1.2. Of Samothes, Magus, Sarron, Druis, and Bardus, fiue kings suc|ceeding each other in regiment ouer the Celts and Samotheans, and how manie hundred yeeres the Celts inhabited this Iland. The second Chapter.

Of Samothes, Magus, Sarron, Druis, and Bardus, fiue kings suc|ceeding each other in regiment ouer the Celts and Samotheans, and how manie hundred yeeres the Celts inhabited this Iland. The second Chapter.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 _SAmothes the first begot|ten sonne of Iaphet called by Moses Mesech,Gen. 2. Dis,De migr. gen. by others receiued for his portion (according to the report of Wolfgangus Lazius) all the countrie lieng betwéene the riuer of Rhene and the Py|renian mountains, where he founded the kingdome of Celtica ouer his people called Celtae. Which name Bale affirmeth to haue bene indifferent to the inha|bitants both of the countrie of Gallia,Cent. 1. and the Ile of Britaine, & that he planted colonies of men (brought foorth of the east parts) in either of them, first in the maine land, and after in the Iland.Anti. lib. 1. He is reported by Berosus to haue excelled all men of that age in lear|ning and knowledge:Bale script. Brit. cent. 1. and also is thought by Bale to haue imparted the same among his people; name|lie, the vnderstanding of the sundrie courses of the starres,Caesar commen [...]. lib. 8. the order of inferiour things, with manie o|ther matters incident to the morall and politike go|uernment of mans life: and to haue deliuered the same in the Phenician letters: out of which the Gréekes (according to the opinion of Achilochus) deuised & deriued the Gréeke characters,In epithes. temp. De aequiuocis contra Appio|nem. insomuch that Xenophon and Iosephus doo constantlie report (although Diogenes Laertius be against it) that both the Gréekes and other nations receiued their letters and learning first from these countries.Lib. de Magic. success. lib. 22. Of this king and his learning arose a sect of philosophers (saith An|nius) first in Britaine, and after in Gallia, the which of his name were called Samothei. They (as Aristo|tle and Secion write) were passing skilfull both in the law of God and man: and for that cause excéeding|lie giuen to religion,Script. Brit. cent. 1. De ant. Cant. cent. lib. 1. especiallie the inhabitants of this Ile of Britaine, insomuch that the whole nation did not onelie take the name of them, but the Iland it selfe (as Bale and doctor Caius agree) came to be called Samothea, This Ile cal|led Samo|thes. which was the first peculiar name that euer it had, and by the which it was especiallie knowne before the arriuall of Albion.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 MAgus the sonne of Samothes,Magus the son of Samothes Lib. 9. after the death of his father, was the second king of Celtica; by whome (as Berosus writeth) there were manie townes builded among the Celts, which by the wit|nesse of Annius did beare the addition of their foun|der Magus:Annius in co [...] men. super [...]|dem. Geogr. of which townes diuers are to be found in Ptolomie: And Antoninus a painfull surueior of the world and searcher of cities, maketh mention of foure of them here in Britaine, Sitomagus, Neo|magus, Niomagus, and Nouiomagus. Neomagus sir Thomas Eliot writeth to haue stood where the ci|tie of Chester now standeth; Niomagus, George Lillie placeth where the towne of Buckingham is now remaining. Beside this, Bale dooth so highlie commend the foresaid Magus for his learning re|nowned ouer all the world, that he would haue the Persians, and other nations of the south and west parts, to deriue the name of their diuines called Ma|gi from him. In déed Rauisius Textor, and sir Iohn Prise affirme, that in the daies of Plinie, the Britons were so expert in art magike, that they might be thought to haue first deliuered the same to the Per|sians. What the name of Magus importeth, and of what profession the Magi were, Tullie declareth at large,De diui. lib. 1. DE fastis li. 5. and Mantuan in briefe, after this maner:

Ille penes Persas Magus est, qui sidera norit,

Qui sciat herbarum vires cultumú deorum,

Persepoli facit ista magos prudentia triplex.

The Persians terme him Magus, that

the course of starres dooth knowe,

The power of herbs, and worship due

to God that man dooth owe,H. F.

By threefold knowledge thus the name

of Magus then dooth growe.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 SArron the third king of the Celts succéeded his father Magus in gouernement of the contrie of Gallia,Sarron the sonne of Magus. De ant. Cant. lib. 1. Bale script. Brit. cent. 1. and the Ile Samothea, wherein as (D. Caius writeth) he founded certaine publike places for them that professed learning, with Berosus affirmeth to be done, to the internt to restraine the wilfull outrage of men, being as then but raw and void of all ciui|litie. Also it is thought by Annius, that he was the first author of those kind of philosophers, which were called Sarronides, of whom Diodorus Siculus wri|teth in this sort:Lib. 6.

