PART ONE: 388-537 A.D.
(From the withdrawal of Roman troops from Britain to the death of King Arthur)
388--Defeat
of Magnus Maximus. Conan Meriadog and his British troops are forced to
settle in Armorica; British immigration to Armorica begins.
410--Emperor Honorius of Rome tells Britain to attend to its own affairs.
Zosmius reports
that Roman officials are expelled and the native government establishes
"independence".
Britain is divided into numerous petty states, the Kings of which form a
Ruling Council
for Britain. The greatest of the petty Kings is elected High King. Two
factions soon
form...the "Celtic" faction, which favors a return to traditional
Celtic ways, and the
"Roman" faction, which wants to preserve a Roman society in Britain.
c.410--Irish incursions into Gwynedd, Powys, Dyfed & the Gower Peninsula.
411--Capture, at Arles, of Constantine, last Emperor of Britain. He is
executed at
Ravenna soon afterward.
413--Pelagian heresy said to have begun, by Prosper (Tiro) of Aquitaine in his
"Chronicle". Pelagius was a British monk who denied the concept of
"original sin," and
argued that mankind has free will, and that salvation is attainable by faith
alone and was
not dependent on divine grace. His teachings gain a wide following, primarily
in the East
and in Britain and Gaul. His great adversary will be St. Augustine of Hippo,
whose
teachings on the subjects of original sin and divine grace will become the
canon of the
Catholic Church.
420--Pelagian heresy outlawed in Rome (418), but in Britain, enjoys much
support from
"Celtic" faction. The Roman faction supports the Augustinian or
"Roman" church.
However, even the "Roman" Church in Britain has some peculiarities
of its own
(primarily in the method of reckoning the date of Easter, and in it's
decentralized
monastic nature which does not readily admit to the authority of the Pope in
Rome) which
will eventually cause it to be in controversy with the Catholic Church in
Rome.
c.420--Death of Coel Hen, the last Roman Dux Brittanniarum. The lands of his
office in
Northern Britain are divided between his descendants and become petty
kingdoms.
c.423--Birth of St. Patrick in Britain.
425--Vortigern, a leader of the "Celtic" faction, usurps the
High-Kingship in Britain.
c.425--Cunedda Wledig and his retinue are moved south from Gododdin to Gwynedd
in
order to expel the invading Irish.
428--Vortigern invites Germanic warriors (Jutes and Angles) under Hengest and
Horsa to
aid him in consolidating his position in Britain. Vortigern uses these
mercenaries to put
down local opposition, as well as to repel invading Picts from the north.
429--At the request of Palladius, a British deacon, Pope Celestine I
dispatches Bishops
Germanus of Auxerre and Lupus of Troyes to Britain to combat the Pelagian
heresy.
While in Britain, Germanus, a former military man, leads the Britons to the
so-called
"Hallelujah" victory over the Picts and Scots on the Welsh border.
c. 434--St. Patrick is captured by pirates and taken to Ireland as a slave. At
about the same
time, Ambrosius Aurelianus the Younger is born in Brittany. He is the son of
Ambrosius
Aurelianus the Elder, who is living in exile in Brittany and is claimed to be
the son of
Constantine (the last Emperor of Britain who was executed in 411). Ambrosius
the Elder
is held to be the rightful High King by the "Roman" faction in
Britain.
c. 435--Bressal Belach, King of Leinster dies.
437--Ambrosius Aurelianus the Elder returns from exile in Brittany and appears
as leader
of the "Roman" faction in Britain. Vortigern's relative, Vitalinus (Guitolinus),
fights
against Ambrosius at the Battle of Wallop. The latter is victorious and is
"given all the
kingdoms of the western side of Britain".
c.440--St. Patrick escapes from his captors and returns to Britain.
c.440-50--Period of Civil War and famine in Britain, caused by ruling
council's weakness
and inability to deal with Pictish invasions; the situation is further
aggravated by tensions
between the Pelagian and Roman factions of the Church. Most towns and cities
are
vacated at this time and fall into ruin. Migration of pro-Roman citizens
toward west
begins, and the country is beginning to be divided, geographically, along
factional lines.
c.441--The Gallic Chronicle records, prematurely, that "Britain,
abandoned by the
Romans, passed into the power of the Saxons."
