42. Helen (Helena) of the Cross, called also "Britannica", born in 248,
died in 328. The arms of Colchester were "a cross with three crowns." She
was the first wife of Constantius I. Chlorus (Falvius Valerius
Constantius), governor of Dalmatia, appointed Caesar to rule Gaul and
Britain March 1, 293. He was the son of Eutropious, a Dardanian nobleman
descended from the Gordiani, and his wife, Claudia, daughter of Claudius
II. (Marcus Aurelius Flavius Claudius Gothicus), a virtuous and worthy
Roman Emperor (268-270), who was a soldier, statesman, and a distinguished
officer. Born in Illyria 214, he was trained in the hard school of warfare
on the Danube frontier, and died of the Plague in 270, aged 55, whereupon
his brother Marcus Aurelius Claudius Quintillus became Emperor.
Constantius I became Emperor of Rome in May 305, and in right of his wife,
King of England. He was born in 242 and died at Eboracum (present day
York, England) on July 25, 306. He married (2) Theodora, daughter of
Maximinus, Roman Emperor. The son of Helen and Constantius I. was
Constantine the Great.