It does seem to have been very different, for one thing both Latin and whatever variant of Celtic was spoken disapeared to be replaced by English.
Britain seems to have reverted to Pre-Roman polities and tribal areas, some Romanitas remained, some cities were still lived in, mostly those further West, but they were in decline long before the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the villa culture almost disapears over night.
Despite what many of us were taught at school and probably many still are taught, there was no mass Anglo-Saxon military take over and population replacement. Studies of DNA and stable isotope analysis show that most people were the same as were here before the Romans came, although it does depend on area, there are many around places such as Vindolanda on Hadrians wall that show mixed parentage, where presumably soldiers had local families.
Nobody knows what actually happened, fascinating eh? Any ideas, anyone?
