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.

" Hengist convened his forces and sent to Vortigern an offer of peace.

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 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.

Yet now that he, Hengist, no longer doubts the death of Vortimer, Hengist submits himself and his people to the will of Vortigern, so that he will accept whomever Vortigern likes among his men, and send the rest back to Germania.

In chapter 1 of book 8 of Historia Regum Britanniae, Merlin prophecies to Vortigern ( who fled to Cambria during the Saxon onslaught ) that Hengist will be killed and that Uther Pendragon will be crowned.

Seeing that he is being pursued by Aurelius and, realizing the town will not hold against Aurelius, Hengist refuses to enter the town, but rather assembles his men, and orders them to make a stand, " for he knew that his whole security now lay in his sword.

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.

While consulting with the Britons, who would not be suspicious, Hengist would give out the command " Nemet oure Saxas ," and, at that moment, every soldier must be ready to seize the Briton closest to him and, with their drawn dagger, stab him.

Hengist tells these chosen men not to be afraid of Aurelius, for Aurelius must only have had a few Armorican Britons, as their numbers did not exceed ten thousand, and the native Britons he did not mention, " since they had been so often defeated by him.

Aurelius, " who showed moderation in all his conduct ," arranged for Hengist to be buried and a mound be raised over his corpse " according to the custom of pagans.

Rudolf Simek notes that these horse heads gables can " still be seen today " ( from a 2007 edition of a work first published in 1984 ) and says that the horse head gables confirm that Hengist and Horsa were originally considered mythological, horse-shaped beings.

Bede, writing in the 8th century, stated that Jutes settled in Kent, and in 457, led by brothers Hengist and Horsa, turned against the Britons who had invited them and defeated them at the Battle of Crecganford ( Crecganford is thought to be modern Crayford ) and the Britons fled to London in terror.

The stones are said to be a monument to Horsa, a great warrior and King of Kent who supposedly died near the stone but is most likely fictional ( see Horsa and Hengist articles for details ), who used the White horse of Kent as his standard.

Hengist, the Chief Administrator of Argelius II, demands that Scotty be locked up suggesting he may murder again if left unsupervised.

Hengist claims that Scotty must be the killer, as there is no way into that room except through the room in which the others were setting up for Sybo's seance.

The two legendary figures Hengist and Horsa ( both named after horses ), who were said to have conquered Great-Britain in the early Middle Ages, are commonly though disputably claimed to be of Twents origin, or from directly surrounding areas.

Around this time the War Office and Air Ministry began to draw up specifications for several types of military gliders to be used by the unit, which would eventually take the form of the General Aircraft Hotspur, General Aircraft Hamilcar, Airspeed Horsa and the Slingsby Hengist.

Hengist, having previously " consulted with the Elders who attended him of the Angle race ," demanded Kent.

However, the Saxons continued to increase in numbers, and after Hengist died his son Ochta succeeded him.

Hengist bows low in thanks, and tells Vortigern that, while Vortigern has provided him with much land, he wishes Vortigern would make of him a consul or a prince, as Hengist notes Hengist's royal heritage dictates.

Hengist asks Vortigern to give him only enough land that Hengist can encircle with a leather thong, so that Hengist may build a fortress upon it — in case a future retreat may require it.

Rowena sends messengers to her father Hengist to alert him of the plight of the Britons.

He may have been the " superbus tyrannus " said to have invited Hengist and Horsa to aid him in fighting the Picts and the Scots.

After the Romans leave, Vortigern comes to power, and invites the Saxons under Hengist and Horsa to fight for him as mercenaries, but they rise against him, and Britain remains in a state of war under Aurelius Ambrosius and his brother Uther Pendragon, assisted by the wizard Merlin.