Celtic Peoples of Roman Britain

Roman Roads in Britain

 Anglo-Saxon and Medieval
Periods—449 to 1485
• The British Isles
– Julius Caesar defeated the Gauls, a group
of Celtic people, and left France for Britain
in 55 B.C.
• He placed the Britons, a group of Celtic
people, under Roman authority.
– The Celtic group to the north were known
as the Picts.
– The Celtic group to the west were known
as the Gaels.
– They were thriving on their own in areas of
agriculture, metalwork, and trade.
• They had an oral literary tradition preserved by
priests known as druids.
• Druids could use the Greek Alphabet, but didn’t
allow writing, so they could not preserve their
culture.
– 100 years after Caesar came, Rome
returned to inhabit Britain, where they
endured some scuffles with the inferior
Britons.
• They drove the Picts north to what is Scotland
now.
Britain in the 5th century
All boundaries are approximate.
– Romans brought “new and improved” living
to the Britons.
• Cities
• Stone roads
• Written scholarship
• Christianity
– The newly civilized Britons grew dependent
on the Romans for protection.
– In the fifth century Roman soldiers were
called back to defend the Empire, leaving
the Britons unprotected and unprepared for
invasions.
• The Anglo-Saxon Period
– The first invasion is said to have begun in
449, and took decades to complete and
organize governmentally.
– Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians left
their Germanic homelands to settle Britain.
– Britains are said to have been led by a
Christian named Arthur to stop the
invasions.
Saxon Invasions and Land Holdings
– Eventually, they were driven to Cornwall, Wales,
and Scotland, where the Picts were, and where the
Gaels were coming in to settle.
• They also settled in an area on continental Brittany…now
a part of France.
– The Celtic culture fairly disappeared in Britain.
• It is still preserved in other areas: Celtic languages are still
official first languages in Wales, Scotland, and the
Republic of Ireland.
– Germanic tribes organized a confederation of 7
kingdoms called a Heptarchy.
• The Jutes settled in Kent.
• The Saxons settled in Sussex, Essex, and Wessex.
• The Angles settled in East Anglia, Mercia, and
Northumbria.
Saxon Expansion
Saxon Control
– The Angles were most powerful.
– Due to their dominance, the land they
inhabited became known as Angle-land…
which grew to England.
– The two biggest groups were combined to
apply to the term used to describe the
people of this period and geographical
location as ANGLO-SAXONS.
– Anglo-Saxons changed over time.
• They WERE sea-farers
• They led short, violent lives.
• They brought their pagan gods with them as they
settled the already Christian Britain.
• They believed in WYRD, or fate, and admired
heroic warriors who prevailed in battles.
– These beliefs and desires led to many poems
describing battles where the hero destroys a chieftain’s
enemy, because it is his wyrd to do so.
– The real life chieftains, who rewarded warriors for
loyalty and protection, were often portrayed in these
poems as well.
• By the sixth century, they had evolved to
agricultural, less violent, more civilized people,
as they began accepting Christianity.
Distribution of
Cathedrals in
England and
Wales
• Christianity
– It did not completely die with the exit of the
Romans and the entry of the Germanic tribes.
– Patrick converted the Gaels of Ireland in the early
5th century.
– Augustine, a Roman missionary established a
monastery in the land of Kent, called Canterbury.
– Christianity spread from there, and by 690, all of
Britain held at least nominal Christian beliefs.
– It was, however, mingled into the belief these
people had of their pagan gods and wyrd.
The Danelaw
• The Danes (a.k.a. the Vikings) invade in the
790s
– They attacked Northumbria in northeastern
England.
– Alfred the Great, Wessex king, halted their
advances in southern England.
– His defeat of the Danes in 878 and 886 allowed
him the control to demand a truce. The truce
required the Danes to accept Christianity.
– When he died, though, the Danes once again
began to fight for control.
– In 1016, a Dane named Canute became king of all
England.
– He was successful, and won support of Anglo-
Saxon nobility.
– In 1042, a less successful, deeply religious
Edward the Confessor came to the throne.
– He had no children, and thus named his cousin,
William (the bastard) of Normandy as his heir.
– He was also persuaded to name Harold, Earl of
Wessex, and his brother-in-law as heir.
– When he died in 1066, the English-supported
Harold claimed the throne and was supported
by all the Anglo-SAXONS as he was one.
– Angered, William brought his NORMAN soldiers
into England into the last successful invasion of
England: the Norman Conquest.
– Harold was killed at the Battle of Hastings on
October 14, 1066…the last Saxon king.
– Christmas Day of 1066, William was
crowned king of England.
• We know him as William the Conqueror.
 High Middle Ages
• 1066 to 1485
• Normans brought with them the ways of
the French.
• Feudalism was introduced
 Feudalism
• This was an economic and political system.
• The king owned all of the land and parceled it
out.
• The king kept ¼, gave ¼ to the church, and
gave the rest to loyal nobles…mostly Normans.
– These barons either paid him or supplied him with
knights to fight in his battles.
– Sons of the knights would be sent to PAGE (servant
to the knight’s family) at another castle at 7, would
become a SQUIRE at 14 (servant to the knight), and
would become a knight at 21(warrior on behalf of
noble in the king’s causes).
 The Social Ladder
• Barons swore allegiance to the king.
• Knights swore allegiance to the baron.
• Then squires and pages to their respected
people.
• Lastly, serfs were forced to be in league
with their landlords. They paid in food and
service as peasants bound to the land.
– These serfs were mostly conquered Anglo-
Saxons
 Weak leaders causing problems:
• Henry I—when he died, barons took sides
for his daughter, Matilda, and his nephew,
Stephen.
• 1135 to 1154—Stephen reigned during a
time when it was almost an anarchy.
• Henry II—took the throne in 1154 to
change the government for the better.
 What Henry II brought:
• Instituted royal courts.
• Trial by jury.
• English common law.
• A wife from France, Eleanor of Aquitaine.
– She brought the Chivalric Code of Honor
• Knights must fight for 1-God, 2-king, 3-female
honor.
 Henry’s son, Richard I

