Jnr History Bk3 21.7:Jnr History Bk3 21.

7 23/7/08 09:51 Page iii

Junior History
Book 3
Fiona Macdonald
Series Editor: Niall Murphy

www.galorepark.co.uk
Jnr History Bk3 21.7:Jnr History Bk3 21.7 23/7/08 09:51 Page iv

Published by Galore Park Publishing Ltd

19/21 Sayers Lane, Tenterden, Kent TN30 6BW
www.galorepark.co.uk

Text copyright © Fiona Macdonald 2008

Illustrations copyright © Galore Park 2008

The right of Fiona Macdonald to be identified as the author of this

Work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78
of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Design and typography Typetechnique, London

Illustrations by Gwyneth Williamson, Emmanuel Cerisier, Simon Tegg
and Ian Douglass

Printed by Lego SpA, Italy

ISBN-13: 978 1 902984 99 5

All rights reserved: no part of this publication may be reproduced,

stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without either the prior written permission of the copyright owner or
a licence permitting restricted copying issued by the Copyright
Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0LP.

First published 2008

An answer book to accompany this course is available from

www.galorepark.co.uk

Details of other Galore Park publications are available at

www.galorepark.co.uk

ISEB Revision Guides, publications and examination papers may also be

obtained from Galore Park.
Jnr History Bk3 21.7:Jnr History Bk3 21.7 23/7/08 09:51 Page v

Acknowledgements | v

Acknowledgements
The author and publishers are grateful to Jenny Vaughan for preparing the
manuscript for typesetting.
The publishers are grateful for permission to use the extracts and
photographs as follows:
p9 © Dorset County Museum, p10 © Photolibrary Group, p13 © Bettmann/ Corbis UK Ltd, p18 © Adam Woolfitt/
Corbis UK Ltd, p19 © Museum of London/HIP/TopFoto, p21 © Loolee/Alamy, p22 © Museum of London/HIP/ TopFoto,
p24 © Museum of London/HIP/TopFoto, p31t © Ashmolean Museum/Bridgeman Art Library, p31b © Roger Eritja/
Alamy, p33 © British Museum/Bridgeman Art Library, p36 © National Museums of Scotland, p46 © Christopher Wood
Gallery, London, UK/Bridgeman Art Library, p49 © Martyn F. Chillmaid, p51 © National Museum of Iceland, Reykjavik/
Bridgeman Art Library, p61 © Bede’s World, p62 © British Library/akg-images, p67 © Visual Arts Library (London)/
Alamy, p69t © Topham Picturepoint/ TopFoto, p69b © Mike Harrington/Alamy, p70 © British Museum/Eileen Tweedy/Art
Archive, p71 © David Lyons/Alamy, p78 © Glenn Harper/Alamy, p90 © PA Photos, p94 © Visual Image Photographic
Services/JORVIK Viking Centre, York Archaeological Trust, p101 © The British Museum/HIP/TopFoto, p104 ©
ColsTravel UK/Alamy, p105 © Photos12 SA, p115 © British Library/Art Archive, p117 © British Library/akg-images,
p121 © akg-images, p123 © akg-images, p125 © akg-images
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vi | Junior History Book 3

Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 1 Britain and Rome
Unknown land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Painted people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Why invade Britain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Power and glory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Caesar invades: 55 BC and 54 BC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Claudius invades: 43 AD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
British tribes surrender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The conquest continues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Boudicca’s revolt: 60-61 AD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Rome in control: 60-90 AD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Chapter 2 Romans in Britain
Keeping control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Tough training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Roads and camps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Forts and walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Frontier life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
The Vindolanda letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
A new government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Part of the empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
New arrivals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Free-born and slaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Town life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Roman religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Christianity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
How do we know? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Chapter 3 British peoples
Kings and warriors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Life and death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Battle tactics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Safe places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
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Celtic farms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Crops and animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Skilled workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Looking good . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Druids and bards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Celtic mysteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Living like Romans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Next to the fort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Side by side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
How do we know? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Chapter 4 Divided land
The end of Roman rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Who stayed behind? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Who ruled the Britons? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Ambrosius or Arthur? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Timechart – the end of Roman power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Survival and decay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Who were the Saxons? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Why did the Saxons invade? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Saxon life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Farmers and fighters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Powerful women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Clothes, jewels and weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Mother goddess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
How do we know? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Chapter 5 Kings, monks and missionaries
Changing kingdoms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Old and new beliefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
St Patrick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Back from Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Alone with God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Little angels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Foreign queens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Christian kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Lindisfarne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
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Pagan or Christian? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Church and state . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Different traditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Community living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Words and pictures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
How do we know? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Chapter 6 High kings and conquerors
Bretwaldas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Respect and rewards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Royal laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
A long struggle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
East Anglia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
What else does Sutton Hoo tell us? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Northumbria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Royal halls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Mercia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Offa the Great . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Offa’s Dyke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Wessex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
How do we know? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Chapter 7 ‘Hero of the English’
A strong, rich kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Powerful friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Weaker rivals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Viking raiders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
The Great Army . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Alfred and the cakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Peace at last . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Strengthening Wessex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
God’s punishment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
The death of Alfred . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
After Alfred . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
How do we know? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
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Chapter 8 Life in Viking Britain

Raiders and settlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Hard to find . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Place names and tombstones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Takeover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Side by side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Towns, crafts and trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Jorvik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Viking homes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Food and farming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Viking words, Viking styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
North-west kingdoms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Saxons and Vikings together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
How do we know? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Chapter 9 Fighting for England
King Athelstan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
The Battle of Brunanburh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
King of the English . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Edmund loses – then wins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
A new threat – Eric Bloodaxe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Eadwig and Edgar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Peace, law and order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Church reforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Royal ceremonies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Edward ‘the Martyr’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Defeat and Danegeld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Ethelred ‘the Unready’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
How do we know? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Chapter 10 The last Saxon kings
Edmund ‘Ironside’ and Cnut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Murdered men . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Powerful women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Viking empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Keeping control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
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Cnut’s chosen heir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

A temporary king? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Betrayed! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
King Harold Harefoot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
King Harthacnut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Edward ‘the Confessor’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Who should be king? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
The Last Saxon kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Peace at last . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Duke William’s visit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
The Godwins come home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
A new, young prince arrives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
‘Leader of the English’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Harold Godwinson’s promise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
King Harold II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
William wants war! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Loyal earls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Defeated Vikings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Norman invaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
William the Conqueror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
How do we know? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Appendices
1. Timeline 100 BC to 1100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
2. Bretwaldas and Overlords of the English, 477 to 839 AD . . . . . . . . . . 131
3. Kings of England, 871 to 1087 AD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
4. Family tree of the Kings of England . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
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Introduction | 1

Introduction
If you could travel back in time for 2000 years, what would you find in
Britain? Towns? Big cities? Roads? Temples? Farms? Peaceful people or
warring tribes? Teachers? Musicians? Invaders? Would the people you meet
be friendly or hostile? Could you understand their language? What would
you think about the way they look? Would you like to eat and live and
work like them?
This book will help you to investigate life in the British Isles from around
50 BC to 1066 AD. It was a time of great change, great achievements, and –
sometimes – great suffering. The people who lived then are all dead long
ago, but they have not been forgotten. Their ideas, words, beliefs, designs
and technology still have an impact on our lives. They helped create our
present-day British language, government, landscape and laws.
Read on, and find out more …
Fiona Macdonald
2008
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22 | Junior History Book 3

free by their owners. This often happened when a slave owner died, or
because a free man wanted to marry a slave woman.

Town life
The Celts were country people and they didn’t have towns as such – only
trading settlements and royal palaces. The Romans believed that a well-run
town or city was the most civilised place to live, so it was the Romans who
built the first real towns in the British Isles. In new Roman towns, the laws
and way of life were very similar to Rome’s, with public services such as
running water, and town councils chosen by the citizens. Some towns, called
coloniae, were for retired Roman soldiers. Other towns were for anyone
from the Roman empire, including conquered Celts.
To make town life
comfortable, the Romans
planned carefully. Each new
town was laid out around a
central forum, which was an
open-air meeting place.
There might also be several
indoor shopping malls. A fine
basilica (a town hall, with
government offices and law
courts) was built near the
town centre, and a temple,
to honour Roman gods.
Dead Roman emperors also
had temples, where their
spirits were worshipped. At
Camulodunum (Colchester)
the Romans made the
conquered Britons pay for
the emperor’s temple and
attend ceremonies there
once a year. It was a good
way of reminding them who
was in charge! A model of the Roman port of London
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Chapter 2 | 23

New town streets were straight and paved with stone, with raised sidewalks,
and stepping-stones across muddy gutters. Fresh water for drinking and
cooking came from pipes or fountains; there were public lavatories and
splendid, heated baths. Rich families lived in large houses built around private
courtyards. Poorer families ate and slept in rooms behind shops and
workshops. For entertainment, there might be a theatre, a race track, and an
arena for shows with gladiators and wild beasts. For security, the towns were
surrounded by a wall of wood or stone, with massive gates that were locked
every night.

An artist’s impression of a Roman street

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24 | Junior History Book 3

Roman religion
At home in Rome, the Romans worshipped many different gods and
goddesses. They built temples that contained statues of the gods, and made
offerings to please them, hoping that the gods would send favours in return.
The Romans also believed in nature-spirits, ghosts and magic, and carried
amulets, or lucky charms, for protection. The Roman religion spread to all
the furthest parts of their empire. But the Romans also learned to worship
many new, local gods. For example, Roman soldiers honoured Mithras, a
god of light from Persia, and prayed to Serapis, the Egyptian god of the
Underworld.
In Britannia, the Romans began to worship Celtic gods and goddesses, such
as Nodens, god of thunder, Epona, the horse-goddess, and the Three
Mothers, who were ancient goddesses of birth, life and death. In London, a
Roman inscription recorded how the citizens ‘rebuilt the shrine in honour of
the Mothers, at their own expense’.
Romans in Britannia also took over
many Celtic holy places, realising
that the gods the Celts worshipped
were very similar to their own. You
may remember from Junior History
Book 2 that at Bath, in south-west
England, there were natural springs
of hot water, sacred to the Celtic
goddess, Sulis. The Romans
believed that Sulis was the same as
Minerva, their own goddess of
wisdom, and built a temple to them
both. People visited Bath, hoping to
be cured of their illnesses, and they
became known as Aquae Sulis
(‘the waters of Sulis’). People threw
offerings into the holy springs – and
little scraps of metal with prayers
written on them, asking the A plaque showing the three mother-goddesses
which can be seen in the Museum of London
goddess to curse their enemies!
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Chapter 2 | 25

Christianity
Some Romans in Britain also
began to follow a new faith –
Christianity – that began in the
empire province of Judea (which
is today Jordan, Israel and
Palestine). At first, Christians in
the Roman empire were
persecuted and killed. But in
313 AD, the Roman Emperor
Constantine, who spent part of
his early life in Britannia, gave
them complete freedom to
worship. We do not know when
‘A curse on you, Marcus!’
Christianity first arrived in Britain,
or how popular it was. However, around 200 AD, the Roman writer
Tertullian wrote: ‘the word of Christ had been preached in areas of Britain
beyond Rome’s control’.
At about the same time, a Roman soldier named Alban was martyred, or
killed for his faith, because he sheltered a Christian priest. (The town where
this happened was named after him: St Albans, in the present-day county of
Hertfordshire.) From around 350 AD, Christian symbols were used to
decorate floors and walls in Roman buildings. Silver bowls and dishes with
Christian designs have also been found.

How do we know?
We know about the Romans’ arrival in the British Isles from several
different sources. All our written evidence comes from the Romans
themselves and describes events from a Roman point of view. The most
important account of the Roman invasion is by the historian Cornelius
Tacitus. In Agricola, completed in 98 AD, Tacitus recorded the life and times
of his father-in law, Roman governor Agricola (see page 11), and the events
in Britannia, where he ruled. Before Tacitus, the famous Roman general
Julius Caesar (see page 2) wrote down his observations of the Celtic
people in De Bello Gallico (‘On the War in Gaul’), around 55 BC. Later,
around 180 AD, Cassius Dio wrote a history of the Roman Empire that
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26 | Junior History Book 3

described the invasion and occupation of the British Isles, and some
powerful Britons, including Boudicca. He based parts of his account on
important writings by Tacitus that no longer survive today.
The Romans also left a great deal of evidence in the form of the structures
they built. Some are still standing, like Hadrian’s spectacular Wall. Many more
Roman remains have been carefully uncovered by archaeologists over the
last 300 years: stone and metal statues, stone carvings and inscriptions, glass,
pottery, metalware, coins and burials. The complete tomb of a high-born
Roman lady was discovered in London in 1999 and is still being analysed.
Traces of long-lost Roman buildings have also been found, such as stone
foundations or mosaic floors.
Much evidence of Roman rule in Britain is still being used in the English-
speaking world today. Old Roman measurements, such as miles, feet and
pounds, are still used by many people. The English language contains many
Latin words. Some British towns, such as Chester, Lancaster, Manchester
(whose names are all based on castra, which means ‘camp’), and Lincoln
(originally Lindum Colonia), still have names based on Roman ones. So do
many people: for example, Marcus and Julia are both Latin names.

Exercise 2.1
Read the information on pages 15 to 26 about Romans in Britain, and
answer the following questions:
1. How many Roman soldiers (approximately) were stationed in Britannia
in 150 AD?
2. Where did the Roman soldiers in Britannia come from?
3. What did soldiers carry as they marched?
4. Where did Roman soldiers in Britannia live?
5. How long is Hadrian’s Wall?
6. Which two towns were capitals of Britannia?
7. Who was head of the Roman government in Britannia?
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Chapter 2 | 27

8. What kept Roman towns safe at night?

9. Who did the Romans worship at Bath?
10. What did St Alban protect?

Exercise 2.2
Read the information on pages 15 to 25 and then complete the following
sentences:
1. About ______ or ______ million people lived in Roman Britannia.
2. Roman legionary soldiers served in the army for ______ years.
3. The Romans spoke and wrote in a language called ______.
4. Roman people might be free, or slaves, or ______ men and women.
5. The Romans built ______ because they thought life was more civilised
there.
6. Retired Roman soldiers lived in towns called ______.
7. The head of Roman government tax collecting in Britain was called the
______.
8. Peregrini were people who were not Roman ______.
9. The Roman soldiers’ god, Mithras, came from ______.
10. ______ was the Celtic god of thunder.

Exercise 2.3
Explain what is meant by:
1. legionary
2. auxiliary
3. contubernium
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28 | Junior History Book 3

4. mint
5. propaganda
6. forum
7. basilica
8. martyred

Exercise 2.4
The Vindolanda Letters provide us with very important evidence about
Roman army life.
1. Write down at least two different types of information that would have
been lost for ever if the Vindolanda Letters had not survived.
2. Imagine that you are either a Roman soldier stationed at a fort close to
Hadrian’s Wall, or the wife or daughter of an army commander living in
the only family house in the same fort. Write a letter to a friend saying
what your life is like. How do you spend your days? What do you like
about the fort, and Britannia? What don’t you like?

Exercise 2.5
Do you or any of your friends have a Roman name? Here’s how to find out.
Go to a library and find a book listing personal names and their meanings, or
look up a site about names on the Internet.
Make a list of Roman names for boys and girls that are still used today. See if
you can find out what each name means, and add the meanings to your list. If
you like, you could decorate your list with Roman-style patterns. Look at the
photos in this book for some Roman design ideas.