2.2. Historical Background

Traditionally the V c. is named the date of the beginning of the history of the English people. It was in that century that certain Germanic tribes, namely, the Angles, the Saxons, the Jutes and probably the Frisians, crossed the Channel and invaded Great Britain. The descendants of those invaders came later to form the English people.

Before the Anglo-Saxon invasion Britain was inhabited by IE tribes called the Celts: the Picts and the Scots – in the North and the Britons – in the South (from the VI c. B.C.). The strongest of them, the Britons, held most of the country, and the southern half of the island was named Britain after them. The Celts tamed and bred animals and tilled the soil. The descendants of the Celts live on the territory of the British Isles to this day (in Wales, Scotland, Ireland) and some words of the Celtic language can still be found in ModE mostly in geographic names (Avon – river, Derwent – clear water, down – bare, open highland).

2.2.1. The Roman Conquest of Britain

In 55 B.C. the Romans (a Roman army of 10000 men) under the leadership of Julius Caesar first landed in Britain but after a brief stay they went back to Gaul. In the year 54 Caesar landed in Britain for the second time, this time with lager forces (25000 men), he routed the Britons and advanced as far as the Thames.But this stay was also a short one. Permanent conquest of Britain began in 43 A.D. under the emperor Claudius. It lasted for almost 4 centuries.

The Romans colonized the country, dug wells, built paved roads, stone bridges (some of them exist still today) and built a high wall in the North against the Picts and the Scots, named «Hadrian’s wall» after the Emperor Hadrian. They established a great number of military camps, which later developed into English cities. The colonization had a profound effect on the country. By the end of the Roman rule, splendid villas had been built, public baths and such rich trading towns as York, Gloucester, Lincoln and London and about 50 smaller towns. The population of these towns used Latin alongside of their native Celtic speech. In the IV century, when Christianity was introduced in the Roman Empire, it also spread among the Britons.

In 410 A.D. Roman legions were recalled from Britain to defend Rome from the advancing Goths. This very year the Goths under King Alaric captured the city of Rome.

The words that the Romans left behind them in the language of Britain are for the most part the names of the things the Romans taught the Celts, e.g., street < L strata (road), port < L portus, wall < L vallum. The names of many modern English towns are of Latin origin too. The word castra (which means «camp») can be recognized in such names as Chester, Winchester, Manchester, Leicester, Doncaster, Lancaster. Any English town today with a name ending in – chester, -cester or -caster was once a Roman camp or city. The town-name Lincoln comes from the L word colonia (colony), Colchester (that is, Colne-chester) comes from both colonia and castra.