Early Britain/History Flashcards
Stone Age monuments that still exist today
- Stonehenge (located in Wiltshire, England)
- Skara Brae (on Orkney, off the north coast of Scotland)
Bronze Age
Iron Age
The Romans
- Left Britain in AD 410 to defend other parts of Roman Empire and never returned
Anglo-Saxons
- ~ AD600, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were formed in Britain
* The language spoken is the basis of modern-day English
The Vikings
• Came from Denmark & Norway
The Norman Conquest
- Last successful foreign invasion of England
- Leader: William, the Duke of Normandy (nowadays’ northern France)
- Invaded Britain in 1066.
- Defeated Harold, the Saxon King of England.
- As Harold was killed at the Battle of Hastings, William became the King of England, hereafter known as William the Conqueror.
- This period has resulted in many changes in government and social structures in England.
- Norman French has influenced the development of English language as we use today
This battle is commemorated in an embroidery piece, known as Bayeux Tapestry
The Middle Ages
- Also known as the medieval period
- a period of almost constant war
- Parliament began to develop into the institution it is today. This orginates from the king’s council of advisers who demanded legal limits to the king’s power in 1215, called the Magna Carta (meaning the Great Charter).
* council of advisers were noblemen & Church leaders. - the Magna Carta established the idea that even the kind was subject to the law. It protected the rights of the nobility and restricted the king’s power to collect taxes or to establish/change laws. From then on, the king would need to involve his noblemen in decisions.
The Black Death
- Killed 1/3 population in England, Scotland and Wales.
- Following the Black Death, labour shortage has resulted in peasants demanding for higher wages. This has therefore led to a socio-economical changes.
- people left countryside to live in towns, where they grow wealth and developed a strong middle class
• In Ireland, the Black Death killed many in the Pale, the area controlled by the English became smaller.
the Evolution of Parliament
- As the numbers of noblemen grew, two separate parts were formed, known as Houses.
- House of Lords = the nobility + great land-owners + bishops
- House of Commons = knights (smaller land-owners) + wealthy people from towns and cities
* only a small part of the population can join the election to choose the members in the Commons
In Scotland
• their “Houses” are called Estates - 3 Estates:
- the Lords
- the Commons
- the Clergy (religious leaders)
Legal system
Judges began to be established. They are independent of the government.
England:
• Judges developed ‘common law’ by a process of precedence (i.e. following previous decisions) and tradition
–> laws were not written down
Scotland:
• laws were codified (i.e. written down)
Language development
England:
• after the Norman Conquest, the king and his noblemen spoke Norman French, whereas the peasants continued to speak Anglo-Saxon.
• Gradually, these two languages combined to become English language.
• By 1400, English became the official document language as well as the preferred language of the royal court and Parliament.
• The years leading up to 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a series of poems in English about a group of people going to Canterbury on a pilgrimage. This collection of poems is called “The Canterbury Tales”.
Scotland
• many people continued to speak Gaelic and the Scots language also developed
• a number of poets began to write in Scots, e.g. John Barbour wrote “The Bruce” - about the Battle of Bannockburn
The Wars of the Roses
- in 1455, a civil war was begun to decide who should be king of England.
- It was fought between the supporters of two families:
* White rose: House of York (led by King Richard III)
* Red rose: House of Lancaster (led by Henry Tudor) - Ended in 1485 with the Battle of Bosworth Field
Results:
• King Richard III was killed and Henry Tudor became King Henry VII.
• Henry VII then married King Richard’s niece, Elizabeth of York, to unite the two families
• Henry was the first king of the House of Tudor. The symbol of the House of Tudor was a red rose with a white rose inside it as a sign that the Houses of York and Lancaster were now allies.
post-War of the Roses
- after his victory in the War of the Roses, Henry VII wanted to make sure that England remained peaceful and that his position as king was secure.
- He deliberately strengthened the central admin of England and reduced the power of the nobles.
- He also built up the monarchy’s financial reserves.
- When he died, Henry VIII continued this policy of centralising power.
Monarchy names and order
Saxon King - King Alfred the Norman King - William the Conqueror
King Henry II King Richard I King John (1199-1216; Magna Carta) King Henry III King Edward I King Edward II King Edward III King Richard II \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ House of Lancaster King Henry IV King Henry V King Henry VI (began the War s of the Roses) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ House of York King Edward IV King Edward V King Richard III (lost the Wars of the Roses) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ The Tudors King Henry VII (won the Wars of the Roses) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Monarchs of England, Wales & Ireland King Henry VIII King Edward VI
^Ref: https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/KingsQueensofBritain/
Anne (1702–14) George I (1714–27) George II (1727–60) George III (1760–1820) George IV (1820–30) William IV (1830–37) Victoria (1837–1901) Edward VII (1901–10) George V (1910–36) Edward VIII (1936) George VI (1936–52) Elizabeth II (1952– )
