'Sub-Roman Britain' is a term derived from an archaeologists' label for the material culture of
Britain in
Late Antiquity. "Sub-Roman" was invented to describe the pottery in sites of the
5th century and the
6th century, initially with an inference of decay to locally-made wares from a higher standard under the
Roman Empire. It is now used to denote a period of history.
The period of Sub-Roman Britain traditionally covers the history of Britain from the end of Roman imperial rule, in the very early fifth century, to the arrival of
Saint Augustine in AD 597. This period has attracted a great deal of academic and popular debate, in part due to the scarcity of the source material, and in part due to this period being the time in which later national identities have found their origins.
The term
Late Antiquity, implying wider horizons, is finding more use in the academic community, especially when features common throughout the post-Roman West are examined, while a range of more dramatic names are given to the period in popular (and some academic) works: the Dark Ages, the Brythonic Age, the Age of Tyrants or the Age of Arthur.
Written accounts
There is very little written material available for this period. Only two contemporary British sources exist: the ''Confessio'' of
Saint Patrick and
Gildas' ''De Excidio Britanniae'' ("On The Ruin Of Britain").
[1] Patrick's ''Confessio'' reveals aspects of life in Britain, from where he was kidnapped. It is particularly useful in highlighting the state of
Christianity at the time. Gildas' ''De Excidio Britanniae'' is a
jeremiad; it is written as a polemic to warn contemporary rulers against sin, demonstrating through historical and biblical examples that bad rulers are always punished by God - in the case of Britain, through the destructive wrath of the
Saxon invaders. The historical section of ''De Excidio'' is short, and the material in it is clearly selected with Gildas' purpose in mind. There are no absolute dates given, and some of the details, such as those regarding the
Hadrian and
Antonine Walls are clearly wrong. Nevertheless, Gildas does provide us with an insight into some of the kingdoms that existed when he was writing, and to how an educated monk perceived the situation that had developed between the Anglo-Saxons and the British.
There are more continental sources, though these are highly problematic. The most famous is the so-called ''Rescript of
Honorius'', in which the Western Emperor Honorius tells the British ''civitates'' to look to their own defence. The first reference to this rescript is written by the sixth-century Byzantine scholar
Zosimus and is located randomly in the middle of a discussion of southern
Italy; no further mention of Britain is made, which has led some, though not all, modern academics to suggest that the rescript does not apply to Britain at all, but to
Bruttium in Italy.
[2] The
Gallic Chronicle provides us with information about St
Germanus and his visit(s) to Britain, though again this text has received considerable academic deconstruction.
[3] The work of
Procopius, another sixth-century Byzantine writer, makes some references to Britain though the accuracy of these is uncertain.
There are numerous later written sources that claim to provide accurate accounts of the period. The first to attempt this was the monk
Bede, writing in the early eighth century. He based his account of the Sub-Roman period in his ''
Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum'' heavily on Gildas, though he tried to provide dates for the events Gildas describes. Later sources, such as the ''
Historia Brittonum'' attributed to
Nennius, the ''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' and the ''
Annales Cambriae'' are all heavily shrouded in myth, and can only be used as evidence for this period with the greatest caution.
[4]
Archaeological evidence
Archaeology provides further, though still sadly limited, evidence for this period. The study of
burials and
cremations, and the
grave goods associated with these, has done much to expand our understanding of cultural identities in the period.
[5] Excavations of settlements have revealed how social structures might have been changing, and the extent to which life in Britain continued unaltered in certain aspects into the early medieval period. Work on
towns has been particularly important in this respect. Work on
field systems and
environmental archaeology has also highlighted the extent to which
agricultural practice continued and changed over the period.
[6] Archaeology, however, has its limits, especially in dating. Although
radio-carbon dating can provide a rough estimate, this is not accurate enough to associate archaeological finds with historical events.
Dendrochronology is accurate enough to do this, though few suitable pieces of wood have been uncovered.
Coins would normally prove the most useful tool for dating, though this is not the case for sub-Roman Britain as no newly-minted coins are believed to have entered circulation after the very early fifth century.
[7]
There is some archaeological evidence for Anglo-Saxons and Britons living on the same site. For example, in the cemetery at Wasperton,
Warwickshire, it is possible to see one family adopting Anglo-Saxon culture over a long period.
[8]
The Anglo-Saxon migration
Linguistic evidence
Linguistics is a useful way of analysing the culture of a people, and to an extent political associations, in a period.
