Download PL 3370 (British Social Philosophy)

PL 3370 (British Social Philosophy)
Lecture 2 (The British Melting Pot)
The last class we started defining basic terms. So let’s make a start with the project
beginning with the period Hibbert calls the British Melting Pot
The British Melting Pot
The metaphor of a “melting pot” is a good metaphor for the island that would eventually
become the country of England. One can readily describe the origin of England as
successive waves of immigrants from the continent of Europe each of whom left their
mark on English culture and character.
These ‘waves’ were:

The Neolithic (or ‘stone age”) migrations (Becker Folk - ca. 2000 B.C.)

Bronze Age migrations - Wessex Culture (1600 B.C.)

Iron Age migrations - Celts (800 B.C.), Belgae – 100 B.C.

The Roman (55 B.C.–450 A.D.) [Mediterranean Italians, Gauls, etc.]

The Anglo-Saxon (450 A.D. – 1066 A.D.) [Germans]

Christian England (597 – present)

The Danes & Vikings (600-871) [Scandinavians]

The Norman Conquest (1066 A.D.) [French]
This assembles the cast -- now to the action.
English history can properly be said to begin with invasion of England by Rome in 55
B.C. under Julius Caesar because prior to the Romans there is no written history. Our
knowledge of the period this based on artifacts and archeological evidence.
We do know that England was a tribal society not unlike the tribal societies that continue
to exist today. The basic organization of the community was the extended family or clan
led by a chief who was responsible for the basic order of the community and securing
territorial rights. In times of crisis, several clans might unit under the leadership of a
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chieftain – or King. This was not a hereditary office, but went to a leader who exhibited
the excellence required to meet the demands of the moment. Leadership was a ‘heroic
ideal’ based on skill and courage in meeting the demands of the community’s common
life. A literary example of this is found in the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowolf.
We have an historical example of this tribal organization in Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni
of East Anglia, who in 60 A.D. revolted against the Romans when the Roman’s refused
to honor promises they made to her husband. Her rebellion, initially involving only her
kinsmen, grew until the Romans finally crushed it, but not before Boudicca overran and
destroyed London. There is a monument to Boudicca at the North end of Westminster
Bridge that testifies to her importance in the consciousness of the people.
 You can read Tacitus’ record of her speech to her troops before the last battle in
which she died on the course web site.]
 Here is a short essay on her rebellion http://www.athenapub.com/boudicca.htm.
 Here is a story map that is easily followed:
http://www.bgfl.org/services/mindmaps/maps/boudicca.html
The settlement of Britain was controlled in large measure by geography. The coastal
plains of the South are open to the English Channel, whose rivers provide open
thoroughfares to the Southeast. Land in the South and Southeast is very agriculturally
productive and easy to farm. Moving to the West and North the terrain becomes more
rugged and less hospitable. Three important ‘invasions’ and their entry are:
The Celts arrived from Northern France (present day Normandy and Brittany)
establishing major settlements in Dorset and Somerset.
The Belgae (related to the Celts) settled in Wessex where we have remarkable
examples of a highly developed culture.
The Romans entered Britain through in Kent following the river from the ports up the
Thames to London.
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Tribal England
England was predominantly populated by Celtic immigrations from South France and
North Spain. When the Romans in 55 B.C. invaded England the Celtics were pushed
North (to Scotland), East (to Wales) and North East (to Ireland). See maps.
They always represented a ‘threat’ to the non-Celtic populations of West and Southwest
England. The “northern threat” was not fully removed until 1746 at the Battle of Culloden
when the Duke of Cumberland defeated the “Scottish” army of “Bonnie Prince Charlie,”
grandson of James II in the last land-battle in England.
Roman Britain
England was invaded by Julius Caesar in 55 B.C. His purpose was to put down a
rebellion in Gaul (France) incited by the “Belgae” Celts. Emperor Claudius incorporated
Britain into the Roman Empire in 43 A.D. In the Roman occupation of England, we see
the familiar pattern of Romans displacing the Celtic to establish a Roman way of life on
the population who adopted Roman ways and became “Romanized”.
The period of Roman occupation was long – beginning in 55 B.C. and lasting until 450
A.D when the Anglo-Saxons (German tribes) invaded the island and established a new
culture that displaced, but did not remove, Roman culture, though an effective Roman
