine vnder the Celts 341. yeares. vnder whome it had continued by the ſpace of 341. yeres and ix. Princes, as by the Hiſtorie folowing ſhall eaſily appeare.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 To ſpeake ſomewhat alſo of Neptune, (ſith I haue made mention of him in this place) it ſhall not be impertinent. You ſhal vnderſtand therefore that for his excellent knowledge in the Arte of Nauigation, he was reputed the moſt ſkilful Prince that liued in his time. Neptune God of the ſea. And therefore, and likewyſe for his courage and boldneſſe in aduenturing to and fro, he was after his deceaſe honoured as a god, and the protection of ſuch as trauayled by ſea commit|ted to his charge.The man|ner of dreſ|ſinge of ſhippes in olde time. So rude alſo was y^e making of ſhippes wherewith to ſayle in his tyme, that for lacke of better experience to calke and trimme the ſame after they were builded, they vſed to nayle them ouer with rawe hydes, and with ſuch a kinde of Nauie: firſt Samothes, and then Albion arriued in this Iſlande.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 2 But to procéede, when the ſayde Albion had gouerned here in this Countrie by the ſpace of vij. yeares, it came to paſſe that both he and his brother Bergion were killed by Hercules at the mouth of Rhodanus, as the ſayd Hercu|les paſſed out of Spaine by the Celtes to go o|uer into Italy, and vpõ this occaſion (as I ga|ther amõg the writers) not vnworthy to be re|membred.Leſtrigo. It happened in tyme of Lucus king of the Celtes, that Leſtrigo and his iſſue (whõ Oſyris his grandfather had placed ouer the Ianigenes) dyd exerciſe great tyrannie, not onely ouer his owne kingdome, but alſo in mo|leſtation of ſuch Princes as inhabited rounde about him in moſt intollerable maner. Moreo|uer he was not a little incouraged in theſe his dooinges by Neptune his father,Neptune had xxxiij. ſonnes. who truſted greatly to leaue his xxxiij. ſonnes ſettled in the mightieſt kingdomes of the worlde, as men of whom he had already conceyued this opinion, that if they had once gotten foote into any Re|gion whatſoeuer, it woulde not be long ere they did by ſome meanes or other, Ianige [...] the po [...]|ty of [...] lying in Italy. not onelye eſtabliſhe their ſeates, but alſo increaſe their limites to the better maintenance of themſel|ues and their poſteritie for euermore. To be ſhort therefore, after the Gyantes, and great Princes, or mightie men of the world had con|ſpired and ſlaine the aforeſayd Oſyris: Hercu|les his ſonne, ſurnamed Libius, in the reuenge of his fathers death, proclaymed open warres agaynſt them all, and going from place to place, he ceaſed not to ſpoyle their kingdomes, and therewithall to kill them that fell into his handes. Finally, hauing among other ouer|come the Lomnimi or Geriones in Spayne,Lomnimi Geriones and vnderſtanding that Leſtrigo & his ſonnes did yet remayne in Italie, he directed his voy|age into thoſe parts, and taking the kingdome of the Celtes in his waye, he remayned for a ſeaſon with Lucus the king of that Countrie, where he alſo maried his daughter Galathea, Galathea. and beg at a ſonne by hir, calling him after his moothers name Galates, Galates. of whome in my Chronologie I haue ſpoken more at large. In the meane time Albion vnderſtanding howe Hercules intended to make warres agaynſt his brother Leſtrigo, he thought it good to ſtop him that tyde, and therefore ſending for hys brother Bergion, Bergion. out of the Orchades (where he alſo reygned as ſupreme Lorde and gouer|nour) they ioyned their powers,Pomponi|us Laetus. & ſayled ouer into Fraunce. Being arriued there, it was not long ere they met with Hercules and his ar|mie, neare vnto the mouth of the riuer called Rhodanus, where happened a cruell conflicte betwéene them, in which Hercules and hys men were lyke to haue loſt the daye, for that they were in maner weryed with lõg warres, and their munition ſore waſted in the laſt voi|age that he had made for Spaine. Herevppon Hercules perceyuing the courages of his ſoul|diours ſomewhat to abate, & ſéeing the want of munition likely to be the cauſe of his fatall day and preſent ouerthrowe at hande, it came ſodenly into his mynde to will eche of them to defende himſelfe by throwing of ſtones at hys enimie, wherof there lay great ſtore then ſcat|tered in the place. The policie was no ſooner publiſhed than put in execution, whereby they ſo preuayled in thende, that Hercules wan the fielde, their enemies were put to flight, and Albion and his brother both ſlayne,Albion ſlayne. and buried in that plot. Thus was Britaine ridde of a ty|rant, Lucus king of the Celtes deliuered frõ an vſurper (that daily incroched vpon him alſo euen in his owne kingdome on that ſide) and EEBO page image 2 Leſtrigo greatly weakened by the ſlaughter of his brethren. Of this inuention of Hercu|les in lyke ſort it commeth, that Iupiter fa|ther vnto Hercules (who in déede was none other but Oſyris) is feygned to throw downe ſtones from heauen vpon Albion and Bergi|on,It rayned [...]ones. in the defence of Hercules his ſon: which came ſo thick vpon them as if great drops of raine or hayle ſhould haue deſcended from a+boue, no man well knowing which waye to turne him from their violence, they came ſo faſt and with ſo great a ſtrength.