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Chapter 24: Albion, Hibernia and Caledonia
The British Isles during the 8th century see a gradual consolidation of power and crystalisation of emergent cultural entities.
The lowland areas of ancient Britannia had by now been almost completelly conquered by the Anglo-Saxons, a West Germanic peoples, who organized themselves into a series of seven kingdoms, known as the Heptarchy. Among them were Sussex, Kent, and Essex in the southeast, then East Anglia in the land of the Iceni, Wessex in the south, and Mercia in the midlands and Northumbria in the northern regions, extending as far north as Lothian.
Anglo-Saxons however had troubled relations with their Celtic neighbours: the kings of Wessex have attempted to subjugate the lands known to them as West Waelas, known by their inhabitants as Dumnonia: a peninsula in the southwestern parts of the island, at whose end is the region of Cornwall, rich with tin deposits. Further northwards, the kings of Mercia were locked in constant warfare with the Cymry, whom they called the Welsh; most notably with the kingdom of Powys. To protect themsleves, they have built a border fortification, which became known as Offa´s Dyke.
Originally, the Anglo-Saxons were a pagan folk, bringing their Germanic faith as well as their language with them. On British soil, they, however gradually began to listen to Christian missionaries from the previous celtic and Romance populations.
The areas of the southeast (East Anglia, Wessex, Kent) were subject to Franklish cultural influence, and thus accepted the Frankish variety of Christendom, with its allegiance to the Roman Curia. However, other realms, such as Mercia or Northumbria, and peculiarly, also Sussex would accept Christianity from the Irish missionaries, who at that time were practising quite a different version of Chrisitianity as that practised in Rome. Regional variations had developped in the isles due to a loss of contact with Rome, and major differences could have been found regarding the date of Easter.
The Latinate element was still surviving in pockets such as Verulamium (1), and in the southeastern marches of the kingdom of Powys, on the left bank of the lower Severn River.
As for the Brythonic peoples speaking a Celtic tongue, they came to dominate the „highland zone“of the former Roman province: in the peninsula of Dumnonia, a petty kingdom emerges including the counties of Devon and Cornwall.
Further north, across the Bristol Bay, the Cymry are organized in a hanful of realms, such as Gwent in the south, Dyfed in the southwest, Powys in the center and east and Gwynedd in the north. The Welsh did take in a substantial ammount of Latinate refugees, yet those have by the end of the century mostly assimilated and took up the local Welsh language. By this time Wales remained a largely rural country, with larger settlements built around hillforts
Throughout the eighth century, there thrived yet another linguistically Brythonic cultural region in the northern parts of Britain. By the end of the eigth century, the Hen Ogledd (2) had been reduced to the regions of Galloway and Cumbria. These areas spoke Cumbric a language much related to Welsh, and politically, by the end of the century, it was organized into the kingdom of Strathclyde. The region of Rheged had been a petty kingdom, which was later annexed by Northumbria, yet later it was retaken by Strathclyde.
Further west, across the Irish Sea, was the island known to the Romans as Hibernia, and by its inhabitants as Éire. The island remains largely rural, with no greater urban centers; smaller ringforts and hillforts however begin to emerge as local centers of power.
Politically, Ireland has been traditionally organized into petty kingdoms called fifth (cóiceda): Connaugth, Munster, Leinster, Meath and Ulster. Such an arrangement was mostly respected, yet in the northern parts, Ulster, the region became fragmented, with Aileach in the western part and Airgialla in the southern part of Ulster effectively becoming independent.
By this time it was fully Christianized, and the credit is attributed to Saint Patrick. Owing to an isolation from continental Europe, and after most of Britannia were overrun by the heathen Anglo-Saxons, contact with Gaul and Rome became scarce. Roman attention was also more preoccupied with the Iberian Peninsula and dealing with the Donatist heresy in North Africa, thus allowing for an Irish Christian tradition to develop independently.
Monasticism became one of the defining features of Celtic Christianity: the influence of the monasteries was so great, that in the 8th century, some of them even waged war one upon another. More frequently, however, the abbots would be more reasonable, and put the energy to better uses, such as establishing missions in Caledonia across the northern Channel or founding new monasteries in Continental Europe.
It was actually Irish hermits, who by during the eighth century, have colonized the islands of the North Atlantic: such as the Shetlands, the Faroes and Iceland. Whether the early Irish have reached the banks of Greenland during the eighth century is unknown, but they left no clear evidence of their presence.
Across the North Channel lies the land known to the Roamns as Caledonia. An error which is often made, is that we view Scotland and Ireland as distinct entities, yet the narrowest parts between the Mull of Kintyre and the Torr Head is only 21 kilometres across, and the extensive coastline on the Scottitish side with many islands and bays thus forms a single unity with Ulster. This connection was used by the early Scots, a Goidelic people from northern Ireland, when they moved across the North Channel, establishing the Kingdom of Dal Riada. This area included the western coast of Scotland, an while Dunadd is thought to have been the capital, far more famous is the monastery and bishopric of Iona, which became the first bishopric for the Scottish people.
The areas of Scotland facing the North Sea, have been traditionally populated by the Picts. Their origin is uncertain, though most scholars agree that they spoke a language aking to that of other Brythonic speakers, yet some claim that they were a last remnant of the pre-Celtic inhabitants of the British Isles. The Picts appear to have been evangelized by Irish missionaries, such as Columba, and their realm is known as Fortriu. Despite its relatively large extent on historical maps, one must not forget that a large part of the area formally held by the Picts appears to be in the Grampian mountaisn, and major Pictish settlements would be located in the more hospitable coastal regions.
