AS Conquest

[X99Lynx at aol.com]

In a message dated 12/13/2000 11:16:43 PM, dlwhite at texas.net replied to the
following:

<< Did they have a big enough presence to serve as a catalyst for the
invasion? Is there any indication that they actually formed a separate
Germanic-speaking community before the Romans left?>>

<<My impression is that the AS conquest was as much a reinforced revolt of
federates as anything else.  There is no reason to think that Germans in
Britain would not have spoken German, and though I do not specifically recall
any direct evidence of it, I would not be surprised if there is some. >>

Part of the "foederati system" entailed moving group of peoples into buffer
zones along Roman borders.  I believe that two groups from "Germania" called
"Votadini" and "Damnoni" were actually moved as such to north Wales just
around the time of Magus Maximus.  Saxons were also deployed about the same
time along the northern border against attacks by Picts.  On a number of
occasions of course the Roman Army in Britain just off and left to try to put
someone in the Emperor's Chair.  During those periods it would seem that
these Germanic troops were in fact Britain's main defense.  One of the later
chroniclers mentions that the Saxons claimed that they had once lived in
Britain and were simply returning.  After Constantine was declared emperor by
his legions and left with them for Rome in 407AD, the only "Roman" garrisons
that remained may have been foederati.  The legions never came back and it
took about another 100 years for this situation to deteriorate into a genuine
"invasion."

Although the Germanic language would be difficult to detect in Latin
inscriptions, there is some evidence of German presence in religious
inscriptions.  See,e.g., M. Henig, Religion in Roman Britain (1984)

Regards,
Steve Long