Note 38 — Chapter VI · THE ANGLO-SAXON CONQUEST.

Ep. i., 7. This is a very important passage, as showing at what an early date British refugees were settled near the mouth of the Loire in such numbers as to be an important element in Gaulish politics. Arvandus, once Prætorian prefect of Gaul, was accused before the Emperor of high treason because he had corresponded with the King of the Visigoths, inviting him to attack “the Britons situated on the Loire,” who were evidently loyal to the empire. In another letter of the same writer (Ep. iii., 9) we find him pleading with his friend Riothamus, a Breton chief (or king), for the restoration of some slaves who have been coaxed away from a friend of his by “Britannis clam sollicitantibus”. This same Riothamus, described by Jordanes as “rex Brittonum,” fought with Euric, King of the Visigoths, on behalf of the empire (Jord. de rebus Geticis, xlv.).