UNIT 2: BRITISH HISTORY

1. The Roman period (43-410)

The Roman province of Britannia covered most of present-day England and
Wales, where the Romans imposed their own way of life and culture, making use
of the existing Celtic aristocracy to govern and encouraging them to adopt
Roman dress and the Latin language. They never went to Ireland and exerted an
influence, without actually governing there, over only the southern part of
Scotland. It was during this time that a Celtic tribe called the Scots migrated
from Ireland to Scotland, where, along with another tribe, the Picts, they became
opponents of the Romans. This division of the Celts into those who experienced
Roman rule (the Britons in England and Whales) and those who did not (the
Gaels in Ireland and Scotland) may help to explain the emergence of o 'o
distinct branches of the Celtic group of languages.
The remarkable thing about the Romans is that, despite their long occupation
of Britain, they left very little behind. To many other parts of Europe, they
bequeathed a system of law and administration which forms the basis of the
modern system and a language which developed into the modern Romance
family of languages. In Britain, they left neither. Moreover, most of their
villas, baths and temples, their impressive network of roads, and the cities they
founded, including Londinium (London), were soon destroyed or fell into
disrepair.
Almost the only lasting reminders of their presence are place names like Chester,
Lancaster and Gloucester, which include variants of the Latin word castra (a
military camp).
Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall was built by the Romans in the second
century across the northern border of their province of
Britannia (which is nearly the same as the present English-
Scottish border) in order to protect it from attacks by the
Scots and the Picts.
2. The Germanic invasions (410-1066)
The Roman occupation had been a matter of colonial control rather than large-
scale settlement. But during the fifth century, a number of tribes from the
European mainland invaded and settled in large numbers. Two of these tribes were
the Angles and the Saxons. These Anglo-Saxons soon had the south-east of the
country in their grasp. In the west, their advance was temporarily halted by an
army of (Celtic) Britons under the command of the legendary King Arthur.
Nevertheless, by the end of the sixth century, they and their way of life
predominated in nearly all of present-day England. Celtic culture and language
survived only in present-day Scotland, Whales and Cornwall.
The Anglo-Saxons had little use for towns and cities. But they had a great effect
on the countryside, where they introduced new farming methods and founded the
thousands of self-sufficient villages which formed the basis of English society
for the next thousand or so years.
When they came to Britain, the Anglo-Saxons were pagan. During the sixth and
seventh centuries, Christianity spread throughout Britain from two different
directions. By the time it was introduced into the south of England by the Roman
missionary St. Augustine, it had already been introduced into Scotland and
northern England from Ireland, which had become Christian more than 150 years
earlier. Although Roman Christianity eventually took over everywhere, the Celtic
model persisted in Scotland and Ireland for several hundred years. It was less
centrally organized and had less need for a strong monarchy to support it. This
partly explains why both secular and religious power in these two countries
continued to be both more locally based and less secure throughout the medieval
period.
Britain experienced another wave of Germanic invasions in the eighth century.
These invaders, known as Vikings, Norsemen or Danes, came from Scandinavia.
In the ninth century they conquered and settled the islands around Scotland and
some coastal regions of Ireland. Their conquest of England was halted when they
were defeated by King Alfred of the Saxon kingdom of Wessex. As a result, their
settlement was confined mostly to the north and east of the country.
However, the cultural differences between Anglo-Saxons and Danes were
comparatively small. They led roughly the same way of life and spoke different
varieties of the same Germanic tongue. Moreover, the Danes soon converted to
Christianity. These similarities made political unification easier, and by the end of
the tenth century, England was a united kingdom with a Germanic culture
throughout. Most of Scotland was also united by this time, at least in name, in a
(Celtic) Gaelic kingdom.
King Arthur
King Arthur is a wonderful example of the distortions of
popular history. In folklore and myth (and on film), he is a
great English hero, and he and his Knights of the Round Table
are regarded as the perfect example of medieval nobility and
chivalry. In fact, he lived long before medieval times and was
a Romanized Celt trying to hold back the advances of the
Anglo-Saxons - the very people who became ‘the English’!
King Alfred (848-899 AD)
King Alfred was not only an able warrior but also a dedicated
scholar (the only English monarch for a long time afterwards
who was able to read and write) and a wise ruler. He is known
as ‘Alfred the Great’ - the only monarch in English history to
be given this title. He is also popularly known for the story of
the burning of the cakes.
While he was wandering around his country organizing
resistance to the Danish invaders, Alfred travelled in disguise.
On one occasion, he stopped at a woman’s house. The woman
asked him to watch some cakes that were cooking to see that
they did not burn, while she went o ff to get food. Alfred
became lost in thought and the cakes burned. When the
woman returned, she shouted angrily at Alfred and sent him
away. Alfred never told her that he was her king.
Some important dates during the Germanic invasions

