10. What Germanic tribes invaded Britain from the Continent in the 5th century?

449 is considered to be the beginning of the Anglo-Saxon (Teutonic) invasion.

After the end of the Roman Invasion in Britain, Celtic tribes returned to pre-Roman pattern of warring tribes. They needed a leader to unite them and establish power all over the island. Using the weak state of Britain, the Germanic tribes (the Jutes, the Angles and the Saxons) from the continent invaded the island. The Jutes were the first to came. They moved from Jutland (modern Denmark) and Northern Germany. They did it to escape from the cruel fights against Huns and Danes on the continent. The Jutes, the Angles and the Saxons were desperate for land and peace. There is also a theory that Vortigern, the ruller of Kent of that time, invited Germanic tribes to help him establish peace in the island. He promised to pay them but didn't keep his promise. The Jutes, the Angles and the Saxons were outraged and came to conquer Britain. They plunder and burnt villages, killed the Celts and made slaves. The Celts were made to pay tribute, others took refuge in Cornwall, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and in the north of France.

It took Germanic tribes over a century to conquer the greater part of the island. However, they didn't manage to conquer Scotland and Wales. The invasion of Cornwall also was slow.

11. What do you know about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table? What was Merlin famous for?

According to the legend Arthur was the first born son of King Uther Pendragon and heir to thethrone. However these were very troubled times and Merlin, a wise magician, advised that the baby Arthur should be raised in a secret place and that none should know his true identity.

When King Uther died there was great conflict over his succession. Merlin used his magic to set a sword in a stone, on which was written that the men who can pull out the sword would become the king.Nobody could succeed. Arthur, quite by chance, withdrew the sword for another to use in a tournament. Following this he became King.

Arthur's base was at Camelot castle. Queen Guinevere [gwene’vie] was Arthur's beautiful wife. His knights met at a Round Tablemade by Merlin. Because the table was round, there was no head and no foot and all the knights were equal. The most famous knights were Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain, Sir Tristram, Sir Galahad, and Sir Percivale. They carried out acts of chivalry and searched for a lost treasure, which they believed would cure all ills - this was the 'Quest for the Holy Grail'.

Under the guidance of Merlin, Arthur had obtained a magical sword from The Lady Of The Lake. This sword was called 'Excalibur" and with this weapon he defeated many foes.

King Arthur was killed by his nephew, Sir Modred, who rebelled against him. The two armies met at a place called Camlan, and Modred was defeated. But as Modred was dying, he wounded Arthur deadly. He gave Excalibur, to Sir Bedivere to give it back to The Lady of the Lake. After 3 attempts he managed to through it to the lake and Arthur died peacefully. Arthur is believed to be on island of Avalon, from where it was said that one day he would return.

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table never existed in real life. They’re purely figures of legend. There might have been someone called Arturus (or Riothamus) in Britain’s distant past, but if there was, he was probably a Romano-British leader or military general campaigning against the marauding Saxon hordes in the 5th century AD. Arthurian legend should be appreciated for what it is: a large and unique body of wonderful early European literature.