Britain After Rome // The Age of Arthur - History Documentary 

It's trilogy time again. This is the first part in a new series spanning the epic twilight of Post-Roman Britain. One of the least well recorded periods in history. It was originally going to include the kingdoms of the Old North but the script was over 10,000 words so that's going to be the next video, and then there's going to be a third one too. I visited many of the places involved in this video and have been/ am going to to many more for the next two. Please like and subscribe if you enjoyed the video and why not share it with a like minded friend who loves history. Let me know any questions or concerns in the comments section & thanks for watching! Watch my latest history documentary here:- ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c3Hq6UaFQqk.html

Amazing that a single man makes better documentaries than most of the so called professionals.

Your productions put shame on all these so called documentaries on mainstream TV and cable channels. Thank you so much.

This channel is really GREAT. Who need TV when you have RU-vid and channels like this? Watching from my hotel in Thailand and the TV is crap, thanks for this upload.

This channel is what The History Channel was supposed to be before it got taken over by truckers and pawn shop owners.

Just want to thank you for your hard work in producing this. I’m a first language speaking Welsh/Old Briton who has an Irish father (who doesn’t have one of them though, right:)) and as such have always been aware of how pre Anglo Saxon Britain has been largely ignored by mainstream media. Your enthusiasm is paramount and your works are meticulous and are as masterful as any big budget documentary I’ve seen. Diolch yn fawr/go raith maith agat.

This channel reminds me of what the History channel used to be when I was growing up. Great informative documentaries. Gives me hope for humanity. Keep up the great work.

I've only recently found this channel. And as an avid watcher of historical documentaries these are among the best I have ever watched. Very informative and well edited

Wow, you've put in so much work and dedication into this by personally going to many of these sites and documenting them yourself! That's amazing and I'm sure it's given you a level of understanding and depth about these places that one just can't get from books alone - it definitely shows in your documentary. You also do an amazing job of connecting Roman Britain to the early middle ages and make it so much easier to understand for those of us (like myself) who don't know much about this era. Thanks so much for sharing your love of early Britain with us...really looking forward to parts II and III!

There is something about this period in both Britain and Ireland that is simply magical to put it.

I think the impact that we Welsh have had on the history of these islands, is painfully understated. Great video 👍🏻

They were the watchers on the wall, the shields that guarded realms of men.

This reminds me to re-read Bernard Cornwell's books about Arthur.

I'm on the high end of the autism spectrum and tend to focus on a few subjects very vigorously. I have been fascinated by Roman Britain and post Roman British history for years. I devour it and find it so interesting. Please keep the videos coming. Thank you.

This channel has quickly become my favorite history based channel on youtube. The length and depth the videos have, as well as really good books mentioned and shown (I've ordered quite a few already, thanks for showing me some great literature!) makes this channel fantastic! Thank you for uploading these, and heres to many more like it! Keep up the good work man.

I live a few miles from Birdoswald, Hadrian’s Wall is a beautiful part of the country! Great video once again!

You deserve to be recognized for your incredible diligence and scholarship. In a world where far too many content creators seem to think everyone likes a shallow TikTok style, you give us the meat of a university course. Keep it up!

Not even a quarter of the way through the video, and I've already learned so much more than I'd heard before, especially the unintended consequence of broad scale Roman citizenship. I'm ready now for the rest! Edit: I suspect I'm going to be watching this one several times.

Your work is superb. Even without financial and technical infrastructure you outmatch many other producers by sheer scientific quality of the content, your good narrative presentation and intellectual objectiveness. Thank You and all the best mate.

I'm very proud to say I walked the length of hadrians wall as part of my Prince's trust award. It was incredibly interesting, and an experience I will never forget.

