ptashkin_countrystudy

Министерство образования и науки Российской Федерации Федеральное государственное бюджетное образовательное учреждение высшего профессионального образования «Томский государственный педагогический университет»

ЛИНГВОСТРАНОВЕДЕНИЕ И СТРАНОВЕДЕНИЕ

ИСТОРИЯ ВЕЛИКОБРИТАНИИ:

С ДРЕВНЕЙШИХ ВРЕМЕН ДО XVII ВЕКА

Учебно-методическое пособие

Томск 2012

УДК 802.0 : 801.3 : 91 (410)	Печатается по решению
ББК 81.432.1 : 26.89-923	учебно-методического совета
Л 59	Томского государственного
	педагогического университета

Л59 Лингвострановедение и страноведение. История Англии: с древнейших времен до XVII века : учебно-методическое пособие / авт.-сост. А. С. Пташкин. – Томск : Издательство Томского государственного педагогического университета, 2012. – 72 с.

Учебно-методическое пособие предназначено для студентов факультета иностранных языков педагогических вузов, обучающихся по направлению 050100.62 «Педагогическое образование».

ББК 81.432.1 : 26.89-923

Рецензент: канд. филол. наук, профессор ТГПУ, Л. А. Петроченко

© А.С. Пташкин, составление, 2012 © Томский государственный

педагогический университет, 2012

CONTENTS
ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	5
LIST OF QUESTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL WORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	6
LIST OF REPORT THEMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	6
EXAMINATION QUESTIONS LIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	6
EXAMINATION CARD SAMPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	7
ENGLISH HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	8
1. BRIEF GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	8
2. THE PRE-CELTIC PERIOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	8
2.1. THE SCOTS AND THE PICTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	8
2.2. THE IBERIANS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	12
2.3. AN ALPINE RACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	13
3. THE CELTIC PERIOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	14
3.1. THE CELTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	14
3.2. THE STRUCTURE OF THE CELTIC SOCIETY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	15
3.3. THE DRUIDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	17
4. BRITAIN AT THE END OF THE BC ERA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	18
5. JULIUS CAESAR’S EXPEDITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	18
6. THE ROMAN PERIOD (43-410) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	20
7. THE GERMANIC INVASION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	22
7.1. THE ANGLO-SAXON SOCIETY AND CULTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	22
7.2. THE ANGLO-SAXONS AND CRISTIANITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	24
8. THE DANISH INVASION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	25
8.1. THE FIRST DANISH INVASION (THE VIKINGS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	25
8.2. THE SECOND DANISH INVASION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	27
9. THE NORMAN CONQUEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	27
10. THE ANGEVIN EMPIRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	29
10.1. HENRY II’ SONS: RICHARD I AND JOHN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	30
10.2. HENRY III AND EDWARD I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	32

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11. THE ENGLAND OF THE 14TH CENTURY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 11.1. THE ENGLAND OF THE 14TH CENTURY. PART I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 11.2. THE ENGLAND OF THE 14TH CENTURY. PART II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 11.3. THE ENGLAND OF THE 14TH CENTURY. PART III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

11.4. THE ENGLAND OF THE 14TH CENTURY. PART IV:

THE AGE OF CHIVALRY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 11.5. THE ENGLAND OF THE 14TH CENTURY. PART V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

11.6. THE ENGLAND OF THE 14TH CENTURY. PART VI:

THE POOR IN REVOLT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 11.7. THE ENGLAND OF THE 14TH CENTURY. PART VII: HERESY . . . . . . . 38 11.8. THE ENGLAND OF THE 14TH CENTURY. PART VIII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 12. RESULTS OF THE HUNDRED YEARS’WAR. THE WARS OF THE ROSES 39 13. THE TUDOR AGE. HENRY VII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 14. HENRY VIII AND HIS REFORMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 15. LADY JANE GREY AND MARY I (R. 1553-1558) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 16. ELIZABETH I (R. 1558-1603) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 17. THE ENGLAND OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE 16TH C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 18. THE CULTURE OF TUDOR ENGLAND (I) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 19. THE CULTURE OF TUDOR ENGLAND (II) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 20. THE STUARTS: JAMES I, CHARLES I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 21. THE CIVIL WAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 22. THE MONARCHY RESTORATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 23. THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 LIST OF ENGLISH KINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 TEST IN ENGLISH HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 KEYS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 GLOSSARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 LITERATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ

Учебно-методическое пособие предназначено для студентов факультета иностранных языков педагогических вузов, обучающихся по направлению «050100.62 Педагогическое образование».

