Saxon mercenaries are found as well as Frank mercenaries in the pay of Rome; and the presence of Saxon vessels in the Channel for a century before the descent on Britain must have familiarized its invaders with what civilization was to be found in the Imperial provinces of the West.

What really made the difference between the fate of Britain and that of the rest of the Roman world was the stubborn courage of the British themselves.

In all the world-wide struggle between Rome and the German peoples no land was so stubbornly fought for or so hardly won.

In Gaul no native resistance met Frank or Visigoth save from the brave peasants of Britanny and Auvergne.

No popular revolt broke out against the rule of Odoacer or Theodoric in Italy.