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An Island People
The Celtic Invaders. The last of the early invaders were the Celts, the
first of the conquerors about whom the Romans wrote. With the Celts
came the higher civilization of the Iron Age.
Celtic Origins. The word “Celt”, in terms of British identity, is more a
matter of civilization and language than of race. Threatened by rival
groups, the Celtic-speaking tribes of France and western Germany
migrated to the British Isles to obtain relief from continental conflicts.
During the last century before Christ, bands of Celtic invaders, armed
with battle-axes and double-edged swords, landed on the south and
east coasts and moved inland.
Celtic Society. The invaders wove cloth, shaved their bodies, and made
agriculture and grazing important industries for the first time.
Communities of farmers lived in either hut villages or protected
homesteads, and the clan became the center of their social
organization. Over the years Celtic culture advanced as the tribes
became expert in working tin, bronze, and iron; the pottery and their
metal helmets indicate a growing interest and ability in the decorative
arts and in ornamentation. The south Britons had a gold coinage similar
to that of Macedon, and their tribal leaders led a revelrous life, enriched
with imported wines and luxury goods. At least the Celts were not just
primitive savages, painted with blue dye, and beyond the pale of
civilization as was once thought.
Celtic Religion. Druidism originated in England and spread to Gaul and
Ireland. The druids were an organized caste of priests who exercised
great power. They preached a religion of fear and immorality,
worshipped various nature gods in sacred groves, and offered human
sacrifices. Druid priests commanded prestige and served as judges and
leaders of tribal opinion.
Celtic Britain and Gaul. Druidims, trade, and racial affinity were three of
the ties between Britain and Gaul. The link became even more direct in
75 BC when the Belgic tribes of Gaul claimed southeast Britain (modern-
day Kent, Middlesex, and Hertforshire) as their kingdoms. These Gallic
Celts dispersed the native Celts from the best lands of the southeast
and were the first tribe to face the next invader, Caesar.
In contrast to the earlier Celt or later Saxon invaders, the Romans came
to Britain to rule and exploit the island as part of a world empire, not to
disperse the inhabitants and settle in their place. The Roman objectives
in this new method of conquest produced quite different results. Roman
rule became urban and efficient, but remained alien, and therefore only
temporary in its effects.
The Roman Conquests. The annexation of Britain was scarcely a primary
objective of Roman expansion, for the British Isles marked the fringe of
civilization to those who ruled in imperial Rome. However, when the
Romans decided to conquer and colonize Britain, their superior military
and political organization was decisive.
The Invasions of Julius Caesar, 55-54 BC. Two attacks on Britain were
made by Julius Caesar during his conquest of Gaul. Certainly one of his
reasons was to punish the South Britons who were providing aid to their
kinsmen in North Gaul. No doubt, too, Caesar’s popularity and position
would be enhanced by another victory that would provide tribute and
slaves for his supporters in Roman and booty for his soldiers. His first
expedition (55 BC) was a military failure. After a skirmish with Kentish
tribesmen near Dover he withdrew, but returned the next year with five
legions. This time Caesar won several battles against Cassivelaunus
(king of the Belgic tribe of the Catuvellauni), forded the Thames, and
penetrated inland approximately to where London now stands. The
Britons sued for peace, and Caesar granted a treaty on easy terms
because, with renewed disturbances in Gaul, he was content with
hostages and a promise of yearly tribute. The Romans then departed
from Britain without making a permanent occupation. Caesar, lured on
by larger stakes in Rome, crossed the Rubicon to his final triumph and
tragedy.
Results of Caesar’s Invasion. Caesar described his conquest graphically
in his commentaries On the Gallic Wars, but his sortie into Britain had
few permanent results except to increase trade between Britain and the
Latinized province of Gaul. Roman traders and settlers now entered
Britain peacefully and spread Roman culture and influence. Caesar’s
invasion also proved that the Romans could conquer Britain at their
convenience if they were ready to devote time and men to that
purpose. Almost a hundred years passed before it was convenient to do
so.