Пособие состоит из двух частей: History of England (история Великобритании) и Test in English History (тестовое задание для самопроверки) с кратким глоссарием по истории Англии.

Первая часть содержит 23 главы, представляющие основные этапы английской истории от древнейших времен до XVII века включительно. Каждая глава содержит информацию о важнейших культурно-истори- ческих событиях, именах важнейших исторических личностей, названий и описаний памятников культуры, сохранившихся на территории Англии. Первая часть учебно-методического пособия служит средством повышения общей мотивации студентов, нацелена на развитие у них познавательной деятельности, воображения, самодисциплины, на изучение основных этапов истории страны изучаемого языка.

Вторая часть пособия включает в себя тест по истории Англии и ответы к нему; она дает возможность студентам проверить свои знания. Кроме того, во вторую часть пособия включен краткий словарь основных терминов по истории Англии.

В пособии представлены примерные задания и вопросы для самостоятельной работы студентов, примерная тематика рефератов и примерный список вопросов к экзамену по дисциплине «Лингвострановедение и страноведение».

Материалы, представленные в пособии, способствуют увеличению объема фоновых знаний, и могут быть использованы в будущем в процессе педагогической практики.

Пособие может быть использовано как для работы в аудитории, так и для самостоятельной работы. Оно может быть также рекомендовано широкому кругу лиц, изучающих английский язык.

Пособие было апробировано в течение нескольких лет на I курсе очного и заочного отделения факультета иностранных языков Томского государственного педагогического университета, продемонстрировало

практическую ценность и получило положительную оценку преподавателей.

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	LIST OF QUESTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL WORK	6.	Доисторический период истории Англии. Заселение Англии кельта-
			ми. Изменение структуры общества.
1.	Климатические условия, погода.	7.	Экспедиции Ю. Цезаря. Римское завоевание Британии.
2.	Заповедники, национальные и региональные парки Великобритании.	8.	Англосаксонское завоевание Британии. Изменение структуры обще-
3.	Животный и растительный мир Великобритании.		ства. Литература и культура англосаксонской Англии.
4.	Дом и семья в Англии.		Христианизация Англии.
5.	Традиции англичан.	9.	Датские нашествия.
6.	Театры и музеи Лондона.	10.	Нормандское завоевание Англии. Норманнские короли на англий-
7.	Музыка в Англии.		ском престол.
8.	Монархия в Англии.	11.	Англия 14 века. Столетняя война. Восстание крестьян. Литература и
9.	Спорт в Англии.		культура Англии 14 века.
10.	Религиозные верования древних кельтов, римлян, германцев.	12.	Англия 15 века. Результаты Столетней войны. Войны Роз. Восшествие
11.	Искусство Англии XVII в.		династии Тюдоров.
12.	Древние города Англии.	13.	Англия 16 века. Реформы Генриха VII и Генриха VIII.
13.	Стоунхендж.	14.	Англия 16 века. Правление Эдуарда VI, Леди Джейн Грей, Марии I.
		15.	Англия 16 века. Елизаветинская эпоха. Литература и культура тюдо-
	LIST OF REPORT THEMES	16.	ровской Англии.
			Англия 17 века. Династия Стюартов. Гражданские войны 1640-х гг.
1.	Английские художники XVII в.		Буржуазная республика.
2.	Английские праздники.	17.	Англия 17 века. Реставрация монархии. «Славная революция».
3.	Шотландия.		Литература и культура Англии 17 века.
4.	Уэльс.		EXAMINATION CARD SAMPLE
5.	Северная Ирландия.
6.	Музыка в Англии.		Билет №1
7.	Оксфорд и Кембридж.
8.	Искусство Англии XVII в.	1.	Англия XIV в.
9.	Религия кельтов.	2.	Кельтский период. Структура кельтского общества.
10.	Юлий Цезарь.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS LIST

1.Цели и задачи курса Лингвострановедение и страноведение.

2.Географическое положение. Состав территории. Горы, реки, озера, моря. Климат.

3.Население и языки Британских островов. Герб, флаг, гимн Соединенного королевства.