55 The Roman general Julius Caesar lands in Britain with

BC an expeditionary force, wins a battle and leaves. The
first ‘date’ in popular British history.

AD The Romans come to stay.

43

61 Queen Boudicca (or Boadicea) of the Iceni tribe leads a

 bloody revolt against the Roman occupation. It is
suppressed. There is a statue of Boadicea, made in the
nineteenth century, outside the Houses of Parliament,
which has helped to keep her memory alive.

410 The Romans leave Britain

432 St. Patrick converts Ireland to Christianity.

597 St. Augustine arrives in Britain and establishes his

headquarters at Canterbury.

793 The great monastery of Lindisfarne on the east coast of

Britain is destroyed by Vikings and its monks killed.

878 The Peace of Edington partitions the Germanic

territories between King Alfred’s Saxons and the
Danes.

973 Edgar, a grandson of Alfred, becomes king of nearly all

of present-day England and for the first time the name
‘ England’ is used.

3. The medieval period (1066-1458)

The successful Norman invasion of England (1066) brought Britain into the
mainstream of western European culture. Previously, most links had been with
Scandinavia. Only in Scotland did this link survive, the western isles (until the
13th century) and the northern islands (until the fifteenth century) remaining under
the control of Scandinavian kings. Throughout this period, the English kings also
owned land on the continent and were often at war with the French kings.
Unlike the Germanic invasions, the Norman invasion was small-scale. There was
no such thing as a Norman area of settlement. Instead, the Norman soldiers who
had invaded were given the ownership of land - and of the people living on it. A
strict feudal system was imposed. Great nobles, or barons, were responsible
directly to the king; lesser lords, each owning a village, were directly responsible
to a baron. Under them were the peasants, tied by a strict system of mutual duties
and obligations to the local lord, and forbidden to travel without his permission.
The peasants were the English-speaking Saxons. The lords and the barons were the
French-speaking Normans. This was the start of the English class system.
The system of strong government which the Normans introduced made the Anglo-
Norman kingdom the most powerful political force in Britain and Ireland. Not
surprisingly therefore, the authority of the English monarch gradually extended to
other parts of these islands in the next 250 years. By the end of the thirteenth
century, a large part of eastern Ireland was controlled by Anglo-Norman lords in
the name of their king and the whole of Wales was under his direct rule (at which
time, the custom of naming the monarch's eldest son the ‘Prince of Wales’ began).
Scotland managed to remain politically independent in the medieval period, but
was obliged to fight occasional wars to do so.
The cultural story of this period is different. In the 250 years after the Norman
Conquest, it was a Germanic language, Middle English, and not the Norman
(French) language, which had become the dominant one in all classes of society in
England. Furthermore, it was the Anglo-Saxon concept of common law, and not
Roman law, which formed the basis of the legal system.
Despite English rule, northern and central Wales was never settled in great
numbers by Saxons or Normans. As a result, the (Celtic) Welsh language and
culture remained strong. Eisteddfods, national festivals of Welsh song and poetry,
continued throughout the medieval period and still continue today. The Anglo-
Norman lords of Ireland remained loyal to the English king but, despite laws to the
contrary, mostly adopted the Gaelic language and customs.
The political independence of Scotland did not prevent a gradual switch to English
language and customs in the lowland (southern) part of the country. Many Anglo-
Saxon aristocrats had fled there after the Norman conquest. In addition, the Celtic
kings saw that the adoption of an Anglo-Norman style of government would
strengthen royal power. By the end of this period, a cultural split had developed
between the lowlands, where the way of life and language was similar to that in
England, and the highlands, where Gaelic culture and language prevailed - and
where, due to the mountainous terrain, the authority of the Scottish king was hard
to enforce.
It was in this period that Parliament began its gradual evolution into the
