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Topic: Groans of the Britons

Ads by Google      RomLincs Gildas writes that the plea read 'To Aetius, in his third consulship, come the groans of the Britons', and that 'the barbarians drive us to the sea, and sea drives us on the barbarians; by one or other of these two modes of death we are either killed or drowned.' These foreign troops defending the Britons were the countrymen of those who had been attacking for the previous half Century. Others take the view that British society reverted back to the Iron Age society that they had known before the Romans. http://web.ukonline.co.uk/romlincs/decline%20pages/political.htm      How Empires Really End - Mises Institute Moreover, as late as 470 a.d.—when the Saxons had supposedly started their "ethnic cleansing"—it was a contingent of 12,000 Britons under King Riothamus (tentatively identified by some as Vortigern& disobedient warrior son, Vortimer) which is said to have sailed up the Loire in the unsuccessful effort to succor the Emperor Anthemius against his Gothic foes. Many of the current leaders’ fathers had probably collaborated in fomenting what the texts call the "Barbarian Conspiracy," in 367 a.d.—traditionally viewed as yet another mark of Britain& weakness, but now being revised into what may actually have been another concerted attempt to shed the Imperial yoke. In fact, far from being wretched, the Britons invaded the continent several times themselves after this supposed disaster; notably, under Maximus in 383 a.d., and, again, under Constantine III in 409 a.d. http://www.mises.org/fullstory.aspx?Id=1656      Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, Book I There is a very large gulf of the sea, which formerly divided the nation of the Picts from the Britons; which gulf runs from the west very far into the land, where, to this day, stands the strong city of the Britons, called Aicluith. Maximus the tyrant, being shut up in Aquileia, was there taken and put to death. How, during the reign of Honorus, Gratian and Constantine were created tyrants in Britain; and soon after the former was slain in Britain, and the latter in Gaul http://www.jim-riddell.com/history/sources/Bede/Bede-Ecclesiastical_History_Book_1.htm      [No title] Perhaps they had a hand in the fortresses too; at all events, as they were very powerful, and very much believed in, and as they made and executed the laws, and paid no taxes, I don't wonder that they liked their trade. KING ETHELBERT, of Kent, was soon converted; and the moment he said he was a Christian, his courtiers all said THEY were Christians; after which, ten thousand of his subjects said they were Christians too. But, even while he was in Britain, with his victorious troops, the BRITONS rose. http://wwwsoc.nii.ac.jp/dickens/etexts/dickens/others/history.txt      Arthur, Cerdic, and the Formation of Wessex c6 Instead, the result was a massive loss of British leadership and the opportunity for raiders to run rampant throughout Britain. Although the sons of Maximus dominated Britain before 450, Cunedd's house could be found ruling numerous kingdoms by the early 500's. The raids were stopped and the grateful Britons called the island Anglesey. http://camelot.celtic-twilight.com/rudmin/arthur_cerdic_c6.htm      The Baldwin Project: Our Island Story by H. E. Marshall At last Vespasian, who was then Emperor of the Romans, sent a general called Julius Agricola to see if he could subdue the people and govern the island of Britain. Then Rowena sent messengers to her father, and he gathered all his ships and men together, and came sailing over the sea to Britain once more. But they had by no means forgotten about the little green island in the blue sea. http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=marshall&book=island&story=_all      Untitled Document The Britons recruit Germanic (whether Jutes or Franks is a subject of debate) mercenaries to defend the eastern half of the British coast against Germanic and Pictish raiders and to bolster Vortigerns status as High King of Britain. Honorius tells them to look to their own defenses as no troops can be spared. