Saxon

The post-Roman transformation of lowland Britain was particularly profound. The end of the Roman administration in fifth century Britain preceded a dramatic shift in material culture, architecture, manufacturing and agricultural practice, and was accompanied by language change. The archaeological record and place names indicate shared cultural features across the North Sea zone, in particular, along the east and southeast coasts of present-day England, Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony (Germany), Frisia (Netherlands) and the Jutland peninsula (Denmark). Examples include the appearance of Grubenhäuser (sunken feature buildings), large cremation cemeteries and the styles of cremation urns or objects that used animal art and chip-carved metal. Moreover, wrist clasps, as well as cruciform and square-headed brooches, found in sixth and seventh century Britain had attested southern Scandinavian origins. To this day, little agreement has been reached over the scale of migration, the mode of interaction between locals and newcomers, or how the transformation of the social, material, and linguistic or religious spheres was achieved.

It is accepted that at some time after the Romans departed from Cheshire, the Anglo-Saxons arrived and started to settle. Despite these similarities across the North Sea zone, there was also insular material culture that had no continental equivalent. Adding to this, some places and geographical features such as rivers retained names of Celtic or late Latin origin. This article looks at that settlement process as applied to Cheshire and the difficulties in putting a date to it.

Brythonic and Saxon
The Brythonic languages (also Brittonic or British Celtic; Welsh: ieithoedd Brythonaidd/Prydeinig; Cornish: yethow brythonek/predennek; Breton: yezhoù predenek) form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family; the other is Goidelic. It comprises the extant languages Breton, Cornish, and Welsh. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning Ancient Britons as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael.



The Anglo-Saxons came to Britain from North Germany and Southern Scandinavia in the 5th century. They crossed the North Sea in search of new land and prosperity. The arrival of the "Saxon" culture in Britain varies with place. Early theories proposed that the "Anglo-Saxons", who were a diverse group, either displaced the existing population westwards or exterminated them, eventually establishing a common cultural identity. The few literary sources, such as Gildas et al, tell of hostility between incomers and natives. They describe violence, destruction, massacre, and the flight of the Romano-British population. Moreover, comparatively little clear evidence exists for any significant influence of British Celtic or British Latin on the Old English language. These factors suggested a mass influx of Germanic-speaking peoples. In this view, held by most historians and archaeologists until the mid-to-late 20th century, much of what is now England was simply cleared of its prior inhabitants, who either left or died. Historical examples of this "genocide" or "ethnic cleansing" form of colonisation include extremes such as Tasmania, where the indigenous population was brought to near extinction. Indeed, it was a common belief during the 20th century that the last native Tasmanian died in 1876.

Another view is that the migrants were fewer, possibly centred on a "warrior elite" which colonised in the manner of the Romans, Normans or perhaps the British in India. This hypothesis suggests that the incomers achieved a position of political and social dominance, which, aided by intermarriage, initiated a process of acculturation of the natives to the incoming language, sometimes religion and material culture. Archaeologists have found that with the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in England settlement patterns and land use show no clear break with the Romano-British past, though changes in material culture were profound.

A third view lies between the two extremes described above. The "warrior elite" are instead a culturally distinct group who introduce, for example, some new innovation in technology or agricultural practice, or a new religion, which spreads to the indigenous population and leads to a change in society. This could be a very small group of "incomers" or even occur through trade. As would be expected any local situation might well be a mixture of the above processes.

The replacement of one culture by another has often led to divisive arguments as to whether these are invasions, migrations or simply the effects of trade. German and Slavic scholars speak of "migration" (see German: Völkerwanderung, Czech: Stěhování národů, Swedish: folkvandring and Hungarian: népvándorlás), aspiring to the idea of a dynamic and "wandering Indo-Germanic people". In contrast, the standard terms in French and Italian historiography translate to "barbarian invasions", or even "barbaric invasions" (French: Invasions barbares, Italian: Invasioni barbariche).