democratic body which it is today. The word ‘parliament’, which comes from the
French word parler (to speak), was first used in England in the thirteenth century
to describe an assembly of nobles called together by the king.
1066
This is the most famous date in English history. On 14
October of that year, an invading army from Normandy
defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings. The battle
was close and extremely bloody. At the end of it, most of
the best warriors in England were dead, including their
leader, King Harold. On Christmas day that year, the
Norman leader, Duke William of Normandy, was crowned
king of England. He is known in popular history as ‘William
the Conqueror’ and the date is remembered as the last time
that England was successfully invaded.
Language and social class
As an example of the class distinctions introduced into
society after the Norman invasion, people often point to the
fact that modern English has two words for the larger farm
animals: one for the living animal (cow, pig, sheep) and
another for the animal you eat (beef, pork, mutton). The
form er set come from Anglo-Saxon, the latter from the
French that the Normans brought to England. Only the
Normans normally ate meat; the poor Anglo-Saxon peasants
did not!
Some important dates during the Medieval period
1066: The Battle of Hastings
1086: King Williams’ officials complete the Domesday Book, a
very detailed, village-by-village record of the people and their
possessions throughout his kingdom.
1170: The murder of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of
Canterbury, by soldiers of King Henry II. Becket becomes a
popular martyr and his grave is visited by pilgrims for
hundreds of years. The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey
Chaucer in the fourteenth century, recounts the stories told by
a fictional group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury.
 1171: The Norman baron known as Strongbow and his
followers settle in Ireland.
1215: An alliance of aristocracy, church and merchants force
King John to agree to the Magna Carta (Latin meaning ‘Great
Charter’), a document in which the king agrees to follow
certain rules of government. In fact, neither John nor his
successors entirely followed them, but the Magna Carta is
remembered as the first time a monarch agreed in writing to
abide by formal procedures.
1275: Llewellyn, a Welsh prince, refuses to submit to the
authority of the English monarch.
1284: The Statute of Wales puts the whole of that country
under the control of the English monarch.
1295: The Model Parliament sets the pattern for the future by
including elected representatives from urban and rural areas.
1328: After several years of war between the Scottish and
English kingdoms, Scotland is recognized as an independent
kingdom.
4. The sixteenth century
In its first outbreak in the middle of the fourteenth century, bubonic plague (known
in England as the Black Death) killed about a third of the population of Great
Britain. It periodically reappeared for another 300 years. The shortage of labour
which it caused, and the increasing importance of trade and towns, weakened the
traditional ties between lord and peasant. At a higher level of feudal structure, the
power of the great barons was greatly weakened by in-fighting (The Wars of the
Roses).
Both these developments allowed English monarchs to increase their power. The
Tudor dynasty (1485-1603) established a system of government departments
staffed by professionals who depended for their position on the monarch. The
feudal aristocracy was no longer needed for implementing government policy. It
was needed less for making it too. Of the traditional two 'Houses’ of Parliament,
the Lords and the Commons, it was now more important for monarchs to get the
agreement of the Commons for their policies because that was where the newly
powerful merchants and landowners were represented.
Unlike in much of the rest of Europe, the immediate cause of the rise of
Protestantism in England was political and personal rather than doctrinal. The
King (Henry VIII) wanted a divorce, which the Pope would not give him. Also, by
making himself head of the 'Church of England’, independent of Rome, all church
lands came under his control and gave him a large new source of income.
This rejection of the Roman Church also accorded with a new spirit of patriotic
confidence in England. The country had finally lost any realistic claim to lands in
