England, A History

The history of Britain begins with the fishermen and hunters, which arrived on the coasts of Britain in the distant, dark past. These early men were not looking for new homes but rather simply tapping the abundant resources, which the coastal regions provided them during their short stays along the coastline. In time, these stone-age people began to move further inland, setting up homes and creating monuments such as Stonehenge, which still puzzle us today.

Archaeological evidence tells us that these early peoples found in Briton elephants, rhinoceroses, cave-bears, lions, horses, deer, giant oxen, wolves and hares. Briton offered these early settlers a rich hunting ground, thick forests, abundant rivers and fertile plains.

By 4,500 BC, we begin to see a settled village life in England. These settlers lived in stone walled homes using whale bone to support the roof. These homes were circular in shape and included oblong fields and stock enclosures. These peoples kept herds of cattle, sheep, goats and pigs and also cultivated crops of barley, wheat and flax. The Celts used the wheat they harvested for bread. Swine herding was very important to the ancient Celts, as most of their diet was ham and pork. Cattle were important as a source of dairy products. Using stone axes, these people cleared the dense forests in order to establish their agricultural lifestyle.

The earliest record we have of these people is by a Greek merchant, Pytheas who described the people of Briton as "especially friendly to strangers and from meeting foreign traders have adopted civilized habits. It is these people who produce the tin, cleverly working the land that bears it…Merchants purchase the tin from the natives there and ship it back to gaul."

The Celtic peoples arrived bringing with them the beakers, which have become so identified with them. It has been suggested that these peoples used the beakers to store beer, as they grew barley and knew how to ferment it into the golden ale, which the Celt called "cervesia." The Celts added honey and cumin to beer, which they called "corma." The Celts also appreciated mead and wine. These Celts mingled with the original settlers and became an intermingled group. These groups appear to have intermingled with no sign of warfare and had in common the practice of burying their dead in single graves, often under round barrows implying a possible connection historically. This combined group is responsible for the enormous earthwork of Sillbury Hill and Stonehenge.

This culture was very sophisticated as indicated by the enormous task of creating the Stonehenge site. Remaining stone battle-axes, metal daggers with richly decorated hilts, ornamental works of gold or amber, cups, amulets, scepters testify to these people's ability to work with metals, a mark of the Celtic peoples.

Celtic women wore a simple long garment with a cloak. The men wore trousers, sometimes knee length, a sleeved tunic reaching the thing, a cloak and sandals or boots. A torc, or necklace was popular. It was common for the Celtic clothing to be dyed in bright colors. Men wore long moustaches or beards and often the hair was long. The women enjoyed painting their bodies and some

These Celtic peoples arrived in Briton 500-100 BC, spreading into Ireland, northern Italy, parts of Spain, Belgium, Bosnia and the southern regions of Scandinavia. We do not know the origin of the Celtic peoples. They appear in the Alsace-Lorraine region of eastern France between 1500-1000 BC. This is congruent with the time period in which Moses and King David were active in Judea. Between 800-400 BC, we see the Celts dominating Gaul, southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, western Hungary as well as incursions into Briton. This period is simultaneous to the high point of Greek civilization these were individual tribes not a cohesive, unified invasion. They were extremely skilled metal workers whose metal products were valued throughout the known world for their high quality and intricate design. The Celts were the first people north of the Mediterranean civilizations to use iron, which gave the Celts a superior position in weapons and tools. What united the Celts into a common group was their language, religion and their culture.

Another group of Celts arrived in Britain bringing with them the practice of burying an individual's precious items with them. These latter Celts appear to have arrived in two waves bringing with them the practice of hill forts, which offered the people shelter as well as small townships and administrative centers. They also brought with them a higher degree of metal-working including shields, daggers, spears, helmets, swords, mirrors, drinking vessels, jewelry and the introduction into Briton of the iron plough. They are also responsible for the introduction of the Brythonic language. These Celts also seem to have introduced the Druidic religion of which I will discuss further in this document. These Celts arrived in Britain from Gaul and were known as the Belgae, arriving around 75 BC. The Belgae had developed a well-organized urban society with capitals and tribal chiefs, which we see fully developed in the Scottish Clann system. They enjoyed a fully developed trade with Rome and Gaul, which included corn, livestock, metals and slaves. These peoples were highly cultured, skilled poets and find craftsmen.

The Celts were unique in their cultural practice of a society established upon a tribal or clan basis based upon familial ties. They practiced an unusual system of child rearing in that children were not raised by the birth parents but rather by close relatives in a foster home situation. The clans were bound to one another in a loose social structure of tribes, each having its own social structure, customs and possibly individualized religious worship. These clans and tribes would often wage war against one another. On the Continent it has been noted that the free men of the tribe sometimes elected these chiefs for a limited term of office. A rix ending to a name signified that the person was a supreme chieftain.

Physically the Celts are described as being tall, muscular people with fair skin and blonde hair. Hospitality was an important part of Celtic culture, for which the Celts were known. This hospitality included communal feasting and the sharing of food was an important part of Celtic society. Individual Celts were described as "gentle and honest." It was said that the Celts enjoyed speaking in riddles and loved exaggeration.

The land of a clan was owned communally and wealth was discerned based upon the number of cattle a clan owned. The Celtic clans system is very similar to that of the Biblical tribes. In the Celtic clan system, women were regarded highly and were technically equal to men and could own property and select their own husbands. Several women have been recorded historically as leaders in war such as Boudicca, which will be discussed later in this work.

The basic social structure of Celtic society was: the Chieftain, the warrior aristocracy and the freemen farmers. Some women were able to attain the position of chieftain, which was completely unique to the Celts and unknown in other cultures. Women who had born children were greatly respected and won a high social status. Slavery was accepted and generally consisted of conquered peoples. Three other levels of Celtic society included the druid, the bard and the artisan.

A common and unique trait of the Celtic culture was their Druidic religion. The Druids were more than priests; they were political advisors, teachers, healers and arbitrators. Educated in their own universities, the Druids practiced an oral transmission of their knowledge, forbidding their traditions to be written. In many ways, the Druids held more power than the king himself. During war, they acted as ambassadors. They composed verse and upheld the law. They were philosophers, strategists and historians of their tribes. The Druids were skilled in the reading of omens, interpretation of dreams, herbal medicine, astronomy, as well as the composition of poetry. The Druids were also responsible for human sacrifice, which was common among the Celts.

Closely related to the Druids were the bards or the chief poets of the clan. The bard was also considered a priest in Druidism. The bard was responsible for the keeping of the tribal history, with which he would entertain gatherings while relating the epic tales of Celtic gods and heroes. He often relayed these tales in song accompanied by the use of a lyre. The bard was exempt from serving in battle and went to battles to record but not to fight. It was a strict law that no bard should be killed. Some bards were also seers.

