Page:History of Manchester (1771), Volume 1, by John Whitaker.djvu/463

 r f 4a* THE HISTORY Book T- the Sueffones being now entitled Soifons by the French, and the- name of the Saxons being now pronounced Saffcn by the Nether- landers, Safort by* the Scotch, Saifen by the Welch, and Safehach or Saxlenachby the Irifli, 11 And the Sueffones or Saxbnes of Gaul very plainly derived their appellation from the pofition of theit metropolis upon a river, the flream at Soifons being now denomi- nated the Aifne and being former!}' denominated the Axon '%. Uefl-on or Ax-on importing only waters or a river, and S-tfefl-on> or S-ax-6n fignifying only the waters or the river. The Suef- fones are therefore actually denominated the Utflbnes by Ptolemy. And the Saxones are therefore abiblutely entitled the Axones by Lucan 2 Thefe Sueffones, who with their brethren and allies the Cim- bri had been more formidable enemies to the Rota ans by hud than the Samnites the Carthaginians the Spaniards the Gauls -or the Parthians ", in the fecond century applied 'themfelves to na- vigation, and became nearly as formidable to the Romans by fea. They foon made themfelves known to the inhabitants of" the Britifh ifles by their piracies in the northern feas*%. and' were denominated by them Lpchlyn or Lochlynach, Lncd Lyn lignifying the People of 'the Wave, and the D being quiefcent in the pronunciation * ' They took poffeffion of the Orkney iflands, which were then merely large flioals of fand r uncover- ed with woods, and overgrown with ruftres * And they landed" in the north of Ireland and' ravaged 1 the Count ty *V Before the middle of the third century they landed a fecotid time in Ire- land, difembarked a confkterable body of men upon the ifland,. and defigned the abfolute fubje&ion of the country M v Before the conclufion of the third cerftur/ thiey carried their naval ope- rations to the fouth, rnfefted th£ British channel with their Kt- tie veffels, and made frequent defcehts . xrpdfl the - adjoining coafts* 1 . And in the fourth and fifth centuries; 'afting la con- junction with the Pi£ts of Scotland and' tM Sc6tS of Ireland; they ravaged all the eaftern and foilth-eaftem* /fhores of Roman Britain, began the formal cohqueft of the eternity, and finally 1 "■-' '•" f ' 5 ; fettled