The Anglo Saxon Perspective

The term ‘Anglo Saxon’ actually comprises several Germanic tribes of northern Europe who in the fifth and sixth centuries AD migrated across the North Sea to mainland Britain. Apart from the Angles and the Saxons there were also the Jutes, the Frisians and even a few Franks. Sometimes the word ‘Germanic’ is used; other times simply the ‘English’. However, the term Anglo Saxon is a popular and rather handy one and for the purposes of this article (and this blog) I shall use it.

The Anglo Saxon homeland included the areas of Denmark, north-western Germany, eastern Holland and the Frisian Islands, with, it seems, a little bit of southern Sweden as well. Traditionally, the Jutes come from northern Denmark, the Angles from the border area between Denmark and Germany, the Saxons from the lands between the rivers Wesser and Eider, and finally the Frisians from the coastal islands. These are not hard and fast geographical boundaries, but they have their merit.

We know that another tribe going by the name of the Chauci lived on the coast between Holland and Germany, but it appears that the Saxons eventually absorbed these people. The Anglo Saxon homeland was, to put it bluntly, rather unattractive. Flat, prone to flooding, poor soil, cold and damp, it wasn’t exactly paradise on earth. The Anglo Saxons often made their homes on semi-artificial islands, raised just high enough to escape the sea. Generation after generation, back to the Bronze Age and even beyond, these peoples made a life for themselves in a world half way between the land and the sea.

These lands never felt the rule of Rome. But of course these Germanic peoples traded with the Roman Empire for at least four hundred years, so Rome and all she was was not exactly foreign to the Anglo Saxons, or to other peoples outside the imperial realm.

Whatever was the catalyst to do so, the Anglo Saxons in the 3rd century began raiding eastern and southern coastal areas of Britain causing the Roman authorities to build a series of forts and other defenses along the coastal areas most prone to attack. This whole apparatus became known as the ‘Saxon Shore’. Doubtless, it wasn’t just the Saxons who were up to no good, but they must have been most prominent in numbers in justify the title. To the Anglo Saxons, Britain must have seemed a wealthy and rather exotic place, full of palaces and courts, gold and ripe fields. A land of plenty and opportunity. (I suppose anywhere would seem wonderful compared with the Anglo Saxon homeland).

Despite being a pain in the neck to the Romans, some Anglo Saxons eventually settled in eastern Britain and even joined the Roman army. This is however quite some time before the actual Anglo Saxon settlement of Britain would begin.

Whether the folks back home in the Anglo Saxon homeland thought that Britain was a viable option is not known, but as Roman power in Britain waned, so Britain must have seemed more and more like a great place to invest some time and energy. Afterall, the Anglo Saxon lands were the closest non-Roman lands to Britain, and the province could easily be reached after a few days sailing. As a people confident on the water, the North Sea was not a barrier to be crossed; it was perhaps a road to a better way of life.

News of the final Roman withdrawal from Britain in about 408 or 410 AD must have been a hot topic of conversation to those who looked upon the island with envious eyes. And then, all too easy, word was sent to the Angles (in the first instance) that they were welcome to come and settle in eastern Britain to help fend off an anticipated raid by the Picts from northern Britain down into the now newly non-Roman British lowlands. This was great news, and actual invitation to go and live in what had only recently been a rather prosperous Roman province. It must have been like someone from a poorer country today getting permission to go and make a better life in the US or Australia. A ticket to the western world! Wow! Without delay, the Angles set sail and were placed at strategic places along various Roman roads in readiness of the expected Pictish invasion. Whether it actually came is unknown, but the reality was that the Angles had been allowed to settle, with arms, in some rather important places in Britain.

The history of the Saxon settlement of south east Britain, specifically in Kent, is much more shadowy, full as it is of myth, half-remembered stories and hogwash. But the fact is the Saxons did settle in rather large numbers in the south east. Without intending to do so, the Britons had begun to hem themselves in.

