Invasions of

Britain
The first invasion in the Britain are:
Celts
° Celts arrived from northweast Germany around the 700 BC .
° Romans invaded Britain in 55-54 BC.
° In the 5° century the Angles-Saxons, from Germany and Scandinavia.
° In the 9° century the Vikings, from Denmark and Norway.
° In 1066 normans were the last invaders of the Britain isles, they came from
France.

Anglo-Saxon

Roman

Viking Normans
Celts
° The celts were very tall and muscular, had fair skin and hair, and blue
eyes. Women were almost equal to men, they could fight and lead other
warriors in war. They built hill forts on the hills surrounded by ditches.

° They worked iron, were farmers, hunters and fisherman, and

introduce the iron plough.

° The Celts worshipped the natural element: Sun,

Moon, threes, and river.

-Their priests were the druids.

-They held religious rites in the heart of the forest,
not in temples.

° They belived:
-The water was a holy element
-In immortality
- In the trasmigration of soul
Roman
Julius Cesar led a roman invasion in Britain in 55-
54 B.C. for about fifteen generation Britain was
part of Roman Empire. Romans were attracted
by the rich agriculture of the south.
In 122 A.D. Emperor Hadrian order a wall to be
built to mark the border of the unconquered
land. They also connected the towns that
develpoed as military, administrative and trading
centres thanks to roads, which were one of the
greatest engineering project of the ancient
world. Many of these towns are originally army
camps and the latin name castra, has remaining
in modern towns names ending in castra, such
as : Manchester, Lanchester….

°They brought their culture , the latin language, the cristianity , the
aqueducts and the sewage systems.
Anglo-Saxons
°The Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes came from the
North sea region of northern Europe. They settled at
south of Hadrian wall, they were looking for farming land.
They were organized in family group or clan.
Most important value was:
-loyalty to family and lord.
The central comunal life was the hall.
they formed seven kingdoms, the kingdom of Wessex
became most important in 829.

°In 597 Pope Gregory I sent a monk, Augustine to bring

cristianity back to england. The monasteries became the
most important culture centres and the monks produced
illuminated manuscripts. King Alfred, the king of Wessex:
-reorganised the army of Wessex
-Planned a navy longships
°King Alfred died and his son Edward, and then his grandson
-Established his capital at Winchester
Athestan succeded to the throne. Athlestan created a kingdom by
-Had latin texts translated into Anglo-Saxons
establishing the idea of royal autority. The last king of Anglo-
Saxons was Harold.
Vikings
We know very little about the Vikings, they came from Scandinavia,
they were called Danes by the English people, and they were sea
people. They crossed the Atlantic on their longships looking for
treasure, cattle and slaves. In the 9° century the Vikings invaded the
Britain, and they began to settle and intermarry. They established
the Danelaw, which was a code of Danish law but also came to
describe the area administered by the Danes. Their language
blended with that of the local poupolation.
Normans
The Normans invaded england in 1066 led by William of Normandy,
who defeated king Harold in the Battle of Hastings. William was
crowned in Westmister Abbey on Christmast day. Normans
introduced the feudal sistem, which were organized in:
-barons
-knights
-paesants
William the Conqueror, claimed to be the lord of the land and his
central authority became stronger. That power was demonstrated by
the Domesday Book, which was also used for collecting the geld,or
property tax.