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What became of the Romano-British ?

• Message 1.Β 

  Posted by maraudingsaxon (U3567176) on Thursday, 13th April 2006

  I want to take the interesting thread going on about in the Roman Army discussion and open it up. I am really interested in the period 400-600AD. One of the interesting thingsabout this period is what became of the native population, the exisiting Romano-British, after the departure of the Roman-military in 410AD.
  One theory goes that after the Saxons arrived sometime in the fifth century. The existing population fled or were forced into the north and west of Britain. Now where is the physical evidence like burials, buildings and other material possesions from western and northern Britain to back this up ?And what about documentary proof as well.
  Or is this all totally wrong. Does anyone else have another theory ?What do you all think about it. I would love to know what happened to the existing population, I can't believe they were all slaughtered by the Saxons ?
  
  

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Eliza6Beth (U2637732) on Thursday, 20th April 2006

  Aha - I never realised until recently what a contentious subject this is - there was a whole lot about it a while back, I know, and certainly the wonderful society of friends of the anglo saxons (I can post the website if necessary) are brilliant on it!
  
  I believe the 'standard' argument was that the saxons did indeed replace the RB in Britain, who either died off or fled to Wales/Brittany etc, but now there is more of a 'no they didn't they just adopted Saxon conquest and culture'. There is also some stuff that the RB pouplation was badly affected by the late Roman plague, and so there were far fewer around which also made it easier fort he saxons to invade.
  
  However, be aware that there is a whole covert political theory going on here in this topic, which is blatantly used by some historians to draw analogies with modern Britain - the idea is that the Saxons were like modern immigrants, and that they all melded happily ever after with the host population in a lovely-jubbly multi-cultural society...
  
  Yeah, right, and that's why we all speak English. Or possibly, eventually, live under sharia law in a few generations????
  
  Demographics is the most powerful force in human history, and the host cultures of mass immigration don't fare too well (ask a native Amerindian, if you can find one.)
  
  Well, that's my hobby horse, and now I'll get off it.
  
  Eliza.

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• Message 3

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by maraudingsaxon (U3567176) on Thursday, 20th April 2006

  nice reply eliz i agree.
  
  
  

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• Message 4

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by Eliza6Beth (U2637732) on Thursday, 20th April 2006

  I know I sound like Enoch Powell marries Attilla the Hun, but I get very cross when politicians simply ignore that Britain is being changed irreversibly FOR EVER
  
  I have immense sympathy for economic migrants, but the answer is not to flood the western lifeboats but TO MAKE THE THIRD WORLD AS WEALTHY AS US. If we spent out money doing that, no one would want to come here in the first place.
  
  30% immigrant population, fine, no sweat, host culture stays 'safe' - more than that, rivers of blood.
  
  E
  
  

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• Message 5

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by yggdrasil (U2748506) on Friday, 21st April 2006

  "I believe the 'standard' argument was that the saxons did indeed replace the RB in Britain, who either died off or fled to Wales/Brittany etc, but now there is more of a 'no they didn't they just adopted Saxon conquest and culture'. There is also some stuff that the RB pouplation was badly affected by the late Roman plague, and so there were far fewer around which also made it easier fort he saxons to invade."
  
  I heard an interesting talk recently on 5-6th century watermills. It seems the Romano-British used vertically mounted wheels, but the A-S used horizontal ones. In the south and east of the country, you find horizontal ones from that period, which implies there were none usable there when they were built by Saxons. But in Hereford on the borders of Wales, they have found a vertical one from that period, on a manor ruled by a Saxon.
  It is therefore quite possible that plague did leave a lot of the south east depopulated, and the mills fell into disrepair, but on the edges of what was once the Roman Empire, life continued much as before.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

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• Message 6

  , in reply to message 5.

  Posted by Eliza6Beth (U2637732) on Friday, 21st April 2006

  I'm not sure I can get my head round a horizontal water wheel! (not literarally, mind you....)
  
  How bizarre!
  
  Eliza

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