Of the fate of Clausentum in the Dark Age we know nothing; if it was a
mere fort with no life of its own it may or may not have been
abandoned; but it would seem certain that with the renewal of
civilisation in southern England, by the return of Christianity, a town
was established upon the right bank of the estuary opposite Clausentum.
This town was the first Southampton, and there Athelstane is said to
have established mints. This town, however, does not seem to have
occupied the same site as the Southampton we know, but rather to have
been gathered about St Mary's church to the north-east as Leland was
told when he visited Southampton in 1546. The place was probably burnt
by the Danes, and it is to one of them, to Canute, that we owe the
foundation of the town we know. If Canute was the founder of
Southampton, however, it was the Normans who really and finally
established it, the greatness of the place as a port really dating from
the Conquest. The Normans seem to have settled there early in
considerable numbers, and their energy and enterprise began the
development which continued throughout the Middle Age and the
Renaissance.
Pages:
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331