(1) St. Albans
(2) Old North, in Welsh
(3) Corresponding to Cumbria
The lowland areas of ancient Britannia had by now been almost completelly conquered by the Anglo-Saxons, a West Germanic peoples, who organized themselves into a series of seven kingdoms, known as the Heptarchy. Among them were Sussex, Kent, and Essex in the southeast, then East Anglia in the land of the Iceni, Wessex in the south, and Mercia in the midlands and Northumbria in the northern regions, extending as far north as Lothian.
Anglo-Saxons however had troubled relations with their Celtic neighbours: the kings of Wessex have attempted to subjugate the lands known to them as West Waelas, known by their inhabitants as Dumnonia: a peninsula in the southwestern parts of the island, at whose end is the region of Cornwall, rich with tin deposits. Further northwards, the kings of Mercia were locked in constant warfare with the Cymry, whom they called the Welsh; most notably with the kingdom of Powys. To protect themsleves, they have built a border fortification, which became known as Offa´s Dyke.
Originally, the Anglo-Saxons were a pagan folk, bringing their Germanic faith as well as their language with them. On British soil, they, however gradually began to listen to Christian missionaries from the previous celtic and Romance populations.
The areas of the southeast (East Anglia, Wessex, Kent) were subject to Franklish cultural influence, and thus accepted the Frankish variety of Christendom, with its allegiance to the Roman Curia. However, other realms, such as Mercia or Northumbria, and peculiarly, also Sussex would accept Christianity from the Irish missionaries, who at that time were practising quite a different version of Chrisitianity as that practised in Rome. Regional variations had developped in the isles due to a loss of contact with Rome, and major differences could have been found regarding the date of Easter.
The Latinate element was still surviving in pockets such as Verulamium (1), and in the southeastern marches of the kingdom of Powys, on the left bank of the lower Severn River.
As for the Brythonic peoples speaking a Celtic tongue, they came to dominate the „highland zone“of the former Roman province: in the peninsula of Dumnonia, a petty kingdom emerges including the counties of Devon and Cornwall.
Further north, across the Bristol Bay, the Cymry are organized in a hanful of realms, such as Gwent in the south, Dyfed in the southwest, Powys in the center and east and Gwynedd in the north. The Welsh did take in a substantial ammount of Latinate refugees, yet those have by the end of the century mostly assimilated and took up the local Welsh language. By this time Wales remained a largely rural country, with larger settlements built around hillforts
Throughout the eighth century, there thrived yet another linguistically Brythonic cultural region in the northern parts of Britain. By the end of the eigth century, the Hen Ogledd (2) had been reduced to the regions of Galloway and Cumbria. These areas spoke Cumbric a language much related to Welsh, and politically, by the end of the century, it was organized into the kingdom of Strathclyde. The region of Rheged had been a petty kingdom, which was later annexed by Northumbria, yet later it was retaken by Strathclyde.
Further west, across the Irish Sea, was the island known to the Romans as Hibernia, and by its inhabitants as Éire. The island remains largely rural, with no greater urban centers; smaller ringforts and hillforts however begin to emerge as local centers of power.
Politically, Ireland has been traditionally organized into petty kingdoms called fifth (cóiceda): Connaugth, Munster, Leinster, Meath and Ulster. Such an arrangement was mostly respected, yet in the northern parts, Ulster, the region became fragmented, with Aileach in the western part and Airgialla in the southern part of Ulster effectively becoming independent.
By this time it was fully Christianized, and the credit is attributed to Saint Patrick. Owing to an isolation from continental Europe, and after most of Britannia were overrun by the heathen Anglo-Saxons, contact with Gaul and Rome became scarce. Roman attention was also more preoccupied with the Iberian Peninsula and dealing with the Donatist heresy in North Africa, thus allowing for an Irish Christian tradition to develop independently.
Monasticism became one of the defining features of Celtic Christianity: the influence of the monasteries was so great, that in the 8th century, some of them even waged war one upon another. More frequently, however, the abbots would be more reasonable, and put the energy to better uses, such as establishing missions in Caledonia across the northern Channel or founding new monasteries in Continental Europe.
It was actually Irish hermits, who by during the eighth century, have colonized the islands of the North Atlantic: such as the Shetlands, the Faroes and Iceland. Whether the early Irish have reached the banks of Greenland during the eighth century is unknown, but they left no clear evidence of their presence.
Across the North Channel lies the land known to the Roamns as Caledonia. An error which is often made, is that we view Scotland and Ireland as distinct entities, yet the narrowest parts between the Mull of Kintyre and the Torr Head is only 21 kilometres across, and the extensive coastline on the Scottitish side with many islands and bays thus forms a single unity with Ulster. This connection was used by the early Scots, a Goidelic people from northern Ireland, when they moved across the North Channel, establishing the Kingdom of Dal Riada. This area included the western coast of Scotland, an while Dunadd is thought to have been the capital, far more famous is the monastery and bishopric of Iona, which became the first bishopric for the Scottish people.
The areas of Scotland facing the North Sea, have been traditionally populated by the Picts. Their origin is uncertain, though most scholars agree that they spoke a language aking to that of other Brythonic speakers, yet some claim that they were a last remnant of the pre-Celtic inhabitants of the British Isles. The Picts appear to have been evangelized by Irish missionaries, such as Columba, and their realm is known as Fortriu. Despite its relatively large extent on historical maps, one must not forget that a large part of the area formally held by the Picts appears to be in the Grampian mountaisn, and major Pictish settlements would be located in the more hospitable coastal regions.
(1) St. Albans
(2) Old North, in Welsh
(3) Corresponding to Cumbria
- Tomislav Addai
- Word Count: 1.1k