Old English: Historical Background

Outline

1. Pre-Germanic Britain

1. Celts

2. Roman Britain

1. Germanic Settlement of Britain

Recommended Books:

Rastorgueva T.A. A History of English. – M., 1983. – P. 55-63

Blake N.F. A History of the English Language. – New York: New York University Press, 1996. – P. 53-57

Костюченко Ю.П. Історія англійської мови. – Київ, 1963. – С. 58-62

1. Celts

The earliest inhabitants of the British Isles whose linguistic affiliation has been established are the Celts. The first millennium B.C. was the period of Celtic migrations and expansion. Traces of their civilization can be found all over Europe. Celtic languages were spoken over extensive parts of Europe before our era. Later they were absorbed by other IE languages. The Gaelic branch survived as Irish in Ireland. It also expanded to Scotland as Scotch-Gaelic of the Highlands and is still spoken by some people on the Isle of Man. The Britonnic branch is represented by Kymric or Welsh in Modern Wales and by Breton or Armorican spoken in modern France. Another Britonic dialect in Great Britain is Cornish. It was spoken until the end of the 18^th century. The major impact of the Celtic language on English has been through the names of places and rivers. Places such as London, Winchester and rivers such as Thames and Avon are wholly or partly of Celtic origin. Anyway Celtic has left little mark on English: quite apart from the vocabulary, there is little evidence of any influence on morphology, phonology or syntax.

2. Roman Britain

Julius Caesar made 2 raids on Britain in 55 and 54 B.C. Caesar attacked Britain for economic reasons: to obtain tin, pearls and corn. He had some strategic reasons as well. The chief purpose was to discourage the Celts of Britain from coming to the assistance of Celts in Gaul. The expedition of 55 B.C. ended disastrously and his return the following year was not a great success. The resistance of the Celts was unexpectedly spirited. Soon he returned to Gaul. The expedition had resulted in no material gain and some loss of prestige. The following summer he again invaded the island after much more elaborate preparations. This time he succeeded in establishing himself in the southeast. Julius Caesar exacted tribute from the Celts (which was never paid) and again returned to Gaul. Britain was not again troubled by Roman legions for nearly a hundred years.

In 43 A.D. Britain was invaded by Roman legions under Emperor Claudius. An army of 40 thousand was sent to Britain and within 3 years had subjugated the people of central and southeastern regions. A serious uprising of the Celts occurred in 61 A.D. under Boudicca (Boadicea), the widow of one of the Celtic chiefs. 70 thousand Romans and Romanized Britons were massacred. The Romans never penetrated far into the mountains of Wales and Scotland. They protected the northern boundary by a stone wall stretching across England. The district south this line was under Roman rule for more than 300 years. Britain was made a province of Roman Empire. Many towns with mixed population grew and London was one of the most important trading centres of Roman Britain. Where the Romans lived and ruled, there Roman ways were found for great highways soon spread from London to the north, the northwest, the west and the southwest. The houses were equipped with heating apparatus and water supply, their floors were paved in mosaic. Roman dress, Roman ornaments and utensils were in general use. By the 3^rd century Christianity had made some progress in the island.

The upper classes and the townspeople in the southern districts were Romanised, but rural areas were less Romanised. Population in the north was little affected by the Roman occupation and remained Celtic both in language and custom. Among the other evidences of Romanization must be included the use of the Latin language. A great number of inscriptions have been found, all of them in Latin. The majority of these were military or official class documents. Latin did not replace the Celtic language in Britain. On the whole, there were certainly many people in Roman Britain who habitually spoke Latin or upon occasion could use it. But its use was not sufficiently widespread to cause it to survive, as the Celtic language survived.

The Roman occupation lasted nearly 400 years. It ended in the early 5^th century. In 410 A.D. the Roman troops were officially withdrawn to Rome. The Empire was collapsing due to internal and external causes.