Sullivan, Tony The Coming of the Saxons

Adventus Saxonum

Around the middle of the fifth century, three Saxon keelboats ploughed through the waves towards the south coast of Britain. They were not the first Germanic warriors or migrants to arrive since the end of direct Roman rule in the early fifth century, nor would they be the last. However, the arrival of these warriors would prove to be a turning point in the history of these islands. The surviving literary sources point to the arrival of these mercenaries and their subsequent uprising as the decisive event, rather than an invasion or mass migration. There are many books about the Anglo-Saxons. Those that deal with the first arrivals only briefly cover the fifth and sixth centuries due to a lack of historical records. This book is unique in that it focuses on the events mentioned in sources such as Gildas and Bede. It shows that the former Roman diocese languished outside direct Roman rule for a generation, plagued by constant raids from the Picts and Scots in the north and the Saxons and other Germanic pirates in the south. It deals with Roman practices of recruiting and settling mercenaries and Germanic groups throughout the empire. A comparison with these provides important clues and allows us to understand how and why the diocese and provincial structure disintegrated, allowing small kingdoms to emerge in the 6th century. The following centuries are referred to as the Anglo-Saxon period. This book goes back to the beginnings, the adventus Saxonum: the arrival of the Saxons.