Hengist (or Hengest) and Horsa (or Hors) are figures of Anglo-Saxon legend, which records the two as the Germanic brothers who led the Angle, Saxon, and Jutish armies that conquered the first territories of Britain in the 5th century. Tradition lists Hengist (through his son, whose name varies by source) as the founder of the Kingdom of Kent (now South East England). Sources disagree with whether Hengist was the father or grandfather of Oisc of Kent and Octa of Kent, one of whom succeeded Hengist as king. Scholars have theorized a pan-Germanic mythological origin for Hengist and Horsa, stemming originally from divine twins found in Proto-Indo-European religion. In older scholarship, the scholarJ. R. R. Tolkien and others have argued for a historical basis for Hengist.
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