Lecture 2.

SHAPING THE NATION: Bits of British History

 Points to cover:
 primitive societies and the ancient inhabitants of the British Isles: the Iberians and the Celts; traces of
these civilizations in modern British culture;
 the Romans and their influence in Britain;
 the Anglo-Saxon conquest of Britain: changes in the way of life and administration;
 Danish Raids on England; influence of Scandinavian on English; consolidation of the Anglo-Saxon
kingdoms;
 The Norman Invasion and changes of life under their rule.

Dawn of the British history

PROPER & PLACE NAMES

Amesbury /āmz′ber′ē/ Druids Julius Caesar /ˈsiːzə/
Camulodunum the Ebro River Manx
/ka.mu.loˈduː.num/ Gaelic Salisbury /ˈsɔːlzb(ə)ri/
Caradoc /kʰaˈɾɑːdak/ Goidelic Stonehenge
Cornish Iberians Wiltshire

1. THE EARLIEST INHABITANTS OF THE BRITISH ISLES

The ancient civilization of Greece and Roman were already in existence when
the people living in Britain were only at the primitive stage of their social development.
The Iberians are the oldest historically known inhabitants of the Iberian
Peninsula who inhabited Great Britain long before it broke away from European
continent.
The first theory suggests that the Iberians arrived in Spain during the Neolithic
period and the second thinks that they may have originated in North Africa.
Greek geographers give the name Iberian, probably connected with that of the
Ebro (Iberus) River, to tribes settled on the southeastern coast, but, by the time of the
Greek historian Herodotus (mid-5th century BC), it applied to all the peoples between
the Ebro and Huelva rivers, who were probably linguistically connected and
whose material culture was distinct from that of the north and west.
The dark-haired Iberians inhabited the British islands about 2000 years before
Christ. They were skilled riders and each tribe had a chivalry unit. Their main weapons
were the bow and the arrows, falcata, the shield, the helmet and the large
spear. 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 Iberians put up buildings of stone and wood and built the first roads. They
built the burial chambers and huge temples (henges). They used stone axes and made
antlers (роги) or bones into leather-working tools.
The oldest prehistoric monument left by the Iberians on the British Isles is the
most famous and mysterious site in the world Stonehenge. It is located in the English
county of Wiltshire, about 3.2 kilometers west of Amesbury and 13 kilometers north of
Salisbury. Stonehenge dates from between 3100 and 1500 B.C. and is made up of many
upright stones, standing in groups of twos, 8.5 meters high and 2.1 meters wide. They
are joined on the top by other flat stones, each weighing about 7 tons. The function of
this structure is still a mystery: a burial place or a sacred place where early men worship
the sun, or observatory? The question is still open to scholars.
Being one of the most famous landmarks in the UK, Stonehenge, is regarded as
a British cultural icon. The site and its surroundings were added to UNESCO's list
of World Heritage Sites in 1986. Stonehenge is owned by the Crown and managed
by English Heritage; the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust.

