By Ken Dark

Bloomsbury Academic
ISBN: 9781350670921

The end of Roman rule brought great changes to Britain, but much of what happened in the centuries that followed remains a mystery. Focusing on western Britain, this book draws on archaeological discoveries to explore its forgotten kingdoms, their extensive trading networks, and the role of Tintagel as a royal stronghold.

What happened at the end of Roman Britain, and even what exactly we mean by the phrase ‘the end of Roman Britain’, are controversial questions for archaeologists and historians. This is no recent controversy – it has persisted throughout my whole professional career, having started well before that, and shows no sign of being resolved. In summary, current opinions range between those who argue that the Roman period in Britain ended in a catastrophic collapse of society, culture and economy in the early fifth century, and those who think that the end of Roman Britain was a slow process in which much of Roman culture survived into the fifth and sixth centuries. There are many nuances in between.

Despite the scarcity of written records from this period (or perhaps because of it), there remains considerable interest in the history of post-Roman Britain, which encompasses the fifth to seventh centuries. This book examines the period from the perspective of western Britain, drawing on the writings of Gildas as well as archaeological evidence to explore its kingdoms and rulers. It concludes with the almost obligatory chapter on King Arthur. Those interested in early medieval Britain will enjoy reading it.

“Tyrants and Traders grapples intelligently with some contentious issues, engages holistically with the latest archaeological research, and puts forward some intriguing, if ultimately unprovable, hypotheses about Britain’s most mysterious historical era.” ~ review by Francis Young in The Telegraph

Kenneth Dark is a professor at the University of Cambridge, where his research focuses on the first millennium AD, in both Britain and the Eastern Mediterranean.

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