Treason of the Long Knives facts for kids
The Treason of the Long Knives (Welsh: Brad y Cyllyll Hirion) is an old story about a terrible event that supposedly happened in Britain a long, long time ago. It tells of a massacre where British leaders were killed by Anglo-Saxon soldiers during a peace meeting on Salisbury Plain in the 400s.
Most historians today think this story is not true. The only records we have about it were written centuries later in books like the Historia Brittonum and the Historia Regum Britanniae. Even though it was a popular warning story in the Middle Ages, there is no other proof that it actually happened. Many experts believe it's just a made-up tale.
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The Story's Background
The legend says that Vortigern, a powerful British king after the end of Roman rule in Britain, invited Anglo-Saxons to settle in Britain. These Anglo-Saxons were led by Hengist and Horsa. Vortigern wanted them to be his soldiers, or mercenaries, to help him fight against other groups like the Picts and Gaels from Scotland. In return, the Anglo-Saxons were allowed to live on the Isle of Thanet.
The Historia Brittonum Version
The story of the Long Knives first appeared in a book called Historia Brittonum. This book was put together in the early 800s, about 400 years after the events supposedly happened. It was written in Latin by someone named Nennius, and it mixed real history with myths and legends.
Historians believe that this story came from different older tales. It seems to have combined a story about a British leader named Emrys (Ambrosius Aurelianus) with details from a history of Kent and a story about Saint Germanus.
Geoffrey of Monmouth's Story
The Treason of the Long Knives is also told in a book called Historia Regum Britanniae by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He wrote this book in the early 1100s and probably got his information from Nennius's Historia Brittonum.
Geoffrey's version says the event happened at a big dinner in what is now Wiltshire. This dinner was supposed to be a peace meeting. It might have been to agree that the Saxons would get land in Essex and Sussex, and that Vortigern would marry Rowena, the daughter of the Saxon leader Hengest.
The story claims that the "Saxons" (which probably included other groups like the Angles and Jutes) came to the banquet with their long knives, called seaxes, hidden on them. During the meal, Hengest gave a signal. The Saxons then pulled out their knives and killed the British leaders sitting next to them, who were not armed. Vortigern himself was spared, but almost all his men were killed. Only Eldol, Earl of Gloucester, managed to escape.
What the Name Means Today
The phrase "treason of the long knives" was first used in English in the late 1500s. The Welsh version, twyll y cyllyll hirion, was used around the same time.
Over the years, this term has been used to describe other sudden betrayals or dismissals:
- In 1800s Wales, people used "The Treason of the Blue Books" (Brad y Llyfrau Gleision) to talk about a government report on education that they felt was unfair.
- In 1962, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan fired seven of his government ministers. This event was jokingly called a "night of the long knives."
- The term was also used to describe the killing of Alexander Burnes in Afghanistan in 1841.
- In Canada, the leader of Quebec, René Lévesque, used the term in 1981. He was talking about how the Canadian Constitution was brought back from the United Kingdom. Most provincial leaders agreed to a new plan without Quebec's agreement, which Lévesque saw as a betrayal.
See also
- King Arthur
- Betrayal of Clannabuidhe
- Barns of Ayr
