England: From the Fall of Rome to the Norman Conquest

Step back to Anglo-Saxon England to see what makes this period of history so captivating. After a brief survey of the traditional scholarship across the ages, Professor Paxton outlines how we will be forming our picture of the Anglo-Saxons, including written evidence, literary sources, archaeological artifacts, “paleopathology,” and more.

When the Romans arrived in the British Isles, the empire was already on the decline, and it was in the crucible of this decline that England would be forged. Explore the impact of the Romans on Britain, from Hadrian’s Wall to the city of London. Consider the role of Christianity, the state of language, and the collapsing economy during this time.

Generations of school children have learned about three primary invasions of Germanic people: the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes. Reflect on the accuracy of this narrative, and then see how varying sources as well as DNA and archaeological evidence paints a much more complex picture of Germanic migrations.

A survey of medieval Britain might make it seem as though the myriad Germanic migrations were all peaceful, but was there any resistance among the locals? Here, the answer can be viewed through the legendary King Arthur and his knights of the round table. Was he a real person? Who was he based on? And what impact did he have on the history of Britain?

Pause in this fascinating period between the decline of Roman Britain and the rise of a new Anglo-Saxon order. What was everyday life like for average citizens? Meet some of the ethnic groups that made up 6th century Britain, explore their settlements, and examine some of the era’s hardships that can be seen today in the bones of the people who lived through it.

Thus far we have seen that thanks to migration and the fusion of Germanic and native British cultures, a coherent population—the Anglo-Saxons—was emerging. The political vacuum left by Rome was filled by a series of smaller kingdoms across England. In this episode, tour several of these kingdoms and how they came into being.