CRASH COURSE IN ENGLISH HISTORY

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CRASH COURSE IN ENGLISH HISTORY
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IN THE BEGINNING

• Between 800 and 600 B.C., two groups of Celts
  from southern Europe invaded the British Isles.
• The Britons settled on the largest island,
  Britain, and the Gaels on the second largest,
  known as Ireland.

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Enter the Romans

• In 55 B.C., Julius Caesar invaded England.
• However, the Romans didnt establish control
  until over 100 years later.
• The Roman camps turned into towns.
• Roman rule continued for another 300 years.
• Rome lost control of England in 407 A.D.

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CHRISTIANITY IN ENGLAND

• By the 4th Century, the Romans had accepted
  Christianity and had introduced it to Britain.
• When the Anglo-Saxons invaded, the Celts fled but
  took their belief in Christianity with them.

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AND HERE COME THE VIKINGS

• In the 9th Century, the Norse from Norway and the
  Danes from Denmark invaded the English Islands,
  which was under control of the Saxons.

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The Norse conquered Northumbria, Scotland, Wales
and Ireland The Danes took eastern and southern
England. The Viking hordes destroyed
monasteries and religious texts, and stole sacred
religious objects.
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AND THE NORMANS GET INTO THE ACTION

• Also in the 9th Century, the Normans (from
  France) invaded England when Williams claim to
  the throne was ignored.
• William, Duke of Normandy, assumed the throne in
  1066.
• William took land from the Anglo-Saxon nobles and
  established a feudal system.

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FEUDALISM

• Feudalism is an exchange of property for personal
  severice.
• All land belongs to the king, who gives out land,
  titles and special privileges to his supporters.
• In return, the supporters would pay fees/taxes
  and supply the king with knights (soldiers).

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THE MAGNA CARTA

• After years of abusing his power, King John
  agreed to certain conditions from his unhappy
  supporters to avoid a civil war.
• The king promised not to tax land without first
  meeting with the supporters.
• Although it brought about no real changes, many
  historians believe that the restrictions on royal
  power were the beginning of constitutional
  government in England.

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THE WAR OF THE ROSES

• In 1399, the Lancaster family had control of the
  British throne. Three families, the Lancasters,
  the Yorks and the Tudors, all claimed the throne.
• Many of Shakespeares history plays were focused
  on the lives of the these kings- Henry IV, Henry
  V, Henry IV, and the battles between the families
  for control

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MUSICAL THRONES

• For generations, the families fought each other,
  and these years became known as the War of the
  Roses.
• The feud ended when Henry Tudor led a rebellion
  against King Richard III of York, and crowned
  Henry VII.
• Tudor then married
  Richards niece,
  uniting the three families.

Richard III
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YOU FEELING OKAY?

• In 1348 and 1349, a great plague, called the
  Black Plague, devastated the country, killing
  half the population.
• Due to a massive labor shortage caused by the
  death of so many peasants, the value of the
  peasants work increased.
• The rich were forced to pay the poor (many of
  whom were indentured servants) more money for
  their services and goods, which shifted the
  power.

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ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

• Unhappy with their way of the life, the poor
  revolted against the system in 1381.
• Though the revolt failed and was crushed, the
  causes they fought for survived and eventually
  brought about social change and the decline of
  the feudal system.

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ANGLO-SAXON LITERATURE

• Anglo-Saxon literature began in oral tradition,
  or stories told orally during special occasions.
  And often took the form of poetry.
• Anglo-Saxon poetry fell into two categories
• heroic poetry- stories of warriors and their
  achievements
• elegaic poetry- sad poems about the death of
  loved ones and the loss of the past.

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BEOWULF

• Beowulf is a long, heroic poem about a legendary
  warrior who was known for his courage, strength
  and dignity.
• It was the first known epic poem written in
  English, and is considered the national epic of
  England.
• The author is unknown
• Though the text we have was composed in the 8th
  Century, it wasnt written down until the 11th
  Century.
• As a result, there are many references to
  Christian ideas and Latin classics.