Walls and withdrawals: Gildas' version of the end of Roman Britain (original) (raw)

Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association, 2015

Abstract

'Notitia Dignitatum, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle', archaeology, and fifth-century Roman sources all support Gildas' story of a Roman return to Britain a decade after 410. A subsequent Roman withdrawal in about 421 left significant British governmental structures in place. But this also left the diocese with a greatly weakened economy. Gildas' erroneous story of a fifth-century origin for Hadrian's Wall derives from his providential view of history. Within this paradigm, the Wall was created exclusively for the defence of sinful, cowardly Britons, and not the God-favoured Romans.

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