4.Периодизация истории Англии.

5.Доисторический период истории Англии. Заселение Англии древними племенами.

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English History

§1. Brief Geographical Outline

The British Isles lie to the north-west of the continent of Europe. They consist of a large island, Great Britain, a smaller island, Ireland, and over five hundred very small islands: the Shetlands, the Orkneys and the Hebrides in the north, the Isle of Man between Great Britain and Ireland and the Channel Islands in the south near France.

Great Britain is divided into three countries: England, Scotland and Wales. Ireland is divided into two countries: Eire, or The Republic of Ireland, and

Northern Ireland or Ulster.

The Atlantic Ocean lies to the west of the British Isles and to the east there is the North Sea. Between Great Britain and Ireland there is the Irish Sea and, to the south, between Great Britain and France, there is the English Channel, which is only 32 kms wide at its narrowest point.

The English Channel is thought to have been created between 450,000 and 180,000 years ago by two catastrophic glacial lake outburst floods caused by the breaching of the Weald-Artois Anticline, a ridge which held back a large proglacial lake, now submerged under the North Sea.

§2. The Pre-Celtic Period

§2.1. The Scots and Picts

In prehistoric times Britain was joined to the rest of the continent. The first human inhabitants of Britain, and many of its animal inhabitants, came there over dry land. The present English Channel was formed towards the end of the Ice Age.

The first inhabitants of the British Isles were nomadic Stone Age hunters. They probably lived in the dry caves of the limestone and chalk hills. The ancient population, unable with their stone tools to cope with the impassable woods that covered nearly the whole of the land, had to rely entirely on the bounty of nature. They must have lived on what the woods, the ocean and the rivers had to offer. Historians refer to the original population as the Scots and

Picts with whom newcomers started merging.

Pictish society was typical of many Iron Age societies in northern Europe, having “wide connections and parallels” with neighbouring groups.

Archaeology gives some impression of the society of the Picts. While very little in the way of Pictish writing has survived, Pictish history since the late

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6th century is known from a variety of sources, including Bede’s Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, saints’ lives such as that of Columba by Adomnán, and various Irish annals. Although the popular impression of the Picts may be one of an obscure, mysterious people, this is far from being the case. When compared with the generality of Northern, Central and Eastern Europe in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, Pictish history and society are well attested.

The archaeological record provides evidence of the material culture of the Picts. It tells of a society not readily distinguishable from its similar Gaelic and British neighbours, nor very different from the Anglo-Saxons to the south.

As with most peoples in the north of Europe in Late Antiquity, the Picts were farmers living in small communities. Cattle and horses were an obvious sign of wealth and prestige, sheep and pigs were kept in large numbers, and place names suggest that transhumance was common. Animals were small by later standards, although horses from Britain were imported into Ireland as breed-stock to enlarge native horses. From Irish sources it appears that the élite engaged in competitive cattle-breeding for size, and this may have been the case in Pictland also. Carvings show hunting with dogs, and also, unlike in Ireland, with falcons. Cereal crops included wheat, barley, oats and rye. Vegetables included kale, cabbage, onions and leeks, peas and beans, turnips and carrots, and some types no longer common, such as skirret. Plants such as wild garlic, nettles and watercress may have been gathered in the wild. The pastoral economy meant that hides and leather were readily available. Wool was the main source of fibres for clothing, and flax was also common, although it is not clear if they grew it for fibres, for oil, or as a foodstuff. Fish, shellfish, seals, and whales were exploited along coasts and rivers. The importance of domesticated animals argues that meat and milk products were a major part of the diet of ordinary people, while the élite would have eaten a diet rich in meat from farming and hunting.

The early Picts are associated with piracy and raiding along the coasts of Roman Britain. Even in the Late Middle Ages, the line between traders and pirates was unclear, so that Pictish pirates were probably merchants on other occasions. It is generally assumed that trade collapsed with the Roman Empire, but this is to overstate the case. There is only limited evidence of long-distance trade with Pictland, but tableware and storage vessels from Gaul, probably transported up the Irish Sea, have been found. This trade may have been controlled from Dunadd in Dál Riata, where such goods appear to have been common. While long-distance travel was unusual in Pictish times, it was far from unknown as stories of missionaries, travelling clerics and exiles show.

