when the romans left britain, the britons took over the land.
when the romans left britain, the britons took over the land.
when the romans left britain who took over the land?
the britons
in "an introduction to anglo-saxon england", peter hunter blair divides the traditions concerning the anglo-saxon settlement of britain into two categories: welsh and english. "de excidio et conquestu britanniae", written by gildas, contains the best preservation of the welsh tradition. in brief, it states that after the romans left, the britons managed to continue for a time without any major disruptions. however, when finally faced with northern invaders, a certain unnamed ruler in britain (called "a proud tyrant" by gildas) requested assistance from the saxons in exchange for land. there were no conflicts between the british and the saxons for a time, but following "a dispute about the supply of provisions" the saxons warred against the british and severely damaged parts of the country. in time, however, some saxon troops left britain; under ambrosius aurelianus, the british subsequently defeated those who remained. a lengthy conflict ensued, in which neither side gained any decisive advantage until the britons routed the saxons at the battle of mons badonicus. after this, there occurred a peaceful period for the britons, under which gildas was living at the time he wrote the "de excidio et conqestu britanniae".
wessex
a road over the pass was built by the romans around ad 110 to link the coastal fort and baths at ravenglass with their garrisons at ambleside and kendal. the romans called this road the tenth highway. the road fell into disrepair after the romans left britain in the early 5th century, although it remained as an unpaved packhorse route thereafter. the road was originally used entirely for military traffic, but following the romans' retreat from britain was used to transport lead and agricultural goods. by the early middle ages, the road was known as the waingate ("cart road") or wainscarth ("cart pass"): there is an 1138 record of a party of monks traversing it in an oxcart.
hardknott pass