ABSTRACT
The unity imposed on Britain by Rome did not outlast the break-up of the Empire. After the Roman withdrawal from Britain the power vacuum was quickly filled by numerous petty rulers. Each strove to carve out and maintain their own sphere of influence, fighting alike against Germanic settlers and local rivals. Of higher loyalties there are hints-of an overlord called Vortigern, the ‘High-ruler’, and a national resistance organized behind the shadowy figure of Arthur. But one by one, the squabbling states were simply absorbed by the expanding Saxon kingdoms until the principalities of Wales alone retained their cultural identity and political independence. This chapter will consider what was happening in these parts of the British Isles immediately after the Romans withdrew.
