Britain

Here will be found a miscellany of chronology lists associated with the Island of Britain that don't seem to have an appropriate home elsewhere in the archive. Much is of literary and mythological interest, and much of the rest is of value in filling out an understanding of important institutions within England.

Detailing traditional and mythological British rulers, a listing of Roman governors, Cinque Ports, Count of the Britains, Counts of the Saxon Shore, Dux Britanniarum, Prime Ministers, the (English) Princes of Wales, the Lord High Stewards of England, and the Lord Mayors of London.
HIGH KINGS OF BRITAIN And then there was Geoffrey of Monmouth... I have been asked a number of times if I could provide a listing of the ancient and traditional High Kings of Britain. I can, of course - but I have been somewhat reluctant to do so, since the Regnal Chronologies archive is intended to detail historically accurate data as much as possible. I do, though, include legendary and mythological information here and there (the alleged High Kings of Ireland in ancient times is a good example), and there seems no convincing reason to ignore Britain. So, here it is. Has this list any value? I believe so - it displays a great deal of what was believed to be true, at least in part, as late as only two centuries ago. It's literary interest is quite extensive - here will be found many of the great names in British literature and mythology. And there is even some shadowy historical value to be gotten, if approached very circumspectly - I suspect that a number of the names herein are vaguely remembered early chieftains. Throughout the list there are links provided to other sections of the Regnal Chronologies archive, so that close comparison between this list and what is thought or known to be actually the case may be made.
            So, what is being described here? The legend relates that a group of Trojan refugees led by Brutus came to Britain in 1149 BCE and wrested control of the island from its previous inhabitants, the Giants, who were led by Gogmagog (note a strong set of parallels between this and the story of the Milesian invasion of Ireland). Hitherto the island had been known as Albion, after the Giants’ first king, but Brutus renamed it after himself. Brutus’ three sons (Locrinus, Camber, and Albanactus) gave their names to the three main divisions of the island - Loegria, Cambria, and Albany (known today as England, Wales, and Scotland respectively). In addition, the term Northumbria originally referred to all Britain north of the Humber, including Scotland, whilst Southumbria was all of southern Britain, including Wales. Within these broad divisions there were a number of cantons, or “tribes”, which later became kingdoms in their own right. The following list identifies the specific areas within Britain over which the kings ruled directly, though no attempt has been made to show the overseas territories that some of them also controlled.


BRITANNIA, the Roman Governors The Roman occupation of Britain is referred to elsewhere, but only in terms of an acknowledgement of the Imperial presence. Here I should like to set out the various governors of the British provinces (there were more than one at various times), and insert as appropriate those individuals who held Britain as an independent polity, while they pursued (usually unsuccessfully) the ultimate goal of mastering the entire Principate.

COMES BRITANNIARUM (Count of the Britains) The Comes Britanniarum or "Count of the Britains" (plural because Britain had, by the fourth century, been divided into five provinces), was one of the supreme officers in late Roman Britain, along with the Count of the Saxon Shore and the Dux Britanniarum. Unlike the Dux and the Count of the Saxon Shore, who had static commands responsible for the frontier, the Count of the Britains commanded a number of cavalry units and had authority to go anywhere in the British Isles, without authorization from the governors or military officials.

COMES LITORIS SAXONICI (Count of the Saxon Shore) One of the highest-ranked military sub-governors of Roman Britain, the Count of the Saxon Shore controlled most of Kent and the coast of southern and eastern Britain. There were nine main forts and (until the 400's) a sizable navy under his command charged with defending Britain's shores from Germanic raiders and invaders.


DUX BRITANNIARUM (Commander of the Britons) Highest ranking military officer in Roman Britain after the mid 200's. The Dux Britanniarum, based at York, was responsible for defending northern Britain against the Picts and other invaders; as such, the Wall of Hadrian and the Antonine Wall were under his jurisdiction. Among the troops assigned to him were large contingents of Sarmatian auxilia; these cavalrymen may eventually have evolved into the "knights" of Arthurian Britain. The office of Dux was held by such people as Paternus of the Votadini and Coel Hen (Old King Cole), from whom many of the dynasties of Dark Age Britain are descended.