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that “Aella and Cissa besieged the city of Anderida and slew all that were therein; nor was one Briton left there afterwards”. http://www.erauk.org/inf3.html      Geoffrey of Monmouth, "Arthur" in <i>The History of the Kings of Britainn</i> Chapter XI--Lucius Tiberius being killed, the Britons obtain the victory. Chapter II--Guethelin's speech to the Britons when the Romans left them But Hengist, upon his approach, took courage again, and chose out the bravest of his men, whom he exhorted to make a gallant defense, and not be daunted at Aurelius, who, he told them, had but few Armorican Britons with him, since their number did not exceed ten thousand. http://www.iub.edu/~histweb/fall2003/ddeliyan/b204/readings/arthur_gm.htm      Llys Arthur "To Agitius (Aetius), thrice consul, the Groans of the Britons...the barbarians drive us to the sea, the sea drives us to the barbarians; between these two means of death we are either killed or drowned. Emrys (Ambrosius Aurelianus), the son of Ambrosius, had taken the leadership of the Britons. The Britons under Arthur were victorious at the seige of Mount Badon. http://www.webexcel.ndirect.co.uk/gwarnant/arthur/arthurage.htm      The Anglo-Saxons Later historians identified a 'Heptarchy' of Seven Kingdoms from about this time (though this is, in fact, something of an over-simplification of a complex political situation). Soon, the Saxons were in control of much of eastern Britain. It was long believed that the Anglo-Saxons actually drove out or exterminated the Celtic Britons; English place names and the English language show a remarkable lack of Celtic influence. http://www.fernweb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/mf/anglosax.htm      A Parallel History of France and England Consisting of Outlines and Dates. Various pretenders to empire unworthy of record rose and fell, and there was no national resistance to either northern or eastern foes. Allectus reigned three years in Britain, but was killed at York, A.D. Magnentius, a soldier, was proclaimed emperor of Autun A.D. Constantius asked the aid of the Teutons, who killed Magnentius in battle, but horribly devastated Gaul. Many bloody wars ensued, known as those of the Scots and Picts (though who these last were is only conjectured, and there is no guidance from history.) http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/yonge/history/history.html      King, Dunmail, Cumbria, Medieval, History, Dark Ages, Britons When I was a child I was told the story of "King Dunmail" the last King of Cumberland and how he met his untimely death. This might not be suprising as the Chronicles were written with a heavy saxon bias and as such were unlikely to concentrate on a prominent Briton even if he was defeated. King, Dunmail, Cumbria, Medieval, History, Dark Ages, Britons http://www.zensurweb.com/darkage/dunmail.htm      [No title] For, after all, which of those writings can be said to have any life to-day? It is just these pen-pictures of his of the big, uncouth man, with his grunts and his groans, his Gargantuan appetite, his twenty cups of tea, and his tricks with the orange-peel and the lamp-posts, which fascinate the reader, and have given Johnson a far broader literary vogue than his writings could have done. Then in an instant the individual is forgotten and he is off, dragging you in his train, to ancient Britons, intrusive Saxons, unheard-of bards, Owen Glendower, mountain raiders and a thousand fascinating things. http://ftp.sunet.se/pub/etext/wiretap-classic-library/magicdoor.dyl      Letter #18 The Origin and Early History of Christianity In Britain, by Andrew Gray, D.D., pages 60-62: After the Romans withdrew their troops from Britain in 411 A.D., the Britons were still having problems with the Picts. If you will remember, in lesson #16, page 3, it was mentioned how Constantius Chlorus and his son Constantine, who later became Constantine the Great, initially went to Britain to fight the Picts. http://www.childrenofyahweh.com/Teaching%20Letters/letter_18.htm      Guithelinus, archbishop and Vortigern? The real Constantine III ruled AD 406-411, during which period the Britons threw out the (his?) Roman administration in 410, which leaves a gap of fifteen years to (an early) Vortigern. Geoffrey filled this gap by extending the rule of his Constantine, after which his Constans succeeded him (the real Constantine and Constans were both killed in 411). As soon as they (the Romans) had given them this exhortation, they commanded all the men of the island that were fit for war, to appear together at London, because the Romans were about to return home. http://www.vortigernstudies.org.uk/artwho/vitalinus.htm      Wild Wales by George Borrow And the foreign oppressor be no more seen." Ancient Britons for at least a thousand years, even in times of the which he speaks of the Saxons and Britons, and of the result of http://encyclopediaoftheself.com/classic_books_online/wwals10.htm      The Groans of the Britons The consul Aetius was in Armorica dealing with another revolt, and it is at this time, I believe, the Britons wrote him their famous letter. When Gerontius, the