Page:Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation (tr. Jane).djvu/406

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Notes to 'Ecclesiastical History

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10. Carausius. His title was "Count of the Saxon Shore," and he commanded a fleet and army on the east coast. Rebelled, 289; killed in 294.

15. "Emperor of the Gauls." Constantius was "Cæsar," an inferior title to "Augustus." His special province was the Prefecture of the Gauls, i. e. Britain, Gaul, Spain, and Mauritania. He was never, strictly speaking, emperor.

15. Theodosius. Theodosius the Great. The Valentinian is Valentinian II.

16. Pelagius. A Welshman; he denied the doctrine of original sin.

17. "Two inlets" i. e. the Firths of Clyde and Forth. Giudi, probably near Leith.

18. Ahercurnig. Now Abercorn.

20. Ætius. The general of Valentinian III., who defeated Attila at Chalons (451).

22. Angles. Strictly the first settlers were Jutes. They came from Jutland, the Angles from Schleswig-Holstein, the Saxons from the banks of the Elbe, Weser, and Ems. In this account Bede follows Gildas, who wrote De Calamitate et Conquestu Britannia, sixth century.

23. "Horsa . . . slain in battle." At Aylesford.

24. Ambrosius Aurelius. Said to have been king of Devon and Cornwall.

24. Baddesdown-Hill. The battle of Mt. Badon (Lansdown, Bath), won by Arthur.

25. St. Germanus. Bishop of Auxerre.

27. "Tribune" = a person of distinction merely; not a tribune in the classical sense.

29. "Saxons and Picts." The place of this battle is thought to have been Mold in Flint. There is a difficulty in the alleged presence of Saxons, who had hardly penetrated so far; either the battle was won over the Picts only or we must suppose another body of Saxons to have landed in Wales.

31. "Valentinian was murdered." His death is variously attributed to the followers of Ætius or to the private revenge of Maximus. The succession of emperors in the West actually continued some years longer, until 453.

32. Gregory (the Great) was Pope from 590 to 604. Augustine was a Benedictine and trained under Gregory at the monastery of St. Anthony, Rome.

34. Ætheriuis was really archbishop of Lyons.

35. Ethelbert reigned from 561 to 616. He is reckoned as the third "Bretwalda," = chief, among the Saxon kings; but the authority of such chief kings was rather nominal than real.

35. Bertha. Daughter of Charibert, king of Paris.

37. St. Martin, i. e. St. Martin of Tours, flourished in the fifth century.

38. "They are to take wives." St. Gregory the Great was the first to advocate celibacy of the clergy strongly.

51. London and York. London was a metropolitan see in Roman times; hence its equality with York here. The see of York was not refounded until twenty-four years later.

58. Degsastan. Probably near the modem Selkirk.

59. Felix = Pope Felix IV., A.D. 529.

60. "Respondent" = legate of the papal court; to the Emperor Maurice, A.D. 582-585.