The religion of the Celts was based upon a belief in a supreme being and upon the immortality of the soul. They believed in reincarnation, not only as humans but as animals as well. Hence the practice of burying items such as food, mead and equipment with the dead. The Celts saw death as a mere pause in a long life. They worshipped hundreds of gods and goddesses and viewed their gods as being territorial and connected with nature.

Battle was an important part of Celtic society. The Celts were known for their practice of appearing in battle naked, dyed bright blue from head to toe and noted for their bleached blonde hair and their Celtic war cry. Elaborately designed shields and breastplates as well as ornamented helmets and trumpets are testimony to the high value the Celts placed upon battle. The Celts brought with them the practice of chariot use during warfare. Unique to the Celtic society was their habit of bringing their families with them into battle, their women often entering into the battle along with the men.

Nennius has given us an account of these early peoples. He states that the "island of Britain derives its name from Brutus, (Bryttys in the Welsh Chronicle), a Roman consul." He then lists the ancient cities of the island including Camelot in Somersetshire. He offers us some insite into the races of Briton: the Scots, the Picts, the Saxons and the ancient Britons. He tells us that the "Britons deduce their origin both from the Greeks and the Romans. On the side of the mother, from Lavinia, daughter of Latinus, king of Italy, and of the race of Silvanus, son of Inachus, son of Dardanus who was the son of Saturn, king of the Greeks..(who) built the city of Troy. Dardanus was the father of Troius, father of Priam and Anchises; Anchises the father of Aeneas, father of Ascanius and Silvius; and this Silvius was the son of Aeneas and Lavinia, daughter of the king of Italy. From the sons of Aeneas and Lavinia descended Romulus and Remus, sons of the holy queen Rhea, founders of Rome. Brutus was consul when he conquered Spain and reduced that country to a Roman province. He afterwards subdued the island of Britain, whose inhabitants were the descendants of the Romans, from Silvius Posthumus. He was called Posthumus because he was born after the death of his father, and his mother Lavinia concealed herself during her pregnancy; he was called Silvius because he was born in a wood. Hence the Roman kings were called Silvan, and the Britons from Brutus, and rose the family of Brutus. Aeneas, after the Trojan War, arrived with his son in Italy; and having vanquished Turnus, married Lavinia, daughter of king Latinus, who was the son of Faunnus, son of Picus, son of Saturn. After the death of Latinus, Aeneas obtained the kingdom of the Romans, and Lavinia brought forth a son, who was named Silvius. Ascanius founded Alba, and afterwards married. And Lavinia bore to Aeneas a son, named Silivius; but Ascanius married a wife, who conceived and became pregnant. And Aeneas, having been informed that his daughter-in-law was pregnant, ordered his son to send his magician to examine his wife, whether the child conceived male were male… the magician pronounced that the son, who should become the most valiant among the Italians, and the most beloved of all men. In consequence of this prediction, Ascanius put the magician to death; but it happened that the mother of the child dying at its birth, he was named Brutus; and after a certain interval, agreeably to what the magician had shot his father with an arrow, not intentionally but by accident. He was, for this cause, expelled from Italy, and came to the islands of the Tyrrhene sea, when he was exiled on account of the death of Turnus, slain by Aeneas. He then went among the Gauls, and built the city of the Turones, called Turnis (Tours). Then he came to a land named from him Britannia, dwelt there and filled it with his own descendants and it has been inhabited from that time to the present.
After an interval of not less than eight hundred years, came the Picts, and occupied the Orkney Islands: whence they laid waste to many regions, and seized those on the left side of Britain, where they still remain, keeping possession of a third a part of Britain to this day."

Nennius then gives us an account of the tribes of Europe, including the tribes, which would settle in England. In this account, Nennius further explains the origins of Brutus. He states: "The first man that dwelt in Europe was Alanus, with his three sons, Hisicion, Armenon and Neugio. Hisicion had four sons, Francus, Romanus, Alamanus, and Brutus. Armenon had five sons, Gothus, Valagothus, Cibidus, Burgundus, and Longobardus. Neugio had three sons, Vandalus, Saxo, and Boganus. From Hiscion arose four nations-the Franks, the Latins, the Germans, and Britons: from Armenon, the Gothi, Balagothi, Cibidi, Burgundi, and Longobardi: from Neugio, the Bogari, Vandali, Saxones, and Tarinegi. The whole of Europe was subdivided into these tribes." He continues to give the genealogical account of these people to the Biblical genealogies to Adam. He then states: "We have obtained this information respecting the original inhabitants of Britain from ancient tradition."

Nennius is giving us an account of the early peoples of Briton and their genealogical background. He states that Brutus, King of the Britons came to the Isle of Britain from Troy. We are all familiar with the beautiful Helen and the subsequent fall of Troy to the Greek army in 1182 BC. Aeneas, son of Anchises married Creusa, daughter of King Priam of Troy. Their son was Ascanius. When Troy fell, Aeneas escaped with his father Anchises and young son, Ascanius and together with other refugees went first to Africa, then Italy where Aeneas married Lavinia, daughter of Latinus and they had a son, Silvius. We see Aeneas again in Virgil's Aneid written 30-19 BC.

Ascanius marries and has a son, Silvius who fathers a child with Lavinia's niece. That child is Brutus with whom Lavinia dies in childbirth. In a hunting accident, Brutus accidentally kills his father and is banished from Italy. He then goes to Greece where his lineage is recognized by the Trojans then living in subjugation in Greece. They recognize him as their leader and after a battle, Pandrasus, King of the Greeks, gives the Trojans ships so that they may leave Greece. He also gave the hand of his daughter, Ignoge, to Brutus.

After sailing through ports of Africa, the Trojans sail through the Straits of Gibraltar and arrive in Gaul, where they find more Trojan exiles, which, after some battles, join them on the ships. They find an almost empty island north of Gaul, known as "Alban". Those who came with Brutus were called "Britons", whence the name for the Island of Britain. This date has been calculated at 1074 BC. As Brutus was Trojan on his mother's side and Latin on his father's side and married a Greek, hence Nennius's account of the Trojan, Latin and Greek background of the Britons.

The Roman Invasion

The Romans arrived in Briton in 55 BC under Julius Caesar. It was to be another hundred years before Roman settlement began in earnest in the eastern territories. Hungry for the tin, which Briton had been trading from early times, Caesar continued to make incursions into Briton. He was also intent upon severing the Celtic support of their Celtic cousins in Gaul. Establishing a base in present Kent, the Romans subdued much of southern Briton, primarily due to a lack of cohesion among the Celtic leaders. The Romans established prosperous villas in the southeast and southwest of Briton, which provided the Romans with a settled and peaceful urban life. The Romans were unsuccessful in conquering the Welsh and the Scots and established strong garrisons along those borders.