This article attempts to look at Anglo-Saxon settlement in Cheshire. Even in late Roman Chester historical information is difficult to come by. There is little by the way of written evidence for the period 400-700, so determining the date of the arrival of "Saxon" culture is difficult. Archaeology, which is largely concerned with artifacts also provides little information. Cheshire does not have the Pagan Saxon archaeology of eastern England. What Cheshire does have is a confusing mixture of English place-names with a remarkably low survival of Celtic names, strong hints of Celtic Christianity in ecclesiastical organisation and evidence for early territorial organisation which appears to extend back to the Roman past. There is also an increasing body of information from genetic information. Matters are also complicated by the fact that Cheshire has a strong connection with "Irish Sea Culture" and was the location of a major Roman base.

There is no detailed historical record of the Roman legions packing up, blowing out the lights, marching out of Chester and leaving the local populace to their own devices. Indeed, after over three-hundred years of "occupation" the Romans were probably pretty well integrated with the indigenous population. Coin finds on the Wirral seem to suggest that retired Roman soldiers lived a settled life in the area. If they did they may well have taken local wives. They probably even spoke the local language. The most likely scenario was that regular troops were withdrawn to support civil wars in mainland Europe, leaving local irregular troops, retired veterans or mercenaries, to defend the Roman towns as best they could. There were frequent appeals to Rome for help, few of which were answered. There are some few historical hints of the survival of Roman culture in the area around Chester.

Just when the Saxon's first became a potential problem for the Brythonic-speaking Roman British is not clear, but the title "comes littoris Saxonici per Britanniam" ("Count of the Saxon Shore") was possibly created during the reign of Constantine I, and was probably in existence by 367 when Nectaridus is elliptically referred to as such a leader by Ammianus Marcellinus.

Written Evidence
The writing of Saint Patrick and Gildas apparently demonstrates the survival in Britain of Latin literacy and Roman education, learning and law within elite society and Christianity, throughout the bulk of the fifth and sixth centuries. Some see signs in Gildas' works which indicate that the economy was thriving without Roman taxation, as he complains of luxuria and self-indulgence. Of course Gildas may only be writing a polemic against a small elite. In the mid-fifth century, Anglo-Saxons begin to appear in an apparently still functionally Romanised Britain, so a key factor in analysis of the period is how quickly and when the culture changed due to outside influences.

The general consensus of archaeologists is that Roman Britain reached its peak of prosperity in the early 4th century. However, near contemporary writers can give a different impression, showing the the local administration was at times in revolt against Rome. The western Caesar Constantius Chlorus needed to re-establish Imperial rule in Britain following a revolt by Carausius (a Roman Naval commander in Britain) and later Allectus (defeated 296), his finance minister and eventual assassin. Eutropius (fl. AD 363–387) writes of the English Channel being cleared by Carausius, since the Armorican and Belgian coasts had been 'infested' with Francs and Saxons. Following the revolt of Magnentius, Paulus "Catena" was dispatched to Roman Britain in 353 by the paranoid Constantius II to exact savage reprisals against supporters of Magnentius in the army garrisons of Britain. These "revolts" appear to have only involved the army. In the winter of 367, the Roman garrison on Hadrian's Wall rebelled and allowed Picts from Caledonia to enter Britannia. In the spring of 368, a relief force commanded by the elderly Flavius Theodosius arrived in Britannia from Gaul. Coins dated later than 383 have been excavated along Hadrian's Wall, suggesting that troops were not stripped from it by the Roman general then assigned to Britain, Magnus Maximus, as once thought. Claudian's de consulatu Stilichonis, (2, 250-5), written in January 400 is possible evidence for an expedition to Britain mounted by Stilicho in 396-8 to deal with "external" threats. Thereafter the provinces of Britain were isolated, lacking support from the Empire, and the setting up and pulling down of a final series of usurper emperors as the soldiers supported the revolts of:


