Bloomsbury Academic (2025) h/b 209pp £67.50 (ISBN 9781350523180)
It is a matter of some satisfaction to classicists that the great cities established by the Romans in Britain, pre-eminently London and York, have continued to serve as major urban centres in the modern world. London is, of course, the national capital of England. York is a thriving city in the north: a few years ago there was even talk of moving the House of Lords to York, although that idea has now faded away.
What many people overlook is the remarkable history of those two cities in the post-Roman period. London (Londinium) and York (Eboracum) were largely abandoned after the Roman withdrawal in AD 409. Emporia were established close to the old Roman cities in the mid-seventh century, as trade with the Continent expanded. The Vikings (being traders as well as raiders) played a major part in the growth of international trade. An emporium was established to the west of Roman London, just to the north of what is now the Strand. This was known as Lundenwic. That name appears in the laws produced by two Kentish kings in around 680. It continued to appear in charters up to 857. The emporium flourished and grew to cover an area of some 60 hectares. A grid of roads was laid out.
But after a century or so, trade with the Continent reduced. Lundenwic diminished in importance. In 842 and 852 it was sacked in Viking raids. The turning point for London came with the rise of Wessex in the ninth century. After defeating the Danes, King Alfred established a new city, Lundenburh inside the Roman walls of Londinium. Lundenburh acquired a mint, a wharf and monumental buildings. Alfred also revitalised other former Roman cities, in particular, Winchester and Canterbury.
York has a similar history. The Anglians who settled in Northumbria established a port downstream from the Roman city at the end of the seventh century. The port was known as Eoforwic, meaning ‘wild-boar town’. A thriving emporium developed. But, as trade slowed down in the late eighth and ninth centuries, Eoforwic (like Lundenwic) diminished in importance. In 864-865 a large Viking army landed in Thanet. They stayed there for the winter and then made their way up to York. The Vikings removed the Northumbrian rulers and installed a puppet king. They ignored Eoforwic and established a new city, Jorvic, inside the old Roman walls.
Hodges’ book is, as the title suggests, a study of how Anglo-Saxon towns began and how they developed during the Viking age. The aspect of particular interest to classicists is what happened to the major Romano-British cities after Britain dropped out of the Empire. The answer appears to be that they were abandoned for over four hundred years. They were then revived under the influence of King Alfred in the south and the Vikings further north.
Post-Roman Britain is a fascinating topic in its own right. But for classicists with wider horizons, this book has much more to offer. Drawing heavily on archaeological evidence, the author tells the story of how the Angles, Saxons and Vikings first abandoned and then built upon the towns which they had inherited from Rome. The book is heavy reading, as it is packed with archaeological details. But for many readers, including this reviewer, it is well worth the effort. The book brings to life the period when post-Roman Britain was transformed into England, Scotland and Wales.
Rupert Jackson