Transcript Diapositiva 1

1570
BRITAIN known to Merchants
for:
 its
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pearls
gold
tin
It was characterized by :
 Timber:
easily obtainable
 A fertile soil; fresh water
everywhere
 Climate: mild
 Rich in game, fish and fowl
Geographically:
1..East and South –east offered
an easy access for:
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low coasts
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good harbours
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navigable rivers
2.West and North had a difficult approach:
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high coasts
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jutting cliffs
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promontories
The Ice Age
It ended about 8000 B.C.
The rising sea level produced the
English Channel and made
Great Britain an island.
History - Timelines
Who were the first
inhabitants?
In 2000 BC we find the
IBERIANS
A pre-Celtic population.
They settled in the western and southern part.
They had already reached a first stage
of civilization: The Bronze Age
and they were entering the Iron Age
They were dark-haired people
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Some political organization
built long wooden warships
introduction of metals
lived in wooden huts
beginning agriculture
trade-routes
Stonehenge, a prehistoric monument on Salisbury
Plain, dates from the late Stone and early Bronze ages
(about 3000-1000 bc).
The monument consists of a circular group of large
upright stones. It is the best preserved and most
celebrated of the megalithic monuments of Europe.
Patrimoni dell'umanità – Stonehenge
Secrets of Stonehenge
The typical Mound containing “ Beakers”
And after them?
the Celts
They had Blond-
hair, blue eyes and
they were tall.
TRIBES coming from Northern Europe
They subdued the IBERIANS
Iron Age Celts
INTERACTIVE HISTORY MAP
WHEN ?
A first wave in 7° century B.C.
THE GAELS settled in the North
A second wave in 4° century B.C.
THE BRITONS settled in the South
Brittany after the Britons
History - Timelines
WERE THEY SIMILAR ?
They were tied by similar:
 language
 religion
 cultural expression.
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What were the Celts like?
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no town life
they prefer living in farms
they minted their own coinage
Organized in clans, men wore skirts with
striped or checked cloaks fastened by a
pin ( a primitive form of the Scottish
tartan)
each clan had a king ( a chief) and a
primitive form of justice
famous for their burial sites,
hill-forts, built on the top of hills
The vast multiple ramparts enclose an area the size of 50 football pitches, and
the site was home to several hundred people in the Iron Age (800 BC - 43 AD).
WHAT ABOUT THEIR
RELIGION ?
The DRUIDS
Their cerimonies were held in the forest
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Making sacrifices, they read the Gods’ will in running blood
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They had great power
ministers of religion
administered justice
educated the young
They worshipped the natural elements as The Sun, the Moon and
Water= the holy element which generates life and the door
of the world afterdeath.
They believed in the immortality and transmigration of the soul
from one person to another. It was believed that life after
death was spent on the Earth in caves, hills or lakes. When
the Romans conquered Britain they destroyed the woods
were they held their shrine.
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There seemed to be equality
between the sexes
the women sometimes ruled
large tribes and fought .
The most famous was BODICEA
( 1st century A.D.) who resisted
for more than 30 years
against the Romans
And in Scotland?
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PICTS
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The Picts, ancient and mysterious inhabitants
of central and northern Scotland and of
northern Ireland, , were for centuries, the most
powerful inhabitants of the British Isles.
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They were of rather short stature and of
dark complexion. The name Pict is
believed to be derived from the Latin
word Picti – „the painted men“
SCOTS
settled there in the 4th century.
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Pictish areas
Gaelic areas
Brythonic
areas
The Roman Invasion
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In 55 B.C. Julius Caesar planned an
expedition to Britain, why?:
Caesar conquered France which was called
Gaul by the time. The Gauls fought hard
against the Romans and had been helped by
their friends in Britain. Caesar decided to
teach the Britons a lesson.
In 54 B.C. He wanted to find out the
treasures of Britain, so he planned this idea of
exploring Britain, but he never came to invade
it.