political presence in England disappeared by 380 A.D. when the last Roman legion had
been recalled to France.
This 400-year period was one of great political stability, cultural unity, and economic
prosperity. Indeed, a posting to the province of Britain was highly coveted by Roman
bureaucrats and military service in England, extending the frontier of the Empire, was all
but required for anyone who hoped to become Emperor.
There are many reminders of Rome’s presence in England. The Roman baths at Bath (in
use until the 1970’s) provide extraordinary examples of Roman life at the height of the
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Empire. Portions of the Roman Wall that surrounded the city of London have been
excavated and with it evidence of a highly developed and complex “Roman British
economic culture.” However, the most impressive surviving landmark of Roman
presence in England is Hadrian’s Wall built in 121 A.D. to contain the northern (pict and
Celt) “barbarians”.
The Roman contribution to English social living can be described under three headings:
unity, law, and practical culture.
UNITY: Life in Roman Britain was peaceful and prosperous. Many towns were
established as administrative & military centers that still exist (for example, York, Lincoln,
& London). These urban centers provided ample opportunities for extensive economic
activity both to support the local urban population and for export. For most of the time
Rome occupied England, Britain was a wealthy, income-producing province. Because it
is wealth, England enjoyed extensive imports from the Continent. While the Roman
period was never regarded as a ‘golden age’ as in some parts of Europe, Roman
presence left potent reminders of unity even after they left England. Alfred the Great
(900 A.D.), like Charlemagne in France, was a ‘mental model’ of Roman unity. Like
Charlemagne, Alfred has some knowledge of Latin, extensive knowledge of Roman
culture, and was responsible for a revival of learning and the arts in the Saxon areas of
England.
LAW: The urban prosperity of Rome was guided by a strong sense of justice based on
the law. For the Roman mind, law was an expression of transcendent (or divine) order.
Roman Law in this period replaced the “common law” based on local customs and
practices. Accompanying Roman law was an extensive administrative bureaucracy
charged with administering Roman law. Many Romanized Britons had active roles and
prestigious positions in Roman institutions.
Practical Culture: One example of the practical side of Roman culture was the
extensive network of roads linking administrative centers and for moving troops rapidly.
Many of England’s road today follow the plan of Roman roads. The ‘square’ lay-out of
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cities also follow the Roman custom. Commerce with Europe, which grew extensively
during the Roman period based on local crafts, continued even after the departure of the
Romans. London was both a commercial and administrative center of post-Roman
Britain.
Anglo-Saxon England
In the fourth century as Rome became less and less able to guarantee the safety, order
and stability in England, German and Norse tribesmen attacked the coast in raids. The
three most important of these tribes were the Jutes (from Denmark), the Saxons and
Angles (from Germany). Gradually, quick raids led to settlement and occupation of the
regions abandoned by the Romans. There was a breakdown of order and culture.
However, this did not occur without resistance. There were defenders of the old order
and culture. For example, King Arthur (of Round Table fame) was most likely a 6th
century British cavalry commander who resisted Saxon armies in several successful
Dorset, Somerset and Wessex. The activities bought peace for a while. But by 600 A.D.
all of Roman Britain had been swept away and replace by Anglo-Saxon rule.
Anglo-Saxon order was based on local administration headed by a “King” – though the
title is somewhat exaggerated given the small extend of these ‘kingdoms’ prior to the
Wessex King Egbert’s forced unification of the various Kingdom’s in 829 A.D. These
events, however, did not bring peace. Rule was through a loose confederation of
kingdoms. Egbert had no standing army or centralized government. Consequently, there
was no way to adequately resist new invasions – this time from Scandinavia as Vikings –
tribesmen from northern Denmark and Norway. Like the Anglo-Saxon’s, these people
came as raiders and ended as settlers – especially in the regions border the Irish Sea.
As in many places in former Roman Europe, Christian institutions (dioceses and
churches, monasteries and convents, bishops and clergy, provided the framework of
social order. Church courts administered law according to church (canon) law in parallel
and often more consistently than the king’s court. Monasteries developed extensive land
holdings and farming operations.
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The chief form of unity and order, such as it was, in this period was Christianity that
