Download British Civilisation 2: Britain Before 1066

British Civilisation 2: Britain Before 1066
© A. SCHOOLING, Collège Vendôme, Lyon (2008)
The Origins of the first British people
Stonehenge
Our journey1 starts before Jesus Christ walked this earth2. In fact, we are
talking about several3 millennia BC. Proof of ancient peoples can be seen in the
world-famous4 site of Stonehenge with its standing stones5. However6, it is
5 difficult to know exactly who lived in the British Isles first, because the
evidence is often obscured by legends. What we can suggest is that England
was settled7 by8 the Phoenicians who may9 have originated in the Indus Valley
of northern India and who sailed10 to England to mine the tin11. The
Phoenicians invaded England in 1103 BC and when they arrived they found
10 England to be already12 inhabited by what were known as ‘Picts’, a small people who they considered aborigines, or
the ‘original people’. Over13 a period of time the Phoenicians were assimilated. Today the small descendants of this
intermarriage between the Picts and the Phoenicians have been incorrectly called ‘Celts’. The term ‘Celt’ is, in fact,
the classic Greek and Latin title of a totally different race from that of the British Isles! But what most people call
‘Celts’ were simply scattered14 groups of people throughout15 the British Isles before the Romans arrived.
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Roman Britain
‘Britannia’ becomes
part of the Roman
Empire in the 1st
century AD
We learn much more about the people
of the British Isles when the Romans
arrived in 50 BC under Julius Caesar who
wrote about his efforts to conquer what
the Romans called ‘Britannia’. Although16
he didn’t really succeed17, he managed
to18 bring Britain into Rome’s sphere of
influence. But in 43 AD a successful
invasion was ordered by the Roman
emperor Claudius. After several battles,
the Romans conquered the south of
England and set up19 their capital in
Colchester, Essex, just a little to the
north of the schools we are going to visit
next20 year. Despite21 many revolts, like
Queen
Hadrian’s Wall
the one organised by Queen Boudicca (or ‘Boadicea’) of the Boadicea
22
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‘Celtic’ Iceni tribe, the Romans subdued the ‘Celtic’ tribes of
England and Wales, but Scotland was never really occupied.
Instead24, the Roman emperor Hadrian built what is known as
‘Hadrian’s Wall’, a long line of stone fortifications in northern
England that we can still25 see today, to keep the Scottish
barbarians, or Picts, out of Roman Britain. The Romans established common rules26,
weights27 and measures, all of which were useful28 for trade29, and they also built many
towns like Bath, famous for its heated30 Roman baths. Other important legacies31 of the Romans were the Christian
religion which was exported to Britain during the 2nd and 3rd centuries and the straight32 Roman roads. The main33
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trading centre was London with its links34 to the continent and by35 the 2nd century, London had become the
Romans’ new capital.
Saxon Britain
Like all of the Roman Empire, Britain was attacked continually by so-called36
45 ‘barbarian’ tribes towards37 the end of the 4th century and between the early38
5th century and the 7th century Saxons, Angles and Jutes from northern Germany
first raided and later settled in eastern England. That is why we now talk about
‘Anglo-Saxons’, from the names of two of these tribes. Because of39 the
invasions, many Britons escaped40 to the continent to colonise what we call
50 Brittany. Although there are many legends, some historians believe41 that King
Arthur was a real Briton who defended against42 these Saxon raids. In fact, wars between the Romano-Britons and
these German invaders continued for over43 400 years. But by the 7th century, four main Saxon kingdoms had been
formed: the East Saxons, who gave their name to the county of Essex where we are going next year, the Middle
Saxons where we get the county of Middlesex from (a large part of the London area44), the South Saxons who gave
55 their name to Sussex (South of London), and the West Saxons and the area of Wessex (which is not a county any
more45). The Germanic tribes brought their language with them, and that’s why so many46 words in English look like
German.
Viking raiders and Saxon Kings of England
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65
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However, the Saxons were soon forced to fight new invaders47 from the north, or
‘Norsemen’ as they were often known. These were the Vikings from Scandinavia who
started their raids in 789 and they continued until48 the 11th century and as the map
below49 shows50, they also settled in Normandy in the 10th century. Vikings were
interested in plundering51 the wealthy52 monasteries and farming53 communities in
Britain. But unlike54 the Anglo-Saxons, they didn’t always settle, but by the 9th century they had
a large kingdom in the north and east of England known as the Danelaw. The wars55 with the
Vikings unified the Saxons under the Wessex king Alfred the Great at the end of the 9th
century. He is often
regarded as the first King
of
England,
because
56
almost
all the later57
kings of England are
descended from him. But
the Saxons weren’t always
the stronger: one of their
kings, Cnut or ‘Canute’ as
he is usually called, was so
powerful58
that
he
White = Norwegian Vikings
became King of England Yellow = Danish Vikings
from 1016 to 1035.
Orange = Swedish Vikings
80 By 1066, the Saxon king of England, Edward the Confessor, who was dying59 had no direct heir60. Three men
disputed the throne: a Viking king, Harald Hardrada of Norway, an English noble called Harold Godwinson, as well
as another man descended from the Vikings: Duke William of Normandy. You will hear more about this dispute in
class...
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Britain Before 1066: Vocabulary Help
Le vocabulaire ci-dessous te sera nécessaire à la compréhension du texte. On espère que certains des mots te sont
déjà familiers. A travers la lecture de ces fichiers d’histoire, on assimilera beaucoup d’autres mots qui reviendront
régulièrement.
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journey = voyage
earth = terre
several = plusieurs
world-famous = mondialement connu, célèbre
au monde entier
standing stones = pierres dresses, menhirs
however = cependant, pourtant
to settle = s’installer
by = (ici) par
may = (auxiliaire d’hypothèse) il se peut que…
to sail = naviguer, partir en bateau
tin = l’étain
already = déjà
over = (ici) pendant
to scatter = disperser, éparpiller
throughout = partout dans
although = bien que
to succeed = réussir
to manage to = parvenir à, réussir à
to set up = (s’)installer, implanter
next = prochaine
despite = malgré
to subdue = soumettre, mater
tribes = tribus
instead (of) = au lieu de ; (ici) au lieu de cela
still = encore, toujours
rules = règles
weights = poids
useful = utile
trade = le commerce
to heat = chauffer
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a legacy = un héritage
straight = droites
main = principal
links = liens
by = (ici) avant le début de
so-called = soi-disant
towards = vers
early = tôt, le début de
because of = à cause de
to escape = s’échapper de
to believe = croire
against = contre
over = (ici) plus de
area = (ici) région
not... any more = ne... plus
so many = autant de
invaders = envahisseurs
until = jusqu’à
below = ci-dessous
to show = montrer
to plunder = piller
wealthy = riches
farming = (ici) rurales
unlike = contrairement à
wars = guerres
almost = presque
later = ultérieurs, (plus tard)
powerful = puissant
to die = mourir
an heir = un héritier
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