Thursday, May 1, 2025

THE1941 END OF THE "AFRICA ORIENTALE ITALIANA"

This month I am going to research the last stand of the Italian Army in the East Africa's Italian Empire during WW2. The fight was at Culqualber and Gondar (in actual northern Ethiopia, a 1936 conquered country  that was inside the "Africa Orientale Italiana" - usually called  A.O.I.) in Novembrer 1941 and was so desperate and brave that the few Italian survivors received the "Honours of War" from the British.

 

1942 Italian poster with the word "ritorneremo" (that means "we will return" to the lost territories in the mountains of AOI)

The war fought in Italian East Africa and the neighboring territories is the only theater of operations of the Second World War in which the Kingdom of Italy operated without the intervention of its German ally. This alone would justify a much greater interest than that usually dedicated to the war fought between Italians and the armies of the Commonwealth - to which were added Ethiopian irregulars, units of De Gaulle's France and Belgium - in the Horn of Africa. 

The following are translations from an italian book about the last and extreme heroic resistance of the Gondar redoubt, with Uolchefit and Culquabert, where Carabinieri, zaptié and Blackshirts wrote the last page of the history of Mussolini's ephemeral empire. 

General Nasi, the last Vicerroy of A.O.I., wrote the following verses to celebrate the heroic last stand at Gondar in november 1941:

I GONDARINI

Se non ci conoscete, guardate il nostro pane
noi siamo i gondarini che sanno far la fame.
Se non ci conoscete, tenetelo a memoria,
noi siamo i gondarini che fuman la cicoria.
L'inglese ci conosce, si morde i pugni e ringhia,
noi siamo i gondarini che stringono la cinghia.
Gl'indiani ci conoscono e anche i sudanesi,
noi siamo i gondarini incubo degli inglesi
Se non ci conoscete, leggete i nostri casi,
noi siamo i gondarini del generale Nasi.
Se non ci conoscete, lasciatevelo dire,
noi siamo i gondarini, i duri da morire

translation:

The GONDARS

If you don't know us, look at our bread,

we are the Gondars who know how to starve.

If you don't know us, keep it in mind,

we are the Gondars who smoke chicory.

The English know us, they bite their fists and growl,

we are the Gondars who tighten their belts.

The Indians know us and the Sudanese too,

we are the Gondars, the nightmare of the English

If you don't know us, read our cases,

we are the Gondars of General Nasi.

If you don't know us, let me tell you,

we are the Gondars, the tough ones to die


Culqualber-Gondar, November 1941: last stand of the Italian Army in the East Africa Italian Empire

Gondar was the main town of Amhara in the mountains north of Lake Tana in Ethiopia, at an elevation of 7,000 ft (2,100 m) and had an Italian garrison of 40,000 men.

The defense (under commander General Nasi) had to be restricted by gathering all the troops in various fundamental redoubts. The total forces available were as follows: 17,000 nationals and 23,000 colonials divided into 12 national battalions, 15 colonial battalions or band groups, 3 squadrons, 4 colonial pack-animal batteries, 3 anti-aircraft sections, 16 position batteries. No aircraft.

The defensive organization was distributed as follows: two detached redoubts and a central redoubt.

1) Uolchefit-Debarech Redoubt: made up of two CC.NN. battalions (CXLI and CLXIV), two band groups, 7 cannons, 1 20-mm machine gun section, 4 81-mm mortars, 12 machine guns (in addition to those of the departments). Total approximately 5,000 men (including services). Commander; Lt. Col. Mario Gonella.

2) Debra Tabor Redoubt: consisting of: 3 CC. NN. battalions (CXVI - CXXXI and DCCXLV), a colonial battalion, a band group, 6 cannons, 2 81 mortars. In total 6,000 men. Commander: Col. I. Angelini.

3) Central Redoubt: for the Gondar and Azozò square, with 4 external strongholds:

Blagir-Celgà. C.te: Lt. Col. Domenico Miranda.

Tucul-Dinghià. C.te: Lt. Col. Riccardo Casalone.

Ualag C.te: Col. Alberto Polverini.

Culqualber-Fercaber. C.te Lt. Col. Augusto Ugolini.


The resistance of the Amhara defense system would not have been possible in the period July-November without the timely and intelligent measures adopted to extend the logistical autonomy beyond the maximum limit that had been foreseen for June 15. The first measure adopted was the evacuation of civilians (women, children and invalids) to Asmara.

Laboratories were set up that, using scrap and out-of-use material, provided for the production of spare parts for artillery and light weapons; to save fuel, animal-drawn vehicles were used.

With agave fabric, harnesses and pockets for fodder were improvised, with tightly woven agave canvas, packable girbes and girbets were prepared. 

Makeshift armoured Caterpillar tractor used as a "tank" by Italian forces at Culqualber and nicknamed "hedgehog"

Six caterpillars were transformed into tanks, with armor made of old crossbow leaves resistant at least to rifle and machine gun fire; a 634 was equipped as a giant armored car with 13 light and heavy machine guns.

In the health sector, the possibilities for hospitalization were multiplied and material that would normally have been put out of use was prepared for reuse. The lack of disinfectant alcohol was filled with gasoline purified by a special chemical process.

The daily food ration was reduced by 20-30%. The increasingly scarce wheat flour was gradually replaced with chickpea flour and various cereals. Adequate livestock supplies were built up, vegetable gardens and pig farms were established; teams of specialists were formed to build fishing equipment in Lake Tana; the lack of beef was filled by slaughtering broken horses and mules.

To deal with the serious deficiencies in clothing, all sorts of adaptations were devised: 4,000 hemp pillowcases were transformed into 6,600 jackets, ten thousand blankets were made from those that were no longer in use; 5,000 pairs of shoes were repaired, 2,000 pairs of sandals were made for the askaris. The Forestry Militia provided the amount of wood and coal for the monthly requirement. Overall, the results obtained exceeded even the most optimistic forecasts. The Italian soldier, accustomed to the scarcity of means, sharpened his brain as always and the fateful verb "make do" had its most grandiose and glorious application with the sacrifice and good will of all.

Attack on the Blagir-Celgà redoubt.

It was preceded, in February and April, by our offensive actions against the rebels, who were pushed back.

The enemy attacked on May 16 and continued the action on the 17th and 18th. After an epic fight, assaults and counterattacks, the enemy was repelled with heavy losses. Our losses: 900 men. The enemy will no longer attempt any assaults on the redoubt until the end of operations in A.O.I.

Attack on the Debra Tabor redoubt. (Btgg. CC.NN. CXXXI, CXVI, DCCXLV).

The first attack takes place on May 15; they are rebels commanded by English officers and are clearly repelled. The askaris, discouraged and convinced of the futility of prolonged resistance, ask to be able to return home to avoid the revenge of the rebels who are, only around there, 8,000.

On June 27, a new attack with the assistance of the air force, also this time repelled by a decisive counterattack; the action is repeated with the same result in the following days. But the crisis in the colonial units willing to surrender or desert increases, so much so as to advise their disarmament.

In conclusion, the redoubt is forced to surrender to do so on July 4 and its delaying function is assumed by the redoubt of Culqualber-Fercaber.

Attack on the redoubt of Uolchefit - Debarech.

The garrison of this redoubt was made up of the following units:

- CXLI Btg. CC.NN., with 530 men;

- CLXIV Btg. CC.NN., with 650 men, under the command of 1st Sen. Luciano Gavazzi;

- II Mixed Artillery Group;

- Group of Bands of the plateau, with 1,500 natives;

- Group of Bands of the Amhara, with 750 natives.

The commander of the stronghold was Lt. Col. Mario Gonella.

Already between 10 and 12 April 1941, the defection of the Ras Hayaleu Burrù occurred, who placed himself at the head of the rebels of the area with whom there were immediately lively clashes on the 12th and 13th. On 18 April, the organization of the redoubt could already be considered completed, and the English mechanized elements coming from Asmara had already been stopped. The enemy settled in the Debivar area, positioned artillery and began the daily bombardment of the redoubt. Our men responded sparingly so as not to consume the limited ammunition.

On 28 and 29 May the rebels were driven back with great force, with heavy losses, from the town of Debarech that they had managed to occupy. Hardships, sacrifices and hardships did not bend the national defenders, but they managed to undermine the confidence of the colored units; desertions began to occur and requests from soldiers to be left free to return to their homes. This state of mind would have had serious consequences if it had not been skillfully contained by the persuasive work of the commander and the cadres. Proof of this is the action carried out victoriously on 22 May, after an enemy raid, by two companies of CC.NN. and two gang groups, in one of which the moral crisis had manifested itself.

The action was launched by the CC.NN. against a position defended by 1,500 armed men under the command of Ras Hayaleu Burriz; the rebel formations were routed and put to flight, the wounded ras was captured and, among the 336 enemy dead found on the ground, his son was also found. Our losses: 42 dead and 102 wounded.

Another offensive attack on the Uolchefit garrison was carried out on July 13; the enemy suffered heavy losses and grain and livestock were captured. Meanwhile, the stronghold was continuously subjected to terrifying bombardments from the ground and from the air and on July 19, the English command, having learned that the garrison had almost no food left and could not receive any, sent Colonel Gonella a second message demanding surrender, which was indignantly rejected.

On August 1, with a column of 800 CC.NN. and a small unit of askaris, the commander went in search of the enemy at Monte Girambà and Zuriè, defended by dozens of English machine guns. The victorious action, in addition to inflicting severe losses on the adversary, served to raise the morale of the colonials, shaken by the example and the success.

Our losses:

Fallen: Officers 2 - CC. NN. 20 - Colonials 1.

Wounded: Officers 1 - CC.NN. - 38 - Colonials 3.

The physical wear and tear invariably produced its deleterious effects: shortage of food, suffering, physical effort, sudden changes in temperature at 3,000 meters above sea level, cases of exhaustion and fainting. One of our advanced posts was quickly overwhelmed on August 26, and the survivors captured; this and other symptoms confirmed that the garrison of Uolchefit, although supported by exceptional spiritual forces, was physically worn out.