British lieutenant whom he had left in control of Spain, revolted in 408, the Britons were left to fend for themselves. There is evidence of warlords (exemplified by the pseudo-historical Vortigern) inviting large numbers of Saxons to aid in their conflicts against Pictish raiders (and probably other warlords.) The military situation obviously changed since 409, when the Britons provided for their own defense. http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~epf/2002/mummey.html      Dalriadic Scots (500-846 AD) - DBA 61a Aedan prevailed over Dondchad in a battle fought at Kintyre, thus cementing his claim to the throne. Egfrid was killed in the subsequent battle and his army all but annihilated, thus ending the Northumbrian control over Pictland and Dalriada and allowing the Picts to occupy as far south as Lothian. In 450 AD, Gildas recorded that the Britain's call for help (The Groans of the Britons) against the "foul hordes of Scots and Picts" had gone unheeded by Rome. http://fanaticus.org/dba/armies/var61a.html      Mediæval Britain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Celtic forces that had fought the Romans to a standstill for decades and been conquered only with great effort were, by this point, very weak. They had relied upon Roman force to protect them from Scottish and Welsh Celtic marauders and invaders, and when the Roman troops left, the Britons had no effective defense. According to the Venerable Bede, the British king called upon two Germanic tribal leaders from Europe to help defend Romanized Britain (i.e. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediæval_Britain      The Builder Magazine - September 1919 The Eleusinian Mysteries were not deemed inimical to the welfare of the Roman Empire as were the religions of the Egyptians, Jews, and ancient Britons. The novices were taken hold of by invisible hands, their hair was torn, and they were beaten and thrown to the ground. Even the Emperors of Rome, the official heads of the Roman religion, the masters of the world, came to the Eumolpides to proffer the request that they might receive the honour of initiation and become participants in the Sacred Mysteries revealed by the goddess. http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/the_builder_1919_september.htm      Gens Ambrosia :: History of the Ambrosii Vortigern had invited the Saxons to settle in Britain as foederati, to protect the Britons from invasion by other barbarians. Whatever the origin of the giants, they were defeated by Hercules, but a few lingered on until the coming of the Trojans, who were led there by Brutus, a grandson of Æneas. The Britons, then, were said to be distant cousins of the Romans, descended from the same royal Trojan race. http://www.ambrosii.com/history.html      Throughout the whole of the lands conquered by the Völkerwanderung There is no doubt that many Britons did flee from the heathens that were advancing upon their country. The appeal was supposedly messages begging for Imperial forces to be sent to save the Britons from the invaders. Gildas recorded that around this time sent an appeal know as “Groans of the Britons” to a powerful Roman warlord that was almost certainly Aëtius. http://www.nimues-realm.freeservers.com/anglo-saxons.htm      The decline of Roman Britain If the British were intending to revolt, their rebellion was rather a half-hearted one since they soon wrote to the Emperor Honorius asking him to send troops. The Britons therefore took up arms, and engaged in many dangerous enterprises for their own protection, until they had freed their cities from the barbarians who besieged them." But by 401 the Roman homelands themselves were under attack, and Flavius Stilicho, the effective ruler of the Empire, withdrew most of the legions garrisoned in Britain. http://history.wisc.edu/sommerville/123/123%2041%20FallRoman%20Br.htm      An Introduction to Chester Many are the legends associated with the city's origins. Thomas Pennant remarked that the city seemed to have been a constant rendezvous of troops for every expedition on this side of the Kingdom from the time of the Normans to the final conquest of Ireland by William III. But King Leir ( Shakespeare's King Lear) - a Briton fine and valiant, was founder of Chester by pleasant building, which was named Guer Leir by the King" http://www.bwpics.co.uk/chesterintro.html      The Name of The Church: Church of Christ I affirm, that this doctrine is repugnant to the Nature of God, but particularly to those Attributes of his nature by which he performs and manages all things, his wisdom, justice, and goodness. Thus the Lord heard our groans to heaven and freed us from