John Morris (1) (1913–1977)

For most historians, the greatest single limitation to understanding the past is the availability of source material. Ultimately, our ability to decipher what came before is limited by the records at hand, a factor which can constrain even the best historian. This is particularly evident in John Morris' history of Roman London. A longtime historian of the Roman Empire and its aftermath in Britain, Morris draws upon the range of available archaeological and historical evidence to describe the first centuries of London's existence. With chapters on the development of the town, its governance, and the everyday habits of its inhabitants, he provides a good examination of life in Londinium and the role the city played in Rome's rule over Britain.

Yet Morris' command of the material cannot mask its thinness. Most of the first part of the book is devoted to providing a history of pre-Roman and Roman Britain, which, while useful, often loses relevancy and can feel a little like padding. Moreover, the absence of detailed evidence often forces Morris to resort to supposition, or inference from other Roman cities. This does not make it a bad book, but the age of the text (originally written in the early 1970s and revised after Morris' death) does beg for updating as new archaeological and historical evidence emerges which allows us to improve and refine our understanding of London's earliest inhabitants. Until then, we have Morris' fine, if dated study.… (meer)