Nevertheless, miraculously, once again a battalion of legionaries and the two Bande Groups attacked the enemy positions on September 18th in order to procure food and ammunition. After a violent and bloody clash at the Ciank pass, reached by skillfully exploiting the fog, the enemy was routed and weapons, ammunition and medicines were captured, but unfortunately not food or livestock.

Hunger was at the door and it bends any intention of further resistance: when every supply is exhausted, capitulation is now inevitable. However, these two battalions of CC.NN. (CXLI and CLXIV), without shelter, with their uniforms in tatters, threatened by scurvy, held out against the attackers for almost six months and often defeated them, demonstrating in the world what Italians can and know how to do, even in conditions of impossible inferiority, when they are supported by love for their country.

On September 25, spurred by the torment of hunger, the besieged made a last attempt by reaching with their assault the village of Uogherà, where they routed and put to flight the Indians, Sudanese and Abyssinians. But they found nothing and from that same location, with the authorization of General Nasi, they asked the enemy to cease the fight.

On September 28, after 165 days of heroic battle, the garrison of Uochefit-Debarech lowered the bloody tricolor to which the English paid military honors.

30 clashes had been sustained, in defensive and offensive combat; losses estimated at a thousand dead and three thousand wounded had been inflicted on the enemy, over 600 rifles, much ammunition and much material had been captured. 93 air raids were suffered with the launch of 5,500 bombs, many fragmentations and aerial machine guns and 14,000 artillery hits were received.

Our total losses:

Officers: fallen: 8 - wounded: 9.

Nationals: fallen: 86 - wounded: 117.

Colonials: fallen: 280 - wounded: 450.

Uolchefit-Debarech remains a symbol of heroic strenuous defense beyond all limits of human and military possibility and also an everlasting glory for the CC.NN. units that participated.

Attack on the Central Redoubt

Cualquaber 

This redoubt, consisting of the strongholds of Cualqualber and Fercaber, (the first of which blocked the homonymous saddle on the Debra Tabor - Gondar road and the second on the Fercaber pass, near Lake Tana) at the beginning of August 1941 had a total strength of about 2,900 men, 2,100 in the first and 800 in the second, between nationals and colonials.

The Culqualber stronghold included:

the CCXL Btg. CC.NN. (675 legionnaires, under the command of Senior Alberto Cassòli, divided into 5 companies);

the I Btg. CC.RR. mobilized by the A.O.I. (200 nationals and 160 Eritreans, under the command of Major Serranti. (the Btg. arrived on 6/8);

the LXVII colonial Btg. (620 men in 4 companies under the command of Major Carlo Garbieri);

the 43rd national battery on 3 pieces of 77/28 (40 men);

the 44th colonial battery on 2 pieces of 70/15 (314 men);

the mixed platoon of the Engineers (65 nationals and 23 colonials);

a field hospital (with 2 doctors and a chaplain);

The stronghold of Fercaber included:

the XIV CC.NN. Btg. (on 5 companies, under the command of Senator Lasagni);

the national battery, on 3 pieces of 70/15;

the 6th colonial machine gun company:

a platoon of the Engineers;

a medical officer and 1 chaplain,

The two strongholds were united in a single redoubt commanded by Lt. Col. Augusto Ugolini. The redoubt's forces had positioned themselves for defense on the two passes after the fall of Debre Tabor. (July 6, 1941).

Lt. Col. Ugoliní, a commander of great mettle and with a long colonial experience, had been able to amalgamate the forces under his orders, fusing them into a single block determined to resist until the impossible.

The redoubt was reinforced with exhausting work by the entire troop in such an intelligent and efficient way that it could withstand, as it did, with its checkpoints, trenches and emplacements, the terrifying bombardments from the ground and from the sky, which lasted for months, until the very end, without interruption.

From the beginning of August, the area north of the redoubt was invaded by guerrillas who tended to cut off communications with Gondar and with them the flow of supplies. Lt. Col. Ugolini tried to keep the road clear with effective offensive thrusts starting from the redoubt. One of these spirited attacks was honored with a mention in the bulletin of the Armed Forces n. 434.

A final supply, for which a violent battle broke out, cost the defenders of the redoubt heavy losses in order to be able to deliver loaves of bread and grain to Culqualber on August 24.

The commander decided to give a blow to the dangerous growing activity of the rebels on September 3 by carrying out a coup de main with the use of 3 companies of askaris and 2 companies of CC.NN.; all forces were placed under the direct orders of Ugolini and Garbieri.

The companies, having managed to arrive by surprise during the night at the Abyssinian camps, launched a furious assault, killing about 300 enemies, putting the camp to fire and sword and capturing a large booty of weapons, ammunition and livestock. The English response was immediate, after the triumphant return of the Italians to the redoubt, and took the form of intense artillery fire and continuous air raids that were unfortunately unopposed due to the lack of aviation and anti-aircraft artillery on our part.

Water supplies also began to become difficult.

On September 28, with the fall of the Uolchefit redoubt, the possibility of a full-scale enemy attack against Culqualber increased significantly. The defenders, with the strength of desperation, despite malnutrition and disease, work continued to strengthen the defenses.

Emaciated and dirty, terribly weakened, the carabinieri, artillerymen, CC.NN. engineers and askaris calmly prepared for the last defense, determined not to accept surrender even with the honors of war.

Many of the askaris had, as has always been the custom in our colored troops, wives and children in tow. There were about 200 women and therefore they too could not go without the meager ration of flour, chickpeas or teff; the little meat was distributed to the wounded and the sick.

The hammering of the artillery and the machine-gunning from the sky were continuous, causing ever more deaths and injuries. Urinals reduced to shreds with shoes, the defenders made themselves shoes and cioce with dried cattle hides and bandages of sackcloth tied with string. Such heroic soldiers looked like ragged men and paid for their tenacity with blood and sweat, fed only on a sour and musty burgundy.

The discovery of a spring solved, in part, the problem of thirst; but hunger grew and rations decreased: now the men were given a small measure of chickpeas per head per day. There was nothing left to raid in the vicinity of the stronghold.

The only solution, to avoid being forced to give in due to hunger, was to go and take food by force from the enemy's home. So Lt. Col. Ugolini decided to carry out a new coup for October 18: attack the base set up by the English in a camp of 4,000 Abyssinians near the village of Dambà Mariam.

After meticulous preparation, the three battalions of the garrison would have intervened in the assault, with the exception of a few men left to guard the redoubt: the CCXL CC.NN., the I Carabinieri, the LXVII colonial. The first would have surrounded the base from the east, the second would have attacked frontally, the third would have encircled it from the west.

Having reached the positions from which to launch the assault in the dead of night, protected by the tall grass, the men of the three battalions launched themselves like wild beasts on the guerrilla camps, annihilating with bombs and bladed weapons those who tried to resist and pursuing those who fled after the ferocious hand-to-hand combat; the last to be routed were the defenders of the large depot.

While some of the Italians pursued the routed enemy, the others, aided by the women of the askaris, collected everything they found: sacks of cereals, crates of cans of meat, weapons, ammunition, medicines.

Everything was loaded onto mules or carried on shoulders to the redoubt, which however was reached only after having sustained further fighting against the offensive returns of the enemy. Among the enemy corpses counted in the destroyed camp were those of various English officers and non-commissioned officers. Our fallen and wounded, stretchered, were brought back to Culqualber: the action had cost us 36 fallen and 31 wounded and was mentioned in bulletin no. 505 of the Armed Forces.

From that day on, the Abyssinian populations still remember with admiration the defenders of Culqualber, defined with their figurative expression as the "Roaring Lions of the Euphorbia Pass".

From November 1st, the English, who by then had finished gathering the masses destined for the final attack against our strongholds, resumed an uninterrupted land and air pounding of our positions, causing the defenders a drip of painful losses. On the 2nd, for the anniversary of the Deceased, in front of the representatives of the departments, a Mass was celebrated in suffrage for the Fallen at the cemetery; during it, a new terrible air raid also hit the cemetery, causing victims among the living, shaking the bones of the Fallen and also hitting the field hospital that still bore, clearly visible, the large red cross.

On the 4th of November, the shooting of the English batteries resumed with ever greater violence; our pieces could not counterattack due to their shorter ranges and in order not to waste the ammunition that was to be used for the final battle.

The shooting of the artillery alternated with massive waves of bombing and fighter planes that hit every corner of the positions; but the defenders remained nailed to their combat posts and when East Africans, Sudanese and Abyssinians trained by the British attempted to start an assault, they found weapons ready and strong hearts to receive them.

By the evening of the 5th, the enemy masses, totally repelled, had left many fallen on the ground. On November 6th, the first message demanding surrender with the honors of war arrives at Culqualber: it is proudly and decisively rejected.

The enemy artillery action resumes intensely on the morning of the 10th; around 12 o'clock two Abyssinian priests appear at the outposts with another message, this too rejected.

The English had now massed against our defense:

To the North (Brigadier General W.A.L. James).

The 25th East African Brigade on three battalions of the King's African Rifles, various machine gun companies, 6 batteries of various calibers, a Sudanese company and about 6,500 Abyssinians. Altogether about 13,000 men.

To the South (Lt. Col. Collins).

The Southforce, on two battalions of East Africans, a battery of 6 pieces of the Gold Coast, a South African battery, various machine gun companies and Abyssinian formations: a total of 9,500 fighters.

The garrison of the Italian redoubt could now only oppose 1,800 ragged, hungry, exhausted and feverish men, many of whom were already wounded.

We are now at the last act of the tragedy for the defenders of Culqualber-Fercaber, more determined than ever, from the commander to the last soldier, not to surrender even with the honors of war; rather to all die.

On November 12, the decisive attack begins; it will not succeed in getting the better of that handful of heroes until November 21, after nine days of very hard fighting.

At dawn on the 12th, about fifty planes, in successive but continuous waves, bombarded the entire area of ​​the strongholds with bombs and machine gun fire, causing heavy losses in our dead and wounded.

After a sleepless night, because the defenders were tense in trying to avoid any infiltration, the Italians were hit at dawn on the 13th by a general attack from all directions.

Regular units of Indians, Sudanese and East Africans with a mass of Abyssinians, all supported by English officers and non-commissioned officers, launched the assault; the greatest effort was exerted against the Roccioni ridge, on the north side, defended by the 1st and 3rd companies of the CCXL Btg. CC.NN. and by the 2nd of the Carabinieri Battalion. At some points the line was damaged but the situation was immediately re-established by a series of furious counterattacks.