We have an account of the Roman Invasion written by the Britons, the Tysilo Chronicle (Jesus College MS LXI) written in the middle of the first century BC by the Britons themselves and later became the source of information for Geoffrey of Monmouth.

The Romans never totally dominated the Britons. Only in the south of Briton did Roman life prosper, integrating the native tribes of the area into a town-based governmental system. Roman towns were established such as Colchester, Gloucester, Lincoln and York. These towns were modeled upon those of Rome and ruled by an ordo of one hundred councilors, which consisted of local, land-owning residents. The ordo was run by two magistrates, which rotated annually and were responsible for collecting taxes, administering justice and public works. Away from the towns, in the countryside, were the villas, which included many native Britons who had acquired land and adopted Roman culture.

The class society in Roman occupied Briton remained strongly fixed with the Romans at the top of the society. The Roman system of forbidding women from holding public office or property rights was enforced. At the lowest level of society were the slaves, many of whom were able to gain their freedom and later hold important political posts.

Perhaps the greatest gift the Romans brought to Briton was a system of roads, which were vital for trade. They also introduced bridges. The roads and bridges offered an increased means of communication.

In 60 A.D., Queen Boudicca of the Iceni nearly drove the Romans from Briton. Boudicca was described as a fearsome, powerful woman, very tall with piercing eyes and "thick, reddish hair that hung below her waist. She wore a great golden torc around her neck and a flowing tartan cloak, fastened with a brooch."

Boudicca was married to Prasutagus, King of the Iceni, a tribe in East Anglia. Together, Boudicca and Prasutagus had two daughters. Prasutagus, in order to avoid war, had made a pact with the Romans dividing his lands and riches between his daughters and the Romans. Following his death, the Romans plundered the Iceni houses and invaded the land, mistreating the people to the point of flogging Queen Boudicca herself. Boudicca then led her people against the Romans, capturing and burning Colchester, London and St.Albans. The Romans fled before her 100,000 men army until they received reinforcements from Italy.
The Britons were finally defeated and Boudicca was captured. The British Queen took poison rather than submit to the Romans.

In 43 A.D., the Romans marched against Camulodunum, capital of the Catuvellauni. Caratacus and his brother, Togodumnus, sons of the now deceased king, Cunobelinus, led a campaign against the Romans. Caratacus, his brother having been killed in an earlier campaign, took refuge with the Silures in Wales. Other native leaders including Cogidubnus, Prasutagnus of the Iceni and Cartimandua, queen of the Brigantes, allied themselves with Rome. Together, the brothers managed to resist the Romans for nearly nine years.

Caratacus used the difficulty of the land to his advantage in fighting the Romans by moving the war from the land of the Silures into the territory of the Ordovices, where he selected a position which offered an easy retreat if necessary. He appealed to each warrior by name and to their forefathers who had driven back Caesar and by whose valour they were free from the Roman axe and imprisonment. After a furious battle, the Romans were victorious and the wife and daughter of Caratacus were captured, as were his brothers. Caratacus himself managed to escape to the land of the Brigantes in northern Briton, where he hoped to establish further resistance to the Romans. Cartimandua, Queen of the Brigantes, who had a client-ruler relationship with the Romans, betrayed Caratacus to the Romans.

For her betrayal of Caratacus, Cartimandua was estranged from her husband, Venutius, whom she divorced. Twice the Romans were forced to intervene to save the queen from the anger of the Britons but in 69 A.D. the Romans, involved in their own civil war following the suicide of Nero, were unable to prevent Venutius from driving her out and claiming the throne. Caratacus had become a legendary hero among the Britons.

Caratacus, whose fame and tales of courage preceded him, was sent to Rome. Facing Claudius, Caratacus, himself a king, refused to stoop in fear or supplication. In a speech before the emperor's tribunal, Caratacus declared his royal ancestry and his natural tendency to protect those things that were his. He then continued, stating that if his life were saved it would be a memorial to the clemency of the Romans, where if he were killed, neither he nor they would receive fame. Claudius, impressed with his courtesy and bearing pardoned him. Caratacus and his family were allowed to remain in Italy where they lived out their lives. It is said that Caratacus, after seeing the splendor of Rome exclaimed, "And can you, then, who have got such possessions and so many them, covet our poor tents?" Cassius Dio, Roman History

The great mass of Britons were not Romanized. It is only through the Church that the Roman influence survived in Briton. The Britons continued to speak their Celtic language, though some Latin words were borrowed.

Beginning in 383 A.D. the Romans began their withdrawal from Briton when Magnus Maximus, after living in Briton for twelve years, withdrew to dethrone Gratian as Emperor in the West. Those Romans remaining behind became Romanized Britons, organizing local defenses against the Saxon invaders.

The Dark Ages of Briton

The Dark Ages of Briton begin with the departure of the Romans and continues until the arrival of Augustine of Kent. During this period, written records are scarce. We do know that Briton found itself, at the end of this period, divided into three distinct divisions with the Welsh in the west, the Gaels in the north and the Anglo Saxons in the east. Much of western Briton had been converted to Christianity. Racially, the areas were marked in the West by Britons, Irish and Angles; the North by Britons and Angles and the South East being primarily Angles. The Picts and Scots were to the north and west and the Saxons, Angles and Jutes to the south and east.

Gildas in the sixth century, Bede in the eighth century and Nennius in the ninth century record this period in history. From these sources as well as archeological evidence, we see that Anglo Saxon domination of Britain occurred in two stages.

In March-April of 1999, the Institute of Molecular Biology, Oxford reported a study of some 6,000 British people showing a shared DNA by 99 percent going back to the Ice Age. This study would either prove that the Anglo Saxon "invasion" was much more an integration, or perhaps that the Anglo-Saxons were of the same DNA pattern as those Celts which had settled in Briton some hundreds of years prior to the Anglo Saxon intrusion. I tend to believe the accounts, which would support a common Celtic heritage of all of the peoples settling in Briton during these successive intrusions of new Celtic groups. This is substantiated in the Irish histories, though contrary to modern revisionists current thinking.