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 But to go forwarde, albeit that Albion and his power were thus diſcomfited and ſlayne, yet the name that he gaue vnto thys Iſlande dyed not, but ſtill remained vnto the time of Brute, who arriuing here in the 1127, before Chriſt, and 2840. after the creation, not onely chaunged it into Britayne (after it had bene called Albion, by the ſpace of 595. yeares) but to declare his ſouereigntie ouer the reaſt of the Iſlandes alſo that are about the ſame, he called them all after the ſame maner, ſo that Albion was ſayde in tyme to be Britanniarum inſula maxima, that is, the greateſt of thoſe Iſles that bare the name of Britayne.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 2 It is altogither impertinent to diſcuſſe whether Hercules came into thys Iſlande after the death of Albion,Hercules [...]n Bri|tayne. or not, althoughe that by an auncient monument ſéene of late, and the Cape of Hartland in the Weſt coun|trie,Promonto|rium Her|culis. called Promontorium Herculis in olde tyme, diuers of our Brytiſhe wryters doe gather great likelyhoode that he ſhoulde alſo be here. But ſyth hys preſence or abſence maketh nothing wyth the alteration of the name of this our Region and Countrie, I paſſe it ouer as not incident to my purpoſe. Neyther will I ſpend any time in the deter|mination, [...]o. Marius Niger, cõ|ment. de Britannia. Cap. 2. whether Brittayne hath bene ſometyme a percell of the mayne, althoughe it ſhoulde well ſéeme ſo to haue bene, by|cauſe that before the generall floudde of Noah, we doe [...]t [...]eade of Iſlandes. As for the ſpéedie and timely inhabitation thereof, this is myne opinion, that it was inhabited ſhortly after the diuiſion of the earth: For I reade that when ech Captayne and his com|pany had their portions aſſigned vnto them by Noah in the partition that he made of the whole earth among hys poſteritie,Theophi|lus Antio|thenus ad Antolicum. they neuer ceaſed to trauayle and ſearch out the vtter moſt boundes of the ſame, vntill they founde out their parts allotted, and had ſéene and vewed the limites thereof, euen vnto the very pooles. It ſhall ſuffice therefore only to haue touched theſe things in this manner a farre of, and in returning to our purpoſe, to procéede with the reaſt concerning the deno|mination of our Iſland, which was knowen vnto moſt of the Gréekes for a long time, by none other name than Albion, and to ſay the truth, euen vnto Alexanders daies: notwith|ſtanding that Brute, as I haue ſayde, had chaunged the ſame into Britayne, manye hundred yeares before.

Compare 1587 edition: 1 After Brutus I doe not find that any man attempted to chaunge it agayne, vntill the tyme that one Valentinus a rebell,Valentia. in the dayes of Valentinianus and Valens endeuo|red to reygne there,In ſupple|mento, Euſebij. lib 28. and therevppon as Ie|rome ſayth, procured it to be called Valen|tia. The lyke alſo dyd Theodoſius in the re|membraunce of the two aforeſayde Empe|rours, as Marcellinus ſaith, but as neyther of theſe tooke anye holde among the common ſort, ſo it retayned ſtil the name of Britaine, vntill the reygne of Echert, who about the 800. yeare of grace, gaue forth an eſpeciall Edict, dated at Wyncheſter, that it ſhoulde be called Angles land, or Angellandt,Angellãdt or Angles land. for which in our time we doe pronounce it Eng|land. And this is all, right Honourable, that I haue to ſay, touching the ſeuerall names of this Iſlande, vtterly miſlyking in the meane ſeaſon their deuiſes, which make Hengiſt the only parent of the later denomination, wher|as Echert, bicauſe his aunceſtours deſcended from the Angles (one of the ſeauen Nations that came wyth the Saxons into Britayne, for they were not all of one, but of diuers countries, as Angles, Saxons, Germaynes,Only Sa|xons arri|ued here at the firſt with Hen|giſt. Switchers, Norwegiens, &c. and all com|prehended vnder y^e name of Saxons, bicauſe of Hengiſt the Saxon & his cõpany that firſt aryued here before any of the other) and ther|to hauing now the monarchie & preheminẽce in manner of this whole Iſlande, called the ſame after the name of his Countrie from whence his originall came, neyther Hengiſt, neyther any Quéene named Angla, neyther whatſoeuer deriuation ab angulo, as from a corner of the worlde bearing ſwaye, or ha|uing ought to doe at all in that behalfe.