There are (saith he) among the Celts certaine diuines and philosophers called Sarronides, whom aboue all other they haue in great estimation. For it is the manner among them, not without a philosopher to make anie sacrifice: sith they are of be|léefe, that sacrifices ought onelie to be made by such as are skilfull in the diuine mysteries, as of those who are néerest vnto God, by whose intercession they thinke all good things are to be required of God, and whose aduise they vse and follow, as well in warre as in peace.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 DRuis, whom Seneca calleth Dryus,Druis the son of Sarron. being the sonne of Sarron,De morte Claud was after his father establi|shed the fourth king of Celtica, indifferentlie reig|ning as wel ouer the Celts as Britons, or rather (as the inhabitants of this Ile were then called) Samo|theans. This prince is commended by Berosus to be so plentifullie indued with wisedome and lear|ning, that Annius taketh him to be the vndoubted author of the beginning and name of the philosophers called Druides, whome Caesar and all other ancient Gréeke and Latine writers doo affirme to haue had their begining in Britaine, and to haue bin brought from thence into Gallia, insomuch that when there arose any doubt in that countrie touching any point of their discipline, they did repaire to be resolued therein into Britaine, where, speciallie in the Ile of Anglesey (as Humfrey L [...]oyd witnesseth) they made their principall abode.Anti. lib. 5. Annius super eu [...]ndem. De bello Gal|lico. lib. 9. De belio Gal|lico. 6; Touching their vsages many things are written by Aristotle, Socion, Plinie, La|ertius, Bodinus, and others: which I will gather in briefe, and set downe as followeth. They had (as Cae|sar saith) the charge of common & priuate sacrifices, EEBO page image 3 the discussing of points of religion, the bringing vp of youth, the determining of matters in variance, with full power to interdict so manie from the sacri|fice of their gods and the companie of men, as diso|beied their award.Hist. an. lib. 1. Polydore affirmeth, how they taught, that mens soules could not die, but departed from one bodie to another, and that to the intent to make men valiant and dreadlesse of death. Tullie writeth,De diui. lib. 1. that partlie by tokens, and partlie by surmi|ses, they would foretell things to come. And by the report of Hector Boetius, Hi [...]t. S [...]oti, li. 2. some of them were not ig|norant of the immortalitie of the one and euerla|sting God.Demigr. gen. [...] 2. All these things they had written in the Greeke toong, insomuch that Wolf Lazius (vpon the report of Marcellinus Marcellinus.) declareth how the Gréeke let|ters were first brought to Athens by Timagenes from the Druides. And herevpon it commeth also to passe, that the British toong hath in it remaining at this day some smacke of the Gréeke. Among other abuses of the Druides, they had (according to Dio|dorus) one custome to kill men, and by the falling, bleeding, and dismembring of the, to diuine of things to come: for the which and other wicked prac|tises, their sect was first condemned for abhomina|ble (as some haue written) and dissolued in Gallia (as Auentinus witnesseth) by Tiberius and Cladius the emperours;Anna. B oiorum. lib. 22. and lastlie abolished here in Bri|taine (by the report of Caius) when the gospell of Christ by the preaching of Fugatius and Damianus was receiued among the Britaines,De ant. Caut. vnder Lucius king of Britaine, about the yeare of our sauior, 179.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 3 4 BArdus the sonne of Druis succéeded his father in the kingdome of Celtica,Bardus the sonne of Druis. Berosus ani. lib. 2. Annius in com| [...]en super eur [...]|dem. and was the fift king ouer the Celtes and Samotheans, amongst whom he was highlie renoumed (as appeareth by Be|rosus) for inuention of dities and musicke, wherein Annius of Viterbo writeth, that he trained his peo|ple: and of such as excelled in this knowledge, he made an order of philosophicall poets or heraulds, calling them by his owne name Bardi. And it should séeme by doctor Caius and master Bale, Ant. Cant. li. 1. script. Britain. cent. 1, that Caesar found some of them here at his arriuall in this Ile, and reported that they had also their first begining in the same. The profession and vsages of these Bardi, Nonnius, Strabo, Diodorus, Stephanus, Bale, Nonnius Marcel. Strabo. Diodor. Sicul. lib. 6. [...]arol. Stepha. [...]n dict. hist. Bale. Iohn Prise. and sir Iohn Prise, are in effect reported after this sort. They did vse to record the noble exploits of the ancient capteins, and to drawe the pedegrées and genealo|gies of such as were liuing. They would frame plea|sant dities and songs, learne the same by heart, and sing them to instruments at solemne feasts and as|semblies of noble men and gentlemen. Wherefore they were had in so high estimation, that if two hosts had beene readie ranged to ioine in battell, and that any of them had fortuned to enter among them, both the hosts (as well the enimies as the friends) would haue holden their hands, giuen eare vnto them, and ceassed from fight, vntill these Bards had gone out of the battell. Of these Bards Lucane saith,

Vos quo qui fortes animas belló peremptas,Lucan. lib. 1.

Laudius in longum vates dimittitis aeuum,

Plurima securi fudistis carmina Bardi:

And you ô poet Bards from dan|ger void that dities sound,

Of soules of dreadlesse men,H. F. whom rage of battell would confound,

And make their lasting praise to time of later age rebound.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 Because the names of these poets were neither discrepant from the ciuilitie of the Romans, nor re|pugnant to the religion of the Christians, they (of all the other sects before specified) were suffered onlie to continue vnabolished in all ages, insomuch that there flourished of them among the Britains (accor|ding to Bale) before the birth of Christ,Iohn Bale script Britan. cent. 2. Iohn Prise defen hist. Brit. Caius de ant. Cant lib. 1. Iohn Leland syllab. ant. dict. Hum. Lloyd de Mona insula. Plenidus and Oronius: after Christ (as Prise recounteth) Thale|stine, and the two Merlins, Melkin, Elaskirion, and others: and of late daies among the Welshmen, Dauid Daie, Iollo Gough, Dauid ap William, with an infinite number more. And in Wales there are sundrie of them (as Caius reporteth) remaining vn|to this day, where they are in their language called (as Leland writeth) Barthes. Also by the witnes of Humfrey Llhoyd, there is an Iland néere vnto Wales, called Insula Bardorum, and Bardsey, whereof the one name in Latine, and the other in Saxon or old English, signifieth the Iland of the Bardes or Barthes.

Thus farre the gouernement of the Celts in this Ile.