IV. Answer the questions.
1. What is the name of the British flag?
2. Why is the flag called the Union Jack?
3. To what does the blue colour in the flag refer?
4. Who were the first inhabitants of the British Isles?
5. In what parts of Britain is the influence of the Celts greatest? Why?
6. Where is Welsh spoken? Is it different from English?
7. Is Gaelic different from English? Prove it.
8. From whom does the tradition of decorating British homes at Christmas with holly come? Why?
9. Was the influence of the Romans positive for the development of Britain?
10. What place-names in Britain are of Roman origin?
Points for discussion
1. The three crosses of the Union Jack.
2. The Celtic languages in Britain. The influence of Celtic culture in the country.
3. Roman civilisation in Britain.
Who Are the British ? (II) t he Anglo-Saxons, Danes and Normans
After the departure of the Romans, the Celts remained independent for some time, but quite soon the country began to be attacked by Germanic tribes from the continent. They were the Jutes, the Saxons and the Angles. The Jutes and the Angles came from the Jutland peninsula (today southern Denmark) and the Saxons from the territory between the Rhine and Elbe rivers (northern Germany). At first they came as mercenaries hired by Celtic tribal chiefs who fought one against the other, then seeing that the country was weak to defend itself, they came in great numbers conquering it altogether.
The Jutes landed in Kent (the south-east) somewhere in 450. They were followed by the Angles and the Saxons so that by the end of the fifth century the greater part of the country (with the exception of Wales, Cornwall and Scotland) became occupied by the invaders. The Angles settled mainly to the north of the Thames, and quite soon the country began to be called "the land of the Angles", later "Engla-land" and as you easily see England. The Saxons settled in the South, south-west and partially east forming the ancient kingdoms of Wessex, Sussex and Essex. The Anglo-Saxons and Jutes were close to each other in speech and customs, and they gradually formed into one people referred to as the Anglo-Saxons.
Although the German invaders occupied most of the British Isles, certain areas remained unconquered. They were Wales, Cornwall, the northern part of Britain, Ireland. Many of the Celts who survived after the attacks of the Germanic tribes fled to these parts of the country. Thus Celtic culture continued to exist in the parts of Britain which were mentioned above. The northern part of Britain was the home of the Picts and Scots. After the conquest of the Picts by the Scots in the ninth century this northern territory came to be called Scotland and a united Scottish kingdom was formed in the 11th century. In the course of the struggle of the Celts against the Anglo-Saxons many legends and stories came to light of which most famous are the tales of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table. (See unit 29). The Anglo-Saxons were pagans and worshipped different gods. Their names are reflected in the names of the days of the week: Tiu (Tuesday) was the god of war, Woden (Wednesday) was the supreme god and the god of kings, Thor (Thursday) was the god of storm, Frigga (Friday), Woden's wife, was the goddess of nature and of love. Anglo-Saxon folklore, the greatest monument of which is The Poem of Beowulf created in the seventh century, reflected the life of society and its traditions.
The Anglo-Saxons settled in small tribal villages or townships. Saxon villages consisted of about 20 to 30 families, all faithful to their leader. Local rules were made by the "moot", which was a small meeting held on a grassy hill or under a tree. Sometimes it judged cases between the people of the village. The many villages were, as time went by, grouped into "hundreds", and the "hundreds" were grouped into "shires". Each "hundred" had an open-air court of justice, and the judge: were called aldermen. Important cases were judged by the sheriff of shire or by a king's representative called a reeve. These cases were discussed at a shire moot or meeting which was a kind of local parliament which met usually twice a year. The King's council was called the Witan, which was a kind of parliament of wise men. It could make laws and choose, or elect new kings.
The Saxon kingdoms fought one against the other, at times one kingdom would become stronger, then another, but at the beginning of the ninth century Wessex became the leading kingdom and united the rest of England in the fight against the Danes, who came from present-day Denmark. Since 829 the greater part of the country was united under the name England.
An important event which contributed to the unification of the country and the development of culture was the adoption of Christianity in England in 664. Christianity began to spread in England much earlier. It is connected with the name of St. Augustine who founded the Church of England in 597. Legend claims that Joseph of Arimathea, the uncle of Virgin Mary, brought Jesus to Britain when he was a boy of about 12, and that Jesus visited Britain as a young man and stayed some time at Glastonbury, where he put up for himself a small house of mud. No wonder Glastonbury has always been a place of pilgrimage. Moreover, at Glastonbury you can see the Holy Thorn, a tree which according to legend was planted by Joseph of Arimathea when he came to Britain after Christ's death. He planted a staff, which may have been used by Christ as a stick. The staff began to grow and eventually turned into a beautiful tree becoming widely known as the Holy Thorn. It blossoms twice a year in spring and at Christmas, and a bunch of flowers from the tree is sent to the Queen at Christmas every year. With the adoption of Christianity many churches and monasteries were built. Among them Glastonbury later became the largest abbey in Britain. The monasteries also served as centres of education in Wessex. But in the ninth century the country had to struggle with new invaders. They were the Danes who attacked England, and the Northmen from Scandinavia who invaded Scotland and Ireland.
