For this cause Hercules (whome Moses calleth Laabin) proclamed warres against them all in reuenge of his fathers death: and first he killed Triphon and Busiris in Aegypt, then Anteus in Mauritania, & the Gerions in Spaine, which enterprise atchiued, he led his armie towardes Italie, and by the way passed through a part of Gallia, where Albion and Pomp. Mela. Bergion hauing vnited their powers togither, were readie to receiue him with battell: and so néere to the mouth of the riuer called Rhosne, in Latine Rhodanus, they met & fought. At the first there was a right terrible and cruell conflict betwixt them. And albeit that Hercules had the greatest number of men, yet was it verie doubtfull a great while, to whether part the glorie of that daies worke would bend. Whereupon when the victorie began outright to turne vnto Albion, and to his brother Bergion, Hercules perceiuing the danger and likelihood of vtter losse of that battell, speciallie for that his men had wasted their weapons, he caused those that stood still and were not otherwise occupied, to stoope downe, and to gather vp stones, whereof in that place there was great plentie, which by his commandement they bestowed Hercules discomfiteth his enimies.
Albion is slaine. so fréelie vpon their enimies, that in the end hée obteined the victorie, and did not only put his adversaries to flight, but also slue Albion there in the field, togither with his brother Bergion, and the most part of all their whole armie. This was the end of Albion, and his brother Bergion, by the valiant prowesse of Hercules, who as one appointed by Gods prouidence to subdue the cruell & vnmercifull tyrants, spent his time to the benefit of mankind, deliuering the oppressed from the heauie yoke of miserable thraldome, in euerie place where he came.
The occasion of the fable of Jupiter helping his son Hercules. And by the order of this battell wée maye learne whereof the poets had their inuention, when they faine in their writings, that Jupiter holpe his sonne Hercules, by throwing downe stones from heauen in this battell against Albion and Bergion. Moreouer, from henceforth was this How this Ile was called Albion, of the giant Albion.
Iohn Bale. Ile of Britaine called Albion (as before we haue said) after the name of the said Albion: because he was established chiefe ruler and king thereof both by his grandfather Osiris and his father Neptune that cunning sailour reigning therein (as Bale saith) by the space of 44. yeares, till finally he was slaine in maner afore remembred by his vncle Hercules Libicus.
After that Hercules had thus vanquished and destroied his enimies, hée passed to and fro thorough Gallia, suppressing the tyrants in euerie part where he came, and restoring the people vnto a reasonable kinde of libertie, vnder lawfull gouernours. This Hercules (as we find) builded the citie Alexia in Burgongne, nowe called Alize. Moreouer, by Lilius Giraldus in the life of Hercules it is auouched, that the same Hercules came ouer hither into Britaine. And this dooth Giraldus write by warrant of such Britons as (saith he) haue so written themselues, which thing peraduenture he hath read in Gildas the ancient Briton poet: a booke that (as he confesseth in the 5. dialog of his histories of poets) he hath séene. The same thing also is confirmed by the name of an head of land in Britaine called Promontorium Herculis, as in Ptolomie ye may read, which is thought to take name of his arriuall at that place. Thus much for Albion and Hercules.
Diuers opinions why this Ile was called Albion. Sée more hereof in the discription. But now, whereas it is not denied of anie, that this Ile was called ancientlie by the name of Albion: yet there be diuers opinions how it came by that name: for manie doo not allow of this historie of Albion the giant. But for so much as it apperteineth rather to the description than to the historie of this Ile, to rip vp and lay foorth the secret mysteries of such matters: and because I thinke that this opinion which is here auouched, how it tooke that name of the forsaid Albion, sonne to Neptune, may be confirmed with as good authoritie as some of the other, I here passe ouer the rest, & procéed with the historie.
When Albion chiefe capteine of the giants was slaine, the residue that remained at home in the Ile, continued without any rule or restraint of law, in so much that they fell to such a dissolute order of life, that they séemed little or nothing to differ from brute beasts: and those are they which our ancient chronicles call the giants, who were so named, as well for the huge proportion of their stature (sithens as before is said, that age brought foorth far greater men than are now liuing) as also for that they were the first, or at the least the furthest in remembrance of any that had inhabited this countrie. For this word Gigines, or Gegines, from whence our word giant (as some take it) is deriued, is a Gréeke word, and signifieth, Borne or bred of or in the earth, for our fore-elders, specially the Gentiles, being ignorant of the true beginning of mankind, were persuaded, that the first inhabitants of any countrie were bred out of the earth, and therefore when they could go no higher, reckoning the descents of Terrae filius what it signifieth. their predecessours, they would name him Terrae filius, The sonne of the earth: and so the giants whom the poets faine to haue sought to make battell against heauen, are called the sonnes of the earth: and the first inhabitants generally of euery countrie were of the Gréekes Aborigines.
Indigenae. called Gigines, or Gegines, and of the Latines Aborigines, and Indigenae, that is, People borne of the earth from the beginning, and comming from no other countrie, but bred within the same.
