Finn and Hengest are two Anglo-Saxon heroes appearing in the Old English epic poem Beowulf and in the fragment of "The Fight at Finnsburg".

He and his brother Horsa (the names meaning "stallion" and "horse") were the legendary leaders of the first Anglo-Saxon immigrants to Britain as mercenaries in the 5th century.

Finn, king of Frys-Land (modern-day Friesland in the Netherlands) has allowed dispossessed Jutes to settle in his lands and enter his service.

Finn gives the Danes a separate hall to dwell in for the winter, specifying that they shall share it with the sons of the Jutes (meaning Hengest and his band.)

He also swears that any one of his own thanes who tries to renew the feud (by taunting the Danes that they now follow the slayer of their lord) will be punished, possibly with death, by Finn himself.

Hengest "does not refuse the world's counsel" (that is, he goes along with what everyone agrees is right) and decides that his loyalty to Hnæf must outweigh his obligation to Finn.

[1] This view has gained acceptance from some medieval historians and Anglo-Saxon scholars, both since Tolkien's initial lectures and since the publication of this posthumous collection.

Tolkien's lectures describe what he called the "Jutes-on-both-sides theory", which was his explanation for the puzzling occurrence of the word ēotenas in the episode in Beowulf.

Tolkien read the word as Jutes, and theorised that the fight was a purely Jutish feud, and Finn and Hnæf were simply caught up by circumstance.