During the period from the 6 to 3 the century BC a people called the Celts
(Picts, Scots, Britons) invaded Britain. The Iberians were unable to fight back the
attacks of the Celts because they were better armed with metal spears, swords, daggers
and axes.
The Iron Age is actually the age of the "Celt" in Britain. Over the 500 or so
years leading up to the first Roman invasion a Celtic culture established itself
throughout the British Isles. Who were these Celts?
In the last centuries BC and in the first centuries AD the Celts were in period of
transition from primitive communal society to class society. The elders, military leaders
and their warriors made up the tribal nobility. They were beginning to seize much land
for themselves and they had more cattle than the other members of the clan. But still the
communal way of life predominated among them.
The Celts were a group of peoples loosely tied by similar language, religion, and
cultural expression. They were not centrally governed, and quite as happy to fight each
other as any non-Celt. They were warriors, living for the glories of battle and plunder,
and also the people who brought iron working to the British Isles.
The use of iron had amazing repercussions (наслідки). First, it changed trade and
fostered local independence. Trade was essential during the Bronze Age, for not every
area was naturally endowed (наділені) with the necessary ores (руда) to make bronze.
Iron, on the other hand, was relatively cheap and available almost everywhere.
The time of the "Celtic conversion" of Britain saw a huge growth in the number
of hill forts throughout the region. These were often small ditch and bank combinations
encircling defensible hilltops. Usually these forts contained no source of water, so their
use as long term settlements is doubtful, though they may have been useful indeed for
withstanding a short-term siege.
The basic unit of Celtic life was the clan, a sort of extended family. Clans were
bound together very loosely with other clans into tribes, each of which had its own
social structure and customs, and possibly its own local gods.
The Celts were farmers when they weren't fighting. One of the interesting
innovations that they brought to Britain was the iron plough. The heavier iron ploughs
constituted an agricultural revolution all by themselves, for they made it possible for the
first time to cultivate the rich valley and lowland soils.
Celtic lands were owned communally, and wealth seems to have been based
largely on the size of cattle herd owned. Women were technically equal to men, owned
property, and could choose their own husbands. They could also be war leaders,
as Boudicca later proved.
There was a written Celtic language, but it developed well into Christian times,
so for much of Celtic history they relied on oral transmission of culture, primarily
through the efforts of bards and poets. These arts were tremendously important to the
Celts, and much of what we know of their traditions comes to us today through the old
tales and poems that were handed down for generations before eventually being written
down. The chroniclers and writers translated the Celtic legends into Modern English
and called them the “Celtic Sagas”
Another area where oral traditions were important was in the training of Druids:
a sort of super-class of priests, political advisors, teachers, healers, and arbitrators. They
had their own universities, where traditional knowledge was passed on by rote. They
had the right to speak ahead of the king in council, and may have held more authority
than the king. They acted as ambassadors in time of war, composed verse and upheld
the law. They were a sort of glue holding together Celtic culture.
Celtic warriors 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.
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.
To this day the descendants of the ancient Celts live on the British Isles mostly
in Wales, in the Highlands of Scotland as well as in the western parts of Ireland. Most
of them speak their tong of Celtic origin.
Some words and elements of the Celtic language can still be found in Modern
English and most of them are place-names.
Place-names show an astonishing capacity for survival. In general, it might be
claimed that most of the English names are about a thousand years old.
Celtic place-names belong for the most part to several well-defined categories to
which belong names of tribes or territories: Kantion which was the ancient name of
Kent and it has the meaning ‘land on the rim or edge’. Devon and Cornwall have been
named after tribes. Devon was named after the Dumnonii, they are known to the Saxons
as Deofnas, which means something like ‘deep ones’, because they were known for
mining tin. Cornwall comes from the tribe Cornovii (‘promontory folk’). The names of
the Northumbrian kingdoms are further examples of Celtic place names, such as Deira
(Welsh deifr, ‘waters’) and Bernicia (from the tribal name Brigantes). Cumbria includes
Cumberland which means ‘land of the Cymru’, and Cymru were Celtic people that
inhabited north-west England.
Elements of Celtic origin can be found in names of towns, street names,
markets etc. Towns like Bodmin has the meaning ‘dwelling of the sanctuary’, Penzance
‘holy headland’,
The Celtic prefix tre- has the meaning ‘farm, village’ like in Tregony,
Tregavethan, Trehawke, Trehunsey, Trekinnard, Treneglos (‘village with the church’),
Tranent (‘village of the streams’), Trenowth (‘new farm’).
Many feature names have a Celtic origin too. A lot of rivers have simply the
meaning ‘water or stream’, e.g. like Avon, Esk, Usk, Wiske, Exe, Axe, Dore, Wear,
Ouse, Wey, Derwent (‘clear water’). Many hills in England also have a Celtic origin,
e.g. Malvern means ‘bare hill’, Bredon ‘hill’. An interesting name is Pendle Hill, it
comes from the Celtic word penno which means ‘summit’. Another word for mountain
is found in Mynde, Longmynd and Mendip. Chiltren Hills Celtic origin means ‘high
places’.
Numerous family names in Britain are also of Celtic origin, such as Lloyd,
Owen, McMillan, McIntosh, O’Connor, Kennedy, and so are the first names: Fiona,
Gwendolyn, Eileen, Kenneth, Brian, Ian, and many others.