These giants and first inhabitants of this Ile continued in their beastlie kind of life vnto the arriuall of the ladies, which some of our chronicles ignorantly write to be the daughters of Dioclesian the king of Assyria, whereas in déed they haue béene deceiued, in taking The mistaking of the name of Dioclesianus for Danaus. the word Danaus to be short written for Dioclesianus: and by the same meanes haue diuers words and names béene mistaken, both in our chronicles, and in diuers other ancient written woorks. But this is a fault that learned men should not so much trouble themselues about, considering the same hath bin alreadie found by sundrie authors ling Hugh the Italian.
Harding.
Iohn Rous out of Dauid Pencair. sithens, as Hugh the Italian, Iohn Harding, Iohn Rouse of Warwike, and others, speciallie by the helpe of Dauid Pencair a British historie, who recite the historie vnder the name of Danaus and his daughters. And because we would not any man to thinke, that the historie of these daughters of Danaus is onelie of purpose deuised, and brought in place of Dioclesianus, to excuse the imperfection of our writers, whereas there was either no such historie (or at the least no such women that Nennius. arriued in this Ile) the authoritie of Nennius a Briton writer may be auouched, who wrote aboue 900. yeares past, and maketh mention of the arriuall of such ladies.
Belus priscus.
Dictionarium poeticum. To be short, the historie is thus. Belus the sonne of Epaphus, or (as some writers haue) of Neptune and Libies (whome Isis after the death of Apis maried) had issue two sonnes: the first Danaus, called also Armeus; and Aegyptus called also Rameses: these two were kings among the Aegyptians, Danaus the elder of the two, hauing in his rule the Danaus.
Aegyptus.
Higinus. vpper region of Aegypt, had by sundrie wiues 50. daughters, with whome his brother Aegyptus, gaping for the dominion of the whole, did instantlie labour, that his sonnes being also 50. in number, might match. But Danaus hauing knowledge by some prophesie or oracle, that a sonne in law of his should be his death, refused so to bestow his daughters. Hereupon grew warre betwixt the brethren, in the end whereof, Danaus being the weaker, was inforced to flée his countrie, and so prepared a nauie, imbarked himselfe and his daughters, and with them passed ouer into Gréece, where he found meanes to dispossesse Gelenor (sonne to Stenelas king of Argos) of his rightfull inheritance, driuing him out of his countrie, and reigned in his place by the assistance of the Argiues that had conceiued an hatred towardes Gelenor, and a great liking towardes Danaus, who in verie deed did so farre excell the kings that had reigned there before him, that the Gréekes in remembrance of him were after called Danai.
But his brother Aegyptus, taking great disdaine for that he and his sonnes were in such sort despised of Danaus, sent his sonnes with a great armie to make warre against their vncle, giuing them in charge not to returne, till they had either slaine Danaus, or obtained his daughters in mariage. The yoong gentlemen according to their fathers commandement, being arriued in Greece, made such warre against Danaus, that in the end he was constrained to giue vnto those his 50. nephues his 50. daughters, to ioine with them in mariage, and so they were. But as the prouerbe saith, "In trust appeared treacherie." For on the first night of the mariage, Danaus deliuered to ech of his daughters a sword, charging them that when their husbands after their bankets and pastimes were once brought into a sound sléepe, ech of them should slea hir husband, menacing them with death vnlesse they fulfilled his commandement. They all therefore obeied the will of their father, Hypermnestra onely excepted, with whom preuailed more the loue of kinred and wedlocke, than the feare of hir fathers displeasure: for shee alone spared the life of hir husband Lynceus, waking him out of his sléepe, and warning him to depart and flee into Aegypt to his father. He therefore hauing all the wicked practises reuealed to him by his wife, followed hir aduice, and so escaped.
Pausanias. Now when Danaus perceiued how all his daughters had accomplished his commandement, sauing onelie Hypermnestra, he caused hir to be brought forth into iudgement, for disobeieng him in a matter wherein both the safetie and losse of his life rested: but she was acquitted by the Argiues, & discharged. Howbeit hir father kept hir in prison, and séeking to find out other husbands for his other daughters that had obeied his pleasure in sleaing their first husbands, long it was yer he could find any to match with them: for the heinous offense committed in the slaughter of their late husbands, was yet too fresh in memorie, and their bloud not wiped out of mind. Neuerthelesse, to bring his purpose the better to passe, he made proclamation, that his daughters should demand no ioinctures, and euerie suter should take his choise without respect to the age of the ladie, or abilitie of him that came to make his choise, but so as first come best serued, according to their owne phantasies and likings. Howbeit when this policie also failed, & would not serue his turne, he deuised a game of running, ordeining therewith, that whosoeuer got the best price should haue the first choise among all the sisters; and he that got the second, should choose next to the first; and so foorth, ech one after an other, according to the triall of their swiftnesse of foote.
How much this practise auailed, I know not: but certeine it is, diuers of them were bestowed, either by this or some other meanes, for we find that Autonomes was maried to Architeles, Chrysanta or (as Pausanias saith) Scea was matched with Archandrus, Amaome with Neptunus Equestris, on whome he begat Nauplius.