Thanks, Pete. My paternal grandfather, Dennis Ambrose Kelly was born in Newtown, Wales in 1884, grew up in Ireland, and emigrated to the US around 1900, joined the Sixth Cavalry in South Dakota, mined the same vein of coal in Pittsburgh that his forbears did at its other end in the UK, was a gifted singer and died in 1935, 22 years before I was born. So much change in two generations. I’ve not traveled outside the States, but I hope to reach your shores one day and so appreciate your wonderfully informative channel, along with others. I continue to learn about history of the land and its people, deeply moved by the powerful currents affecting all. Many thanks to you for your research and presentation. ✌️🙏🖖

Did you film all the B roll footage of all those hillforts? That must have been time consuming, but awesome. This documentary is grade A material. What a huge effort you've put in to produce a really amazing and informative documentary. Love it. I hope this stuff gets the recognition it deserves.

This is one of the best documentary channels covering world history on RU-vid.

This shames all the current history "documentaries" on TV right now. Excellent narration, informative and no bias.

Oh boy, here we go! This is going to be good.

Yes! There are so few documentaries regarding this period. There need to be more. Thank you

Arthur has always fascinated me. 1 man holding an entire world together, then he dies and it all goes with him.

These are "must watch" documentaries. I don't watch local TV and this is perfect for my tastes in viewing. I love history and biblical archaeology documentaries. This has become my "go-to" research library. Thank you for making all this invaluable information available to us.

Your videos are great. They do much more than just scrape the surface of the subject. They give a lot of information. Thanks for making it!!!

Trust me, most of us don't mind the fact that the commercials are necessary. Your documentaries are amazing and incredibly well done. No apology needed, though it's incredibly courteous of you!

A fantastic documentary! The wealth of information in it is astounding, especially compared to many "mainstream" productions that increasingly seem to cater to viewers whose erudition roughly equals that of nomadic herdsmen. I can only imagine the amount of work and time it took to compile all relevant information, and am grateful for that effort. Many thanks!

I believe that Ambrosius Aulelianus probably was “Arthur.” He was probably descended from an ancestor who was a Roman citizen and official of some sort. His parents and grandparents may have given their children Roman names, based on names that had been in their family for several generations. On the other hand, he probably had a British name, or nickname, that was used by his British subjects--probably derived from some form of modern Welsh “arth” or Bear. The bear is a ferocious and strong animal, very determined in a fight, and would therefore make a good nickname for a courageous warlord. That would explain why in Welsh and Cornish tradition he was known as “Arthur,” not Ambrosius Aurelianus. One piece of evidence for this is that Nennius, writing in the 9th century A.D., gives the same list of victorious battles as victories of “Arthur” as the list of victories that the 5th century chroniclers attributed to Ambrosius Arelianus. Britons, many of whom in the period could read or write or speak Latin, could hardly be expected to use a stuffy, long Roman name for their hero. Instead they called him by his British name. And that is the name that stuck to him in subsequent legend and story.

Ah, the Dacians; they had curved swords. ...CURVED swords...

There are some issues I think ought to be addressed, perhaps in upcoming videos: -The Edict of Carcalla is presented in a somewhat one-dimensional way here. True, it did weaken the military to a significant extent, as it removed a major motivation for joining the army. But crucially it also removed a major motivation to fight the Empire. If once peace is restored you become a full Roman citizen, plus you get the benefits of Roman infrastructure, plus squabbles between your chieftain and the one of the tribe on the other side of the hill become irrelevant... Well, you might just decide that it's not all bad now the Romans are here if you're legally one of them.That edict took the air out of lots of resistance movements, leading to a situation where troops were hardly needed to keep the Pax Romana. -Borders such as Hadrian's Wall and the Limes in Germany were rather peaceful most of the time. One reason is that they said in very loud words, "OK, we Romans have what we wanted. You leave us be, we leave you be." It wasn't always true, of course, but normally for long enough to have decades of, if that, minor skirmishes. The other reason is, the borders were never closed to merchants and rarely to small, only lightly armed groups of migrants, such as families peacefully moving into the Empire. Getting wine to Scotland wasn't easy, but at the Roman garrisons you could buy it -and you could sell your own stuff there. "We can crush you any time we want" was an important factor in maintaining the Pax Romana, definitely. But peace and comparative wealth by citizenship for all free people inside and huge volumes of trade were at least as important. Btw: I'm writing this before I finish watching. Forgive me if I harped on things that are yet to come up.