2. ROMAN BRITAIN
In the 1st century BC while the Celts were still living under the primitive
communal system, the Roman Empire became the strongest slave-owning state in the
Mediterranean.
In 55 BC the Roman general Julius Caesar at the head of the army of 10
thousand soldiers went to the British Isles for the first time. But they
couldn’t conquer Britain and occupy the island. The channel storms and the
Celts possessing iron-weapon made them retreat.
Next year Caesar repeated his invasion and succeeded. The 25-thousand army
took possession of the probable capital Camulodunum (Colchester), as a result, Celtic
chiefs promised to pay tributes to the Romans. Soon Caesar left the country and never
came back. In fact Caesar did not conquer Britain and the promised tribute was not paid.
 The actual conquest took place 90 years later in 43 AD At that time Britain was
no longer a mysterious country as Caesar had written books about his travels and
described many particulars about the Britons. Almost a hundred years later the Emperor
Claudius began to conquer the country of the plains. His 50 thousand warriors landed in
Kent, crossed the Thames and conquered the southeastern territory of the country.
The Celtic tribal chiefs recognized the Romans as their rulers, which cannot be
said about the people. Their discontent caused by endless plunder and
heavy taxations grew. The first revolt took place in 51 AD. The wild tribes of the
North were headed by Caradoc (Caractacus), who tried to resist the Roman rule. The
attempt failed, the Romans defeated the Britons and secured the southern areas.
Another famous revolt was organized by Queen Boadicea. She headed the
Celtic tribe of Iceni (inhabitants of contemporary Norfolk) in 61 AD. Boadicea rushed
at the invaders in her chariot with her daughters beside her. At first the revolt was very
successful. They started it when the current governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus was in
the north of Wales leading a campaign against the island of Mona
(modern Anglesey). Boadicea with her warriors managed to destroy Londinium
(London), Camulodunum (Colchester) and Verulamium (St. Albans). During the revolt
about 70 thousand Romans were killed. When this news reached Gaius Suetonius, he
hurried back with his army and suppressed the rebellion. Boadicea did not want to
become a prisoner, so she took poison together with her daughters. The name of
the Queen Boadicea has remained in the history as well as in the people’s memory for
her outstanding bravery.
Though the revolts failed, they had their result. It was not easy to suppress the
revolts and now the Romans decided to think twice before violating Celtic people’s
rights so aggressively.
The Romans conquered only the southern part of the island, they never managed
to conquer the Scottish Highlands.
Between the 3d and the 4th centuries the power of the Roman Empire gradually
weakened. The end of the 4th century was the time when the Germanic tribes started to
invade the west of the Roman Empire. The safety of Rome itself was in question, and in
the year of 407 the Roman legions were recalled from Britain. During 410 years Britain
was one of the remote provinces of the Roman Empire. This military occupation lasted
4 centuries and had a great influence on Britain.
It was the Romans who brought language, writing and numbers to Britain.
Nowadays you can find the marks of Roman influence in the English words of Latin
origin. Among them are such words as school (“schola”), street (“strata”), port
(“porta”), wall (“vallum”), village (“vicus”), words cheese and butter also have Latin
origin.
Many English towns are of Latin origin. English towns with the name ending
in -chester, -cester, -caster was once a Roman camp or a city: Colchester, Leicester,
Gloucester, Winchester, Silchester, Doncaster, Cirencester, Donchester. Some towns
such as Lincoln come from the Latin word “colonia” – a colony.
The names of months are of Latin origin too: January – Janus (Roman god of
gates and doorways); February – Februa (Roman festival of purification); March –
Mars (Roman god of War); April – Aprilius (Latin verb “aperire” means «to open»)
May – Maia (Roman goodess of spring and growth); June – Juno (Roman goodess of
the moon); July – Julius (Julius Caesar’s month); August – Augustus (in honour of the
Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar); September – Septima (means literally «seventh
month»); October – Octavia («eighth month»); November – Novembris («nineth
month»); December – December («tenth month»).
The Romans built first towns in Britain that were connected by Roman roads,
made of mortal and gravel and were made so well that they exist till now. These were
long straight roads with milestones marking every mile (1000 paces).
In the Roman towns there were market places where merchants sold their goods.
There were also temples and public baths in most of the towns. Among the largest
towns were London, York, Colchester, St. Albans, Lincoln and about 50 smaller towns.
The houses in Roman towns had central heating and running water: the rich had water
pipes in their houses and the poor took water from the public fountains.
The Romans loved baths and they brought this tradition to Britain. Baths were
not just places for washing the body; it was a kind of luxurious entertainment. A usual
bath had mirrors along the walls and the ceiling was all in glass. The pool was made of
rich marble and mosaics covered the floor. The first Roman baths were built in the city
of Bath.

