Carlisle began as a Roman town and was a key defensive outpost of Empire against the barbarians. After the Vikings it was reborn as a Norman town, in 1092, and at the end of the Dark Ages we find Bede, describing a visit of the King and Queen, the wondrous Roman remains and St Cuthbert"s monastery. Carlisle has seen many changes from the splendour of Edward I"s court and parliament in the city to decimation by the plague. The Industrial Revolution brought more changes with the founding of a textile industry and the building of the canal and railways, and the consequent population explosions of the 18th and 19th centuries.