The enemy, who had suffered enormous losses, had new fresh masses leapfrog those who had been repelled in the first attack; this time the Abyssinians managed to reach the edge of the trenches but were annihilated there by the bionet and hand grenades.

When, around 5 pm, the enemy abandoned the game now lost, over 150 of his fallen were scattered in front of our lines; Carabinieri and CC.NN. had fought like desperate men, without limits of sacrifice. At the 3rd CC.NN. Company, all the defenders of a fire center fell, they were spontaneously replaced by a group of cooks and clerks; once again subjected the same center to a relentless bombardment of enemy mortars, these brave improvised fighters allowed themselves to be massacred to the last man rather than abandon the place they had rushed to defend and thus stop the fire of the weapons of the center.

By the end of the day on the 13th, the CCXL Btg. CC.NN. had already lost 45% of its men.

A day of rest. The fight resumed on the 15th with yet another furious bombardment of the Italian positions both from the ground and from the air.

New enemy attacks were unleashed on the 16th: they were all bloodily repelled, but in the meantime new losses were thinning the ranks of the brave defenders. On the morning of the 18th, in the southern sector, an attack with tanks was taking shape: tear-off mines blew up some of them and the others retreated. Meanwhile, at the same time, the armored cars attacked from the north and were pushed back by the precise shots of the few pieces of defense.

On the 19th, after a new proposal for honorable surrender, which was also rejected, the air raids began again and continued on the 20th: the Culqualber saddle was seething with explosions, splinters and flames. Our losses were mounting. Team Leader Colagrossi, of the 42nd CC.NN. Company, seriously wounded, refused to be taken to the hospital and, clinging to the machine gun, continued to shoot, singing: "But I won't leave the machine gun!".

At three in the morning of November 21, large enemy units began to approach the Italian positions, which were being ferociously attacked by fire from all directions.

Before dawn, in the darkness, from the rock positions and trenches, the song of Culqualber had risen, subdued and heartfelt, for the last time: it was the CC.NN. of the CCXL Battalion! They were bidding their last farewell to their homeland and to life.

After a terrifying fire, the decisive and total assault developed, with more violent attacks in the sectors of the northern front, held by the 1st and 3rd Companies of legionaries and the 2nd Carabinieri Company. At the same time the southern front was being attacked (1st Carabinieri and 2nd CC.NN.).

At first light, piles of enemy corpses covered the ground in front of our positions and many were the fallen and wounded among the defenders. But not a single inch of ground had yet been lost.

At 6 o'clock the attack resumed with increasing intensity; Lt. Col. Ugolini, from his command post targeted like the trenches, kept in touch with the commanders of his three battalions. Also in Fercaber, the XIV CC.NN. Btg. of Senior Lasagni was violently attacked and defended itself fiercely.

The second attack of the day was unleashed above all against the sector of the 2nd CC.RR. Company and against the CC.NN. of Calabrese and Mazzoni. The Italian forces were thinning out. The enemy, who had reached the trenches, were once again thrown back into furious hand-to-hand combat. There had been a massacre on both sides.

The enemy, however, had managed to infiltrate between the two strongholds of Culqualber and Fercaber, thus managing to separate them: but the XIV CC.NN. Btg., now isolated, still resisted, entrenched in its positions.

After 7 o'clock the attack became increasingly vigorous. Captain Azzari's Carabinieri (2nd Company) were crushed by mortar fire and machine-gunning from low-flying aircraft; a new assault found few survivors who defended themselves to the death and the enemy conquered the now deserted trenches. The advanced positions having been submerged, the English African units and the Abyssinians fell upon the last men of the 2nd Carabinieri; these counterattacked the Banca Arma but were crushed by the number of the enemy hordes, and the same fate befell the 2nd company of the CC.NN.

Having also lost the Roccioni ridge, the very few survivors of the Carabinieri and legionaries, exhausted and bleeding, retreated, gathering around the command for the ultimate sacrifice.

Meanwhile, on the southern sector, the CC.RR. and CC.NN., at the spur and the Uorkajè gorge, resisted without giving ground; the enemy, drunk on alcohol and success, was about to invade the inside of the redoubt; but the last two companies of askaris, with Major Garbieri at their head, were thrown into the counterattack. They hesitated for a moment, but when they saw the last remnants of the Italians joining them, they threw themselves on the enemy. The enemy did not have the courage to face these men transformed into beasts and fled. At 9:30 all the trenches had been reconquered.

At the same time, the dramatic battle engaged the 4th Company of the CC.NN. The Company of the LXVII colonial rushed to its aid and together the two units managed to disperse the Sudanese.

After a brief pause, the battle flared up again with a new attack on the Carabinieri Company of Captain Celi and on the Roccioni ridge now defended by the remains of the CC. NN. companies 1st and 3rd of the CCXL Btg.

Crushed by the bombs, the defenders had to retreat somewhat; then, aided by the last askaris, with an extreme counterattack they re-established the integrity of the line.

The fallen added to the fallen; the survivors had now serenely accepted their fate of death. Time passed, the ammunition ran out, but the fight continued inexorably. At 12:50, the first among the remnants of his askaris, Major Garbieri fell.

Meanwhile, the garrison of Fercaber, (the CC.NN. of the XIV Btg., the few askaris and the engineers and artillerymen), had had to succumb literally overwhelmed. It was 13:00 on November 21 and in Culqualber they were still fighting stoically. Major Serranti, commander of the Carabinieri, already wounded and bleeding, continued undaunted to remain with the last men of his battalion. Even Lt. Col. Ugolini was losing blood from many wounds, but no one stopped fighting.

Under the impetus of a ferocious assault by the Abyssinians, the defenders, exhausted, began to falter. Having gathered the last handful of soldiers, Major Serranti and Senior Cassòli of the CCXL Btg. CC. NN. leap to a final counterattack: mixed together, Carabinieri, CC.NN., askaris and engineers, shouting "Savoia", engage in a furious fight.

In this last desperate rush, Major Serranti dies gloriously, pierced by the bayonet of a Sudanese; immediately afterwards, Senior Cassòli, commander of the CCXL Btg. CC.NN., falls, struck down by a bullet.

Gathered around the heroic commander of the redoubt, the very few survivors, having fired the last shots, blown up the artillery pieces, the weapons unused, surrounded by the horns of their fallen comrades, they prepare to die. Lt. Col. Ugolini has the flag lowered and burns it.

Meanwhile, the wave of enemies reaches the heart of the stronghold and an East African soldier launches himself with a bayonet against the Italian commander, but is stopped, just in time, by an English captain, who salutes Ugolini and refuses to have him hand over his pistol. In recognition of his valor, with a special authorization from Gen. James, Ugolini will be able to keep the weapon even in captivity.

Thus the curtain falls on the Culqualbcr - Fercaber epic. The heroic superb extreme defense cost, between 1.3 and 21 November, the following losses:

- of approximately 1,580 nationals: fallen, 513 - wounded, 404.

- of approximately 1,200 colonials: fallen, 490 - wounded, 400.

- of approximately 200 women wives of the askaris, over 100 perished,

In particular, the CCXL Btg. CC.NN. he sacrificed himself almost completely on the field.

General Nasi proposed Commander Ugolini and the three battalion commanders for the Gold Medal of Military Valor.

.......to be continued.....

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

THE ETHNIC CLEANSING OF AUTOCHTHONOUS ITALIANS IN ISTRIA & DALMATIA

This month I am going to translate two articles appeared on the website "Unione degli Istriani" about the ethnic clearance of the autochthonous Italians in Istria & Dalmatia, done by the Slav population (living in these regions) during the first half of the XX century. 

  Istria -with the Quarnaro islands- when was inside the Kingdom of Italy, between 1918 and 1947


We all know that there has been continuously attacks of every kind against the survival of the original Latin populations in the eastern coastal Adriatic sea, since the end of the Republic of Venice until after the Second World War.  Actually there it is a kind of "campaign" to deny this ethnic "clearance" and for this reason I want to publish these two articles (one about Dalmatia and the second about Istria).

Here it is the first (after my introduction):

INTRODUCTION

Until the beginning of 1920 the Italians of Spalato (now called Split, the main Dalmatia's city) never attacked the Slavs (even because of obvious numerical inferiority) and were harassed by Croatian nationalists continuously, as has happened since the last decades of the XIX century in all Dalmatia.

But after the attack of January 27, 1920 in which were damaged nearly all the Italian-owned shops and the offices of Italian institutions, some Italian sailors of the Italian navy ship "Puglia" now under the command of captain Tommaso Gulli and docked inside the Spalato's port, started to defend themselves and the Dalmatian Italians while menacing to use their guns.

On July 27 another attack against the Italians of Spalato was done and a group of officials of this "Puglia" found refuge in a place near the docks: captain Gulli ordered a boat to rescue them, but it was blocked by some Slavs and was forced to fire "alarm shots" in the sky to get help.

Soon Gulli went to the rescue with a MAS torpedo-boat, but approaching the docks found a huge crowd of nationalist Slavs. Shots were fired to the Italians and for the first time they returned fire. A hand granade was thrown to the Mas and hit the sailor Aldo Rossi and others.

Another shot hit captain Gulli, while the Italians killed a man on the docks, whose name was Matej Mis. Anyway, many versions about what happened were done in the next days, by the Yugoslavians and by the Italians.

Captain Gulli was helped in a Hospital but died the next day, while sailor Rossi survived only a few hours.

In the Kingdom of Italy the reaction to what happened in Spalato was of rage and indignation: in Trieste fascists and nationalists attacked the Hotel Balkan (called in Slovenian "Narodni dom" and center of all the Slav activities & attacks in Trieste) the next day.

In the following years the Italians of Spalato - under the Yugoslavian rule renamed "Split", as was officially called the city since 1919- were continuously harassed in their institutions, schools and shops & business: they declined in their amount in a slow but steady way.