Lecture 3. The Middle Ages

 Points to cover:
 the Anglo-Saxon conquest of Britain: changes in the way of life and
administration;
 Danish Raids on England; influence of Scandinavian on English; consolidation of
the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms;
 The Norman Invasion and changes of life under their rule.

PROPER & PLACE NAMES

Angles Julius Saxons

Camelot /camelot/ Jutes Guinevere /ˈɡwɪnɪvɪər/
Canterbury Caesar /ˈsiːzə/ Wēalas
Egbert Kent Witenagemot
Hengist and Horsa King Arthur /kɪŋ ‘ɑːθə/ /ˈwɪtənəɡəˈmoʊt/
/hendʒest/ & /horsɑ/ Mercia /ˈmɜːrʃiə, -ʃə/ Vortigern
Jorvik /'jɔːvɪk/ Northumbria /ˈvɔːrtɪdʒɜːrn/
Juteland /ˈdʒʌtlənd/ /nɔːrˈθʌmbriə/

3. THE ANGLO-SAXON CONQUEST OF ENGLAND

The fall of the Western Roman Empire, the largest slave-owning state in the
ancient world, is regarded as the end of ancient history. The historical period between
ancient times and modern times is called The Middle Ages (lasted for 12 cents: the latter
half of the 5th cent. - the middle of the 17th cent.). A new social system – feudalism
became predominant.
The Germanic tribes invaded Britain in the mid of 5th century. When the
Romans left, the country was absolutely leadless and defenseless.
The Romano-British leader Vortigern invited the Germanic brothers brothers
Hengist and Horsa to aid him in fighting the Picts and the Scots. But the Angles saw
Britain as it was – defenseless, and an opportunity for settlement. The Germanic tribes
took advantage of the current situation on the isles and the process of colonization
began. The most powerful Germanic tribes to settle down were Angles, Saxons and
Jutes. The tribes of Angles and Saxons came from the territory of modern Germany and
Denmark. As for the Jutes, their tribe was smaller and they came
from Juteland (modern northern Denmark).
The British Celts fought the Germanic tribes, but Anglo-Saxon army was well
organized, very strong and warlike and it was hard to resist them. As a result, the
Britons had to leave their homes and go to the Western part of country to settle down
there. This territory was called «Wēalas» which meant «the land of the foreigners».
This part of Britain is called Wales now. Other Celts went to the Northern part of the
country to the land that is known as Scotland. Therefore, the oldest tribe of Celts
inhabited Wales and Scotland.
One of the brave Celtic tribal leaders was King Arthur. We all know the legend
of King Arthur, his knights of the Round Table, Camelot kingdom and the
queen Guinevere. What was true and what was a legend we will not know now. But
there is historical evidence that Arthur as a great leader, resisted and struggled against
Germanic invaders in the 6th century, and became a national hero.
Due to this resistance of the brave Celts, the borders of the kingdom were
shifting constantly. The territory of Britain underwent many political changes: the early
settlers created tribal groups, which later were formed into kingdoms and sub-
kingdoms.
In the 5th and 6th centuries, the country was divided into seven kingdoms: East
Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, where Angles settled; Essex, Sussex, Wessex with Saxon
settlements and Jutes forming kingdom of Kent. Each group of settlers had a strong and
successful leader who then became the king of the kingdom.
Angles were the strongest of all three tribes. Later two tribes: Angles and
Saxons united and were called Anglo-Saxons. They called their country – England or
«the Land of Angles». At the beginning of the 9th century in the country there were four
kingdoms – Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia and Wessex. And during the reign of
King Egbert these kingdoms were reorganized once again.
Egbert was the king of Wessex, but soon he became so powerful that by 827 he
had conquered other territories and was acknowledged to be the overlord of England.
He is known as the first monarch who established a stable rule over all of Anglo-Saxon
England.
 The Anglo-Saxon period continued more than 600 years from 410 to 1066
and the influence of Anglo-Saxon was great. This conquest of Britain by Germanic
tribes is regarded as the beginning of the medieval history of the country.
The Saxons created institutions which made the English state strong for the next