To the Anglo Saxons this was a dream come true. Not only did they have a new land, but this one was far nicer than their ancient home. There were towns here, roads, a written language (Latin) great monuments etc. Nothing like this was ever seen in the Anglo Saxon homeland. And not only that, but the British authorities were actual paying some of them to help fight their wars. This was too good to be true!

With the good times rolling in Britain, the Anglo Saxons sent word back across the North Sea to their kinsmen to likewise make the journey over. The more the merrier. Year after year boatloads of settlers paddled over to be warmly greeted and given some nice land in which to farm. Before long, the Anglo Saxon population was expanding hugely. More land was needed.

Either through negotiation, violence or whatever, the Anglo Saxons gained more and more lands in eastern Britain. (Hey, this wasn’t a PC era). The actual events leading to the overthrow of post-Roman Celtic Britain will be saved for another article, suffice it to say that the Anglo Saxons knew they had a good thing going here and were determined not to let it go. They were now living in a Roman province, well a former one, but here they gradually found themselves in control. Through patience, tact, strength and determination, the Anglo Saxons had won a prized possession.

In the centuries ahead the Anglo Saxons made full use of their situation and created one of the most advanced, stable and articulate kingdoms in Europe. Anglaland, eventually England, became a centre of learning, religion and the arts. Of course 1066 brought the Normans who did much to undo the unique achievements of this realm.

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?

The Timeline

The list below has been compiled over a long period of time from multiple sources. Of course people will disagree with some parts of it and that is fine, I put it out here for discussion. Though I tend to avoid more 'traditional' or semi-'mythic' events, I have included a few here to help fill in the picture. (But these are small in number). This is, as far as I know, the longest list of dates about the history of the Anglo Saxon migration to, and settlement of, Britain.

367
Pictish raids. Hadrian’s Wall badly damaged. Many Roman troops deserted and fled south. Picts plundered far into southern Britain. Brief revival of paganism, though quickly stopped.

368
Many military initiatives taken to secure towns and build defenses.

370
For the time being, Britain largely secure from barbarian raids.

383
Magnus Maximus, probably Dux Britanniarum, rebelled and took many troops to Gaul.

385
St. Patrick (Patricius [from patrician] Magonus or Maun) born somewhere on western coastline of Britain.

397
A Saxon raid is reported, though where is unknown.

401
St.Patrick captured by Irish pirates, sold as a slave in Antrim.

402
Stilicho withdraws some legions from Britain to face a threat to Italy by the Gauls.

405
Irish King Niall raids Britain, most likely the western coast.

406
Constantine III proclaimed Emperor in Britain. Two others were elected before him but did nothing – Marcus and Gratian. Both of these men ruled only for a few months each but were soon killed.

407
St.Patrick escapes Ireland.

408
Last Roman troops withdrawn from Britain. A political party, perhaps the Pelagians, wanting self rule, become powerful. Stilicho dies.

409
Propser says the Britons evicted weak Roman officials and began fighting for themselves.

410
Emperor Honorius refuses request from British authorities for military aid for combat against the Picts. He addressed his reply to the local councils, not to a Comes or dux Britanniarum. Councils decide to look to their own defenses. Britain declares its independence from Rome. Rome sacked by the Goths under Alaric on 24 August.

411-412
Saxon raid on Channel coast. A new government/council formed in the absence of Roman rule. Ambrosius the Elder proclaimed Emperor, either now or in the next few years. Several and decisive British victories against foreign forces.

414
Drust, son of Erp, a Pict, begins his reign.

418
A Roman commander, perhaps a former Comes Britanniarum, leaves Britain. His son is perhaps Ambrosius. Pope Zosimus declares Pelagius a heretic.

420
Pictish raids from the north. Kingdom of Powys founded.

425
Vortigern gains power in central and southern Britain. Ambrosius the Elder dies. Vortigern proclaimed Emperor of Britain. Born in Gloucester. Maybe Vortigern now has talks with the Saxons, about employing them to fight the Picts. Apparent failure of Ambrosius’ policies. Perhaps a council convened and elected Vortigern. A general decision to employ Saxons. The council and Vortigern decide where to place the Saxons, i.e. in strategic places within East Anglia, Lincolnshire and Kent. The Saxons moved into these allotted areas.

