Martianus writing of the bredth of Britaine, hath onlie 300. miles, but Orosius hath 1200. in the whole compasse. Ethicus also agreeing with Plinie, Martianus, and Solinus, hath 800. miles of length, but in the breadth he commeth short of their account by 120. miles. In like maner Dion in Seuero maketh the one of 891. miles: but the other; to wit, where it is broadest, of 289. and where it is narrowest, of 37. Finally, Diodorus Siculus affirmeth the south coast to conteine 7000. furlongs, the second; to wit, à Carione ad Promontorium 15000. the third 20000. and the whole circuit to consist of 42000. But in our time we reckon the breadth from Douer to Cornewall, not to be aboue 300. miles, and the length from Douer to Cathnesse, no more than 500. which neuerthelesse must be measured by a right line, for otherwise I see not how the said diuision can hold.
The forme. The forme and fashion of this Ile is thrée-cornered, as some have deuised, like vnto a triangle, bastard sword, wedge, or partesant, being broadest in the south part, and gathering still narrower and narrower, till it come to the farthest point of Cathnesse northward, where it is narrowest of all, & there endeth in maner of a promontorie called Caledonium & Orchas in British Morwerydh, which is not aboue 30. miles ouer, as dailie experience by actuall trauell dooth confirme.
Promontories of Britaine. The old writers giue vnto the thrée principall corners, crags, points, and promontories of this Iland, thrée seuerall names. As vnto that of Kent, Cantium, that of Cornewall, Hellenes, and of Scotland, Caledonium, and Orchas; and these are called principall, in respect of the other, which are Taruisium, Nonantum, Epidium, Gangacum, Octapites, Herculeum, Antiuesteum, Ocrinum, Berubium, Taizalum, Acantium, &c: of which I thought good also to leaue this notice, to the end that such as shall come after, may thereby take occasion to seeke out their true places, wherof as yet I am in maner ignorant, I meane for the most part; bicause I haue no sound author that dooth leade mée to their knowledge.
The distance from the maine. Furthermore, the shortest and most vsuall cut that we haue out of our Iland to the maine, is from Douer (the farthest part of Kent eastward) unto Calice a towne in Picardie 1300. miles from Rome, in old time called Petressa and Scalas, though some like better of blacknesse where the breadth of the sea is not aboue thirtie miles. Which course, as it is now frequented and vsed for the most common and safe passage of such as come into our countrie out of France and diuers other realms, so it hath not beene vnknowne of old time vnto the Romans, who for the most part vsed these two hauens for their passage and repassage to and fro; although we finde, that now and then diuerse of them came also from Bullen, and landed at Sandwich, or some other places of the coast more toward the west, or betweene Hide and Lid; to wit, Romneie marsh, (which in old time was called Romania or Romanorum insula) as to auoid the force of the wind & weather, that often molesteth seafaringmen in these narrowe seas, best liked them for their safegards. Betweene the part of Holland also, which lieth néere the mouth of the Rhene and this our Iland, are 900. furlongs, as Sosimus saith; and besides him, diuers other writers, which being conuerted into English miles, doo yeeld 112. and foure od furlongs, whereby the iust distance of the neerest part of Britaine, from that part of the maine also, dooth certeinlie appéere to be much lesse than the common maps of our countrie haue hitherto set downe.
OF THE ANCIENT NAMES OR DENOMINATIONS OF THIS ILAND.
CAP. III.
Dis, Samothes. In the diligent perusall of their treatises, who haue written of the state of this our Iland, I find that at the first it séemed to be a parcell of the Celtike kingdome, whereof Dis otherwise called Samothes, one of the sonnes of Japhet was the Saturne or originall beginner, and of him thencefoorth for a long while called Samothea. Afterward in processe of time, when desire of rule began to take hold in the minds of men, and ech prince endeuoured to enlarge his owne dominions: Albion the Neptunus Marioticus. sonne of Neptune, Amphitrite surnamed Marioticus (bicause his dominions laie among the ilands of the Mediterran sea, as those of Plutus did on the lower grounds neere vnto shore, as contrariwise his father Jupiter dwelled on the high hils néerer to heauen) hearing of the commodities of The first conquest of Britaine. the countrie, and plentifulnesse of soile here, made a voiage ouer, and finding the thing not onelie correspondent vnto, but also farre surmounting the report that went of this Iland, it was not long after yer he inuaded the same by force of armes, brought it to his subiection in the 29. yeare after his grandfathers decease, and finallie changed the name thereof into Albion, whereby the former denomination after Samothes did grow out of mind, and fall into vtter forgetfulnesse. And thus was this Iland bereft at on time both of hir ancient name, and also of hir lawfull succession of princes descended of the line of Japhet, Britaine under the Celts 341. yeares. vnder whom it had continued by the space of 341. yeres and nine princes, as by the Chronologie following shall easilie appeere.