Nennius gives us an account of the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons. "Vortigern then reigned in Britain. In his time, the natives had cause of dread, not only from the inroads of the Scots and Picts, but also from the Romans, and their apprehensions of Ambrosius…Vortigern is said to have been a sovereign of the Dimetae, and Ambrosius son to the king of the Damnonii. The latter as half a Roman by descent, and naturally supported the Roman interest: the former was entirely a Briton, and as naturally seconded by the original Britons.
"Three vessels, exiled from Germany, arrived in Britain. They were commanded by Horsa and Hengist, brothers and sons of Wihtgils…Vortigern received them as friends, and delivered up to them the island which is in their language called Thanet, and by the Britons, Ruym…The Saxons were received by Vortigern, four hundred and forty-seven years after the passion of Christ and according to the tradition of our ancestors, from the period of their first arrival in Britain, to the first year of the reign of king Edmund, five hundred and forty-two years; and to that in which we now write, which is the fifth of his reign, five hundred and forty-seven years…
"After the Saxons had continued some time in the island of Thanet, Vortigern promised to supply them with clothing and provision, on condition they would engage to fight against the enemies of his country. But the barbarians having greatly increased in number, the Britons became incapable of fulfilling their engagement; and when the Saxons, according to the promise they had received, claimed a supply of provisions and clothing, the Britons replied, 'Your number is increased; your assistance is now unnecessary; you may, therefore return home, for we can no longer support you;' and thereupon they began to devise means of breaking the peace between them.
"But Hengist, in whom united craft and penetration, perceiving he had to act with an ignorant king, and a fluctuating people, incapable of opposing much resistance, replied to Vortigern, 'We are, indeed, few in number, but, if you will give us leave, we will send to our country for an additional number of forces, with whom we will fight for you and your subjects.' Vortigern assenting to this proposal, messengers were dispatched to Scythia, where selecting a number of warlike troops, they returned with sixteen vessels, bringing with them the beautiful daughter of Hengist. And now the Saxon chief prepared an entertainment, to which he invited the king, his officers, and Ceretic, his interpreter, having previously enjoined his daughter to serve them so profusely with wine and ale, that they might soon become intoxicated. This plan succeeded; and Vortigern, at the instigation of the devil, and enamored with the beauty of the damsel, demanded her, through the medium of his interpreter, of the father, promising to give for her whatever he should ask. Then Hengist, who had already consulted with the elders who attended him of the Oghgul race, demanded for his daughter the province, called in English, Centland, in British, Ceint, (Kent.) This cession was made without the knowledge of the king, Guoyrancgonus, who then reigned in Kent, and who experienced no inconsiderable share of grief, from seeing his kingdom thus clandestinely, fraudulently, and imprudently resigned to foreigners. Thus the maid was delivered up to the king, who slept with her, and loved her exceedingly.
"Hengist, after this, said to Vortigern, "I will be to you both a father and an adviser; despise not my counsels, and you shall have no reason to fear being conquered by any man or any nation whatever; for the people of my country are strong, warlike, and robust: if you approve, I will send for my son and his brother, both valiant men who at my invitation will fight against the Scots, and you can give them the countries in the north, near the wall called Gual. "The incautious sovereign having assented to this, Octa and Ebusa arrived with forty ships. In these they sailed round the country of the Picts, laid waste the Orkneys, and took possession of many regions, even to the Pictish confines.
"But Hengist continued, by degrees, sending for ships from his own country, so that some islands whence they came were left without inhabitants; and whilst his people were increasing in power and number, they came to the above-named province of Kent.
"In the meantime, Vortigern, as if desirous of adding to the evils he had already occasioned, married his own daughter, by whom he had a son. When this was made known to St. Germanus, he came, with all the British clergy, to reprove him: and whilst a numerous assembly of the ecclesiastics and laity were in consultation, the weak king ordered his daughter to appear before them, and in the presence of all to present her son to St. Germanus, and declare that he was the father of the child. The immodest woman obeyed; and St. Germanus, taking the child, said, "I will be a father to you, my son; nor will I dismiss you till a razor, scissors, and comb, are given to me, and it is allowed you to give them to your carnal father." The child obeyed St. Germanus, and, going to his father Vortigern, said to him, "Thou art my father; shave and cut the hair of my head." The king blushed, and was silent; and, without replying to the child, arose in great anger, and fled from the presence of St. Germanus, execrated and condemned by the whole synod.
"But soon after, calling together his twelve wise men, to consult what was to be done, they said to him, "Retire to the remote boundaries of your kingdom; there build and fortify a city to defend yourself, for the people you have received are treacherous; they are seeking to subdue you by stratagem, and, even during your life, to seize upon all the countries subject to your power, how much more will they attempt, after your death!" The king, pleased with this advice, departed with his wise men, and traveled through many parts of his territories, in search of a place convenient for the purpose of building a citadel. Having, to no purpose, traveled far and wide, they came at length to a province called Guenet; and having surveyed the mountains of Heremus, they discovered, on the summit of one of them, a situation, adapted to the construction of a citadel. Upon this, the wise men said to the king, "Build here a city; for, in this place, it will ever be secure against the barbarians." Then the king sent for artificers, carpenters, stone-masons, and collected all the materials requisite to building; but the whole of these disappeared in one night, so that nothing remained of what had been provided for the constructing of the citadel. Materials were, therefore, from all parts, procured a second and third time, and again vanished as before, leaving and rendering every effort ineffectual. Vortigern inquired of his wise men the cause of this opposition to his undertaking, and of so much useless expense of labour? They replied, "You must find a child born without a father, put him to death, and sprinkle with his blood the ground on which the citadel is to be built, or you will never accomplish your purpose."
"In consequence of this reply, the king sent messengers throughout Britain, in search of a child born without a father. After having inquired in all the provinces, they came to the field of Ælecti, in the district of Glevesing, where a party of boys were playing at ball. And two of them quarrelling, one said to the other, "O boy without a father, no good will ever happen to you." Upon this, the messengers diligently inquired of the mother and the other boys, whether he had had a father? Which his mother denied, saying, "In what manner he was conceived I know not, for I have never had intercourse with any man;" and then she solemnly affirmed that he had no mortal father. The boy was, therefore, led away, and conducted before Vortigern the king.