At the end of the 1920s, relations between Italy and Yugoslavia worsened again, and the Croatian Split press called on the population to boycott the italian shops. One of these shops was the Del Bianco barber shop, since "... the owner is an open and great "Italianizer"..... let us remember that our "Italianizers" are for us greater enemies than true Italians". In the attacks on Italian shops in Spalato in May 1928, the Del Bianco barber shop inside the Peristyle of Diocletian's Palace was destroyed and the owner forced to get refuge in Italy. The above quotations are taken from the daily newspaper Pobeda of 9 March 1928,

Actually the "Spalatini" (as care called the autochthonous Italians of Spalato)  are only one hundred in Croatian Split, with their association called Comunitá italiana di Spalato. They were more than 2,082 in the 1910 city census but were nearly seven thousand in 1918, including the surroundings! And from Roman centuries until the end of the Napoleon's rule of Dalmatia they were the majority of the Spalato population (they were approximately 2/3 of all the dalmatian city's inhabitants in 1815).


UNIONE DEGLI ISTRIANI

1930: ITALIANS SUFFERED A "POGROM" IN DALMATIA (THE “POGROM” OF THE ITALIANS OF SPLIT AND SEBENICO THAT NO ONE EVER TALKS ABOUT)


            Photo of Spalato (now called Split in Croatia) in the early 1930s Dalmatia of Yugoslavia

Dear Friends,

we want to remember what happened in Spalato on the night between 18 and 19 October 1930, or what we could call the "pogrom" against the Italians living in the largest city in Dalmatia, a pogrom that continues to remain a taboo. It happened, that night ninety-five years ago, that all the Italian businesses in the city were marked with crosses and writings made with the use of black tar, almost impossible to erase, of the following tenor:

"THIS SHOP IS ITALIAN. DO NOT ENTER!"

The action of that night was the final act of a long persecutory campaign against everything Italian in Yugoslavia and at the same time the start of a massive boycott of Italian merchants and industrialists who, in fact, were forced in a few years to close practically all their businesses.

In Spalato, however, the smear campaign had already begun in January 1930: the city newspaper "Zastava", directed by the fierce enemy of the Italians, the nationalist Oskar Tartalja, gave daily news of Italian public establishments, companies and professionals, under the pretext of making a numerical comparison of the two elements, Italian and Slav.

On January 1, 1931, after the "pogrom", the physical attacks, the destruction of shop windows and the looting of several shops, with the consequent first departures of our totally defenseless compatriots, the daily newspaper ran a full-page admonitory headline "Let's give Split a national character", offering the following well-listed intentions:

"It is our duty:

1) to be enemies of the enemies of our people;

2) to always and everywhere use our Yugoslav language;

3) to protect our language, our money, our men, our shopkeepers;

4) to help our people. We will not have peace until we have removed the foreign trace, until Split acquires a pure Yugoslav national character."

A proclamation, this, worthy of the worst National Socialist projects. But no one ever talks about it.

In Sebenico, however, a few days later, something more explicit, institutional happened. On October 20, 1930, in the session of the City Council, in the presence of the district captain who represented the Government of Belgrade, Councilor Lawyer Medina, former head of the city section of the secret organization Orjuna, voted on the text of the following order of the day, made immediately executable:

"the authorities should intensify in every way their action aimed at taking away every and every means of work from Italian citizens, ordering employers to fire them, denying the granting of new licenses, so as to create impossible living conditions for Italian citizens".

In the same session, Councilor Lawyer Kozul unanimously passed the proposal to erect a monument to King Peter " , replacing  the one to Nicolò Tommaseo with this new monument ".


Borders and ethnicity of Istria in 1910, with actual yellow points as frontier between Italy and Slovenia. Map of the Touring Club Italiano


Here it is the second article (after my introduction):

INTRODUCTION

Istria has been a Latin populated region since Roman centuries. The Slav penetration started during the Middle Ages and happened mainly in the eastern area of the peninsula. The western half of Istria remained romance speaking (first with the Dalmatian, then with the Venetian and now with the Italian language) until the huge "Istrian-Dalmatian exodus" that happened during and after the Second World War.

This exodus started in September 1943, after  the Italian surrender to the Allies, then grew with the communist Tito's massacres in  Istria (the "Foibe" tragedy) and finally exploded in 1945 & following years (when nearly 350000 Italians escaped from the region that was officially annexed to Yugoslavia in 1947). 

The Dalmatian city of Zara was part of the kingdom of Italy since 1918, but lost in 1944 nearly all the Italians living there: At the start of World War II, Zara had a population of 24,000; by the end of 1944, this had decreased to 6,000.Though controlled by the Partisans, Zara remained under nominal Italian sovereignty until the Paris Peace Treaties that took effect on 15 September 1947.[After the war practically all the Dalmatian Italians of Zara left Yugoslavia towards Italy: in 2021 only a dozen Italians remained in the city!.

Also the Istria's coastal city of Pola was the site of a large-scale exodus of its Italian population. Between December 1946 and September 1947, Pola almost completely emptied as its residents left all their possessions and "opted" for Italian citizenship. More than 28,000 of the city's population of 32,000 left in March/April 1947. 

The last exodus happened in 1954 and  took place after the "Memorandum of Understanding" in London about the Free Territory of Trieste, that gave provisional civil administration of Zone A (with Trieste) to Italy, and Zone B to Yugoslavia.

The Italians who moved out of Istria were relatively "lucky", because many thousands of them disappeared in the Foibe from 1943 until 1945. Indeed the so called "Italian Holocaust" is centered on the massacres of the Foibe, done by the Yugoslav dictator Tito and his communist Slav party.

The number of victims in the Foibe is uncertain. Historians like Raoul Pupo or Roberto Spazzali estimated the total number of victims at about 5,000; Guido Rumici and Giorgio Pisano' calculate from 11,000 upwards. It was never possible to extract all the thousands of corpses from Foibes, because some of them are deeper than several hundred meters. Until few years ago authorities had been able to extract from the pits just a small number of bodies: less than six hundred. 

Last but not least, we must remember that the internationally famous historian Rummel calculated that -in addition to 24,000 italian deaths because of Foibe, lynching, hanging, drowning, summary executions by firing squads, etc...- between May 1945 and the end of 1947, more than 190,000 Italians crossed the border. And he wrote thet here were also 160,000 people, including ex-partisans and anti-fascists, who left after Stalin’s break with Tito (1948-49) or as a result of the "Trieste crisis" in 1954. The total is 350,000 refugees with 24,000 killed (of the nearly 430,000 Italians living -before 1940- in the area lost by Italy): that means that in 1954 there were only 56,000 Italians in the areas that Yugoslavia annexed. And their number is getting smaller and smaller: according to the census organized in Croatia in 2001 and the one organized in Slovenia in 2002, the Italians who remained in the former Yugoslavia amounted to 21,894 people (2,258 in Slovenia and 19,636 in Croatia).

It is noteworthy to pinpoint that this exodus was caused -by the Slavs- often with cruelty and sadism in many cases, as can be understood reading the following essay, written by a direct testimony: Nidia Cernecca.

Photo of the recovery of human remains of Italians from the Vines/Goglia Foibe, in Faraguni locality, near Albona d'Istria in October of 1943. From this sinkhole, between 16 and 25 October 1943, the human remains of 84 bodies were recovered (72 Italians, of whom 6 were women, and 12 German soldiers). Of the victims, 51 were initially recognized. In this sinkhole, some victims were thrown while still alive. The murdered were also thrown with a stone tied to their hands with wire; or tied together in such a way that a single victim hit by a gun dragged his still-alive companion tied to him to the bottom of the sinkhole. The criminal perpetrators then threw hand grenades into the Foiba, in order to cause the walls of the sinkhole to collapse, perhaps to facilitate the decomposition of the bodies, thus making their eventual subsequent recognition impossible. The victims were extracted with huge difficulties.The discovery of this Foiba, as a place of execution and burial, is due to the report of  B. Monti of Albona. The only survivors who survived from this Foiba (because screaming for help from the bottom, one day after being pushed inside by the cruel Tito's partisans) were Giovanni Radeticchio and Graziano Udovisi, who as witnesses recounted the event.

UNIONE DEGLI ISTRIANI

“THE TITINI STONED MY FATHER, THEN PLAYED FOOTBALL WITH HIS HEAD. I AM CATHOLIC BUT I CAN'T FORGIVE: MINE IS CALVARY WITHOUT REDEMPTION. ”
“My father was a decent person. I'm not saying it because I idealized the figure. I say this because when I return to my land and speak his name people even today bow their heads in deference. His name was Giuseppe, he was a boy from ‘99, he had fought in WWI. He was an employee in the town hall of Gimino d’Istria, where I was born in ’36. He was a patriot, but he had no office in the fascist National Party. I remember that on Sunday mornings the kitchen at our house was full of illiterate farmers. They were carrying letters to my father from their kids' front. He read them and then wrote the answers.
Love, love my daddy Joseph! I last saw him when I was almost seven years old, and I always remember, like it was yesterday, his last affectionate kiss, and my tiny hands inside his thick hair.
He was captured on October 2, 1943, the next day he was paraded in the village with a chain tied around his neck and a kiss full of stones on his back. With those he was stoned, at the edge of the forest, under a cherry tree. She was 44 years old. Her hair, so black, had suddenly turned white.
In 1992, when Communism fell, I wanted to investigate in person, going back to Istria to find out who had killed him. An eyewitness, a shepherd, led me to that cherry. He could not be wrong: after being forced to watch the execution, engraved, upset, the date on the bark, October 3, 1943. You could read it again, a bit weakened, because in the meantime the tree had grown. Another farmer reported to me that people were incited to stab my dad, but refused to. He was stoned by four local farmers, and one of them my father acted as a godfather. After the stoning, the stoners looked into the mouth of my father’s corpse and saw two teeth covered in gold that tried to pull them out but they couldn’t; they decapitated him and took his head to a Canfanaro ear to recover the capsules. They finally played a soccer match using their smashed heads as a ball, at least as long as it kept their spherical shape.
What happened in Istria was not a war against enemies. Nor fight for idealism. It was a crime determined by a relentless hatred for Italian people. Killed the bride's husband and the children's father, the murderers took themselves to the intimate space of their grief to announce their murder, take away their belongings, intimate them not to look for the corpse and to take away every photo, every memory. They were leading the predestined victims, tied worse than beasts to each other by iron wires, on the edge of the foiba, and not always they shot at all, because it was enough to hit someone, so much weight of this would have pulled down to the bottom, alive, the others, so that of a slow and cruel death they could at the last moment make it count. They stoned people, like my father did, forcing them to carry on their shoulders the stones that would be used to finish them. The victims were staring at them. They cut their testicles, confusing them in their mouths. He enclosed a priest’s head with a barbed wire crown. It was pure cruelty. It was never ending pain. It was, in the history of man, of course, only a moment, but among the most infamous.
There were eight widows in ten days in our family. I'm Catholic, but I haven't forgiven, mine is Calvary without redemption. Trauma at the age of 6-7 marks the character. I have been done an irreparable injustice: I will die with that on my heart. Without truth there is no justice. And without justice there is no peace and I am a woman without peace. Nidia Cernecca


Rest in peace, now, dear Nidia, and thank you for dedicating your life to witness the horror of our terrible holocaust. We will always remember you and honor your father.