Goropius our neighbor being verie nice in the denomination of our Iland, as in most other points of his huge volume of the originall of Antwarpe lib. 6. (whom Buchanan also followeth in part) is brought into great doubt, whether Britaine was called Albion of the word Alb, white; or Alp an hill; as Bodinus is no lesse troubled with fetching the same ab Oibijs, or as he wresteth it, ab Albijs gallis. But here his inconstancie appeareth, in that in his Gotthadamca liber. 7. he taketh no lesse paines to bring the Britaines out of Denmarke, whereby the name of the Iland should be called Vridania, Freedania, Brithania, or Bridania, tanquam libera Dania, as another also dooth to fetch the originall out of Spaine, where Breta signifieth soile or earth. But as such as walke in darkenesse doo often straie, bicause they wot not whither they go: euen so doo these men, whilest they séeke to extenuate the certeintie of our histories, and bring vs altogither to uncerteinties & their coniectures. They in like maner, which will haue the Welshmen come from the French with this one question, vnde Walli nisi a Gallis, or from some Spanish colonie, doo greatlie bewraie their oversights; but most of all they erre that endeuour to fetch it from Albine the imagined daughter of a forged Dioclesian, wherewith our ignorant writers haue of late not a little stained our historie, and brought the sound part thereof into some discredit and mistrust: but more of this hereafter.
Neptune God of the sea. Now to speake somewhat also of Neptune as by the waie (sith I haue made mention of him in this place) it shall not be altogither impertinent. Wherfore you shall vnderstand, that for his excellent knowledge in the art of nauigation (as nauigation then went) he was reputed the most skilfull prince that liued in his time. And therfore, and likewise for his courage & boldnesse in aduenturing to and fro, he was after his decease honoured as a god, and the protection of such as trauelled by The maner of dressing of ships in old time. sea committed to his charge. So rude also was the making of ships wherewith to saile in his time (which were for the most part flat bottomed and broad) that for lacke of better experience to calke and trim the same after they were builded, they vsed to naile them ouer with rawe hides of bulles, buffles, and such like, and with such a kind of nauie (as they say) first Samothes, & then Albion arriued in this Iland, which vnto me doth not séeme a thing impossible. The northerlie or artike regions, doo not naile their ships with iron, which they vtterly want, but with wooden pins, or els they bind the planks togither verie artificiallie with bast ropes, osiers, rinds of trées, or twigs of popler, the substance of those vessels being either of fir or pine, sith oke is verie deintie & hard to be had amongst them. Of their wooden anchors I speake not (which neuerthelesse are common to them, and to the Gothlanders) more than of ships wrought of wickers, sometime vsed in our Britaine, and couered with leather euen in the time of Plinie, lib. 7. cap. 56. as also botes made of rushes and réeds, &c. Neither haue I iust occasion to speake of ships made of canes, of which sort Staurobates, king of India fighting against Semiramis, brought 4000. with him and fought with hir the first battell on the water that euer I read of, and vpon the riuer Indus, but to his losse, for he was ouercome by hir power, & his nauie either drowned or burned by the furie of hir souldiers.
But to proceed, when the said Albion had gouerned here in this countrie by the space of seauen yeares, it came to passe that both he and his brother Bergion were killed by Hercules at the mouth of Rhodanus, as the said Hercules passed out of Spaine by the Celtes to go ouer into Italie, and vpon this occasion (as I gather among the writers) not vnworthie to Lestrigo. be remembred. It happened in time of Lucus king of the Celts, that Lestrigo and his issue (whom Osyris his grandfather had placed ouer the Janigenes were the posteritie of Noah in Italie. Janigenes) did exercise great tyrannie, not onelie ouer his owne kingdome, but also in molestation of such princes as inhabited round about him in most intollerable maner. Moreouer he was not a little incouraged in these his dooings by Neptune his father, who thirsted Neptune had xxxiii. sonnes. greatly to leaue his xxxiii. sonnes settled in the mightiest kingdoms of the world, as men of whom he had alreadie conceiued this opinion, that if they had once gotten foot into any region whatsoeuer, it would not be long yer they did by some meanes or other, not onelie establish their seats, but also increase their limits to the better maintenance of themselues and their posteritie for euermore. To be short therefore, after the giants, and great princes, or mightie men of the world had conspired and slaine the aforsaid Osyris, onlie for that he was an obstacle vnto them in their tyrannous dealing; Hercules his sonne, surnamed Laabin, Lubim, or Libius, in the reuenge of his fathers death, proclaimed open warres against them all, and going from place to place, he ceased not to spoile their kingdomes, and therewithall to kill them with great courage that fell into his hands. Finallie, hauing among Lomnimi. Geriones. sundrie other ouercome the Lomnimi or Geriones in Spaine, and vnderstanding that Lestrigo and his sonnes did yet remaine in Italie, he directed his viage into those parts, and taking the kingdome of the Celts in his waie, he remained for a season with Lucus the king of that countrie, where he also maried his daughter Galathea, and begat a sonne Galathea. Galates, or Kelts. by hir, calling him after his mothers name Galates, of whom in my said Chronologie I haue spoken more at large.