Thank you for all the hard work you put into making these documentaries. It absolutely shows that you are truly passionate about history and take great care in the production of these videos. Your narration is top notch! Thank you!

i could listen to your documentaries all day, every day, you are so calm yet you convey your enthusiasm for your subject so well, reminiscent of the great documentary makers pre- this world of instant gratification and soundbites with no substance

Hadrian's wall was surplanted for a time by Antionne's Wall

These videos are honestly amazing! I’ve just stumbled across them but they are way more informative and entertaining than the history shows on TV. I often put them on as I’m going to sleep and end up sat upright in bed enthralled in the video. Thank you to the creator of this channel. You’ve got my sub 👍

One of my favorite history channels this is. I'm a self proclaimed youtube history channel expert ... so take that for what it is. You are one of the best. When I watch your channel it's like listening to a story as opposed to some dude droning on about stuff.

Britain is such a fascinating place. One day I tour the entire Island looking for historical sites and monuments. One day.

Another possible candidate for "King Arthur" is a British "warlord" named Riotamus, a real historical figure of the late 5 century mentioned by a Gaul bishop Sidonius Apollinaris. Active c. 467 he came possibly from Britain ("from the Ocean") to aid Emperor Anthemius (467 - 473) against the Visigoths of Eurich and participated in a battle in which he was defeated but managed to escape the battlefield and find custody in the modern Burgundy. Any traces of his fate disappear from historical records afterward. Although, Sidonius is quoted to title him "a king", the word itself was non-existent and clearly stems from the German "könig" or Scandinavian "konung" (both are the same word). The Roman equivalent was "rex" and meant some rank or administrative title (just like "dux" from which "duke" came) so whether Sidonius referred to him by his actual rank or the one he thought would suit Riotamus best is unclear but "king" and "kingdoms" in relation to the era are more confusing than otherwise. But this account undoubtedly points to the Roman heritage of both Riotamus and any other prominent British figure who continued to consider themselves servants and subjects of Rome long after 410 and possibly as long as Romanized segments existed in Britain. Also, the translation matters: "king of Britons" or "king of the Britons"? The former implies only a faction, and the latter represents all the people of Roman Britain which may have or not have been the case.

The only problem at Birdoswald is that a bend of the River Irthing is gradually eating away the southern ridge that the Roman fort of Camboglanna stands on, and unless some serious shoring up isn't done in the next few years, the whole site will one day topple down into the river. We have far too few Roman buildings in Britain to allow the loss of such an important site. 😢

I believe that after the Romans leave Brittania, a great lost of facilities occurred. Homes, roads, waterlines and society development.

I did not like history at school. Now i love listening to history.Thank you so much God bless

I am so glad that I discovered this channel. This is what a history channel should be all about. Well done.

The guy who makes these videos is the hero we need but don't deserve. Great work these documentaries are awesome. You got my sub.

I saw in a 1936 Encyclopedia Brittanica, I still have it, that the coast of England wasn't the same in for instance the time of ancient Rome, as now. That's because of sections of land having been eroded away, into the sea. It also showed a map of those sections of land.

Finally, I've discovered a video worth watching, with a narrator who speaks at normal and relaxed pace and does not sound like Minnie or Micky Mouse on speed in haste. Thankyou so much for this professional presentation. Priceless, remarkable.

Love your documentaries. Well made, interesting, and - you’re lucky to have a great voice, and you read well. Thank you. Keep making them - I’ll put up with the ads because the stories are so good!

Excellent documentary on an often overlooked period in Europe's history.

This video was so freaking amazing! Great job! I love all your videos and ancient britian is my favourite time period. You do it such justice and with an amazing narration as well really top notch videos! If i could give you a million thumbs up i would!