[9] Studies into
Old English,
P- and
Q-Celtic and
Latin have provided us with evidence for contact between the Britons, the Gaels, and the
Anglo-Saxons, or suggest lack of contact. Similarly, studies of place-names give clues about the linguistic history of an area.
The place-name and linguistic evidence has been explained by saying that the Anglo-Saxons being politically and socially dominant in the south and east of Britain meant that their language and
culture also became dominant.
Genetic evidence
Recent work analysing the Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA of people now living in Britain and on the continent has provided some insight into how population movements might have occurred during the sub-Roman period. A 2002 study from
UCL indicated that there may have indeed been large scale Anglo-Saxon migration to central and eastern England (accounting for 50%–100% of the population at the time in
Central England).
[10] A more complete study in 2003 indicates that this result is regional to Central England, and that there may have been substantially less Anglo-Saxon migration to other regions of England, the study also provides evidence that all areas of the British Isles have a substantial pre-Anglo-Saxon genetic component. It was also found that there was no discernible difference in the Y-chromosomes of the presumed modern day source populations of Anglo-Saxon and the later Danish Viking settlers, thus the survey registered both sets of chromosomes as belonging to the same group.
[11]
Fresh interpretation of the above genetic evidence by
Stephen Oppenheimer in ''The Origins of the British: A Genetic Detective Story'' and new DNA sampling (
Y-chromosome and
mtDNA) by
Bryan Sykes for his book ''Blood of the Isles'' suggest that the contribution of Anglo-Saxons and other late invaders to the British gene pool was very limited, and that the majority of English people (about two-thirds) and British people (about three-quarters) descend from
palæolithic settlers that migrated from the western European Ice Age refuge,
[12] this observation may support the idea of an ancient relationship between the populations of the
Atlantic façade of Europe, though the eastern and south eastern coasts of Great Britain do not belong to this zone.
[13] Sykes and Oppenheimer indicate than even in the
east of England, where there is the best evidence for migration, no more thatn 10% of paternal lines can be designated as coming from an “Anglo-Saxon” migration event and that in the same English regions 69% of male lines are still of aboriginal British origin. It should be noted, however that Stephen Oppenheimer provides evidence for a pre-Anglo-Saxon genetic relationship between the modern populations of south and east England and the people living on the opposing
North Sea regions, indicating a much older pre-Roman Germanic influence in south and east England. There is some evidence that Y chromosome
Haplogroup I, which occurs at similar frequencies around the North Sea coast may represent a
mesolithic colonisation rather than an Anglo-Saxon migration as has been previously assumed. This haplogroup represents a migration from the Balkan refuge that may have traveled along inland European rivers rather than by the Atlantic coast.
[14] It is also postulated that the arrival of
Germanic languages in England may be considerably earlier than previously thought, and that both mainland and English
Belgae may have been Germanic-speaking peoples and represented very closely related ethnic groups (or a single cross channel ethnic group).
[15]
Extent of the migration
It was long held that the
Anglo-Saxons migrated to Britain in large numbers in the fifth and sixth centuries, substantially displacing the British people. The Anglo-Saxon historian
Frank Stenton, although making considerable allowance for British survival, essentially sums up this view, arguing "that the greater part of southern
England was overrun in the first phase of the war".
[16] This interpretation was based on the written sources, particularly
Gildas, but also the later sources, such as the Anglo-Saxon historian
Bede, that cast the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons as a violent event. The place-name and linguistic evidence was also considered to support this interpretation, as very few British place-names survived in eastern Britain, and few
British Celtic words entered the
Old English language. This interpretation particularly appealed to earlier English historians, who wanted to further their view that England had developed differently to
Europe with a limited monarchy and love of liberty. This, it was argued, came from the mass Anglo-Saxon invasions. Though few would now utilise this argument, the traditional view is still held by some historians, Lawrence James recently writing that England was 'submerged by an Anglo-Saxon current which swept away the Romano-British.'
[17]
The traditional view has been deconstructed to a considerable extent since the 1990s. At the centre of this is a re-estimation of the numbers of Anglo-Saxons arriving in Britain during this period. A lower figure is now generally accepted, making it highly unlikely that the existing British population was substantially displaced by the Anglo-Saxons.
[18]
The end of Roman Britain
A strong thread in the
historiography of the end of Roman Britain is an attempt to place a firm date on it. Various dates have been advanced, from the end of coinage in 402, to
Constantine III's rebellion in 407, to the rebellion mentioned by
Zosimus in 409, and the Rescript of Honorius in 410.
