CHAPTER II.

BEFORE THE NORMAN CONQUEST.

THE ROMANS AND THE ANGLO-SAXONS.

1. The economic history of early times is scanty. A scarcity of material, and a difficulty in fixing its meaning, compel the economic historian to pass lightly over large portions of our early history. The occupation of Britain by the Romans lasted for some three centuries and a half; and it was separated from the Norman Conquest by more than six hundred years. Yet the economic history of this long period, which exceeds that which has since elapsed, is of necessity compressed within narrow limits. It can only be written by the help of meagre indications, and by the lavish use of inference and surmise. A few facts of some certainty stand out from the dim background, but they are not sufficient to furnish the framework of a detailed story. In a number of cases we are forced to argue from the circumstances of later to those of earlier times, and thus to reason from the known to the unknown. Such a method, however necessary it may prove in default of other information, may easily mislead, and is a treacherous path for the unwary to tread. In other cases we interpret the statements of ancient writers on the actual condition of their times by our modern experience, and

we may read into their words a meaning which is not contained.

2. Roman civilisation in Britain resembled that found elsewhere.

It is true that in its broad features Roman civilisation in Britain seems to have corresponded to that, of which distinct traces survived in abiding influence on the customs and institutions of other nations, and accounts exist, written by competent observers. It is also true that allusions to the economic conditions and material resources of Britain itself, before and during the Roman occupation, may be found in Latin authors. But they are few and fragmentary; and it is not doubted that the Roman civilisation disappeared more completely here than from the Continent of Europe, and that the arrival of the Saxons involved a return to comparative barbarism. 3. In the Anglo-Saxon period anticipations of later institutions may be found.

It may be allowed that some of those economic institutions, like the Manorial System, which we find prevailing at the Norman Conquest, date back to the Saxon period, and in some places, and in some respects, had already attained a matured character. The invaders from Normandy, dislodging the previous occupants from positions of authority, continued to administer the organisations, over which they presided, pushing to completeness some tendencies already manifest. Similarly the Gilds, which became so prominent a feature of economic life in the towns, may less certainly be connected with Saxon anticipations. It is none the less true that the Norman Conquest marks a dividing line, and that, while, measured by duration in time, the six preceding centuries may seem a long period, they are

an episode of small importance in the life of the nation, if we judge them by what is known with any certainty of their economic significance.

4. The period before the Roman occupation is difficult even to imagine.

If we try to penetrate further, and grope our way by hesitating steps among the mists, which envelop the country before the Roman occupation, we may discover some scanty signs of economic activity. We may unearth remains of the rude implements of primitive peoples, and distinguish periods of antiquity by the material-the stone, or bronze, or iron-of which they consist. We may discern the dim figure of the short and dark Iberian, followed by the fair and tall Celt. We may imagine the pastoral life of wandering shepherds giving way in some places to agriculture, as different tribes settled to the more abiding occupation of those districts, from which they excluded their enemies. Before the Romans came they seem, in some parts of the country, to have domesticated various animals, and attained some degree of skill in tillage of the ground.* Some foreign commerce, at least in the exportation of the metals, had apparently arisen; and the Romans may have been tempted to their descent by rumours of the possibilities of mineral and agricultural wealth spread through the channels of trading intercourse. Some exchanges of rude articles, of personal adornment, perhaps, and of food, may have taken place in some districts between the members of the same, or different, tribes. But to compose from these scraps of information, or guesses, any adequate account of the economic condition of the country and the activities of its inhabitants, * E.g., in "marling" the land.

to show how in these primitive days men obtained their income and how they expended it, is a task as hard as it is unsatisfactory.

5. The Romans introduced an advanced civilisation With the triumph of the Roman arms an advanced civilisation made its entrance, and here, as in other districts of the world, the Romans left behind indelible traces of their greatness. It is true that their withdrawal some four centuries later was followed by a period of disturbance, which involved in irretrievable ruin many, if not most, of their institutions; and in this respect our country was unlike parts of the European Continent, such as France, over which Rome exercised her sway. Recent research has attempted to rescue from the destruction wrought by the Anglo-Saxon invaders relics of Roman organisation, and to trace back to their anticipations in Roman times some of the prominent institutions of a later period. It seems possible that in this, as in other departments of historical research, inquiry may revert to the older explanation of the facts; and, in any event, the opinions we may form must rest largely on conjecture.

6. They left behind material remains of their greatness.

The material remains of Roman greatness were more lasting, and the least observant of men could hardly fail to be impressed by their testimony to the high level of Roman civilisation. The traveller, who to-day visits Rome itself, finds among the many sights of that amazing city few more impressive than the remains of the aqueducts stretching across the deserted Campagna, and in some cases bringing, as in imperial times, those copious supplies of fresh water in which Rome

equals or surpasses the most modern of cities. Yet a more impressive sight, recalling more vividly the vast power of the empire, may be discovered in our own land, in the ruins of the wall extending from sea to sea across the North of England. When we contemplate the remains of the bridge which spanned the stream at one place, when we scrutinise the ruts of the chariot-wheels at the gates of the camp at another, or when we trace the line of the wall following the edge of the hills, we note with admiring wonder how the authority of Rome and her genius for grand enduring construction made themselves felt at these extreme boundaries of her vast dominions. We cannot fail to feel the greatness of the people. The long lapse of time has not sufficed to destroy such memorials of their power. The tessellated pavements and heating apparatus of their villas, the ruins of their castles, the foundations of their military roads, like Watling Street, which sometimes followed, but also confirmed for ever, the line of older causeways, recall the fact that for three centuries and a half they occupied Britain.

7. Their economic activity was shown in various ways.

Their rule may have been less firmly established and their civilising influence less dominant in some parts of the country than in others. Their main strength may have lain in the south. In the north the great wall, or series of defences built by successive emperors, was intended to arrest the incursions of the Pict, and in the west the tribal institutions of the Celt offered apparently a stubbornness of resistance which insured the survival of some of their features to Saxon and even later times. It is possible that the Roman civilisation may have affected deeply those sections of the population alone