A good candidate for Arthur is Arten ap Seisyll of Cardigan, 730. whose son was Dyfnwallon, whose son was Meurig whose daughter was Angharad, who was married to Rhordi Marwr. Their children were Anarawd ap Rhordi, whose son was Elise Ap Anarwd. Their daughter was Prawst Verch Elise who was married to Seisyllt Ap Ednowain, whose son was Lewellyn. Rhordi was also father of Cadell and Merfyn. Cadell sired Hywell, father of Owain, who married Angharad, daughter of Lewellyn ap Merfyn. Their son was Maredydd whose daugher was Anghared, wife of Lewelln. Their child was Gruffydd, who was married to Ealgah who was defeated by William. Ealgah was daughter of Algar, daughter of Godiva. Ealgah's mother was Elgifu, daugher of Ethelred who descended from Alfred the Great. Gruffydd and Elgah's daughter was Nest, who was married to Osborn Fitz Richard (a Norman), whose daughter was Nest, whose daughter was Sybil de Neufmarche married to Miles of Glouchester, whose daughter was Bertha, whose daughter was Sybil de Braose whose son was William de Ferrers, married to Agnes (daughter of Hugh of Chester, grandson of Henri I., whose son was Strongbow.married to Eva McMurrough, daughter of Mora O'Toole and Dermott (who traces to Brian Boru. 26 generations of daughters and sons leads to my mother.

was just at hadrians wall two weeks ago at sycamore gap never been so wet in my life i can see the romans posted there thinking wtf are we here for still very wild and untamed loved it going back when the weather is better

Watching your videos is like having a lunch with an old girlfriend. Comfy, witty and with wiff of sense of times long gone by. Thank you.

I love the mystery of period in British history. Thanks for putting together a great episode on this.

- I'm getting addicted to your voice and this channel! - great work! /M

Brand new viewer here, History Time, and a lifelong history buff. I’m blown away by the quality of this first video I’ve seen in your channel. Content, delivery, historicism, visuals - all put many professional productions to shame. Instant subscribe. Thankyou. I’m looking forward to more and have also subscribed to your Voices of the Past sister site. What a great idea that is - the site I’ve longed for all my life. Applause all round, including to your sponsors.

Fascinating times. Reoccupation of hill forts abandoned for centuries. Would be like us reoccupying ruins from the 1600s

History was never like this at school. I love it, thank you for posting!

I love your work so much but I pay for FB so I don’t get advertisements and here I am still having to see them

The castle of Camelot was first mentioned in a french rendition of king Arthur

You have the most perfect voice for documentaries :D

As an American I literally laughed out loud when you put up the picture of the two cheeseburgers😂🤣😂

What a brilliant and succinct account of this history. Why can’t *any* TV documentary manage this level of accuracy?

Hallo from Denmark . What a great video. Yes roman culture died out . And angles, the saxons and jutes came in and settled down among the native britains. But dna evidence carried on bodys from graves tellan interresting story. Many anglo-saxons had Celtic ancestors. So the romano britains went from under roman influence , and they came germanic cultural infuence . So they basicly germano britains.... They simply addapted germanic, language and religion . So Angles, Saxons and jutes simply merged with the local population and the anglo Saxon culture was born ... And their language eventuly evolved into english . So I basicly writing in modern version af their language . Yes roman towns fell into decline . Because people simply moved outside the roman towns and built new towns on roman ruins. So yes the towns continued in Wood .... And if King Arthur exsisted . He was nothing more then a local then . Maybe a powerfull one that maybe dominated a huge area and had many local Kings were submitting to overlord. Now Gildas does mention the battle of Mount Badon as huge battle between britains and saxons . But my personal theory is that Mount badon was local battle between the historical Arthur and other British King and their Saxon allies. A battle tradition claims where Arthur defeated his enemies. But we Will newer know.... But a great video . I like it 👏👏👏 👍🏻...

Liked and subscribed. Good job in making the video. I'm a crazy Mexican living in England, and I get excited to think I have visited half of the places mentioned here, and I look forward to visit the other half. cheers!

