You are on page 1of 3

The Celts:

In the Iron Age, at about 700BC, a new group of people named the Celts
started to arrive to Britain. They most likely arrived from central Europe, they
knew how to work with iron and could make better weapons than the people who
used bronze. There is no consensus over whether the Celts invaded Britain or
came peacefully through trade relations with Europe.
As for religion, the Celts are thought to had been polytheists, worshiping a
variety of local goddess and gods.

The Romans:
In 55BC, the date of the first invasion of Britain by the Romans, they came
from The Roman Empire, their coming initiated a period in which British Celtic
society was radically transformed.
The Roman Empire in 55 BC was dramatically expanding in both Western
Europe and the Mediterranean, Julius Caesar, who had conquered Gaul (ancient
name of France) in 58BC. Given its cultural, political and economic links with Gaul,
Britain was a convenient refuge for some of Caesars Goulash enemies. The
mineral and agricultural wealth of Britain also made it a tempting prize, Caesar
saw Britain as a logical follow-up to his earlier conquests.
One of the major changes brought by the Romans was getting rid of the
Druids the Britons religious and intellectual class, Druidism and other native
beliefs were replaced among the elite-the people the Romans cared about
winning over- by Roman cults, introducing in the process many new gods (Jupiter,
Mars, Mercury). The Romans, however, had no desire to eliminate the worship
of British gods.
The incorporation of Britain as a frontier province of the Roman Empire was
mostly successful. The Romans introduced much of the infrastructure of civilians,
such as roads and cities, to the island. The Roman Empire was based on
considerable local autonomy and self-government of its cities, which had
administrative responsibility for their surrounding territories.

The Anglo-Saxons:
Arrival and settlement:
British rulers brought in mercenaries from Europe to defend them from these
attacks. These mercenary soldiers were Angles and Saxons from northern
Germany. The deal was that the mercenaries brought their families with them,
and got paid with land which they could farm. Eventually, however, these Anglo-
Saxon mercenaries mutinied and realized that they were stronger than their
employers (the Britons) and apparently decided to seize control of Britain
themselves.
Changing the countrys culture:
The influence of Anglo-Saxon culture over England lasts to this day. For instance,
the days of the week were named after Germanic gods: Tag(Tuesday),
Wooden(Wednesday), Though (Thursday), and Frei (Friday). Also, place-names
like Reading, Hastings, Birmingham, Nottingham, and Southampton all have
Saxon origins.
That Anglo-Saxons also introduced new official institutions, most notably the
Witan (or the Kings Council), The Witans importance was that it had the
authority to choose kings, and to agree with the use of the kings laws. Without
its support the kings own authority was in danger.
Embracing Christianity:
Although no exact date exists on when Christianity first reached Britain, it is
believed that it made its way to Britain under Roman rule and was firmly
established there in the last decade of Roman occupation. The Anglo-Saxons were
not Christians and used to believe in an old Germanic religion, and since they
controlled much of Britain, Christianity was restricted only to the areas where the
old Celts were concentrated.

The Vikings:
The Scandinavian people called Vikings (a profession, activity or ethnic group).
they initially came in search of loot and slaves.
The Scandinavians were divided into three main groups: Swedes, Danes, and
Norwegians. Danes led the invasion of England, while Norwegians led the
invasions of Ireland and Scotland.
The Scandinavian impact on Britain took place in three phases. At the end of the
eighth century, it began with smash-and-grab Viking raids by single ships or small
groups of ships. Viking attacks were made by fairly small bands of a thousand
warriors at the most. Then, beginning in the mid-ninth century, the Scandinavians
formed larger groups for bigger projects. These large groups developed
permanent bases and sometimes even formed small kingdoms. The last phase
was the invasion by military forces of Scandinavian kings.
Having resisted conversion to Christianity at first, the Vikings sacked and looted
monasteries and churches and killed and enslaved monks and priests.
Alfred of Wessex and the Anglo-Saxon Recovery:
The English recovery from the Viking invasions was led by King Alfred of Wessex,
He fought an able guerrilla campaign and eventually managed to expel the
Scandinavians from Wessex, Alfred was eventually accepted as king of the English.
Scandinavian kings attempted to seize the English throne. The most successful of
these was the Danish king Canute, king of England from 1016 to his death in 1035.
After the deaths of Canute and then his son, the Witan chose a man named
Edward to be king, he was the son of king Ethelred and the daughter of the duke
of Normandy.
When Edward became king of England in 1042, he returned with Norman warriors
and churchmen. The year 1042 is considered the beginning of the Norman.
In 1066, Edward died without leaving any heirs to the throne, Harold, whom the
Witan chose to be the next king of England. Harold had already shown his bravery
and ability, and while he had no royal blood, he seemed a good choice for the
throne of England.
Harolds right to the English throne had some challengers. One was William, duke
of Normandy. William claimed the Edward had promised him to be his successor
and that Harold had accepted this claim and promised him not to try to take the
throne for himself, Harold decided not to wait for the whole Saxon army to gather
because he saw that Williams army was small. He thought he could beat them
with his men who had done so well against the Danes. However, the Norman
soldiers were better armed, better organized, and were mounted on horses.
Some historians believe that had he waited, Harold might have won. But he was
defeated and killed in battle of Hastings.

The Normans:
The conquest:
Although William was now crowned king, his conquest had only just begun, and
the fighting lasted for another five years. There was an Anglo-Saxon rebellion
against the Normans every year until 1070.
William gave the Saxon lands to his Norman nobles. After each English rebellion,
there was more land to give away. His army included Norman and other French
land seekers.
The Feudal system:
William was careful in the way he gave land to his nobles, he gave some of his
nobles larger estates along the troublesome borders with Wales and Scotland. At
the same time, he kept enough land for himself to make sure he was much
stronger than his nobles.
William, and the kings after him, thought of England as their personal property.
William organized his English kingdom according to the feudal system which had
already begun to develop in England before his arrival, There were two basic
principles to feudalism:
1. every man has a lord.
2. and every lord had land.
William gave land all over England to his nobles. By 1086, he was very unpopular
among the people because they felt they could not escape from its findings.

You might also like