1: The British Isles up to 1066 (Norman Conquest)
The British Isles: England, Wales, Scotland & Ireland (Northern Ireland)
The historiographical framing of British history
Class I – The British Isles up to 1066: 1) Languages; II) States; III) Urban Society
Class II – The British Isles from 1066 to 1485
I) Empire (internal); II) National Identities; III) Universities
Class III – The British Isles in the Early Modern Era
I) Religion; II) Constitutional Monarchy; III) United Kingdom; IV) Empire (external)
Class IV – The British Isles in the Modern Era
I) Capitalist Economy; II) Capitalist Social Structures; III) Democratic Government
The Celtic and Roman Era (10.000 BCE – 400 CE)
British Isles permanently settled around 10.000 CE with the Neolithic Revolution (4.000BCE):
Migratory hunter-gatherers settle in hamblets, introducing agriculture
- there is social inequality, slavery, patriarchy, …
- also were innovative people: technological development to work together on a larger scale
Rise of Celtic tribal societies with rich oral stories and early metallurgy (metal tools): 6 BCE
- Romans partially conquered now England: ‘Brittania’ Roman province
o Built cities, roads = urban infrastructure
o Helped start trade
o Limited Christianization
- Celtic languages: Scottish, Welsh, Irish and Cornish Gaelic (4)
= linguistic and cultural coherence
The enigma of societies with unlimited or no literacy
Neolithic Revolution (4.000 BCE)
= Hunter-gatherers transition to farming, forming a network of dispersed hamlets
- Earned their living w/ arable and livestock farming
- Soil types and landscapes: agriculture developed first in the plains of the south-eastern parts of British Isles, &
was slower and less pronounced in the mountain ranges, plateaus and marshlands (moerasgebieden)
Around 1000 BCE: climate deterioration lead to land expansion and deforestation
climate deterioration less surplus (meeropbrengsten) on the farmed land peasants had to expand in areas that
were previously untouched by NR forms the landscape of the British Isles (from then on: British Isles no longer
heavily forested)
Archaelogical evidence that there was considerable social inequality
- Elites were capable of commanding resources and labour to establish megalithic monuments like Stonehenge
Around 2000 BCE: agrarian societies develop metallurgy (metaalbewerking): first bronze, later iron
From 6th century BCE: Celtic cultures began to develop, these societies had:
- Shared language, cultural practices and religion (nature-centred form of polytheism)
- BUT no shared identity or government: British Isles were a patchwork of independent polities each dominated
by its own warrior elite frequently war between these polities
- Striking aspect: prominent position of women in public life = matrilocality
some Celtic tribes had matriarchal features up to the point they produced “warrior queens” such as Boudica
of the Iceni tribe
1st century CE: Roman Conquest of Gaul Romans helped war against other tribes, permanent occupation by Emperor
Claudius until 410 CE
,The birth of Roman Britain
Side-effect from Roman conquest of Gaul: big part of British Isles came in hands of Roman Empire (but IR & most of SC
were never Romanized)
Roman colony ‘Britannia’ = Roman province
- Ca. 43 CE to 410 CE: emperor Claudius established a permanent Roman occupation
- Limited to a part of the British Isles: IR & most SC was no part and thus remained Celtic
The impact of Rome/Britannia
- Urbanization and economic development
o Roman part of B. Isles was integrated in Roman economy strong stimulus for long-lasting trading
networks & the development of various industries
o Network of Roman roads was established to connect the newly emerging Romano-British towns
(London, York, …), coins, architecture (countryside became swamped w/ Roman-style architecture)
- Introduction of Latin: mainly for elites, rest of society spoke Celtic
- Introduction of Christianity (from 4th CE): late and restricted impact
o Became new religion of the state of the Roman empire
The fall of Roman Britian: collapsed around 400 CE
First: collapse of Roman economy and urban infrastructure
- Attacks on colony by Scottish and Irish raiders increasing fiscal pressure bc of military defense
- Economic collapse due to military costs and taxes: military defence ruins economy; ordinary ppl had to pay for
this declining purchasing power of the inhabitants of Brittania demand for goods produced in towns