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Early Pictish religion is presumed to have resembled Celtic polytheism in general, although only place names remain from the pre-Christian era. When the Pictish elite converted to Christianity is uncertain, but traditions place Saint Palladius in Pictland after he left Ireland, and link Abernethy with Saint Brigid of Kildare.

Pictish art appears on stones, metalwork and small objects of stone and bone. It uses a distinctive form of the general Celtic Early Medieval development of La Tène style with increasing influences from the Insular art of 7th and 8th century Ireland and Northumbria, and then Anglo-Saxon and Irish art as the Early Medieval period continues. The most conspicuous survivals are the many Pictish stones that are located all over Pictland, from Inverness to Lanarkshire. An illustrated catalogue of these stones was produced by J. Romilly Allen as part of The Early Church Monuments of Scotland, with lists of their symbols and patterns. The symbols and patterns consist of animals including the Pictish Beast, the “rectangle”, the “mirror and comb”, “double-disk and Z-rod” and the “crescent and V-rod,” among many others. There are also bosses and lenses with pelta and spiral designs. The patterns are curvilinear with hatchings. The so-called cross-slabs are carved with Pictish symbols, Insular-derived interlace and Christian imagery, though interpretation is often difficult due to wear and obscurity. Several of the Christian images carved on various stones, such as David the harpist, David and the lion, or scenes of St Paul and St Anthony meeting in the desert, have been influenced by the Insular manuscript tradition.

The Pictish language has not survived. Evidence is limited to place names, the names of people found on monuments, and the contemporary records. The evidence of place-names and personal names argues strongly that the Picts spoke Insular Celtic languages related to the more southerly Brythonic languages.

In Iron Age Scotland, based on Celtic tribal society, warfare was common. First millenium BC Scots built hillforts, great duns (stone hill fortresses), crannogs (forts and houses built on stilts in lochs, and, unique to Scotland, brochs. Brochs are round stone towers, tapering inward as they rise from the ground. Hundreds may be found all over north and west Scotland and the Isles.

When the Romans arrived in ancient Britain, they found numerous fierce tribes which they grouped under some general headings: Britons in England, Scotti in Ireland, and Picts in Scotland. It is believed that all these groupings were fundamentally Celtic. The Gaelic language of the Britons survives in Wales, Scots Gaelic (derived from Irish Gaelic) in western Scotland.

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Many scholars believe the Picts spoke a version of Gaelic, related to Welsh but unknown to the later Scots (St. Columba required a translator when he converted Brude, the Pictish king). Other scholars claim evidence of a prior, non-indo-european language, related to Basque. The Pictish script found on stone monuments appears to use similar letter forms to the Irish Ogham, but remains as yet untranslated.

Another area of debate concerns the word Picti, meaning “painted” in Latin. Rather than painting themselves, other historical records suggest they actually tattooed their faces and bodies. Irregardless, they were mighty warriors, holding off Romans, Angles, and Vikings before their culture was absorbed by the Scots. The Hadrian and Antonine Walls are a tribute to the fear they instilled in Roman hearts.

Pictish society was one of the very few matrilineal societies of ancient Europe (setting them quite apart from the Irish and British), with kingship conferred through the mother. This is how Kenneth McAlpin, first Scottish King of the Scots and the Picts, came to the throne - his mother was a Pictish princess.

Remarkably, Pictish culture seems to have completely disappeared into legend and myth by the end of the 10th century, leaving behind a wide-open field of lively debate among present-day scholars.

Northern Ireland is “nae so far” from Scotland, and as early as 258 AD the Romans complain of Scots from the north sweeping down upon them. The ancient Irish kingdom of Dalriada (race of Riada) traces its legendary lineage from the High Kings of Tara. About 500 AD, the sons of Erc, King of Dalriada, Fergus, Loarn, and Angus, established kingdoms in the Western Isles and Argyll, with their seat at Dunadd.

The kings of Scotland are descended from one of Fergus Mor’s sons, Gabhran. In the mid-500s, St. Columba established a monastery on the Isle of Iona. From there, he acted not only as missionary to the Picts, but diplomat as well, helping to unite the Scots under Gabhran’s son, King Aidan. Nevertheless, the Scots did not fare too well their first three centuries in Scotland, losing to the Britons in the south, and the Picts in the west. Indeed, the Picts continued as the strongest force in the land for 300 years more, both numerically and politically.