Nidia Cernecca (1936-2020)

Post scriptum:

I want to add another evidence about the ethnic cleansing of the Italians in Istria and Dalmatia. Here it is some excerpts from another article of the "Unione degli Istriani", where it is written that the Italians were murdered not only into the Foibes , but also into the sea:

At the end, 86 bodies were recovered from the Vines/Goglia Foiba near Albona. In the list of recognized victims, there are the typical surnames of Albona and Parenzo and then many others, of Italians from everywhere who came to work in the mines of Arsia and Pozzo Littorio: the employee Enrico Blasi Toccaceli, the first pickaxe driver Guglielmo Conte, the worker Giovanni Desomai, the Calabrian brothers Giuseppe and Michelangelo Macrì, the Sicilians Vincenzo Marano and Giuseppe Montante, the Apulian Nicola Montella and others. But those from Arsia did not die only in the foiba: there is another list of the disappeared, drawn up by the same Mining Society, dedicated to those who were thrown to the bottom of the sea in the nearby bay of Santa Marina. Among them, Bruno Bidoli, engineer of the reclamation of Arsa, Luciano Bernardis manager of the Arsa company and secretary of Pozzo Littorio, Pasquale Teodoro, carabiniere of Arsa and then miners, workers, employees. The story came to light thanks to the posthumous confession of a repentant partisan, who was the jailer of 19 prisoners locked up in Santa Marina. On October 5, 1943 they were made to leave in single file barefoot and almost naked, tied together, while they were tormented by hitting them with rifle butts. In a clearing, near the sea, they were all placed on their backs and a machine gun started shooting. Just one burst, so as not to let everyone die. Then the living, the dead and the dying were loaded onto a boat and tied there again, but with the addition of heavy stones. The boat left and when it reached deep water, the partisans took care of throwing that painful load into the sea.

Saturday, March 1, 2025

SUB-ROMAN BRITAIN (410-610 AD)

This month I am going to research info about "Sub-Roman" Britain, that was the name for the British history years between 410 AD (when the Roman legions went away from the British isles) and 610 AD (when the last area of Romanized Britain was conquered by the Anglo-Saxons invaders).

The collapse of the former Western Roman Empire during the so called 'Dark Ages' (that started in Roman Britannia in 410 AD) was gradual. Out of this vacuum arose regional tribes and leaders determined to take back kingdoms that were theirs and oust any Roman presence for good. However, the Roman guard was tenacious and survived in small pockets that emerged in both Gaul and Britain. These areas of Romano-Celtic resistance held out against the Anglo-Saxons until at least the beginning of 7th century in Britain and against the Visigoths and the Merovingian Franks until the late 8th century in France. However some scholars (like John Morris in The Age of Arthur: A History of the British Isles 350-650. London, 1973) think there are remains of semi-romanised Britons until the start of the eight century.

In Britain this two centuries period is usually called "Sub-Roman Britain" and is centered on the "mytical" figure of  King Arthur, a Romanised leader (some historians think  Ambrosius Aurelianus was the "real" king Arthur) of the Romano-Britons who was able to defeat the Germanic invasors with his victory at the battle of Mount Badon around 500 AD ( https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/FeaturesBritain/BritishMountBadon.htm ).



The R1b-U152 presence in Roman Britannia

Furthermore, we have to remember that the Romans established over 70 cities or towns in Britain, including important cities like London, St Albans, Colchester, Winchester, Gloucester, Exeter, Leicester, Lincoln, Manchester and York. But they "genetically" left only a minimal presence in the actual population of these cities. Only the area around Lincoln and York has maintained a relatively huge amount of people with the R1b-U152, the so called "Haplogroup of ancient Romans" (see the following related map). 

Indeed Maciamo Hay wrote in this interesting essay (read the complete article here:https://www.eupedia.com/genetics/britain_ireland_dna.shtmlthat "genetically and cromosomically....
......it is very difficult to assess the genetic impact of Romanization on the British population as the Roman citizens, soldiers and slaves who settled in Britannia were not merely people from the Latium or Italy, but could have come from anywhere in the empire. "


Even if we assume that Britain was fully Celtic before the Roman conquest, similar to Ireland or the Scottish Highland once Germanic DNA has been removed, it is still very hard at present to clearly differentiate Brythonic Celts from other Celts from the continent, notably Gaul, who might have settled in Roman Britain. Even the Romans from Italy appear to have belonged predominantly to the same R1b-U152 as Hallstatt and La Tène Celts, also accompanied by significant minorities of G2a-U1 and J2b. Deeper subclade analysis may soon allow population geneticists to distinguish between Roman/Italic and Celtic subclades within these haplogroups. At present it seems that the L2 and Z36 subclades of R1b-U152 are more Celtic/Gaulish, while Z56 and Z192 are more Italic/Roman.

Map of the R1b-U152 in western Europe 

So, experts think that the Romans are in a maximum roughly 15% of male lineages of "Roman" origin for England, 10% for Wales, and 7% for Scotland. However, it would be reasonable to assume that at least half of these come from Alpine Celts and Normans, and probably more in Scotland's case. It is hard to explain the discrepancy with the 30-35% of autosomal genes of Mediterranean origin that are now present in the modern population of England. One explanation is that a substantial share of Romano-British male population was killed by the invading Anglo-Saxons, and that autosomal genes were passed on through Roman-British mothers who bore the children of the Germanic invaders....."

Some researchers (like D'Ambrosio of the University of Genova) wonder why the farm area around Lincoln (read also https://www.reading.ac.uk/web/files/archaeology/Reading_April_14_talk_AS.pdf )  is the only one in modern Great Britain with actual population showing genetically a 15/20% of R1b-U152, the so called "haplogroup of Ancient Romans" (a percentage that is similar to the one in Mediterranean Spain around Valencia!). One possible explanation is that the Roman villas population of the area survived the onslaught remembered by Gildas in his "De excidio Britanniae" getting refuge in the nearby southern Pennines  mountains and later-when better times arrived during the last Sub-Roman Britain decades- these Romanized populations came back to where they used to live.

Probably this is what happened near Lincoln in the small city of Southwell, that was called "Tiovulginacester" in Sub-roman times, where there also are huge percentages of the Haplogroup J2 (typically originated in Anatolia & southern Italy).

Additionally we must pinpoint that in the city of Southwell (near Lincoln) the remains of an opulent Roman villa were excavated in 1959. Part of a mural from the excavation is displayed in the Minster. It is one of three of its type found in the territories of the Corieltauvi (or Coritani) tribes – along with Scampton in Lincolnshire and Norfolk Street in Leicestershire. A stretch of the Fosse Way runs on the far bank of the River Trent, with evidence of Roman settlement at Ad Pontem ("to the bridge" or "at the bridge"), north-west of the village of East Stoke. Other evidence of Roman settlement includes the use of Roman bricks in prebendary buildings around the Minster, remains of a ditch or fosse discovered at Burgage Hill in the 19th century, and possible Roman remains beneath the Church Street site of the recently vacated Minster School...The Venerable Bede records a multiple baptism in the "flood of the Trent" near "Tiovulginacester" by Paulinus in the presence of Edwin of Northumbria, whom he had converted to Christianity in 627. There is disagreement on the location of Tiovulginacester, but Paulinus certainly visited it and may have founded the first church in Southwell: the existence of this place called Tiovulginacester clearly shows that a partially romanised population was still living there in the early seventh century...BD

 

British Latin

 The Latin spoken in the British Isles after the Roman occupation left numerous traces in loanwords into British Celtic (spoken by the indigenous Celtic population of England and ancestral to Welsh, Cornish, and Breton) and early Anglo-Saxon (Old English). It is probable that "British Latin" over time developed differently from the Latin spoken on the Continent, but scholars do not agree on what its distinctive features were. This is in spite of the dramatic discoveries starting in the late 20th century (e.g., the Vindolanda tablets) that have greatly augmented the documentation of British Latin.

 So, a British variety of Late Latin, a nascent ‘British Romance’ called "British Latin", was probably rather widely spoken, not only in bilingual situations if not as a preferred and only vernacular, across the fifth century and into the sixth. in the area fully romanised. If interested read "The Romance of early Britain: Latin, British,and English, c.400-600" ( https://academic.oup.com/book/55329/chapter/434347840.)




Map showing the fully romanised region of Britain around 450 AD and a few decades later.  In these arreas the remaining romanised Britons developed the "British latin", a romance language. The remaining areas of former Roman Britannia were "semi-romanised" (from Cornwall to the Hadrian wall).



Chronology of sub-Roman Britannia

The following are excerpts from an interesting essay about the years between 410 and 610 AD, taken from "History Files" ( in " https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/MainFeaturesIndex.htm ):

The history of the British Isles from the end of the most recent ice age to the formation of the united Anglo-Saxon kingdom forms several stages and covers a good deal of conflict. It starts with the Early Cultures which appear prior to the Iron Age. Then the Celtic occupation of Prydein leads up to the Roman incursions and the creation of Roman Britain.

Subsequent decline generated the Post-Roman period in which all stories of Arthur are contained, but this also covers the gradual loss of Celtic power in the land and its marginalisation on the western and northern fringes. With the expulsion of Roman officials in AD 409 (see feature link), Britain again became independent of Rome and was not re-occupied.

