Origins There are competing hypotheses for when Celtic peoples, and the Celtic languages, first arrived in Britain, none of which have gained consensus. The traditional view during most of the twentieth century was that Celtic culture grew out of the central European
Hallstatt culture, from which the Celts and their languages reached Britain in the first millennium BC. More recently,
John Koch and
Barry Cunliffe have challenged that with their 'Celtic from the West' theory, which has the Celtic languages developing as a maritime
trade language in the
Atlantic Bronze Age cultural zone before it spread eastward. Alternatively, Patrick Sims-Williams criticizes both of these hypotheses to propose 'Celtic from the Centre', which suggests Celtic originated in
Gaul and spread during the first millennium BC, reaching Britain towards the end of this period. In 2021, a major
archaeogenetics study uncovered a migration into southern Britain during the
Bronze Age, over a 500-year period from 1,300 BC to 800 BC. The migrants were "genetically most similar to ancient individuals from France" and had higher levels of
Early European Farmers ancestry. From 1000 to 875 BC, their genetic marker swiftly spread through southern Britain, making up around half the ancestry of subsequent
Iron Age people in this area, but not in northern Britain. The "evidence suggests that rather than a violent invasion or a single migratory event, the genetic structure of the population changed through sustained contacts between mainland Britain and Europe over several centuries, such as the movement of traders, intermarriage, and small-scale movements of family groups". The
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which was originally compiled by the orders of King
Alfred the Great in approximately 890, starts with this, incorporated into the
Chronicle from
Bede's
Ecclesiastical History: Archaeological evidence suggests that the pre-Roman Britons did not eat chicken or hares. During the late Iron Age and early Roman period, humans were often buried with chickens, thus suggesting a holy veneration to the animal. It is thought that chickens and hares may have been treated as sacred, and were believed to guide souls to the afterlife. Julius Caesar once wrote in
Commentarii de Bello Gallico that the Britons considered it "contrary to divine law to eat the chicken, the hare, or the goose." In some parts of Britain, chickens weren't widely consumed until the
3rd century CE, and they were primarily eaten in heavily Romanised urban areas. Another view suggests that hares and chicken weren't in fact considered sacred, rather as rare and exotic animals, since their consumption increased with their number even without Romanisation.
Roman conquest In 43 AD, the Roman Empire invaded Britain. The British tribes opposed the Roman legions for many decades, but by 84 the Romans had decisively conquered southern Britain and had pushed into Brittonic areas of what would later become northern England and southern Scotland. During the same period,
Belgic tribes from the Gallic-Germanic borderlands settled in southern Britain. Caesar asserts the Belgae had first crossed the channel as raiders, only later establishing themselves on the island. In 122 the Romans fortified the northern border with
Hadrian's Wall, which spanned what is now
Northern England. In 142 Roman forces pushed north again and began construction of the
Antonine Wall, which ran between the
Forth–
Clyde isthmus, but they retreated back to Hadrian's Wall after 20 years. Although the native Britons south of Hadrian's Wall mostly kept their land, they were subject to the
Roman governors, whilst the Brittonic-Pictish Britons north of the wall probably remained fully independent and unconquered. The Roman Empire retained control of "Britannia" until its departure about 410, although parts of Britain had effectively shrugged off Roman rule decades earlier.
Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain |309x309px Fifty years or so after the time of the Roman departure, the
Germanic-speaking
Anglo-Saxons began a migration to the south-eastern coast of Britain, where they began to establish their own kingdoms, and
Old Irish-speaking
Scoti migrated from
Dál nAraidi (modern
Northern Ireland) to the west coast of Scotland and the Isle of Man. At the same time, Britons established themselves in what is now called
Brittany and the
Channel Islands. There they set up their own small kingdoms and the
Breton language developed from Brittonic
Insular Celtic rather than
Gaulish or
Frankish. A further Brittonic colony,
Britonia, was also set up at this time in
Gallaecia in northwestern
Spain. Many of the old Brittonic kingdoms began to gradually disappear in the centuries after the Anglo-Saxon and Scottish Gaelic invasions; Parts of the regions of modern
East Anglia,
East Midlands,
North East England,
Argyll, and
South East England were the first to fall to the Germanic and Gaelic Scots invasions. The kingdom of Ceint (modern Kent) fell in 456 AD. Linnuis (which stood astride modern Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire) was subsumed as early as 500 AD and became the English
Kingdom of Lindsey.
Regni (essentially modern
Sussex and eastern
Hampshire) was likely fully conquered by 510.
Ynys Weith (Isle of Wight) fell in 530,
Caer Colun (essentially modern Essex) by 540. The
Gaels arrived on the northwest coast of Britain from Ireland, dispossessed the native Britons, and founded
Dal Riata which encompassed modern
Argyll,
Skye, and
Iona between 500 and 560.
Deifr (Deira) which encompassed modern-day Teesside, Wearside, Tyneside, Humberside, Lindisfarne (
Medcaut), and the
Farne Islands fell to the Anglo-Saxons in 559, and Deira became an Anglo-Saxon kingdom after this point. Caer Went had officially disappeared by 575, becoming the Anglo-Saxon
kingdom of East Anglia.
