John Ebbing
Middle English News
In this evening’s edition of History of English in a Nut Shell, I would like to explore the reasons behind why Old English was able to develop the way it did. The Celtic tribes are considered to be natives to the island of England who eventually allowed the Roman Empire to stake claims on their Land. Although Latin was introduced to the Celts it never really caught on amongst their tribes, the Romans protected the Celts from Germanic invasion until Rome departed the island in 410 A.D. Not long after Roman departure, Germanic tribes began invading England and, after feeble attempts by Lord Vortigern to prevent conquest over his Celts, Germanic tribes earned the credit of founding the English nation and establishing Old English.
The Celtic peoples are considered to be the first inhabitants of England and the language that they spoke is also considered to be the first Indo-European dialect spoken there. The Roman Empire began invading the Celtic island of England in the summer of 55 B.C. under Julius Caesar’s rule, but it was not until Emperor Claudius in 43 A.D., that Roman rule became an actual threat to the Celts. The Roman conquest was able to stake claims in England except for in areas recognized today as Wales and Scotland. When the Romans conquered England they introduced the Latin language to the Celtic people although it was not very popular amongst their tribes. Artifacts still remain from this time period with Latin inscriptions upon them proving that the Romans did bring a Latin influence with them. Latin never really caught on since the Romans were fairly tolerable of the Celtics and aside from aiding them in keeping Germanic tribes out of England rarely mingled with each other. The last legions of Rome left England around 410 A.D. when a call from home came asking to return all soldiers, without the help of the Roman people England was now an open invitation for Germanic tribes to come in and conquer. If Rome would have been able to have a longer lasting impact on the Celtic people, Old English may have never been formed and England very well could have been a Latin speaking nation and an extension of the Roman Empire.
With Roman stakes lifted from England the Germanic tribes began invading the island mercilessly around 449 A.D., most of these tribes came from the region of Denmark and the Lower Countries, mainly the Jutes, Saxons, and Angles. The Picts and the Scots from the north of England had been a constant threat to the Celts as well, but during the time of Roman occupancy were kept at bay through constant observance. When the Romans left in 410 A.D. the Celts appointed Lord Vortigern as their leader to defend their territory. Vortigern realized the dependence that the Celts had been accustomed to and in fear of being conquered desperately sought out an alliance with the Jutes to help drive out the Picts and Scots. In exchange for the successful defense from the Picts and Scots Vortigern agreed to give the Jutes the Isle of Thanet, which was on the northeastern tip of Kent. The Jutes were easily able to aid the Celts in driving out the Picts and Scots but unfortunately for Vortigern they broke their alliance and built a strong settlement in the south east of Kent. The Jutes were able to drive out the Celts with ease proving that the Germanic tribes were far less tolerant than the Romans who had previously invaded England. With the Celts dismantled it left the rest of the island open for invasion which the Angles and the Saxons took advantage of. The Angles conquered much of the East coast and the Saxons took over the majority of the North. The possession of England firmly established by the Jutes, Angles, Saxons and other Germanic tribes by 597 A.D. drastically changed the culture of England and gives these tribes full recognition of making England, England.
The invasion of the Germanic tribes not only drove out the Celtic culture but brought with them a new form of English which is became known as Old English. Most of Old English came from the popular Germanic dialect spoken by the Angles which is believed to differ slightly from dialects spoken by the Jutes and Saxons. The period in which Old English was spoken in England ran from around 500-1100 which shows that the Celtic Indo-European language that was spoken during the time of Vortigern no longer existed. The Romans were unable to make Latin the official language of the Celts through their failed conquest of England and the Celtic language stood no chance after Vortigern’s failed alliance with the Jutes, leaving Germanic influence to take over the island and forever establish English as the common language spoken in England (Albert C. Baugh, and Thomas Cable.)
The Legend of Vortigern
John Ebbing
Middle English News
The man that is known as Vortigern, “Leader of the Celts” has many legends that surround his name. This entry explores what is known of the man who was betrayed by the Jutes during the invasion of England by Germanic tribes during the 5th Century. Vortigern took over as leader of the Celts in 411 following Constan’s rule during Roman reign of England. The Celts trusted their best interest into the hands of Vortigern and elected him king until his death which is estimated to be in 455 (Geoffrey of Manmouth).
It is believed that Vortigerns original name was Vitalinus and that he switched his name for political reasons, giving him the distinction of “highest ruler amongst rulers”. Vortigern was able to achieve such status due to the fact that he held a high rank in the Roman Empire’s Civil Service and he came from a family that held possession of large amounts of land in central and south Wales. Vortigern had four sons three of which came from his second wife, Rowena and had a fourth son that is believed to have been conceived through an incestuous relationship with his daughter. His first two sons were greatly involved in trying to get their land back from the Saxons. Vortimer the eldest followed by Categirn were determined to regain the land that their father had lost, Vortimer was the most successful considering he won four battles against the Saxons. Categirn was not as fortunate, records show that he was killed in battle leaving the youngest of Rowena’s sons Pascent to rule Bulith and Guorthegirnaim, the two provinces of Britain that still belonged to Vortigern and his kin. Faustus was his fourth son and as legend has it, it is believed he was conceived through sexual misconduct with his daughter. I found this myth rather strange since there is no record of Vortigern having a daughter let alone a name for her, but many sources bring up the fact that Vortigern was driven from village to village as word spread that he had unlawful relations with one of his daughters. Either way Vortigern was an interesting man and left behind quite the legacy, unfortunately not many records were kept of his family and much of what does exist are questionable legends (Jim Hargan).
