Early History
From London Requiem
Little enough is known about the history of humans in the London area prior to the Roman occupation of Britain, so it is not surprising that any possible information about vampires is completely lost in the mists of time. Human scholars have suggested that the greatest period of settlement around the Thames prior to the founding of Londinium was between 1600 BC and 700 BC. Some kindred scholars have theorised that there would have been kindred at this time, though population numbers would not suggest more than a handful. Extrapolation that these kindred were likely Gangrel is no more then semi-educated guesswork at the very best.
It is likely that there were kindred among the Iceni who destroyed the first Londinium in 60AD, perhaps precursors of the Circle of the Crone, though even at that point the city had had only a few years to develop from the fortified camps of the Roman army who arrived in 43AD. Londinium grew quickly after the Iceni revolt, it was too central and too important to trade and administration. Around 200AD the city wall was completed, and London became capital of Britannia Superior, or Upper Britain. Despite this, the population was dwindling. Considering the city was destroyed by fire both in 60AD and 120AD, and the population started to fall some 80 years later, the city would not have proved able to support many kindred, though the city had grown massively in architectural terms by the time the Romans left Britain to its independence in the early 5th century.
During this period in history London would have extended roughly from where St Paul's cathedral stands in the West, to the Tower of London further East. A bridge has existed across the Thames linking to Southwark since at least 50AD, but during this period the north of the river was certainly the centre of commerce and population.
Yet by the end of the 5th century, with the growing rule of Anglo Saxons, London would have been all but deserted. The Anglo Saxon settlers didn't live in urban centres such as Roman Londinium. It is likely that this change put paid to the influence of the first Invictus settlers in Britain, whose role in a Roman city would have no place as the city became increasingly less influential. Evidence that at least one Roman home was occupied until the middle of the 5th century has been used by some as evidence of at least one member of that Covenant who was unwilling to leave.
Return to Main Page