500 years. They divided the land into new administrative areas. First village community
appeared; all the disputes of the community members were settled at the folk-moots
(meetings of the villagers who lived in one district called the ‘hundred’). While
inequality among the members of the community was becoming more pronounced, a
class of rich owners was forming and the free peasants were gradually losing their land
and freedom.
By the beginning of the 9th cent great changes were taking place in
administration – shire-moots (larger district than a hundred) appeared instead of
hundred-moots. The shire-moots were presided over by shire-reeves, or sheriffs, and
were held two or three times a year. The sheriff became the king’s chief in the shire
(local administrator) and was responsible for justice. The king himself became the
supreme judge. Soon afterwards the moots lost their importance and the great council of
the most powerful men in the country (landlords, senior warriors and churchmen)
Witenagemot (Witan) appeared. It gave advice to the king on all important matters. By
the tenth century the Witan was a formal body, issuing laws and charters. It was not at
all democratic, and the king could decide to ignore the Witan’s advice. But he knew that
it might be dangerous to do so, for the Witan’s authority was based on its right to
choose kings, and to agree the use of the king’s laws.
Anglo-Saxon technology changed the shape of English agriculture. The Celts
had kept small, square fields which were well suited to the light plough they used,
drawn either by an animal or two people. The Anglo-Saxons introduced a far heavier
plough which was better able to plough in long straight lines across the field. It was
particularly useful for cultivating heavier soils.
As they preferred an agrarian lifestyle, most of the Roman towns were
abandoned. They looked for place with lots of natural resources like food, water and
wood to build and heat their homes, that was near forests. They built villages
surrounding them with high fence to protect cattle from wild animals, and to keep out
enemies. Some chiefs realized that a city with great fortress was an advantage, so they
built wooden houses inside the walls of Roman towns like London. Early Anglo-Saxon
villages were named after the leader of the tribe that is for everyone to know who
was in charge. For example, Reading was Redda’s village – where Redda was the
local chieftain.
Anglo-Saxons set up their ham (Saxon for ‘home’), for example Billingham,
Nottingham, or Cheltenham; their ton (Saxon for ‘hedge’), for example Harington,
Southampton, Preston or Brighton; their burgh or bury (Saxon for ‘to hide’) –
Salisbury, Canterbury, Edinburgh, Middleborough or field (Saxon for ‘open country’) –
Sheffield, Chesterfield, Mansfield near the mouth of a river or in a sheltered bay. These
names are still written on the maps today.
Even now many towns and villages still carry their Anglo-Saxon names. These
places often have ing or folk somewhere in their name, for example Suffolk or Norfolk
(in OE inga and folc meant ‘people’). Names with wick/wich endings
meant ‘craft’: Woolwich (sheep), Butterwick (dairy), Chiswick (cheese). And of course,
the name “England” also comes from the Saxon word “Angle-Land”.
When the Anglo-Saxons tribes came, they brought their religious beliefs with
them. In Roman Britain many people were Christians, but the early Anglo-Saxons
were pagans. The future pope, Gregory the Great, when first saw fair-haired Anglo-
Saxon captives told “not Angles but angels” and dreamt that he would bring Christianity
to these pagans. That happened in AD 597, when Saint Augustine, along with 40 monks
landed in Kent. The first church was built in its capital, Canterbury, that’s why the
Archbishop of Canterbury is now Head of the Church of England. Most of the country
was converted to Christianity, which was of great importance for the growth of culture.
The Anglo-Saxon period gave rise to the English spoken language as well as the
spread of the written English. Writing came with the introduction of Christianity. There
appeared professional poets, and in 7th century the greatest monument to Anglo-Saxon
poetry, the epic poem Beowulf was created.