There are a great many legends surrounding Kenneth McAlpin, Scotland’s first Scottish king. They say he killed the members of all seven Pictish royal houses to secure the throne. Such ruthlessness paid off, though. While some future kings were styled “King of the Scots” or “King of the Picts”, all were buried on Iona as Scottish kings and the name of the country became “Scotia”.

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So Pictish power gave way to Scots, and the kingdom of the Gaels stretched from the Western Isles to the eastern coast. But there were Vikings in the north, and Britons and Angles in the south. Future kings would have the task of expanding Scotland’s borders to their present extent and preserving her independence.

§2.2. The Iberians

In the period immediately after its formation the Channel was too stormy to allow access to Britain by the nearest route. The newcomers crossed the sea to Britain to the west of the Channel and settled along the western shores. Those newcomers, the Iberians or Megalithic men, are supposed to have arrived in Britain from the region of the Mediterranean and inhabited it between 3000 and 2000 BC. Their burial places in Cornwall, in Ireland, in the coastal regions of Wales and Scotland are found to be either long barrows, that is, man-made hills, or huge structures of stone slabs (megaliths).

One of the best-known megalithic monuments in Britain is Stonehenge, dating from about 2800 BC. It is situated on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England.

Stonehenge consisted originally of a circle of 30 upright stones. Their tops were linked by lintel stones to form a continuous circle. Within this monument was a so-called ‘altar stone’ – an upright pillar. Stonehenge is one of a number of prehistoric structures on Salisbury Plain, including about 400 round barrows.

One of its mysteries is how it was ever built at all with the technology of the time (the stones come from over 200 miles away in Wales). Another is its purpose. It appears to function as a kind of astronomical clock and we know it was used by the Druids for ritual ceremonies.

The Iberians were not a clearly defined culture, ethnic group or political entity. The name is instead a blanket term for a number of peoples belonging to a pre-Roman Iron Age culture inhabiting the eastern and southeastern Iberian peninsula and who have been historically identified as “Iberian”. Although these peoples shared certain common features, they were not homogenous and they diverged widely in some respects.

The Iberians lived in isolated communities based on a tribal organization. They also had a knowledge of metalworking, including bronze, and agricultural techniques. In the centuries preceding Carthaginian and Roman conquest, Iberian settlements grew in social complexity, exhibiting evidence of social stratification and urbanization. This process was probably aided by trading contacts with the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians.

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The Iberian language, like the rest of paleohispanic languages, became extinct by the 1st to 2nd centuries AD, after being gradually replaced by Latin. Iberian seems to be a language isolate. It is generally considered as a non- Indo-European language (although a 1978 study found many similarities between Iberian and the Italic languages.

The Iberians produced sculpture in stone and bronze, most of which was much influenced by the Greeks and Phoenicians. The styles of Iberian sculpture are divided geographically into Levantine, Central, Southern, and Western groups, of which the Levantine group displays the most Greek influence.

Iberians were skilled riders and each tribe had a chivalry unit. The main weapons were the bow and the arrows, falcata (a slightly curved one-bladed sword), the shield, the helmet and the large spear (the Iberian sword and spear would later be adopted by Romans). The horse must have been introduced to Iberians by Indo-Europeans populations around 1,000 BC. When Romans conquered the peninsula, they introduced units of Iberian chivalry in the Roman army.

Iberians worshiped many deities of natural type (Sun, Moon, various stars) in whose honor they maintained fires in certain promontories, capes and islands. Another type of sanctuaries were visited by people offering bronze figurines (exvotos) to the god living inside the sanctuaries, asking for supernatural help in various tasks, for curing a disease or simply to thank for received favors.

Iberian women were charged with domestic tasks, husbandry of small livestock and cultivated the land together with the men. In some tribes, they participated in the assemblies, and their decision was considered in important issues. Sometimes, women fought together with the men. In the Iberian society, women could also be priestesses. The famous Iberian carving called Lady of Elx, dated from the 3rd century BC and made of limestone, could represent a priestess. The woman wears several collars, and large wheel shaped earrings. A belt hides the hair, probably made into a bun.