declined collapse of Roman urban centers, economy and Christianity
Later: politically abandoned by Rome and invaded by Anglo-Saxon settlers (5th CE):
- Withdrawal of Roman legions stationed in the British Isles in 410 CE in order to counter the increasing
presence of Germanic ribes in Roman Gaul leaving the population to fend for themselves End of Roman
rule
- Christianity disappears w the Romans + resurgence of Celtic languages/practices
- Introduction of Germanic languages/practices: emergence of 4 cultural-linguistic zones:
1) England, 2) Wales, 3) Scotland and 4) Ireland
The ‘Dark Ages’ (5th and 6th century)
Difficult period to assess: lack of written sources, hence ‘dark’ (bc of decline in literacy very few written sources
avilable). But they did see a development of 4 cultural and linguistic spheres that were independent of each other:
Formation of 4 linguistic and cultural spheres (3 of them Celtic, 1 Germanic)
- Germanic society: birth of English
- Celtic languages: Scottish, Irish and Welsh societies
Shared linguistic practice does NOT imply a shared ‘Celtic’ identity
Saw the arrival of Germanic tribes: Angles, Saxons and Jutes created a new Anglo-Saxon society, meanwhile IR, WA
and SC remains Celtic and policitally fragmented
1) England
- Germanic society formed through conquers and integration
- “English” comes from ‘Angles’ (8th CE)
- Rise of the English language (Old English), e.g.: Beowulf
- Used English, not Latin, in administration and law
2) Wales
- Resisted Germanic invasion
- Retained Celtic culture and Welsh language
- Welsh remained dominant until ~1900
3) Scotland
, - Never part of Roman Empire
- Fusion of Picts + Scoti (Irish settlers) = Scots
- Dominant language: Scottic Gaelic (until abt. 11th CE)
4) Ireland
- Never conquered by Rome
- Maintained independent Celtic polities
- Dominant language: Irish Gaelic (until abt 19th CE – then replaced by English)
This development (of 4 linguistic and cultural spheres) would have a long-lasting impact on the history of the British
Isles:
1) England: a Germanic society is formed: new settlement from the continent (Anglo-Saxon settlers in 5th CE)
- First: violent confrontations btween Romano-Celtic inhabitants vs. the Germanic immigrants
later emerged and became “the English” and developed the English language from 8th CE
- The ‘English’ refers to most prominent tribe of the various Germanic invaders: the Angles
- = ‘Anglo-Saxon period’ = ‘early English’ = ‘early medieval’ period
- Result: English language now developed + Beowulf epic being most famous expression of Old English
- English was quickly adopted for governance, administration and justice (not Latin anymore)
2) Wales:
- had belonged to Roman province Britannia but resisted Germanic invaders now
- developed into a Celtic society with own Celtic Language
3) Northern region (Scotland)
- escaped Roman occupation
fusion of its Celtic inhabitants: Picts + Scoti (a group of settlers from IR) = Scots with also own Celtic
language, Scottish Gaelic
- English becomes dominant later, first in towns and Lowlands, later also in countryside and Highlands
4) Ireland
- also escaped Roman occupation and remained a patchwork of polities: all politically independent
- But with a shared Celtic cultural framework + language: Irish Gaelic
- 12th CE onwards: English was introduced here + 19th CE: English become dominant
The Early Middle Ages (7th-11th centuries)
“Anglo-Saxon era” in older studies
State formation: Rise of the first centralized English state, beginning w Alfred the Great and culminating in a unified
kingdom with robust fiscal, judicial and administrative frameworks
Emergence of sacral kingship and institutional governance with shires and sherrifs
Urbanization: after collapse of Roman towns in 5th CE, urban life almost vanished during Dark Ages, but in 9th CE
onwards (esp. under Alfred the Great & his successors) there was deliberate state-driven urban revival
- Alfred + later kings founded burhs (fortified towns) and became centers for trade, legal administration and
centers for coin production
- Primarily in Anglo-Saxon England: this process was closely tied to state formation, (re)Christianization and
defense (but true urban growth would come in the later medieval period)
, THREE KEY DEVELOPMENTS THAT TOOK SHAPE BETWEEN 600 AND 1100 (7th-12th CE)
1) The (re)christianization of the British Isles
Christianity arrived in Roman Britain in 3rd CE, declined in 5th CE, revived in Ireland in 5th CE:
First: Ireland converting in 5th CE, under the influence of St. Patrick (a Celt from northern IR who had travelled in Gaul,
a christian region)
Later: Scottish, Welsh and England in 7th CE, Roman churches sent missionaries to the rest of British Isles to convert the
local Welsh, Scottish and English communities
- Synod of Whitby (664): English Church was set up as a part of Roman Catholic Church so the pope had a lot of
power and influence over appointment of bishops England aligns with Rome
- Church in Celtic regions (WA, SC, IR) was more independent from Rome. IR resisted a centralized organization
until 12th CE when there was a full integration with Roman Catholic Church
- Conversion was top-down: first elites were converted, later the lower classes
Viking disruption and integration:
- When Danish Vikings invaded the British Isles in 9th CE: period of religious crisis bc they weren’t Christian and
destroyed many churches and abbeys = Viking raids (starting w Lindisfarne in 793) damaged the Church
- Eventually the Danish Vikings also converted to Christianity
2) The rise of the states of the British Isles
Birth of English Kingdom
The rise of the English state in 9th CE, esp. under Alfred the Great he laid foundation for a centralized monarchy w/
taxation administration and military organization = crucial development in history of British Isles
Originally, the Germanic settles did not create a unified political space, there was a patchwork of independent polities
that frequently clashed w each other (like in WA, SC and IR)
Starting situation: the Heptarchy: the 7 kingdoms of England in 7th CE
- Each with its own warlord-king and military elite, later all united under a single ruler, Alfred the Great
- Viking attacks and response under Alfred the Great: first king of a unified England and formerly king of Wessex
The pillars of power: fiscal system, administration (shires), sacral kingship
The rise of the Scottish state: 10th-12th century
- Partially modelled after English state
- Formed a kingdom later: Alba
Political fragmentation in Wales and Ireland
- Incomplete trends to centralization
- Wales remained divided
- Ireland remained consoldated from app. 150 10 kingdoms, but never into a single polity
The British Isles: England, Wales, Scotland & Ireland (Northern Ireland)
The historiographical framing of British history
Class I – The British Isles up to 1066: 1) Languages; II) States; III) Urban Society
Class II – The British Isles from 1066 to 1485
I) Empire (internal); II) National Identities; III) Universities
Class III – The British Isles in the Early Modern Era
I) Religion; II) Constitutional Monarchy; III) United Kingdom; IV) Empire (external)
Class IV – The British Isles in the Modern Era
I) Capitalist Economy; II) Capitalist Social Structures; III) Democratic Government
The Celtic and Roman Era (10.000 BCE – 400 CE)
British Isles permanently settled around 10.000 CE with the Neolithic Revolution (4.000BCE):
Migratory hunter-gatherers settle in hamblets, introducing agriculture
- there is social inequality, slavery, patriarchy, …
- also were innovative people: technological development to work together on a larger scale
Rise of Celtic tribal societies with rich oral stories and early metallurgy (metal tools): 6 BCE
- Romans partially conquered now England: ‘Brittania’ Roman province
o Built cities, roads = urban infrastructure
o Helped start trade
o Limited Christianization
- Celtic languages: Scottish, Welsh, Irish and Cornish Gaelic (4)
= linguistic and cultural coherence
The enigma of societies with unlimited or no literacy
Neolithic Revolution (4.000 BCE)
= Hunter-gatherers transition to farming, forming a network of dispersed hamlets
- Earned their living w/ arable and livestock farming
- Soil types and landscapes: agriculture developed first in the plains of the south-eastern parts of British Isles, &
was slower and less pronounced in the mountain ranges, plateaus and marshlands (moerasgebieden)
Around 1000 BCE: climate deterioration lead to land expansion and deforestation
climate deterioration less surplus (meeropbrengsten) on the farmed land peasants had to expand in areas that
were previously untouched by NR forms the landscape of the British Isles (from then on: British Isles no longer
heavily forested)
Archaelogical evidence that there was considerable social inequality
- Elites were capable of commanding resources and labour to establish megalithic monuments like Stonehenge
