British history (pre-history up to 1066)
Tensions between the CELTIC AND ANGLO-SAXON elements in the British Isles: the result of a long
history of immigrations (before 1066: immigration)
First settlements (500,000BC)
OLD STONE AGE: hunter-gatherers and fishers
NEW STONE AGE: farming, stone and earth monuments (4,000-3,000BC)
+ the builders of STONEHENGE (=one of the only remnants of these civilisations)
BRONZE AGE ART
- there mustve been some political entities/societal
organisation/ leadership on the island bc it requires leadership
and free time
- built between stages mostly in 300-500 BC
- stones came from quite far (25km, some from wales which is abt 200km) so how did ppl move
these stones that weigh around 20 tons
- speculation : track of logs / earthen tracks greased w animal fat kind of sleigh for the stones
- function: unclear
- aligns w sunset on shortest day of yr + sunrise on longest day of the yr may have had some
astronomical function like a calender / religious ceremonies or burial site (human bones found)
- we see these kind of stones all over the island e.g.: Orkneys: ring o’ Brodgar
- 2500 BC? built more or less around the same time
- shows some kind of cultural cohesion
UFFINGTON WHITE HORSE
- chalky ground, sort of drawing
- abt 100m
- can only be observed from a nearby hill
600 BC: arrival of CELTIC peoples from mainland (Europe)
they brought with them the IRON AGE CIVILIZATION
200 BC: More Celtic/Belgic tribes: BRITONS (still illiterate ppl)
55 BC : first ROMAN invasions
,THE CELTIC FRINGE
à shows where the celtic tribes originated and where
they spread
yellow: where Celtic languages still exist today
CELTIC LANGUAGES
Two groups in the modern-day Insular (= spoken on the island) Celtic languages:
1 Goidelic (Gaelic) group: brought over by earlier Celtic immigrants (2000-1200 BC) (3)
these include: Scottish Gaelic Irish Gaelic Manx
2 Brythonic group: brought over by Celtic immigrants (2)
Welsh Cornish (went extinct but recently revived)
ROMAN BRITAIN
= FIRST INVASION OF CELTIC BRITAIN BY ROMANS
55 BC by JULIUS CAESAR
only wanted to use the island of Br as a military base to destroy the tribe of the Balkans
Britain occupied 43 AD by CLAUDIUS
Romans started looking at it as a province for the Roman empire
- 1st capital: COLCHESTER = the oldest recorded town in Britain
- Foundation of Londinium
it took them abt 60 yrs to conquer Br completely
gradually the province became romanised
à Celtic ppl started adopting Roman traditions willingly while
they thought they were becoming culturalised
à not all of the island was conquered ;
roman COLCHESTER
Scottish rebellions (in the north) resisted and this remained a problem so
EMPEROR HADRIAN ordered a wall to be built to keep out the Scottish tribes
(Wall of Hadrian)
,roman LONDON
à things we can recognise from rome like basilica
and public baths
roman PRESENCE
Modern place-names of Roman origin ending in -
cester/-chester/-caster
Eg Worcester / Manchester
Roman remains e.g. Bath gave the city its name
ANGLO-SAXON SETTLEMENTS
Collapse of Roman Britain : rome was under
attack from the Visigoths so roman troups went back to rome to defend rome)
Germanic tribes : ANGLES, SAXONS & Jutes settle in Britain
= illiterate, so literacy was lost and coinage (use of coins) was gone à civilisation disappeared
so many of the more higher ranking Celtic Br moved to the west
Origin of the Arthurian legends (legends of king arthur and his nights)
• the so-called Heptarchy(Br divided into 7 major kingdoms)
, • 6-9th centuries
Mercians, wessex , essex , sussex , kent , northumbrians , east anglians
à it was mostly England which was colonised by Anglo-Saxons
Cornwall + Wales + West coast of scotland + Ireland remained Celtic
this is why many of these feel historically + culturally separate from the England
Mercians started taking over the other kingdoms à were the first to call themselves ‘’king of the
English’’
FIRST PERIODS OF CHRISTIANIZATION island of britain became christanised from 2 separate directions
Two Traditions
One starting from the North From Celtic Ireland
Ireland was christianised before England and they sent missionaries over
One starting from the South missionaries sent from From Rome
CHRISTIAN MISSIONS FROM THE NORTH
• Irish/Celtic christianization starting from Ulster Scotland Wales, Cornwall
mostly on celtic parts
• The legendary St Patrick played a viral role in christanisation of ireland and this is the irish
national holiday
• shamrock : clover plant = symbol of Ireland = represents the Holy Trinity
shows how deeply chr is embedded in irish culture
• The Book of Kells (800) one of the most imp pieces of literature produced at the time :
it shows v well that chr in ireland + scotland wales cornwall was merged v neatly w/ celtic
culture and traditions ; the drawings and patterns are v clearly celtic :
à explains why christianity was introduced so easily into celtic parts of the island bc it did not
seek to replace the culture that was there it simply merged w it
• Celtic Cross = St John's cross at the burial place of St Columba
again v clear celtic patterns on a christian object
__________________________________________________________________________________
CHRISTIAN MISSIONS FROM THE SOUTH
• missionaries sent by Rome by Pope Gregory in the 6-7th centuries
• St Augustine lands in Kent in 597 and builds a church and a monastery in Canterbury
would later become the biggest most important religious centrum of england
à St Augustine's abbey (ruins) Canterbury Cathedral