The Coming of Claudius. While Rome was preoccupied with more
immediate matters, Britain remained unmolested until 43 AD, when
emperor Claudius ordered Aulus Plautius to invade the island. The
decision was made because the emperor was anxious for glory and
irritated by a revolt in Gaul instigated by the druids; and also because
his Gallic origins increased his interest in conquering Brtain. The British
defenders, who were led by Caractacus, a son of Cunobelinus
(Shakepeare’s “Cymbeline”), displayed a vigorous but disunited
resistance. Tacitus later commented upon this fact: “Our greatest
advantage in coping with tribes so powerful is that they do not act in
concert. Seldom is it that two or three states meet together to ward off
a common danger. Thus, while they fight singly, they all are
conquered.” (The Complete Works of Tacitus. Translated by Alfred
Church and William Brodribb; New York: Random House, 1942, p. 684).
Claudius himself came for a brief period to command the legions. Within
three years Plautius reduced the divided Britons to guerrilla reprisals
and brought southeast Britain under Roman rule. But when the legions
reached the Welsh mountains and the northern moors they, like every
other successful invader, encountered stubborn opposition.
Later Roman Conquests. During the governorships of Scapula (47-54
AD) and Suetonius (59-61 AD) the Roman occupation was extended
northward and westward. While Suetonius was suppressing the druids at
their sacred center of worship in Anglesey, the Iceni under Queen
Boudicca revolted (81 AJX). The Iceni and their neighboring tribes
attacked the Romans and the Britons who fraternized with them In the
towns of Colchester, London, and Veralasmum, in retaliation for the
Roman confiscation of their property and the public outrages committed
against their queen and her daughters. Tens of thousands were
massacred in the uprising. Governor Suetonius returned with his
legionnaires and crushed the revolt in a crucial battle; Boudicca took
poison, and Roman vengeance was inflicted upon the rebellious Britons.
In 78 AD Agricola became the new governor, completed the conquest of
Wales, and extended Roman rule into Scotland after his victory at Mons
Graupius. More is known of Agricola’s able leadership and
administration than of any other governor because Tacitus, his son-
inlaw, was Rome’s most famous historian. Before Agricola was called
bark to Rome he was able to pacify the south of England by his
conciliatory statesmanship: elsewhere in Britain military expansion
almost ceased. The Roman garrison was reduced to three legions
located at strategic centers near the frontiers
-Caerleon and Chester on the border of Wales and at York in the north.
Military Consolidation. A rebellion in Scotland quickly swept away
Agricola’s gains and prevented Roman rule from triumphing in Scotland.
In 122 A.D., to protect northern England from barbarian raids. Emperor
Hadrian ordered a wall built from the Tyne river to Solway Firth. This
famous wall roughly divided England from Scotland (see map. p, 7) A
later emperor, Antonius Pins’, extended Roman control northward and
constructed a second fortification, tho Antonine Wall, in 143 A.D.
However, the Romans overextended their resources and the northern
tribes overran both walls. Not until Emperor Severus strengthened the
fortresses- and frontiers (208-211 A.D.) did a semblance of peace
prevail in the north. These northern wars were the price Rome paid
during these two centuries for the protection and peace of southern
England.
Pax Romana
Under Roman rule the Britons began to live in towns and traveled from
town to town on stone highways, Romanization also introduced to the
British Isles the atmosphere of the Mediterranean world with its Latin
tongue, its country villas, and its new faith, Christianity. But Roman rule
did not teach the Britons how to govern or how to defend themselves;
thus, when the legions withdrew from the island, the Britons were once
again easy for the next invaders.
Roman institutions. The Roman conquerors imposed on the Britons their
imperial administrative structure which included racial and religious
toleration and respect for local chiefs and customs as long as no
political opposition was involved. Since Romans were convinced that
civilization was based on urban life, the first thing they did was to build
cities. But outside these city walls Roman civilization remained alien to
the rural tribesmen.
