CHOOSE ONE QUESTION
1. Peter Salway in his chapter on "Roman Britain" in Morgan's Oxford History of Britain writes: ""The critical difference between Roman Britain and what went before is that its society was literate, perhaps more literate than at any other time till the end of the Middle Ages" (2-3). Discuss this statement with reference to the exhibitions in the London Museum. What examples do you see that illustrate the important of literacy to Roman rule in Britain? How did the Romans enforce their authority on the largely illiterate population of Britain?
2. The Romans were an urban people. Their Anglo-Saxon
successors were not. Choose two Roman exhibits in the London Museum and
compare them to two Anglo-Saxon (early medieval) exhibits. What elements
of change and continuity do you see in the culture of London after the
Roman departure?
Suggested Readings:
Bradley, Richard. The Prehistoric Settlement of Britain. London, 1978.
Frere, Sheppard S. Britannia: A History of Roman Britain. 3rd ed. London, 1987.
Morris, John. Londinium: London in the Roman Empire. London, 1982.
Richmond, Ian. Roman Britain. 2nd ed. Harmondsworth, 1963.
Salway, Peter H. Roman Britain. Oxford, 1981.
Salway, Peter H. and John Blair. Roman and Anglo-Saxon Britain. The Oxford History of Britain, I. Oxford, 1992.
Tacitus. Agricola and the Germania. London,
1971.
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