Somerset | Page 5

the Roman. Reminders that the county was once occupied by a Welsh--speaking race occur in the constituents of many place-names, such as Pen Selwood, Maes Knoll, and the numerous combes (cp. Welsh _cwm_). The name of the British king, Arthur, is associated with Cadbury (near Sparkford); and the neighbouring villages of Queen Camel and West Camel recall the legendary Camelot. The earliest church at Glastonbury (_Avalon_) is believed to have been of British origin, and it is Arthur's reputed burial-place. In the dedication of the churches at Porlock (Dubricius or Dyfrig) and Watchet (Decuman or Tegfan) is preserved the memory of certain British saints, though these probably came on an evangelistic mission from the other side of the Bristol Channel. But of the primitive population the most trustworthy memorials are the numerous earthworks and other material remains which survive in various parts of the county, and these will be more appropriately noticed under another heading (see pp. 20-21).
Of the Roman occupation the traces are more varied. Bath and Ilchester are Roman towns, and from and through them Roman roads run across the county. In constructing these, the Romans probably used in many instances existing British trackways. The principal was the Fosse Way (as it is called), entering the county near Chard from Seaton, and leaving it at Bath for Lincoln. Within Somerset it is still a very important artery of traffic. From near Chard a road is thought to have diverged from it to the N.W., towards the Quantocks, passing by Castle Neroche. The Fosse Way was, and is, cut at Ilchester by a road coming from Dorchester and continuing to Glastonbury, and near Masbury, on the Mendips, by a second, connecting Old Sarum with Axium (Uphill, near Brean Down). At Bath it was joined by two more roads, one coming from London and the other (the _Via Julia_) from Aust and South Wales. The road along the Mendips was doubtless largely used for the transport of the lead which was mined at Priddy and elsewhere, and shipped at Uphill. Somerset, during its occupation by the Romans, seems to have enjoyed tranquillity, for their villas, pavements, and other remains indicative of peaceful possession are not confined to the neighbourhood of their large cities (see p. 21).
When the Saxons made themselves masters of England, Somerset became part of the kingdom of Wessex. Its subjugation was accomplished in three stages. The first is associated with the name of Ceawlin, who, after defeating the British at Deorham (in Gloucestershire), captured Bath, and by 577 reduced the northern part of the county between the Avon and the Axe. Englishcombe near Bath recalls this occupation, and the Wansdyke probably served as a barrier between Saxon and Briton. But between this conquered territory and Dorset, which was also Saxon, there still remained in the hands of the Britons a large strip of country; and from this they were not expelled until the time of Cenwealh (652), who defeated them in 658 at "The Pens" (identified by many with Penselwood), and drove them westward to the Parrett. Somerton now became the capital of the Somersaetas, the Saxon tribe that gave its name to the county (just as the Dorsaetas and Wilsaetas have done to Dorset and Wilts). The third stage of the conquest was completed by Ina (688-726), who subdued the rest of Somerset, forcing the British (whose king was Geraint) into Devon and Cornwall, and building Taunton as a fortress against them. Williton and Willsneck (in the Quantocks) perhaps preserve the name of the defeated Welsh. Ina is famous for more than his military prowess, for he was the first King of Wessex to issue written laws for the guidance of his subjects.
During the Saxon period Somerset did not escape the raids of the Danes; and in the reign of Alfred it was the scene of one of the most eventful crises in English history. Alfred, after many battles against the invaders, had at last seen Guthrum their leader retire from Wessex into Mercia. But in 878, in midwinter, Guthrum suddenly surprised Chippenham and made himself master of Wessex, and Alfred was forced to withdraw to the fens of Athelney. To the narrow limits of the "Isle of the Nobles" the Saxon dominions in the W. were for some months reduced. Here in the Eastertide of 879 Alfred, in the words of the "Saxon Chronicle," "wrought a fortress [of which perhaps the Mump at Borough Bridge is the site], and from that work warred on the (Danish) army, with that portion of the men of Somerset that was nearest."[3] Seven weeks after Easter, Alfred emerged from his place of refuge to join the men of Somerset, Wilts, and Hants, who had gathered in force at "Ecgbryhtes Stane" (Brixton Deveril in Wilts). Putting himself at their head,