At first they acted as pirates attacking the country and robbing it but later they came in great numbers conquering one territory after another. The kingdom of Wessex alone was left to resist them. It was lucky for Wessex to have a very talented king who organized the struggle against the Danes. This was Alfred who ruled from 871 to 901, and who eventually defeated the Danes making them sign a peace agreement. Though the country was divided into two parts —one under the Saxons, and the other — the north-east — under the Danes, peace was won, and later the English took over the land occupied by the Danes. Danish influence is still felt in some place-names ending in -by, -toft, such as Apppleby or Lowestoft, as well as in the presence of some words in the English language. Alfred was also a great lawgiver and a patron of learning. He is considered to be the founder of the English fleet.
T
he
last of the invaders to come to Britain were the Normans from France.
In 1066 Duke William of Normandy (a duchy which was established by
the Vikings in the 9th century in the north-west of France), who
claimed the English throne, defeated the English at the battle of
Hastings on the 14th of October in 1066 and established his rule in
the country as king of England. He is known as William the Conqueror.
The Normans settled in the country, and the French language became
the official language of the ruling class for the next three
centuries. This explains the great number of French words in English.
The monarchy which was established by William and his successors was,
in general, more effective. The feudal system contributed to the
growth of power of the state, and little by little England began to
spread its power. Wales was the first to be conquered by England.
Before they were conquered by the English in the thirteenth century
the different Welsh tribes were continually fighting one another. In
1282 Prince Llewelyn was killed in battle and the King of England,
Edward I started a successful campaign to conquer Wales. Eventually
the country was subdued, but the English never felt safe there
because of Welsh opposition. This explains why the English built so
many castles here of which most famous is Caernarfon located in North
Wales.
At the same time Edward I of England made his eldest son, his heir, bear the title Prince of Wales in 1301. The ceremony when Charles, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, became Prince of Wales, took place in 1969 in Caernarfon. It was watched by millions of TV viewers all round the world. The ceremony itself, when the eldest son of the monarch becomes the official heir to the throne receiving the title Prince of Wales is known as the Investiture. (See Unit 10) Though Wales was conquered by England, the Welsh continued to struggle for their independence. At the beginning of the 15th century there was a great rising, but the situation was seriously changed when in 1485 the English throne passed to Henry VII of the Welsh House of Tudor. In 1536 and 1542 Henry VIII brought Wales under the English parliament through special Acts of Union. Since the 16th century Wales has been governed from London. In today's Government there is a special department and minister for Welsh affairs.
Scotland managed to be independent for quite a long time, though the English tried hard to conquer it. In the 14th century Robert Bruce led the struggle against the English, but he was defeated by the English king Edward I and had to hide on an island between Scotland and Ireland. Here, so Scottish legend says, Bruce found shelter in a cave. He was in despair. He had been defeated, his friends were scattered, and the English were strong as ever. As he lay on the cave's hard floor, thinking how difficult it would be to win his struggle, he saw a spider above him spinning its web. Again and again the spider slipped from the web, and again and again it climbed up a line of the web until the whole web was completed. The example with the spider gave Bruce new strength. He managed to organize a new army and defeated the English. However, some years later Edward II, the new English king, decided to attack Robert Bruce in Scotland. He managed to cross the border and reach the Bannock Burn or stream just south of Stirling Castle, which was not taken by the Scots and remained in English hands. Here in the battle of Bannockburn (1314) the English were very seriously defeated, and Scotland continued to be independent for the next three centuries.
In 1603 Queen Elizabeth I died and, as she had no children, was succeeded by James Stuart, James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England. He was the son of Mary Queen of Scots, cousin of Elizabeth I. With this union England, Wales and Scotland became known as Great Britain. However, Scotland continued to be quite independent in the 17th century. The final unification took place in 1707, when both sides agreed to form a single parliament in London for Great Britain, although Scotland continued to keep its own system of law, education and have an independent church. Today Scotland is part of the United Kingdom. There is a special minister in the Government, the Secretary of State for Scotland.
Comprehension Check