"A meeting took place the next day for the purpose of putting him to death. Then the boy said to the king, "Why have your servants brought me hither?" "That you may be put to death," replied the king, "and that the ground on which my citadel is to stand, may be sprinkled with your blood, without which I shall be unable to build it." "Who," said the boy, "instructed you to do this?" "My wise men," answered the king. "Order them hither," returned the boy; this being complied with, he thus questioned them: "By what means was it revealed to you that this citadel could not be built, unless the spot were previously sprinkled with my blood? Speak without disguise, and declare who discovered me to you;" then turning to the king, "I will soon," said he, "unfold to you every thing; but I desire to question your wise men, and wish them to disclose to you what is hidden under this pavement:" they acknowledging their ignorance, "there is," said he, "a pool; come and dig:" they did so, and found the pool. "Now," continued he, "tell me what is in it;" but they were ashamed, and made no reply. "I," said the boy, "can discover it to you: there are two vases in the pool;" they examined, and found it so: continuing his questions," What is in the vases?" they were silent: "there is a tent in them," said the boy; "separate them, and you shall find it so;" this being done by the king's command, there was found in them a folded tent. The boy, going on with his questions, asked the wise men what was in it? But they not knowing what to reply, "There are," said he, "two serpents, one white and the other red; unfold the tent;" they obeyed, and two sleeping serpents were discovered; "consider attentively," said the boy, "what they are doing." The serpents began to struggle with each other; and the white one, raising himself up, threw down the other into the middle of the tent, and sometimes drove him to the edge of it; and this was repeated thrice. At length the red one, apparently the weaker of the two, recovering his strength, expelled the white one from the tent; and the latter being pursued through the pool by the red one, disappeared. Then the boy, asking the wise men what was signified by this wonderful omen, and they expressing their ignorance, he said to the king, "I will now unfold to you the meaning of this mystery. The pool is the emblem of this world, and the tent that of your kingdom: the two serpents are two dragons; the red serpent is your dragon, but the white serpent is the dragon of the people who occupy several provinces and districts of Britain, even almost from sea to sea: at length, however, our people shall rise and drive away the Saxon race from beyond the sea, whence they originally came; but do you depart from this place, where you are not permitted to erect a citadel; I, to whom fate has allotted this mansion, shall remain here; whilst to you it is incumbent to seek other provinces, where you may build a fortress." "What is your name?" asked the king: "I am called Ambrose (in British Embresguletic)," returned the boy; and in answer to the king's question, "What is your origin?" he replied, "A Roman consul was my father." (Geoffrey of Monmouth calls this boy-prophet, Merlin)
"Then the king assigned him that city, with all the western provinces of Britain; and departing with his wise men to the sinistral district, he arrived in the region named Gueneri, where he built a city which, according to his name, was called Cair Guorthegirn.
"At length Vortimer, the son of Vortigern, valiantly fought against Hengist, Horsa, and his people; drove them to the isle of Thanet, and thrice enclosed them within it, and beset them on the western side.
"The Saxons now dispatched deputies to Germany to solicit large reinforcements, and an additional number of ships: having obtained these, they fought against the kings and princes of Britain, and sometimes extended their boundaries by victory, and sometimes were conquered and driven back.
" Four times did Vortimer valorously encounter the enemy; the first has been mentioned, the second was upon the river Darent, the third at the Ford, in their language called Epsford, though in ours Set thirgabail, there Horsa fell, and Catigern, the son of Vortigern; the fourth battle he fought, was near the stone on the shore of the Gallic sea, where the Saxons being defeated, fled to their ships.
"After a short interval Vortimer died; before his decease, anxious for the future prosperity of his country, he charged his friends to inter his body at the entrance of the Saxon port, viz. upon the rock where the Saxons first landed; "for though," said he, "they may inhabit other parts of Britain, yet if you follow my commands, they will never remain in this island." They imprudently disobeyed this last injunction, and neglected to bury him where he had appointed.
"After this the barbarians became firmly incorporated, and were assisted by foreign pagans; for Vortigern was their friend, on account of the daughter of Hengist, whom he so much loved, that no one durst fight against him--in the meantime they soothed the imprudent king, and whilst practising every appearance of fondness, were plotting with his enemies. And let him that reads understand, that the Saxons were victorious, and ruled Britain, not from their superior prowess, but on account of the great sins of the Britons: God so permitting it.
"For what wise man will resist the wholesome counsel of God? The Almighty is the King of kings, and the Lord of lords, ruling and judging every one, according to his own pleasure.
"After the death of Vortimer, Hengist being strengthened by new accessions, collected his ships, and calling his leaders together, consulted by what stratagem they might overcome Vortigern and his army; with insidious intention they sent messengers to the king, with offers of peace and perpetual friendship; unsuspicious of treachery, the monarch, after advising with his elders, accepted the proposals.
" Hengist, under pretence of ratifying the treaty, prepared an entertainment, to which he invited the king, the nobles, and military officers, in number about three hundred; speciously concealing his wicked intention, he ordered three hundred Saxons to conceal each a knife under his feet, and to mix with the Britons; "and when," said he, "they are sufficiently inebriated, &c. cry out, 'Nimed eure Saxes,' then let each draw his knife, and kill his man; but spare the king, on account of his marriage with my daughter, for it is better that he should be ransomed than killed."
"The king with his company, appeared at the feast; and mixing with the Saxons, who, whilst they spoke peace with their tongues, cherished treachery in their hearts, each man was placed next his enemy.
"After they had eaten and drunk, and were much intoxicated, Hengist suddenly vociferated, "Nimed eure Saxes!" and instantly his adherents drew their knives, and rushing upon the Britons, each slew him that sat next to him, and there was slain three hundred of the nobles of Vortigern. The king being a captive, purchased his redemption, by delivering up the three provinces of East, South, and Middle Sex, besides other districts at the option of his betrayers.
"Guorthegirnaim, so called from his own name, where he concealed himself with his wives: but St. Germanus followed him with all the British clergy, and upon a rock prayed for his sins during forty days and forty nights.
"The blessed man was unanimously chosen commander against the Saxons. And then, not by the clang of trumpets, but by praying, singing hallelujah, and by the cries of the army to God, the enemies were routed, and driven even to the sea.
"Again Vortigern ignominiously flew from St. Germanus to the kingdom of the Dimetæ, where, on the river Towy, he built a castle, which he named Cair Guothergirn. The saint, as usual, followed him there, and with his clergy fasted and prayed to the Lord three days, and as many nights. On the third night, at the third hour, fire fell suddenly from heaven, and totally burned the castle. Vortigern, the daughter of Hengist, his other wives, and all the inhabitants, both men and women, miserably perished: such was the end of this unhappy king, as we find written in the life of St. Germanus.