Roman administration. Between the reigns of Claudius (43 AD) and
Severus (211 AD) the province of Britain was administered by Roman
governors whose duties included maintaining peace, collecting taxes,
and providing justice. For local government the Romans, like the British
later in India and Africa, employed “Indirect rule” by permitting loyal
Celtic chiefs to continued to exercise authority over their tribesmen. On
the frontiers the army administered the area, but in the Romano-British
south, several privileged cities enjoyed self-government. In the cantons
(tribal areas) the magistrates in Roman togas were ususally loval chiefs.
This policy served both to Romanized the Celt and to minimize friction
between ruler and ruled. In later years, after several ambitious generals
had used their position and legions in Britain to defy the emperor, and
after increasing raids from the Scots and the Picts had jeopardized
Roman defenses, Britain was divided into two, and then four, provinces.
Roman achievements. Roman contributions to Britain were largely
material. They built towns and established such features of urban life as
forums, public baths, indoor plumbing, and amphitheaters. Towns were
originally constructed for military or commercial purposes, but served
equally as the centers for the diffusion of Latin civilization. Joining these
towns was a network of splendid stone highways that permitted the
rapid movement of troops and commerce. Many modern British roads
still follow these Roman routes. The new city of London at the hub of
this road system became the chief port of entry for commerce with the
rest of the empire. The tradition of town houses and country estates (or
villas) was another innovation. Probably the urbanized Britons lived
more comfortable under the Romans than at any other time until the
nineteenth century. The Romans were indifferent to local religions
unless these challenged the omnipotence of the emperor (as did
druidsm and Christianity). When Christianity was finally granted
toleration by Constantine in 313 AD, Roman rule was already
weakening, and Romanized Britain remained essentially paga.
Christianity did gain strength in Wales, however, and was the only
institution to survive the departure of the Romans.
Roman Withdrawal. By the fourth century, the declining power of the
Roman Empire encouraged the Picts, the Scots, and raiders from
northern Europe to harass Roman outposts in Britain and to force teh
Romans to draw in their defensive borders. As the empire became
paralysed by political factionalism and weakened by barbarian attacks
from the East, Roman legions evacuated Britain to fight elsewhere and
never returned. The last Roman soldier left the island in 407 AD, and
Britain, which had been defended by Rome for nearly four hundred
years, had to fend helplessly for itself. Invaders now entered England
with ease and killed or displaced the Romanized Britons of the south
and east. The conquest was made easier by the revival of intertribal
warfare among the Celts. Celtic culture remained in Wales and Cornwall
for the same reason that it survived the Roman invasion –by existing in
such an inhospitable area that any invader was deterred. In England,
only the roads continued in use to remind the invading Saxons of Rome;
in Wales, a Celtic version of Christianity prospered; every other memory
of Rome vanished. Perhaps, therefore, the greates fact in the Roman
occupation is “a negative fact –that the Romans did not succeed in
permanently Latinizing Britain as they Latinized France.” (Trevelyan,
History of England, I, p.30.)
The British Isles are so situated that they are equally accessible to the
civilizations of north and south Europe. Taking advantage of the Roman
retreat from the island, the barbarian tribes of northwestern Germany
initially terrorized and eventually settled in Britain. These Nordic
invaders came in small bands under several chieftains and lacked any
kind of untiled command; but the cumulative effect was to erase a
superior Roman civilisation and replace it with a barbaric settlement.
The Northern Invaders. The Anglo-Saxons conquered the Britons in a
fashion quite different from that of the Roman legionnaires. Instead of a
disciplined army of occupation the Nordic warriors crossed the Channel
in shallow boats on sporadic forays and were followed years later by
migrant clans of settlers. The conquest was never carried out
systematically, and the invaders found it much easier to fight the
Britons than to live peacefully together.
