Important dates

55 ВС Julius Caesar sailed to Britain with a military force.

54 ВС Julius Caesar made a second invasion, but withdrew.

AD 43 Emperor Claudius began the Roman conquest of Britain.

61 Romans defeated the rebellion led by Queen Boudicca (Boadiceal).

209 St. Alban, Britain's first Christian martyr, was killed.

368 Pictish tribes severely damaged Hadrian's Wall.

407 Few Roman soldiers remained in Britain.

410 British townspeople unsuccessfully appealed to Rome for protection.

446 Last, fruitless British appeal to Rome for protection was made.

The rule of the Romans

The Romans failed to conquer northern Britain and sent no expeditions to Hibernia (Ireland). Throughout Roman times, the mountainous districts of Cambria (now part of Wales) and the territory between Hadrian's Wall and the River Humber remained turbulent areas, controlled through forts and strategic roads.

Southern Britain, however, was considerably influenced by Roman civilisation. There, the Roman way of life spread from the towns to the countryside. The Romans built most towns to a standardised pattern of straight, parallel main streets that crossed at right angles. The forum (market place) formed the centre of each town. Shops and such public buildings as the basilica (public hall), baths, law-courts, and temple surrounded the forum. The paved streets had drainage systems, and fresh water was piped to many buildings. Some towns had a theatre for animal fights, gladiator shows, and plays. Houses were built of wood or narrow bricks and had tiled roofs. In some houses, hot air from a furnace was conducted through brick pipes under the floor to provide heat.

Many Romans and wealthy Romanised Britons lived in country villas. Villas were long, single-storeyed farmhouses surrounded by estates with huts for slaves and peasants. The owners house usually had about 12 rooms leading off an open veranda. Each villa was built around a courtyard. Many villas had baths. The main rooms had mosaic floors and walls with frescoes.

In the temples, priests offered sacrifices to such Roman gods and goddesses as Jupiter. Mars, and Venus. Priests also encouraged people to worship Roman emperors as gods. Emperor worship was established in all Roman provinces as a means of gaining loyalty from conquered peoples. Some Romans, particularly soldiers,

Many Romans and wealthy Romanised Britons lived in country villas. Villas were long, single-storeyed farmhouses surrounded by estates with huts for slaves and peasants. The owners house usually had about 12 rooms leading off an open veranda. Each villa was built around a courtyard. Many villas had baths. The main rooms had mosaic floors and walls with frescoes.

In the temples, priests offered sacrifices to such Roman gods and goddesses as Jupiter. Mars, and Venus. Priests also encouraged people to worship Roman emperors as gods. Emperor worship was established in all Roman provinces as a means of gaining loyalty from conquered peoples. Some Romans, particularly soldiers, worshipped eastern gods. The remains of a temple to the Persian god Mithras was uncovered by archaeologists in London in the early 1950's. Roman soldiers and traders brought Christianity, and in the 300's, the Christian Church was established in Britain.

The departure of the Romans

Roman rule in Britain ended when the Roman Empire declined. Massive migrations of less civilised peoples, such as the Goths, Huns, and Vandals, had for years been putting pressure on the frontiers of Rome's provinces. In the 300's, Germanic tribes penetrated into Rome's western provinces. During the same period. Saxon pirates from Germany raided the south-eastern coast of Britain. In 368, Pictish tribes severely damaged Hadrian's Wall and destroyed much of northern Roman Britain. A Roman army quickly restored order, but its control soon lapsed.

Roman forces withdrew steadily from Britain to Gaul and Italy. By 400, Hadrian's Wall and the forts of Cambria were abandoned. By 407, almost all the Roman soldiers had left Britain. In 410, people in the towns appealed to Rome for protection against the Saxons. But the Romans replied that Britain had to see to its own defence. Rome itself was being attacked by Goths.

One protective measure adopted by the desperate Britons in the 300's was the appointment of an official called the Count of the Saxon Shore. This person supervised the defence of the eastern coast of England, which was fortified by a series of forts from the Solent to the Wash. In the 400's, the fortifications were extended.

Despite their efforts, Romanised Britons were in time easily conquered by the Saxons and related Germanic tribes called Angles and Jutes. The Anglo-Saxons destroyed Roman culture wherever they settled. Consequently, the Roman occupation had few lasting effects on Britain, except for good roads in the southern part of the country and the survival of the Christian Church in Wales and Cornwall.

Appendix 3

ANGLO-SAXONS IN BRITAIN

The beginning of conquest

After the Roman legions left Britain the Celts remained independent but not for long. Sea-robbers sailed from other countries and the Celts were always busy trying to defend themselves. Among these invaders were some Germanic tribes called the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes who lived in the northern and central parts of Europe. During the 5^Ш century, the Germanic tribes - the Anglo-Saxons invaded Britain. That was the end of the slave-owning system and the gradual establishment of feudalism in Britain in the early Middle Ages, (5^u,-ll^th centuries). The Anglo-Saxon conquest is regarded as the beginning of the medieval his--tory in Britain.

