Lecture 5 – Pre-Germanic Britain

1. Iberian Britain.

2. Celtic Britain.

3. Roman invasion and its consequences.

1. Britain was part of the continent of Europe until the end of the last Ice Age (6,000 BC). It became an island when the lower-lying land under the present-day English Channel was flooded. The island was covered by dense woods full of wild animals and birds. The early inhabitants of Britain were small groups of hunters, gatherers, and fishermen.

About 3000 BC, tribes of dark-haired people called Iberians began to arrive from the territory of present-day Spain around. They were initially hunters and then also shepherds. Iberians were skilled riders and each tribe had a chivalry unit. Their main weapons were the bow and the arrows, the shield, the helmet and the large spear. The Iberians put up buildings of stone and wood and built the first roads. They built the burial chambers and huge temples (henges).

The earliest structures at Stonehenge were built about 3050 BC by the Iberian people, though there is still controversy as to who constructed the megalithic tombs (long barrows). The main structure of Stonehenge may date from the end of the Neolithic or the beginning of the Bronze Age. Stonehenge was probably a place of worship and a celestial calendar made of giant stones.

2. The earliest mention of the British Isles is in the 4th century B. C, when the Greek explorer Pytheas, of Massilia (now Marseilles), sailing round Europe, landed in Kent. At this time Britain was inhabited by Celtic tribes (Britons and Gaels), who spoke various Celtic languages. Economically and socially they were a tribal society.

The peoples known as the Celts had originated in central Europe, to the east of the Rhine in the areas now part of southern Germany, Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. From around 3,400 years ago, these proto-Celtic peoples expanded across the Continent. Between 1200 and 700 BC, they spread westward from their eastern European homeland into the area of modern Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and France. Here, there culture developed into a recognizably Celtic form. In 700 B.C. the Celts spread westward into modern France and the British Isles. The Celts who first came to Britain gradually spread to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. There were 2 main Celtic tribes that settled in the British Isles:

Tribe	Scots	Britons
Place of Settlement	first they settled in Ireland and then moved to Scotland and intermixed with the Picts	settled in the south-east of England
Celtic Languages	The Gaelic Branch	The Britonnic Branch
1. Irish/Erse (Ireland)	1. Breton (Brittany, modern France)
2. Scotch Gaelic (the Scottish Highlands)	2. Welsh (Wales)
3. Manx (dead; the Isle of Man)	3. Cornish (dead; Cornwall)

The Celtic languages formed at one time one of the most extensive groups in the Indo-European family. Their languages are represented in modern times by Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx. A later wave of Celtic tribes, having occupied for some centuries the central part of England, were in turn driven westwards by Germanic invaders, and their modern language representatives are Welsh, Cornish and Breton.

The Celts were tall, and had fair or red hair and blue eyes. They were organized into different tribes. The Celts were highly successful farmers. They traded across tribal borders and trade was probably important for political and social contact between the tribes. It is no accident that the present-day capitals of England and Scotland stand on or near the two ancient trade centers. Much trade was conducted by river and sea. The Celtic tribes were ruled over by a warrior class, of which the priests, or Druids, seem to have been particularly important members. These Druids could not read or write, but they memorized all the religious teachings, the tribal laws, history, medicine and other knowledge necessary in Celtic society. The Druids from different tribes all over Britain met once a year. They had no temples. We know little of their kind of worship except that at times it included human sacrifice.

3. In the first century B.C. Gaul was conquered by the Romans. Having occupied Gaul Julius Caesar made two raids on Britain in 55 B. C. and 54 B.C.

Romans knew that the British Isles were a source of tin ore. Caesar attacked Britain for economic reasons (tin ore, corn, slaves) and for strategic reasons (the Romans fought with the Celts of Gaul on the continent who found shelter in Britain and were supported by the Celts of Britain). This first appearance of the Romans had no further consequences: after a brief stay the Romans went back to Gaul.

