Romano-British

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The term Romano-British describes the Romanized culture in Britain and the rule of the Roman Empire when Roman and Christian culture had penetrated extensively into the lives of the native Celtic-speaking people of Britain.

Roman influence on British life included granting Roman citizenship . In the beginning the approach was very selective: council members of certain groups or places, who thereby became citizens; Veterans , either legionnaires or soldiers from auxiliary forces; as well as a number of locals whose patrons were able to obtain it for them - some of the regional Celtic kings, for example Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus , got citizenship in this way. Accordingly, the number of Roman citizens grew steadily, citizenship was inherited, and further authorizations were granted. Finally, in 212 , all those who were not slaves or ex-slaves were given citizenship by the Constitutio Antoniniana .

The remaining inhabitants of Britain, who enjoyed no civil rights, were peregrini , who continued to live under the rights of their ancestors. The main disadvantages for them were:

  • They couldn't own any land under Italian law
  • They couldn't serve as legionaries in the army
    • although they could be with the auxiliaries and become citizens upon dismissal
  • They couldn't inherit from Roman citizens .

For the vast bulk of British residents who were clod-bound farmers, civil rights would not have brought dramatic changes to their daily lives.

Britain was also independent from the rest of the Roman Empire for a number of years, first as part of the Imperium Galliarum , then for a few decades under the usurpers Carausius and Allectus .

The Christianity came in the 3rd century by Britain. An early figure in it was Saint Alban , who was killed near the Roman city of Verulamium (in the area of ​​today's St Albans ), according to tradition, during the reign of Emperor Decius .

After the withdrawal of the Roman troops in the time of Emperor Honorius , the Romano-British were forced to defend their Romanized civilization with their own means. The looting of the Picts led them to recruit Germanic Saxons and Angles as mercenaries on the mainland , who in turn sought land for their growing population. After defeating the Picts, the Angles and Saxons turned against their hosts and restricted Romano-British rule to the western part of the island, especially Wales and Cornwall .

The battles of this time are reflected in the legends of Uther Pendragon and Artus . It is sometimes said that Ambrose Aurelianus , the leader of the Romano-British forces, provided the template for the former, and that Arthur's court at Camelot is an idealized reminder of the pre-Saxon Romano-British civilization.

literature

  • Michael Jones: The End of Roman Britain . Cornell University Press, Ithaca 1996.
  • John Richard Green : The Making of England . Macmillan, 1881 ( online )
  • George Patrick Welch: Britannia: The Roman Conquest and Occupation of Britain. Wesleyan University Press, 1963 ( online )
  • John Nowell Linton Myres: Pelagius and the End of Roman Rule in Britain . In: Journal of Roman Studies , 50, 1960, pp. 21-36.
  • Francis Pryor : Britain AD: a Quest for Arthur, England and the Anglo-Saxons . Harper Collins, London 2004, ISBN 0-00-718186-8
  • Ralegh Radford: Tintagel Castle . Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO), London 1939.
  • Charles Thomas: Tintagel: Arthur and Archeology . English Heritage, London 1993.

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