World of Britannia: Historical Companion to the Britannia Series

By M. J. Trow

World of Britannia forms the historical background to the Britannia trilogy. The arrival of Rome's legions, first under Julius Caesar, then Aulius Plautius in the first century is well documented, but the end of Roman rule in Britain remains forever in shadow, 'illuminated' only by contradiction and legend.

The action of the Britannia series spans the period 367-415AD, the beginning of what historians, with some justification, used to call the Dark Ages. It was the twilight of a civilisation that had lasted for nearly five hundred years and Britain would never be the same again.

This book documents the little we know, from written records and from archaeology and gives a snapshot of a world that was on the brink of vanishing. World of Britannia is an invaluable accompaniment to the series, providing insights that are not possible in historical fiction. As a standalone history book, it provides a fast-paced, easily-understood account of one of the least known eras in British history.

'But we mustn't forget. And we mustn't let our children forget, or our children's children.'

'Forget what?' she frowned.

'That there was a Wall and there were heroes of the Wall. And there was once a Britannia …'

• Language: English
• Publisher: BLKDOG Publishing
• Release date: Aug 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393471424

M. J. Trow

M.J. Trow is a military historian by training and the author of the longrunning Inspector Lestrade and 'Mad Max' Maxwell detective series, as well as the Kit Marlowe Tudor mysteries and the Grand & Batchelor Victorian mystery series. He lives on the Isle of Wight.

Book preview

World of BRITANNIA

World of Britannia

RICHARD DENHAM

&

M J TROW

Copyright © 2020 Richard Denham & M. J. Trow.

ISBN 978-1-913762-55-1

First published in 2016.

This edition published in 2020 by BLKDOG Publishing.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. The moral right of the author has been asserted.

www.blkdogpublishing.com

This series is dedicated to Tristan

Cura dat victoriam

OTHER TITLES IN THIS SERIES

BRITANNIA: THE WALL

BRITANNIA: THE WATCHMEN

BRITANNIA: THE WARLORDS

WORLD OF BRITANNIA

CONTENTS

Page 1

The Britannia Trilogy

Page 5

How to use this book

Page 7

Timeline

Page 17

How the West Was Run: Government and organization in Roman Britain.

The Roman Empire, East and West; Britannia’s Provinces; emperors and officials.

Page 25

Location, Location, Location: The settings of Britannia.

An alphabetical list of the places which feature in the Britannia series from Aesica to Viroconium.

Page 53

Town ...: Life in an urban environment.

Definitions of Romano-British settlements; public buildings; entertainment; retail; London and York.

Page 67

...and Country: Life in a rural environment.

The geography of Roman Britain; the economy; farming; the villa.

Page 75

Dramatis Personae Veri: The real people of Britannia.

An alphabetical list of the historical characters in the Britannia series from Alaric to Valentinus.

Page 89

‘Under a Different Sky’: The tribes of Britannia.

The native tribes listed alphabetically from the Atrebates to the Votadini.

Page 99

So Many Gods: Religion in Britannia.

The religion of Roman Britain; Celtic gods; Roman gods – Mithras, Sol Invictus, Isis; Christianity; the Pelagian Heresy.

Page 113

Following the Eagle: The army and navy.

The army’s organisation; recruitment; cavalry; infantry; artillery; camps; weapons and equipment; the Legions – II Augusta; VI Victrix; XX Valeria Victrix; the navy.

Page 131

The Enemy: Barbarian invaders.

The Picts; the Scots; the Hiberni; the Attacotti; the Saxons.

Page 139

Who Spoke What: Language in Britannia.

The languages of Roman Britain; Latin; Brythonic/Celtic.

Page 145

How Do We Know?: The sources for Britannia.

The historical background to the series from Ammianus Marcellinus to Zosimus; the importance of archaeology.

Page 155

Fragmenti et Roberti: Bits and Bobs.

Elements of Romano-British civilization that feature in the Britannia series; slaves; the Jews; medicine; food and drink; clothes, hair and beauty; weights and measures; money; times and dates.

Page 169

Coffee with Diocletian: Turning fact into fiction.

Page 173

Places to Visit

An alphabetical list of useful and fascinating Roman sites in Britain from Aesica (the fort on Hadrian’s Wall) to Venta Silurum on the Welsh border, complete with website links correct at time of press.

Page 183

Glossary

All the technical definitions from Ala to Vulcan.

THE BRITANNIA TRILOGY

Britannia I: The Wall

‘Valentinian was shocked to receive the serious news that a concerted attack by the barbarians had reduced the province of Britain to the verge of ruin.’

Ammianus Marcellinus

The story opens in 367AD. Four soldiers – Justinus, Paternus, Leocadius and Vitalis – are out hunting for food supplies at an outpost of Hadrian’s Wall, when the Wall comes under attack.

The four find their fort destroyed, their comrades killed and Paternus is unable to find his wife and son. As they run south to Eboracum, they realise that this is no ordinary border raid. Ranged against the Romans at the edge of the world are four different peoples and they have banded together under a mysterious leader who wears a silver mask and uses the name Valentinus – Man of Valentia – the turbulent area north of the Wall.