Around 2000 BCE: agrarian societies develop metallurgy (metaalbewerking): first bronze, later iron
From 6th century BCE: Celtic cultures began to develop, these societies had:
- Shared language, cultural practices and religion (nature-centred form of polytheism)
- BUT no shared identity or government: British Isles were a patchwork of independent polities each dominated
by its own warrior elite frequently war between these polities
- Striking aspect: prominent position of women in public life = matrilocality
some Celtic tribes had matriarchal features up to the point they produced “warrior queens” such as Boudica
of the Iceni tribe
1st century CE: Roman Conquest of Gaul Romans helped war against other tribes, permanent occupation by Emperor
Claudius until 410 CE
,The birth of Roman Britain
Side-effect from Roman conquest of Gaul: big part of British Isles came in hands of Roman Empire (but IR & most of SC
were never Romanized)
Roman colony ‘Britannia’ = Roman province
- Ca. 43 CE to 410 CE: emperor Claudius established a permanent Roman occupation
- Limited to a part of the British Isles: IR & most SC was no part and thus remained Celtic
The impact of Rome/Britannia
- Urbanization and economic development
o Roman part of B. Isles was integrated in Roman economy strong stimulus for long-lasting trading
networks & the development of various industries
o Network of Roman roads was established to connect the newly emerging Romano-British towns
(London, York, …), coins, architecture (countryside became swamped w/ Roman-style architecture)
- Introduction of Latin: mainly for elites, rest of society spoke Celtic
- Introduction of Christianity (from 4th CE): late and restricted impact
o Became new religion of the state of the Roman empire
The fall of Roman Britian: collapsed around 400 CE
First: collapse of Roman economy and urban infrastructure
- Attacks on colony by Scottish and Irish raiders increasing fiscal pressure bc of military defense
- Economic collapse due to military costs and taxes: military defence ruins economy; ordinary ppl had to pay for
this declining purchasing power of the inhabitants of Brittania demand for goods produced in towns
declined collapse of Roman urban centers, economy and Christianity
Later: politically abandoned by Rome and invaded by Anglo-Saxon settlers (5th CE):
- Withdrawal of Roman legions stationed in the British Isles in 410 CE in order to counter the increasing
presence of Germanic ribes in Roman Gaul leaving the population to fend for themselves End of Roman
rule
- Christianity disappears w the Romans + resurgence of Celtic languages/practices
- Introduction of Germanic languages/practices: emergence of 4 cultural-linguistic zones:
1) England, 2) Wales, 3) Scotland and 4) Ireland
The ‘Dark Ages’ (5th and 6th century)
Difficult period to assess: lack of written sources, hence ‘dark’ (bc of decline in literacy very few written sources
avilable). But they did see a development of 4 cultural and linguistic spheres that were independent of each other:
Formation of 4 linguistic and cultural spheres (3 of them Celtic, 1 Germanic)
- Germanic society: birth of English
- Celtic languages: Scottish, Irish and Welsh societies
Shared linguistic practice does NOT imply a shared ‘Celtic’ identity
Saw the arrival of Germanic tribes: Angles, Saxons and Jutes created a new Anglo-Saxon society, meanwhile IR, WA
and SC remains Celtic and policitally fragmented
1) England
- Germanic society formed through conquers and integration
- “English” comes from ‘Angles’ (8th CE)
- Rise of the English language (Old English), e.g.: Beowulf
- Used English, not Latin, in administration and law
2) Wales
- Resisted Germanic invasion
- Retained Celtic culture and Welsh language
- Welsh remained dominant until ~1900
3) Scotland
, - Never part of Roman Empire
- Fusion of Picts + Scoti (Irish settlers) = Scots
- Dominant language: Scottic Gaelic (until abt. 11th CE)
4) Ireland
- Never conquered by Rome
- Maintained independent Celtic polities
- Dominant language: Irish Gaelic (until abt 19th CE – then replaced by English)
This development (of 4 linguistic and cultural spheres) would have a long-lasting impact on the history of the British
Isles:
1) England: a Germanic society is formed: new settlement from the continent (Anglo-Saxon settlers in 5th CE)
- First: violent confrontations btween Romano-Celtic inhabitants vs. the Germanic immigrants