Saxon Warriors

"Others assure us, that being hated by all the people of Britain, for having received the Saxons, and being publicly charged by St. Germanus and the clergy in the sight of God, he betook himself to flight; and, that deserted and a wanderer, he sought a place of refuge, till broken hearted, he made an ignominious end.
"Some accounts state, that the earth opened and swallowed him up, on the night his castle was burned; as no remains were discovered the following morning, either of him, or of those who were burned with him.
"He had three sons: the eldest was Vortimer, who, as we have seen, fought four times against the Saxons, and put them to flight; the second Categirn, who was slain in the same battle with Horsa; the third was Pascent, who reigned in the two provinces Builth and Guorthegirnaim, after the death of his father. These were granted him by Ambrosius, who was the great king among the kings of Britain. The fourth was Faustus, born of an incestuous marriage with his daughter, who was brought up and educated by St. Germanus. He built a large monastery on the banks of the river Renis, called after his name, and which remains to the present period.
"This is the genealogy of Vortigern, which goes back to Fernvail, who reigned in the kingdom of Guorthegirnaim, and was the son of Teudor; Teudor was the son of Pascent; Pascent of Guoidcant; Guoidcant of Moriud; Moriud of Eltat; Eltat of Eldoc; Eldoc of Paul; Paul of Meuprit; Meuprit of Braciat; Braciat of Pascent; Pascent of Guorthegirn; Guorthegirn of Guortheneu; Guortheneu of Guitaul; Guitaul of Guitolion; Guitolion of Gloui. Bonus, Paul, Mauron, Guotelin, were four brothers, who built Gloiuda, a great city upon the banks of the river Severn, and in British is called Cair Gloui, in Saxon, Gloucester. Enough has been said of Vortigern.
"At that time, the Saxons grew strong by virtue of their large number and increased in power in Britain. Hengist having died, however, his son Octha crossed from the northern part of Britain to the kingdom of Kent and from him are descended the kings of Kent. Then Arthur along with the kings of Britain fought against them in those days, but Arthur himself was the military commander ["dux bellorum"]. His first battle was at the mouth of the river which is called Glein. His second, third, fourth, and fifth battles were above another river which is called Dubglas and is in the region of Linnuis. The sixth battle was above the river which is called Bassas. The seventh battle was in the forest of Celidon that is Cat Coit Celidon. The eighth battle was at the fortress of Guinnion, in which Arthur carried the image of holy Mary ever virgin on his shoulders; and the pagans were put to flight on that day. And through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and through the power of the blessed Virgin Mary his mother there was great slaughter among them. The ninth battle was waged in the City of the Legion. The tenth battle was waged on the banks of a river which is called Tribruit. The eleventh battle was fought on the mountain, which is called Agnet. The twelfth battle was on Mount Badon in which there fell in one day 960 men from one charge by Arthur; and no one struck them down except Arthur himself, and in all the wars he emerged as victor. And while they were being defeated in all the battles, they were seeking assistance from Germany and their numbers were being augmented many times over without interruption. And they brought over kings from Germany that they might reign over them in Britain, right down to the time in which Ida reigned, who was son of Eobba. He was the first king in Bernicia, i.e., in Berneich."

In 446 AD Hengist and Horsa arrived in Kent with a small fleet to aid the Britons defending their lands. The Anglo Saxon Chronicle records Hengist's assumption of power in 455 AD and records the flight of the British army to London. The invaders, who were Jutes, made their capital at Canterbury in the land of the Cantii. Nine years after their arrival they were in revolt against Vorgtigern, who appeased them with the kingdom of the Cantii and with Hengist as king to be succeeded by his son Oisc.

This first Ango-Saxon kingdom in Britain was an Anglo-Celtic kingdom, peopled by Anglo-Celts. The Hengist dynasty would last for three centuries. With the deaths of joint kings Aethelbert and Eadberht other kingdoms rose to prominence. Thirty years after the arrival of Hengist, a chieftain of the name of Aelle came to settle, leader of the South Saxons and became ruler of the kingdom that became Sussex. Other kingdoms were those of the East Saxons in what became Essex, the Middle Saxons in what became Middlesex and the West Saxons in Wessex. It was Wessex that was destined to become the most powerful and the one that was to meld all of England into one single nation.

Bede wrote his history from Northumbria, which had been for over a century the most powerful kingdom in England under the leadership of such rulers as Edwin, Oswald and Oswy. Cadwallon who had allied himself with Penda of Mercia overthrew Edwin. The Saxon monarchy was restored under Aidan. Under Oswy (645-70) Northumbria began to show signs of order. Oswy also defeated Penda and brought Mercia under his control allowing for the growth of Christianity. It was under his reign that the Synod of Whitby took place at which the Roman Church was accepted as the official faith in England.

It is with the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons that we see the appearance of King Arthur, who by employing a cavalry against a horseless Anglo-Saxon invader, was able to win victories for the Britons. I will not include information concerning Arthur here but rather refer you to other sites in the links at the bottom of this page.

The Briton victories were temporary and the Anglo-Saxons were able to massacre entire communities of Britons, many of who fled into the hills of North Wales, Ireland and Brittany. Some Britons were sold into slavery and English boys were found on the slave market in Rome. Most of the Romanized population disappeared, along with the Roman institutions and the Celtic place names. On the western side of the island, the language of the Britons survived as did the British place names. Both Wales and Scotland quickly drove any Anglo-Saxon intrusion into their lands back into England.

In 560 Aethelberht, son of Eormenric, took power in Kent. The Anglo-Saxons maintained contacts on the Continent and Aethelberht married the Catholic daughter of the king of Paris, Charibert, descendant of Clovis. Aethelberht allowed his bride to bring to Kent a Frankish bishop as her chaplain. In 597, Augustine, who had been sent to Kent by Pope Gregory I in hopes of bringing Christianity to England once again, converted the elderly Aetherlberht. Under Aethelberht's example, several thousand of his subjects ask to be baptized. Though unsuccessful in bringing the Welsh to reconciliation with the Anglo-Saxons and returning to the Roman Church, Augustine was very successful within the Anglo-Saxon controlled areas of England. Augustine died in 604, followed by the death of Aethelberht in 616. After the death of Aethelberht, many of the Anglo-Saxon converts relapsed into the old Teutonic religion.

In the eighth century Northumbria's dominance began to wane, hastened by the defeat and death of Ecgfrid in 685. A waxing and waning of power and competition between Mercia and Wessex followed this decline of power in Northumbria. Mercia, rose under such leaders as Aethelbold and Offa and Wessex rising under Ceawlin, Cadwalla and Ine into a position of supremacy. However, the beginning of the Viking raids in 845 disrupted this balance.

The Vikings

By 878 it appeared that Wessex would be divided among the Danish invaders. It is during this precarious time in English history that the great king, Alfred rose to power. In 896 Alfred occupied London giving hope that the English might reclaim the lands, which had passed into Danish control. In Alfred lay the hope that England might be able to expel the Danes and the English recognized his lordship as "all the English people submitted to Alfred except those under the power of the Danes. The recognition of lordship for Alfred marked a change in the advancement of the English people towards political unity, recognizing that Alfred represented interests common to all the English people.

Alfred called himself King of the West Saxons, the implication being that he not only ruled over Wessex but also Kent and Mercia. Unlike the Anglo-Saxons, the Vikings clearly had no intent upon establishing permanent settlements in England; their sole intent was to loot and pillage. Alfred stopped the Danish advance at Edington in 878 in much the same way that Arthur had stopped the Saxons at Mount Badon in 496.

Prior to Alfred, the Danes had been relatively unopposed in England. The Vikings arrived intent upon destroying the armies of Mercia and capturing Canterbury, but were checked by Aethelstan of Wessex. Instead of sailing home with their treasure, the Danish spent the winter on the Isle of Thanet on the Thames. For the first time it was apparent that the Danes had come to stay.