444 --Foundation of Armagh in Ireland (traditional date).
c. 445-53--Probable activity of Niall Noigiallach, founder of the Ui Neill
dynasty. Ui
Neill conquest of the Ulaid begins.
445--Death of Nath I mac Fiachrach of Connacht, 'High' King of Tara.
446--The Britons (probably the pro-Roman party) appeal to Aetius, Roman
governor of
Gaul, for military assistance in their struggle against the Picts and the
Irish/Scots. No help
could be sent, at this time, as Aetius had his hands full with Attila the Hun.
c.446--Vortigern authorizes the use of German mercenaries (mostly Angles),
known as
foederati, for the defence of the northern parts of Britannia against the
Picts and to guard
against further Irish incursions. The Angles are given land in
Lincolnshire...the nucleus of
what will one day be the Kingdom of Lindsay. Vortigern's sons, Vortimer and
Cadeyrn,
recognize the threat posed by their father's policies and go into open revolt
against them.
446--Battle of Femen (in Brega) and the death of Mac Cairthinn mac Coelboth,
King of
Leinster.
447--Second visit of St. Germanus (this time accompanied by Severus, Bishop of
Trier)
to Britain in an attempt to combat the Pelagian heresy. While in Britain, he
leads the
British in a successful effort to expel the Irish invaders from Powys.
Vortigern is accused
of incest. Battle of Aylesford (Kent) in which the rebellious sons of
Vortigern, Vortimer
and Cadeyrn, defeat Hengest and Horsa for the first time. Cadeyrn and Horsa
are killed in
the fighting. Shortly afterward, Hengest leaves Britain and returns to his
homeland to
recruit more troops. Telling the kings of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes of the
"cowardice"
of the Britons, he stirs much interest in migration among those tribes.
c.447--The Britons, aroused to heroic effort by St. Germanus, "inflicted
a massacre" on
their enemies, the Picts and Irish, and were left in peace, for a brief time.
c.448--Civil war and plague ravage Britain.
c.450--Hengest arrives on shores of Britain with "3 keels" of
warriors, and is welcomed
by Vortigern. Death of Ambrosius Aurelianus the Elder. Ambrosius Aurelianus
the
Younger is proclaimed High King by the "Roman" faction. Probable
fall of Emain
Machae, the Ulaid Overkingdom to the sons of Niall.
c.452--Increasing Saxon settlement in Britain. Vortigern marries Hengest's
daughter,
Rowenna, and offers the Jutish leader the kingdom of Kent. Hengest invites his
son,
Octha, from Germany with "16 keels" of warriors (primarily Angles),
who occupy the
northern lands, to defend against the Picts. The Picts are never again a
threat to Britannia.
These warriors settle down in the British kingdoms of Bryneich and Deywr,
where they
will eventually take full control and become the germ of the future kingdoms
of Bernicia
and Deira.
c.453--Raids on British towns and cities becoming more frequent. Increasing
Saxon
unrest.
455--Prince Vortimer rebels once again against the pro-Saxon policies of his
father,
Vortigern, and fights Hengest at the Battle of Crayford. Hengest is victorious
and the
British army flees back to London.
c.456--St. Patrick leaves Britain once more to evangelise Ireland. Loegaire
mac Neill
celebrates the 'Feast of Tara' and confronts Patrick. In Britain, Hengest
massacres 300
leading British noblemen at a phony "peace" conference.
c.458--Saxon uprising in full-swing. Hengest finally conquers Kent, in
south-eastern
Britain.
c.458-60 (note that this is a revision of a section already
published)--Full-scale migration
of British aristocrats and city-dwellers across the Oceanus Britannicus to
Armorica, in
north-western Gaul (the "second migration"). Among the British
contingent is Prince
Vortimer, who will also be known in contemporary chronicles as “Riothamus.”
c.459--Vortigern
is burnt to death while being besieged by Ambrosius Aurelianus the
Younger at Ganarew.
c. 460-700--With increased immigration of Britons to Armorica in the wake of
the
Anglo-Saxon invasions of Britannia, three kingdoms are founded in
Armorica...Domnonia (“Devon”), Kernow (“Cornwall”) and Bro Erech.
