1.

Britain's Prehistory

The Ice Age - the first evidence of human life. The flint hand axe was used to
skin and butcher game. It was made and used by one of four of the earliest
ancestors of the British people. Probably dated to about 300,000 BC.
50,000 BC (a milder period of the Ice Age):
The ancestor of the modern British emerged.
These people were smaller than the modern British. They had a life span of only 30
years.
10,000 BC (the Ice Age draws to a close):
Britain is peopled by: groups of hunters, gatherers & fishers. Few had settled
homes (mobility).
They followed herds of deer: food & clothing.
3000 B.C.
People from the Iberian Peninsula or even the North African Coast crossed the
narrow sea from Europe in small round boats of bent wood, each carrying one or two
persons. They knew how to make pottery, grew corn crops, kept animals.
Appearance: small, dark, long-headed people.
Settlement: from Cornwall at the southwest end of the island, all the way to the far
north.
The BARROW / BURIAL MOUND: It is one of the first examples of public
works.
When the mound is composed entirely of stone, rather than earth, the term
cairn replaces the word barrow. The mound may be simply a mass of earth or stone,
or it may be structured by concentric rings of posts, low stone walls, or upright
stone slabs. Most of these barrows are found in Southern Britain, an easily habitable
part of the country where the ancestors of the British used to farm extensively.
Purpose: to please the gods of the soil.
THE STONE HENGE
Explanation: After 3000 BC, the chalkland people started building great
circles of earth banks and ditches. Inside they built wooden buildings and stone
circles which were called henges. Stonehenge is the most spectacular of all the
henges.
It was built in separate stages over more than 1,000 years. It is made of
different stones. The biggest are the so-called bluestones. Stonehenge was a sort
of capital. Chiefs from other groups came from all over Britain, as far as the Orkney
Islands north of Scotland, and as far south as Cornwall.
The importance of the place in folk memory far outlasted the builders of the
monument.
THE BEAKER PEOPLE
Time: After 2400 BC new groups of people started to arrive in the S-E of
Britain from Europe. Physical features: round-headed, strongly built & taller than
Neolithic Britain.
Skills: military & metal-working.
Outcome: leaders of the society.
Burial: individual graves, furnished with pottery beakers, from which these
people got their name, the Beaker people.

2. The Celts

700 BC: arrival from central Europe. They settled in the South of Britain. They
drove many of the inhabitants they found westward towards Wales, Cornwall &

Ireland. Technically advanced: worked with iron & produced better weapons than
those who used bronze. Used advanced ploughing methods.
Organization: tribes led by tribal chiefs.
Celtic tribes often fought against themselves.
The Celts built many hill-forts in the South of Britain. Their insides were filled
with houses.
They became simple economic centres. Annual fairs took place in them.
The druids could not read / write. Memorized religious teaching, laws, history. All
Druids from Britain met once a year. Had no temples. They met in sacred groves of
trees or by rivers. Their worship included human sacrifice.

3. The Romans

ETYMOLOGY
The name Britain comes from the word Pretani, the Greco - Roman word for the
inhabitants of Britain. The Romans started to mispronounce the word and called the
island Britannia.
WHY DID THE ROMANS INVADE BRITAIN?
Because the Celts of Britain were working with the Celts of Gaul against them,
giving them food & allowing them to hide in Britain. Because Britain had become an
important food producer (cattle and ploughs were used to farm). Because the
Romans could use British food for their own army fighting the Gauls.
The Occupation of Britain
55 BC: Julius Caesar briefly visits Britain.
AD 43: Roman invasion.
The Romans conquered the island easily, apart from Scotland, which they called
Caledonia.
Reasons:
Their well-trained army.
Their superior organization.
The Celtic tribes fought against themselves.

Roman
Soldier

Hadrians Wall
Explanation: The Romans could not conquer Caledonia so they build a strong wall
along the northern border, named after the Emperor Hadrian who planned it.
Purpose: To keep out raiders from the north.
TOWNS: The basis of Roman administration & civilization. The Romans left about 20
large towns of about 5,000 inhabitants. Many of them were at first army camps. The
Latin word castra has remained part of many town names to this day: Chester,
Lancaster, Winchester.
FEATURES: Streets, markets, shops. Buildings with central heating.
Roads. (6 of these Roman roads met in London, a capital city of about 20,000
people)
Roman Life
Outside the towns: Villas (large farms). They belonged to the richer Britons. Each
villa had many workers. Position: near towns so that crops could be sold easily.
Differences: the rich & those who worked the land. The poor still lived in round
huts.
End of Roman Rule
Although the total army in Britain was about 40,000 men, Roman control of Britain
came to an end as the empire began to collapse.
Signs: attacks by Celts of Caledonia in AD 367. The Roman legions found it more &
more difficult to stop raiders from crossing Hadrians Wall.
AD 409: Rome pulls its last soldiers out of Britain.
Saxon raiders from Germany started to plunder the country.

