The British Perspective: 1st Century to 11th Century

Britain (i.e. eventually that part of Britain roughly from the Newcastle- Carlisle south) officially became Roman 43AD, despite the semi-successful invasions of Julius Caesar in 54 and 54BC. Initially brought kicking and screaming into the Roman world (though some tribes did readily accept Roman rule) Britain remained a Roman possession until about 408 or 410AD, when the last remaining imperial troops were withdrawn to the continent. That is at least 365 years of foreign rule.

Britain before the Roman conquest was a shadowy world, for the most part, to the peoples of the Mediterranean. Though traders looking for tin made regular voyages to what is today Cornwall, Britain by and large was at the ‘ends of the earth’, a place of myth, magic and mystery. (Great use of alliteration huh?) During those centuries of Roman rule Britain eventually became a fairly prosperous, certainly stable, addition to the empire. After the shock of the Boudican Revolt in 60AD the Celtic Briton’s seemed resolved to accepting Roman rule. And so, for the next three and a half centuries, Britain was a Roman province, full of Roman citizens (i.e. the Celts) conducting Roman trade in Roman products, living by Roman rules in a Roman world.

And then, in about 408 or 410AD, Britain was cut loose from the empire. The troops were needed elsewhere, things were tense, the empire was disintegrating, and Britain was just too distant to matter anymore. For the Britons, what was on their minds now?

The Britons were Roman citizens; that is all they had known for generations. They were proud of their membership in this exclusive club. But now official Roman administration had been withdrawn, the troops had gone, and Britain was told to look to its own defenses. The Britons may very well have felt that ‘official’ Roman rule would return one day in the (hopefully) not too distant future. Perhaps all they needed to do was keep the home fires burning, the walls repaired and the towns and laws functioning for the time when everything would be back as it were. Of course that never happened, but in the early years of the fifth century no one knew that.

When the last Roman troops vanished from the island, the Picts in far northern Britain began making noises about a possible invasion south. Though never having lived under Roman rule, the Picts however traded extensively with the affluent ‘British’ south and were fully aware of just how good life was down there. With the ‘Man’ gone, it might be an ideal opportunity to think about taking some of the goodies he left behind.

Meanwhile, the Saxons, (a term used to describe a variety of Germanic sea-borne raiders) were continuing to make a nuisance of themselves along the east and south coasts of Britain. So much so that the Romans had initiated the ‘Saxon Shore’, a nifty idea comprising a series of coastal forts and troops ready to combat these ‘pirates’ who for quite some time had conducted raids and looting. Probably never a serious threat to the stability of the province, they were nonetheless a thorn in the side of those trying to get on with a peaceful life. It may also be at this time that the Irish, also a Celtic people, were likewise conducting troublesome raids on the west coasts of Britain. The far western shores of Britain had never been as Romanised as the eastern half, with the result that a Roman/ post Roman response to these Irish looters was never as comprehensive as it was in the east, for example the above mentioned ‘Saxon Shore’ initiative.

So, in the early fifth century, the newly post-Roman province of Britain was faced with three different problems: Picts from the north, Germanic raiders from the east, and Irish from the west, with each looking hungrily on this now seemingly more vulnerable land.

The Britons were trying to convince themselves that the Roman world still existed and that they were a temporarily sidelined relative who would be soon enough brought back into the fold. With that in mind they carried as normal. The law courts were kept open, trade continued as best it could, city walls were maintained, villas functioned and so on.

However, out of the three threats on the horizons, the Picts emerged as the most immediately dangerous. Determining that a Pictish invasion would most likely come down the east coast, via sea, the British authorities decided to employ some help. The idea of hiring ‘mercenaries’ was not a new idea, in fact it was a fully acceptable Roman practice. Hire one lot of ‘barbarians’ to fight off another lot of ‘barbarians’. In this case, the British chose to hire some of the Germanic raiders who were still hanging around in the North Sea to fight, i.e. protect, the eastern coast of mainland Britain from the Picts. Now, who exactly made this very momentous decision is not known, though the name Vortigern is thrown about a lot. Vortigern has emerged in literature as a powerful post-Roman Briton who managed to get control of much, if not all of the province and to try and make Britain a truly independent realm.

