Rowena

Featuring in medieval British literature, Matter of Britain, Rowena, or Rhonwen in the Welsh versions, was depicted as a medieval femme fatale. In Welsh tradition, in the Welsh Triads and Welsh medieval poetry, she is depicted as the “Mother of the English Nation,” though she is said to personify Saxon treachery and Anglo-Saxon Paganism.

 

Rowena first appears in the 9th century work, Historia Brittonum, by Nennius, as the nameless daughter of the Saxon Hengist. Hengist was trying to negotiate with Vortigern, King of the Britons, for more land and Rowena, at her father’s behest, got Vortigern drunk and seduced him into granting Hengist all that he asked for. Vortigern, (who was at the time already married,) was so enchanted with Rowena that he agreed to give Hengist the Kingdom of Kent in exchange for Rowena’s hand in marriage. This exchange gave the Saxons a firm foothold in Britain and proved a disaster for the native Britons. The 9th century text tries to explain this as the foolish King’s lust for a pagan woman was prompted by the devil and thus, in giving in to temptation, Vortigern doomed his own people. In the text, Rowena met a grisly end as “Vortigern and his wives” were burned alive at the stake.

 

Geoffrey of Monmouth, in Historia Regum Britanniae, was the one to give Rowena her name and his version of Rowena’s tale differs from that of Nennius. In this version, Vortigern had usurped the British throne from Constans, the rightful King of Briton. The seduction of Rowena still occurs in this version and, according to Monmouth, created the tradition of “toasting” in Britain. The story starts to differ again when Vortigern’s sons (from his first wife) rebelled against their father for his grants of lands and freedoms to the Saxon settlers. The eldest son, Vortimer, took the British throne for himself and drove out the Saxons. However, Rowena, a considerably more wicked character in this version, poisoned Vortimer. After this, the Saxons killed all of the leaders of Briton, only sparing Vortigern for Rowena’s sake.

 

In the Spiegel Historiael, by Flemish author Jacob van Maerlant, Rowena’s story remains much the same with the exception that she and her family are Frisian and not Saxon. In addition, the custom said to have been derived from Rowena is not the toast, but the custom of kissing in greeting. It is said to have been Rowena’s kiss that entranced Vortigern and not drink or a love potion.

 

Rowena is an intriguing character in British mythology and a woman who, once again, began as mostly innocent before being villainized in later literature.

Due to her villainization, the name Rowena was actually barely used in Britain at all prior to 1819, when writer Walter Scott used the name for the Saxon heroine in his book Ivanhoe. After that point, you can see use of the name as a given name in British records, but before then, presumably due to Rowena’s moral flaws, the name Rowena was not often given to daughters.