Anglo-Saxon Origins. The three dominant Nordic tribes that made these
successful sorties into Britain were the Angles, the Saxons, and the
Jutes. Hailing from the Jutland peninsula and northern Germany, they
shared a common love of the sea and traced the descent of their kings
from the god Woden. Unlike their neighboring Germanic tribes they had
not traded or fought with the Romans nor had they come under the
influence of Roman civilisation or Christianity, They had kept intact their
Germanic culture with its rugged code of justice and loyalty to a chief or
military leader. Although the tribesmen were usually fanners, they were
more widely known as sailors of great skill whose zest for piracy and
warfare made them the terror of more civilized neighbors. When the
southward invasion of the Roman Empire was preempted by other
Germanic groups, these tribes took to the sea in their longboats and
made Britain their prize.
The Nature of the Invasion. The Anglo-Saxon conquest continued
intermittently for two- centuries; however, literary records of the
invasions are fragmentary at best. The Venerable Bede supports the
traditional claim that the invasions began in the middle of the fifth
century when two Jutish leaders, Hengtet and Horsa. were invited to
help the Britons defend themselves against repeated attacks by the
Picts and the Scots from the north. Other details are provided by the
Welsh monk Gildas in a tract, written in the first part of the sixth
century, in which he bemoans the suffering and massacre of his
countrymen at the hands of the Saxon invaders. However, we do know
that the invaders first came for plunder; later, they moved inland and
decided to settle. About 500 A.D. the Britons temporarily halted the
invasion with a victory at Mons Badonicus-probably under the Romano-
Briton general. Arthur (the legendary King Arthur of the Round Table).
For the most part, the gradual Saxon infiltration of the civilized
southeast encountered no great resistance. The disunited Britons lacked
spirit and strategy in facing the invaders from the south and the Scots
and Picts from the north. The outcome was the replacement of the
Roman-Celtic culture of central England with the rough barbarism of the
Anglo-Saxon; the Britons were either killed or enslaved, or fled
overseas. However, the new invaders, like their Roman predecessors,
did not triumph in the Celtic fringe. Particularly in central England were
Roman cities reduced to ruins since the AngloSaxons continued their
open countryside style of living. Once settled, the Anglo-Saxons broke
yet another Roman pattern
-involvement with continental affairs.
The Heptarchy. Lacking a tradition of national unity or a single leader to
unify their conquests, the marauding tribes carved out separate
kingdoms in England. Gradually seven kingdoms (the heptarchy)
emerged from the welter of rival claimants. Kent was occupied by the
Jutes, the three kingdoms of Essex, Sussex, and Wessex were settled by
the Saxons, and the Angles claimed East Anglia, Mercia, and
Northumbria.
Political Unification. At times a common overlord known as a Bretwalda
(Britain-ruler) imposed temporary unity over these kingdoms, Kent was
the first dominant kingdom, especially during , the reign of King
Ethelbert (552?-616). Northumbria succeeded Kent as the leading state
in the early seventh centtiry and was superseded by Mercia and Wales
in 632. Offa II, the last of the Mercian overlords, ruled from 757 to 796
during which time he extended his kingdom north and west, codified
laws, and won recognition from the pope and Charlemagne. Since Offa
conquered Wessex and established supremacy over all England south of
the Humber, he is often considered the first overlord to be recognized
as ”king of the whole of the land of the English” With his death the
Mercian supremacy of two hundred years passed in 802 to Wessex
under King Egbert (775?-839). Egbert defeated the Mercians, and his
son Ethelwulf continued the consolidation of Wessex; but even before
Egbert’s death the Banes were making their first raids along the English
coast.
Christianity did not desert the British Isles with the Roman legions. The
Celtic Christian faith, although detached from Rome, remained vital in
Wales through the years of Saxon encroachments. In 597 Latinised
Christianity returned to England and eventually triumphed over both the
Celtic church and the pagan religion of the Saxons. With the Roman
church reestablished, England once again made contact with the
language, law, and administrative organization of Mediterranean
civilization.