§2.3. An Alpine race

The civilization of the Iberians as the monuments show was quite advanced, and the splendor of their burial arrangements can be taken as a sign of class differentiation. An Alpine race came to subdue them, however, about 1700 BC from the east and south-east, from the Rhineland and the territory of modern Holland. Historians refer to these later immigrants who settled in the east, south east and up the Thames Valley, as the Beaker Folk for they left a

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characteristic relic of their civilization, an earthenware drinking vessel called ‘beaker’.

The Alpine race was certainly familiar with the use and working of bronze. The two peoples were closely related in culture, that’s why the newcomers gradually merged with the previous arrivals. In the Salisbury plain area evidence of both races was discovered, and the mixture was later supplemented by more arrivals, though never so numerous or important as those described.

A distinctive Alpine type had been proposed by earlier writers, notably Vacher de Lapouge, but it was Ripley who promoted it to one of the main divisions.

Ripley argued that the Alpines had originated in Asia, and had spread westwards along with the emergence and expansion of agriculture, which they established in Europe. By migrating into central Europe, they had separated the northern and southern branches of the earlier European stock, creating the conditions for the separate evolution of Nordics and Mediterraneans.

§3. The Celtic period

§3.1. The Celts

Iron tools appeared in Britain only after a new stream of invaders poured from the continent, from what is now France and Germany. Whole tribes migrated to the British Isles, warriors with their chiefs, their women and children. The invasion of these tribes known as Celtic tribes went on from 8th-

7th cc. BC to 1st c. BC.

The first Celtic comers were the Gaels, but the Brythons arrived some two centuries later and pushed the Gaels to Wales, Scotland, Ireland, taking possession of the south and east. Then, after a considerable lapse of time somewhere about the 1st c. BC a very powerful tribe, the Belgae, claimed possession of the south-east part of Britain, Part of the Brythons was pushed on to Wales though the rest stayed in what is England today, and gave their name to the whole country. Thus the whole of Britain was occupied by the Celts who merged with the Picts and Scots, as well the other parts of the population. Later the Celts and the Celt-dominated mixture of Picts, Scots and other ingredients became known as Britons.

By mid 1st millennium AD, following the expansion of the Roman Empire and the Great Migrations (Migration Period) of Germanic peoples, Celtic culture and Insular Celtic had become restricted to Ireland, to the western and northern parts of Great Britain (Wales, Scotland, Cornwall and the Isle of

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Man), and to northern France (Brittany). Between the fifth and eighth centuries the Celtic-speaking communities of the Atlantic regions had emerged as a reasonably cohesive cultural entity. In language, religion, and art they shared a common heritage that distinguished them from the culture of surrounding polities.

The Celtic languages form a branch of the larger Indo-European family. By the time speakers of Celtic languages enter history around 400 BC, they were already split into several language groups, and spread over much of Western continental Europe, the Iberian Peninsula, Ireland and Britain. The ProtoCeltic language is usually dated to the Late Bronze Age.

§3.2. The Structure of the Celtic Society

Gradually the British Isles became distinctly Celtic in language and the structure of society. The social unit of the Celts, the clan, superseded the earlier family groups; clans were united into large kinship groups, and those into tribes. The clan was the chief economic unit, the main organizational unit for the basic activities of the Celts, farming. The society of the Celts was a patriarchal clan society based on common ownership of land. The Celts must have traded with the Phoenicians who were attracted by the British tin and lead. ‘The Tin Islands’ they called them.

When the primitive ways of land-tilling began to give way to improved methods, social differentiation began to develop. The tribal chiefs used the labour of semi-dependent native population and showed tendencies of using military force to rob other tribes.

Fortresses were built on hilltops; tribal centers in fact, towns began to appear in the more wealthy south-east. Among the first towns such places as Camulodunum, Londinium and Verulamium are mentioned.

There are only very limited records from pre-Christian times written in Celtic languages. These are mostly inscriptions in the Roman and sometimes Greek alphabets. The Ogham script, an Early Medieval alphabet, was mostly used in early Christian times in Ireland and Scotland (but also in Wales and England), and was only used for ceremonial purposes such as inscriptions on gravestones. The available evidence is of a strong oral tradition, such as that preserved by bards in Ireland, and eventually recorded by monasteries. The oldest recorded rhyming poetry in the world is of Irish origin and is a transcription of a much older epic poem, leading some scholars to claim that the Celts invented rhyme. Celtic art also produced a great deal of intricate and beautiful metalwork, examples of which have been preserved by their distinctive burial rites.