Faced with questions they are hard pressed to answer, Leocadius blurts out a story that makes the men Heroes of the Wall. Their lives change, not only when Valentinus begins his lethal sweep across Britannia but as soon as Leo’s lie is out in the world, growing and changing as it goes.

Britannia II: The Watchmen

‘Then [Maximus] sent a letter to the man who styled himself emperor in Rome. There was naught in that letter ... but only this If I come to Rome and if I come.’

The Dream of Macsen Wledig

Mabinogion

BRITANNIA IN THE LATE fourth century is a wild, dark place and the Pax Romana that has held for three hundred years is crumbling. Our heroes of the Wall have moved on but once again find themselves facing a challenge that threatens to overthrow Rome itself.

The new name on everyone’s lips is that of Magnus Maximus, one of the emperor’s ablest generals. Celtic legend, Egyptian mysticism and gaelic battle fury are all interwoven in a mad quest for glory and undying fame. And how many of the Heroes will Maximus take with him?

Britannia III: The Warlords

‘Britain was forever removed from the Roman name.’

Narratio de imperatoribus domus Valentinae et Theodosiane

IN THE TWILIGHT OF Britannia, the Heroes of the Wall cling on to an ideal and to survival. The old ways have gone, the old loyalties are shaken. Nothing is certain any more and the emperor’s throne itself is up for grabs. There are threats from across the German Sea as invaders circle the dying empire like wolves around their prey.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

The World of Britannia is designed to accompany the Britannia trilogy and to provide useful historical background and related information.

You can of course read it from beginning to end and we hope you will, but it is a reference work too. Sections on people, places and institutions are clearly laid out; so that, for example, if you want to know what Mithraism was, you can find it in the contents and the relevant chapter. Maps, diagrams and a glossary are provided too.

Throughout, words printed in bold refer to the real people and places that feature in the Britannia series.

At the end of the paperback edition you will find blank pages for any notes or queries you may wish to make.

N.B. we would like to apologise in advance for any errors in basic Latin you may find in this book!

All maps and other artwork in this book are copyright M.J. Trow.

Richard Denham (Londinium) & M. J. Trow (Vectis)

TIMELINE

‘The City to which the whole world fell has fallen. If Rome can perish, what can be safe?’

St Jerome

If you went to school in the distant past i.e. before c.1970, you would have been told by your History teacher that the Romans under Julius Caesar invaded in 54BC and they all left in 410AD. Neither of those dates is strictly accurate and, thanks largely to archaeology, (see HOW DO WE KNOW?) we now understand a great deal more about Roman Britain than at any time since the fifth century.

Briefly, the Romans believed they had a natural right to conquer and colonise, turning a struggling little settlement on the banks of the Tiber into the most powerful and organized empire in the ancient world. Perhaps only the Mongol Empire of the thirteenth century and certainly the British Empire of the nineteenth would be bigger. Today, Julius Caesar would be regarded as a war criminal. He engineered a war against the Gauls (today’s Frenchmen) and in defeating them, led two expeditions to the island the Romans called Britannia in 55 and 54BC.

This was no more than a toe-hold and the ‘real’ permanent Roman colonisation took place in 43AD under the Emperor Claudius. Again, this is the shorthand of history – the hard work of conquest was actually carried out by generals like Aulus Plautius and Vespasian; Claudius just turned up at the end to take the credit – that was the way with emperors!

Over the next century, Britannia became a province of the empire, ruled from Rome and policed by the legions. Towns called coloniae grew up around legionary bases; straight, cobbled roads linked them. Rich men built expensive villas for themselves and out of an uneasy peace between the invaders and the locals, Roman Britain was forged.

There were setbacks for the Romans – local heroes emerged who fought them: Caratacus in what is Wales today; Boudicca, the flame-haired queen from Norfolk. In the far north, the wild tribes of what is today Scotland never surrendered to Roman rule and the legions never set foot in Ireland. Apart from the flash-points however, there was mutual trust based on trade and agriculture and the Pax Romana (the Roman Peace) became the norm.

Inevitably, because Britannia was just a tiny part of a vast empire that stretched from Pembrokeshire to Palmyra, political, economic and religious events happening elsewhere sometimes had an impact in this country too. The Britannia series covers the years 367-415AD and we hope the timeline below will be helpful.

The most famous Roman of them all. Julius Caesar landed on the south coast in 55BC, returning the following year with the first force to occupy Britannia. (Source: Museo Nationale, Naples )

The emperor Claudius from a bronze head found in the River Alde and probably from the temple at Camulodunum (Colchester). Note the Julius Caesar hairstyle worn by all emperors for four centuries. Claudius seems to be rather coy about his age; he was over fifty when he landed in Britannia in 43AD.

364 Valentinian is elected emperor by the army. He rules in

the West, including Britannia. His younger brother Valens rules the East.

367 The Great Conspiracy in Britannia. For the first time,

the Picts, Scots, Attacotti, Franks and local British tribes band together and attack Hadrian’s Wall before raiding south.

Valentinian falls ill and names his nine-year-old son Gratian