This was an incredible age of transition. The Roman Empire had established a tradition of civilized life, much like our own (but without "technology"): rule of law, bureaucracy, massive public works, heavy taxation, mass entertainment media, and other things considered civilized. Huns and Franks, Vandals and Turks, Goths and Saxons, Irish and Picts and Scots, attacking from all sides Without, and general corruption, degeneracy, and civil war from Within -- these brought it all crashing down and led to chaos and barbarism for 500 years or so. There were a few heroic defenders in Britain who kept up the old ideals in staving off anarchy (well, maybe just did their best to maintain the vested establishment). The Christian monks ended up as the final saviors, and not through any great virtue other than steadfastness and stubborn ignorance of the reality of earthly life, which they denied -- and thereby prevailed. This page is devoted to the secular heroes, who knew the difference between orderly life on Earth and the dubious prospectus of the heavenly kingdom. (There were also the tradesmen, who lasted in the long run and actually ended up running the whole show in modern times, but that's rather boring.)