Gwent was only partly conquered; its capital
Caer Gloui (
Gloucester) was taken by the Anglo-Saxons in 577, handing
Gloucestershire and
Wiltshire to the invaders, while the westernmost part remained in Brittonic hands, and continued to exist in modern Wales.
Caer Lundein, encompassing
London, St. Albans and parts of the
Home Counties, fell from Brittonic hands by 600, and Bryneich, which existed in modern Northumberland and County Durham with its capital of Din Guardi (modern
Bamburgh) and which included Ynys Metcaut (
Lindisfarne), had fallen by 605 becoming Anglo-Saxon Bernicia. Caer Celemion (in modern Hampshire and Berkshire) had fallen by 610. Elmet, a large kingdom that covered much of modern Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire and likely had its capital at modern Leeds, was conquered by the Anglo-Saxons in 627.
Pengwern, which covered
Staffordshire,
Shropshire,
Herefordshire, and
Worcestershire, was largely destroyed in 656, with only its westernmost parts in modern Wales remaining under the control of the Britons, and it is likely that Cynwidion, which had stretched from modern Bedfordshire to Northamptonshire, fell in the same general period as Pengwern, though a sub-kingdom of Calchwynedd may have clung on in the Chilterns for a time.
Novant, which occupied Galloway and Carrick, was subsumed by fellow Brittonic-Pictish polities by 700.
Aeron, which encompassed modern
Ayrshire, was conquered by the Anglo-Saxon
kingdom of Northumbria by 700.
Yr Hen Ogledd (the Old North) '' (the Old North) c. 550 – c. 650 Some Brittonic kingdoms were able to successfully resist these incursions:
Rheged (encompassing much of modern
Northumberland and
County Durham and areas of southern Scotland and the
Scottish Borders) survived well into the 8th century, before the eastern part peacefully joined with the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of
Bernicia–
Northumberland by 730, and the west was taken over by the fellow Britons of
Ystrad Clud. Similarly, the kingdom of
Gododdin, which appears to have had its court at
Din Eidyn (modern
Edinburgh) and encompassed parts of modern
Northumberland,
County Durham,
Lothian and
Clackmannanshire, endured until approximately 775 before being divided by fellow Brittonic Picts, Gaelic Scots and Anglo-Saxons. The
Kingdom of Cait, covering modern
Caithness,
Sutherland,
Orkney, and
Shetland, was conquered by Gaelic Scots in 871.
Dumnonia (encompassing
Cornwall,
Devonshire, and the
Isles of Scilly) was partly conquered during the mid 9th century AD, with most of modern Devonshire being annexed by the Anglo-Saxons, but leaving Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly (
Enesek Syllan), and for a time part of western Devonshire (including
Dartmoor), still in the hands of the Britons, where they became the Brittonic state of
Kernow. The
Channel Islands (colonised by Britons in the 5th century) came under attack from
Norse and
Danish Viking attack in the early 9th century, and by the end of that century had been conquered by Viking invaders. The
Kingdom of Ce, which encompassed modern
Marr,
Banff,
Buchan,
Fife, and much of
Aberdeenshire, disappeared soon after 900.
Fortriu, the largest Brittonic-Pictish kingdom which covered
Strathearn,
Morayshire and
Easter Ross, had fallen by approximately 950 to the Gaelic
Kingdom of Alba (
Scotland). Other Pictish kingdoms such as
Circinn (in modern
Angus and
The Mearns),
Fib (modern
Fife),
Fidach (
Inverness and
Perthshire), and
Ath-Fotla (
Atholl), had also all fallen by the beginning of the 11th century or shortly after. The Brythonic languages in these areas were eventually replaced by the
Old English of the Anglo-Saxons, and
Scottish Gaelic, although this was likely a gradual process in many areas. Similarly, the Brittonic colony of
Britonia in northwestern
Spain appears to have disappeared soon after 900. The kingdom of
Ystrad Clud (Strathclyde) was a large and powerful Brittonic kingdom of the
Hen Ogledd (the 'Old North') which endured until the end of the 11th century, successfully resisting Anglo-Saxon, Gaelic Scots and later also Viking attacks. At its peak it encompassed modern Strathclyde,
Dumbartonshire,
Cumbria,
Stirlingshire,
Lanarkshire,
Ayrshire,
Dumfries and Galloway,
Argyll and Bute, and parts of
North Yorkshire, the western
Pennines, and as far as modern
Leeds in
West Yorkshire. Thus the Kingdom of Strathclyde became the last of the Brittonic kingdoms of the 'Old North' to fall in the 1090s when it was effectively divided between England and Scotland.
