Rome's departure from Britain

I have done enough about the Roman history of the area of which I live and think it is now time to move on a little to the so called "Dark Ages". First we have to give a little background into how the North East became subject to the Anglo-Saxons.

 For three and a half centuries Britain was under Roman rule. The Romans built roads, towns, forts and temples, bringing with them soldiers and cultures from across Europe. They had conquered the native 'Celtic' tribes of Britain and established military control in the North with the construction of Hadrian's Wall and the huge legionary fortress at York. In the reign of Constantine the Great, they also brought Christianity. Constantine, who was proclaimed Emperor at no less a place than York, would himself become the first Emperor to convert to Christianity.


By 314 York was one of a number of important places in the Roman empire with a Christian bishop. Christianity however 
was , only one of a number of religions accepted within the Roman empire and it is not known how many Britons were actually Christians. The native people of Britain were ancient Britons, speaking a Celtic language resembling Welsh, but of course many would also learn to speak the Latin of the Romans. Many of these people continued to practice their native Celtic 'pagan' religions, while others may have adopted more exotic religions introduced from other parts of the Roman empire. One thing is certain however, in 300 years of occupation the Britons had intermixed with the multicultural Romans to form a 'Romano-British' society, quite different from the Celtic culture of pre-Roman times.


In the areas around the  Roman forts, native Britons intermarried with Roman soldiers enlisted from far flung corners of the Roman empire like Iraq or North Africa. At Housesteads on the Roman Wall, they may even have intermarried with members of the Roman garrison of Anglo-Saxon soldiers stationed at that  fort. But we should remember that these Anglo-Saxons were not yet native to Britain and came from the Germanic lands of the continent.

By 399 AD, three and half centuries of Roman rule in Britain were drawing to an end as the Romans commenced the removal of their troops from Britain. Attacks on Rome by the Visigoths from eastern Europe meant that reinforcements were desperately needed elsewhere and the Romans could no longer hold on to Britain as a military province. In the North of Britain, the depletion of the Roman army left the northern frontier of Hadrian's Wall severely exposed and revolts against the small scattering of Romans who remained soon gained momentum.

The Romans left a vacuum when they left Britain. The North East of England was ravaged by raids from Scandinavia  and Germany. The people did try to hold on to the ideas and the culture that Rome had bequeathed. The attacks from over the North Sea and from North of Hadrian's Wall became stronger and with greater numbers, and as the attackers began to stay, the legacy of Rome began to fade.  A new culture was taking strength, it was the culture of the "Norse" people. The invaders did not totally disregard what had gone before, instead they assimilated themselves into the area and the people. The Anglo-Saxon period  covers roughly from 450AD to 866AD


By 410AD the Roman troops had virtually left Britain, leaving her borders and shores defenceless. The North East was particularly vulnerable to attack from over the North Sea by raids from th Anglo -Saxons and from north of Hadrian's Wall by the Picts and Scots. The Angles, who were also known as Anglians , came from the border area between  Denmark and Germany, while the Saxons came from Northern Germany.


During the later years Rome's occupation, they  built several defensive watch towers along the coast to defend against the Anglo-Saxon raiders. In the North East, examples could be found at Scarborough, Goldsborough, Filey and Saltburn, but there were almost certainly others. When Roman rule came to an end the Anglo-Saxons continued to raid the coast but some however, were employed by the native Britions as mercenaries to defend Britain against attacks from the northern side of Hadrian's Wall  by the Scots and Picts. In return for their protection the Anglo-Saxons were given land in Britain , but it became increasingly obvious to the new settlers, that Britain was now a vulnerable province that was like a ripe apple, waiting to be plucked, and pluck it they did.

The Angles began to invade and settle in all parts of the eastern shores of England, seizing the area they called East Anglia by 440, along with Lincolnshire and other areas further inland. It is likely that the North East was already under attack or at least bracing itself for invasion, but some aspects of the Roman way of life still persisted. It is known, for example, that in 445 AD, Newcastle upon Tyne was still known by its Roman name of Pons Aelius - the site of a fort adjoining a bridge over the Tyne.

By 450 AD, the Angles had begun their invasion of the north, colonising land in the Yorkshire Wolds, just to the north of the Humber in a land they called Deira. This name was probably an adapatation of an exisiting Celtic tribal region or kingdom. Gradually the Angles would invade territory further north and began settling the lowland river valleys of the east coast including possibly the Tyne, Wear and Tees. Excavations at Norton on Teesside, have revealed evidence of Anglo-Saxon settlement in this early period. It is also possible that one group of Angles from Lincolnshire - a region then known as Lindis feorna (later Lindsey) colonised and named the island we know today as Lindisfarne. Lindisfarne was certainly known in early times as Lindis feorna.

The early Anglo-Saxon period was probably n an age of war and upheaval and our knowledge of this period is scanty. It is this early age of Anglo-Saxon invasion that is often associated with King Arthur, a Briton who is said to have fought against the Anglo-Saxons. He is reputed to have died in 537, perhaps on the Roman Wall, but little can be said of Arthur, since so little is known. He may not have existed at all. To give too much attention to a shadowy figure like Arthur, himself largely a creation of later Medieval writers would give a distorted and unreliable view of Anglo-Saxon history

Our limited knowledge of this early period has led to the term 'Dark Ages' but it would be  wrong to apply this term to the whole Anglo-Saxon age, as the Anglo-Saxon period is in fact a time about which we know a great deal. However, in the earliest period of Anglo-Saxon history it is very much a case for the gradual emergence of history from darkness.

One important clue to the early settlement of Anglo-Saxons is in place names, as most of the place names of our region and indeed of England as a whole, are of Anglo-Saxon origin and often tell us the names and activities of the first Anglo-Saxon settlers. Significantly, almost all places ending in 'ton' or 'ham' are of Anglo-Saxon origin, Washington is an example of that , The name comes from the local Anglo Saxon chief 'Hwaes', whose family 'Inga' had an estate 'Tun' there — 'Hwaesingatun'.

but there are many other types of Anglo-Saxon place names. Suprisingly the original Celtic and Romano-Celtic places names are very rare in England.