428
Hengist and Horsa land, welcomed by Vortigern. Arrived with an army, though small. (The three ship loads). Given the Isle of Thanet to settle. Other Saxon forces placed around the country as protection against the Picts. A scribe in Ravenna names a Saxon prince as Anschis, could be a corruption of Hengist.

429
St.Germanus of Auxerre visits Verulamium (St.Albans) to begin the fight against Pelagianism. Finds the town prosperous. At this time possibly an alliance between the Picts and the Irish. St.Germanus fought a battle probably against these two peoples somewhere in the west.

430
Some Frisians settle in Dumfries, which means stronghold of the Frisians.

432
A possible Saxon raid against King Leogaire of Ireland, perhaps initiated by Vortigern as a warning to the Irish to stop raiding and plundering western Britain. St.Ninian, a Briton, who spread Christianity to the Picts, died. He had built a church at Whithorn (Whitehouse) in Galloway.

437
Ambrosius Aurelanius fought Vitalinus at Guolopp (Wallop, Hampshire). Vitalinus defeated? Civil war. Many men on the council choose to expel the Saxons. The Saxons told Vortigern that if they could bring over more of their people, they could fight for Vortigern against his British enemies.

441
First Saxon Revolt. Anglo-Saxons saw the weakness of the British authorities. Saxons now larger in number.

442
Revolt continues. A peace conference may have been organized.

442-443
Revolt continues. Eastern Britain comes under the control of the Saxons. This is from a contemporary Gallish chronicler, though archaeologically only certain areas of Eastern Britain feel Saxon rule. Many Britons of lowland Britain perhaps begin to reject the authority of Vortigern due to recent Saxon uprising.

444
The revolt continues.

445
Some British resistance organized, perhaps led by Ambrosius Aurelanius. Several British victories. Battle at Aylesord, Horsa killed. A plague epidemic weakens Vortigern’s rule.

446
St.Germanus revisits Britain, finds the towns much destroyed and in ruin.

447
Vortigern possibly dies now.

449
Battle of Crayford, Saxon victory. British forsook Kent and fled to London.

450
Letter written by a “British faction” to the Roman ruler in Gaul – Aetius, asking for help regarding the serious Saxon raids of the 440’s.

452
British victory at Richborough. More British victories. At this point the Saxons may have been temporarily contained. Vortimer dies.

c.454
A northern ruler, Coroticus, raided nearby Ireland. St.Patrick wrote a letter of complaint about this.

458
Drust the Pict’s reign ends.

459
Britu loses power due to Saxon revolt in c.455. Migration of Britons to Amorica (future Brittany). Aelle lands at Sussex which was ceded by Vortigern. The River Arun the western limit/boundary of the early Sussex settlement.

460
Maybe now Ambrosius Aurelanius comes to power. British try to work together to fight the Saxons. Saxons, though raiding inland, still mostly confined to old areas of settlement, because of new British resistance.

461
British combat units on horses go out to fight the Saxons who marched on foot with spears. This type of warfare continues for many years.

464
During the 460’s Ambrosius leads the British to many victories over the Saxons.

470
About twelve thousand Britons under Riothamus arrive in Amorica to fight the Visigoths.

471
Second Saxon raid on Ireland.

472
Pevensey falls to the Sussex Saxons.

475
Ambrosius Aurelanius dies?

476
Saxons begin to get the upper hand again. More landings in the 470’s.

477
Saxon landing at Cymenesora (Selsey peninsular – East of Portsmouth).

478
Around this time and continuing for quite a while, huge numbers of migrants arrive from northern Germany. These people came more as settlers rather than as warriors.