These
kingdoms, ruled by descendants of Vortimer, son of Vortigern (also known in
contemporary sources as “Riothamus”), who left Britannia in the aftermath
of the defeat
and death of his father, Vortigern, will function most of the time as separate
kingdoms,
but will sometimes be united under one ruler as the Kingdom of Brittany (or
“Little
Britannia”). These kingdoms will not acknowledge the authority of the High
King in
Britannia, as their rulers, being relations of Vortigern, consider the
Ambrosian House to
be usurpers, and they will often provide a refuge for those who oppose the
rule of said
House in Britannia (notably the dispossessed relations of the House of Gwynedd
and the
royal houses dispossessed by Arthur I during his enforced consolidation of the
sub-kingdoms in Britannia), as well as being a springboard for attempts by
these houses
to regain their lands in Britannia. Most of the time during these years the
Breton
kingdoms will maintain a precarious independence of the powerful Frankish
kingdoms to
their east (and indeed, in times of Frankish weakness, will sometimes hold
land in Anjou
and other neighboring areas), but they will often be forced to accept
vassalage to the
Frankish Kings, beginning with Clovis (c. 500 A.D.).
c.460-470--Ambrosius Aurelianus the Younger of the "Roman" faction
takes full control
of Britain. He leads Britons in years of back-and-forth fighting with Saxons.
British
strategy is to allow Saxon landings and to then contain them there.
461--Loegaire mac Neill, King of Tara dies.
465--Battle of Wippedsfleet (or Richborough), in which the Britons defeat the
Saxons,
but with great slaughter on both sides. The latter are confined to the Isle of
Thanet and
there is a respite from fighting "for a long time."
c.465--Future High King Arthur, son of Ambrosius Aurelianus the Younger, born
around
this time.
c.466-73--Period of minimal Saxon activity. Re-fortification of ancient
hillforts and
construction of the Wansdyke takes place during this time.
c.469--Roman emperor, Anthemius, appeals to the Britons for military help
against the
Visigoths. Reliable accounts by Sidonius Apolonaris and Jordanes name the
leader of the
12,000 man Breton force as "Riothamus" (Vortimer?). The bulk of the
British force was
wiped out in battle against Euric, the Visigothic king, and the survivors,
including
"Riothamus," vanished and were never heard from, again.
c. 470-480--High King Ambrosius Aurelianus establishes a system of garrison
sites for
local defense of the areas threatened by the Saxons. The units based at the
sites are known
as "Ambrosiaci," and the garrison sites would, in OTL, eventually
become the towns of
Amesbury, Ambersham, the two towns Amberley, Amberstone, Amsbury, the two
towns
of Amberland, Ambersury Banks, Emberdon, Amberden, and Ambyrmede. This barrier
will prove effective in containing the Saxons for many years.
c.471-- The army of King Ceretic of Strathclyde raids the Irish Coast and
carries off some
of St. Patrick's new flock and sells them into slavery. The king receives a
written
reprimand from the Irish Evangelist.
473--Men of Kent, under Hengest, move westward, driving Britons back before
them "as
one flees fire."
477--Saxon chieftain, Aelle, lands on Sussex coast with his sons. The Britons
engage him
upon landing but his superior force besieges them at Pevensey and drives them
into the
Weald. Over next nine years, Saxon coastal holdings are gradually expanded in
Sussex.
c. 480--Icel, King of the Angles, migrates to Britain. He settles in what will
later become
East Anglia, and his descendants will later form various sub-kingdoms in the
region.
Light (left) and Medium (right) cavalry of High King Arthur's
Mobile
Cavalry Force.
c.485-96--Prince Arthur is appointed "Dux Bellorum," or commander in
chief of the
British armies in the service of High King Ambrosius Aurelianus. Period of
Arthur's
"twelve battles" during which he gains a reputation for
invincibility. Arthur supplements
his father's static defense strategy by developing a mobile force composed of
both light
cavalry (shield, sword and javelin) and medium armored cavalry (leather armor,
shields,
armed with swords and spears) which he uses to great effect in these
campaigns.
486--Aelle and his sons overreach their normal territory and are engaged by
the Britons at
battle of Mercredesburne. The battle is bloody, but indecisive, and ends with
both sides
pledging friendship.
487-- Ailill Molt mac Nath I is killed at the battle of Ochae and the Ui Neill
seize the
Kingship of Tara.
488—Hengest, King of Kent, dies. His son, Aesc, takes over as King of Kent.
