But though Britain had long been Roman, her distance from the seat of Empire left her less Romanized than any other province of the West.

Socially the Roman civilization had made little impression on any but the townsfolk, and the material civilization of the island was yet more backward than its social.

Its natural defences threw obstacles in its invaders' way.

In the forest belts which stretched over vast spaces of country they found barriers which in all cases checked their advance and in some cases finally stopped it.

The Kentishmen and the South-Saxons were brought utterly to a standstill by the Andredsweald.