 * Marcus (406 - 407), a soldier in Roman Britain who was proclaimed emperor by the army there some time in 406. All that is known of his rule is that he did not please the army, and was soon killed by them;
 * Gratianus (407), acclaimed as emperor by the army in Britain in early 407. His army wanted to cross to Gaul and stop the barbarians who were attacking the empire but Gratian ordered them to remain (he should have known better). Unhappy with this, the troops killed him - and finally
 * Constantine "III" (who actually listened to the troops). Constantine III was a British common soldier and invaded Gaul in 407, eventually occupying Arles, but in the process probably drained Britain of the last of it's Roman legions.;

A frequently used "endpoint" is often assumed to be the so-called "Rescript of Honorius" of 411 when that emperor reputedly told the British cities to look after their own defence. Honorius was fighting a large-scale war in Italy against the Visigoths under their leader Alaric, with Rome itself under siege. No forces could be spared to protect distant Britain. Though it is likely that Honorius expected to regain control over the provinces soon, by the mid-6th century Procopius recognised that Roman control of Britannia was entirely lost.

Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus: his account of the "British War" of 343 has been lost but he refers to it in extant works. According to his account, the Picts, Attacotti and Irish were raiding widely, while the Franks and Saxons were plundering parts of Gaul at some time between 343 and 367. Ammianus was living in Antioch at the time, but he is the source for the "Great Conspiracy", a year-long state of war and disorder that occurred near the end of Roman Britain. In the winter of 367, the Roman garrison on Hadrian's Wall rebelled and allowed Picts from Caledonia to enter Britannia. Simultaneously, Attacotti, the Scotti from Hibernia and (according to some interpretations) Saxons from Germania landed in what might have been coordinated and pre-arranged waves on the island's mid-western and southeastern borders, respectively. The warbands managed to overwhelm nearly all of the loyal Roman outposts and settlements. The entire western and northern areas of Britannia were overwhelmed; the cities sacked; and the civilian Romano-British murdered, raped, or enslaved. In the spring of 368, a relief force, commanded by Flavius Theodosius, gathered at Bononia (Boulogne-sur-Mer). It included four units, Batavi, Heruli, Iovii and Victores, as well as his son, the later Emperor Theodosius I, and probably the later usurper Magnus Maximus, his nephew. Considerable reorganization was undertaken in Britain, including the creation of a new province, Valentia, probably to better address the state of the far north. It is possible that Theodosius mounted punitive expeditions against the barbarians and imposed terms upon them. Certainly, the Notitia Dignitatum later records four units of Attacotti serving Rome on the Continent. The areani (native British troops) were removed from duty and the frontiers refortified with co-operation from other border tribes such as the Votadini, which marked the career of men such as Paternus (Padarn Beisrudd).

Claudian
Claudius Claudianus (c. 370 – c. 404) was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho who was of Vandal origins. His de consulatu Stilichonis (on the Consulship of Stilichio), puts the following into the mouth of Britannia, dressed in the skin of some Caledonian beast, her cheeks tattooed, her sea-blue mantle sweeping over her footsteps like the surge of ocean:


 * "Inde Caledonio velata Britannia monstro, ferro picta genas, cuius vestigia verrit caerulus Oceanique aestum mentitur amictus: me quoque vicinis pereuntem gentibus inquit munivit Stilicho, totam cum Scottus Hivernen movit et infesto spumavit remige Tethys illius effectum curis, ne tela timerem Scottica, ne Pictum tremerem, ne litore toto prospicerem dubiis venturum Saxona ventis." (When I too was about to succumb to the attack of neighbouring peoples - for the Scots had raised all Ireland against me, and the sea foamed under hostile oars - you, Stilicho, fortified me. This was to such effect that I no longer fear the weapons of the Scots, nor tremble at the Pict, nor along my shore do I look for the approaching Saxon on each uncertain wind.)

Frere (1987) believed this was evidence of naval activity against the Irish, Picts, and Saxons, as Gildas mentions in is sixth century writings. If this is the case then it may well have taken place offshore of the line of forts and signalling towers along the northern Welsh coast. It also indicates that the Saxons were already percieved as a danger before 404, if only as raiders.