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Celtic art is generally used by art historians to refer to art of the La Tène period across Europe, while the Early Medieval art of Britain and Ireland, that is what “Celtic art” evokes for much of the general public, is called Insular art in art history. Both styles absorbed considerable influences from non-Celtic sources, but retained a preference for geometrical decoration over figurative subjects, which are often extremely stylised when they do appear; narrative scenes only appear under outside influence. Energetic circular forms, triskeles and spirals are characteristic. Much of the surviving material is in precious metal, which no doubt gives a very unrepresentative picture, but apart from Pictish stones and the Insular high crosses, large monumental sculpture, even with decorative carving, is very rare; possibly it was originally common in wood.

The Celts at war. The Celts loved war. If one wasn’t happening they’d be sure to start one. They were scrappers from the word go. They arrayed themselves as fiercely as possible, sometimes charging into battle fully naked, dyed blue from head to toe, and screaming like banshees to terrify their enemies.

They took tremendous pride in their appearance in battle, if we can judge by the elaborately embellished weapons and paraphernalia they used. Golden shields and breastplates shared pride of place with ornamented helmets and trumpets.

The Celts were great users of light chariots in warfare. From this chariot, drawn by two horses, they would throw spears at an enemy before dismounting to have a go with heavy slashing swords. They also had a habit of dragging families and baggage along to their battles, forming a great milling mass of encumbrances, which sometimes cost them a victory, as Queen Boudicca would later discover to her dismay.

As mentioned, they beheaded their opponents in battle and it was considered a sign of prowess and social standing to have a goodly number of heads to display.

The main problem with the Celts was that they couldn’t stop fighting among themselves long enough to put up a unified front. Each tribe was out for itself, and in the long run this cost them control of Britain.

Farming. The Celts were farmers when they weren’t fighting. One of the interesting innovations that they brought to Britain was the iron plough. Earlier ploughs had been awkward affairs, basically a stick with a pointed end harnessed behind two oxen. They were suitable only for ploughing the light upland soils. The heavier iron ploughs constituted an agricultural revolution all by themselves, for they made it possible for the first time to cultivate the

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rich valley and lowland soils. They came with a price, though. It generally required a team of eight oxen to pull the plough, so to avoid the difficulty of turning that large a team, Celtic fields tended to be long and narrow, a pattern that can still be seen in some parts of the country today.

§3.3. The Druids

Like other European Iron Age tribal societies, the Celts practised a polytheistic religion. The Celts of the British Isles were heathens until Christianity was brought to them by later invaders, the Romans. Their religion was a mixture of the worship of certain Gods and Goddesses with the worship of the Sun and Moon, and of the Serpent, the symbol of wisdom. The priests were called Druids, and their superior knowledge was taken for magic power. The word is derived from the word drus ‘oak’. The Druids regarded this tree as sacred. They taught the immortality of the soul and were expert in astronomy. The Druids are thought to have offered human sacrifices.

The Celts did not see their gods as having human shapes until late in the Iron Age. Celtic shrines were situated in remote areas such as hilltops, groves, and lakes. Celtic religious patterns were regionally variable; however, some patterns of deity forms, and ways of worshipping these deities, appeared over a wide geographical and temporal range. The Celts worshipped both gods and goddesses. In general, Celtic gods were deities of particular skills, such as the many-skilled Lugh and Dagda, while goddesses were associated with natural features, particularly rivers (such as Boann, goddess of the River Boyne). This was not universal, however, as goddesses such as Brighid and The Morrígan were associated with both natural features (holy wells and the River Unius) and skills such as blacksmithing and healing.

Roman reports of the druids mention ceremonies being held in sacred groves. La Tène Celts built temples of varying size and shape, though they also maintained shrines at sacred trees and votive pools.

Druids fulfilled a variety of roles in Celtic religion, serving as priests and religious officiants, but also as judges, sacrificers, teachers, and lore-keepers. Druids organised and ran religious ceremonies, and they memorised and taught the calendar. Other classes of druids performed ceremonial sacrifices of crops and animals for the perceived benefit of the community.