Wales, Cornwall and Brittany The Britons also retained control of
Wales and Kernow (encompassing
Cornwall, parts of
Devon including
Dartmoor, and the
Isles of Scilly) until the mid 11th century when Cornwall was effectively annexed by the English, with the Isles of Scilly following a few years later, although at times Cornish lords appear to have retained sporadic control into the early part of the 12th century . Wales remained free from Anglo-Saxon, Gaelic Scots and Viking control, and was divided among varying Brittonic kingdoms, the foremost being
Gwynedd (including
Clwyd and
Anglesey),
Powys,
Deheubarth (originally
Ceredigion,
Seisyllwg and
Dyfed),
Gwent, and
Morgannwg (
Glamorgan). These Brittonic-Welsh kingdoms initially included territories further east than the modern borders of Wales; for example, Powys included parts of modern
Merseyside,
Cheshire and
the Wirral and Gwent held parts of modern
Herefordshire,
Worcestershire,
Somerset and
Gloucestershire, but had largely been confined to the borders of modern Wales by the beginning of the 12th century. However, by the early 12th century, the Anglo-Saxons and Gaels had become the dominant cultural force in most of the formerly Brittonic ruled territory in Britain, and the language and culture of the native Britons was thereafter gradually replaced in those regions, remaining only in Wales, Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and
Brittany, and for a time in parts of Cumbria, Strathclyde, and eastern Galloway.
Cornwall (Kernow,
Dumnonia) had certainly been largely absorbed by England by the 1050s to early 1100s, although it retained a distinct Brittonic culture and language. Wales and Brittany remained independent for a considerable time, however, with Brittany united with
France in 1532, and Wales united with
England by the
Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 in the mid 16th century during the rule of the
Tudors (Y Tuduriaid), who were themselves of Welsh heritage on the male side. Wales, Cornwall, Brittany and the Isles of Scilly continued to retain a distinct Brittonic culture, identity and language, which they have maintained to the present day. The
Welsh and
Breton languages remain widely spoken, and the
Cornish language, once close to extinction, has experienced a revival since the 20th century. The vast majority of place names and names of geographical features in Wales, Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and Brittany are Brittonic, and Brittonic family and personal names remain common. During the 19th century, many Welsh farmers migrated to
Patagonia in
Argentina, forming a community called
Y Wladfa, which today consists of over 1,500 Welsh speakers.
Eastern England Eastern England was populated by Brythonic tribes such as the
Iceni,
Corieltauvi, and
Catuvellauni. In the most common view, the Britons of Eastern England were assimilated by Anglo-Saxons in the first 200 years of invasion, from 450-600 AD, as their kingdoms were conquered. This view is often supported by the lack of Brythonic toponyms in the region, and by various mentions such as the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for 491 AD: "
Aelle and
Cissa begirt
Andredesceaster and slay all who dwell therein, nor was there for that reason one Briton left alive". Evidence of continuing Brythonic presence in Eastern England can be found in the
Life of Saint Guthlac, a biography of the East Anglian
hermit who lived in
the Fens during the early 8th century.
Saint Guthlac was described as attacked on several occasions by people he believed were Britons living in the Fens. The 12th century story
Havelok the Dane includes a Saxon king Alsi, of Brittonic origin, who ruled over
Lincoln,
Lindsey,
Rutland and
Stamford. In the year 1090 a monk in
Ramsey wrote that "the savage and untamable race of the Britons was ravaging far and wide in the province of
Huntingdon". This suggests that Britons were still living in the Fens by 11th century and most likely practiced their own style of Christianity, which was considered pagan by local Anglo-Saxons. In
The Memorials of Cambridge we can find a line "If any of the gild slay a man, and he be an avenger by compulsion (
neadwraca) and compensate for his violence, and the slain man be a
twelfhynde man, let each of the gild give half a mark for his aid: if the slain man be a
ceorl, two oras: if he be Welsh (
Wylisc) one ora", where "Wylisc" refers to a Briton. We may infer that, though a Welsh servile population existed in
Cambridgeshire in the tenth century, it was not so numerous as elsewhere, and that there the Welshman's life was more respected. The legend was first written in 1211 by
Gervase of Tilbury, and can be seen an original Celtic story, originated at the end of the Roman Empire during the raids of
Vandals, which later passed to local Anglo-Saxon population. Oosthuizen (2016) mentions six placenames in the region with the "
wealh-" root, which means 'Briton', including
Walewrth,
Walsoken and
Walpole. Other examples of Brythonic toponyms include
River Great Ouse, from Proto-Celtic
*Udso-s ('water'),
River Welland (possibly from "
wealh-" root),
River Cam (Granta), from Proto-Celtic *kambos ('crooked'),
Chettisham (compare Welsh "
coed", meaning 'wood'),
Chatteris (from the same root),
King's Lynn, from Brythonic *
llɨnn ('lake').
Comberton, a parish in South Cambridgeshire, is derived from the root "cymry", that refers to all Britons.
Northern Iberia In the late 5th and early 6th centuries AD, a colony called Britonia was established in northern Galicia. The British settlements first appeared at the
First Council of Lugo in 569 and later, a separate bishopric was established, with the first Bishop being
Maeloc. Despite the exact location of the diocese isn't known, as well as how long did Brythonic culture and language perfromed in the region, several toponyms across
Galicia and
Asturias containing root bret- or brit- can be still found, including Bretelo in
Ourense,
Bertoña in
A Capela or El Breton in
Corvera, Asturias. ==Genetics==