history of anglo-saxon england - Migration and the formation of kingdoms (400-600)
Picture of Britain in AD 500.

It is very difficult to establish a coherent chronology of events from Rome's departure from Britain, to the establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The story of the Roman departure as told by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae is dubious except as documenting Medieval legend.

The archaeological records of the final decades of Roman rule show undeniable signs of decay, in stagnant urban and villa life. Coins minted past 402 are rare. So when Constantine III was declared Emperor by his troops in 407, and crossed the channel with the remaining units of the British garrison, effectively Roman Britain ended. Britain was left defenceless, and Constantine was eventually killed in battle. In 410, Emperor Honorius told the Romano-British to look to their own defence, yet in the mid 5th century the Romano-British still felt they could appeal to the consul Aetius for help against invaders.

Various myths and legends surround the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons, some based on documentary evidence, some far less so. Four main literary sources provide the evidence. Gildas' The Ruin of Britain (c. 540) is polemical, and more concerned with criticising British kings than accurately describing events. Bede's 'Ecclesiastical History of the English People' is based in part on Gildas, though brings in other evidence. However, this was written in the early 8th century, some time after events. Later still is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which is in part based on Bede, but also brings in legends regarding the foundation of Wessex.

Other evidence can be brought in to aid the literary sources. It is interesting to note that the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Kent, Bernicia, Deira and Lindsey all retained Celtic names, which would suggest political continuity. Contrastingly, the more westerly kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia show little sign of following existing boundaries. Archaeologically, following burial patterns and land usage allows us to follow Anglo-Saxon settlement, though it is possible that the British were adopting Anglo-Saxon practice. Analysis of human remains unearthed at an ancient cemetery near Abingdon, England, indicates that Saxon immigrants and native Britons lived side by side. There is much academic debate as to whether the Anglo-Saxon migrants replaced, or merged with, the Romano-British people who inhabited southern and eastern Britain.

Already from the 4th century AD, Britons had migrated across the English Channel and started to settle in the western part (Armorica) of Gaul (France), forming Brittany. Others may have migrated to northern Spain. The migration of the British to the continent and the Anglo-Saxons to Britain, should be considered in the context of wider European migrations. However, some doubt, based on limited genetic work, has been cast on the extent of Anglo-Saxon migration to Britain.

Though one cannot be sure of dates, places or people involved, it does seem that in 495, at the Battle of Mount Badon (possibly Badbury rings, Latin Mons Badonicus , Welsh Mynydd Baddon ), the Britons inflicted a severe defeat on the Anglo-Saxons. Archaeological evidence, coupled with the questionable source Gildas, would suggest that the Anglo-Saxon migration was stemmed for a while.

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