Frequently asked questions about the
period we portray!
The definition of what made someone a Roman changed according to the time you asked it of, who you asked and where you asked it. If you asked this question in 5th Century Britain, the answer would depend on who you asked. The population of Britain at this time included city-dwelling sophisticates who spoke Latin, could quote the Aeneid at you and wore a toga at the first opportunity. Of course, it also includes country dwellers who may have known the odd swear-word in Latin and would slit your throat if you suggested they were Roman.
So what do you portray, if not Romans?
Romano Britons. That is to say, Britons who were Romanised. Their ancestry would have included people from all round the Empire, but they were by and large British. The descendants of the people who lived in Britain before the Romans invaded and fought the legions in the Boudiccan rebellion.
See question one! What is a Celt? No one in Britain described themselves as a Celt. Come to think of it, neither did the Romans. In fact, the only people who talked about Celts were the ancient Greeks. It is possible that this name (Keltoi) was a generic term meaning non-Greeks living in the north. Even Julius Caesar talked about Britons and Gauls as seperate groups. Calling someone a Celt is on a par with calling yourself a `Germanic'.
After the Boudiccan rebellion, the Romans didn't destroy the population of Britain wholesale - for a start, there were many friendly tribes...aside from the ones associated with all the well-documented unpleasantness. The Romanisation of Britain continued and Britain proved eventually to be a productive, if not troublesome province providing large exports of, amongst other things, grain which fed the army in Gaul.
Why did the Romans leave Britain?
See question one! In the early period of occupation, soldiers from the continent settled in Britain when they had finished their service, usually marrying local women and raising children. As time went on, the sons of the soldiers in turn joined the army - with reforms to the army by Diocletian reinforcing this. The Emperor, Caracalla had changed the law, giving Roman citizenship to all free born individuals inside the Empire.
Furthermore, by the 5th Century, the `Roman soldiers' were men who had been born in Britain, to British families. All that remained of their ethnic heritage may have been a name peculiar to another part of the Empire and a family story about great great great grandfather Matygus remembering his grandad telling him about what it was like in Syria when he was a lad.
So why did Britain stop being part of the Roman Empire?
In the Late Roman period, civil war was a major problem. Rival claimants to the Imperial throne. Like other provinces, Britain was denuded of its troops. British-born soldiers were shipped across the channel to fight for usurpers or the current occupier. Usually they didn't come home.
What religion were the Romans in the period you portray?
Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire from the reign of Constantine the Great, around 312AD onwards. The building of new Pagan temples was forbidden - if one was (sometimes forcibly) changed into a Christian church, it remained so. To advance in society, being a Christian was a good idea. The emperor Julian attempted to turn the clock back by putting the traditional religion on an equal footing with Christianity, believing that the decline of the Empire was a result of the abandonment of the old Gods. At the same time he reduced taxes, reformed the Imperial administration and launched a massive invasion of Persia. He died in suspicious circumstances - allegedly wounded by a Persian.
Of course, it was not all peace and harmony - rival factions and sects fought for supremacy with each other. They also fought the Goths who were also Christian - albeit as heretical Goths who did believe in the divinity of Christ. Old beliefs and traditions were not wiped out overnight. But if you knew what was good for you, you were a Christian.
Did the Romano British fight the Saxons?
Probably. However, no major battlefields have ever been identified - even the ones which were the `biggies' (i.e. Badon, etc.) How much fighting actually went on in the 5th Century is a subject of hot debate these days. It is even possible that most of the fighting that went on was on a very small scale. No one knows.
