Roman Britain. Roman Borrowings.

Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and about 410.

The Romans referred to their territory as Britannia, and it eventually consisted of all of the island south of the shifting frontier with Caledonia. Prior to the Roman invasion, Iron Age Britain already had cultural and economic links with Continental Europe, but the invaders introduced new developments in agriculture, urbanization, industry and architecture, leaving a legacy that is still apparent today. Historical records beyond the initial invasion are sparse, although many Roman historians mention Britannia in passing, and the names of many of its governors are known. Most knowledge of Roman Britain stems from archaeological investigations and especially epigraphic evidence.

The first Romans to campaign extensively in Britain were the forces of Julius Caesar in 55 and 54 BC, but the first significant conquest did not begin until AD 43, under Claudius. The Romans established a provincial government and steadily extended their control north, but were never able to exert firm control over Caledonia. Following the conquest of the native Britons, a distinctive Romano-British culture emerged. The Romans cemented the province's northern border with Hadrian's Wall, completed around 128. In 142, they pushed the frontier north to the Forth-Clyde line, constructing the Antonine Wall, but they retreated back to Hadrian's Wall after only twenty years. Around 197, Britannia was divided into two provinces, Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior; in 293, it was subdivided even further and made into an imperial diocese. For much of the later period, Britannia was subject to barbarian invasion and often came under the control of imperial usurpers and pretenders. The Romans largely departed from Britain around 410, leading to what is known as the sub-Roman period, but the legacy of the empire was felt for hundreds of years.

- Continental Borrowing (Latin Influence of the Zero Period). The first Latin words to find their way into the English language owe their adoption to the early contact between the Romans and the Germanic tribes on the continent. Several hundred Latin words found in the various Germanic dialects at an early date—some in one dialect only, others in several—testify to the extensive intercourse between the two peoples. The number of Germans living within the empire by the fourth century is estimated at several million. They are found in all ranks and classes of society, from slaves in the fields to commanders of important divisions of the Roman army. While they were scattered all over the empire, they were naturally most numerous along the northern frontier. This stretched along the Rhine and the Danube and bordered on German territory. Close to the border was Treves, in the third and fourth centuries the most flourishing city in Gaul, already boasting Christian churches, a focus of eight military roads, where all the luxury and splendor of Roman civilization were united almost under the gaze of the Teutons on the Moselle and the Rhine. Traders, German as well as Roman, came and went, while German youth returning from within the empire must have carried back glowing accounts of Roman cities and Roman life. Such intercourse between the two peoples was certain to carry words from one language to the other.

The frequency of the intercourse may naturally be expected to diminish somewhat as one recedes from the borders of the empire. Roman military operations, for example, seldom extended as far as the district occupied by the Angles or the Jutes. But after the conquest of Gaul by Caesar, Roman merchants quickly found their way into all parts of the Germanic territory, even into Scandinavia, so that the Teutons living in these remoter sections were by no means cut off from Roman influence. Moreover, intercommunication between the different Germanic tribes was frequent and made possible the transference of Latin words from one tribe to another. In any case some fifty words from the Latin can be credited with a considerable degree of probability to the ancestors of the English in their continental homes.

The adopted words naturally indicate the new conceptions which the Teutons acquired from this contact with a higher civilization. Next to agriculture the chief occupation of the Germans in the empire was war, and this experience is reflected in words like camp (battle), segn (banner), pil (pointed stick, javelin), weall (wall), pytt (pit), straet (road, street), mil (mile), and miltestre (courtesan). More numerous are the words connected with trade. The Teutons traded amber, furs, slaves, and probably certain raw materials for the products of Roman handicrafts, articles of utility, luxury, and adornment. The words ceap (bargain; cf. Eng., cheap, chapman) and mangian (to trade) with its derivatives mangere (monger), mangung (trade, commerce), and mangung-hus (shop) are fundamental, while pund (pound), mydd (bushel), seam (burden, loan), and mynet (coin) are terms likely to be employed. From the last word Old English formed the words mynetian (to mint or coin) and mynetere (money-changer). One of the most important branches of Roman commerce with the Teutons was the wine trade: hence such words in English as win (wine), must (new wine), eced (vinegar), and flasce (flask, bottle). To this period are probably to be attributed the words cylle (L. culleus, leather bottle), cyrfette (L. curcurbita, gourd), and sester (jar, pitcher). A number of the new words relate to domestic life and designate household articles, clothing, etc.: cytel (kettle; L. catillus, catlnus), mese (table), scamol (L. scamellum, bench, stool; cf. modern shambles), teped (carpet, curtain; L. tapetum), pyle (L. pulvinus, pillow), pilece (L. pellicia, robe of skin), and sigel (brooch, necklace; L. sigillum). Certain other words of a similar kind probably belong here although the evidence for their adoption thus early is not in every case conclusive: cycene (kitchen; L. coquina), cuppe (L. cuppa, cup), disc (dish; L. discus), cucler (spoon; L. coclearium), mortere (L. mortarium, a mortar, a vessel of hard material), linen (cognate with or from L. linum, flax), line (rope, line; L. linea), and gimm (L. gemma, gem). The Teutons adopted Roman words for certain foods, such as ciese (L. caseus, cheese), spelt (wheat), pipor (pepper), senep (mustard; L. sinapi), popig (poppy), cisten (chestnut-tree; L. castanea), cires(beam) (cherry-tree; L. cerasus), while to this period are probably to be assigned butere (butter; L. butyrum), ynne(leac) (L. unio, onion), plume (plum), pise (L. pisum, pea), and minte (L. mentha, mint). Roman contributions to the building arts are evidenced by such words as cealc (chalk), copor (copper), pic (pitch), and tigele (tile), while miscellaneous words such as mul (mule), draca (dragon), pawa (peacock), the adjectives sicor (L. securus, safe) and calu (L. calvus, bald), segne (seine), pipe (pipe, musical instrument), cirice (church), biscop (bishop), casere (emperor), and Saeternesdaeg (Saturday) may be mentioned. See some other examples.

