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The name Britannia was used by the Romans to refer to the two largest British Isles. Another name the Romans gave to Britain was Insula Albionum. Today’s Great Britain was referred to as Britannia Maior (Greater Britain), while today’s Ireland was referred to as Britannia Hibernia (Hibernia).
Britain in Roman times was inhabited mainly by Celtic people, Britons in what is now England and Wales, Scots in Ireland, and non-Indo-European Picts in what is now Scotland.
The town of Verulamium, located in what is now the city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England (United Kingdom) and situated on the River Ver, was the largest next to Londinium a Roman centre in Britain and from c. 60 CE the capital (municipium) of the Roman province of Britain.
Gaius Julius Caesar attempted to subjugate this island, but the actual conquest was initiated only by the emperor Claudius, who invaded in 43 CE. Over the next years, there was a gradual conquest of the island.
Julius Agricola should be mentioned here, who managed to reach Scotland (Caledonia) and also stated that Britain is an island. In the years 122-126 CE, Emperor Hadrian decided to build a rampart of fortifications between the Solway Firth and the Tyne Estuary (Hadrian’s Wall).
During the reign of Antonin Pius, the border was further shifted and the construction of the so-called Antonin’s Wall (connecting the Firths of Forth and Firths of Clyde). Emperor Commodus resigned from these acquisitions.
The Romans left Britain only in 407 CE when Constantine decided to do this in the fight for the crown with Honorius.
The strategic city of the province was Londinum (present-day London).
Britain in the 5th century CE
The fate of Britain in the first half of the 5th century CE is probably one of the most mysterious cards in European history. Britain, the northernmost province of the Roman Empire, has always been treated somewhat neglectfully by its rulers. Romanization had the least impact here, Roman cities and military colonies were built the least. No wonder, then, that this misty, cold island was the first to be written off in the face of the impending catastrophe of the entire Western Empire.
In 396 CE a great invasion came upon Britain from almost all sides. The Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Iro-Scots and Picts flooded the island with a mighty wave. This time, however, for the last time, Rome took care of its farthest possession. The rescue expedition was led by the regent of the west himself, half Vandal, Stilichon. He defeated all the barbarians one by one, then thoroughly cleared the island of garrisons and rushed back to Italy to fight the Visigoths. His retreat in 402 left the Isle virtually defenceless. The disaster brought by the hard winter of 406 CE also affected Britain. The Alans, Suebi, Vandals and Burgundians crossed the frozen Rhine and thus cut Britain off from all help from the continent. In the face of another intensification of Saxon attacks, the Romano-British sent a letter begging for help to the emperor Honorius himself. They picked a bit of a bad time. The year was 410 CE and Alaric’s Visigoths were just taking everything of value out of Rome. It is not known exactly whether Honorius replied to the letter. In any case, the commanders and aristocracy of Roman Britain were left to their own devices.
The British-Roman aristocracy, the Celtic communities and the remnants of the legions of the northern army – this whole conglomerate was left without a supreme authority. Local commanders, latifundists and chieftains quickly turned into independent rulers. The “political map” of Britain at that time is unfortunately impossible to recreate. However, archeology provides us with some valuable information. For example, there are no signs that the fortresses along Hadrian’s Wall were suddenly evacuated or destroyed. Probably the defence of the northern border held all the time. Welsh tradition mentions the alleged last commander of the British legions, calling him the Celtic name of Coel Hen.
One of the few written sources, De Excidio Britanicae, written by the British priest Gildas (mid-sixth century), claims that the autocrats of Britain once again turned to Flavius Aetius for help. “The barbarians drive us into the sea, and the sea drives us back among the barbarians,” the chronicler quotes this semi-fictitious letter. Aetius, however, with the whole Gallic mess on his head and, in addition, the Huns preparing for the invasion, had absolutely no strength and resources to cross the Mare Germanicum.
In this situation, however, a man appeared who managed to concentrate power over Britain in his hands. The Welsh chronicler Nenniusmentions a war between two chieftains: Ambrosius Aurelius and Vitalinus. Nennius mentions the former’s ancestors “wearing purple”, surviving in Welsh lore as Emrys. That’s pretty much all we know about him. The second, Vitalinus, won the war and numerous references to him appear in various sources – Gidas, Nennius, and even the venerable Beda in his famous Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum (Beda’s work is the primary source for the era, unfortunately, the author was a typical Anglo-Saxon nationalist).
Vitalinus is mentioned in the sources as Gwrtheyrn or Vawr-Tigherne – Vortigern, meaning “high chieftain” or “overlord”. He probably came from the western British colony of Glevum, and Welsh legends speak of him as the founder of the famous Powys dynasty. Gidas writes about him as the absolute ruler of all of Britain, but unfortunately, this source is not entirely objective – Gildas is, after all, a British-Roman who criticizes the Anglo-Saxons at every turn. Today, opinions about Vorigern are also divided. Celtophilic historians see in him what was introduced in Britain by the office of the high king (following the Irish Ard-Ri of Tara). Others see him as a hegemon or even just a distinguished Celto-Roman chief. It is even believed that he abandoned Christianity and practised polygamy.