[19] Though much ink has been spilt over trying to place a date on when the flag went down and the troops went home, it is perhaps better not to think of this in terms of modern
decolonisation. The dating of the end of Roman Britain is complex, and the exact process of it is probably unknowable.
There is some controversy as to just why Roman rule ended in Britain. The view first advocated by
Mommsen was that Rome left Britain.
[20] This argument was substantiated over time, most recently by A.S. Esmonde-Cleary.
[21] According to this argument, internal turmoil in the empire and the need to withdraw troops to fight off
barbarian armies led
Rome to abandon Britain. It was the collapse of the imperial system that led to the end of imperial rule in Britain. However, Michael Jones has advanced an alternative thesis that argues that Rome did not leave Britain, but that Britain left Rome.
[22] He highlights the numerous usurpers who came from Britain in the late fourth and early fifth century, and that a supply of
coinage to Britain had dried up by the early fifth century, meaning administrators and troops were not getting paid. All of this, he argues, led the British people to rebel against Rome. Both of these arguments are open to criticism, though as yet no further developments have been made in understanding why the end of Roman Britain occurred.
The figure of Hengist
Bede's ''
Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' (written about
730) states that
Hengist was called to Britain by
Vortigern as a mercenary, to fight the
Picts, at an incertain date between
449 and
455. Invited to settle in the
Isle of Thanet, in Kent, he proceeded to drive the Britons from Kent and establish a
Kingdom of Kent, the opening wedge for Angle, Saxon and Jute migration, according to the traditional history.
The fate of the Romano-Britons
Intrinsic to this period is the fate of the population of Britain under Roman rule. Some clearly adopted Anglo-Saxon culture and identified themselves as Anglo-Saxons. Others may have lived in separate communities under Anglo-Saxon rule. The
laws of king
Ethelbert of Kent, probably written in the early seventh century, make reference to a legal underclass known as ''laets'' who might represent British communities. There definitely is a British (''wealh'') underclass referred to in
Ine of Wessex’s law code, written in the late seventh or early eighth centuries.
However, the violent nature of the period should not be overlooked, and it is likely that this period was a time of endemic tension, alluded to in all of the written sources. This may have led to the deaths of a substantial number of the British population. There are also references to plagues. The evidence from land use suggests a slight decline in production, which might be a sign of population decline.
[23]
It is clear that some British people migrated to the
continent, which resulted in the region of
Armorica in north-west
Gaul becoming known as
Brittany. There is also evidence of British migration to
Gallaecia, in
Hispania. The dating of these migrations is uncertain, but recent studies suggest that the migration from south-western Britain to Brittany began as early as AD 300 and was largely ended by 500. These settlers, unlikely to be refugees if the date was this early, made their presence felt in the naming of the westernmost,
Atlantic-facing provinces of Armorica, Kerne/Cornouaille ("Kernow/
Cornwall") and Domnonea ("
Devon").
[24] However, there is clear linguistic evidence for close contacts between the south-west of Britain and Brittany across the sub-Roman period.
[25]
In
Galicia, in the northwest corner of the
Iberian peninsula, another region of traditional Celtic culture, the
Suebian ''Parochiale'', drawn up about
580, includes a list of the principal churches of each diocese in the metropolitanate of
Braga (the ''ecclesia Britonensis'', now
Bretoña), which was the seat of a bishop who ministered to the spiritual needs of the British immigrants to north-western Spain: in
572 its bishop, Mailoc, had a Celtic name.
[26]. The settlers had brought their
Celtic Christianity with them but finally accepted the Latin Rite at the
Council of Toledo in
633. The diocese stretched from
Ferrol to the
Eo River. In Spain, the area has sometimes been dubbed "the third Britain" or "the last Britain".
[27]
In the west of Britain the period saw the creation of non-Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, which are first referred to in Gildas's ''De Excidio Britanniae''. To an extent these kingdoms may have derived from Roman structures.
[28] However, it is also clear that they drew on a strong influence from
Ireland, which was never part of the Roman Empire. Archaeology has helped further our study of these kingdoms, notably at sites like
Tintagel or the
South Cadbury hill-fort.
In the North this period saw the development of the British kingdoms of the
Hen Ogledd, the "Old North", comprising
Ebrauc (probable name),
Bryneich,
Rheged,
Strathclyde,
Elmet and
Gododdin.
Fifth- and
sixth-century repairs along
Hadrian's Wall have been uncovered, and at
Whithorn in south-western
Scotland (possibly the site of St
Ninian's monastery). Chance discoveries have helped document the continuing urban occupation of some Roman towns such as
Wroxeter and
Caerwent.
