These forces were led by the brothers Hengist and Horsa, sons of Wihtgils, son of Witta, son of Wecta, son of Woden.

In 457, Hengist and Esc fought against British forces in Crayford " and there slew four thousand men ".

Hengist asks Vortigen to allow him to send word to Saxony to bring over more soldiers so that the Saxon forces will be better able to oppose the call to depose Vortigern.

Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote about the town, claiming that it had been fortified by Ambrosius Aurelianus, king of the Britons after his victory over the Saxon forces of Hengist ( Historia Regum Britanniae viii, 7 ), that the captive Saxon leader Hengist was hacked to pieces by Eldol outside the town walls, and was buried at " Hengist's Mound " in the town.

It happened however after the death of Vortimer, son of King Vortigern, and after the return of Hengist with his forces, they called for a false Council, so that they might work sorrow to Vortigern with his army.

According to the narrative, Hengist, who had settled in Britain with the consent of the British king Vortigern as defence against the Scots, sends for his sons Octa and Ebusa to supplement his forces.

Hengist and Horsa sent word to the Angles describing " the worthlessness of the Britons, and the richness of the land " and asked for assistance.

Rowena is immediately sent to Vortigern and the providence of Kent is given to Hengist, without the knowledge of the then-ruler of Kent, Gorangan.

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

According to these sources Hengist and Horsa arrived in Britain as mercenaries serving Vortigern, King of the Britons.

In the Historia Brittonum Hengist had an unnamed daughter ( her name is first given in Historia Regum Britanniae as Rowena ) who seduced Vortigern, eventually leading to the Night of the Long Knives when Hengist's men massacred the Britons at a peace accord.

Later in the same work, Bede notes that Hengist was the father of Oeric, and that Oeric accompanied Hengist upon his invitation by Vortigern.

In the entry for the year 455 the Chronicle details that Hengist and Horsa fought with Vortigern at Aylesford and that Horsa died there.

The Historia Brittonum records that, during the reign of Vortigern in Britain, three vessels that had been exiled from Germania arrived in Britain, commanded by Hengist and Horsa.

" In 447 AD, Vortigern received Hengist and Horsa " as friends " and gave to the brothers the Isle of Thanet.

Vortigern allowed Hengist to send for more of Hengist's countrymen to come over to Britain and fight for Vortigern.

Hengist prepared a feast, inviting Vortigern, Vortigern's officers, and Ceretic, his translator.

" At the instigation of the Devil ", Vortigern fell in love with Hengist's daughter and promised Hengist whatever he liked in exchange for her betrothal.

Hengist told Vortigern that he would now be both Vortigern's father and adviser and that Vortigern would know no defeat with his counsel, " for the people of my country are strong, warlike, and robust.

Vortigern accepted, and Hengist prepared a feast to bring together the British and Saxon leaders.

Hengist — here Geoffrey notes whose " years and wisdom entitled him to precedence "— responds for the company, stating that they have come from their homeland of Saxony, and that they had come to offer their services to Vortigern or some other prince.

Vortigern asks Hengist and Horsa if they will help him in his wars, and offers them land and " other possessions.

" Hengist and Horsa accept Vortigern's offer, settle on an agreement, and stay with Vortigern at his court.

In chapter 11, since Vortigern now owes his victory to Hengist and Horsa, he increases the rewards he has promised to two.

Vortigern gives Hengist " large possessions of lands in Lindesia for the subsistence of himself and his fellow-soldiers.

" Geoffrey refers to Hengist as a " man of experience and subtilty ," and records that Hengist told Vortigern that Vortigern's enemies assail him from every quarter, and that few of Vortigern's subjects love him.

Hengist continues that Vortigern's subjects threaten Vortigern and say that they will bring over Aurelius Ambrosius from Armorica to depose Vortigern and make Aurelius king.

Hengist holds counsel, considers several strategies, yet comes to the conclusion that the Saxons should rather make a show of peace.

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

According to Bede, Æthelberht was descended directly from Hengist.

The father of Oeric was Hengist.

The sequence of events of the fifth and sixth centuries is particularly difficult to access, peppered with a mixture of mythology, such as the characters of Hengist and Horsa, and legend, such as St Germanus's so-called " Alleluia Victory " against the Heathens, and half-remembered history, such as the exploits of Ambrosius Aurelianus and King Arthur.

Hengist ( or Hengest ) and Horsa ( or Hors ) are figures of Anglo-Saxon, and subsequently British, legend, which records the two as the Germanic brothers who led the Angle, Saxon, and Jutish armies that conquered the first territories of Britain in the 5th century.

Hengist, through his son ( who varies by source ), is traditionally listed as the founder of the Kingdom of Kent.

Hengist and Horsa are attested in Bede's 8th-century Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum ; in the 9th-century Historia Brittonum, attributed to Nennius ; and in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a collection of annals compiled from the end of the 9th century.

Notably, Hengist is also briefly briefly mentioned in the Prose Edda, written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century.

Sources disagree with whether Hengist was the father or grandfather of Oisc of Kent and Octa of Kent, one of whom succeeded Hengist as king.

While the early sources indicate that Horsa died fighting the Britons, no details are provided about Hengist's death until Geoffrey's Historia, which states that Hengist was beheaded by Eldol, the British duke of Gloucester, and buried in an unlocated mound.

In what is now Northern Germany horse head gables, or gable signs adorned with two rampant horse figures, were referred to as " Hengist and Hors " up until the late 19th century.

As a result, scholars have theorized a pan-Germanic mythological origin for Hengist and Horsa, stemming originally from divine twins found in Proto-Indo-European religion.

In older scholarship, the scholar J. R. R. Tolkien and others have argued for a historical basis for Hengist.

In his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, Bede records that the first chieftains among the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes in England were said to be Hengist and Horsa.

According to Bede, Hengist and Horsa were the sons of Wictgils, son of Witta, son of Woden.

Hengist and Horsa arrived at a place called Ipwinesfleet, and went on to defeat the Picts wherever they fought them.