Post-Roman Britain

	Intro	Cynwidion Pengwern	Gloui Dumnonia Ceint	Celemion Colun	Gwinntguic Lerion Lundein Went	Linnius Rhegin Ynys Weith	Lost Kings

Part 6: Uncertain Kingdoms

There are a series of regions, or territories, in the British south-east that get the most fleeting of mentions in various sources, with tantalising glimpses given of some of the possible kingdoms that existed there in the short gap between Post-Roman administration and Anglo-Saxon domination.

Brief mentions in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles give a vague picture of how the war was going, and centres of British resistance can often be deduced from the location of these battles, and from archaeological evidence.

Linnius

The colonia of Linnius was founded by Rome around the start of the second century.

The possible post-Roman kingdom of the same name was linked (by Professor Kenneth Jackson) to the Lincolnshire region, and the names are remarkably similar, given the translation from Celtic to English. Linnius appears in Nennius' list of Arthur's Twelve Battles, making up four of them.

These battles were fought one after the other, suggesting a series of strategic fights, or a running battle along one of Linnius' rivers (Dubglas, the modern River Trent?). The aim must have been to push back an Anglian incursion, or a large scale Saxon raid. There were already Anglians settled in Deywr, on the other side of the Humber, although they appear to be mostly peaceful at this time.

On the other hand, the Saxons to the south were actively hostile, and the Historia Brittonum describes how, at "...Hengist's death, Octha his son went from the northern part of Britain to the kingdom of Kent".

Hengist died in 488, during the presumed height of Arthur's reign, so in theory Octha could have been recalled from an attempt to take territory in Linnius.

The probable Celtic name of the capital of this region is Caer Lind Colun (modern Lincoln, Roman Lindum colonia, hence Lind(um) Colun(ia)). The name Linnius would also appear to derive from that of the regional capital.

Linnius appears to have be taken over early by the Anglian Lindiswaras from the region of the Humber, in circa 480 (perhaps as a result of territory ceded during the attacks postulated above?). That much is about all that is known in an area that was greatly isolated from the country by the extensive marshlands around The Wash (Metaris Aest.) to the south, the vast Sherwood Forest and the marshes of the River Trent to the west, and the Humber to the north.

Nothing is known of the Anglian Kingdom of Lindsey until the late eighth century, but it is possible that the Linnius section of the Saxon Shore passed to them intact, and may have included some intermarriage between Angles and Britons.

Archaeological finds of British and Anglian pottery at the same site in a Saxon church at Barton-on-Humber supports the theory that there was no break in rule between British and Anglian governorship of Lindsey.

The Roman Newport Gate at Linnius, through which passes Ermine Street, is today the world's only surviving Roman arch that is still open to traffic

Rhegin

Fighting from their capital of Noviomagus (Chichester in West Sussex), the Britons on the south coast were probably the last native defenders of the Litus Saxonicum (the Saxon Shore).

They are mentioned in 491 when the leader of the South Saxons and apparently the first Bretwalda, Ælle and his son Cissa, besieged the British fort of Anderita (Saxon Andredesceaster, modern Pevensey) and slaughtered the entire garrison.

This loss must have been a blow for the British, and it is unlikely the kingdom retained its independence for long afterwards.

Ælle was probably the leader of the Saxon forces at Mons Badonicus in circa 496. To make such a large scale attack to the west would necessitate a secure rear, and conquering Rhegin would have secured the South Saxon territory, so Rhegin cannot have been a fully independent kingdom after 491, and probably did not exist before circa 425.

If Rhegin survived afterwards as a client kingdom (and that something survived is not in doubt) then it probably enjoyed a certain level of renewed independence after circa 496.

However, it probably suffered a further blow in 501 when a newly arrived Saxon chieftain killed a Briton of very high rank at Portesmutha (British Portus Adurni, modern Porchester Castle, on the northern shore of Portsmouth - although some put this in early West Saxon or Meonware territory). Was this the last surviving remnant of Rhegin, with its sub-Roman commander losing his life in its defence?

The name Rhegin itself is purely theoretical, adapted from the local Celtic tribal name of the Regni, or Regninses. Archaeological evidence points to this region of the south coast being a likely base for friendly mercenaries or laeti before Ælle's invasion.

Excavations at Porchester have revealed the presence of what seems to have been a sort of 'peasant militia' accompanied by wives and children; this ad hoc British defensive organisation may have continued far into the fifth century (B W Cunliffe in Excavations at Porchester Castle, 1975).

Ynys Weith

The Isle of Wight, or Inis Vectis, was either British until 530, when it was conquered by the West Saxons, or it was seized much earlier by the Meonware Jutes from Hampshire, and the date of 530 is a later invention by the West Saxons.

While it was still British, however, it may have fallen under the control of Caer Gwinntguic, probably as a sub-territory, as became the accepted practise after the collapse of Roman authority. The Romano-British name of the military structure from which the island was governed is not known.

The Wihtwara Jutes extended their version of the island's name to Wihtgarabyrig (now Carisbrooke Castle).

Text copyright © P L Kessler, from various notes and sources. An original feature for the History Files.