Greek and Roman writers frequently made reference to the druids as practitioners of human sacrifice, a trait they themselves reviled, believing it to be barbaric. Such reports of druidic human sacrifice are found in the works of Lucan, Julius Caesar, Suetonius and Cicero. Caesar claimed that the sacrifice was primarily of criminals, but at times innocents would also be used, and that

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they would be burned alive in a large wooden effigy, now often known as a wicker man. A differing account came from the 10th-century Commenta Bernensia, which claimed that sacrifices to the deities Teutates, Esus and Taranis were by drowning, hanging and burning, respectively.

There is archaeological evidence from western Europe that has been widely used to back up the idea that human sacrifice was performed by the Iron Age Celts. Mass graves found in a ritual context dating from this period have been unearthed in Gaul, at both Gournay-sur-Aronde and Ribemont-sur-Ancre in what was the region of the Belgae chiefdom.

§4. Britain at the End of the BC Era

By the end of the BC era there were attempts at unification. At the time of the Romans’ first expedition (the middle of the 1st c. BC) Camulodunum is believed to have been the capital of a powerful chief, Cassivelaun.

With the beginning of our era the power of tribal chiefs in the land of the Britons began to unite great areas. Thus, from 5 AD to 40 AD the Belgic tribal chief Cunobelin united the Celtic tribes of southern Britain under his rule and called himself, after the Roman fashion, “Rex Britonum”, that is “King of the Britons”. This title was impressed on the coins that he struck in his capital, Camulodunum. It was this chief who invited Roman traders and craftsmen to come and settle in Britain. The Romans started infiltrating into the country as immigrants and traders bringing in eastern luxuries and taking out corn, metals and slaves.

§5. Julius Caesar’s Expedition

In his Gallic Wars, Julius Caesar invaded Britain twice, in 55 and 54 BC. The first invasion, made late in summer, was either intended as a full invasion (in which case it was unsuccessful - it gained a beachhead on the coast of Kent but achieved little else) or a reconnaissance-in-force expedition. The second was more successful, setting up a friendly king, Mandubracius, and forcing the submission of his rival, Cassivellaunus, although no territory was conquered and held for Rome, but was restored to the allied Trinovantes, along with promised tribute of other tribes in what is now eastern England.

Many historians attribute the interest that the Romans took in the British Isles to purely strategic reasons. The thing is, that Gaul (now France) inhabited by the Celts, was conquered but remained restless under the Roman domination while Britain was often regarded as a sort of Celtic resistance centre.

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Other reasons could also be found, however. During the rule of Belgic chiefs technical progress and agricultural advancement elevated Britain to the position of a major corn-producing country.

The Roman Empire wanted food badly. These and may be some other reasons were at the bottom of Caesar’s expedition in 55 BC when a 10-thousand-strong Roman army was repulsed by the Celts with the help of the Channel storms.

A year later the expedition was repeated with an increased army of 25 thousand, and Camulodunum was taken possession of. However, it led to practically nothing more serious than Caesar’s departure with Celtic hostages and a promise of ransom which he doesn’t seem to have ever returned to claim. The Britons were led by Cassivellaunus, King of the mighty Catuvellauni tribe which was based north of the Thames. The British ambushed a Roman force, but the next day Caesar inflicted a heavy defeat on the enemy. The tribes south of the Thames made peace, as did some in East Anglia, but Cassivellaunus defied Caesar. As Caesar marched north across the Thames, Cassivellaunus used his mobile chariots to ambush Roman patrols and harry the camps at night.

By the late summer, the Roman armies had marched deep into Catuvellauni territory and captured several towns. But Cassivellaunus had kept his army intact and was far from defeated. At about this time Caesar heard rumours that several tribes in Gaul were preparing to revolt. He decided to make peace. He asked Cassivellaunus for hostages and a cash tribute and for the promise that he would not attack the tribes which had surrendered to Rome. Eager to be rid of Caesar, Cassivellaunus agreed.

As autumn closed in Caesar embarked his troops on his ships and sailed for Gaul. He later went on to fight a series of bitter civil wars against other Roman generals and become dictator of Rome. But he was never free to return to Britain, where the Catuvellauni soon became the richest and most powerful tribe of all.

As well as noting elements of British warfare (particularly the use of chariots) which were exotic and unfamiliar to his Roman audience, Caesar also aimed to impress them by making further geographical, meteorological and ethnographic investigations of Britain. He probably gained these by enquiry and hearsay rather than direct experience, as he did not penetrate that far into the interior, and most historians would be wary of applying them beyond the tribes with whom he came into direct contact.

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