The Germanic invasions (410-1066)

command of the legendary King Arthur. Nevertheless, by the end of the sixth century they and their way of life predominated in nearly all of present-day England. Celtic culture and language survived only in present-day Scotland, Wales and Cornwall. They had little use for towns and cities, but great effect on the countryside. They introduced them new farming methods and founded thousands of villages which formed the basis of English society for the next thousand years or so. Every village/borough that ends with by was founded by them. by is Danish for village or town.

Danelaw
was the division of the country, in which the Danes owned half. The names of many towns/villages in this half still ends with by (the Danish name for village. For example Derby.
Christianity was introduced in two different directions. By the time it was introduced in the south of England by the Roman missionary St. Augustine, it had already been introduced into Scotland and northern England from Ireland which had become Christian more than 150 years earlier. Although Roman Christianity took over eventually. Britain experienced another wave of Germanic invasions in the eighth century. These invaders were known as Vikings, Norsemen or Danes and came from Scandinavia. In the ninth century they conquered and settled the islands around Scotland and some coastal regions of Ireland. Their conquest of England was halted when they were defeated by King Alfred of the Saxon kingdom of Wessex. As a result, their settlement was confined mostly to the north and east of the country. However, the cultural differences between the Anglo-Saxons and Danes were comparatively small. They led roughly the same way of life and spoke different varieties of the same Germanic tongue. The Danes soon converted to Christianity. By the end of the tenth century, England was a united kingdom with a Germanic culture throughout. Most of Scotland was also united by this time in a Celtic Gaelic kingdom.
King Arthur
He was a wonderful example of the distortions of popular history. In folklore and myth and on film, he is a great English hero, and he and his Knights of the Round Table are regarded as the perfect example of medieval nobility and chivalry. In fact, he lived long before medieval times and was a
Romanized Celt trying to hold back the advances of the Anglo-Saxons- the very same people who became The English
King Alfred
King Alfred was not only an able warrior, but also a dedicated scholar (the only English monarch fora longtime afterwards who was able to read and write) and a wise rules. He is known as Alfred the Great. The only monarch in English history to be given this title. He is also popularly known for the story of the burning of the cakes. While he was wandering around his country organizing resistance to the Danish invaders, Alfred travelled in disguise. On one occasion, he stopped at a woman’s house. The woman asked him to watch some cakes that were cooking to see that they did not burn, while she went off to get food. Alfred became lost in thought and the cakes burned. When the woman returned, she shouted angrily at Alfred and sent him away. Alfred never told her that he washer king.

Download 0.78 Mb.

Share with your friends: