Britain

-its beginnings-
Geographically speaking
 
Lying off the north-west coast of
Europe, there are two large islands
and several much smaller ones.
Collectively, they are known as The
British Isles. The largest island is
called Great Britain. The other
large one is called Ireland. Britain is
an island, and Britain`s history has
been closely connected with

the sea. Until modern times it was as easy to travel

across water as it was across land, where roads were
frequently unusable.
At moment of great danger Britain has been
saved from danger by its surrounding seas.
Britains`s history and its national sense have been
shaped by the sea.
 People often refer to Britain by other name.
They call it „England”. But this is not strictly
correct, and it can make some people angry.
England is only one of the four nations of the
British Isles (England, Scotland, Wales and
Ireland). Their politicar unification was a
gradual process that took several hundread
years. It was completed in 1800 when the Irish
Parliament was joined with the Parliament for
England, Scotland and Wales in Westminster, so
that whole of the British Isles became a single
state – The United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland.
 The history of England concerns the study of the
human past in one of Europe's oldest and most
influential national territories. What is now England, a
country within the United Kingdom, was inhabited by
hominids 800,000 years ago as the discovery of flint tools
at Happisburgh in Norfolk have revealed. The earliest
evidence for early modern humans in North West Europe
is a jawbone discovered in Devon at Kents Cavern in
1927, which was re-dated in 2011 to between 41,000 and
44,000 years old. Continuous human habitation dates to
around 12,000 years ago, at the end of the last glacial
period.

The region has numerous remains from the

Mesolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age, such as
Stonehenge and Avebury. In the Iron Age, England, like
all of Britain south of the Firth of Forth, was inhabited
by the Celtic people known as the Britons, but also by
some Belgae tribes (e.g. the Atrebates, the Catuvellauni,
the Trinovantes, etc.) in the south east.
Prehistory
Two thousand years ago there was an Iron Age Celtic
culture throughout of the British Isles. It seems that the
Celts, who had been arriving from Europe from the eighth
century BC onwards, intermingled with the peoples who
were already there. We know that religious sites that had
been built long before the arrival of the Celts continued to
be used in the Celtic period. For people in Britain today,
the chief significance of the prehistoric period is its sense
of mystery.
This sense finds its focus most easily in the astonishing
monumental architecture of this period, the remains of
which exist throughout the country. Wiltshire, in south-
western England , has two spectacular examples: Silbury
Hill, the larges burial mound in Europe, as Stonehenge.
Such places have a special importance for anyone
interested in the cultural and religious practices of
prehistoric Britain. We know very little about this
practices, but there are some organizations today ( for
example the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids) who base
their beliefs on them.
 Stonehenge
•
• Was built on Salisbury Plain some time betwee 3050 and 2300 BC. It is
the most famous and mysterious archaeological sites in the world. One of
its mysteries is how it was built at all with the technology of the time.
Another is its purpose. It appears to function as a kind of astronomical
clock and we know it was used by the Druids for ceremonies marking
passing of the seasons. It has always exerted a fascination on the British
imagination , and appears in a number of novels, such as Thomas
Hardy`s Tess of the D`Urbevilles.
• These days Stonehenge is not oly of interest to tourists, but is also
gathering point for certain minority groups such as hippies and ` New
Age Travellers `. It is now fenced off to protect if from damage. These
days Stonehenge is not oly of interest to tourists, but is also gathering
point for certain minority groups such as hippies and ` New Age
Travellers `. It is now fenced off to protect if from damage
The site and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO's list of World
Heritage Sites in 1986 in a co-listing with Avebury Henge monument. It is
a national legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument. Stonehenge is
owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage, while the
surrounding land is owned by the National Trust. Archaeological evidence
found by the Stonehenge Riverside Project in 2008 indicates that
Stonehenge could possibly have served as a burial ground from its earliest
beginnings.
The dating of cremated remains found on the site indicate that deposits
contain human bone material from as early as 3000 BC, when the initial
ditch and bank were first dug. Such deposits continued at Stonehenge for
at least another 500 years. The site is a place of religious significance and
pilgrimage in Neo-Druidry
 THE CELTS
The Celts began to arrive in Britain, around 700
BC. They were tall, and had fair or red hair and
blue eyes, probably came from the central Europe
or further east, from southern Russia, and had
moved slowly westward in earlier centuries.
.