480
Saxons arrive in Hampshire, possibly Portchester.

483
Before, during and after this time – a stalemate. Saxons could/would not expand. British knew they could not expel the Saxons, though raids and fighting did occur.

485
Aelle defeats Britons at River Arun.

488
Heavy fighting in the north. Hengist dies, succeeded by Octha.

495
Battle of Mt.Badon (Mons Badonicus). Saxons hugely defeated by the British. Battle probably somewhere near Bath. Oesc of Kent (a Jute) fell at Badon. Cerdic arrives at Selsey? Not the last battle fought, but one of the last and almost certainly the most decisive. Some Saxons even return to the continent.

496
From 496 to roughly 516 were good years for the British. Gildas remembered these times with nostalgia.

500
Dal Riada Scots arrive in northern Britain. Catwallaun Longhand expelled the Irish from Anglesey.

508
Cerdic’s victory over the British King Natanleod?

c.515
British leader Riwalus from the West Country leads a contingent of Britons to Amorica.

520
Viroconium in Shropshire abandoned.

530
Conquest of the Isle of Wight by Cerdic and Cynric?

531
Things start to go bad for the British government. Internal fighting, power plays, corruption. The Frankish King Theuderich receives a party of Angles who left Britain and went to Cuxhaven. He settled them in newly conquered lands between Unstrut and Saale. A district in that area is still called Engilin.

540
Some kind of climactic change in Europe, colder weather in the north, the sun shone less brightly.

541
Gildas wrote his account – De Excidio Britanniae, his complaining book. A plague sweeps the Roman world including Britain, however the Saxons are mostly unaffected by it.

547
Ida founds the Northumbrian kingdom.

550
Another plague.

552
Saxon victory at Old Sarum, the first major Saxon advance since Badon.

c.554
Picts bring in Bridei who was probably Maelgwn of Gwynedd as their king. Pictish influence eventually spreads to Orkney and the Western Isles.

556
Saxon battle at Barbury Castle. Cynric the Saxon leader, though no victory reported.

560
Ceawlin succeeds Cynric?

562
Avebury falls to Ceawlin.

563
St.Columba sails from Ireland to found Iona.

567
Aethelberht of Kent ‘put to flight’ by early Wessex Saxons.

571
Buckinghamshire to upper Thames overrun by Wessex Saxons. Cuthwulf captures ‘royal’ towns of Aylesbury, Benson, Limbury. Cuthwulf defeats the British at Bedford. He came from Haslingfield, south-west of Cambridge and his army moved down along the Icknield Way. This is the Second Saxon Revolt. Theodric begins ruling the Angles in early Northumbria until about 578.

577
Battle of Dryham. Fall of Gloucester, Cirencester, Bath to the Saxons. Ceawlin fought there. Tennyson called this the “last dim, weird battle in the west”.

580
Beginning of Saxon revolt in the north.

581
Saxons advance reaches as far as the Wye.

584
Possible Saxon defeat in western areas followed by a withdrawal, maybe somewhere near the Wye. Mercian monarchy founded.

585
Ceawlin fought Britons at Battle of Fethanleag, maybe near Stoke Lyme in north-east Oxfordshire.

592
Great slaughter at Woden’s Barrow in north Wiltshire. Ceawlin was driven out. Barrow is a mile south of the Wansdyke.

597
St.Augustine arrives in Kent to begin preaching. Ceolwulf begins his reign over Wessex.

598
Two northern Anglian kingdoms join together to defeat the British at the Battle of Catraeth – Catterick in Yorkshire.

599
Redwald begins ruling East Anglia.

603
Aedan mac Gabran, king of Dalriadic Scots, leads an army against Northumbrian King Athelfrith but is defeated. Battle fought at Degsastan.
614
Cynegils and Cwichelm defeat Britons at Beandun – modern Bindon. Saxons battle against the Dumnonians near Axminster.