[29] Continued urban use might be associated with an
ecclesiastical structure.
The west of Britain in this period has attracted those who wish to place
King Arthur as a historical figure.
[30] Though there is little contemporary written evidence for this, archaeological evidence does suggest a possibility that a Romano-British king might have wielded considerable power during the sub-Roman period, as demonstrated by the creation of sites such as
Tintagel and earthworks such as the
Wansdyke. It is unlikely that any firm evidence will be produced for this, however, and such interpretations may continue to attract the popular imagination and the scepticism of the majority of academics.
1. Discussion in Ken Dark, ''Britain and the End of the Roman Empire'', (Stroud: Tempus, 2000), pp.32-7
2. Discussion in Martin Millett, ''The Romanization of Britain'', (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990) and in Philip Bartholomew 'Fifth-Century Facts' ''Britannia'' vol. 13, 1982 p. 260
3. Michael Jones and John Casey, 'The Gallic Chronicle Restored: A Chronology for the Anglo-Saxon Invasions and the End of Roman Britain', ''Britannia'' 19, (1988), pp.367-98; R.W. Burgess, 'The Dark Ages Return to Fifth-Century Britain: The 'Restored' Gallic Chronicle Exploded', ''Britannia'' 21, (1990), pp.185-195
4. David Dumville, "Sub-Roman Britain: History and Legend", ''History'' 62, (1977), pp.173-92
5. See discussion in A.S. Esmonde Cleary, "The Roman to medieval transition" in ''Britons and Romans: advancing an archaeological agenda''. ed. S. James & M. Millett, (York: Council for British Archaeology, 2001)
6. John Davey, "The Environs of South Cadbury in the Late Antique and Early Medieval Periods" in ''Debating Late Antiquity in Britain AD300-700''. ed. Rob Collins & James Gerrard, (Oxford: British Archaeological Review, 2004)
7. A.S. Esmond Cleary, ''The Ending of Roman Britain'', (London: Batsford, 1989), pp.138-139
8. Helena Hamerow, 'The earliest Anglo-Saxon kingdoms' in ''The New Cambridge Medieval History, I, c.500-c.700''. ed. Paul Fouracre, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), p.265
9. See Kenneth Jackson, ''Language and History in Early Britain: A Chronological Survey of the Brittonic Languages'', (Edinburgh, 1953) for a traditional introduction
10. Michael E. Weale, Deborah A. Weiss, Rolf F. Jager, Neil Bradman and Mark G. Thomas (2002), Y Chromosome Evidence for Anglo-Saxon Mass Migration, ''Molecular Biology and Evolution'' '19':1008–21. Retrieved 4 May 2006
11. (2003), Cristian Capelli, Nicola Redhead, Julia K. Abernethy, Fiona Gratrix, James F. Wilson, Torolf Moen, Tor Hervig, Martin Richards, Michael P. H. Stumpf, Peter A. Underhill, Paul Bradshaw, Alom Shaha, Mark G. Thomas, Neal Bradman and David B. Goldstein ''Current Biology'' '13'(11):979–984; DOI 10.1016/S0960-9822(03)00373-7. Retrieved 4 May 2006.
12. There are thought to have been three human population "refuges" in Europe during the Last Glacial Maximum. Oppenheimer pp102–103.
13. Cunliffe, 1995. ''Iron Age Britain'' p7. ISBN 0-713-48839-5
14. Oppenheimer 2006:166-169.
15. Oppenheimer 2006, pp268–307.
16. F.M. Stenton, ''The Anglo-Saxons'', 3rd edition, (Oxford: University Press, 1973), p.30
17. Lawrence James, ''Warrior Race'', (London: Abacus. 2002), p.30
18. Michael Jones, ''The End of Roman Britain'', pp.8-38.
19. See for instance E.A. Thompson, 'Britain, AD 406-410', ''Britannia'' 8, (1977), pp.303-18 and P. Bartholomew, 'Fifth-Century Facts', ''Britannia'' 13, (1982), pp.261-70
20. See discussion in Michael Jones, ''The End of Roman Britain'', (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1996), pp.256-7
21. Esmonde-Cleary, ''The Ending of Roman Britain'', p.161
22. Michael Jones, ''The End of Roman Britain'', esp. chapters 4 and 7
23. Davey, ''The Environs of South Cadbury'', p50
24. Gwenaël le Duc, "The Colonisation of Brittany from Britain: New Approaches and Questions" in ''Celtic Connections: Proceedings of the Tenth International Congress of Celtic Studies. Volume One''. ed. Black, Gillies and Ó Maolaigh, (East Linton: Tuckwell Press, 1999), ISBN 1-898410-77-1
25. Wendy Davies, "The Celtic Kingdoms" in ''The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume I, c.500-c.700''. ed. Paul Fouracre, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), pp255–61