The fragmentation which had begun to emerge towards the end of the fourth century now appears to have accelerated, with minor princes, newly declared kings, and Roman-style magistrates all vying for power and influence while also facing the threat of extinction at the hands of the various barbarian tribes which were encroaching on the borders from all sides. A British Church was in evidence, with practices which would become increasingly isolated from those of the Roman Church.

Various units of laeti and foederati had been settled in the country from the mid-fourth century onwards (probably following the sudden visit to Britain by Emperor Constans in 343). Often Germanic in origin, by 409 they had been settled for up to sixty years and more, and may not have retained much of their 'Germanness' except that they often lived in self-sustaining communities outside city walls. The country was probably filled with similar immigrants from all over the former empire: Danubians, GaulsIberiansItalians, and others, many of them the descendants of legionnaires and all settled for some time. By now they were part of the very fabric of the country.

However, as Edward Dawson confirms when backing up the 'Germanness' point above, later units of laeti may not have been so settled. There appears to have been large numbers of them around many towns in the south-east of Britain. Amongst all the empire's immigrants, it was Germanic groups who best retained their cultural identity, sometimes for generations, continuing to teach their children German when others were learning Latin, or perhaps native British. When fresh waves of Germans arrived, conquering all in their path, it was probably not hard for the settled. Germans to experience a tactical change of loyalty.



DETAILED CHRONOLOGY:

409 - c.425

FeatureThis is a period in which central administration apparently breaks down to an extent, with local administrative centres and then rulers beginning to appear. The climb to power of Vortigern of the Paganes seems to reverse this trend (see feature link), although in some regions he probably has to administer what are in effect kingdoms rather than provinces. Even his own territory seems to have been divided into sub-kingdoms, such as Buellt and Guorthegirnain.

Quite possibly, in true Roman fashion, he acquires the title of emperor, perhaps proclaiming himself 'Emperor of Britannia' in order to cement his hold on power. It seems that he and Aurelius Ambrosius of Caer Gloui form the figureheads for opposing parties, but for the moment it is he who has dominance.

Roman amphitheatre at Silchester
This artistic reconstruction shows the amphitheatre at Caer Celemion (Calleva Atrebatum, modern Silchester), which was built outside the walls, to the north-east of the town itself

During this period, mercenaries, or laeti, are settled in some regions of the country, possibly to bolster populations of foederati and laeti which may already have been in place for some generations.

Groups are known to exist along the Thames Valley, in the north of Caer Celemion, and along the Saxon Shore from Caer Gwinntguic to Ceint and Caer Went.

There is a strong economic reason for placing them in the Thames Valley and other lowland areas. Northern coastal Germans (AnglesJutesFrisians, and Saxons) are accustomed to employing a farm economy set in lowlands, not uplands. They know how to work marshes and river valleys, so these settlement areas suit them entirely.

416

FeatureA synod is held in Carthage (the 'Council of Carthage') in the Roman province of Africa which takes a firm line against the Pelagian 'heresy'. Pelagius (circa 354-420 or 440) is a British ascetic who has allegedly denied the doctrine of original sin. He finds many supporters in Britain and the British Church, especially amongst the educated classes (see feature link).

Thames Valley
The Thames Valley forms an east-west passage through the hills between London and Surrey and also through the hills of Wiltshire, providing easy access for river users to the River Avon around Bath

420

The use of coinage (usually silver coins) as the means of substantial payment seems to die out within ten years of this date. However, a high level of self-sufficiency in both civil service and the army has already become the established norm in Britain for the best part of a century, so this in itself is far from being a sign of the collapse of civilisation.

fl c.420s?

Anblaud / Amlawdd Wledig

Ruler of Ercing. First emperor of independent Britain?

c.421

Triphun is the Irish leader of the Déisi in Demetia in the west of Britain. As the fourth generation of Déisi to have been raised in Britain, the tribe now has roots in the country and has clearly developed a certain degree of reliability and trustworthiness.

By taking a Roman name, Triphun has become part of the British ruling elite, so much so that he is able to marry Gweldyr, the Romano-British heiress of Demetia, and become king himself of what becomes known as Dyfed.

fl c.425 - c.455

Wortigernos / Vitalinus / Vortigern

Ruler of Paganes. Second emperor of Britain? Died by fire.

429

St Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, and Lupus, bishop of Troyes, visit Britain to fight the Pelagian 'heresy' which is running rampant through the British Church. They meet with a still extant Romano-British aristocracy (the principle proponents of the heresy), probably at Caer Mincip. The following year, in line with standard Roman imperial policy in Gaul, Vortigern brings in Saxon allies to help restore order along the borders.

St Germanus of Auxerre
The Alleluia Victory saw St Germanus lead the Britons to a bloodless victory over marauding Saxons, perhaps demonstrating that the country was finally managing its own defence

c.432 - 436

Aurelius Ambrosius of Caer Gloui is apparently a leader of a British council, which presumably answers to Vortigern. It is his decision to confirm the Irish Déisi as commanders of the Demetia area of the west coast in order to counter the threat of Irish raiders.

Vortigern acquiesces and assigns to Ambrosius 'Dinas Emrys and all the western lands', suggesting that Ambrosius becomes the architect for the defence of these western areas.

This is motivated by the council's reluctance to depend entirely upon Saxon mercenaries, with their constant demands for increased provisions, especially in an area in which they will be lightly supervised. The Déisi have already been settled for some time and are already self-supporting.

c.437/438

FeatureAccording to Gildas (see feature link) and Nennius when referring either to Aurelianus Ambrosius (Ambrosius 'the Elder') or his son, this family represents the Romanised nobility in Britain. As already mentioned, they appear to be based in the city of Caer Gloui and its surrounding territories.

They are the main opposition to Vortigern's pro-Celtic faction, and it is at this time that the increasing animosity between the two groups erupts into internecine warfare. The factions fight the Battle of Guolloppum (Cat Guolph, Wallop in Hampshire). The result is uncertain, but it is probably followed by a period of civil strife in eastern and southern Britain.

Romano-Britons burying treasure
With discord building in the country between about 420-450, many Romano-Britons left in a hurry, burying their wealth in the hope that they could return in better times to collect it

fl c.437 - c.446

Ambrosius 'the Elder'

Leader of Romanised opposition in Britain. Killed by plague.

c.440 - 441

Saxon foederati and laeti (settled largely on the east coast and Thames Valley, and probably increased in number since the barbarian raids on Britain of 409) take advantage of the unrest and openly revolt. As a cause they cite the failure of the British to supply them with provisions which may have been reduced to zero as a consequence of the civil war.

By 441, the Gallic Chronicles report large sections of Britain under Germanic control following the Saxon revolt: 'Britain, abandoned by the Romans, passed into the power of the Saxons'.

FeatureCommunications between Britain and Gaul are disrupted, vacated towns and cities are in ruin. The migration of Romano-Britons towards the west and to Armorica turns into a torrent (see feature link), with emigrants coming especially from Dumnonia and Cornubia. The country begins to be divided geographically, along factional lines.

c.446

St Germanus' second visit to Britain rids the country of the last of the Pelagian heresy when he visits Elafius' subjects. Elafius seems likely to be the leader of the territory of Caer Gwinntguic. Severe plague hits southern Britain in the same year, and unburied bodies are to be found in the streets of cities such as Caer Ceri.

Post-Roman Londinium
By the mid-fifth century Londinium had been largely abandoned following at least half a century of slow decay and a steadily dwindling population, but with trade virtually ceased the city's purpose was temporarily ended

450

Former Celtic tribal associations continue to re-emerge as independent territories and kingdoms develop over the course of the fifth century. There is evidence of the reuse and refortification of Iron Age hill forts, while the newly-created kingdom of Brycheiniog creates a capital on a crannog. Cadbury Congresbury in Somerset is producing substantial quantities of Mediterranean pottery, with smaller amounts also coming from South Cadbury as local leaders move their residences to more protected locations.

It is attacks by the Picts (under Drust mac Erp) and Irish Scotti which prompts Vortigern to hire Jutish and Angle mercenaries to fight them off. Hengist and Horsa are invited into Britain and land at Ypwines fleot (Ebbsfleet).

Traditionally, they fulfil the terms of their contract by fighting back the invaders and receive territory on which to settle on the island of Ynys Tanatus (Thanet) in Ceint (although according to British oral tradition, they are first given territory around the Wash and only gain Tanatus after their numbers are swelled by a massive influx of their countrymen).

c.455

According to later British tradition, Vortigern is removed from office by the council after trying to settle yet more foreign laeti in Britain, this time in the north-east, within the territory of the 'Kingdom of Northern Britain'. The high kingship is given to his eldest son, the able and popular Vortimer. Hengist, seeing that he no longer has a malleable ally, revolts and the territory or kingdom of Ceint is quickly overrun.

Map of Britain AD 450-600
This map of Britain concentrates on British territories and kingdoms which were established during the fourth and fifth centuries AD, as the Saxons and Angles began their settlement of the east coast (click or tap on map to view full sized)

fl c.455 - 457

Vortimer / Britu

Son of Vortigern. King of Gwent. Elevated by the council.

c.455

In the east of the island, the new and more serious foederati revolt sees a loss of territory to Jutes and Angles which is never regained by the Britons. The new arrivals have seen how weak are the British defences and begin a takeover of the kingdom of Ceint, aided by the many foederati settlements in key areas of the land, especially along the Saxon Shore forts and at Canterbury.

They are probably further encouraged by the chaos in Roman Gaul following the murder of the magister militum Aetius. Hengist's polyglot army fights British forces (traditionally commanded by Vortimer) at a place they name Ægelesthrep or Ægelsthrep (probably Aylesford or, less likely, Epsford, both in Kent). Vortimer's brother, Cadeyrn Fendigaid, ruler of the Paganes, is killed, as is Hengist's brother, Horsa.

Again according to later tradition, Vortimer is poisoned and his death allows Vortigern temporarily to reclaim the high kingship before he is faced by Ambrosius Aurelianus. Vortigern flees to his ancestral lands, 'at the fortified camp of Genoreu, on the hill called Cloartius', in Ercing, by the River Wye.

