The Roman invasion of England
The first ten centuries AD1 were the most fateful days in British history. The British Isles were invaded more than once.
In the early centuries, the Romans used to be masters of nearly all that part of Britain which is now called England. At first they had to fight many battles, but after a time the whole country was taken over by the Romans. For nearly four hundred years, the Romans stayed in England, and in our own day there can still be found many marks of the things they did when they invaded the country.
British historians admit that the Romans were great builders. They knew how to construct large buildings of stone and especially of brick. Most of the buildings which they built in Britain have fallen into ruin, but parts of them have been found in many places. Today enough is left on the British territory to show how beautiful the buildings were when they were new.
But though the Romans were famous as builders of houses, they were still more famous as makers of roads. They made great roads from one end of England to the other. The roads were paved2 with stone and they ran in a straight line up and down hills, from one town to another.
Besides their buildings and their roads, the Romans also left a very wonderful mark on the border between England and Scotland. After the Romans had made peace in that part of Britain which is now called England, they found that they were often troubled by enemies who came down from the country which we now call Scotland. These enemies were known as "Picts". The Romans fought and beat the Picts many times, but they found them so troublesome that they at last built a great wall right across the country to keep them out. Some small remains of the wall can be seen at the border between England and Scotland today.
When the Romans left the country, it became evident that without their help the Britons were not able to defend themselves on two sides. Scots attacked them from the north, and Angles and Saxons from Germany invaded the eastern coast of Britain.
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The Anglo-Saxon invaders
About 600 AD there were seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in Britain. The Angles and Saxons organized the country and made their most powerful men kings.
People began to call the new land of the Angles and Saxons England. Today there is still part of the country that is called East Anglia.
Alfred the Great (849-899), the most powerful Anglo-Saxon king, built forts against new invaders, and developed the first English navy.
The early Anglo-Saxon invaders were farmers. So they cut down a lot of forests to get more farmland. They liked to live in long wooden houses. They destroyed the Roman cities - even the finest villas went up in fire. So for years important towns like York and London were not much more than big marketplaces.
The Angles and Saxons brought their Germanic language with them. That is why many words in English are similar to words in German.
In the 10th century, England at last became one country with one king. But that didn't mean there would be no more invasions. There were more invasions in the 11th century. The Vikings [Vaikinz] who came from Denmark invaded the eastern coast and destroyed lots of villages.