Connaissance du pays UK

FROM THE CELTS TO THE FORMATION OF THE UK

STONEHENGE

-10,000 BC Arrival of first inhabiitants of present-day britain

-8,000 BC : Rising sea levels have created islands ( Great Britain, Ireland … )

-2,500 BC ; Stonhenge, probably a prehistoric temple, is built

-1,000 BC : Area inhabited by a Celtic Population.

SUCCESSIVE WAVES OF INVASION

The people of BRITAIN CAN TRACE THEIR ORIGINS to a series of invasions from the continent.

The invaders often displaced local inhabitants and imposed their rule, culture and language.

ROMAN PERIOD

55 BC : Julius Caesar is the first to attempt to invade Britain with an army => fierce resistance of Celtic tribes.

43 AD : Emperor Claudius conquered britain, establishing Roman rule in the SouthEast and the centre of the island.

Building of roads and of a number of cities with roman style houses and baths.

 Latin : language used by the administrators, the members of local upper classes and probaby city dwellers : it never replaced the Celtic language. Roman never settled, they didn't want lands for themselves. They actually wanted to spread their culture.

410 : Fall of the Roman Empire

End of the Roman period in England.

( schema Saxon invasions and land holdings )

THE SAXON KINGDOMS

The saxons, the angles and the jutes were Germanic tribes who invaded Britain and settled on the land of the celts over a period of 200 years.

This is the origin of the term «  Anglo Saxon »

They destroyed local Roman influence and Roman cities. The Celts were pushed back west and north.

THE HEPTARCHY

7 anglo-saxon kingdoms established in england from the 5th to the 9th century.

THE LANGUAGE

Saxon replaced Celtic as the language spoken in England

Today, 2 branches of the Celtic language are still spoken in the UK

OLD ENGLISH

Fusion of the saxon dialects spoken by the Germanic tribes who invaded England.

Old english : ( 410-1150 ) : Almost purely Germanic vocabulary ; declensions …

NEW INVADERS / THE VIKINGS

the vikings ( or Danes ) came from SCANDINAVIA

They raided Britain from the end of the 8th century until East Anglia was ceded to them.

They settled permanently

Almost half England was uner Danish rule in the 9th century.

UNIFICATION OF ENGLAND

Emergence of the Kingdom of England : 9-10th century

Alfred the Great king of wessex, prevented England from falling under the complete domination of Vikings.

1066 : The Battle of Hastings

The Normans ( northmen ) from Scandinavia had settled in Normandy in the 9th and 10th enturies

The Normans with William the Conqueror imposed their rule in Britain and took over the estates of the old saxon nobility

French became the language of the Court, of justice and of the administration in England.

THE CREATION OF THE COMMON LAW        

Undern Norman king henry the 2nd, the old feudal justic system was reformed and cerntralised, with the creation of royal judges travelling throghout England to unify the laws and customs.

The common law became the law for everyone in the kingdom.

IT IS STILL THE MAIN BODY OF ENGLISH LAW TODAY.

THE INFLUENCE OF FRENCH :

French spoken by the upper classes and aristocracy ( power and court )

English spoken by the peasants an the masses.

After the loss of Normandy in 1204, the influence of French declined ; English started to regain its position.

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