Early Britain

Question 1

Who were the first people to live in Britain?

Answer 1

Hunter gatherers in the Stone Age

Question 2

During the Stone Age, who and how was Britain populated?

Answer 2

Britain was connected to the continent by a land bridge. People came and went following the herds of deer and horses which they hunted.

Question 3

When did Britain become permanently separated from the continent?

Answer 3

Britain became permanently separated by the Channel about 10,000 years ago.

Question 4

When did the first farmers arrive in Britain and where were they from?

Answer 4

The first farmers arrived in Britain 6,000 years ago. The ancestors of these farmers probably came from south-east Europe.

Question 5

What county is Stonehenge in?

Answer 5

Wiltshire

Question 6

What is the name of the best preserved prehistoric village in Northern Europe and where is it?

Answer 6

Skara Brad, Orkney, Scotland.

Question 7

When was the Bronze Age and what was significant about the people at this time?

Answer 7

The Bronze Age was around 4,000 years ago and the people were accomplished metalworkers.

Question 8

When was the Iron Age and what was significant about it?

Answer 8

The Iron Age was after the Bronze Age when people learned to make weapons and tools from iron. They also made the first coins to be minted in Britain, some inscribed with the names of Iron Age kings.

Question 9

What language did people speak in the Iron Age?

Answer 9

The language was part of the Celtic language family. Similar languages were spoken across Europe and related languages are still spoken today in parts of Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

Question 10

Who led a Roman invasion of Britain and when?

Answer 10

Julius Caesar in 55 BC. This was unsuccessful and Britain remained separate from the Roman Empire for nearly 100 years.

Question 11

Who led the Roman army in a new invasion and when?

Answer 11

Emperor Claudius in AD 43. It was successful in occupying almost all of Britain.

Question 12

What was the name of the tribal leader who fought against the Romans in AD 43?

Answer 12

Boudicca, queen of the Iceni - now eastern England.

Question 13

Which part of Britain was not conquered by the Romans? How was this area delineated?

Answer 13

Scotland was never conquered by the Romans, and the Emperor Hadrian built a wall in the north of England to keep the Picts (ancestors of the Scottish people) out.

Question 14

How long did the Romans stay in Britain? What was their contribution?

Answer 14

The Romans stayed in Britain for 400 years. They built roads and public buildings, created a structure of law, and introduced new plants and animals.

Question 15

When did Christian communities begin appearing in Britain?

Answer 15

Christian communities began to appear in Britain during the 3rd and 4th centuries AD.

Question 16

When did the Roman army leave Britain?

Answer 16

The Roman army left Britain in AD 410 to defend other parts of the Roman Empire and never returned.

Question 17

After the Roman army left Britain, who invaded?

Answer 17

After the Roman army left Britain, tribes from Northern Europe, the Jutes, the Angles and the Saxons invaded.

Question 18

When were Anglo-Saxon kingdoms established in Britain?

Answer 18

Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were established in Britain by about AD 600. The languages they spoke are the basis of modern-day English.

Question 19

Which parts of Britain were free from Anglo-Saxon rule?

Answer 19

Parts of the west of Britain, including much of what is now Wales and Scotland, remained free of Anglo-Saxon rule.

Question 20

Who is St Augustine?

Answer 20

St Augustine led missionaries from Rome, who spread Christianity in the south of Britain. He became the first Archbishop of Canterbury.

Question 21

Who were the Vikings and when did they come to Britain?

Answer 21

The Vikings came from Denmark and Norway. They first visited Britain in AD 789 to raid coastal towns and take away goods and slaves. then they began to stay and form their own communities in the east and England and Scotland. The Vikings settlers mixed with he local communities and some converted to Christianity.

Question 22

What were the kingdoms during the time of the Vikings and who ruled them?

Answer 22

1. The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England united under King Alfred the Great, who defeated the Vikings.
2. In the north, Scotland, the threat of attacks by Vikings encouraged people to unite under King Kenneth MacAlpin.
   There was also a short period of Danish kings, the first was Cnut (also called Canute).

Question 23

Who was William the Conqueror?

Answer 23

William the Conqueror was the Duke of Normandy, what is now northern France. He defeated Harold, the Saxon king of England at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 to become king of England.

Question 24

What commemorates the Norman Conquest and where is it?

Answer 24

The Battle of Hastings is commemorated in the Bayeux Tapestry, which can be seen in Normandy, France today.

Question 25

What was significant about the Norman Conquest?

Answer 25

The Norman Conquest was the last successful foreign invasion of England and led to many changes in government and social structures in England. Norman French influenced the lanaguage as we know it today.

Question 26

Did the Normans invade the rest of Britain?

Answer 26

Initially the Normans also conquered Wales, but the Welsh gradually won territoryback. The Scots and the Normans fought on the border between England and Scotland; the Normans took over some land on the border but did not invade Scotland.

Question 27

What is the Domesday Book?

Answer 27

The Domesday Book was ordered by William the Conqueror as a record of all the towns and villages in England. It includes the people who lived there, who owned the land and what animals they owned. It’s still exists today and gives a picture of society in England just after the Norman Conquest.

Question 28

What was the Norman system of land ownership?

Answer 28

The Norman system of land ownership was known as feudalism.
The king gave land to his lords in return for help in war. Landowners had to send certain numbers of men to serve in the army. The peasants had their own land but most were serfs. They had a small area of their lord’s land where they could grow food. In return they had to work for their lord and could not move away. The same system developed in southern Scotland.

Question 29

What was the system of land ownership in the north of Scotland and Ireland?

Answer 29

In the north of Scotland and Ireland, land was owned by members of the ‘clans’ who were prominent families.