Transcript A Brief History of England

A Brief History of
England
It’s An Island!
• The sea is really important to British culture as
well as the idea of sea power. (Navy, Trade)
• Really temperate climate
• England itself is the best farm land.
Invasions
• British history is the history of a
series of invasions from
mainland Europe. Each
successive wave brought
advancement in technology and
culture.
• This basically goes on until the
British start invading other
people.
Neolithic People
We know relatively little
about the Stone Age
inhabitants of Britain.
Stone Age people means
that they used mostly
stone tools, had some
farming, and lived in small
settlements. One of the
big mysteries is
Stonehenge. What is it
for? (astronomical clock?
Showing off prominence?
They got bored? )
The Celts
• 7th Century BCE
• Came from mainland
Europe.
• Brought iron weapons and
tools.
• Celt is a language group that
covers many different tribes
The Romans
• 50BCE to 400CE
• Built roads, towns,
and more.
• Mostly, only the rich
adopted Roman
customs.
• The Celts became
Christian.
But then Rome fell…
• The Celts went back
to acting like Celts.
• Everybody else in
Europe went back
to pillaging and
warring.
• 400-ish CE
In come the Anglo-Saxons!
• 450-ish CE
• Came from Germany,
Denmark-ish
• First they came as
pirates, then
mercenaries, then
colonists.
• King Vortigen hired
them to protect him
from other warring
Celtic kingdoms, but
instead they took over.
England= Angle-land
• This is the start of
England as we know
it.
• This is the start of
English as a language.
The Angles brought a
version of early
German with them,
what we call Old
English.
Anglo-Saxon England
• The Angles established
various kingdoms and
became Christian.
• They also had to deal
with the new invaders,
Vikings!
Anglo-Saxon Culture
• Warriors were heavily admired.
Big on looting and pillaging. Big
on bragging about brave deeds.
Fighting was a way of life and
peace was for losers!
• “Kings” ruled small communities
and ruled over warriors (Thanes).
They gave gifts to earn loyalty.
The next king was the coolest
warrior, not the old king’s son.
• Center of village is Meadhall,
where everyone eats and hangs
out.
The Normans
• In 1066, William of
Normandy or William
the Conqueror invaded
England and set up a
new kingdom.
• This is the start of
Middle English as
Norman French and
Old English mix.
Norman Culture
• Upper classes spoke
Norman French.
• Lower classes still
spoke English
• Beef/ Cow Pork/ Pig
• Chaucer will be crazy
by writing in English.
Medieval Christianity
Towns build
cathedrals to show
off how awesome
they are and attract
visitors, called
pilgrims. The
visitors shop at the
market, bringing in
money for the
town.
Medieval Society
• Three Classes: Clergy, Nobles,
Peasants
• Manor System: farming
village that pays revenue to
the lord that lives in the
manor house
• Village Church really
important.
Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales
• Geoffrey Chaucer: 1343? To 1400
• Wrote The Canterbury Tales- series of short stories with
a moral lesson.
• Born minor nobility, worked various jobs at the court,
saw all parts of society from rich to poor
• Wrote The Canterbury Tales in Middle English so
regular people could read it
• This was considered crazy and revolutionary because
he acted like the poor people were smart enough to
understand.
• Vernacular- the language regular/ most people speak
Stages of the English Language
• Old English- Pretty Much German- 4501066ish
• Middle English- Add In Some French- 10661500ish
• Early Modern- Shakespeare’s English 1500ish
to 1800ish
• Modern- What We Speak- 1800ish to now