Horsa and Hengest

In Medieval Literature, we are learning about the history of Britain. Horsa and Hengest (their names mean "horse men") were Saxon Mercenaries from Saxony (Germany) who were hired by the Celts to keep the Welsh in order. When they got to England, they decided they liked it so much that they got together all of their family and friends, came over on boats, and kicked the Celts out of England! Horsa and Hengest were considered the "fathers" of the Anglo-Saxon. One of our founding fathers (I think Thomas Jefferson) even wanted to put a picture of them on one of our coins. He saw them as part of our heritage, especially since they were immigrants to England.

I told my Lit class that if I have twin boys I'll name them Horsa and Hengest. They just asked me if I wanted them to hate me. If I have a girl, I'll name her Hilda after the great female Abbess who presided over the Synod of Whitby (a meeting between the Celtic and Roman Christians to decide which calendar and monk haircut they were going to use). She was pretty cool.