They were technically advanced: they knew how

to work with iron, and could make better weapons
than the people who used bronze.
They are the ancestors of many of the people in
Higland Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Cornwall
today. Celtic languages, which have been
continuously used I some areas since that time, are
still spoken.
 The Celts were organized into different
tribes, and tribal chiefs were chosen from
each family or tribe, sometimes as the
result of fighting matches between
individuals, and sometimes by election.

The Celtic tribes were ruled

over by a warrior class, of
which the priests, or Druids,
seem to have been
particularly important
members. They could not read
or write, but they memorized
all the religious teachings, the
tribal laws, history, medicine
and other knowledge
necessary in Celtic society.
D uring the Celtic period women may have had
more independence than they have again for
hundreds of years. When the Romans invaded
Britain two of the largest tribes were ruled by
omen who fought from their chariots. The most
powerful Celt to stand up to the Romans was o
women, Boadicea. She led her tribe againts the
Romans and she nearly drove them from Britain,
and she destroyed London, the Romans capital,
before she was defeated and killed.
 According to the Romans, the Celtic men
wore shirts and breeches (knee-length
trousers), and stiped or checked cloaks
fastened by a pin. It is possible that the
Scottish tartan and dress developed from this
“stiped cloak”. The Celts were also “very
careful about cleanliness and neatness” as
one Roman wrote. “Neither man or weman,”
he went on, “however poor , was seen either
ragged or dirty. “
 The
Romans
The name “Britain” comes
from the word “Pretani”, the
Greco-Roman word for the
inhabitans of Britain.
The Romans had invaded
because the Celts of Britain
were working with the Celts
of Gaul against them.
There were another reason. Under the Celts
Britain had become an important food
producer because of its mild climate and the
Romans could make use of British food for
their own fighting the Gauls.
The Romans brought
skills of reading and
writing to Britain. One
Roman at the time
noted that the governor
Agricola “trained the
sons of chiefs in the
literal arts…the result
was that the people who
used to reject Latin
began to use it in
speech and writing.” But
Latin completely
disappeared both in its
spoken and written
forms when the Anglo-
Saxons invaded Britain.
 The Romans were determined to
conquer the whole island but they
have little difficulty, apart from
Boadicea’ s revolt. The Romans
considered the Celts as war-mad,
“high spirited and quick for battle” , a
description some would still give the
Scots, Irish and Walsh today.
The Romans could not conquer
“Caledonia”, as they called Scotland,
although they spent over a century
trying to do so. At last they built a
strong wall along the northern
border, named after the
Emperor Hadrian who
planned it. Later it
marked the border
between the two
countries, England
and Scotland.
 Roman control of Britain came to an end as
the empire began to collapse. First were the
attacks by Celts of Caledonia and the same
was happening on the European mainland as
Germanic groups, Saxons and Franks, began
to raid the coast of Gaul. In AD 409 Rome
pulled its last soldiers out of Britain.
The most obvious characteristic of Roman
Britain was its towns, which were the basic of
Roman administration and civilization.
The Romans left about twenty large towns
of about 5,000 inhabitants, and almost one
hundred smaller ones. Many of these towns
were at first army camps, and the Latin word
for camp, castra, had remained part of many
towns names to this days: Gloucester,
Leicester, Doncaster, Winchester, Lancaster
and many other besides.
 The Hadrians Wall
One of the most famous monuments that the Romans built was
the well-known Hadrians Wall. The Hadrians Wall was built to keep
the Romans safe from the hostile attacks from the Picts, a
neighboring civilization at that time. The Hadrians Wall was the
northernmost boundary of the Roman Empire until early in the 5th
century. The wall stretched from the North Sea to the Irish Sea and
was about 80 Roman miles long, or around 73 modern miles. In
addition the Romans built milecastles or forts along the Hadrians
Wall. These milecastles were built in different sizes. Some would hold
up to 60 men. Others much larger held 155 to 1000 men. There were
large gates along the north face of the wall. On the south elevation of
the wall, they dug a large ditch with 6 foot high earth banks. Today
on the wall many of the original stones have been used in other
buildings, but parts of the wall still stand.
 THE SAXONS
The wealth of Britain by the fourth
century, the results of its mild climate and
centuries of peace, was a temptation to the
greedy. At first the Germanic tribes only
raided Britain, but in 5th century they began
to settle.
An English monk named Bede tells us
that invaders came from three powerful
Germanic tribes, the Saxons, Angles and
Jutes.

