Quote:[O]ne must face the fact that [Roman Britain] constitutes a passing phase in the history of the Isles and left precious little behind it. Unlike Roman Gaul, which represents one of the formative experiences in the emergence of modern France, Roman Britain left no lasting legacy of note. In the long run, since its achievements were to be almost completely erased by subsequent barbarians, it has less significance in the evolution of the Isles than what its historians are pleased to call ‘the British Background.’ As the Professor of Archaeology at Oxford has dared to write: ‘For nearly four hundred years, Britain was occupied and governed by an alien power. Yet, remarkably, the impact of that long period of rigid control was comparatively slight.’… In retrospect, one can see that the Roman Empire had played as ephemeral a role in the history of the Isles as the Isles had played in the history of the Empire.

Quote:All English children are schooled in the knowledge that they live in a land where once the Romans lived… Still more important is the realisation that all those generations of British people (mostly men), who were educated in the classics, were being taught to understand and to sympathise with the Greeks and the Romans… All manner of pressure was brought to bear to ensure that British schoolboys empathised with Rome. From the sixteenth century to the mid-twentieth, every educated person was required to learn Latin… A whole literary genre was devoted to strengthening the bond between modern Britons and Ancient Romans… Historical novels were written to serve exactly the same purpose… At its root…this empathy for Rome was driven by the imperial imperative. The leading imperialists of the modern world saw common cause with the leading imperialists of the ancient world. The British in general, and the English in particular, saw themselves as an imperial race. They had an empire to run, and an imperial establishment to sustain. Educating young men in the traditions of the greatest Empire that had ever reached our shores was an excellent means to an end.

Quote:Why Angles and Saxons almost completely wiped out Roman influence in Britain?

Quote:But places like Germany and France had their own waves of barbarian immigrations, and I'm not sure they maintained much more Roman influence than Britain did, really.

Quote:If Roman culture did not have a significant influence in Britain, Englishmen (beyond Crusties) would still be living in huts, dressing in animal skins, and worshiping Wotan, Thunor and Tiw.