Legio XX, based at Chester, appears to have been recalled to the continent by Stilicho about 402. Claudian's poem, De Bello Getico, indicates that the troops in question had done service against the Picts and Scots, as had the XXth under Hadrian and Pius:


 * "Venit et extremis legio praetenta Britannis; Quae Scoto dat frena truci, ferroque notatas; Pertegit exsangues Picto moriente figuras." This legion, which curbs the savage Scot and studies the designs marked with iron on the face of the dying Pict.

The mention of the invasions of the Scots, the implication of coastal defence and the possible link with the XXth legion, may indicate that Stilchio was active in the Chester/N.Wales area. Soldiers based at Chester were still being paid in coins from the imperial mints until, but not during, the time of Magnus Maximus (383- 8), who perhaps removed regular troops from Chester when he invaded Gaul in 383. The Notitia Dignitatum, a list of officials probably compiled c. 400, mentioned neither troops at Chester nor the Twentieth Legion elsewhere in Britain.

The Chronica Gallica of 452
The Chronica Gallica of 452, also called the Gallic Chronicle of 452, is a Latin chronicle of Late Antiquity, presented in the form of annals, which continues that of Jerome. It was edited by Theodor Mommsen. The chronicle begins in 379 with the elevation of Theodosius I as co-emperor, and ends with the attack of Attila, king of the Huns, on Italy in 452. The contents focus on Gaul, the emperors and the popes, while events in the eastern part of the empire find little mention. The Chronicle records of the year 441:


 * "441: The British provinces, which to this time had suffered various defeats and misfortunes, are reduced to Saxon rule."

It is not clear when the Chronica was actually compiled.

Gildas
Gildas — also known as Gildas the Wise or St. Gildas — was a 6th-century British monk best known for his scathing religious polemic "De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae" (On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain), which recounts the history of the Britons before and during the coming of the Saxons: partly in the form of a prolonged "rant". It is thought from his Latin style that Gildas wrote "De Excidio" after 480 and before 550 with the closest estimate being 510-530. His knowledge of the north is sketchy and his damning accusations of the Welsh kings have been taken to indicate that since Gildas was able to accuse these men, he must certainly have lived a long way away from the territory controlled by them. The signage at the Amphitheatre has Gildas writing at the monastery at Bangor-on-Dee. This monastery is believed to have been founded in about AD 560 by Saint Dunod (or Dunawd) and was an important religious centre in the 6th century. The monastery was destroyed in about 613/616 by the Anglo-Saxon king Æthelfrith of Northumbria after he defeated the Welsh armies at the Battle of Chester. Clearly, if Gildas' "De Excidio" is dated to before 550 (or in the narrower range 510-530) he cannot have been writing at the Bangor-on-Dee monastery. Thus, any actual association between Gildas and Chester, as implied on the Amphitheatre signage, appears to be without any historic foundation. There is some evidence to suggesst that Gildas wrote at Cor Tewdws or Bangor Tewdws (Meaning "college" or "chief university" of Theodosius) a Celtic monastery and college in what is now Llantwit Major, Glamorgan.

The first threat to the Britons mentioned in Gildas are the attacks by the Scots and the Picts. Eventually, most likely after 446 the Britons wrote to Aetius (died 453) as the so-called Groans of the Britons. The record is ambiguous on what the response to the appeal was, if any. There is no mention in this passage of the Saxons, who are first mentioned as being summoned as mercenaries to help defend against the threat from the west and north. Gildas is unclear about the date except to state that it was 44 years and one month before his own birth, which was in the same year as the Battle of Badon. Dates proposed by scholars for the battle include 493, 501 and 516.

