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The following research was done by my sister,
Sue Arnold.The Britons vs The Britains
What is the difference?When I first started searching for my family roots, I didn't dream it would take me to Wales. We had always been told that our roots lay in Ireland, with a touch of the Scottish mingled in there. And, we may find a lot of that when we start searching the maternal side of our family. Anyhoo, I have had several people, when I am speaking of the "Britons", think I mean the British, although there is quite a lot of that mixed in too. But, there is a major difference between the two and I figured that I would explain it before I put any other information about our ancestors on this site.
During the late 4th century A.D. Magnus Maximus or Macsen Wledig(welsh name), more about him later, had taken a large part of the Roman British garrison to Europe with him. That left Britain undefended against the Irish invasions to the west and the Germanic tribes to the east, which left the island without Roman control. It was during the early 5th century, that the Welsh nation came into being.
That was when Britain became divided into the Brythonic west, the Teutonic east and the Gaelic north, when the nations of the Welsh, English and Scots crystalized. It was during that era that the main kingdoms of Wales were established and the transformation of the Brittonic language was born, that is recognized as the Welsh language, ergo, the Britons, then later the Welsh.
These areas had become firmly established by the time that Bede wrote his "Ecclesiastical History of the English People," about 730 A.D, in which he gives an account of the beginnings of the English kingdoms.
We have to wait until about 960 for the history of the Welsh kingdoms when the "Annales Cambriae," was compiled, somewhere in Wales, that included pedigrees of Welsh royal families. The completion of Offa's Dyke during the last years of the eighth century ensured that a physical boundary would permanently exist between the Celtic people to its west and the Gemanic people, who had conquered most of the land to its east.
Brythonic kingdoms survived only in Strathclyde, Cornwall and Wales. History gives us only five rulers who could claim to be kings of Wales. A sense of unity was brought about only by Rhodri Mawr (Rhodri the Great), Hywel Dda (Hywel the Good), Gruffudd ap Llywelyn (l039-63), Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (Llwyelyn the Great) (ll94-l240) and Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (l248-82), just as Egbert, King of the West Saxons and later of Kent, is the first ruler to be styled King of the Angles or English people in 829-30, so Rhodri Mawr, (Rhodri the Great, 820-78) is remembered as the first to claim the title of King of the Welsh.
By the time of Rhodri, the Welsh people were no longer being referred to as Britons, but rather the Welsh. Although, I can't seem to find exactly when this change took place. I'm sure it evolved over time.
I have given a very short history here just to explain the difference between the Britons and the Britains. For more information contact Sue Arnold
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