Vortigern meets Hengist and Horsa
Vortigern's policy of hiring mercenaries to help with Britain's defences was entirely in line with those of the late Roman period, but the chaos in the country - plague, mercenary revolt, civil war, frequent pirate raids - probably convinced Hengist and Horsa (shown here being greeted by Vortigern) that land was ripe for the taking

FeatureThere he meets his end when Ambrosius sets fire to his fortress with him inside it. Historically speaking, as much as extremely limited historical knowledge will allow, Aurelianus and his probable successor, Artorius (see feature link), seem to lead the fight to preserve the remaining British territory.

If Vortigern had titled himself 'Emperor of Britannia', then it seems reasonable to assume that his successors copy this, but after Artorius even the grounds for this supposition become reduced.

As if all that isn't enough, in the region of Deywr within the 'Kingdom of Northern Britain', Soemel is noted by the later royal pedigree as someone who 'separated Deira from Bernicia'. It seems to be Soemel who establishes negotiated terms of service, perhaps on a semi-independent basis.

FeatureThis time of chaos and confusion would be an ideal date for this event. At the same time, it would seem likely that Angles from Deywr are settling in Lindsey, which may still be under Romano-British control (see feature link).

fl c.457 - c.480

Ambrosius Aurelianus (Riothamus?)

Magistrate of Caer Gloui. Possible emperor of Britain.

FeatureGeoffrey of Monmouth proposes an almost entirely mythical account of the life of Ambrosius Aurelianus (see feature link). It ends with him being poisoned by Saxons, and his brother, Uther Pendragon, succeeds him.

Roman Aquae Sulis
An artist's impression of Roman Aquae Sulis, later known as Caer Baddan to the Romano-British and which retains that name in an altered fashion today (Bath)

Uther immediately sets out to attack those Saxons who are involved in his brother's death, after they have teamed up with Paschent (Pascent of Buellt), son of Vortigern, and a young nobleman of Ireland named Gillomanius (could this individual be the contemporaneous High King Lóeguire macNéill?).

FeatureUther defeats them all, killing Paschent and Gillomanius. Then Uther has to defeat a resurgent Octa (which scholars think might actually be the real name of Hengist of Kent) before enjoying a largely peaceful reign which leads up to the well-known death of Gorlois of Cornwall and the birth of Arthur Pendragon (with this event, according to legend, taking place in Tintagel, possibly a Dumnonian royal court at this time - see feature link).

457

After much hard fighting at a place called Crecganford (Crayford in Kent), and apparently heavy losses, the British abandon Ceint. Those Saxons who had joined Hengist in 455 also settle in what is becoming Kent, but they have little impact on the Jutish nature of the kingdom and leave few traces. Some of them instead push farther west to form early elements of the Middel Seaxe.

c.460

Occupation of Cadbury Castle is re-established, perhaps selected for its defensive capabilities in these troubled times. Its reoccupation is not in the form of a city or an established seat of government for successive rulers. Instead it seems to be somewhere which a British leader of stature, perhaps Ambrosius Aurelianus, or Riothamus (if they are not one and the same person), makes his personal headquarters.

Cadbury Castle
Even today, Cadbury Castle presents the image of a powerful and defensible location, with views across the whole of Somerset giving it a level of strategic importance

468 - 469

FeatureRiothamus, 'King of the Britons', crosses the English Channel to Gaul, bringing 12,000 ship-borne troops. 'Riothamus' is a title rather than a name, apparently meaning 'supreme king', which raises the possibility that he is Ambrosius Aurelianus (see feature link).

Riothamus remains in the country for a year or more (perhaps reinforced by Armorican Bretons), and advances to Bourges and even farther. Gaul's imperial prefect, the deputy of the Western Roman emperor, treacherously undermines him by apparently dealing with the Visigoths.

Caught by surprise by the Visigoths, Riothamus fights a drawn-out battle near Bourges but is eventually defeated when no imperial forces come to his assistance. He escapes with the remnants of his army into the nearby territory of the Burgundians, never to be heard of again.

A second battle soon follows which involves a combined army consisting of units of Romans, troops from Soissons under Comes Paulus, and Burgundian foederati, but they are also defeated, and Soissons and Armorica are cut off from Rome. The disappearance from history of Riothamus does not rule out the possibility of him successfully returning to Britain, but this would also be a reasonable date for Arthur to take command of Britain's defence as his successor.

Map of Western Europe between AD 481-511
This map shows the expansion of the Frankish kingdom between AD 481-511 and the presence of the Roman domain of Soissons (click or tap on map to view full sized)

477

Newly arrived Saxons under Ælle and his sons land at Cymens ora and beat off the Britons who oppose their landing (part of the proposed British kingdom of Rhegin), driving them to take refuge in the great forest called Andredesleag (The Weald). These Saxons quickly become known as the Suth Seaxe.

fl c.480 - 511

Artorius / Arthur Pendragon

Son of Uthyr/Uther & Eigr. Possible emperor of Britain.

There is a great deal of material which has been written about Arthur, or more properly Artorius, but there is little direct proof of his existence. For that reason several scholars have chosen to disbelieve entirely in his existence.

FeatureHowever, it seems impossible that an individual who makes such an impact on history that a swathe of later generations of kings name their sons after him, and who is included in a vast body of literature, could not exist. In an historical sense, it seems logical to place him in the last few decades of the fifth century, governing, or at least protecting, the country after Ambrosius Aurelianus and before his traditional date of death in 511 (or 537 by some sources), and perhaps claiming Cadbury Castle as his military headquarters (see feature link).

Traditionally, again, he is the son of Eigr (Ygerna), the daughter of Anblaud 'the Imperator', who has a connection to Ercing. He marries Guinevere, a medieval form of a Cornish name which is probably Veneva (and which descends as the modern Jennifer). She is a princess of Dumnonia, and possibly a sister to King Gerren.

Text
Sir Cligés is one of the less well-known knights of the round table, a poor knight because of his generosity who is rewarded by Uther Pendragon for his kindly ways and selflessness

Artorius himself is primarily a leader of cavalry, the best weapon of the British against the foot-slogging Saxons for as long as they can maintain their breeding stock of large warhorses. This is the force he leads against Geoffrey of Monmouth's Saxon leaders, Colgrin, Badulf, and Chelderic (the first of whom is sometimes linked to Deywr), while being supported by King Hoel of Brittany. This is also how he enters into legend.

486

Clovis of the Franks defeats, captures and executes Syagrius, the last Roman commander of Soissons. The Franks are now completely dominant in northern Gaul and Roman control has been thrown off. The death of Syagrius may also sends a signal to Saxons and other Germanic peoples that attempting to settle in Gaul is now hopeless, although the situation regarding migrants is hard to determine.

488

This is the last recorded entry for the Jutes of Kent in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle until 565. Fighting against the Britons move further westwards as they lose the south coast to the Suth Seaxe, Londinium to the Middel Seaxe and their Suther-ge, and the Upper Thames to the Thames Valley Saxons and Ciltern Saetan (despite the long resistance in the latter area which is offered by Cynwidion and Caer Mincip).

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Gawain of the Guotodin is perhaps one of the most famous of Arthur's 'Knights of the Round Table', but his origins seem to lay in the Lothian region, although his actual presence there seems to have been extremely limited

However, the influx of Saxon fighters may have slackened since 460, when the prospects for soldiers of fortune may have seemed better in the remnants of Roman Gaul, coupled with the fact that the Britons are apparently starting to gain the upper hand (especially in the traditional twelve victorious battles of Arthur in locations such as Lind Colun).

Despite this apparent improvement in fortunes, the sense of profound shock which has been dealt to British society by events since the first major Saxon revolt around 441 has triggered changes which will see the rapid mutation of the British language into 'Early Welsh' in the space of about a century.

Young people in this period who grow up with British and Latin languages may be hearing their grandchildren speaking a different tongue. Even the bardic tradition begins to break down, with the sounds and patterns of their words destroyed by the changes. Much of the Iron Age tradition is lost, although fragments do survive.

495

FeatureAccording to tradition, Cerdic lands in five ships on the south coast at Cerdices ora, together with Saxon and possibly some Jutish companions, and begins a takeover of the local Jutish, Saxon, and sub-Roman territories. Those Jutes and Saxons who are already settled there are apparently already referring to themselves as West Seaxe (possibly separate from the earlier Meonware settlers to their east).

Remains of Roman Canterbury
The Roman city of Canterbury was, by the sixth century, in ruins, with small Jutish houses built in between. The remains of the city wall can be seen all around them

The fighting begins on the same day as Cerdic 'arrives', suggesting that his potential power play begins in violence or immediate resistance. If Cerdic is in fact a Briton who rebels against the remaining central authority (which seems to be a distinct possibility), then given his location he could be serving as a magistrate of the former Belgae territory of Caer Gwinntguic until he seizes part of the territory in order to found his own little empire. It is another blow to British unity and defence.

c.496

FeatureArthur seemingly commands the defence of Mons Badonicus against a confederation of Saxon and Jutish warriors which is most likely led by Ælle of the Suth Saxe (see feature link). The British victory grants them a generation of relative peace and consigns the South Saxons to subsequent obscurity. All building and repair work on major new defensive works probably comes to an end with the victory.

There is now a gap in Germanic Bretwaldas for the next half century. This is probably due to the Mons Badonicus defeat and the long peace between the Britons and the Germanic coastal settlements. As there is no significant warfare, there can be no significantly superior war leader to push forward the Germanic advance.

FeatureQuite the opposite, in fact, as there seems to be a reverse migration of Angles and Saxons into continental Europe during the first half of the sixth century. Those who remain are firmly in control of the east (see feature link, right).

Aelle of the South Saxons
The coming of Ælle and his apparently pre-established status as bretwalda spelled eventual defeat and death for the Britons of modern Sussex, and quite possibly led to the siege of Mons Badonicus

Geoffrey of Monmouth has Arthur handing over the kingship to Constantine, but that would presume that the dating shown here is wrong. An alternative date (also given by Geoffrey) for Arthur's retreat to Avalon (Glastonbury in Dumnonia) is 542, which would provide an overlap between Arthur and Constantine, but would displace Arthur's fifth century activity against the Saxons. This revision may only work if his father, Uther Pendragon, actually does exist and has enjoyed the long reign given to him by Geoffrey.

fl c.530 - c.540

Constantine / Custennin ab Cado

King of Dumnonia. Successor to Arthur?

