Early Kingdoms, Pre-Conquest England and the Normans

 

Otázka: Early Kingdoms, Pre-Conquest England and the Normans

Jazyk: Angličtina

Přidal(a): Alen

 

 

The Romans in Britain: Gaius Julius Caesar, Tiberius Claudius, Boudicca, Gnaeus Julius Agricola;

The Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings: The Dark Ages, Religion, Whitby Synod, Alfred the Great, The Danelaw, The Danegeld, Edward the Confessor;
The Normans: William I, The Domesday Book

 

The Original Inhabitants

Stonehenge (approx. 2000 – 3000 BC ^{(no written record)}, Salisbury Plain)

• it took approx. 1000 years to build
  • built in three stages: circular bank,
    wooden parts added to the interiors, …
• huge, heavy stones
  • brought there from Wales, by land and rivers
• purposes
  • religious reasons: druids worshiped gods
  • astronomical reasons: solstice, calendar
  • healing centre: complicated, 1 main temple, 16 other around

• modern age: until 1877 no reconstractions
  • today it is reconstracted, cant go inside

 

Characteristics

• rich in: gold and tin mining, trade with the Mediterranean
• invadors: red hair is common in the UK = fair and dark people
  • from Mediterranean (dark skin – omg, racism)
  • from Rhineland (Bronze-Age people)
  • from Eastern Europe – the Celts (Iron-Age people), (fair hair, skin → Áda)
    • Scottish, Welsh language – Celtic origins

 

The Romans in Britain

Gaius Julius Caesar

• pretext for the invasion:
  • to gain glory of victory (like Mr Gru, kind of)
  • to show his power
  • first one to occupy the country
• 55 BC: first expedition, not succesful (tdddm)
• 54 BC: succesful mission! yay!, but Ceasar didnt get gold so he wasnt satisfied
  • boats – unsuitable for stromy english channel

 

Tiberius Claudius 43 AD

• 1. needed to consolidate his power
  • he sent general Vespassian to invate in 43 AD → victory
    • he never really conquered Highlands
• in his time – Ceaser s maxim: „Divide and Rule“
• Methods of pacifying Britannia:
  • co-operation withlocal chieftains (marrige)
  • imigration – veteran s colonies
  • humilitation
• Problems: taking land illegaly, humilitating treatment

 

Boudicca 61 AD

• woman, queen from a tribe called “Iceni”
• after her husband died, she was suppose to be the queen and rule
  • the romans refused a woman queen
    • she gathered an army and killed every roman she found (RIOT)
      • not susses, defeated, lack of unity
      • she and her daughters poisened themselfs
    • a statue of her is in from of the Big Ben

 

Gnaeus Julius Agricola

• the governor of Britannia, AD 74 – 84
• completed the conquest of north-west Britannia
• established a system of roads and forts (some still remains)
  • placed garrisons on importnat sites
• educated the sons of British chiefs in the Roman curriculum – so they are under the right influence
• official language: written – Latin, spoken – ?
• the landscape was transformed → new towns, open spaces

 

The Roman Spa/Bath in the town of Bath

• the system of heating – air
• frigidarium – the cool pool
• water came from springs
• statue of godness of wisdom and healing – Minerva

 

Building walls

• he never defeated Scottland
• AD 122 Hadrian s wall – defensive wall
  • 6m high, 3m wide
  • every few miles a fort
  • milecastle – soldiars waited there (for some action I suppose)
• Antonine Wall
• other protection – holes in ground → fall and die!

 

The End of the Province

• 3rd century – terrories slipped out of their control (yolo)
  • they wanted their own king doms
• the migration period (The Great Migration of Tribes)
  • „Huns“ migrated → they pushed, defeated other tribes
    • The Visigoths and The Ostrgoths asked to stay in the Roman Empire (was it empire?), wanted to be federed 375
      • problems: want their own power
• in AD 402 soldiars were needed in the continent
  • meanwhile Bratain attacked by: Picts (north), Scotts (Hibernia=Ireland), Saxons (across sea)

• AD 410 – ruling problems – the civitates of Britain sent a letter to the emperor, asking for help → response: „look to your own defences“ → OFFICIAL END

 

The Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings:

The Dark Ages: term that describes the period of time between 500 – 1000 AD, after the invasion of the barbarians → urban population declined, lack of central power, development of feudal system → decline in Church structures bacuse of the feudalic pressure

– Angles, Saxons, Jutes – germany tribes, wanted to invade England

• no contemporary written sources: language Old English, the Venerable Bede, The Anglo Saxos chronicle, Law codes, charters, Beowulf, biographies
• after the Roman withdrawal
  • The Picts and Scots could have a full advantage
    • but no, they were in a war with each other, until the 9th century
  • in 5th century Britain was invaded by Angles, Saxons, Jutes (northern Europe) (AD 300-700 general movement of Germanic people around Europe)
    • invaded to protect a territory against the Picts, reward-land in Kent – settled
      • only one, temporary check – King Arthur won over the Saxons
    • thousands of native britons and Celts fled to Wales, Scotland, Cornwall, Ireland, but almost destroyed