__________________________________________________________________________________
Tensions between the CELTIC AND ANGLO-SAXON elements in the British Isles: the result of a long
history of immigrations (before 1066: immigration)
First settlements (500,000BC)
OLD STONE AGE: hunter-gatherers and fishers
NEW STONE AGE: farming, stone and earth monuments (4,000-3,000BC)
+ the builders of STONEHENGE (=one of the only remnants of these civilisations)
BRONZE AGE ART
- there mustve been some political entities/societal
organisation/ leadership on the island bc it requires leadership
and free time
- built between stages mostly in 300-500 BC
- stones came from quite far (25km, some from wales which is abt 200km) so how did ppl move
these stones that weigh around 20 tons
- speculation : track of logs / earthen tracks greased w animal fat kind of sleigh for the stones
- function: unclear
- aligns w sunset on shortest day of yr + sunrise on longest day of the yr may have had some
astronomical function like a calender / religious ceremonies or burial site (human bones found)
- we see these kind of stones all over the island e.g.: Orkneys: ring o’ Brodgar
- 2500 BC? built more or less around the same time
- shows some kind of cultural cohesion
UFFINGTON WHITE HORSE
- chalky ground, sort of drawing
- abt 100m
- can only be observed from a nearby hill
600 BC: arrival of CELTIC peoples from mainland (Europe)
they brought with them the IRON AGE CIVILIZATION
200 BC: More Celtic/Belgic tribes: BRITONS (still illiterate ppl)
55 BC : first ROMAN invasions
,THE CELTIC FRINGE
à shows where the celtic tribes originated and where
they spread
yellow: where Celtic languages still exist today
CELTIC LANGUAGES
Two groups in the modern-day Insular (= spoken on the island) Celtic languages:
1 Goidelic (Gaelic) group: brought over by earlier Celtic immigrants (2000-1200 BC) (3)
these include: Scottish Gaelic Irish Gaelic Manx
2 Brythonic group: brought over by Celtic immigrants (2)
Welsh Cornish (went extinct but recently revived)
ROMAN BRITAIN
= FIRST INVASION OF CELTIC BRITAIN BY ROMANS
55 BC by JULIUS CAESAR
only wanted to use the island of Br as a military base to destroy the tribe of the Balkans
Britain occupied 43 AD by CLAUDIUS
Romans started looking at it as a province for the Roman empire
- 1st capital: COLCHESTER = the oldest recorded town in Britain
- Foundation of Londinium
it took them abt 60 yrs to conquer Br completely
gradually the province became romanised
à Celtic ppl started adopting Roman traditions willingly while
they thought they were becoming culturalised
à not all of the island was conquered ;
roman COLCHESTER
Scottish rebellions (in the north) resisted and this remained a problem so
EMPEROR HADRIAN ordered a wall to be built to keep out the Scottish tribes
(Wall of Hadrian)
,roman LONDON
à things we can recognise from rome like basilica
and public baths
roman PRESENCE
Modern place-names of Roman origin ending in -
cester/-chester/-caster
Eg Worcester / Manchester
Roman remains e.g. Bath gave the city its name
ANGLO-SAXON SETTLEMENTS
Collapse of Roman Britain : rome was under
attack from the Visigoths so roman troups went back to rome to defend rome)
Germanic tribes : ANGLES, SAXONS & Jutes settle in Britain
= illiterate, so literacy was lost and coinage (use of coins) was gone à civilisation disappeared
so many of the more higher ranking Celtic Br moved to the west
Origin of the Arthurian legends (legends of king arthur and his nights)
• the so-called Heptarchy(Br divided into 7 major kingdoms)
, • 6-9th centuries
Mercians, wessex , essex , sussex , kent , northumbrians , east anglians
à it was mostly England which was colonised by Anglo-Saxons
Cornwall + Wales + West coast of scotland + Ireland remained Celtic
this is why many of these feel historically + culturally separate from the England
Mercians started taking over the other kingdoms à were the first to call themselves ‘’king of the
English’’
FIRST PERIODS OF CHRISTIANIZATION island of britain became christanised from 2 separate directions
Two Traditions
One starting from the North From Celtic Ireland
Ireland was christianised before England and they sent missionaries over
One starting from the South missionaries sent from From Rome
CHRISTIAN MISSIONS FROM THE NORTH
• Irish/Celtic christianization starting from Ulster Scotland Wales, Cornwall
mostly on celtic parts
• The legendary St Patrick played a viral role in christanisation of ireland and this is the irish
national holiday
• shamrock : clover plant = symbol of Ireland = represents the Holy Trinity
shows how deeply chr is embedded in irish culture
• The Book of Kells (800) one of the most imp pieces of literature produced at the time :
it shows v well that chr in ireland + scotland wales cornwall was merged v neatly w/ celtic
culture and traditions ; the drawings and patterns are v clearly celtic :
à explains why christianity was introduced so easily into celtic parts of the island bc it did not
seek to replace the culture that was there it simply merged w it
• Celtic Cross = St John's cross at the burial place of St Columba
again v clear celtic patterns on a christian object
__________________________________________________________________________________
CHRISTIAN MISSIONS FROM THE SOUTH
• missionaries sent by Rome by Pope Gregory in the 6-7th centuries
• St Augustine lands in Kent in 597 and builds a church and a monastery in Canterbury
would later become the biggest most important religious centrum of england
à St Augustine's abbey (ruins) Canterbury Cathedral
__________________________________________________________________________________