The PRIME MINISTERS The office of Prime Minister, like that of other institutions of the British constitution, has emerged by process of evolution over the course of centuries, rather than having been created at a single moment in time. Indeed, the office itself as an official organ of Government dates only to 1905, although the term was used and understood in an approximately modern sense for nearly 200 years before that time. This list is, therefore, a tentative one, and open to large degree of interpretation. Before about 1500, it is simply a record of those individuals who were regarded as having, for whatever reason, the most influence with (or in some cases over) the Sovereign. Between about 1500 and about 1700, regular cabinet-style ministries begin slowly to develop, but there is still nothing very much like what we would think of as a regular succession of governments - still less anything like political parties. Only in the first half of the 18th century does a modern structure of cabinet ministries formed by coalitions of like-minded politicians emerge. Consider, therefore, the following names circumspectly and with however many grains of salt you feel are needed - it is one interpretation, there are others. Blank years indicate times when the Sovereign was his own chief minister, or times when no one individual stood clear of the rest. Nevertheless, for all the apparent gaps and interpretive presentation, the list should repay some interest, for it is a record of the many persons who have (often at a cost far greater than they would have wished to bear) found themselves at the head of affairs for a time, in England and Great Britain. Some of the greatest names in English history are here.


The ENGLISH PRINCES of WALES Not a sovereign title as such, the establishment of English authority in Wales has been accompanied by, and symbolized by, the continuance of the Principality as the chief appanage of the heirs to the British throne. Note that the title exists de jure for the heir - when the heir succeeds, he does not retain the Principality as a distinct entity, but rather it reverts into abeyance, until re-created for another heir. In passing onto the list, let it be recognized that this title provides one of the most ancient survivals in Europe - there is a very real sense in which these latter-day Princes, being the successors to the old Cymbrian monarchy, are thereby the inheritors of the late Roman office of Comes Litoris Saxonici, Count of the Saxon Shore.


LORD HIGH STEWARD of ENGLAND The most senior of the Great Officers of State, the Stewards were in the Middle Ages something akin to Prime Ministers of much later times. Bearing weighty judicial powers, and the focus of considerable ceremonial authority as well, they resembled the ancient Roman Consuls in a vague way as well. See also the Scottish Stewards and the Irish Stewards.


The LORD MAYORS of LONDON The Lord Mayor has throughout the centuries played a vital role in the life of the City of London and continues to do so today. In the City (the old section of London) the Mayor ranks immediately after the sovereign. In fact (and this one technical justification for presenting this list - the Sovereign may not as a technical point of law enter the City without the express permission of City officials: whenever a Royal Procession approaches it is ritually challenged by city guards before being allowed entry). The Lord Mayor was historically elected by the various livery houses (trade guilds) from among their elite members. London's guildsmen have elected Lord Mayors from as early as the late 1100's. The right of citizens to elect their own Mayor dates from the Charter granted by King John to the City in 1215, and in the same year Magna Carta specified that the City would retain all its ancient liberties. The election of Lord Mayor is held at the end of September each year in the Great Hall of Guildhall. The assembly, known as Common Hall, consists of all liverymen of at least one year's standing together with certain high officers of the City. All aldermen who have served the office of sheriff and who have not already been Lord Mayor are eligible. As head of the Corporation of London, the Lord Mayor presides over its governing bodies - the Court of Aldermen and the Court of Common Council. He is Chief Magistrate of the City of London, Admiral of the Port of London, Chancellor of City University and President or Patron of many other civic and charitable organisations. Note - since at least the 1300's the election for Lord Mayor has been held in September. The dates given are the dates of election. The LM serves from September of the year given until Sept. of the following year.
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