Prehistory, Saxon invasion and Celtic Kingdoms (0)

The foundation stones
The Island – Britain has a mild climate due to the Gulf Stream which brings warm waters from the Gulf of Mexico . The northern part of the island in average 5’C cooler and it’s mountainous or hilly and that’s why the south has been more populated.. Britain became an island only 5000 years BC after the Ice Age ended .
Britain’s prehistory – The first evidence of human life on the island are dated back to 250 000 BC. 50 000 BC in a milder Ice Age period Britain became habitable again . People from that time were the ancestors of the modern British . 10 000 BC ige age ended and Britain became inhabited by small groups of hunters who probably followed herds of deer. 5000BC Britain became an island and deer died out. 3000BC the Neolithic people came (probably from Spanish peninsula or even North African coast). They may be the forefathers of the people from Cornwall and Wales . The building of Stonehenge started around that time. 2400BC the ’Beaker’ people arrived in Britain. They had better metal working skills and they soon became the leaders of the British society. They started building individual graves . 1300BC the farming society became more important than the henge society. 55BC the Romans arrived.
The Celts - The Celts arrived from central Europe or further east around 700BC. They were tall and had fair or red hair and blue eyes . They knew how to work with iron . They are the ancestors of many people living in Britain today . Celtic languages are still spoken today. The Celts lived in tribes which were ruled by a chief . They did a lot of trading and the main trading centres were the capitals of England and Scotland . The Celtic tribes were ruled over druids who memorised religious teaching, tribal laws , history etc.
The Romans – The Romans invaded Britain because The Celts of Britain helped the Celts of Gaul to fight the Romans and because Britain had become a great food producer. Romans brought reading and writing skill to Britain. In 43AD they occupied Britain but they couldn’t conquer Scotland and built a wall to it’s border – Hadrian’s wall. 409AD the last roman legions left the island.
Roman Life – There were 3 types of towns in Roman Britain. Two of them were established by Roman charter , the third type were the old capitals of the Celtic tribes. By 300AD all the towns had thick walls. The Romans left about 20 large towns and a hundred of small ones . Many of the towns were at first army camps and the Latin word for it – castra – has still remained in the names of these towns: Leicester, Chester, Doncaster, Lancaster etc. The Towns were well built and connected with roads. In the countryside there were many large farms called villas . The life expectancy was short – 20-40 years.
The Saxon invasion
The Invaders – At first the Germanic tribes only raided Britain but after 430 AD they began to settle. The invaders came from three powerful Germanic tribes – the Saxons , Angles and Jutes. The Jutes settled in Kent and south coast, angles settled in east and north midlands and the Saxons settled between then. They all drove most of the Celts to Wales and in north to Scotland. Hardly anything is left from the Germanic culture. The Anglo-Saxons established a number of kingdoms. The most powerful ones were Northumbria , Mercia and Wessex . King Offa of Mercia was the most powerful king.
Government and society – The Saxons created institutions that made the state strong for 500 years. First of them was the kings council – the witan. It issued laws and charters. The land was divided into small administrative areas shires- counties which were ruled by sheriffs who worked for kings. The Anglo-Saxon brought a new but heavier plough to Britain which changed the land ownership and organisation . The land was now divided 2-3 big fields which were into long thin strips. Each family had a number of strips to plough. One of these fields was for spring crops, the other for autumn crops and the third was left to rest for a year . In each district there was a manor where people came to pay taxes . Each manor was ruled by a lord . That was the beginning of class system.
Christianity: the partnership of Church and state – Christianity certainly reached Britain before 4th century but no one knows the exact time. The Christianity was well spread in the Celtic areas. In 597 the pope send a monk called Augustine to Canterbury- the capital of the king of Kent. He managed to make many ruling families to accept Christianity but he wasn’t successful in spreading it among ordinary people. However the Celtic church was successful at it and Celtic bishops were also accepted in the Anglo Saxon areas. The Anglo Saxon church was more interested in power and authority but the Celtic church was only interested in the hearts of ordinary people. That lead to a crisis which made the Celtic church to retreat. The Saxon church gave the kings more power and the Kings helped the church to grow. The church also established monasteries which trained men who could read and write. That led to making laws and writing down important matters.
The Vikings – At the end of 8th century Viking started to raid England. They came from Denmark and Norway and raided monasteries and churches in Ireland and in the east, north and west coasts. London was raided in 842. In 865 they started to settle in Britain. They quickly accepted Christianity and didn’t disturb the local population. King Alfred was strong enough to win an important battle against the Vikings and they made a treaty which gave the Viking north and east of England. Rest of the country Alfred was recognised as king.
Who should be king? - When Danish Vikings started raiding westwards, the Saxon King Ethelred started gathering taxes to pay the Vikings so that they wouldn’t raid anymore. When he died, Cnut (the leader of Danish Vikings) became king and after his death his son took over, but the also died soon so the Witan quickly gave the throne to Edward – one of Saxon Ethelred’s son. After his death the next king was Harold from Wessex. He had no claims for the throne so the Duke William of Normandy claimed it to himself . Harold died in the battle of Hastings and the throne went to Wiliam .
The Celtic kingdoms
Wales – By the eight century most of the Celts were driven to welsh peninsula. They were kept out of England by Offa’s Dyke – a wall built in 779AD The Welsh called themselves cymry. The cymry could only live in the valleys, because the other part of the land was too mountainous. Society was based on small family groupings which were ruled by a strong leader who later made themselves kings who also ruled the neighbouring family groupings. Life was hard and dangerous . Dying of old age was rare . Slavery was common. In 1039 Gruffydd Llewelyn was the first king powerful enough to rule the whole Wales.
Ireland – Ireland was never invaded by the Romans or the Anglo-Saxons. It was a land of monasteries and flourishing Celtic culture. Just like in Wales, people were known by their family groupings. Outside the tribe they had no name or protection . The Kings were chosen by election. The country was divided into 5 kingdoms – Ulster, Munster , Leinster, Connaught and Tara . Christianity came to Ireland in 430AD. Christianity brought writing skill and since that time the history of Ireland has been written down and the druids’ position weakened. A British slave Patrick spread Christianity. Patrick became the ’patron saint’ of Ireland. The five kingdoms were often at war. When Vikings started raiding, the Irish were forced to unite . The one king who managed to rule the whole Ireland effectively was Brian Boru.
Scotland – Scotland has two different societies because the mountainous regions separated the country into lowland and highland . Lowland society was easily influenced by the changes taking place in England. People in the highland society were more tied to their own family groups. Scotland was populated by 4 different groups : the Picts- the main and the oldest group, the Scots , the Britons and the Angles. In 843 the Pictish and the Scottish kingdoms were united under a Scottish king. They all shared a common Celtic culture, language and background. They grew crops and kept animals . And they were also forced to unite to fight against the English .