616
Battle of Chester.

625
Radwald’s reign of East Anglia ends.

626
Penda begins his rule of Mercia.

627
Edinburgh overrun by Angles.

645
Second Battle of Badon (according to Welsh annals).


Overview

367 to 410 – End of Empire

Instability on the continent causes troops to be gradually withdrawn from Britain, a place which is increasingly seen as to remote to warrant the upkeep of large numbers of soldiers.
Irish, Pictish and Saxon raids bight at the edges of Roman Britain. Life continues pretty much as it had done since the Romans first arrived in 43AD.

411 to 442 – Independent

Now responsible for their own actions, the British government chooses to hire Anglo-Saxon mercenaries to protect lowland Britain from devastating Pictish raids from the north. At first the plan is successful, though the Saxons quickly grow in number and power. Life in the towns continues, though now with fewer luxuries. Christianity has spread considerably, though the Celtic religions are still practiced all across the island. Vortigern was simply following Roman practice of hiring Saxons to defend Britain. It had worked during Empire. Roman officials had hired Saxon ‘federates’ during the mid to late fourth century to defend Britain.

441 to 494 – Destruction

The Saxons rise up and spread out from their original locations. Many towns are either badly damaged or destroyed. The Roman way of life is largely swept away. Some of the Britons find refuge in the old Celtic hillforts. Anglo-Saxon numbers increase as boatloads of their people migrate to Britain. The British begin to organize effective counterattacks.

495 to 530 – Peace

The Saxon onslaught is haltered with the Battle of Badon. The invaders return to their villages in eastern Britain, some even return to the continent. Roman Britain is gone, however the Saxons have been contained - the British now must pick up the pieces and try to rebuild their land.

531 to 570 – Tension Builds

The British government suffers disunity and civil strife. Saxons make small advances. The politicians and churchmen seem unable to bring the people together. Several Anglo-Saxon kingdoms have their beginnings.


571 onwards – Floodgates Open

A cluster of Saxon villages in the Upper Thames area break out causing the Second Saxon Revolt. The Saxons are so numerous, and the British so disunited, that the Saxons quickly score one victory after another. Early English kingdoms take shape, and St. Augustine arrives in Kent to preach Christianity to the Saxons.




Bibliography

Alcock, L “Arthur’s Britain”, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1983

Ashe, G “King Arthur’s Avalon – The Story of Glastonbury”, Collins Fontana Books, London, 1973

Ashe, G “Kings & Queens of Early Britain”, Methuen, London, 1982

Morris, J “The Age of Arthur”, Phoenix, London 1995

Phillips, G, Keatman, M “King Arthur – The True Story”, Arrow, London, 1993

Wood, M “In Search of the Dark Ages”, Penguin/BBC Books, London, 1994

410 Romans leave
411-412 British victories against Pictish threat
425 Vortigern to power
428 First English arrive
442 English revolt
442-460 Many English victories
460-495 Organised British resistance
495 Battle of Badon
496-516 Gildas remembers these years as good years
541 Gildas writes his book
570’s Renewed and successful English campaigns

Introduction

Welcome to my blog about Anglo Saxon history and culture. I suppose my main reason for creating this blog was because, while looking on the net one day for web sites about the Anglo Saxon migration to Britain, all I seemed to find were links to sites about the Anglo Saxons supposedly being one of the Lost Tribes of Israel, or some such nonsense. These 'fringe' sites seemed to dominate discussion about Anglo Saxon migrations which, I felt, was rather dissappointing. (I definately do not subscribe to any of those 'Saxon-Lost Tribes-Secret history-conspiracy theory' ideas).

I thought it would be very useful to create a place where people could go to get some detailed, archaeologically based information about Anglo Saxon migrations and, by extension, Anglo Saxon culture, language, art etc etc.

Yes, I myself am of Anglo Saxon descent, with a fair bit of Celtic thrown in as well. I am interested in my heritage because for a long time it seemed so distant and almost foreign to me. I really wanted to know something about my ancestors, and of course try to understand more about myself in the process.

I have no grand-plan for this blog at all, it will just develop and evolve as it will. Hope it will be of interest to you.