Summary: book "Britain for Learners of English", James O'Driscoll
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- The Roman period (43-410 AD)
- Hadrian’s Wall
| Chapter 2: History England was first occupied by the romans who brought government, made cities, organisation and civilisation (43 – 410). The Vikings then followed who brought saga’s like Beowulf, anglo saxon traditions and crafts – 1066). The Normans, who brought the feudal system, knights, shires and the class system. Shire is the French name for Home of the knight. (1066-). Momento mori – I live to die. You work work work until you die. Your reward is in heaven. Prehistory Two thousand years ago there was an Iron Age Celtic culture throughout the northwest European islands. It seems that the Celts had intermingled with the peoples who were there already. For people in Britain today, the chief significance of the prehistoric period is its sense of mystery. Wiltshire, in southwestern England, has two spectacular examples of the remains in that time Silbury Hill, the largest burial mound in Europe, and Stonehenge. Stonehenge The Stonehenge was built on Salisbury plain sometime between 5000 and 4300 years ago. It is one of the most famous and mysterious archaeological sites in the world. One of its mysteries is how it was ever built at all with the technology of that time (some of the stones came from over 200 miles away in Wales. Another is its purpose. It appears to function as a kind of astronomical clock and we know it was used by the druids for ceremonies marking the passing of the seasons. The Roman period (43-410 AD) AD stands for Anno Domini, which means after Christ (Birth of Christ/Year of our Lord) also includes the famous words of Julius I came, I saw, I conquered. The Roman province of Britannia covered most of present-day England and Wales, where the Romans imposed their own way of life and culture, making use of the existing Celtic aristocracy to govern and encouraging them to adopt the Roman dress and the Latin language. They never went to Ireland and exerted an influence, without actually governing there, over only the southern part of Scotland. It was during this time that a Celtic tribe called the Scots migrated from Ireland to Scotland yes I know it’s confusing, where, along with another tribe, the Picts, they became opponents of the Romans. The most remarkable thing about the Romans Is that, despite their long occupation of Britain, they left very little behind. To many (in andere) other parts of Europe they bequeathed a system of law and administration which forms the basis of the modern system and a language which developed into the modern Romance family of languages. In Britain however, they left neither. Moreover, most of their villas, baths and temples, their impressive network of roads, and the cities they founded, including Londinium (London, were soon destroyed or fell into disrepair. Almost the only lasting reminders of their presence are place names like Chester, Lancaster, and Gloucester (anything that ends with either ester or – aster) and they were the ones who made any road lead to London. (- ester or aster comes from the Latin word castra which means military camp) Hadrian’s Wall This wall was built by the Romans in the second century across the northern border of their province of Britannia (which is nearly the same as the present English-Scottish border) in order to protect it from attacks by the Scots and the Picts. Download 0.78 Mb. Share with your friends:
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