Zosimus
Zosimus (Greek: Ζώσιμος [ˈzosimos]; fl. 490s–510s) was a Greek historian who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the eastern Roman Emperor Anastasius I (491–518). The problem with the Rescript of Honorius is that there is no contemporary mention of it – the sixth century eastern Roman writer Zosimus is the first to record it and when he does bring it up, he does so at a seemingly random moment in the middle of a discussion on events in Italy. This has led to some suggestion that there has been some textual errors rendering as ‘Britain’ would should have been ‘Bruttium’

Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea (Greek: Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς Prokópios ho Kaisareús; Latin: Procopius Caesariensis; c. 500 – 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Emperor Justinian's wars, Procopius became the principal Roman historian of the 6th century. Procopius' knowledge about the goings-on at court gave him information about Britain as well. This originated with a Frankish embassy (ca 553) to Constantinople, accompanied by some Angles, possibly from Britain. Procopius' information might thus be hearsay and personal comment, but there is a possibility that, because of enough plausible detail, it was based on serious evidence.


 * Three very populous nations inhabit the Island of Brittia, and one king is set over each of them. And the names of these nations are Angles, Frisians, and Britons who have the same name as the island. So great apparently is the multitude of these peoples that every year in large groups they migrate from there with their women and children and go to the Franks. And they [the Franks] are settling them in what seems to be the more desolate part of their land, and as a result of this they say they are gaining possession of the island. So that not long ago the king of the Franks actually sent some of his friends to the Emperor Justinian in Byzantium, and despatched with them the men of the Angles, claiming that this island [Britain], too, is ruled by him. Such then are the matters concerning the island called Brittia.

Justinian was emperor April 527 – November 565.

Bede
Bede places the arrival of the Saxons just before, during or just after the joint reign in Rome of Marcian and Valentinian III in AD 449–456,

Summary of Dates

 * c286–293: Usurper Carausius supposedly removes an infestation of Saxons;
 * c294: Carausius is murdered by his treasurer, Allectus, who takes his place;
 * c305 – About this time a group of Deisi establishes a colony among the Demetae; a group of Laighin is granted land in Lleyn peninsula; and the Eoganachta are given lands in the later Ceredigion (under Lethan), Dumnonia (under Corpre), and Circinn in the north (under Fidig). The Ui Laithin have a colony in Dumnonia.  A group of Ui Bairrche settle in Scotland.
 * 350-353: Revolt of Flavius Magnus Magnentius, who usurps Imperator Caesar Flavius Julius Constans Augustus, actively supported by Britanniae, Galliae, and Hispaniae.
 * c367: The role of Count of the Saxon Shore appears to exist. War against the confederation of the Picti, Attacotti, and Scoti attacking Britanniae and the Saxonici and Franci attacking northern Galliae;
 * c382: Wave of raiding by Scoti, Picts, and Saxons;
 * c405: Wave of raiding by Scoti, Picts, and Saxons;
 * c406: The legions of Britain revolt and nominate a usurper named Marcus as emperor
 * c407: Marcus is killed by his troops and replaced with Gratian. Gratian is killed by the troops because he would not order them to cross over to Galliae to stop the “barbarians”.  The troops in Britanniae then nominate Flavius Claudius Constantinus, who moves to Galliae with the remaining legions.
 * c410: Coelistius, aka Coel Hen, assumes control of the North, the area known to the Cymry as Hen Ogledd, its people as the Gwyr y Gogledd.
 * c411: Rescript of Honorius;
 * c411-429: Waves of raiding by Scoti, Picts, and Saxons;
 * c413: Pelagian heresy said to begin;
 * c425: Flavius Aetius, the “last of the Romans”, becomes Comes and Magister Militum per Galliae
 * c427: Britanniae appeal to Comes Aetius for help, but gets no support;
 * c429: At the request of Palladius, a British deacon, Pope Celestine I dispatches Bishops Germanus of Auxerre and Lupus of Troyes to Britanniae to combat the Pelagian heresy;
 * c432: St. Palladius is sent as missionary bishop to Eire, making his seat in Mumha;
 * 440-450: Possible Civil War and famine in Britanniae, caused by Pictish incursions and tensions between Pelagian/Roman factions. Migration of pro-Roman citizens toward west.
 * c441: Britain is said to be under the rule of the Saxons;
 * c446-453: The "Groans of the British";
 * c447: Second visit of Germanus to Britannia, this time accompanied by Bishop Severus of Trier. He expels the Scotti  from mountain territory of the Cornovii;
 * c449: Arrival of Hengest and Horsa;
 * 449–456: Arrival of the Saxons according to Bede;
 * c450: Rheged is formed out of Northern Britain. The new domain reaches from the southern border of Alt Clud to the northern border of Gwynedd.
 * c460–c535: estimated lifetime of Icel of Mercia;

