[72] This date is evidently incorrect. Martian and Valentinian III. became joint rulers of the Empire in 450; hence this is the year that Bede probably meant.
[73] That is, Thanet, which practically no longer exists as an island. In Bede's day it was separated from the rest of Kent by nearly half a mile of water, but since then the coast line has changed so that the land is cut through by only a tiny rill. The intervening ground, however, is marshy and only partially reclaimed.
[74] This battle was fought between Hengist and Vortimer, the eldest son of Vortigern, at Aylesford, in Kent.
[75] It is by no means probable that the invasion of Britain by the Saxons was followed by such wholesale extermination of the natives as is here represented, though it is certain that everywhere, except in the far west (Wales) and north (Scotland), the native population was reduced to complete subjection.
[76] That is, the throne of the Eastern Empire at Constantinople.
[77] Gregory was a monk before he was elected pope. He held the papal office from 590 to 604 [see [p. 90]].
[78] Augustine at the time (596) was prior of a monastery dedicated to St. Andrew in Rome.
[79] The missionaries had apparently gone as far as Arles in southern Provence when they reached this decision.
[80] An abbot was the head of a monastery. Should such an establishment be set up in Britain, Augustine was to be its presiding officer.
[81] The Germanic peoples north of the Humber were more properly Angles, but of course they were in all essential respects like the Saxons. Ethelbert was not actually king in that region, but was recognized as "bretwalda," or over-lord, by the other rulers.