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For those unfamiliar with the Groans of the Britons, it refers to a letter addressed to the Roman Consul, presumably the Magister Militum Flavius Aetius, stationed in Gallia at a time contemporaneous to the threats of Attila's Huns. The Romanized Britons' concerns may not have been the Saxons, Angles, Jutes, and other Germanic origin raiders at the time the letter was written, but rather raiders and pirates from Ireland. I could be wrong about the ethnicity of the invaders, and please correct me if so.
Here are the contents:
Source: https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Britons-Appeal-to-Aetius-for-Help
Change of History:
Now, I ask, what if Aetius and his army obliged to the Britons' request for assistance? Could they have been capable of some help in Britannia without totally compromising their defenses in Gallia and the other provinces? How might Aetius approach this task, if he had accepted? Britannia was viewed as a backwater, very distant province of the Roman Empire, having last been relevant and firmly in the Western Roman Empire around the 410s AD. I believe it is still unknown exactly when the Romans withdrew from Britannia, by a precise year, although I have often seen 410 AD cited as around the last point. There could not have been much, if any, in the way of tactical advantages for Aetius to show up in Britannia, although let's suppose that this expedition happens, and what we might be able to make of the circumstances and consequences.
For those unfamiliar with the Groans of the Britons, it refers to a letter addressed to the Roman Consul, presumably the Magister Militum Flavius Aetius, stationed in Gallia at a time contemporaneous to the threats of Attila's Huns. The Romanized Britons' concerns may not have been the Saxons, Angles, Jutes, and other Germanic origin raiders at the time the letter was written, but rather raiders and pirates from Ireland. I could be wrong about the ethnicity of the invaders, and please correct me if so.
Here are the contents:
So the miserable remnants sent off a letter again, this time to the Roman commander Agitius [Aetius], in the following terms: “To Agitius [Aetius], thrice consul: the groans of the British.” Further on came this complaint: “The barbarians push us back to the sea, the sea pushes us back to the barbarians; between these two we are either drowned or slaughtered.” But they got no help in return.
Source: https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Britons-Appeal-to-Aetius-for-Help
Change of History:
Now, I ask, what if Aetius and his army obliged to the Britons' request for assistance? Could they have been capable of some help in Britannia without totally compromising their defenses in Gallia and the other provinces? How might Aetius approach this task, if he had accepted? Britannia was viewed as a backwater, very distant province of the Roman Empire, having last been relevant and firmly in the Western Roman Empire around the 410s AD. I believe it is still unknown exactly when the Romans withdrew from Britannia, by a precise year, although I have often seen 410 AD cited as around the last point. There could not have been much, if any, in the way of tactical advantages for Aetius to show up in Britannia, although let's suppose that this expedition happens, and what we might be able to make of the circumstances and consequences.