France, thus becoming more consciously a distinct 'island nation’. At the same
time, increasing European exploration of the Americas meant that England was
closer to the geographical centre of western civilization instead of being, as
previously, on the edge of it. It was in the last quarter of this adventurous and
optimistic century that Shakespeare began writing his famous plays, giving voice
to the modern form of English.
It was therefore patriotism as much as religious conviction that had caused
Protestantism to become the majority religion in England by the end of the
century. It took a form known as Anglicanism, not so very different from
Catholicism in its organization and ritual. But in the lowlands of Scotland, it took a
more idealistic form. Calvinism, with its strict insistence on simplicity and its
dislike of ritual and celebration became the dominant religion. It is from this date
that the stereotype image of the dour, thrifty Scottish developed. However, the
highlands remained Catholic and so further widened the gulf between the two parts
of the nation. Ireland also remained Catholic. There, Protestantism was identified
with the English, who at that time were making further attempts to control the
whole of the country.
The Wars of the Roses
During the fifteenth century, the power of the greatest nobles,
who had their own private armies, meant that constant
challenges to the position of the monarch were possible.
These power struggles came to a head in the Wars of the
Roses, in which the nobles were divided into two groups, one
supporting the House of Lancaster, whose symbol was a red
rose, the other the House of York, whose symbol was a white
rose. Three decades of almost continual war ended in 1485,
when Henry Tudor (Lancastrian) defeated and killed Richard III
(Yorkist) at the Battle of Bosworth Field.
Off his head!
Being an important person in the sixteenth century was not a
safe position. The Tudor monarchs were disloyal to their
officials and merciless to any nobles who opposed them. More
than half of the most famous names of the period finished
their lives by being executed. Few people who were taken
through Traitor’s Gate in the Tower of London came out again
alive.
Henry VIII
Henry VIII is one of the most well-known monarchs in English
history, chiefly because he took six wives during his life. He
has the popular image of a bon viveur. There is much truth in
this reputation. He was a natural leader but not really
interested in the day-to-day running of government and this
encouraged the beginnings of a professional bureaucracy. It
was during his reign that the reformation took place. In the 1
530s, Henry used Parliament to pass laws which swept away
the power of the Roman Church in England. However, his
quarrel with Rome was nothing to do with doctrine. It was
because he wanted to be free to marry again and to appoint
who he wished as leaders of the church in England. Earlier in
the same decade, he had had a law passed which demanded
complete adherence to Catholic belief and practice. He had
also previously written a polemic against Protestantism, for
which the pope gave him the title Fidei Defensor (defender of
the faith). The initials F.D. still appear on British coins today.
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII, was the first of three long-
reigning queens in British history (the other two are Queen
Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II). During her long reign she
established, by skilful diplomacy, a reasonable degree of
internal stability in a firmly Protestant England, allowing the
growth o f a spirit of patriotism and general confidence. She
 never married, but used its possibility as a diplomatic tool.
She became known as ‘the virgin queen’. The area which later
became the state of Virginia in the USA was named after her
by one of the many English explorers of the time (Sir W alter
Raleigh).
Important dates
1534: The Act of Supremacy declares Henry VIII to be the
supreme head of the church in England.
1536: The administration of government and law in Wales is
reformed so that it is exactly the same as it is in England.
1538: An English language version of the Bible replaces Latin
bibles in every church in the land.
1560: The Scottish parliament abolishes the authority of the
Pope and forbids the Latin mass.
1580: Sir Francis Drake completes the first voyage round the