Permanent conquest of Britain began in 43 A.D., under the emperor Claudius. Establishing their bases in what is now Kent, through a series of battles the Romans subdued much of Britain in the short space of forty years. The Romans colonized the country, establishing a great number of military camps, which eventually developed in to English cities. In this period Britain became a Roman province.

The highlands and moorlands of the northern and western regions, present-day Scotland and Wales, were not as easily settled, nor did the Romans want to settle in these agriculturally poorer, harsh landscapes. They remained the frontier and the Hadrian's Wall reminds of it.

This colonization had a profound effect on the country. Roman civilization - paved roads, powerful walls of military camps - completely transformed the aspects of the country. One of the greatest achievements of the Roman Empire was its system of roads. The legions arrived in a country with no roads at all, as Britain was in the first century A.D. The roads were vital for trade, important in the speedy movement of troops. They also allowed the movement of agricultural products from farm to market. London was the chief administrative centre, and from it, roads spread out to all parts of the province. They also utilized bridges.

Roman society in Britain was highly classified. At the top were those people associated with the legions, the provincial administration, the government of towns and the wealthy. At the lowest end were the slaves.

In the countryside, away from the towns, with their metalled, properly drained streets, their forums and other public buildings, bath houses, shops and amphitheatres, were the great villas. Many of these seem to have been occupied by native Britons who had acquired land and who had adopted Roman culture and customs. The villas gradually added features such as stone walls, multiple rooms, heating systems, mosaics and bath houses.

The Latin language superseded the Celtic dialects. In the fourth century, when Christianity was introduced in the Roman Empire, it also spread among Britons. They also borrowed words belong to the spheres of military organization, trade, agriculture: strata via ‘мощеная дорога’ street, castra ‘лагерь’ Chester, Manchester, Winchester, milia (passuum) ‘тысяча (шагов)’ mile, saccus ‘мешок’ sack, molina ‘мельница’ mill, caseus ‘сыр’ cheese, secures ‘безопасный’ secure.

The Romans ruled Britain for almost four hundred years, up to the early 5^th century. In 410 Roman legions were recalled from Britain to defend Italy from advancing Goths. So the Britons had to rely on their own forces in the coming struggle with Germanic tribes.

From the time that the Romans more or less abandoned Britain, the period has been known as the Dark Ages. With the departure of the Roman legions, the old enemies began their raids on the native Britons once more. The Picts and Scots to the north and west (the Scots coming in from Ireland had not yet made their homes in what was to become later known as Scotland), and the Saxons, Angles, and Jutes to the south and east.

Glossary:

Border – ['bɔːdə] – граница

Consequence – ['kɔn(t)sɪkwən(t)s] – последствие, результат

Departure – [dɪ'pɑːʧə] – отправление, отбытие

Invader – [ɪn'veɪdə] – захватчик

Raid – [reɪd] – внезапное нападение, набег

Representative – [ˌreprɪ'zentətɪv] – представитель

To abandon – [ə'bændən] – покидать, оставлять

To adopt – [ə'dɔpt] – принимать, перенимать

To expand – [ɪk'spænd] – развиваться, расширяться

To recall – [rɪ'kɔːl] – вызывать обратно, приказывать вернуться

To subdue – [səb'd(j)uː] – подчинять, покорять

Worship – ['wɜːʃɪp] – поклонение, почитание

Questions for discussion:

1. Who were Iberian tribes?

2. When did the earliest mention of the British Isles appear?

3. Who were Celtic tribes?

4. What languages did they speak? What languages are the representatives of Celtic tribes in modern times?

5. Give the description of life of Celtic tribes.

6. What were the reasons of Julius Caesar’s raids on Britain? When did it happen?

7. When was the permanent conquest of Britain?

8. Name the consequences of colonization by Romans.

9. What language superseded the Celtic dialects?

10. Name the earliest borrowings from Latin.

11. What was the period of Dark Ages?

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