Invicta (motto)

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Invicta (meaning undefeated) is the motto of the county of Kent, England. It dates back to the invasion of England by William I of England.

Legend has it that, while marching from the battle site at Hastings, William marched on to London on his way to the (then) capital Winchester. While passing through Kent, the local people picked up branches and marched at William's men. Scared, William and his army took flight and took a different route to London. As the people of Kent felt that they had chased William away, they adopted "Invicta" as a county motto.

Its origin has also been said to have been because Dover, as head of the Cinque Ports, was not besieged or defeated on William's march through Kent, but instead agreed to a conditional surrender to him, on its own terms, and was therefore not conquered by him.

Holding of land in Kent by gavelkind, rather than the feudal-Norman laws of primogeniture, lasted until the early 20th century suggesting that the people of the county did indeed acquire some concessions from the Conqueror.

Invicta appears on the coat of arms of the county beneath a white horse rampant on a red background. 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.

Invicta is now used regularly within the county. The local independent radio station is called Invicta FM, as are several football teams. Many companies in the county use Invicta as a trading name.