world by an Englishman
1588: The Spanish Armada, a fleet of ships sent by the
Catholic King Philip of Spain to help invade England, is
defeated by the English navy (with the help o f a violent
storm!)
1603: James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England as
well.
1605: The Gunpowder Plot - A group of Catholics fail in their
attempt to blow up the king in Parliament.
B. TALKING POINTS
1. Britain is unusual among European countries in that, for more than 300 years
now, there has no t been a single revolution or civil war. Why do you think this is?
2. Around the year 1500, about five million people used the English language –
less than the population of Britain at the time. Today, it is estimated that between
600 million and 1,000 million people use English in everyday life – at least ten
times the present population of Britain. Why has the use of English expanded so
much in the last 500 years?
C. COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
Section A: Choose the correct answer.
1. What was the name of the Roman province that covered most of present-day
England and Wales?
A. Caledonia B. Gaul C. Britannia D. Iberia
2. Who did the Romans primarily rely on to govern the province of Britannia?
A. local Celtic aristocracy B. their own military leaders
C. Roman citizens from Italy D. slave populations
3. What is one significant cultural influence left by the Romans in Britain?
A. common law B. language
C. road networks and place names D. religious rituals
4. What was Hadrian’s Wall built to protect against?
A. The Danes and Norsemen B. The Picts and Scots
C. The Britons and Gaels D. The Saxons and Angles
5. Which area of Britain was not directly influenced or governed by the Romans?
A. Ireland B. Wales
C. Northern Scotland D. South of England
6. Which two tribes are credited with settling large portions of Britain after the
Roman withdrawal?
A. Picts and Gaels B. Saxons and Celts
C. Romans and Celts D. Angles and Saxons
7. Who is the legendary leader that temporarily halted the Anglo-Saxon advance in
Britain?
A. Alfred the Great B. William the Conqueror
C. King Arthur D. Julius Caesar
8. Where did Christianity initially spread from in Britain?
A. Rome B. France C. Scandinavia D. Ireland
9. What effect did the Anglo-Saxons have on British society?
A. They built cities similar to the Romans.
B. They introduced new farming methods and founded villages.
C. They established a monarchy based on feudalism.
D. They preserved Roman cultural practices.
10. Which king resisted Viking invasions in the ninth century?
A. King Arthur B. King Alfred
C. King Harold D. William the Conqueror
11. What event marks the beginning of the Norman control in England?
A. The signing of the Magna Carta
B. The death of King Alfred
C. The Battle of Hastings
D. The construction of Hadrian’s Wall
12. Which language developed as the dominant one in England during the
Medieval period?
A. Norman French B. Latin
C. Old Gaelic D. Middle English
13. Which part of the British Isles retained strong Celtic language and culture?
A. Eastern Ireland B. Southern England
C. Northern and central Wales D. Lowland Scotland
14. The name ‘England’ was first used under which king?
A. King Arthur B. King Alfred
C. King Edgar D. William the Conqueror
15. Which of the following institutions began its evolution toward democracy
during the Medieval period?
A. The House of Commons B. Parliament
C. The House of Lords D. The monarchy
16. Who led the English Reformation and broke with the Roman Catholic Church?
A. Queen Elizabeth I B. King Henry VIII
C. William the Conqueror D. Alfred the Great
17. The defeat of which naval fleet is associated with Queen Elizabeth I?
A. The Spanish Armada B. The Danish fleet
C. The Anglo-Saxon navy D. The French Armada
18. The Act of Supremacy declared Henry VIII as the head of which organization?
A. Parliament B. The monarchy
C. The Church of England D. The Anglican Church
19. What major social and economic effect did the Black Death have on Britain?
A. It strengthened ties between peasants and nobles.
B. It led to labor shortages and weakened feudalism.
C. It increased the authority of the Catholic Church.
D. It prompted the rise of the Anglo-Norman aristocracy.
20. What is significant about the year 1066 in English history?
A. The beginning of the Black Death
B. The Norman Conquest and the Battle of Hastings
C. The arrival of St. Augustine
D. The signing of the Magna Carta