A hundred years later: 43 A.D
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Britain became an imperial province of
Rome, called Britannia, administered by
Roman governors.
the Emperor Claudius sent another army to
Britain. This time the army came to INVADE.
the Roman emperor Hadrian began the
construction of a rampart 117 km long. called
Hadrian's wall
Twenty years later, another wall, called the
Antonine Wall, was built
The Romans were originally attracted to
the natural hot springs near what is now
the city of Bath in England.
They founded the city and excavated the
baths to exploit their medicinal value.
They founded the city and excavated the
baths to exploit their medicinal value.
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In general, however, only the
native nobility, the wealthier
classes, and the town residents
accepted the Roman language
and way of life, while the
Britons in outlying regions
retained their native culture.
the people of Britain benefited
from Roman technology and
cultural influences
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legal and political systems
architecture and engineering
numerous towns were established
walled towns – castra (chester )
BUT They didn’t train the Celts in arms (
so when the Romans left Britain, it
became an easy prey to the invaders)
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At the end of the 3rd century, the
Roman army began to withdraw
from Britain to defend other parts
of the Roman Empire.
In 410, when the Visigoths invaded
Rome, the last of the Roman
legions were withdrawn from the
island.
Celtic culture again became
predominant, and Roman civilization
in Britain rapidly disintegrated
WHAT REMAINS ?
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They built a network of roads.
They developed an existing
settlement calling it Londinium
It became a trade and
administrative center
Some towns
London
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The choice of the
Romans proved to be
the best.
They chose a location
that helped in troop
movements and
administrative
communication.
Trade expanded quickly
because people
depended on water
sources as means of
transportation, and
London is situated next
to a number of rivers.
In the 5th c. A.D.
Saint Patrick led the
conversion of the
Celts to
Christianity.
The Celtic cross
illustrates how the
Celtic people
preserved many of
their Druidic
beliefs,
with relief of earth
gods and woodland
spirits
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According to the legend, Arthur was raised unaware
of his royal ancestry and became king by pulling the
magic sword Excalibur from a stone.
The Anglo-Saxon Invasion
Jutes
Angles
Celts
Saxons
A.D. 449 The Anglo-Saxons push the Celts
into the far west of the country.
Anglo-Saxons
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ENGLAND = land of ANGLES
Wales ( in Anglo-Saxon language= land of
foreigners) remained independent, Welsh
people hated the Saxons ( for centuries),
they remained Celtic in:
culture
religion
legends (King Arthur and the Knights of the
round table)
folklore
Characteristics of
Invaders
Ancestral Tribes of Clans
Chieftain
Thane
Peasant
\
Peasant
Serfs
Thane
Thane
Peasant
Serfs
Thane
Peasant
Serfs
Peasant
Serfs
Living Quarters—
Mead Halls
A reconstructed Anglo-Saxon
home located in West Stow in
Sussex, England
Mead Hall
• center of life
• sleeping quarters
• dining area
• meeting place
Sutton Hoo
• Located in Woodbridge, Suffolk,
England
• Discovered in 1939
• Burial ship of an Anglo-Saxon king
• Burial site contained 41 items of solid
gold and 37 gold coins
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7th century helmet
Reconstructed from
hundreds of corroded
iron fragments
Anglo-Saxon jewellery
 Anglo-Saxon
pendant probably made
in the 7th century AD
 found in garden soil
at Sacriston, County
Durham.
 made of solid gold
with a goldwire or
filigree decoration.
Additional Anglo-Saxon
Artifacts
King Offa’s Dyke
 approximately 170 miles
long running north and
south
• continuous wall except
for river crossings
• built in the late 8th
century
Monument to Power
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Perhaps this dyke was
a defense against
raiders from Wales.
Perhaps it served as a
permanent boundary
between Mercia and
Wales.
Perhaps it was a
boundary monument
to remind the Welsh of
King Offa’s power and
control.
The Four Invasions are:
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The
The
The
The
Roman Invasion (A.D. 43 - A.D.410)
Saxon Invasion (5th C -9th C)
Viking Invasion (9th C – 11th C)
Norman Invasion 1066
Note 1:
B.C. : Before Christ was born. (Placed after
the date, e.g 120 B.C.)
A.D. : After Christ, anno Domini means “in the
year of the Lord,” – (usually placed BEFORE
the date, e.g A.D. 43)