4. DANISH RAIDS ON ENGLAND

Towards the end of the eighth century new raiders were tempted by Britain’s
wealth. These were the Vikings, a word which probably means either “pirates” or “the
people of the sea inlets”, and they came from Norway and Denmark. Anglo-Saxon
writers called them Danes, Norsemen, Northmen, the Great Army, sea rovers, sea
wolves, or the heathen.
Like the Anglo-Saxons they only raided at first. They burnt churches and
monasteries along the east, north and west coasts of Britain and Ireland. London was
itself raided in 842. They took over Northumbria, East Anglia and parts of Mercia. In
866 they captured modern York (Viking name: Jorvik) and made it their capital. It was
clear that the quarrelling Anglo-Saxon kingdoms could not keep them out. This time
they came to conquer and to settle. The Vikings quickly accepted Christianity and did
not disturb the local population.
By 875 only King Alfred in the west of Wessex held out against the Vikings,
who had already taken most of England. After some serious defeats Alfred won a
decisive battle in 878, and eight years later he captured London. He was strong enough
to make a treaty with the Vikings. Viking rule was recognized in the east and north of
England. It was called the Danelaw, the land where the law of the Danes ruled.
In the rest of the country Alfred was
recognized as king. During his struggle
against the Danes, he had built walled
settlements to keep them out. These were
called burghs. They became prosperous
market towns, and the word, now usually spelt
“borough”, is one of the commonest endings
to place names, as well as the name of
municipal or town administration today.
Despite having been in England for three centuries, the Vikings left behind
diminutive evidence of their reign there. Apart from a few burial sites containing
weapons, coins, jewelry and few buried pagan ships there are few valued evident
reminders of the Vikings in the British Isles. Sporadically since the late eighteenth
century, Vikings hoards have been discovered, mainly in Yorkshire, Lancashire and
Scotland.
 The UK’s biggest hoard of Viking treasure – made up of silver bracelets, ingots
and brooches, gold rings, and enameled Christian cross and a decorative bird-shaped pin
– was found in a field near Kirkcudbright in south-west Scotland 2014.
They heavily influenced the rule of law and democracy, setting up the Tynwald
on the Isle of Man, the world’s oldest continuous parliamentary body. They took their
place in regal history. Indeed, England had four Viking kings including Cnut. Viking
women enjoyed a substantial degree of equality in the familial hierarchy and they
developed improvements to farming and fishing, even importing the famous Herdwick
sheep breed.
The residual evidence of their language – Old Norse – in the English language
and dialects is their greatest legacy. Studies have revealed that about 400 words in
English are incontestably Scandinavian in origin and most of the ON terms left behind
by the Vikings are the very bedrock of English lexicon and the most frequently
occurring words in spoken English.
Scandinavian borrowings can be found in all eight parts of speech, but the
largest part, however, belongs to nouns, e.g.: bank, birth, booth, egg, sister, husband,
fellow, law, score, skin, sky, window, leg, wing, harbor etc. Examples of verbs could be
as follows: to take, die, call, cast, crawl, cut, gasp, give, lift, nag, scare, sprint;
adjectives: awkward, flat, happy, low, loose, ill, ugly, weak, odd, sly, wrong; pronouns:
both, same, they, them, their etc.; adjectives: awkward, flat, happy, low, loose, ill, ugly,
weak, odd, sly, wrong;
If you find yourself in Derby, Grimsby, Rugby or Whitby – in fact any town that
ends in -by (from the Old Norse meaning a ‘farmstead’ or ‘village’) – you are in a town
settled by the Vikings, exactly like Brondby and Lyngby in Denmark. The same goes
for towns ending in -thorpe ‘outlying farm’) such as Scunthorpe and Grimethorpe. In
Yorkshire alone there are 210 -by places and 155 -thorpes!
As well as place names, many of commonest surnames which ends in -son are
Norse: Benson, Jackson, Stevenson, Davidson etc. The English terms that derive from
ON have become essential for everyday speech. They have held their place in English
throughout the centuries and the English tongue would be unadorned without them.
Danish linguist Otto Jespersen once said: “An Englishman cannot thrive or be ill or die
without Scandinavian words; they are to the language what bread and eggs are to the
daily fare”