this great and sore affliction, which first was small, like Elias' cloud, but after spread the heavens; and hath (through great mercy) given the http://www.piney.com/ChofChristName.html      Sword Forum International - Arthurian weapons At this point, the myths have a very strange intervention by a most strange individual, whether Druid or Prophet is never really clear, but Merlin, or Myrddin, appears and uses a "miracle" to establish a young son of Uther's as the new leader who can unify the Britons. They fight for as long as he lives, with middling success, apparently, and then begin to lose it all when he dies, as there is nobody with the charisma to keep them united. During all of this period, the Germanic tribes bordering the North Sea were raiding the East Coast of Britain just as the Scotti raiders from Ireland were raiding its West Coast across the Irish Sea and the Picti were raiding South across Hadrian's Wall. http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?threadid=14941      GILDAS - LoveToKnow Article on GILDAS Thus it is on his sole, though in this instance perhaps trustworthy, testimony that the famous letter rests, said to have been sent to Rome in 446 by the despairing Britons, commencing: To Agitius (Aetius), consul for the third time, the groans of the Britons. With one exception already alluded to, no dates are given, and events are not always taken up in the order of their occurrence. http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/G/GI/GILDAS.htm      Archaeology UK - Roman Britain,julius caeser,claudius, Poenius Postumus, acting commander of legion 11, refuses Suetonius' call for assistance and falls on his sword after hearing news of the final battle, when 80,000 Britons are killed. Emperor Honorius tells the British cities to look to their own defence. British cities appeal for military assistance to Aetius, the leading general in Italy at this time ('The Groans of the Britons'). http://www.digital-documents.co.uk/archi/kingromn.htm      Anglo-Saxon England No 2 The romanized municipalities had felt that they could no longer cope with the deteriorating situation and in 446 had made their frantic but futile appeal for help to Rome (the letter mentioned by Gildas and generally known under the title of 'The Groans of Britons'). In spite of the thoroughgoing scepticism of some historians the story is not improbable, based as it is on genuine folk-tradition. The dissolution of the draditional government provided throughout the Empire and opportunity for native tribal chieftains to seize power into their own hands; soVortigern came to dominate the country on both sides of theThames and not simply Kent alone. http://c.cater.users.btopenworld.com/HTMLFiles/anglo_saxon_england_2.html      Provincia Britannia - Historia 446 AD The ‘groans of the Britons’ as they appeal to Rome for assistance to no avail. http://www.onlineera.com/britannia/history.htm      Re: Camolot may have been FOUND ! By this time the Welsh were > calling what was left of the Britons 'cymry' or 'fellow countrymen' but soon > there were no true Britons left and the Welsh began calling themselves > Cymry. Never heard of the Kingdom of Strathclyde then? Surely countless delving into British history would have uncovered this? http://www.talkaboutculture.com/group/soc.culture.celtic/messages/139944.html      The History of England, Volume I, by David Hume Notwithstanding these misfortunes, the Britons were not subdued; and this island was regarded by the ambitious Romans as a field in which military honour might still be acquired. http://www.sakoman.net/pg/html/10574.htm      Ex Post Facto Index to Past Issues Lucile Eaves, The San Francisco Settlement Association, and Organized Labor, 1894-1906 The Groans of the Britons: Toward the British Civitates Period, Circa 406-455 C.E. By Kevin Mummey http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~epf/past.html      DECBpics.html The "Groans of the Britons" letter to Aetius is delivered. http://www.cit.gu.edu.au/~sctwiseh/DECB/DECBpics.html      [No title] 446 AD - Britons make their last appeal to Rome for aid - "The Groans of the Britons". 410 AD - The Goths attack Rome, Emperor Honorius tells the Britons that they are now responsible for their own defence. 515 AD - Saxon advances finally halted by the Britons. http://members.lycos.co.uk/brisray/bristol/bperspct.htm      FW.I.5.104.html Flur, Rebus de Hibernicis, The Crazier Letters, Groans of a Briton- 'Groans of the Britons': plea to Rome, A.D. Vallancey: Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis http://members.aol.com/warnwood/FW/FW.I.5.104.html

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