Romans, Saxons and Vikings in Britain
History · Key Stage 2 · The School
Three waves
Romans invaded in 43 CE and stayed nearly four centuries, leaving roads, towns, baths and Latin. Anglo-Saxons arrived from the 5th century as the Romans withdrew, bringing the language English grew from. Vikings raided from 793 CE and then settled, especially in the north and east under the Danelaw.
What they left
Look at a map of England and the names tell you: -chester and -caster from Latin castra, a camp (Manchester, Lancaster). -ton and -ham are Anglo-Saxon. -by and -thorpe are Norse (Grimsby, Scunthorpe). The days of the week are Anglo-Saxon gods; much of the road network is Roman.
Invaders or settlers?
Both, and which word you choose is an INTERPRETATION rather than a fact. Vikings raided monasteries violently and also farmed, traded across three continents, and settled permanently. A history that only says 'raiders' and one that only says 'traders' are each missing half the evidence.
Look at place names near you. -chester, -caster and -cester come from Latin castrum, a fort: Roman. -ham, -ton and -field are Anglo-Saxon for homestead, farm and clearing. -by, -thorpe and -thwaite are Norse: Viking. Now look at a map of England and see where each clusters. The Danish -by names crowd into the north and east — which is the Danelaw, still visible on a road atlas.