King Lists
There are records of Germanic infiltration into Britain that date before the collapse of the Roman Empire. It is believed that the earliest Germanic visitors were eight cohorts of Batavians attached to the 14th Legion in the original invasion force under Aulus Plautius in AD 43. There is a recent hypothesis that some of the native tribes, identified as Britons by the Romans, may have been Germanic-language speakers, but most scholars disagree with this due to an insufficient record of local languages in Roman-period artefacts. If the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is to be believed, the various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which eventually merged to become England were founded when small fleets of three or five ships of invaders arrived at various points around the coast of England to fight the sub-Roman British, and conquered their lands.



Mercia
Creoda (Cryda or Crida, c585–593) may have been one of the first kings of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, ruling toward the end of the 6th century. Icel (c460 –c535), also spelt Icil, is a possible earlier king of Mercia. He was supposedly the son of Eomer (443–489), last King of the Angles in Angeln. Icel supposedly led his people across the North Sea to Britain around 515

Kent
The earliest recorded king of Kent was Æthelberht, (550 – 24 February 616) who, as bretwalda, wielded significant influence over other Anglo-Saxon kings in the late sixth century. There is both documentary and archaeological evidence that Kent was primarily colonised by Jutes, from the southern part of the Jutland peninsula. According to legend, the brothers Hengist and Horsa landed in 449 as mercenaries for the British king, Vortigern. The Kentish Royal Legend is a diverse group of Medieval texts which describe a wide circle of members of the royal family of Kent from the 7th to 8th centuries. Key elements include the descendants of Æthelberht of Kent over the next four generations; the establishment of various monasteries, the lives of a number of Anglo-Saxon saints and the subsequent travels of their relics.

Although historical sources going back to Bede indicated Jutes as settlers in Kent, in an issue that became known as ‘the problem of the Jutes, this historically attested migration is difficult to determine from or reconcile with the archaeological record. Indeed, material culture elements found in Kent resemble those of contemporary Merovingian France and Alemannic (southern) Germany, rather than the rest of England or Denmark.

East Anglia
The Kingdom of East Anglia was organised in the first or second quarter of the 6th century, with Wehha listed in some sources as the first king of the East Angles, followed by Wuffa who is the first king in other lists. According to the historian R. Rainbird Clarke, migrants from southern Jutland "speedily dominated" the Sandlings, an area of southeast Suffolk, and then, by around 550, "lost no time in conquering the whole of East Anglia". According to the 13th-century chronicler Roger of Wendover, Wuffa ruled from 571 to 578, but the origin of this information is unknown. According to Michael Wood, current evidence suggests that Wuffa ruled the East Angles around 575. A lack of documentary evidence prevents scholars from knowing if Wuffa is anything more than a legendary figure and the true identity of the first East Anglian king cannot be known with certainty.

Related Pages

 * Dark Ages;
 * Mold Cope;
 * Chester and Ireland;

Online

 * CHESHIRE IN THE DARK AGES: A MAP STUDY OF CELTIC AND ANGLIAN SETTLEMENT;
 * Archaeology without artefacts: the Iron Age and Sub-Roman periods in Cheshire;
 * "The Groans of the Britons": from the Classical Association in Northern Ireland;
 * Timeline of Roman & Post Roman Britain;