later emerged and became “the English” and developed the English language from 8th CE
- The ‘English’ refers to most prominent tribe of the various Germanic invaders: the Angles
- = ‘Anglo-Saxon period’ = ‘early English’ = ‘early medieval’ period
- Result: English language now developed + Beowulf epic being most famous expression of Old English
- English was quickly adopted for governance, administration and justice (not Latin anymore)
2) Wales:
- had belonged to Roman province Britannia but resisted Germanic invaders now
- developed into a Celtic society with own Celtic Language
3) Northern region (Scotland)
- escaped Roman occupation
fusion of its Celtic inhabitants: Picts + Scoti (a group of settlers from IR) = Scots with also own Celtic
language, Scottish Gaelic
- English becomes dominant later, first in towns and Lowlands, later also in countryside and Highlands
4) Ireland
- also escaped Roman occupation and remained a patchwork of polities: all politically independent
- But with a shared Celtic cultural framework + language: Irish Gaelic
- 12th CE onwards: English was introduced here + 19th CE: English become dominant
The Early Middle Ages (7th-11th centuries)
“Anglo-Saxon era” in older studies
State formation: Rise of the first centralized English state, beginning w Alfred the Great and culminating in a unified
kingdom with robust fiscal, judicial and administrative frameworks
Emergence of sacral kingship and institutional governance with shires and sherrifs
Urbanization: after collapse of Roman towns in 5th CE, urban life almost vanished during Dark Ages, but in 9th CE
onwards (esp. under Alfred the Great & his successors) there was deliberate state-driven urban revival
- Alfred + later kings founded burhs (fortified towns) and became centers for trade, legal administration and
centers for coin production
- Primarily in Anglo-Saxon England: this process was closely tied to state formation, (re)Christianization and
defense (but true urban growth would come in the later medieval period)
, THREE KEY DEVELOPMENTS THAT TOOK SHAPE BETWEEN 600 AND 1100 (7th-12th CE)
1) The (re)christianization of the British Isles
Christianity arrived in Roman Britain in 3rd CE, declined in 5th CE, revived in Ireland in 5th CE:
First: Ireland converting in 5th CE, under the influence of St. Patrick (a Celt from northern IR who had travelled in Gaul,
a christian region)
Later: Scottish, Welsh and England in 7th CE, Roman churches sent missionaries to the rest of British Isles to convert the
local Welsh, Scottish and English communities
- Synod of Whitby (664): English Church was set up as a part of Roman Catholic Church so the pope had a lot of
power and influence over appointment of bishops England aligns with Rome
- Church in Celtic regions (WA, SC, IR) was more independent from Rome. IR resisted a centralized organization
until 12th CE when there was a full integration with Roman Catholic Church
- Conversion was top-down: first elites were converted, later the lower classes
Viking disruption and integration:
- When Danish Vikings invaded the British Isles in 9th CE: period of religious crisis bc they weren’t Christian and
destroyed many churches and abbeys = Viking raids (starting w Lindisfarne in 793) damaged the Church
- Eventually the Danish Vikings also converted to Christianity
2) The rise of the states of the British Isles
Birth of English Kingdom
The rise of the English state in 9th CE, esp. under Alfred the Great he laid foundation for a centralized monarchy w/
taxation administration and military organization = crucial development in history of British Isles
Originally, the Germanic settles did not create a unified political space, there was a patchwork of independent polities
that frequently clashed w each other (like in WA, SC and IR)
Starting situation: the Heptarchy: the 7 kingdoms of England in 7th CE
- Each with its own warlord-king and military elite, later all united under a single ruler, Alfred the Great
- Viking attacks and response under Alfred the Great: first king of a unified England and formerly king of Wessex
The pillars of power: fiscal system, administration (shires), sacral kingship
The rise of the Scottish state: 10th-12th century
- Partially modelled after English state
- Formed a kingdom later: Alba
Political fragmentation in Wales and Ireland
- Incomplete trends to centralization
- Wales remained divided
- Ireland remained consoldated from app. 150 10 kingdoms, but never into a single polity