• Also known as Richard the Lionhearted.

• Reigned for 10 years…majority spent
fighting in the Crusades.
• While absent, his brother, John plotted to
take the throne.
– Robin Hood stories cover this history.
 Richard dies/John takes over
• He finds the treasury bankrupt…too many
battles and Crusades.
• 1215—John is forced to sign the Magna
Carta.
– This limits royal power.
– Grants more power to the barons…ONLY
– First step toward
democracy, ALL were
allowed trial by jury.
 John’s son Henry III:
• The barons set up parliamentary council.
• This council met regularly to address
issues.
 Edward I
• Model Parliament of 1295 establishes:
– Two houses.
– Barons=The House of Lords
– Commoners=The House of Commons
• The power of commoners grew with this step…
thus feudalism dissipated.
 Common Power=Town Growth
• Merchants and Craftspeople formed
GUILDS.
• Guilds controlled the flow of and price of
goods being sold.
• Guilds controlled the rules for advancing
from apprentice to master craftsman.
 Growth of Towns
• Overcrowding began.
• Poor sanitation=spread of disease
• Plague spread quickly and widely
• Universities were established
– Oxford produced-Bacon, a scientist
– John Wycliffe, a church reformer.
History During The Hundred Year’s War

• Started in 1337, under EDWARD III.

• Wycliffe’s church reform took place.
• England and France fought for power.
• Black Death killed 1/3 of the English population.
• Peasants revolted in 1381.
• RICHARD II forced to abdicate in 1399.
• Battle of Orleans—led by Joan of Arc
• War ended in 1453
 End of the War=End of the Middle
Ages
• By end of the 100 Years’ War, England lost all
French holdings.
• Two English families claimed the throne in
another conflict.
• The House of York=symbol is the white rose.
• The House of Lancaster=symbol is the red rose.
– The conflict is called WAR OF THE ROSES.
 War of the Roses Brings New Era
• War of the Roses ended in 1485 with Henry
Tudor=the House of Lancaster killing King
Richard III=the House of York.
• He took the throne as HENRY VII.
• He married Elizabeth of York & united the
houses
• His coronation marked the end of the Middle
Ages in England
» Guess whose portrait appears in a deck of cards…