44 | Roman conquest of Britain. Christianity arrives around this time. Glastonbury is inhabited during these years, and old tradition remembers Christians here. |
50 | Council of Jerusalem. Christianity is a separate religion, not a sect within Judaism. |
64 | (Italy) Nero's persecution of the church. Peter and Paul executed. Christianity is made illegal. |
209 | (Probable date) Execution of Alban, the first English martyr. Alban is a Roman soldier who offered shelter to a Christian missionary from Gaul. The place of his martyrdom later becomes St. Alban's. |
312 | (Italy) Constantine. Christianity becomes the official religion of the Roman Empire. Britons are largely Christianized. |
314 | Council of Arles. Britain sends three bishops, a priest, and a deacon. |
325 | Council of Nicea, probably attended by British. The Nicene creed and the council's decisions are accepted in Britain. |
360 | Julian the Apostate, Roman emperor, attempts to reinstitute paganism. This is openly flouted in Britain. The Mildenhall treasure is buried; it includes three spoons with the Chi-Rho monogram. |
370+ | Pagan Anglo-Saxons from Germany and Scandinavia begin to occupy Britain without resistance from the passive Britons. (Wales remains unconquered and Christian.) Anglo-Saxon culture characterized by pessimism and an emphasis on courage and hard work. |
407 | No Roman coins after this date have been found in Britain. The Britons are on their own. |
410 | The conquest of Britain is greatly accelerated when Britons under Vortigern invite Saxon mercenaries to occupy their country to keep order. |
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