In the 5^th century, first the Jutes and then other Ger­manic tribes — the Saxons and the Angles began to migrate to Britain. The British natives fought fiercely against the

The Anglo-Saxon conquest

invaders and it took more than a hundred and fifty years for the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes to conquer the country. The final refuge of the Celts was Cornwall and Wales - the mountainous districts of the West - and the northern part of the island (Scotland) where the Celts were still living in tribes and, later on, some independent states were formed. The Celts of Ireland remained independent too. In the course of the conquest many of the Celts were killed, some were taken prisoners and made slaves or had to pay tribute to the conquerors. Some of the Celts crossed the sea to the north-west of France and settled in what was later on called Brittany after the Celtic tribes of Britons. Descendants of the ancient British Celts can be found in Brittany today.

Germanic Kingdoms

By the end of the 6^th and the beginning of the 7"¹ cen­tury, seven Germanic Kingdoms were formed in Britain. The Angles formed three Kingdoms: in the north they founded Northumbria, which has left its name in the pres­ent country of Northumberland; Marcia was formed in the middle, and East Anglia - in the east of England. The Saxons also formed three kingdoms: Wessex (the land of the West Saxons), Essex (the land of the East Saxons) and Sussex (the land of the South Saxons). The Jutes founded one Kingdom — Kent in the south-east.

These Kingdoms were hostile to one another and they fought constantly for supreme power in the country. The strongest of Germanic Kingdoms Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex were constantly fighting for supremacy. In the 7^th century, political supremacy was gained by Northumbria. In the 8^th century, the leadership passed to Mercia, and finally in the 9^m century, the Kings of Wessex were considered to be Kings of England.

The new conquerors brought about changes altogether different from those that had followed the conquest of the country by the Romans. They disliked towns preferring to live in small villages. They destroyed the Roman towns and villas. All beautiful buildings, baths and roads soon fell in ruins. Sometimes the roads were broken up, the stones being used for building material.

Customs and language

The Jutes, the Saxons and the Angles were closely alike in speech and customs and they gradually merged into one people. They called the Celts "welsh" which means "foreigners" as they did not understand the Celtic language which was quite unlike their own. But gradu­ally the Celts, who were in the minority merged with the conquerors, adopted their customs and learned to speak their languages. Only the Celts who remained indepen­dent in the west, Scotland and Ireland spoke their native tongue. The Anglo-Saxon invasion of Great Britain is usually considered the beginning of the history of the English language. At first the Anglo-Saxons spoke various dialects but gradually the dialect of the Angles of Mercia became predominant.

In the course of time all the people of Britain were re­ferred to as the English after the Angles and the new name of England was given to the whole country. The Anglo-Saxon language, or English, has been the principal language of the country since then, although it has undergone great change. Nearly all the literature of the 9^th-11^th centuries was written in the dialect of Wessex. Among the historical events that influenced the development of the English language at that period we must mention the introduction of Christianity in the 7^Л century. It resulted in an extensive adoption of Latin words and the substitution of the Latin alphabet for a special alphabet called Runic.

Agriculture

The Anglo-Saxon villages were small and engaged in cultivating the land. The Anglo-Saxons had to do a great deal of pioneer work in clearing the forests and breaking up the land for agriculture. Corn was grown on the arable land — that is ploughed land. They used the two-field system (the land was given a rest every second year). The most common crops were wheat and barley. Besides arable-farming they continued cattle-breeding, hunting and fishing. There was very little trading at that time. Roads were very poor. Each village was self-sufficient, that, is, most of the necessities of life were produced in the village itself. Theneeds of the vil­lagers were few and simple. Arable-farming, cattle-breeding satisfied the needs of the people in the way of foodstuffs, clothing and footwear. The trees provided wood which was used in building houses, in making furniture and as firewood. This natural economy predominated in Britain in early medieval times.

The Anglo-Saxons used the two-field system

Villages

The names of the Anglo-Saxon villages meant as a rule either their new "home" or "protected place". A great number of village-names in England today are of Anglo-Saxons origin too. For example, the word 'ton' was the Saxon for "hedge" or a place surrounded by a hedge. Thus •'there are Northampton, Southampton, Brighton, Preston

and others. Burgh or bury was the Saxon for "to hide". There are many village and town names derived from these words, such as Salisbury, Canterbury, Edinburgh. The Anglo-Saxon ham, another form of the word "home", can also be found in such names now as Nottingham, Birmingham, Cheltenham. The same is true of the word field meaning "open country", in names such as Sheffield, Chesterfield, Mansfield etc.

By the beginning of the 9"¹ century, changes had come in the Anglo-Saxon society. Rich landowners were given great power over the peasants. The King's warriors and officials held more land and they ruled the country.

2. Add new words to your vocabulary:

migrate (v) — переселятися

invader (n) — загарбник

gradual (adj) — поступовий

establishment (n) — встановлення

conquest (n) — завоювання

regard (v) — відноситься

fiercely (adv) — жорстоко, люто

conquer (v) — завойовувати

refuge (n) — притулок

tribute (n) — данина

descendant (n) — нащадок

hostile (adj) — ворожий

minority (n) — меншість

merge (v) — зливатися

arable (adj) — орний

plough (v) — орати плугом

breeding (n) — розведення

cattle-breeding (n) — скотарство

substitution (n) — заміна

natural economy (n) — натуральне господарство

Anglo-Saxon times. The Anglo-Saxon period (5^lh-11^th centuries) corresponds to the Early Middle Ages in the history of Britain.