Page "Æthelberht of Kent" Paragraph 6

Kent appears to have been conquered by the Anglo-Saxons prior to Mons Badonicus.

There is both documentary and archaeological evidence that Kent was colonized primarily by Jutes, from the southern part of the Jutland peninsula.

According to a well-known legend, Hengist and Horsa, two brothers, landed in 449 as mercenaries for a British king, Vortigern.

After a rebellion over pay and the death of Horsa in battle, Hengist established the kingdom of Kent.

This account now is thought by some historians to be mostly legendary, although essentially the underlying story of a rebelling mercenary force may be accurate, and the date for the founding of the kingdom of Kent is thought to be approximately the middle of the fifth-century, in agreement with the legend.

This early date, only a few decades after the departure of the Romans, also suggests that more of Roman civilization may have survived into Anglo-Saxon rule in Kent, than in other areas.