The Danes became quickly entrenched wherever they chose in England. They devastated Lindisfarne in 793 and for the next one hundred years they came one army after another from the North Sea. Sailing up the rivers with impunity, they settled wherever the rivers met the sea. In the West, first Aethelwulf and then his son, Egbert, managed to hold their land against the ever- increasing Danes who were firmly in control of Northumbria including York. In 867 the Danes moved into Mercia and conquered all of East Anglia. Wessex now stood alone as Aethelred and then the young Alfred fought the Danes to a standstill. The borders of Wessex remained secure.

Alfred was born in 849 and became king in 871, the year the Danes won a significant victory at Reading. The Danes were so confident that they divided their forces leaving an army in the North under Halfdene, while Guthrum moved south to capture Wessex. Alfred paid the demanded tribute to buy time until he could gather a force to counter the Danes. He conducted a guerilla campaign from the Isle of Athelney until his forces were gathered.

In 878, at Edington, Alfred forced the Danes to retreat, riding after them and besieging their fortress for a fortnight. With Danish hostages as security and the promise they would leave his kingdom, Alfred allowed the Danes to leave Wessex. (For more information, see the page at this site for Alfred the Great.) By 896, London became a national symbol of English defiance. The capture of London made Alfred truly the first king of England. The treaty with king Guthrum established a frontier between the English and the Danes, which is reflected even today. To Alfred's son, Edward the Elder, fell the task of regaining all the territory, which had been lost to the Danes. Before the end of his reign, every Danish colony south of the River Humber had been annexed to Wessex. Every ruler of the Isle of Britain submitted to Edward's Authority including the Scottish king and all the people of Wales. The king of Wessex now had a new dignity greatly strengthening its claim to sovereignty in England. Edward died in 924 and was succeeded by his son, Aethelstan.

It was Aethelstan who took York, a city of great importance and strategic location, from the Danes. Extending his influence, Aethelstan received acknowledgement from the western and northern kings of Britain and the Welsh as their lord. In Europe, Aethelstan won prestige as a king of the one western kingdom that had emerged in greater strength from the Danish wars.

Aethelstan won a victory against the combined forces of Danes, Scots and Irish at the Battle of Brunanburgh in 937. Edmund who moved north to retake the five boroughs of Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby and Stamford from Danish control followed Aethelstan as King of England.

The following reigns saw the deterioration of the English position until 1017 when the Dane, Cnut, became King of all England. Cnut held the title of King of England along with King of Denmark, Norway and part of Sweden. Determined to rule as the chosen king of the English people, Cnut became one of the best kings England ever to rule over the English. Ruling over a united land, he kept the peace, enforced the laws, was a generous patron of the Church and raised the prestige of England on the Continent.

Following Cnut's death, England was thrown into turmoil and confusion, preparing the way for the coming of the Norman's, who were no less ruthless than the Vikings that preceded them. The confusion was caused by a lack of firm succession following Cnut's death. Cnut intended to give Denmark and England to Hardacnut and Norway to Swein, while leaving his bastard son, Harold, unprovided for. Hardacnut could not leave Denmark due to a threat by Magnus of Norway.

One faction of the Witan or King's council supported Harold Harefoot, but others, led by Godwin of Wessex, chose Hardacnut, whose mother, Emma, was to reside at Winchester holding Wessex in her son's name. Emma, sister of the Duke of Normandy, before marrying Cnut, had been the wife of Ethelred. When Ethelred's younger son, Alfred, came to Winchester, Godwin's fears of losing his control in Wessex, had him captured and blinded. Alfred then became a monk at Ely, unable to claim the throne of Wessex.

Hardacnut arrived in England in 1040 upon the death of Harold along with a large army and arrived at Wessex where Godwin served as his representative. Prince Edward the Atheling, Alfred's older brother, sought protection at Winchester and with Hardacnut died suddenly of convulsions at a wedding feast, after reigning for only one year, Edward the Atheling, who became known as Edward the Confessor, son of Ethelred and legitimate heir of Alfred the Great, was acclaimed king. Thereby, the English once again held the throne of England. Edward, the product of a marriage between Wessex and Mercia, blended England into a single nation.

The Norman Invasion

Norman influence into England began with the marriage of Ethelred to Emma of Normandy in 1002 as his second wife. Emma was the sister of Richard Duke of Normandy, descendant of Rollo. Edward the Atheling had been raised in Normandy.

After the King, Godwin of Wessex was the most powerful man in England, He was given the title of "King-Maker". Godwin planned for Edward to marry his daughter, Edith though Edward was twice the age of Edith. The marriage produced no heir as a hunting accident had rendered Edward impotent. It was Edward's desire that his Norman relatives assume the throne in England and chose William as his successor, though Earl Godwin supported claimants from the House of Godwin. The result was a power struggle lasting from 1046-1051.

Edward exiled Swein, Godwin's eldest son who had acquired a list of misdeeds, which included the abduction of an abbotress. Edward then exiled Godwin and all of his sons, two of whom joined Godwin and Swein in Bruges and two of whom joined the Vikings in Dublin. During Godwin's absence, Edward appointed Normans to many of the English Sees.

Godwin, who had gathered support while exiled in Europe, returned. Only Edward's restoration of Godwin and his sons to their earldoms, prevented Civil War. Further conflict was prevented when Godwin died in 1053, succeeded by Harold Godwinson as Earl of Wessex. Conflict between the Crown and the House of Godwin continued, especially concerning the appointment of bishops as well as the appointment of leadership to deal with Gruffudd of Wales, who had reclaimed many of the border areas previously lost by Wales to England. Suspicions were raised upon the death of Edward the Atheling, youngest son of Edmund Ironside, who had been sheltered from Cnut by being smuggled out of England as an infant and had returned to England in 1057. Edward the Atheling's death left only King Edward and the Atheling's two surviving children of the ancient house of Cerdic of Wessex. Harold defeated Grufudd of Wales and then made himself premier military leader in England. He then visited Normandy in 1064, probably on the order of Edward along with a promise that the kingdom would pass to William upon Edward's death. Harold would be appointed regent until William could arrive from Normandy. What Edward did not take into account, was England's growing resentment concerning the Norman influence in England.

Edward died 6 Jan 1066 and Harold, Earl of Wessex, was crowned King of England. Harold then began to solidify his rule throughout the country by abolishing unjust laws and creating good ones, patronizing the churches and monasteries and paying reverence to religious men. He imprisoned thieves and generally cracked down on the wrong doers. It was necessary for him to reconcile the houses of Godwin of Wessex and Leofric of Mercia.

Tostig, Harold's exiled brother, raised an army to plunder England's coastline but was halted by Harold. Harold Hardrada, King of Norway was raising a massive invasion fleet as was William of Normandy. Hardrada who had failed to conquer Denmark focused on England as an easier target. King Harold of England marched his forces to York to meet Hardrada and completely destroyed Hardrada's forces and Tostig at Stamford Bridge.

