The origins of Great Britain

Materie:	Riassunto
Categoria:	Letteratura Inglese
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Data:	10.03.2008
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Iberians
Their name derived from the river Iberus (modern Ebro), they were the prehistoric inhabitants of the Great Britain. They settled along the western and southern parts of Britain, and then spread further north as well as to Ireland. They left behind them the barrows, large mound graves and henges, which consisted of great circles of ditches and earthen banks. The most spectacular and famous henge is Stonehenge, which is a group of huge blue stones, placed in concentric circles. We can still see Stonehenge in South-West England, but the function of this building is still a mystery.
Celts
The Celts began to arrive from north-west Germany from 700 B.C. The Celts were remarkable to Mediterranean eyes for their height, fair skin, muscularity, blue eyes and blond hair. The Celts were technically advanced and they lived on fishing, hunting and agriculture. They were famous for their burial sites and for their hill-forts, built on the top of hills and used as refuges and tribal centers. The most influential figure in Celtics society was the druid. The Druids were priests, administered justice and were responsible for the education of the young. The name “druid” which means “knowing the oak tree” certainly came from the fact that druids held their ceremonies inn the heart of the forest and not in temples. Among the Celts there seemed to be equality between the sexes, sometimes the women ruled tribes, like Boadicea (I Century A.D.) who had become queen after her husband’s death.
Romans
The Romans invaded Britain for 2 reasons: a) British Celts were aiding the Celts of Gaul against Rome; b) Britain had a mild climate (due to the Gulf Stream) and was a very productive land. Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 B.C., but he did not conquer the country, he tried again a year later and he succeeded but the conquest was merely nominal. The Romans really conquered Britain in the year 43-47 A.D. with Emperor Claudius. In the Roman Britain there were 3 kinds of towns: “Coloniae” (peopled by Romans), “Municipia” (peopled by British people with the roman citizenship) and “Civitates” (old Celtic capitals, administered by the Romans). The Romans tried to conquer Caledonia (modern Scotland) but they did not succeed. Emperor Hadrian finally ordered to build a wall to separate the two countries (today’s England and Scotland) to keep out the raiders from Caledonia. Long Stretches of this wall (known as “the Hadrian’s wall) still exist. Rome lost the control of Britain and then in 409 Emperor Honorius withdrew his soldiers to defend Rome against barbarian raiders.
Anglo-Saxons
When the Romans left the Britain, several invaders reached the country: The Angles, the Saxons and the jutes. The Anglo-Saxon culture is evident today in the names of days of the week and in place names. The major gods for the Anglo-Saxons were Tiw, Woden, and Thunor, whose names are commemorated in the names of three days of the week: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The Anglo Saxons established 7 kingdoms, the Heptarchy: East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Mercia, Northumbria, Sussex and Wessex. The most powerful were Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex. In this period the Christianization of the country took place. At the end of the 6th century pope Gregory the 1st (known as “the Great”) sent Augustine, a monk, to bring the Christianity to England, the Roman Church developed a parish system and planted churches all over the country. Afterwards new enemies arrived from overseas: The Vikings, who came from Norway and Denmark.
The end of Anglo-Saxon England
When Alfred he Great come to the throne, the Vikings had already occupied Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia. He won back the territories by capturing the town of London. Alfred enacted the first English laws, encouraged education and scholarship and built a fleet, he translated various Latin works into Anglo-Saxon. Afterwards the Danish Vikings started raiding again. Ethelred, the new Anglo-Saxon king, decided to pay the Vikings a sum to go away, the tax levied for this purpose was known as “Danegeld”. When Ethelred died, Canute, the leader of the Vikings controlled much of England. He became king since the royal council, the Witan, feared disorder. The Witan in 1042 elected Edward (one of the Ethelred’s sons) known as the confessor. He built the Westminster Abbey. The last Anglo-Saxon king was Harold the 2nd. The Normans, descended from the Vikings, invaded Britain and Anglo-Saxon resistance to the invaders was suppressed. It was the end of the Anglo-Saxon England.