4. The Anglo-Saxons

AD 430: Germanic tribes start settling in Britain

Features: warlike & illiterate

Source: Ecclesiastical History of the English People by Bede, a monk who lived about
AD 730. Settlement patterns: The Saxons, the Angles, the Jutes.
THE EFFECT OF THE INVASION / SETTLEMENT
The British Celts were pushed westwards towards Wales / Weallas (the land of the
foreigners)
Slavery: British Celts become slaves of the Anglo-Saxons.
Little is left of Celtic language & culture, except the names of the rivers: Thames,
Severn,Avon.
ORGANIZATION
The Anglo-Saxons established kingdoms such as:
Essex (East Saxons) Sussex (South Saxons) Wessex (West Saxons) Middlesex
(Middle Saxons)
CULTURE
Days of the week are named after Germanic gods:
TIG (Tuesday) WODIN (Wednesday) THOR (Thursday) FREI (Friday)
Place name contain the ending ing, meaning folk / family.
Reading = the place of the family Rada. Hastings = the place of the family Hast
Ham = farm (Nottingham, Birmingham)
Ton = settlement (Southampton)
SOCIETY
The Anglo-Saxons introduced a heavy plough, used to cultivate heavy soils. Land is
divided into long thin strips. Each family had several strips. The oxen used for
ploughing were shared on a cooperative basis.
Deforestation: trees were cut and land could be used for farming.
The manor (large house): the lord lived here.
The manor = a simple building where locals paid taxes & justice was administered
by the lord
GOVERNMENT
The most important institution: the Kings Council called Witan. Originally made up
of senior warriors & churchmen.
The Council = a formal body that issued laws (10 th century)
Purpose: to advise the king on vital issues
The beginning of the class system:
KINGS > LORDS >SOLDIERS > WORKERS >THE MEN OF LEARNING (coming from
the Christian Church)

5. Old English Literature

What is old English?

Its the first form of the English language, also known as Anglo-Saxon. Spoken from
AD 600 AD 1100. The old language cannot be read now, except for those who
have made a special study of it.
What does it include?
EPIC POETRY/ SERMONS & BIBLE TRANSLATIONS /LEGAL WORKS /RIDDLES/ (400
manuscripts)
What is Beowulf?
The first English epic poem. Origin: Scandinavia (story set in Denmark & Sweden) It
contains 3000 lines. The name of the author is unknown. The Beowulf manuscript:
the British Library

Language: vernacular (native language)

Explanation: At the time, Latin was considered a literary language. Latin was also
the language of learning and actually competed with the vernacular language.
THE PLOT OF BEOWULF
King Hrothgar of the Danes builds a towering mead hall next to a swamp inhabited
by Grendel, a monstrous spirit in the form of a man, the demonic offspring of Cain.
For years, Grendel ravages the hall until Beowulf of the Geats, a man surpassing in
strength and size, comes to face the marauder one-on-one. Grendel is defeated,
and the hall rejoices; but the next night Grendels mother comes for revenge,
murdering Hrothgars closest friend. Beowulf seeks and slays Grendels mother in
her underwater home, for which he is rewarded by Hrothgar; and then he returns to
his own country. There Beowulf rules for fifty yearsuntil a treasure-hoarding
dragon emerges from a barrow. Once more, the champion ventures alone to face a
monstrous enemy, but this time he purchases victory with his life. Beowulf and the
dragon destroy each other.
The value of Beowulf
The poem gives us an interesting picture of life in those old days. It tells us about
fierce fights & brave deeds, about the speeches of the leader & the sufferings of his
men. It describes their life in the hall, the terrible creatures they had to fight, and
their ships & travels.
They had a hard life, both on land and on the sea, which they bore well.
Descriptions of sad / cruel events are extremely common. Happiness is not actually
very much illustrated.
Features of the poem:
THERE IS NO RHYME THE VERSE IS ALLITERATIVE
Things are described indirectly using combinations of words. E.g. ship = a sea-goer,
a sea-boat, a wave-floater. E.g. sailor = sea-traveller, seaman, sea-soldier. E.g. sea
= the ocean-way, sea-streams.
REPETITION
Repetition is usually employed as a figure of speech. In fact, repetition is associated
with unsophisticated styles. Thus, several words expressing the same concept / idea
are used.
If the poet wants to say that the ship sailed away, he may say that the ship, the
sea-goer, the wave-floater set out, started its journey and set forth over the sea,
over the ocean-streams, over the waves.
Result: the action moves slowly & descriptions take a lot of space.