26. Fletcher, ''Saint James's Catapult'', ch. 1, note 61.
27. "San Rosendo, bispo dunha Igrexa direfente nunha Galicia distinta" , ''La Voz de Galicia''
28. Ken Dark, ''Britain and the End of the Roman Empire'', pp.150–192
29. Roger White and Philip Barker, ''Wroxeter: Life and Death of a Roman City'', (Stroud: Tempus, 1998)
30. Leslie Alcock, ''Arthur's Britain: History and Archaeology AD 367–634'', (Harmondsworth: Allen Lane, 1971), ISBN 0-7139-0245-0; Francis Pryor, ''Britain AD: A Quest for Arthur, England and the Anglo-Saxons.'' (Harper Collins, 2004), ISBN 0-00-718186-8
31. Davey, 'The Environs of South Cadbury', p.50
32. Jones, ''The End of Roman Britain'', pp.186-243
Environmental change
There is evidence for
climate change in the fifth century, with conditions turning cooler and wetter. This shortened the growing season and made uplands unsuited to growing
grain.
Dendrochronology reveals a particular
climatic event in the year AD 540.
[31] Michael Jones suggests that declining agricultural production from land that was already fully exploited had considerable demographic consequences.
[32]
See also
★
Mythical British Kings
★
Historical Kings of the Britons
★
Vortigern
★
King Arthur
★
Historical basis for King Arthur
★
Matter of Britain
★
Anglo-Saxons
★
Wansdyke
★
Heptarchy
★
Ancient Britain
★
Roman Britain
★
Romano-British
★
History of Britain
★
History of Wales
★
History of British society
★
History of England
★
The Celts
★
Roman Empire
Further reading
★ Leslie Alcock, ''Arthur's Britain: History and Archaeology AD 367 - 634'', Allen Lane, The Penguin Press, Harmondsworth, 1971 ISBN 0-7139-0245-0
★ Rob Collins & James Gerrard (ed.), ''Debating Late Antiquity in Britain AD300-700'', (Oxford: British Archaeological Review, 2004)
★ Ken Dark, ''Britain and the End of the Roman Empire'', (Stroud: Tempus, 2000)
★ David N. Dumville, 'Sub-Roman Britain: History and Legend', ''History'' 62 (1977), pp. 173-92.
★ A.S. Esmonde-Cleary, ''The Ending of Roman Britain'', (London: Batsford, 1989)
★ Paul Fouracre (ed.), ''The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume I, c.500-c.700'', (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005)
★ Michael E. Jones, ''The End of Roman Britain'', (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1996).
★ ''Arthurian Period Sources'' volumes 1-9, General Editor John Morris, published Phillimore & Co, Chichester (includes full text of Gildas & Nennius, St Patrick material and various annals and charters).
★ Francis Pryor, ''Britain AD: A Quest for Arthur, England and the Anglo-Saxons.'' Harper Collins. 2004 ISBN 0-00-718186-8
★ Robert Vermaat (ed.),
Vortigern Studies website - while Vortigern-focused, it is an in-depth resource for navigating the issues in sub-Roman British history.
