Ambrosius Aurelianus was a war leader of the Romano-British who won an important battle against the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century, according to Gildas. He also appeared independently in the legends of the Britons, beginning with the 9th-century Historia Brittonum. Eventually, he was transformed by Geoffrey of Monmouth into the uncle of King Arthur, the brother of Arthur's father Uther Pendragon, as a ruler who precedes and predeceases them both. He also appears as a young prophet who meets the tyrant Vortigern; in this guise, he was later transformed into the wizard Merlin.
Hengist and Horsa are Germanic brothers said to have led the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in their supposed invasion of Britain in the 5th century. Tradition lists Hengist as the first of the Jutish kings of Kent.
Vortigern, also spelled Vortiger, Vortigan, Voertigern and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in Britain, known perhaps as a king of the Britons or at least connoted as such in the writings of Bede and Gildas. His existence is contested by scholars and information about him is obscure.
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1796.
William Henry Ireland (1775–1835) was an English forger of would-be Shakespearean documents and plays. He is less well known as a poet, writer of gothic novels and histories. Although he was apparently christened William-Henry, he was known as Samuel through much of his life, and many sources list his name as Samuel William Henry Ireland.
Charles Kemble was a Welsh-born English actor of a prominent theatre family.
John Philip Kemble was a British actor. He was born into a theatrical family as the eldest son of Roger Kemble, actor-manager of a touring troupe. His elder sister Sarah Siddons achieved fame with him on the stage of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. His other siblings, Charles Kemble, Stephen Kemble, Ann Hatton, and Elizabeth Whitlock, also enjoyed success on the stage.
Rowena in the Matter of Britain was the daughter of the purported Anglo-Saxon chief Hengist and wife of Vortigern, "King of the Britons". Presented as a beautiful femme fatale, she won her people the Kingdom of Kent through her treacherous seduction of Vortigern. Contemporary sources are nearly non-existent, so it is impossible to know if she actually existed.
Events from the year 1796 in Great Britain.
Samuel Ireland, English author and engraver, is best remembered today as the chief victim of the Ireland Shakespeare forgeries created by his son, William Henry Ireland.
The Ireland Shakespeare forgeries were a cause célèbre in 1790s London, when author and engraver Samuel Ireland announced the discovery of a treasure-trove of Shakespearean manuscripts by his son William Henry Ireland. Among them were the manuscripts of four plays, two of them previously unknown.
Walley Chamberlain Oulton (1770?–1820?) was an Irish playwright, theatre historian and man of letters.
Abraham Portal was an English goldsmith and dramatist.
Jane Powell or Mrs Powell was a British actress. She was also known as Mrs Renaud and Mrs Farmer.
John Whitfield (1752–1814) was a British stage actor.
Vincent De Camp (1777-1839) was a British stage actor.
William Barrymore (1759–1830) was a British stage actor. Originally from Taunton he was part of a company of strolling players in the West Country, and was acting at Plymouth in 1780. He first appeared at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in 1782, under the management of Richard Sheridan, and became a long-standing member of the company. He is also the namesake of the famed Barrymore family.
Montague Talbot (1774–1831) was an Irish stage actor and theatre manager.
Thomas Caulfield (1766–1815) was a British stage actor who after a period in London's West End spent the later part of his career in the United States.
Robert Benson (1765–1796) was an English stage actor of the eighteenth century. The son of two actors, he made his first London appearance at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in 1778 as a child actor playing the Duke of York in Richard III and acted occasionally at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane over the following years. After an absence of some time, he returned to Drury Lane in November 1786 having now graduated to adult roles. He became a reliable member of the company known for his character roles as comic eccentrics and smooth young gentleman. For the summer of 1791 he took over the management of Richmond Theatre with James Thompson and William Macready. He also acted at Haymarket during the summers and authored an operatic farce Britain's Glory which premiered there in 1795. In 1783 he married the actress Susanna Satchell (1758–1814), the sister of Elizabeth Satchell.
