(Author's note: History is a wide ranging discipline which in some senses can be fluid as we learn new things and in some cases is solid as we choose to interpret events and findings in light of our own day, not the day in which it happened. Individuals spend their whole lives studying these things. My very concise overview is meant as nothing more than that: an overview to give background. All errors and omissions remain my own.)
The province of Britain circa 5th Century A.D. had a problem.
Britain, as you may recall from your breezy view of it through Western Civilization history, was originally "visited" by Julius Caesar (before his tragic accident at the Forum) in 55 B.C. and a Roman sphere of influence created. This was followed up by the outright invasion of Britain by the Emperor Claudius in 44 A.D. There were some awkward moments - Boudicca's Rebellion in 70 A.D. created a bit of a stir, and well as grumpy tribes beyond the periphery, causing the Emperors Hadrian and Septimus Severus to "build (and then rebuild) that wall" which we know as Hadrian's Wall- but the what was the Celtic culture became what has been referred to as the Romano-Celtic British: archaeologists have found houses, farms and towns that would be not be out of place in any other corner of the Empire.
Times change, though. Britain was never quite the heartland of the Empire the way Gaul or Egypt was. Everything - troops, supplies, etc. - had to travel at some point via ship to cross the Channel. And it was not just supplies that came by seas. Starting in the late 3rd Century, Saxon pirates (emulated later by their Norse cousins) began raiding the Eastern (soon to be called "Saxon") Shore. From the West, the Gaels from Ireland raided as well - the word for the inhabitants of that island, Scoti, would eventually come to form the name of a certain state to the North). And to the North, the Picts (perhaps Celtic, perhaps not - the jury is still out) were a constant threat. In 367 all three peoples attacked Britain - which were all pushed back, but it was starting to become apparent that the Rome could not longer support Britain as it had in the past.
What accelerated the issue was the fact that generals began to get minded of becoming emperors. And emperor's needed armies in those days to "convince" the other generals or rulers who thought they were going to do the same thing. And so, at least two generals - Magnus Maximus in 383 A.D. and Constantine III in 407 A.D. - stripped the troops from the province and set off for Gaul and (in theory) Rome. With the disappearance of the legions in 407 A.D., they were never to return again.
Not that the Roman Empire did not have a lot going on elsewhere at this time. In 376 A.D. the Goths had crossed the Danube in Winter and began to "make themselves at home". And it was not just Magnus Maximus and Constantine III that were vying for promotions - other generals with other "good ideas that needed a trial" were also seeking to gain the The German invasion of the Alans, the Vandals, and the Suebi began in 410 A.D., resulting in what would ultimately be called "The Sack of Rome".
And so, in the years 410 -411 A.D. (at least, so the common legend goes), the inhabitants of Britain sent a request to the then reigning emperor Honorius for relief. The Emperor, hold up in a castle while the the countryside was being overrun by the Germans, wrote back to the Romano-British civitates (cities) that they now needed to look to their own defense.
Works consulted:
Blair, Peter Hunter: Roman Britain and Early England 55 B.C. - A.D. 871. WW Norton and Company: London, 1991.
Nicolle, David: Arthur And The Anglo-Saxon Wars. Osprey Publishing: Hong Kong, 1984
MacDowall, Simon: Germanic Warrior 236-568 AD. Osprey Publishing: Hong Kong, 1996
Wikipedia: End of Roman Rule In Britain, Honorius, Constantine III
My son is much more interested and knowledgeable about this era than I am. He and his missus went to Merry Olde and visited said wall. He's been a wanderlust type since he was a little one.
ReplyDeleteVery good thumbnail sketch of the root. Clear and concise.
I would like to go to Hadrian's wall someday - I think it is now possible to hike the entire length (the same may be true of Offa's Dyke). That would be an amazing trip.
DeleteWell now, this is a timely post. After reading about your study of Old English, I found some videos on YouTube to listen "watch" (listen to) while I'm doing handwork. I started with some introductions to Old English and then found myself watching a number of videos on the history of the English language. Extremely interesting.
ReplyDeleteI very much like your take on the early events setting the stage. It fills in a few details for me, and I look forward to more.
You are welcome Leigh.
DeleteHistory is really fascinating to me (although hard to make a living by, unfortunately). And getting to Anglo Saxon England is itself a journey that was not at all clear even in 411 A.D., when the Romans had effectively abandoned the province. From the view at that time, it was likely that it would continue in its Roman-ness, even if not in in the Empire. Within 100 years, everything was very different.
Echoing Leigh, a timely synopsis TB. Going to have to look for Jack Whyte's The Skystone book, it's somewhere on the shelves.
ReplyDeleteNylon12 - I was not familiar with this book or author - but it looks great! And just in this time period.
DeleteI only first became aware of England's fractious history with the death of Queen Elizabeth II. I was looking at a family tree and saw numerous grafts where the main branches had been lopped off and grafted by other countries. It reminded me that I know little about early European history other than the ancient cultures that were taught in high school.
ReplyDeleteEd, the "Dark Ages" are endlessly fascinating to me as they defined what we define as Medieval Europe and really informed a lot of history up to the early 20th Century. The fact that France and England became allies in WW I was a fascinating event, as the previous almost 1000 years had been one of rocky relationships at best.
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