In general, if we are surprised at the number of words acquired from the Romans at so early a date by the Germanic tribes that came to England, we can see nevertheless that the words were such as they would be likely to borrow and such as reflect in a very reasonable way the relations that existed between the two peoples.

- Latin through Celtic Transmission (Latin Influence of the First Period). The circumstances responsible for the slight influence which Celtic exerted on Old English limited in like manner the Latin influence that sprang from the period of Roman occupation. From the extent to which Britain was Romanized, and the employment of Latin by certain elements in the population, one would expect a considerable number of Latin words from this period to have remained in use and to appear in the English language today. But this is not the case. It would be hardly too much to say that not five words outside of a few elements found in place-names can be really proved to owe their presence in English to the Roman occupation of Britain (see a note). It is probable that the use of Latin as a spoken language did not long survive the end of Roman rule in the island and that such vestiges as remained for a time were lost in the disorders that accompanied the Germanic invasions. There was thus no opportunity for direct contact between Latin and Old English in England, and such Latin words as could have found their way into English would have had to come in through Celtic transmission. The Celts, indeed, had adopted a considerable number of Latin words—over six hundred have been identified—but the relations between the Celts and the English were such, as we have already seen, that these words were not passed on. Among the few Latin words that the Anglo-Saxons seem likely to have acquired upon settling in England, one of the most likely, in spite of its absence from the Celtic languages, is ceaster. This word, which represents the Latin castra (camp), is a common designation in Old English for a town or enclosed community. It forms a familiar element in English place-names such as Chester, Colchester, Dorchester, Manchester, Winchester, Lancaster, Doncaster, Gloucester, Worcester, and many others. Some of these refer to sites of Roman camps, but it must not be thought that a Roman settlement underlies all the towns whose names contain this common element. The English attached it freely to the designation of any enclosed place intended for habitation, and many of the places so designated were known by quite different names in Roman times. A few other words are thought for one reason or another to belong to this period: port (harbor, gate, town) from L. portus and porta; munt (mountain) from L. mons, montem; torr (tower, rock) possibly from L. turns, possibly from Celtic; wic (village) from L. vicus. All of these words are found also as elements in place-names. It is possible that some of the Latin words which the Teutons had acquired on the continent, such as street (L. strata via), wall, wine, etc., were reinforced by the presence of the same words in Celtic. At best, however, the Latin influence of the First Period remains much the slightest of all the influences which Old English owed to contact with Roman civilization.

Latin Influence of the Second Period: The Christianizing of Britain.The greatest influence of Latin upon Old English was occasioned by the introduction of Christianity into Britain in 597. But the great majority of words in Old English having to do with the church and its services, its physical fabric and its ministers, when not of native origin were borrowed at this time. Since most of these words have survived in only slightly altered form in Modern English, the examples may be given in their modern form. The list includes abbot, alms, altar, angel, anthem, Arian, ark, candle, canon, chalice, cleric, cowl, deacon, disciple, epistle, hymn, litany, manna, martyr, mass, minster, noon, nun, offer, organ, pall, palm, pope, priest, provost, psalm, psalter, relic, rule, shrift, shrine, shrive, stole, subdeacon, synod, temple, and tunic. Some of these were reintroduced later. But the church also exercised a profound influence on the domestic life of the people. This is seen in the adoption of many words, such as the names of articles of clothing and household use—cap, sock, silk, purple, chest, mat, sack (see more examples); words denoting foods, such as beet, caul (cabbage), lentil (O.E. lent), millet (O.E. mil), pear, radish, doe, oyster (O.E. ostre), lobster, mussel, to which we may add the noun cook (see more examples); names of trees, plants, and herbs (often cultivated for their medicinal properties), such as box, pine (see more examples), aloes, balsam, fennel, hyssop, lily, mallow, marshmallow, myrrh, rue, savory (O.E. s??erige), and the general word plant. A certain number of words having to do with education and learning reflect another aspect of the church's influence. Such are school, master, Latin (possibly an earlier borrowing), grammatical), verse, meter, gloss, notary (a scribe). Finally we may mention a number of words too miscellaneous to admit of profitable classification, like anchor, coulter, fan (for winnowing), fever, place (cf. marketplace), spelter (asphalt), sponge, elephant, phoenix, mancus (a coin), and some more or less learned or literary words, such as calend, circle, legion, giant, consul, and talent. The words cited in these examples are mostly nouns, but Old English borrowed also a number of verbs and adjectives such as aspendan (to spend; L. expendere), bemutian (to exchange; L. mutare), dihtan (to compose; L. dictare), pinian (to torture; L. poena), pinsian (to weigh; L. pensare), pyngan (to prick; L. pungere), sealtian (to dance; L. saltare), temprian (to temper; L. temperare), trifolian (to grind; L. tritbulare), tyrnan (to turn; L. tornare), and crisp (L. crispus, 'curly'). But enough has been said to indicate the extent and variety of the borrowings from Latin in the early days of Christianity in England and to show how quickly the language reflected the broadened horizon which the English people owed to the church.