The Jutes settled mainly in Kent and along the

south coast, the Angles settled in the east, while the
Saxons settled between the Jutes and Angles.
 The British Celts fought the
raiders and settlers from
Germany as well as they could.
However, during the next
hundred years they were
slowly pushed into the
mountains in the far west,
which the Saxons called
“Wales”( “the land of the
foreigner”). Other Celts were
driven into the lowlands of the
country which became known
as Scotland.
 The strength of Anglo-
Saxon culture is obvious
even today. Days of the
week were named after
Germanic gods: Tig
(Tuesday), Wodin
(Wednesday), Thor
(Thursday), Frei
(Friday). New place-
names appeared on the
map. The earliest Saxon
villages were family
villages, the ending –ing meant family, thus
“Reading” is the place of the family of Rada,
“Hastings” of the family of Hasta. Ham means farm,
ton means settlement. Birmingham, Nottingham or
Southampton, for example, are Saxon place-names.
 
The Anglo-Saxons established a number of kingdoms, some of
which still exist in country or regional names to this days: Essex (East
Saxons), Sussex (South Saxons), Wessex (West Saxons), Middlesex
(Middle Saxons) and East Anglia.
 
The Saxon created institutions which made English state stong for
the next 500 years.One of these institution was the King’s Council,
called the Witan. Even today, the king or queen has a Privy Council, a
group of advisers on the affairs of state.
 The Saxons divide the land into new
administrative areas, based on shires,
or counties. These shires, established
by the end of the tenth century,
remained almost exactly the same for a
thousand years. Over each shire was
appointed a shire reeve, the king’s local
administrator. In time his name became
shortened to “sheriff”.
Anglo-Saxon England became weel
known in Europe for its exports of
woolen goods, cheese, hunting dogs,
pottery and metal goods. It imported
wine, fish, pepper, jewellery and wheel-
made pottery.
 The Vikings
The kingdom of England described above
fought constantly for control of the island.
England was invaded by tribes from
Scandinavia, called Vikings or Danes. They
went about conquering much the way the
Anglo-Saxons had done . They sailed their
long, narrow boats up the rivers and then
went about plundering . They plundered and
made desolate large areas of Ireland , France
and Britain. Even fortified towns were not
safe against the Vikings.

The Vikings were the Norse explorers,

warriors, merchants, and pirates who
raided, traded, explored and settled in
wide areas of Europe, Asia and the
North Atlantic islands from the late 8th
to the mid-11th century.
 Vikings came to conquer entire regions of the
United Kingdom today. Although there had
acquired almost no discipline on the battlefield
and not put in place before the attack strategies,
these warriors were able to quickly rule poorly
protected territories.
So-called Anglo-Saxon Chronicles states that
the Vikings attacked the monasteries for riches
that were inside. Buildings were poorly guarded,
but good to be invaded by warriors boards.
Vikings have easily attracted opprobrium
monastic faces that left posteriority documents
Condemns acts of atrocity toughest of Vikings .
Up to embrace Christianity, the Vikings
believed in their own gods - community leaders
serve as "priests" and the rituals were killed
various animals, including horses. Early beliefs
I've been digging these warriors in battle with
the unstoppable force.
 Legacy of the Vikings
Vikings brought dust and powder in places they
occupied. Preferred monasteries, because they were
poorly guarded. Moreover, apart from their
expression strength while skillfully wielded their
weapons, Vikings preferred to attack the weakest,
facts which drew condemnation from the monastic
faces of those times.
The main language of Britain is often called the
Queen's English, and it has been greatly influenced
by the speech of royal courtiers through the
. centuries. It owes just as much, however, to the
Viking invaders of long ago.
As a result of all this activity, the impact of Old
Norse on the Old English dialects being spoken by
the native population was significant, and had far-
reaching implications. It was the interaction between
the Viking settlers and their English neighbours,
their trading and farming activities and their
eventual intermarriage and assimilation that helped
to create the melting pot of two languages.