You've made some of the best informative videos I've ever seen. Thankyou 👍🤩

Show what ads you want. Great content, great channel. Subscribed!

I just found your channel and watched this documentary. Outstanding work ! I subscribed and look forward to more spectacular documentaries ! Thank you

The bust shown as Ammianus Marcellinus at 14.07 is actually Constantine the Great

You can just hear Arthur screaming for Merlin

Superb! This is one of my all time favorite channels. Much better than many of the "main stream" documentary channels out there. Thanks again!

This was fantastic! Finally I see the hard work of somebody willing to stitch so much together, yet also refrain from making assumption... this is the best way for me to learn or find material to ponder. Thank you!!

the quality of your work is amazing, thank you

You did a pretty good job of making this video in you're own. I have seen a lot of this kind of vid's but this one stands pretty much above them. Hello from the netherlands near the river what the romans called Isala

Phenomenal job, the research is astounding. Bravo

Fantastic, love the longer more in depth film.

You do such an amazing job!!I love all your work! And learn so many things I never knew. Keep it up these videos are wonderful.

Just stumbled across your channel... wow oh wow!! Instant sub! Your information and editing skills put history channel to shame 👍

Wow! This video was extremely well produced. You certainly did your homework to present this video. Congrats!! 👍

Superb, many thanks. Extremely well produced, researched and narrated.

Always super excited to see new uploads. You do phenomenal work, and this is a time period I am very interested in.

Another great video. I really enjoyed the Skystone books by Jack Whyte about this period. His spin on the Arthur Legend is the most sound to my thinking. I highly recommend the series. Thank you for your service, History Time !

These documentary are excellent. The voice, the speed, the vocabulary, the tone, and of course, the subject, are all very, very good. I always give preference for History Time.

Your voice is super relaxing. I listen at work and try learn something while I'm working and the voice narrating has me super relaxed and at peace Appreciate the content!! As an American, the accent is unknown to me. I assume some part of the UK?

The mainstream historians still portrait Arthur II (King of Glamorgan and Gwent) as a myth.

For a one man team your work is really amazing! Appreciate you mate

I enjoy this host's manner of speaking- both learned and amicable. An excellent documentary overall.

For me you are the best history Channel in the world.. you are the best (keep up the good work)

I think it’s really cool my mom’s relatives in Cornwall still live there and even speak Cornish! I understand Cornish from my mother but don’t speak it.

For a one man show, you're doing excellent. 👍👍

I usually never click on anything labeled "documentary". Since documentaries produced for television always are devoid of information. They are just made to create a sense of wonder, with a commentator that just asks questions again and again insinuating there will be an answer later on if one just watches a bit more, including all the ads. Gave this one a chance though since it was a way more interesting topic than documentaries usually have, and quickly forgot about the issue as I enjoyed it and was submerged in the documentary. It was packed with information and one get a quick but overarching picture of the transition from roman Britain to saxon Britan. I've got the explanation to why it was different when the commentator suddenly apologized for breaking the fourth wall, and I realized this was actually produced by a youtuber. TL;DR - Great work!

Great documentary. I've been reading about Arthur for some decades now. However, you shed a new light on matters for me. Keep up the good work!

31:45 Carlisle... North Western England... not the Eastern edge of Hadrian's Wall.

Wait you make these videos? I thought this was legit some doc from like a channel from tv. HO HELL i never subscribed so FAST in all my life!!!!!!! Omg

All the mystery about this period, the birth of a hundred lines of kings who lie now forever buried in History is what makes this period so magical.

Love your commentary of your sponsoring for a sponsor, real class,Thank You ,! Two Thumbs UP, !!-!!

Interesting that you have Frisian settlements. We, in the Netherlands, have wondered where the Original Frisians went. We know they went, and were replaced by the current Frisians, descending from northern Germany and Denmark.

You sponsor away this is excellent!

WOW! Incredibly well done and incredibly informative! You've given me an enormous amount of information most of which I had no idea of!