Post-Roman Britain

This map of Britain concentrates on the British kingdoms which were established during the fourth and fifth centuries, as the Saxons and Angles began their settlement of the east coast.

At this stage modern England did not exist (the name derives from Engle-land, in use from no earlier than the mid-sixth century to describe the Land of the Angles), neither did Wales (a Saxon name which means foreigner), and Scotland was either known as Caledonia (coined by the Romans), or Pictland after the majority of its population. The Irish Scotti tribe, the Dal Riada, were only just beginning to move onto the western coast of Pictland, around Argyll.

Most of the kingdoms shown have some historical basis, but some, especially those in the south and east of what later became England, are less definite. Their borders remain mostly or entirely conjectural, and the existence of some of them is based on fragmentary evidence. The historical validity of each kingdom (where there is doubt) is mentioned in its king list text.

Images and text copyright © P L Kessler. An original feature for the History Files.