Celtic Kingdoms of the British Isles

Ceint / Cantiacum (Romano-Britons)

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With the expulsion of Roman officials in AD 409 (see feature link), Britain again became independent of Rome and was not re-occupied. The fragmentation which had begun to emerge towards the end of the fourth century now appears to have accelerated, with minor princes, newly declared kings, and Roman-style magistrates all vying for power and influence while also facing the threat of extinction at the hands of the various barbarian tribes which were encroaching from all sides.

In this period the former territory of the Cantii tribe appears to have re-emerged as a kingdom in its own right (see feature link). Situated in the far south-eastern corner of the country, it was the closest point to continent Europe and was neighboured to the west by Rhegin. To the north the situation is extremely uncertain. Possibly a territory or kingdom was formed around Londinium, or Verulamium, and the latter certainly existed as a sixth century enclave. Ceint itself is unlikely to have controlled Londinium, as this would likely have been the seat of the national authority, whether this was embodied by Vortigern, Ambrosius Aurelianus, or whomever.

In common with much of the south-east of Britain following the expulsion of Roman authority, very little is known about Ceint or Cantiacum, even down to its name. Practically the only truly reliable evidence comes from archaeology, while the bulk of the written evidence comes via the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (ASC) or Nennius' Historia Brittonum (see feature link). Neither are fully reliable and the former is very brief.

According to them, it is in Ceint that Vortigern settled a new wave of laeti, Jutish mercenaries who in 450 were given a home on Ynys Tanatus (the Isle of Thanet). After fighting off the country's enemies, the laeti saw how weak the Britons were and launched a takeover in 455, leading to the British loss of Ceint and the first step in over two centuries of Germanic conquest.

That someone led the battle to try and regain Ceint is attested by entries in the ASC, although a name is not mentioned. British sources say this was Vortimer, son of Vortigern, but the dispossessed king of Ceint (named by Nennius) must have been involved. Nennius also named Ceint's capital as Caer Ceint, the 'fortress of Kent'. Following conquest, the invaders kept the name but it was expressed differently in their tongue as Cantwarabyrig - 'fortress of the men of Kent', modern Canterbury.

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(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from the Historia Brittonum (The History of the Britons), Nennius (J A Giles, Ed & Trans, 1841, published as part of Six Old English Chronicles (Henry G Bohn, London, 1848)), from The Landscape of King Arthur, Geoffrey Ashe, from The Oxford History of England: The English Settlements, J N L Meyers, and from The Oxford History of England: Anglo-Saxon England, Sir Frank Stenton, from Roman Britain: A New History, Guy de la Bédoyère, from The Cambridge Historical Encyclopaedia of Great Britain and Ireland, Christopher Haigh (Ed), from The Oxford History of England: Roman Britain, Peter Salway, from The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, Anne Savage (translator and collator, Guild Publishing, 1983), from The Kingdom of Kent, J P Witney, and from A History of the English Church and People, The Venerable Bede (Leo Sherley-Price translation - revised by R E Latham).)

c.410s - 420s

Durovernum Cantiacorum remains occupied and in fairly good order for a short period following the expulsion of Roman authority from Britain. Saxon laeti, mercenaries, are introduced to several key sites in Ceint, living in small communities outside the city walls, and Durovernum is no different.

Roman Durovernum Cantiacorum still survived like this into the early fifth century, but by the end of the century it had changed radically (see below for an illustration)

c.425?

Whether (and when) Ceint emerges as a true kingdom or a semi-independent territory is unknown. A workable theory is that magistrates govern areas of the south-east of Britain in the Roman style under the country's central authority. The name Guoyrancgonus is supplied in the ninth century by Nennius, but if this man does not exist at this time then someone else does to fulfil the same role.

c.425? - 457?

Magistrate or king? Lost control in 455-457.

c.440 - 443

The Saxon foederati and laeti in the country revolt, causing widespread chaos and temporarily controlling swathes of Britain. Around this time, Durovernum shows signs of marked deterioration, a process which may have begun in the 420s but which accelerates notably.

450

Hengist and Horsa, great-grandsons of Wehta, are invited from Angeln to Britain by Vortigern. They land with three boats of Jutes at Ypwines fleot (Ebbsfleet in Kent). Traditionally, they fulfil the terms of their contract by fighting back Pictish and Irish Scotti invaders and receive territory on which to settle on Ynys Tanatus (the Isle of Thanet at the north-eastern tip of Kent).

This map of Britain concentrates on British territories and kingdoms which were established during the fourth and fifth centuries AD, as the Saxons and Angles began their settlement of the east coast (click or tap on map to view full sized)

455 - 457

The British territory or kingdom of Ceint is quickly overrun at the start of the revolt led by Hengist and his Jutes. Two important battles are fought, at Aegelesthrep in 455 and Crecganford in 457. With the British on the losing side, Guoyrancgonus retreats to what appears to be his back-up headquarters in Londinium, although it seems unlikely that he commands here.

The city has probably been the seat of Vortigern, although tradition does not make this clear. It is now most likely the seat either his son, Vortimer, who is involved in the fighting to free Ceint, or his traditional successor, Ambrosius Aurelianus. It appears that the kingdom is given up as lost, despite possible intentions to reclaim it at a later date. Any such intentions are never realised, and instead Londinium itself has to be abandoned by the end of the century.

Durovernum Cantiacorum is not abandoned, unusually, although life is probably very different. A layer of 'dark earth' is later found immediately above the Roman remains on sites throughout the city, pointing to a period during which the local inhabitants reverted to a rural, agrarian lifestyle. The main Roman buildings and road system fall into disuse and are later overbuilt by the medieval city, but there still seems to be a sizeable settlement here.

The Roman city of Canterbury was, by the sixth century, in ruins, with small Anglo-Saxon houses built in between - the remains of the city wall can be seen in the distance

465

Hengist and Oisc of Kent fight the British at Wippedes fleot (location undetermined), and claim the slaughter of twelve British leaders against the loss of just one of their own thegns, Wipped. It seems possible that the site of the battle could be near to the Roman fort at Rutupiae (modern Richborough), in the far east of Kent, which makes it unlikely that a British force has penetrated from Londinium in the west.

Instead, and supported by archaeology, it seems that this is a mopping-up operation against a British enclave which may have held out for a decade in the fort and its environs. Romano-British belt buckles found at the site and in nearby Jutish burial grounds indicate that spoils of war are taken and are reused for a time as prized possessions.

The new Germanic occupiers of the region now appear to control the traditional territories of the Cantii, including all of Kent, East Sussex bordering Rhegin, eastern Surrey. and London south of the Thames. They may already be thinking of themselves as the Cantware, 'Men of [the Jutish Kingdom of] Kent'.