489--Battle of Granard where Finchad mac Garrchon, King of Leinster is
defeated and
killed by Coirpre mac Neill, King of Tara.
c490s-- Fergus Mor mac Erc moves the seat of the Dal Riata kingdom from Ulster
to
Argyll in Britain.
493--Death of St. Patrick. By the time of his death, Patrick has firmly
established the
church in Ireland. Like the British church from which Patrick came, the Irish
church
differs from "Roman" practice in its method of calculating the date
of Easter, its method
of baptism, and other procedural methods. And, like British Christianity, the
Irish church
is primarily monastic, and not organized into dioceses under the control of
bishops, in
contrast to the Roman practice.
c.495--The Saxons under Cerdic and his son, Cynric, land on the south coast,
probably
near the Hampshire-Dorset border, where they establish the beginnings of the
Kingdom
of Wessex. Also at about this time, High King Ambrosius Aurelianus the Younger
dies.
Prince Arthur is proclaimed High King. In Ireland, the second battle of
Granard is
fought, in which Froech mac Findchado, King of Leinster is defeated and killed
by Echu
mac Coirpri.
c.496--The Siege of Mons Badonicus (Mount Badon, or Badon Hill). The Britons,
under
the command of High King Arthur, decisively defeat the Saxons, commanded by
King
Aelle of Sussex.
c.496-550--Following the victory at Mons Badonicus, the Saxon advance is
halted with
the invaders returning to their own enclaves. A generation of peace ensues,
which High
King Arthur uses to consolidate his rule and to rebuild his kingdom. He forces
the Ruling
Council to pass several laws, including a law that establishes the succession
of the High
Kingship and places it permanently in the House of Ambrosius. Another law
establishes
the rule of primogeniture for all the ruling houses of Britain. This
eliminates the practice
of dividing the local kingdoms among all the sons of a deceased ruler, a
practice which
has been leading to greater and greater fragmentation of Britain and civil war
as the
inheritors of the fragments of each kingdom try to reunite the kingdom under
their own
rule. In an effort to increase the defensibility of the various sub-kingdoms,
Arthur forcibly
consolidates many of the smaller, less defensible sub-kingdoms with the larger
parent
kingdoms from which they had been split off prior to the passage of the
primogeniture
law, in the process dispossessing a number of minor British royal families.
After having
done so, he forces the Ruling Council to pass another law which fixes the
boundaries of
the individual sub-kingdoms and makes it an act of rebellion against the High
King for
individual sub-kingdoms to war against each other. Arthur has a system of
boundary
stones installed to prevent any misinterpretations of the boundaries fixed by
the new law.
Arthur also encourages resettlement of the abandoned towns in the kingdom, and
brings
in artisans from the Continent who help the British re-establish important
industries such
as metal-working, pottery-making, and weaving. There will soon be a thriving
woolens
industry in Britain which exports to the Continent, enriching Arthur's realm.
c. 500-17--King Cadwallon Lawhir of Gwynedd expels the Irish from Anglesey.
c. 500--At about this time High King Arthur marries Princess Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere),
daughter of King Lleudd-Ogrfan of Camulod, a kingdom with an important
position
separating the Angles in the north from the Saxons and Jutes of the south.
High King
Arthur further cements his control of this vital region by appointing Medraut,
his nephew
(Medraut is the son of King Lot of Goddodin...a leader of the
"Celtic" faction...and
Arthur's sister) and next in line to the High Kingship (as Arthur has, at this
point, no son
of his own) to command of the important fortress at Domnoc (Walton Castle, on
the
peninsula between the Deben and Orwell rivers). Over time, unknown to the High
King,
Medraut establishes friendly relations with the Angles he is supposed to be
keeping watch
upon.
501-- Death of Fergus Mor of Dal Riata (or Dalriada). He is succeeded by his
son
Domangart.
508--King Cerdic of Wessex begins to move inland and defeats the local British
king,
Nudd-Lludd (Natanleod), at the Battle of Netley. But Cerdic is unable to
expand
significantly inland from his original holdings.
509--The Battle of Llongborth (possibly Langport or Portsmouth), where King
Gerren
Llyngesoc of Dumnonia, was killed.
510--High King Arthur and Queen Gwenhwyfar have a son, who is named
Constantius
Artorianus Ambrosius. There is now a Crown Prince for the realm. Medraut
begins to
plot rebellion.