1. C. Britannia
2. A. local Celtic aristocracy
 3. C. road networks and place names
4. B. The Picts and Scots
5. A. Ireland
6. D. Angles and Saxons
7. C. King Arthur
8. A. Rome
9. B. They introduced new farming methods and founded villages.
10.B. King Alfred
11.C. The Battle of Hastings
12.D. Middle English
13.C. Northern and central Wales
14.C. King Edgar
15.B. Parliament
16.B. King Henry VIII
17.A. The Spanish Armada
18.C. The Church of England
19.B. It led to labor shortages and weakened feudalism.
20.B. The Norman Conquest and the Battle of Hastings

Section B: Decide if the following statements are True or False.

1. The Romans governed most of Ireland as part of Britannia. F
2. The Roman influence in Britain was largely erased over time, leaving few
lasting physical structures. F
3. Celtic languages in Britain developed into distinct branches partly due to
differing Roman influences. T
4. The Anglo-Saxons established numerous cities across England upon their
arrival. F
5. Viking invasions in the 8th century resulted in their settlement mainly in the
north and east of England. T
6. The Norman invasion of England in 1066 was a massive settlement effort across
Britain. F
7. The medieval period saw English legal traditions being influenced more by
Anglo-Saxon common law than by Roman customs. T
8. By the end of the medieval period, Parliament had already fully evolved into a
modern democratic body. F
9. The rise of Protestantism in England was primarily driven by political motives.
T
10. Calvinism became the dominant form of Protestantism in the Scottish lowlands
during the sixteenth century. T
Section C: Complete the following notes with sentences a-j from the box.
a. Treaty of Edington divides England between Anglo-Saxons and Danes
b. Statute of Wales brings Wales under English control
c. Completion of the Domesday Book
d. Romans establish Britannia province
e. St. Augustine introduces Christianity in southern England
f. Act of Supremacy establishes Henry VIII as head of Church of England
g. Romans withdraw from Britain
h. William the Conqueror crowned King
i. James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England
j. King John signs Magna Carta
1. The Roman Period (43-410)
 55 BC: Roman General Julius Caesar lands in Britain.
 AD 43: (1) …………………………………………...
 61: Queen Boudicca of the Iceni tribe leads a revolt.
 122: Construction of Hadrian's Wall to defend against northern tribes.
 410: (2) ………………………………………………...
2. The Germanic Invasions (410-1066)
  432: St. Patrick converts Ireland to Christianity.
 597: (3) …………………………………………………..
 793: Vikings destroy Lindisfarne monastery.
 878: (4) …………………………………………………….
 973: Edgar becomes king of nearly all of England.
3. The Medieval Period (1066-1458)
 1066: Norman invasion; (5) ………………………………………...
 1086: (6) ………………………………………..
 1170: Archbishop Thomas Becket murdered.
 1215: (7) ……………………………. ……….
 1284: (8) ………………………………………..
 1328: Scotland recognized as independent.
 1348-49: Black Death kills about one-third of Britain’s population.
4. The Sixteenth Century (1485-1603)
 1485: End of Wars of the Roses; Henry Tudor becomes king.
 1534: (9) …………………………………………………...
 1538: English Bible replaces Latin in churches.
 1560: Scottish Parliament abolishes authority of the Pope.
 1588: Defeat of the Spanish Armada.
 1603: (10) …………………………………………...
Section 4: Write a paragraph of about 150 words to answer the following
question.
Which of the following periods do you think is most significant in the history of
Britain? Explain.
a. The Roman period (43-410)
b. The Germanic invasions (410-1066)
c. The Medieval period (1066-1458)
d. The Sixteenth century (1485-1603)