Sources
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Bede
Gildas
Historia Brittonum
Confession of St Patrick
Articles
End of Roman rule
Tribal Militias
After Roman Rule
Post-Roman Britain
The Saxon Invasion
The Age of Saints
Pagan Religions in Britain
Nations
Evidence
The Picts
Ogham and the Irish in Britain
Scotti and Scots
'Teutonic' England
Books
Dark Age Books
Anglo-Saxon Books
Orkney Books
Pict Books
Viking Books
Early Welsh History
After Rome: C.400-c.800
Thomas Charles-Edwards (Editor).
The chapters in this volume, each written by a leading scholar of the period, analyse in turn the different nationalities and kingdoms that existed in the British Isles from the end of the Roman empire to the coming of the Vikings, the process of conversion to Christianity, the development of art and of a written culture, and the interaction between this written culture and the societies of the day. Available from:
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- Euros
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The End of Roman Rule
Roman Lighthouse, Dover
Documentary Accounts
Early in the following year, a combined barbarian force of Burgundians,
Alans, Vandals and Suevi swept through central Gaul, cutting the links
between Rome and Britain. In the autumn of that year (406), the remaining
Roman forces in Britain mutinied. Two emperors were proclaimed in succession,
the first, Marcus, being immediately assassinated and the second, Gratian
lasting just four months. Zosimus (VI, 2-5) describes events thus:
'While Arcadius was still Emperor, and Honorius and Theodosius
were consuls for the seventh and second times respectively (AD 407), the
soldiers in Britain rebelled, elevated Marcus to the imperial throne, and
gave him their obedience as ruler there. However, because he was not in
tune with their ways, they put him to death, promoted Gratian and, granting
him the purple robe and crown, formed a bodyguard for him as they would
an emperor. However, not finding him to their liking either, they deposed
him and put him to death after four months, and gave the throne to Constantine.'
This further emperor, Constantine III, took the last remaining legion,
the Second Augusta, into Gaul to further his ambitions. According to Orosius,
writing in the 5th century, 'Constantine was elected from the lowest ranks
of the military, solely on the basis of the hope engendered by his name,
and not because of any valour he had. As soon as he assumed power he crossed
to Gaul. There he was frequently tricked by worthless pacts with the barbarians
and was the cause of great harm to the state' (Adversum Paganos [Against
the Pagans] VII, 40, 4). Zosimus provides an extensive history, mentioning
a native Briton, Gerontius, as one of his generals. Orosius (VII, 42, 1-4)
goes on to write:
'In the 1165th year after the foundation of Rome (AD 410)
the Emperor Honorius, seeing that no action could be taken against the
barbarians with so many usurpers rising up against him, ordered that the
usurpers themselves be disposed of as a first move. The supreme command
in this war was entrusted to the Count Constantius ... Therefore count
Constantius set out to Gaul with an army, besieged the Emperor Constantine
at Arles ( the new capital of the Prefecture of the Gauls), took him prisoner,
and put him to death (AD 411). At this point... Constantine's son Constans
was killed at Vienne by his Count Gerontius, a man more given to evil than
to virtue, who then set up a certain Maximus in Constans' place. Gerontius
himself was slain by his own soldiers.'
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The Fall of the Roman Empire : A New History of Rome and the Barbarians
by Peter Heather. The death of the Roman Empire is one of the perennial mysteries of world history. Now, in this groundbreaking book, Peter Heather proposes a stunning new solution: Rome generated its own nemesis. Centuries of imperialism turned the neighbors it called barbarians into an enemy capable of
dismantling the Empire that had dominated their lives for so long.
Heather is a leading authority on the late Roman Empire and on the barbarians. In The Fall of the Roman Empire, he explores the extraordinary success story that was the Roman Empire and uses a new understanding of its continued strength and enduring limitations to show how Europe's barbarians,
transformed by centuries of contact with Rome on every possible level, eventually pulled it apart. Available from:
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- US Dollars
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- Euros
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