came to England (like most things) in waves. There were two principles waves. The first
was towards the end of the 6th century when Augustine, a monk from Rome, arrived in
Kent to convert the ‘heathen English”. King Ethelbert provided Augustine with land at
Canterbury and in 597 Augustine became the first bishop of the English.
The second wave started about 50 years later (664 A.D.) as Celtic missionaries from
Ireland and Scotland – notable Iona - ministered to the English Celtics of Western and
Northern England. Celtic Christians did not acknowledge the authority of Rome, as the
Augustinians did. In 664 A.D. the Synod of Whitley met to resolve the many differences
in the two brands of Christianity. In 672 A.D. the first Council was held and unified the
two, established the system of bishoprics that exists to this day and in general affirmed in
faith (if not always in fact) the order and unity of divine law – a foreshadowing of the
political unity that would start with Alfred the Great in 871 A.D. to be fully realized under
the Norman’s two centuries later.
Alfred the Great represents a major watershed in English history. He emerges on the
scene in a time when Danish (Norse) power was growing. In 878 A.D. he decisively
defeated them and restricted their influence to the “Danelaw”. He established a strong
navy that deterred further raids. He extended the influence of the Church. There was a
cultural renaissance evidenced by significant artistic, literary, and intellectual activity. By
900 when Alfred died England was a united and orderly society.
Unfortunately, his successors were not as strong or fortunate. Danish raiding activity
continued, as did threats from the Celtics. As disorder increased so did the willingness to
restore order through power. King Cnut, a Danish King, assumed the throne in 1016 and
incorporated England into a Danish Empire for a time.
Cnut maintained and reinforced English institutions – especially county administration.
This was a period of envied economic prosperity with many cities, notably London,
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deeply implicated in a continental economy. So England was far from a continental
backwater.
When Cnut died political anarchy ensured with several petty kings claiming the throne. In
1066 Anglo-Saxon Britain passed from the stage when King Harold was defeat by
William of Normandy (to be known as the Conqueror) at the Battle of Hastings (October
14th) . . . the last time England was invade from abroad.
Implications
Continuity of social order expressing meanings and values informing a
concrete way of life: England was, and continues to be, a society of immigrants
who have to find a place within existing forms of social life. Her history was
characterized by period of extreme violence and longer periods of stability and
prosperity as a new social order formed on the ‘stump’ of the previous order. From
the Roman period, there is a remarkable respect for law, custom, and social
institutions. For example, Boudicea’s popular rebellion against Roman was an effort
to secure rights the Romans had promised her through her husband. Cnut’s success
as a foreign monarch was due in large measure because he conformed to English
custom.
There is continuity in change. By this, I mean, that there were (in spite of the many
immigrant groups, invasion and ‘outside threats) institutional structures that provided the
basis of an English identity. For example, the church provided a common base of faith
and transcendent values embodied in enduring institutions churches, parishes, and
dioceses. There were basic administrative units (shires and counties), systems of local
government For example, Alfred, once he secured peace with the Celtics and Danes,
turned his attention to rebuilding churches, establishing monasteries, founding schools,
and promoting the work of scholars.
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Order was secured, not by brute force or power, but through a commitment to law and
lawful authority. For example, Cnut married Ethelred’s widow and became a Christian to
legitimate his claim to royal authority.
Strong sense of English identity. While the complete development of national identity
would not be achieved until some centuries later, there is nonetheless a sense of cultural
and political identity. (The church is an ‘English’ church; there is a characteristic English
way of life based upon small farms organized around villages and vital urban centers.
The population and geography was further orders into counties and shires with local
autonomy.
There was a significant urban population (estimated as high as 10%) in addition to an
extensive monastic population. What the meant was that a significant portion of the
population was involved in activities other than subsistence agriculture. Urbanization –
life in cities – the civitas – is often associated with innovation, creativity, and capacity for
change, what we call civilization.