Three days later, 13 October 1066, William of Normandy landed, unopposed, at Pevensey with a force of 5,000 knights. Harold marched his weakened and tired army, not waiting for reinforcements, and awaited William's mounted knights at Hastings. An arrow killed Harold; his forces utterly defeated and William of Normandy arose the victor. The English had been early in the battle victorious as the Norman's feigned retreat. Had the English not broken ranks to pursue the Normans, they might have won the battle. Had Harold won, England would have become part of the Scandinavian Empire.

Edgar the Atheling had been quickly crowned King of England upon the news of Edward's defeat. Delays in the English indecision in gathering a force to oppose William, forced the supporters of Edgar to negotiate for peace upon the arrival of William of Normandy to London. William of Normandy was crowned King of England at Westminster 25 Dec 1066. England was now governed by a foreign king and subjected to a foreign aristocracy which would, for four hundred years, be embroiled in conflict with France in an effort to keep the Norman's interests in France.

William of Normandy and his people called themselves Franks but they descended from Viking invaders, who had settled in France a centuries before. Unlike prior invasions of England, the Norman invasion would not be a new wave of people settling in England but would only include a small, ruling aristocracy. The Normans were driven by a lack of land to divide among their surviving sons and the solution to their problem was the traditional solution: conquest. With the Normans came the introduction into England of feudalism as well as changes in the ecclesiastical hierarchy and subsequent changes in the relations of Church and State. Sporadic outbreaks of rebellion against his rule, forced William to refuse to cooperate with the native aristocracy. William responded to rebellion with fierce severity. On his frequent absences to Normandy, William left England in the hands of capable barons who were well able to deal with any rebellions, including powerful church leaders as Lanfranc of Canterbury.

Through attrition and through attempts at resistance, the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy was seriously depleted. The years 1066-1075 was a period, in which there was some cooperation between Saxon and Norman, but these attempts were given up in favor of a completely Norman administration and by 1075 the only Anglo-Saxons to remain in authority were the Ecclesiastes. By 1086, other than small estate holders, there were only two Englishmen in the whole of England holding estates of any size.

The Normans did not speak English and had no interest in learning the language of their new subjects. Their primary interests were still on the Continent, to which they returned regularly. We see this in our genealogical study as most of the early Norman aristocracy does not die, nor are they buried in England, preferring rather the be buried in their homeland. It is clear, from the evidence of their children's births in Normandy that their home remained in Normandy and not in their newly acquired English lands. Only along the Welsh border do we see a fraternization of the Normans with a localized population and here we see not only the Normans learning the Welsh language, but also marrying within the Welsh inhabitants. English became the language of the common people, not those in power, a situation that would remain until the late fourteenth century. Because of this, many French words made their way into the English vocabulary both alongside and in replacement of the English words.

One cannot help but conclude that William allowed some Anglo-Saxon support in the early years of his reign until he and his Norman compatriots had gained enough strength in England to turn on his former Anglo-Saxon supporters and replace them with Norman families. Most of the direct lines of the powerful magnates of Britain did not marry into the original Anglo-Saxon aristocracy but rather looked for wives in their homeland of France, further limiting the future possibility of even the blood of the Anglo-Saxon nobility returning to positions in the aristocracy.

In looking at our genealogy, we see this clearly as our roots almost exclusively travel through Norman lines before they reach any of the native English nobility. Perhaps genealogy, more so than any other pursuit, makes historical facts appear glaringly apparent. We do see a few of our English ancestors supporting William and actually aiding the Normans in their usurpation of the English aristocracy, yet even this did not save their families from being replaced by Norman families.

With the crowning in England of the Norman William, we see the end of the ancient England and the blood of the ancient royal lines of England becomes more prevalent among the landless commoners of England, reduced by the Norman invasion. The great Saxon earldoms were split: Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria and other ancient kingdoms were abolished forever. William divided England's lands into 180 parcels, each under an overlord who, in turn, rented outlands to Norman warrior barons who replaced the Anglo Saxon aristocracy. The Anglo-Saxon nobles not killed at Hastings were deposed of their lands and made serfs.

We see this clearly in our genealogy records. Of the knights accompanying William at Hastings, we see the future barons and landholders of Britain. Such names as de Beaumont, de Bose, de Clare, etc. replace the former noble occupants of the land.

The great estates of England were given to Norman and Breton landowners, separated by holdings of others. William insisted that the prime duty of any landholder was to produce on demand a quota of mounted knights produced a new ruling class in England, one entirely different from any which had existed prior to the Norman invasion.

This was a total revolution and completely contrary to the Saxon way of doing things. In the past, the English landlords had been required to provide simple rents of ale and barley or work upon the lord's manor. The idea of required military service was completely unknown in Saxon England. Those at the bottom suffered most, losing all their rights as free men and coming to be regarded as property belonging to the manor. Suddenly they were no more than slaves. William imposed new forest laws and vastly expanded the royal forests in which all hunting rights belonged to the king, depriving the peasantry of a food source during times of poor harvest.

The Domesday Book of 1080 was a means of providing William with every penny to which he, as king, was entitled by counting every sort of property including livestock. It was also a means of determining how the country was occupied and with what sort of people. William sent his men into every shire and had them find out how many hundred hides there were in that shire, what land and cattle the king should have and what dues he ought to have in twelve months from that shire. It was a means of taxation. There was nothing left out of the record and it is complete in exhaustive detail on every holding in the entire country and its value.

William had presented his invasion to the Pope as a minor crusade in which the corrupt Saxon Church of England would be reformed. In Anglo-Saxon England, the marriage of priests had been recognized. Household functions took precedence over Church ceremony; these marriages defensible from folk-law over canon law. William's appointee, Lanfanc, who replaced the Saxon Stigand as Archbishop of Canterbury, introduced new rules into England, which did not include the marriage of clerics.

While William claimed some influence in Scotland and he did take control of Cumbria in 1092, he made no attempt to enter Scotland. In Wales, the last ruler who could truly call himself King of Wales was Grufudd ap Llewelyn, who was killed in 1063. Family dissension petrified the country and William seized this opportunity to establish a firm western frontier by placing his most loyal supporters along the Welsh border. These border barons or Marcher Lords were free to add to their territory as they wished. The lordships of Chester, Shrewsbury, Hereford and Glamorgan kept a strong check on any hope in Wales of recovering Welsh control. The Welsh, however, had mastered the art of guerilla warfare and from their mountain strongholds, by the time of the death of William's son, Rufus (1087-1100), the Welsh had re-asserted control over most of Wales and began to campaign to remove the Normans from their border territories. Because of the Welsh perseverance, the English crown was to continue to allow the Marcher lords a great deal of independence for another four hundred years.

Here ends the overview of English History for this site. Individual accounts of persons will contain further information concerning the history of Britain as it relates to our family.

Introduction

The Roman Invasion

The Dark Ages of Briton

The Vikings

The Norman Invasion

Links to More Information