英美概况Chapter 3

Chapter II

The Founding of the Nation

The formation of the British is long and complicated, it is a mixture of many races and all

these races invaded Britain at various times.

Part One. Early Settlement (----55 BC)

I. Iberians

(

伊比利亚人

)

1.

Iberians

: from Iberian Peninsular (the Mediterranean lands), about 5,000 years ago

landed in present Cornwall and Devon, most on Salisbury Plain.

2. Influence:

They left no written records and only relics were stone monuments.

※

Stonehenge:

1) They were built by the Iberians about 3,500 ago, on Salisbury Plain of England.

2) They are more direct evidence of the social structure of the Iberians.

3) Often over 200 feet high, the barrows were burial places and proved the existence of sharply

marked class division.

II. Celts

After 700 BC, the Celts from Upper Rhine Land of northeast Europe came to Isles.

(tall, with red hair and blue eyes)

1. The first wave

Gaels, their language is still spoken in Scotland

2. The second wave

Brythons, came the English name for Britain

3. The third wave

Belgae from Northern Gaul, occupied the greater part of the Home Counties

Part Two: Roman Britain (55 BC---410)

British recorded history begins with the Roman invasion.

(Because Julius Caesar kept a diary and wrote down what he saw in England)

I. Julius Caesar (55----54BC)

This Roman commander in Gaul, came to Britain twice, but he had no attempt to conquer the

island.

II. The Emperor Claudius

1. In 43 AD, Emperor Claudius invaded Britain

The territory south of the Humber and east of the Severn was annexed to Roman Empire.

2. The Romans invaded the Wales and Scotland.

They conquered Wales, but never conquered Scotland.

III. The Influence of Roman Conquer

The Roman occupation lasted nearly 400 years from AD 43

—

407, they brought the Roman

civilization into England.

1. Many baths, temples, amphitheatres, and fine buildings were set up.

2. Many army bases are now important cities.

These

towns

used

names

ending

with

“

ster

”

,

“

cester

”

or

“

shire

”

----

Lancaster,

Winchester and Yorkshire---- deriving from

“

castra

”

, the Latin word for camp.

3. Roman roads were built all across Britain.

Along the roads, towns grew up, they were like cities with urban life style and culture.

Between the towns are villas. (the centers of agricultural estates)

In 5

th

century, the Roman government withdrew all their forces from Britain.

Part Three: Anglo-Saxon Times

1. After the Roman left, Germanic warriors landed in Britain.

They included: Angles, Saxon and other Jutes

They only occupied England, never possessed Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

2. The Angles: East, the Midlands and the North

The Saxons: South and Midlands

The Jutes: South and Southeast

English, the language of the Angles, replaced the old Celtic language

The country became known as England,

“

the land of the Angles

”

3. For 150 years, the Britons were destructed ruthlessly.

Roman civilization remained little on the island.

4. The Angles, Saxons and Jutes set up many kingdoms.

At one time there were seven kingdoms called Heptarchy in history.

Heptarchy:

seven kingdoms established by the Angles, Saxons and Jutes

Jutes---- Kent

肯特

Angles----Northumbria (north)

诺森伯里亚

Mercia (mid-land)

麦西亚

East Anglia (east)

东安格利亚

Saxon ---- Essex (east)

埃塞克斯

Sussex (south)

苏塞克斯

Wessex (west)

威塞克斯

(Some legendary heroes tried to unite the kingdom, like King Arthur often in literature)

5. The Anglo-Saxon were organized into tribes governed by a chief or king

They had a mixed economy of farming, hunting and animal husbandry.

The social union was determined by the village.

II. Augustine:

He was the Prior of St. Andrew

’

s Monastery in Rome, and Pope Gregory sent him convert

the English to Christianity in 597.

He

was

received

by

King

Ethelbert

of

Kent.

Augustine

was

successful

in

converting

the

king and the nobility to Roman Christianity.

He became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in 601. (the head of the Church)

By the late 7

th

century, Roman Christianity became the dominant religion in Britain.

III. The Influence of Anglo- Saxon Invasion

1. Bring religion to the England

Tiu, the God of War (Tuesday)

Woden, Father of the Gods (Wednesday)

Thor, God of Thunder (Thursday)

Freya, Goddess of peace (Friday)

2. Old English or Anglo-Saxon was formed.

(Its vocabulary provided the basic of Modern English)

Bede, a great historian,

Ecclesiastical History of the English People

is valuable.

Beowulf

, is considered the greatest Old English poem.

3. Christianity spread throughout the land.

Also Christianity began to flourish in literature.

Part Four: The Danish Invasion