Alex
Woolf s. xx–xxi
2020
This chapter will argue that the ethnogenesis of the Britons was a process which occurred within the Late Antique period. Whilst commentators from Gildas onwards imagined the Britons to have existed as an identifiable group from time immemorial, it is argued here that they arose out of a growing division between more and less Romanized groups within the British provinces, as changes in the way Rome managed its frontiers led to the emergence of semi-barbarian devolved polities close to the limes. It is further argued that it was against these groups in Britain, the cultural forebears of the Welsh, that the provincials of the south-east required aid from the Saxons. Essentialist ideas about ethnicity, from the time of Gildas onwards, have obscured this process.
This chapter will argue that the ethnogenesis of the Britons was a process which occurred within the Late Antique period. Whilst commentators from Gildas onwards imagined the Britons to have existed as an identifiable group from time immemorial, it is argued here that they arose out of a growing division between more and less Romanized groups within the British provinces, as changes in the way Rome managed its frontiers led to the emergence of semi-barbarian devolved polities close to the limes. It is further argued that it was against these groups in Britain, the cultural forebears of the Welsh, that the provincials of the south-east required aid from the Saxons. Essentialist ideas about ethnicity, from the time of Gildas onwards, have obscured this process.
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A discussion of Edward the Elder’s relations with the Insular World beyond the confines of modern England is not a promising subject. His main interest in the Celtic-speaking nations of Britain seems to have lain either in the area of domination, or at least of leadership, but the evidence for his ambitions in even this area is not extensive (see Davidson this volume). Edward himself seems to have made little impact on the world beyond Angelcynn. His death is noted in neither the Annales Cambriae nor in any of the surviving Irish chronicles. Edward’s absence from these records is not, however, simply a reflection of a lack of interest in the affairs of the English. The death of Æthelflæd of Mercia is noted by the Annales Cambriae (917) and by the Annals of Ulster (918.5), which also note the death of Eadwulf of Bamborough (913.1). A little later the Battle of Brunnanburh is noted in both these chronicles (AC 938; AU 937.6) and Æthelstan’s death likewise (AC 941; AU 939.6).
A discussion of Edward the Elder’s relations with the Insular World beyond the confines of modern England is not a promising subject. His main interest in the Celtic-speaking nations of Britain seems to have lain either in the area of domination, or at least of leadership, but the evidence for his ambitions in even this area is not extensive (see Davidson this volume). Edward himself seems to have made little impact on the world beyond Angelcynn. His death is noted in neither the Annales Cambriae nor in any of the surviving Irish chronicles. Edward’s absence from these records is not, however, simply a reflection of a lack of interest in the affairs of the English. The death of Æthelflæd of Mercia is noted by the Annales Cambriae (917) and by the Annals of Ulster (918.5), which also note the death of Eadwulf of Bamborough (913.1). A little later the Battle of Brunnanburh is noted in both these chronicles (AC 938; AU 937.6) and Æthelstan’s death likewise (AC 941; AU 939.6).