And so the decision was taken to invite some of these Germanic peoples to settle in eastern Britain and fend off the Picts. Archaeology has discovered that the very first Germanic peoples to be settled were the Angles (from where we get the word England from). How many came is unknown, but certainly there were enough to make the Picts think twice. Whether the Picts ended up launching their invasion, or just never got around to it, is also unknown, but by the 450’s AD the Angles were well entrenched in their new home.

To the Britons this must have seemed a complete vindication that the old Roman way of doings things was still the best way. The Picts were scared off and the Britons had a tough guy in their yard to frighten anyone else who thought about making a scene. With a little bit of peace to enjoy, the Britons almost immediately set about causing trouble for themselves. Just like in the latter twentieth century when a power-play would erupt amongst the locals once a colonial power had left, so too did the Celtic British vie with each other as to who would be in charge. Vortigern’s policies didn’t turn out all that popular and other rivals for the top job soon showed themselves.

Perhaps the greatest undoing of the British Celts was not that they had invited in the Anglo-Saxons, but that they were so disunited. By the late fifth century a number of British kingdoms had emerged, each trying to figure out what to do and how to do it. Some hired Germanic soldiers to protect their interests (read Anglo-Saxons now); some tried to go on with a Roman way of life, while others made up new rules.

However, while all hell broke loose on the continent and ‘barbarian’ tribes went here, there and everywhere, in Britain a kind of Roman twilight carried on. So successful was the British attempt to keep the Roman spirit alive that Britain was still a recognizably Roman land, many decades after official Roman administration had been removed. But post-Roman Britain died a lingering death, it died bit by bit in different areas at different times for different reasons.

Year by year the Anglo-Saxons grew in population and strength, just as the Britons became more and more fractured and disorganised. Eventually the Anglo-Saxons couldn’t contain themselves any longer, they knew they had an opportunity to go on the rampage and take more land. And so off they went, the revolt against their British paymasters had begun. The Britons, caught off guard, could only adopt a defensive position. Year after year, battle after battle the newcomers were victorious. Finally though, the Britons got their act together and resoundingly beat the marauders at the Battle of Mount Badon, often thought to have taken place somewhere near the town of Bath.

It was a huge victory. The Anglo-Saxons withdrew to their original possessions in the eastern parts of Britain, some, as dejected as they were, returned to the continent. Now again, the Britons had the chance to unite and act with one voice. But they never did. Once again they returned to their old bickering ways which only succeeded in giving the Anglo-Saxons time to rebuild their power. After about forty years of relative peace, the Anglo-Saxons again found themselves on the warpath, and this time there would be no stopping them.

Roman Britain became Anglo-Saxon England because the Celtic Britons were unable to work together. They tried for sure, but in the end the Anglo-Saxons proved to be the ones who would inherit much of the island. The Britons, for the most part, did not flee into the mountains and forests as Victorian history made out, rather, they often stayed put in their ancestral lands and accepted Germanic rule, as they knew the fight was over. This is just what happened after the Boudican Revolt; the Celtic Britons realised that a bigger power was now in charge and life would be much easier (and safer) if they just accepted this. But unlike the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons were here to stay.

In the further western reaches of mainland Britain the Celtic Britons held out against the Anglo-Saxons until their lands became separate and independent. I’m talking about Wales of course. For the Britons who remained in what eventually became England, they were for centuries a ‘lower’ class, in that they didn’t have as many rights or privileges as those of Anglo-Saxon decent. It wasn’t all bad though, as early English law made sure that the Britons were well protected, and could even serve in royal English courts and in matters of state. Even as late as the eleventh century, Welsh (i.e. Celtic British) was still being spoken in the English country of Wiltshire.

The English today are a mix of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic, with a bit of Viking and Norman as well, though these later people all trace their origin back to Scandinavia, just as the Anglo-Saxons do. For example, my surname is Braiden which is a Celtic name and is found in many places across the British Isles, though my family comes from Sussex, which means South Saxons. Pretty cool eh?