6. The Vikings

Who were the Vikings?

They were raiders coming from Denmark & Norway. Tempted by Britains wealth.
Meaning: Viking = pirate / the people of the sea inlets Action: burned churches
& monasteries in the N, E & W of Britain.

842: London is raided

The Drakkar
WARSHIPS = the Vikings instruments of conquest. The name of the ship =
drakkar (a swift vessel)
Navigation skills: the Vikings used sun, stars & birds to help them when sailing.
Viking Settlement & Viking Rule
865: the settlement process begins
875: only KING ALFRED in Wessex held out against Vikings
878: Alfred wins a decisive battle & recaptures London. Viking rule was called
DANELAW.
950: the Saxon King Ethelred introduces a tax called DANEGELD (Danish money) to
provide money for the army. The effect of this tax is felt by ordinary villagers.
DANEGELD = the beginning of a regular tax system.
King Canute
When Ethelred died, Canute, leader of the Danish Vikings, controlled much of
England.
He becomes king (1017) because the Witan feared disorder. Rule by a Danish king
was far better than rule by no one at all. 1035: Canute dies
The Witan chooses EDWARD, one of Saxon Ethelreds sons to be king.

7. Edward the Confessor(1042-1066)

Interested in the Church more than kingship. He encouraged church building:
there was a church in every village. Rural pattern: manor house + village.
He started building Westminster Abbey outside London. Westminster Abbey = a
Norman building.
Edward had spent most of his life in Normandy. His mother was a daughter of the
duke of Normandy. Brings Normans to his English court from France.
Who were the Normans?
People from the north. They were the children & grandchildren of the
Vikings who had captured and settled in Northern France. French became their
language. They also became Christians. Known for their fighting skills.
1066: Edward the Confessor dies.
There is no obvious heir. The Witan chooses HAROLD as king. Harold = a Saxon
noble, a Godwinson. The Godwinsons = a powerful Saxon family who did not like the
Normans.
The Challenge
Harold right to the English throne is challenged by Duke William of Normandy.
William claimed that King Edward had promised the throne to him.
The Invasion
1066: William lands in England with a small but well equipped army.
Meanwhile Harold was also fighting the Danish Vikings in the north. The Danes were
also claiming the English throne. Harold does not wait the fyrd (Saxon army) to
gather because he thought he could easily defeat William.
THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS.
Harold is defeated and killed. Norman soldiers: well equipped, better trained, rode
horses.
CORONATION
William starts marching towards London. He burs villages around the town. London
gives in.

William is crowned king of England.

Place: Westminster Abbey.
Time: Christmas Day, 1066
Conflict: the Normans brought by William from France vs. Saxon nobles.
The Norman conquest
Fighting lasts for another 5 years. Anglo-Saxons rebellions occurred regularly till
1070
The Norman army = an occupation army: destroyed places it could not control, built
forts to guard others.
Most Saxon lords lost everything unless they accepted William as king.
After each rebellion, there was more land to give away William gave these lands to
his Norman nobles 4000 Saxon landlords were replaced by 200 Norman ones.

8. Feudalism

William organized his English kingdom according to the feudal system giving land to
his nobles.
Etymology: feudalism feu (French): the Normans used it to refer to land
held in return for duty or service to a lord.
Principle: all land was owned by the king but it was held by others (vassals),
in return for services and goods. The vassals had to serve the king war & give him
part of the produce of the land.
Lesser nobles, knights & freemen received land from the main nobles paid
rent, did military service the king was connected through this chain of people to
the lowest man in the country.
Paying homage
At each level a man had to promise loyalty and service to his lord. This promise was
made with the lord sitting on his chair & his vassal kneeling before him.
The doomsday book
William thought of England as their personal property. William wanted to know
exactly who owned which piece of land & how much it was worth in order to plan his
economy.
e.g. how much was produced & how much he could ask in tax.
He made a complete economic survey of England (1086), which was unique in
Europe but extremely unpopular with the people.