The Romans
left Britain in around 400AD. For a time the country continued
to be governed in much the same way as it had for the 350 years
of Roman occupation. Then chiefs of local tribes began a struggle
for power, the country split into several kingdoms. Added to
this, Saxon invaders attacked the country with more confidence.
Some Saxons were even employed as mercenaries by British leaders
to help in the fight against the raiders. These mercenaries
settled in the South East and later rebelled against the Britons
who had asked for their help.
Saxon
influence extended over much of the South East of England by
the year 450 AD. As more and more invaders settled, the Britons
were pushed westwards into Wales and the South West. To the
Romanised Britons these Saxons must have been barbarians. Under
the Romans many of the population had become Christians. The
pagan customs of the invaders must have added extra impact to
the shockwave rippling across the country ahead of their advance.
The time was right for a powerful leader to unite the Britons
against these outsiders.
Indeed,
between the years 500 and 550AD the Saxon advance was halted
and a stalemate existed between the Saxons and Britons. It is
during this period that Arthur is thought to have existed.
This
can come as a shock, for most of us probably picture Arthur
riding out from a huge, imposing stone castle ahead of his knights
in shining armour. Instead his castle would have been
a hill fort, there were many iron age camps which could be quite
easily fortified by building wooden palisades and gateways.
The armour and weapons would have been modelled on those used
by the Romans, in fact some troops may have used actual old
Roman equipment.
