which I speak with
hesitation. I base my opinion, however, upon the notices of the two
chief epochs--that of Vortigern and that of King Arthur. The first is
from the life of St. Germanus, the second is an unadorned enumeration of
three campaigns, with as little of the appearance of being derived from
a poetic source as is possible.

Several genealogies occur in Nennius; and it often happens that
genealogies are useful elements of criticism. British ethnology,
however, is not the department in which their value is most conspicuous.

How far were the traditions of Nennius of any worth? The following is a
specimen of them. "The Britons were named after Brutus; Brutus was the
son of Hisicion, Hisicion of Alanus, Alanus of Rea Silvia, Rea Silvia of
Numa, Numa of Pamphilus, Pamphilus of Ascanius, Ascanius of AEneas, AEneas
of Anchises, Anchises of Tros, Tros of Dardanus, the son of Flire, the
son of Javan, the son of Japhet. This Japhet had seven sons; the first
Gomer, from whom came the Gauls; the second Magog, from whom came the
Scythians and Goths; the third Aialan, from whom came the Medes; the
fourth Javan, whence the Greeks; the fifth Tubal, whence the Hebrews;
the sixth Mesech, whence the Cappadocians; the seventh Troias, whence
the Thracians. These are the sons of Japhet, the son of Noah, the son of
Lamech. I will now return to the point whence I departed.

"The first man of the race of Japhet came to Europe, Alanus by name,
with his three sons. Their names were Ysicion, Armenon, and Neguo.
Ysicion had four sons, their names were Frank, Roman, Alemann, and
Briton, from whom Britain was first inhabited. But Armenon had five
sons. These are Goth, Walagoth, Cebid, Burgundian, Longobard. Neguo had
four sons, Wandal, Saxon, Bogar, Turk. From Hisicio the first-born of
Alan, arose four natives, the Franks, the Latins, the Alemanns, and the
Britons. From Armenon, the second son of Alan, came the Goths, the
Vandals, the Cebidi, and the Longobards. From Neguo, the third, the
Bogars, Vandals, Saxons, and Tarinci. But these nations were subdivided
over all Europe. Alanius, however, as they say, was the son of Sethevir,
the son of Ogomnum, the son of Thois, the son of Boib, the son of
Simeon, the son of Mair, the son of Ethac, the son of Luothar, the son
of Ecthel, the son of Oothz, the son of Aborth, the son of Ra, the son
of Esra, the son of Israu, the son of Barth, the son of Jonas, the son
of Jabath, the son of Japhet, the s