6.THE NORMAN CONQUEST OF ENGLAND

The Normans – people that came from Normandy. They were children of the
Vikings who settled in Northern France and soon became French in their language and
Christian in their religion.
The Norman Conquest was the fifth and the last invasion of Britain, and one of
the most significant events in English history. Over forty years from 1066, England was
traumatised and transformed. The Anglo-Saxon ruling class was eliminated, foreign
elites took control of Church and State, and England's entire political, social and cultural
orientation was changed. These changes included the evolution of the English language,
the spread of feudalism and a much greater contact with continental Europe, especially
France. A new kind of Englishness emerged and the priorities of England's new rulers
set the kingdom on the political course it was to follow for the rest of the Middle Ages.
However, the Norman Conquest was more than a purely English phenomenon, for
Wales, Scotland and Normandy were all deeply affected by it too.
Norman Conquest, the military conquest of England by William, duke
of Normandy, primarily effected by his decisive victory at the Battle of
Hastings (October 14, 1066) and resulting ultimately in profound political,
administrative, and social changes in the British Isles.
The conquest was the final act of a complicated drama that had begun years
earlier, in the reign of Edward the Confessor, last king of the Anglo-Saxon royal line.
Edward, who had almost certainly designated William as his successor in 1051, was
involved in a childless marriage and used his lack of an heir as a diplomatic tool,
promising the throne to different parties throughout his reign, including Harold
Godwinson, later Harold II, the powerful earl of Wessex. The exiled Tostig, who was
Harold’s brother, and Harald III Hardraade, king of Norway, also had designs on the
throne and threatened invasion. Amid this welter of conflicting claims, Edward from his
deathbed named Harold his successor on January 5, 1066, and Harold was crowned king
the following day. However, Harold’s position was compromised, according to
the Bayeux Tapestry and other Norman sources, because in 1064 he had, in William’s
presence, to defend William’s right to the throne.
From almost the beginning of his reign, Harold faced challenges to his authority.
Tostig began raiding the southern and eastern coasts of England in May, eventually
joining forces with Harald III. Harold was able to keep his militia on guard throughout
the summer but dismissed it early in September, when he ran out of supplies and his
peasant soldiers needed to return to their fields for the harvest. This left the south
without defenses, exposing it to invasion by William. Before William arrived, however,
Harald III and Tostig invaded in the north; Harold hastened to Yorkshire, where at
Stamford Bridge (September 25) he won a smashing victory in which both Harald III
and Tostig perished.
Meanwhile, on the Continent, William had secured support for his invasion from
both the Norman aristocracy and the papacy. By August 1066 he had assembled a force
of 4,000–7,000 knights and foot soldiers, but unfavorable winds detained his transports
for eight weeks. Finally, on September 27, while Harold was occupied in the north, the
winds changed, and William crossed the Channel immediately. Landing in Pevensey on
September 28, he moved directly to Hastings. Harold, hurrying southward with about
7,000 men, approached Hastings on October 13. Surprised by William at dawn on
October 14, Harold drew up his army on a ridge 10 miles (16 km) to the northwest.
Harold’s wall of highly trained infantry held firm in the face of William’s
mounted assault; failing to breach the English lines and panicked by the rumour of
William’s death, the Norman cavalry fled in disorder. But William, removing his helmet
to show he was alive, rallied his troops, who turned and killed many English soldiers.
As the battle continued, the English were gradually worn down; late in the afternoon,
Harold was killed (by an arrow in the eye, according to the Bayeux Tapestry), and by
nightfall the remaining English had scattered and fled. William then made a sweeping
advance to isolate London, and at Berkhamstead the major English leaders submitted to
him. He was crowned in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day, 1066.
Sporadic indigenous revolts continued until 1071; the most serious, in Northumbria
