Early Britain

Question 1

Who were the first people to live in Britain, in what period?

Answer 1

Hunter-gatherers who came to UK following their herds of deer and horses
This was at the start of the Stone Age when Britain was still connected to the continent by a land of bridge.

Question 2

When did Britain become separated from the continent and how?

Answer 2

The Channel separated Britain from the continent 10,000 years ago

Question 3

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

Answer 3

About 6,000 years ago, probably from south-east Europe

Question 4

What did the first farmers build?

Answer 4

Houses, Tombs and Monuments

Question 5

What is Stonehenge?

Answer 5

It was a monument built as a special gathering place for seasonal ceremonies.
It still stands now in the English county of Wiltshire

Question 6

What is Skara Brae?

Answer 6

Best-preserved prehistoric village in northern Europe, in Orkney, off the north coast of Scotland.

It helped archaeologists to understand how people lived near the end of the Stone Age.

Question 7

What is the Bronze age?

When did it begin?

Answer 7

It began 4,000 years ago when people learned to make objects including tools, weapons and ornaments out of bronze and gold.

Question 8

What type of house did people of Bronze Age live in?

And where did they bury the dead in?

Answer 8

The people lived in roundhouses

They buried their dead in tombs called barrows.

Question 9

Which Age followed the Bronze Age?

Answer 9

Iron Age - when people learned to make weapons and tools out of iron

Question 10

What type of house did people of Iron Age live in?

Answer 10

Roundhouses grouped in larger settlements sometimes protected by hill forts

Question 11

What is Maiden Castle?

Answer 11

Famous Iron Age hill fort which still stands in the English county of Dorset.

Question 12

What was the language spoken during Iron Age?

Answer 12

Celtic

related languages still spoken in Wales, Scotland and Ireland

Question 13

What marked the beginnings of British history?

Answer 13

The sophisticated culture and economy of the Iron Age

The ppl of Iron Age were the first to make coins.

Question 14

When did Julius Caesar lead his unsuccessful Roman invasion of Britain?

Answer 14

55 BC

Question 15

When was Britain successfully invaded by the Roman army and who led the invasion?

Answer 15

AD 43 by the Roman Emperor Claudius

There was some resistance by the British tribes

Question 16

Who was Boudicca?

Answer 16

Queen of the Iceni (eastern England) - important tribal leader who fought against the Romans

Statue of her made on Westminster Bridge in London, near the Houses of Parliament

Question 17

Did the Romans conquer all of UK?

Answer 17

Scotland wasn’t conquered by the Romans

The Picts (Scottish ancestors) were kept out of the Roman Empire by walls and forts built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian

Question 18

What are the forts of Housesteads and Vindolanda?

Answer 18

Forts along Hadrian’s Wall which still stand today.

They are popular for walkers and are UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Question 19

How long did the Romans stay in Britain and what changes did they bring?

Answer 19

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 20

When did the first Christian communities begin to appear in Britain?

Answer 20

Around the 3rd and 4th century AD

Question 21

What happened in AD 410 when the Roman Army left Britain to defend other parts of the Roman Empire?

Answer 21

Invasions by tribes from northern Europe: the Jutes, the Angles and the Saxons

Question 22

When were the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms established in Britain?

Answer 22

AD 600 - mainly in England

Question 23

Which regions remained relatively free of Anglo-Saxon rule?

Answer 23

Parts of the west of Britain, including much of what is now Wales, and Scotland

Question 24

What is the significance of Sutton Hoo in modern Suffolk?

Answer 24

It was the burial place of one of the kings of Anglo-Saxon kingdom.
This king was buried with treasure and armour, all placed in a ship which was then covered by a mound of earth.

Question 25

How did Christianity spread across Britain?

Answer 25

The Anglo-Saxons were not Christians when they first came to Britain but, during this period, missionaries came to Britain to preach about Christianity. Missionaries from Ireland spread the religion in the north

Question 26

Who were:

St Patrick
St Columba
St Augustine

Answer 26

St Patrick - most famous Christianity missionary who became the patron saint of Ireland

St Columba - founded a monastery on the island of Iona, off the coast of Scotland

St Augustine - led missionaries from Rome and spread Christianity in the south. He became the first Archbishop of Canterbury.

Question 27

Who were the Vikings and where did they come from?

Answer 27

The Vikings came from Denmark and Norway.

They first visited Britain in AD 789 to raid coastal towns and take away goods and slaves but later began to stay and form communities in the east of England and Scotland.

Question 28

What happened when the Viking invaders attacked England where the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were located?

Answer 28

The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England united under King Alfred the Great to defeat the Vikings.

Many of the Viking invaders stayed in Britain – especially in the east and north of England, in an area known as the Danelaw. The Viking settlers mixed with local communities and some converted to Christianity

Question 29

What was happening in the north of Britain when the Vikings attacked?

Answer 29

In the north, the threat of attack by Vikings had encouraged people to unite under one king, Kenneth MacAlpin. The term Scotland began to be used to describe that country.

Question 30

Who was Cnut (also called Canute)?

Answer 30

Anglo-Saxon kings continued to rule England, except for a short period when there were Danish kings.

Cnut was the first Danish king.

Question 31

What was the last successful foreign invasion of England?

Answer 31

Norman Conquest

Question 32

When did the Norman Conquest occur?

And who led the conquest?

Answer 32

In 1066

Invasion was led by William, the Duke of Normandy (now northern France) - who defeated and killed Harold, the Saxon king of England, at the Battle of Hastings.

William became king of England and is known as William the Conqueror.

Question 33

What is the Bayeux Tapestry?

Answer 33

Great piece of embroidery which commemorates the Battle of Hastings (when William defeated Harold).

The Bayeux Tapestry can still be seen in France today.

Question 34

What changes did the Norman bring to England when they invaded?

Answer 34

The Norman brought many changes in government and social structures in England.
Norman French, the language of the new ruling class, influenced the development of the English language as we know it today.

Question 35

Did the Normans invade Wales?

Answer 35

Initially the Normans conquered Wales, but the Welsh gradually won territory back.

Question 36

Did the Normans invade Scotland?

Answer 36

The Scots and Normans fought on the border between England and Scotland; the Normans took over some land on the border but did not invade Scotland.

Question 37

What is the Domesday Book?

Answer 37

William the Conqueror sent people all over England to draw up lists of all the towns and villages, the people who lived there, who owned the land and what animals they owned. This collection was called the Domesday Book.

It still exists today and gives a picture of society in England just after the Norman Conquest.