531

On the other side of the English Channel, the Franks of Austrasia conquer the Thuringians. Portions of territory are lost to Saxons, probably to the Continental Saxons, but there also seems to be a reverse migration of Germanics from the east coast of Britain, where the recent British victory at Mons Badonicus has cut them off from the acquisition of new lands.

These returning Angles and Saxons appear to be given land in Thuringia by King Theuderich. However, it is also at this time, in this century, that the migration of Britons from the mainland to Brittany is at its heaviest, weakening the British defensive position for the future.

fl 540

Aurelius Conanus

King of Caer Gloui.

? - 540

Vortiporus / Vortiporius

King of the formerly client Déisi of Dyfed.

c.540

Vortipor(us) of the Déisi of Dyfed is clearly a powerful figure in British history, as noted by his being included in the list of high kings of Britain. His name has been recorded in various ways, from the Latinised Vortipor itself, to the Gaulish Voteporix, and the (perhaps) more genuinely original Vortepor mac Aricol. Even this has been recorded in later Gaelic as Gartbuir mac Alchoil.

Marloes Sands
The coast of Pembrokeshire, part of the territory of the Demetae and the later kingdom of Dyfed, is a mixture of sandy beaches and daunting rocks (as at Marloes Sands, shown here), but there would have been many places for the Déisi to land and seize some territory

fl c.540 - 549

Malgo / Maglocun / Maelgwyn Gwynedd

King of Venedotia.

547

In the north, the British kingdom of Bernaccia is seized by Angles who have been serving as laeti. The ruling king, Morgan Bulc is forced out. He takes refuge with the Guotodin, shifting his power base there, but the loss leaves a gaping hole in the defences of the eastern coastline. It is the first such breach in the defences of the north, despite a century of such chaos to the south of Britain, and suddenly the defensive strength of the 'Men of the North' looks shaky.

549 - c.600

Following the death of the powerful Maelgwyn of Venedotia, and given the dearth of information about the northern British kings at this time, it is entirely plausible to place first the 'three unnamed tyrants' and then Keretic - see below - as kings in the north.

The Yellow Plague which sweeps through the country hits the Britons far harder than it does the invaders, finally shifting the balance of power in favour of the latter. Even the Picts seem to be affected by the plague, with the possible loss of at least one of their kings, Drust mac Munaith, in 552.

Saxon cremation urns from the area around London
By the mid-sixth century, Saxons were settling around Londinium, and using pots such as these for their cremation burials, while the seax blade is generally more Frankish than Saxon, but the city itself remained overgrown and in ruins for another half a century

It is odd to have such a gap so late in the list, but not if the next four rulers are from the poorly documented north. The Saxon advance in the south also lends weight to this hypothesis (which is proposed by Mick Baker).

Their westwards advance becomes much more rapid, with them soon swallowing much of Somerset and Dorset from Dumnonia. The Angles also advance, taking large swathes of central and northern Britain, and ending any realistic claim by the high kings of Britain to rule over the whole island.

Three unnamed tyrants now claim the high kingship. The names below are accepted as high kings in other references, and their dates fall conveniently into the gap left between the reigns of Malgo and Keretic, but they are not in the list formed by Geoffrey of Monmouth. To differentiate them, they are shown here in red text.

549 - 560?

Morgan Bulc

King of Bernaccia (to 547), and Guotodin (c.560 onwards).

552

The West Seaxe conquest of Caer Gwinntguic proves that the southern Saxons have recovered from their massive Mons Badonicus defeat. From this point onwards, the Britons continually lose territory until the modern borders of Wales are decided.

Frescoe in Venta Belgarum
A wall painting in the Roman palace of Venta Belgarum as reconstructed by Sean A MacKenna (1932-2012), an expert in excavation, conservation, structure, and restoration

560? - 579

Rhydderch Hen

King of Alt Clut.

579 - 590

Urien

King of North Rheged.

577

Caer Gloui, together with Caer Baddan and Caer Ceri, falls to the West Seaxe. With this collapse, the territory of Caer Celemion to the east is now totally isolated, and Dumnonia is cut off from any overland contact with other surviving British territories (and largely disappears from the overall story as far as the rest of the Britons are concerned).

Gwent and Pengwern now form the western frontier against further Saxon advances. The Hwicce take over the territory and eventually push its borders north into Worcestershire, at the expense of Pengwern.

580

Ebrauc (York) falls to the Angles of Deira. It is a major blow to British hopes of regaining control of the country and blots out at least two and-a-half centuries of Christian worship in one of the British Church's key bishoprics. It seems likely that, if he exists, Geoffrey of Monmouth's Archbishop Tadioceus of York flees the city with the rest of the nobility, holding his title as an exile, perhaps from Elmet.

590 - 613

Keretic / Keredic / Ceredig

Probably the same Ceretic as in Elmet.

595

FeatureThe Annales Cambriae (see feature link) records the death of Dynod of Dunoting in battle against the Bernicians. He is probably the last British ruler of the Pennines (unless the remnants of the territory are absorbed into North Rheged).

Gloucester's Roman walls
Despite the focus of settlement now being away from the old fort, Glevum's Roman walls were still very much in use in the sixth century, at least until the city's fall to the West Seaxe

His family are forced to flee to Powys, including his second son, the famous bard, Aneirin, while another son, Deiniol, is already in Gwynedd as the British Church's first bishop of Bangor.

By this time the Deiran and Bernician Angles are pushing far into British territory, and the Iclingas are expanding to the south with only Elmet and the probable Cynwidion and Caer Mincip alliance holding out in this region as enclaves until 616-617, and South Rheged until about 613.

c.597

The Gododdin is a long series of elegies composed from the early seventh century onwards which commemorates a force of Britons who assemble in Guotodin at this time. This force marches south to fight the Angles at Catreath and seemingly attacks the Roman fort near the strategic road junction now called Scotch Corner.

Ultimately, the battle is a disaster for the Britons. The flower of the northern British warrior class is decimated by the superior numbers of the Bernicians. Guotodin, as well as the other kingdoms of the north, probably including Elmet, are all fatally weakened by the defeat.

The Mote of Mark
The Mote of Mark is an early hill fort at Rockcliffe, overlooking Rough Firth, which was occupied in the sixth century, presumably by Rheged's nobility

603

The first meeting takes place between the Roman Church in the form of St Augustine of Canterbury, and the Celtic Church (the descendant of the former British Church of the Roman period). It is arranged when Æthelbert of the Cantware uses the Hwicce as intermediaries, and the meeting goes favourably for Augustine.

A second meeting is quickly arranged, although perhaps not in the same year. This takes place at Abberley in Worcestershire, probably close to the border between the Hwicce and Pengwern. It is attended by seven bishops of the Celtic church, along with many learned monks, mainly from Bangor-is-Coed (in Pengwern).

The meeting ends in disappointment for the Roman envoy, with no agreements of cooperation or unity being reached between the two churches, especially in regard to the important question of the calculations for Easter and evangelising the pagan English.

c.600 - 610

The territory of Caer Celemion is destroyed, probably by Ceawlin of the West Seaxe. It is the last British-held territory south of London and east of Dorset to fall. The town of Calleva Atrebatum is abandoned and its wells are filled in to prevent its citizens from returning.

Lowbury Hill in Berkshire
Caer Celemion's re-use of a former Roman temple at the top of Lowbury Hill (near Compton in west Berkshire) in the mid-500s as a look-out point ended with the territory's fall, but it did see further use as an Anglo-Saxon cemetery


c.597

Y Gododdin is a long series of elegies composed in Old Welsh from the early seventh century onwards, principally by Aneirin, son of Dunaut of Dunoting. It commemorates a force of Britons who assemble near Din Eidyn at this time in preparation for facing their powerful foe.

It includes not only the still-wealthy and aggressively strong Guotodin themselves, but warriors from all over the country, including 'three chiefs of Novant', clearly the nearby Novantae in post-Roman form (and also an unknown number of peasant militia who are not worthy of mention in a grand poem).

After attending 'churches for shriving, true is the tale, death confronted them' - clearly the British Church exists here - this force marches south to fight the Angles at Catreath (generally accepted as being modern Catterick, approximately eighty kilometres north of Ebrauc). It seems strange that they should march past Bamburgh on their way, the capital of the early Bernician kingdom, but perhaps not if they are making an attempt to reclaim the lost capital of the North, Ebrauc.

Britons versus Angles
The attack against the Angles at the end of the sixth century appears to have been a last-ditch attempt by the semi-Romanised Britons to rid the land of these invaders - and it failed, albeit gloriously

The battle seems to take place during an attack against the Roman fort near the strategic road junction now called Scotch Corner, by the south bank of the Swale at Catterick Bridge. Gwawrddur is praised for 'glutting black ravens on the wall of the fort, though he was not Arthur' (a term used to denote great slaughter of the enemy, but even so this warrior is still not a match for Britain's heroic battle leader of the previous century).

Ultimately, the battle is a disaster for the Britons. The flower of the northern British warrior class is decimated by the superior numbers of the Bernicians or Deirans. Guotodin, as well as the other kingdoms of the north, probably including Elmet, are all fatally weakened by the defeat.

?

?

Unknown survivor of Catreath. Ruled (truncated?) kingdom.

638

The events of around 597, as chronicled in the Gododdin, sound the death knell for the kingdom. Unable to recover from this, the Annals of Ulster note pithily 'the battle of Glenn Muiresan and the besieging of Eten' - Din Eidyn.

No more is mentioned, not even the outcome of the battle or subsequent siege. The monks on Iona record that the attacker is Domnal Brecc of Dál Riata, and defeat for the Britons is clearly implied as the battle leads to the siege. Din Eidyn apparently falls to Oswald of Bernicia (soon afterwards, it seems), and notably the Irish annals use a variant of its name - Eten - to help the case against 'Din Eidyn' being an invention of the Angles.


Roman Viroconium
The old Roman fort at Viroconium, one of their largest settlements, was substantially and skilfully rebuilt in timber between about 530-570, and then mostly dismantled by 600, during the period in which Pengwern may have achieved a semblance of independent Romano-British rule



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