(1069–70), was suppressed by William himself, who then devastated vast tracts of the
north. The subjection of the country was completed by the rapid building of a great
number of castles.
Consequences of The Conquest
The extent and desirability of the changes brought about by the conquest have
long been disputed by historians. Certainly, in political terms, William’s victory
destroyed England’s links with Scandinavia, bringing the country instead into close
contact with the Continent, especially France. Inside England the most radical change
was the introduction of land tenure and military service. While tenure of land in return
for services had existed in England before the conquest, William revolutionized the
upper ranks of English society by dividing the country among about 180 Norman
tenants-in-chief and innumerable mesne tenants, all holding their fiefs by knight service.
The result, the almost total replacement of the English aristocracy with a Norman one,
was paralleled by similar changes of personnel among the upper clergy and
administrative officers.
Anglo-Saxon England had developed a highly organized central and local
government and an effective judicial system. All these were retained and utilized by
William, whose coronation oath showed his intention of continuing in the English royal
tradition. The old administrative divisions were not superseded by the new fiefs, nor did
feudal justice normally usurp the customary jurisdiction of shire and hundred courts. In
them and in the king’s court, the common law of England continued to be
administered. Innovations included the new but restricted body of “forest law” and the
introduction in criminal cases of the Norman trial by combat alongside the old
Saxon ordeals. Increasing use was made of the inquest procedure - the sworn testimony
of neighbours, both for administrative purposes and in judicial cases. A major change
was William’s removal of ecclesiastical cases from the secular courts, which allowed
the subsequent introduction into England of the then rapidly growing canon law.
William also transformed the structure and character of the church in England.
He replaced all the Anglo-Saxon bishops, except Wulfstan of Worcester, with Norman
bishops. Most notably, he secured the deposition of Stigand, the archbishop of
Canterbury - who held his see irregularly and had probably been excommunicated by
Pope Leo IX - and appointed in his place Lanfranc of Bec, a respected scholar and one
of William’s close advisers. Seeking to impose a more orderly structure on the English
episcopacy, the king supported Lanfranc’s claims for the primacy of Canterbury in the
English church. William also presided over a number of church councils, which were
held far more frequently than under his predecessors, and introduced legislation against
simony and clerical marriage. A supporter of monastic reform while duke of Normandy,
William introduced the latest reforming trends to England by replacing Anglo-Saxon
abbots with Norman ones and by importing numerous monks. Although he founded
only a small number of monasteries, including Battle Abbey (in honour of his victory at
Hastings), William’s other measures contributed to the quickening of monastic life in
England.
Probably the most regrettable effect of the conquest was the total eclipse of the
English vernacular as the language of literature, law, and administration. Superseded in
official documents and other records by Latin and then increasingly in all areas by
Anglo-Norman, written English hardly reappeared until the 13th century.
Examples of Norman-French borrowings: relating to feudal relations: manor,
noble, baron, serve, command, obey; relating to administration& law: charter, council,
accuse, court, crime; military terms: arms, troops, guard, navy, battle, victory;
synonyms: to gave up – to abandon; to give in – to surrender; to come in – to enter; to
begin – to commence; to go on – to continue; animals: sheep (En.) – mutton (meet, Fr.);
ox – beef; pig – pork;

Literature:
 Halliday F. E. A Concise History of England from Stonehenge to the Atomic Age
(Illustrated National Histories) Paperback, 1980, 240 p.
 History of Britain and Ireland. The Definitive Visual Guide: DK (Dorling
Kindersley), 2019, 400 p.
 Jeremy Black. Modern British History since 1900: Macmillan Foundations, 2000,
378 p.
 McDowall, David. An Illustrated History of Britain; Longman, 2006, 367 p.
 Rodrick, Anne B. The History of Great Britain, 2018
 Simon Jenkins. A short History of England: Profile Books, 2018, 320 p.