• Anglo – Saxons: small farming cummunities, strong family and tribal units, loyal to the king
  • the chief deitis – Woden the god of war, Thor the god of thunder
  • Brittannia replaces by England (Angle-land)
• 7th century – start to build towns, increasing trade, new order of kingdom:
  • deptarchy = divided into 7 proncipal Anglo-Saxon kingdoms: East Anglia, Kent, Essex (East of London, east of saxons), Sussex (coastal south east brittain), Northumbria^7th, Mercia^8th, Wessex^9th → these 3 competed for supremecy

 

Religion: official religion of the Roman Empire was Christianity

• Celtic deities continued to be worshiped alongside Christ
• the heal then Saxons almost completely erased Christianity from England
  • only in Corneal and Wales Christianity survived
• later Roman, Scottish and Irish missionaries brought Christianity back
  • 597 Canterbury – ecclesiastical capital, conversion to christianity
  • Witby synod 664 at Whitby Abbey – the Roman rites were adopted by English Church
    • northern Celtic Church + southern Roman Church = united, started to follow the Roman model

 

The Vikings 860 – 1066

• new invaders, from the present-day Norway, Sweden, Denmark
  • skilled in sailing and fighting (scandivanian seafarers), traiders, adventurers, germanic language (Saxons+vikings – tongues formed basis of English)
  • cruel gods: Odin and Thor (sacrificing to reach the after life – killed lots of people)
• reached Britain and Ireland (end of 8th century)
• 865 began the Great Invasion in Northumbria, East Anglia
  • within 10 years nearly all of Anglo Saxon kingdoms under Viking control – East Anglia, Northumbria, York, Mercia, NOT WESSEX
• The Danegeld – set of legal term (Saxons, Vikings) tax
  • to stop the Viking raids (paid to Viking from English kings, it increased)
    • Alfred the Great – defeated Vikings, Wessex succesful under him, (871 – 899)

 

• revived learning (+ he was literate – could read, write)
• insisted that clergy should learn Latin properly
• estamblishment of a strong army, navy
• constructing fortresses
• building up fleets of ships

 

• fortified towns (burghs) → flourishing trading centres
  • taxes → protection
• updated the West Wessex Laws (prisons, judges were forced to learn to read, write – or resign)
• burried in Winchester
• Anglocynn = the English folk
  • Alfred captured London 886, was accepted as king in all the 7 kingdoms

 

• England was partitioned between Saxons and Vikings
  • East Anglia + a part of Northumbria = the Danelaw (Viking sector)
  • accepted christianity → easier fusion with the local population
• 982 new Danish army invade again
• until 1013 the country was ruled by the Anglo-Saxons
  • Vikings attack again, Saxons weakened
    • King of the Vikings – Canute, ruler 1016 of England, Viking Scottland, Denmark, Scandinavia → the first Viking King of of all the England
      • after his death empire fell into pieces
        • England still ruled by his sons till 1043
          • when the Danish Royal line died out, Edward the Confessor became king
        • the last Anglo Saxon king
        • saint, supported the Normans (mom)
        • founded Westminster Abbey (burried)
        • his family has to exile, Edith (wife) was locked up in monastary
          • no kids, died in 1066

 

The Normans 1066 – 1154

• in 1066 3 men claimed the throne
  • William, Duke of Normandy,
  • Harold, Earl of Wessex, Anglo-Saxon, the comettee „witum“ decided he was fit
  • Harond Hardrada, King of Norway, the next one in line to the Danish throne
• Harald Hardrada invaded the North of England, Viking
  • a the Battle of Stamford Bridge – was defeated (Harald * Harold) 28th September
    • some soldiars them joined the Abglo-Saxon army to go fight to south with the Normans
  • couple of days later – William (duke of Normandy) invaded Pavensey Bay, Sussex
  • the Saxons – foot soldiars armed with axes and spears
  • Normans had advantage – calvalry, descended from Vikings (from northern France)
  • The Normans defeated the Saxons at the Battle of Hastings 14th october 1066
    • Harold died on the battlefield
    • William was crowned at Westminster Abbey
  • Bayeux Tapestry: embroidered cloth, 70 m * 50 cm, depicts the events of the Battla of Hastings

 

William I

• William subdued England
  • many saxon nobles refused to accept him as a king → rebelled
  • unprisings until 1071, last rebelation was put down
• William wanted to make raids on Scottland, was never accepted as their overlord
  • had control over Wales by 1100 (some heavy uprising there though)
• French aristrocracy: new language, strong central government
  • top of the sociaty – king, nobles, barons
  • then – lords living in manors / castles
  • the rest
• new social system – feudalism: based on a complex chain and duties, holding of lands and the resulting relationship between the lord and the vassal
  • socially governed – ownership, army service, taxes
• after 1066: castles became frequent, important = strongholds, control the country from
  • early castles – wooden, later rebuilt from stone
  • the Tower of London
• The Domesday Book, domesday = the day of judgement
  • 1086, record of population, counted every weapon, summary of everything, showed how rich each area was → demand taxes accordingly
  • William the Conqueror ruled Normandy and England
    • difficult to divide attention between scattered, diverse possessions
    • after he died: split inheritance: left Normandy to son Robert
      • England to son William II- after his death, brother Henry I. took over
        • tried to annex Normandy → Robert was beaten, condemned to imprisonment until his death
          • Henry was the master of Normandy and England
          • powerful government – most centrally organized government in Europe
        • died → his son drowned → 20 years impovise → Henry II