★ Ian Wood, 'The Fall of the Western Empire and the End of Roman Britain', ''Britannia'' vol. 18, 1987 pp. 251-262
Footnotes
1. Discussion in Ken Dark, ''Britain and the End of the Roman Empire'', (Stroud: Tempus, 2000), pp.32-7
2. Discussion in Martin Millett, ''The Romanization of Britain'', (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990) and in Philip Bartholomew 'Fifth-Century Facts' ''Britannia'' vol. 13, 1982 p. 260
3. Michael Jones and John Casey, 'The Gallic Chronicle Restored: A Chronology for the Anglo-Saxon Invasions and the End of Roman Britain', ''Britannia'' 19, (1988), pp.367-98; R.W. Burgess, 'The Dark Ages Return to Fifth-Century Britain: The 'Restored' Gallic Chronicle Exploded', ''Britannia'' 21, (1990), pp.185-195
4. David Dumville, "Sub-Roman Britain: History and Legend", ''History'' 62, (1977), pp.173-92
5. See discussion in A.S. Esmonde Cleary, "The Roman to medieval transition" in ''Britons and Romans: advancing an archaeological agenda''. ed. S. James & M. Millett, (York: Council for British Archaeology, 2001)
6. John Davey, "The Environs of South Cadbury in the Late Antique and Early Medieval Periods" in ''Debating Late Antiquity in Britain AD300-700''. ed. Rob Collins & James Gerrard, (Oxford: British Archaeological Review, 2004)
7. A.S. Esmond Cleary, ''The Ending of Roman Britain'', (London: Batsford, 1989), pp.138-139
8. Helena Hamerow, 'The earliest Anglo-Saxon kingdoms' in ''The New Cambridge Medieval History, I, c.500-c.700''. ed. Paul Fouracre, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), p.265
9. See Kenneth Jackson, ''Language and History in Early Britain: A Chronological Survey of the Brittonic Languages'', (Edinburgh, 1953) for a traditional introduction
10. Michael E. Weale, Deborah A. Weiss, Rolf F. Jager, Neil Bradman and Mark G. Thomas (2002), Y Chromosome Evidence for Anglo-Saxon Mass Migration, ''Molecular Biology and Evolution'' '19':1008–21. Retrieved 4 May 2006
11. (2003), Cristian Capelli, Nicola Redhead, Julia K. Abernethy, Fiona Gratrix, James F. Wilson, Torolf Moen, Tor Hervig, Martin Richards, Michael P. H. Stumpf, Peter A. Underhill, Paul Bradshaw, Alom Shaha, Mark G. Thomas, Neal Bradman and David B. Goldstein ''Current Biology'' '13'(11):979–984; DOI 10.1016/S0960-9822(03)00373-7. Retrieved 4 May 2006.
12. There are thought to have been three human population "refuges" in Europe during the Last Glacial Maximum. Oppenheimer pp102–103.
13. Cunliffe, 1995. ''Iron Age Britain'' p7. ISBN 0-713-48839-5
14. Oppenheimer 2006:166-169.
15. Oppenheimer 2006, pp268–307.
16. F.M. Stenton, ''The Anglo-Saxons'', 3rd edition, (Oxford: University Press, 1973), p.30
17. Lawrence James, ''Warrior Race'', (London: Abacus. 2002), p.30
18. Michael Jones, ''The End of Roman Britain'', pp.8-38.
19. See for instance E.A. Thompson, 'Britain, AD 406-410', ''Britannia'' 8, (1977), pp.303-18 and P. Bartholomew, 'Fifth-Century Facts', ''Britannia'' 13, (1982), pp.261-70
20. See discussion in Michael Jones, ''The End of Roman Britain'', (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1996), pp.256-7
21. Esmonde-Cleary, ''The Ending of Roman Britain'', p.161
22. Michael Jones, ''The End of Roman Britain'', esp. chapters 4 and 7
23. Davey, ''The Environs of South Cadbury'', p50
24. Gwenaël le Duc, "The Colonisation of Brittany from Britain: New Approaches and Questions" in ''Celtic Connections: Proceedings of the Tenth International Congress of Celtic Studies. Volume One''. ed. Black, Gillies and Ó Maolaigh, (East Linton: Tuckwell Press, 1999), ISBN 1-898410-77-1
25. Wendy Davies, "The Celtic Kingdoms" in ''The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume I, c.500-c.700''. ed. Paul Fouracre, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), pp255–61
26. Fletcher, ''Saint James's Catapult'', ch. 1, note 61.
27. "San Rosendo, bispo dunha Igrexa direfente nunha Galicia distinta" , ''La Voz de Galicia''
28. Ken Dark, ''Britain and the End of the Roman Empire'', pp.150–192
29. Roger White and Philip Barker, ''Wroxeter: Life and Death of a Roman City'', (Stroud: Tempus, 1998)
30. Leslie Alcock, ''Arthur's Britain: History and Archaeology AD 367–634'', (Harmondsworth: Allen Lane, 1971), ISBN 0-7139-0245-0; Francis Pryor, ''Britain AD: A Quest for Arthur, England and the Anglo-Saxons.'' (Harper Collins, 2004), ISBN 0-00-718186-8
31. Davey, 'The Environs of South Cadbury', p.50
32. Jones, ''The End of Roman Britain'', pp.186-243
References
★
Oppenheimer, S. (2006). ''The Origins of the British: A Genetic Detective Story'': Constable and Robinson, London. ISBN 978-1-84529-158-7.