510-517--Medraut negotiates with the leaders of the "Celtic" faction
and with King Icel of
the Angles for support in his planned rebellion against Arthur. He secretly
gathers a
coalition of allies in support of his claim to the High Kingship. He wins the
support of the
"Celtic" faction by promising to rescind the primogeniture law,
which has been bitterly
resented, and promises the Angles additional lands.
512--Aesc, King of Kent, dies. Octa ascends the throne.
c.515--Death of Aelle. Kingdom of Sussex passed to his son, Cissa.
516--Battle of Druin Derge and the final victory of the Ui Neill which takes
the midlands
of Ireland from Leinster.
517--Revolt of Medraut. Battle of Camlann between the forces of High King
Arthur and
those of Medraut. Arthur is victorious, and although grievously wounded,
survives the
battle. Medraut is killed, and his army is scattered.
517 - Death of King Cadwallon Lawhir of Gwynedd. His son, Maelgwn takes the
throne.
517-25 - King Maelgwn of Gwynedd rallies the remnants of Medraut's coalition,
invades
Dyfed and tries to assert himself as High-King of Britain, which he is
temporarily and
partially successful in doing while High King Arthur recovers from his wounds.
However, when Arthur recovers, he leads an army into Gwynedd and Maelgwn is
defeated. He is captured and executed in 525. The victorious Arthur now claims
the right
to confiscate the kingdom of Gwynedd and to remove it's rebellious royal
family from
power. Henceforth, Arthur declares, Gwynedd will be the personal land of the
Crown
Prince of the realm. Despite some dissent within the Ruling Council, this
claim is finally
accepted as valid. Crown Prince Constantius is accordingly installed as King
of Gwynedd
shortly after Maelgwn's execution. Thus, Arthur establishes the principle that
the realms
of local kings who rebel against the High King are forfeit to the High King,
who may
claim them as his personal lands or grant them to a ruler of his choice. This,
over time,
will serve to increase the power of the High King and reduce the propensity of
local kings
to rebel against the central government. Arthur also is able to negotiate a
treaty with Icel
of the Angles, which fix the boundaries of Icel’s lands. Icel and his
descendants
acknowledge the British High King as overlord, and they will respect this
treaty for many
years, even after Icel’s realm is divided into the Kingdoms of East Anglia,
Middle Anglia,
and Lindsay later in the century.
519 - Kingdom of the West Saxons (Wessex) founded with Cerdic its first ruler.
522--Death
of Galan Arilith, King of Pictavia. At his death the kingdom of the Picts is
divided into the Kingdoms of the Southern Picts and the Kingdom of the
Northern Picts,
a situation which will endure, with brief interruptions, for the next 175
years.
527—Kingdom of Essex founded under King Aescwine.
528-535--In the preceding decades, many Angles have migrated peacefully from
their
coastal enclaves into the region known as Caer Lerion. By 528 the Angles form
a majority
population in the area, and rebel against the local King, overthrowing him and
establishing the Kingdom of Mercia. This kingdom forms a dangerous salient,
driven
deep into the heart of Arthur's realm. Arthur recognizes the danger, and
organizes a
campaign to reclaim the area. After several hard-fought battles, the Britons
are victorious,
and the British ravage the area, driving out or slaughtering most of the
Angles. Since the
ruling house of Caer Lerion was killed during the Angle revolt, Arthur claims
the realm
as his own, and Caer Lerion becomes a land under hereditary direct rule by the
High
King.
530--The British of the Isle of Wight are defeated by King Cerdic of Wessex at
the Battle
of Carisbrooke. The Isle of Wight becomes part of Wessex. Crown Prince
Constantius
marries.
c. 530—King Icel of the Angles dies. Kingdom of East Anglia founded, with
Wehha as
it’s ruler. Kingdoms of Middle Anglia and Lindsay also founded about this
time. All three
kingdoms acknowledge the British High King as overlord.
533--A son is born to Crown Prince Constantius. The boy is named Artorius
Constantianus Ambrosius.
534--Death of Cerdic. Cynric ascends the throne of Wessex. Muirchertach Mac
Ercae,
King of Tara, dies.
537--Death of High King Arthur. Crown Prince Constantius succeeds to the High
Kingship. The new Crown Prince Artorius is installed as King of Gwynedd.
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