Origin
The white horse of Kent is the old symbol for the Jutish kingdom of Kent, dating from the 6th - 8th century.
The white horse relates to the emblem of Horsa, the brother of Hengest, who defeated the King Vortigern near Aylesford. The first recorded reference to the white horse can be found in Restitution of Decayed Antiquities from 1605 by Richard Verstegan. The book shows an engraving of Hengist and Horsa landing in Kent in 449 under the banner of a rampant white horse. Indeed, continental origins of this emblem can be found from the coat of arms of Lower Saxony, the Dutch region of Twente, the House of Welf (who adapted it in the late 14th century; before then the Welf coat of arms was a golden lion on red ground) and the modern German State of North Rhine-Westphalia: the Saxon Steed. Some historians note that Jutes migrating to Kent through the continent may have been associated with the Rhineland south of the Saxons.
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Coat of arms of Lower Saxony, in Germany.
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Coat of arms of North Rhine-Westphalia, in Germany.
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Flag of the region of Twente, in The Netherlands.
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