Editing English mythology (section)

=== Before the Norman conquest ===

[[5th century in England|5th]] century:

* [[Hengist and Horsa]]: Legendary brothers said to have led the [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]], [[Saxons]] and [[Jutes]] in their invasion of Britain in the 5th century; Horsa was killed fighting the Britons, but Hengist successfully conquered [[Kingdom of Kent|Kent]], becoming the forefather of its Jutish kings. A figure named Hengest appears in the [[Finnesburg Fragment]] and in ''[[Beowulf]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/saxon_34.html |title=Hengist and Horsa |date=2018 |publisher=English Monarchs |access-date=11 March 2018}}</ref>

[[6th century in England|6th]] century: 

* [[Sceafa]] (date uncertain): Ancient [[List of kings of the Lombards|Lombardic king]] in English legend. The story has Sceafa appearing mysteriously as a child, coming out of the sea in an empty [[skiff]]. The name has historically been modernized ''Shava''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.johnlearn.com/p/sceafa-was-an-ancient-lombardic-king |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312204815/https://www.johnlearn.com/p/sceafa-was-an-ancient-lombardic-king |url-status=usurped |archive-date=12 March 2018 |title=Sceafa was an ancient Lombardic king |date=2017 |publisher=John Learn |access-date=12 March 2018}}</ref>

[[8th century in England|8th]] century:

* [[Wayland the Smith]]: Legendary master [[blacksmith]] who appears in ''[[Deor]]'', ''[[Waldere]]'', and ''[[Beowulf]]''; the legend is depicted on the [[Franks Casket]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Wayland-the-Smith |title=Wayland the Smith |date=2018 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=12 March 2018}}</ref>
* ''[[Beowulf]]'' (between the 8th and the early [[England in the Middle Ages|11th]] centuries): [[Epic poetry|Epic poem]] in [[Old English]]. The original manuscript has no title, but the story it tells has become known by the name of its [[protagonist]]. ''Beowulf'' may be the oldest surviving long poem in Old English and is commonly cited as one of the most important works of [[Old English literature|Anglo-Saxon literature]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/literary-history/art68965 |title=British Library Beowulf manuscript is star of BBC documentary |date=2009 |publisher=[[Culture24]] |access-date=11 March 2018}}</ref>

[[9th century in England|9th]] century:

* [[Alfred the Great]] (849–899): In 878, supposedly burnt the cakes in [[Athelney]], [[Somerset]] before defeating the [[Great Heathen Army]] at the [[Battle of Edington]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/conquest/wessex_kings/birth_england_wessex_05.shtml |title=Birth of England: The Wessex Kings – Alfred the Great |date=2004 |work=[[BBC Online]] |access-date=7 March 2018}}</ref>
* [[Brutus of Troy]], or Brute of Troy: Legendary descendant of the [[Troy|Trojan]] hero [[Aeneas]], known in [[Britain in the Middle Ages|medieval British history]] as the eponymous founder and first king of [[Great Britain|Britain]]. Brutus first appears in the ''[[Historia Brittonum]]'', but is best known from [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]]'s ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://anthonyadolph.co.uk/brutus-of-troy/ |title=Brutus of Troy |date=2015 |publisher=anthonyadolph.co.uk |access-date=11 March 2018}}</ref>