The Christian Faith. The new message from the Mediterranean world
and from the Celtic island of lona was undoubtedly foreign to the Nordic
tradition. Instead of a warrior’s religion that reflected such traits of their
culture as physical valor and feasts for fearless heroes, Christianity
spoke of love, repentance, and redemption; it suggested great hope,
yet, at the same time, great fear of the afterlife; it also made man
contemplate the meaning and purpose of life The ascendancy of the
Christian Faith was more complete than the Saxon religion, because the
latter had remained largely an expression of ethnic traditions.
Celtic Christianity. For two hundred years Chistianity in Britian was
almost severed from Roman influence. During this time the Celtic
(Welsh and Irish) church prospered in adversity; Christianity frequently
was the badge of distinction separating the Celts from their pagan
attackers. The new faith with its ascetic idealism and consummate
dedication grew rapidly in the fifth and sixth centuries. From 432 to 461
Saint Patrick of Britain converted Ireland and founded a church more
famous for the high degree of learning of its monasteries than for its
episcopal organization. An Irish monk, Saint Columba, brought the faith
to western Scotland in the next century. Missionaries set out from his
monastery on the island of lona in the Irish Sea to convert the Picts in
Scotland and later won convert, in England and on the Continent In 617
Oswald of Northumbrian became a Christian during his exile in Iona and
after becoming king in 634, assisted Celtic missionaries to introduce the
Christian Faith to all Northumbria.
Roman Christianity. In 597 Pope Gregory I, as part of his plan to convert
the conquerors of the Roman Empire, sent the Benedictine monk,
Augustine, to Britain with forty missionaries. King Ethelbert of Kent
cordially received the missionary party, since his Frankish wife was
already a Christian, within a year the monks converted Ethelbert and
made his capital Canterbury the seat of the archbishopric -a position it
still holds today. In.the seventh century Christianity, assisted on several
occasions by Christian princesses who won their husbands to the faith,
gradually enlarged its influence in the heptarchy. When a king became a
Christian, he would usually decree that Christianity was the official
religion of his kingdom. Thus by the middle of the seventh century most
of England had been converted to either Celtic or Roman Christianity,
and the conflict between paganism and Christianity was replaced by a
rivalry between two types of Christianity.
Synod of Whitby, 664. Although the Celtic church survived and
prospered outside the pale of Roman Catholicism, it differed with the
Roman church on several matters of polity and theology. It preferred, for
example, a decentralized or autonomous church organization, a simpler
liturgy, and a different date for Easter; the Celtic clergy even shaved
their heads in a contrary maner. When the rivalry could not be
reconciled and the conflict left King Oswy of Northumbria with a divided
church (and citizenry) in his kingdom, an ecclesiastical conference was
summoned to settle the matter. Impressed by the political and cultural
advantages of identifying his faith with the Latin world, Oswy decided in
favor of the Roman Communion. The Celtic churchmen gradually
withdrew to Iona leaving the Roman church to organize England.
The Roman Church in England. Five years after the Synod of Whitby,
Theodore of Tarsus became the new Archbishop. His organizing and
administrative abilities were manifested in the precedents and reforms
that shaped the organization of the English church. He doubled the
number of bishoprics, set up regular councils, and laid the groundwork
for the modern parish system. By providing counsel to reluers and
offering the one basis for unity among feuding kingdoms, the power of
the clergy increased. Under Theodore’s successors the church flourished
both in missionary exterprise and in the dissemination of culture. It sent
missionaries to the Continent and established schools in England whose
graduates provided moral leadership and scholarly achievement. The
caliber of scholarship is exemplified by the “father of English history,”
the Venerable Bede (673-735), whose writings caught the unity of the
English as a people and, also, as part of a greater unity –the Church
Universal. By the eigth century English scholarship was at least the
equivalent of that in western Europe, and Christianity had again brought
Britain back into the mainstream of western civilization.