Carla's Portfolio 4t: Sumary chapter 2, FROM THE IRON AGE TO THE GOLDEN AGE

Ancient Mysteries:

Stonehenge is a mysterious group of huge standing stones. Archaeologists believe that it was built around 2500 BCE.

The builders used two types of stone, the “bluestones” and “Sarsen” stones.

Many people believe that the stones were placed in this way to look at the movement of stars and the sun and moon. It was probably also important for the region of the people who built it.

The stone ring at Avebury this is the largest stone circle in the world. There are also standing stones in many places in Ireland.

The Celts:

The Celts lived in Britain in the Iron Age from around 600 BCE. They came from Central Europe. Some Greek and Roman writes tell us that the Celts loved gold and fighting. Their priests were called Druids and had great power in Celtic society.

We also know about the Celts from the “bog bodies”. Bogs are areas of wetland. In England in 1984 some workers discovered “Lindow Man”. Lindow Man was killed in the first century, so it is a murder mystery. Some people think that the Bruids for religious reasons killed him.

A warrior queen:

In 55 BCD, Julius Cesar invaded Britain. The Celts were great warriors but the Romans had better organisation and defeated them. Roman army crossed the River Thames but Cesar left after the Britons agreed to give money to the Romans.

In CE 43, the Roman Emperor Claudius sent another army of about 50,000 men to Britain. This time the Romans stayed and Britain became part of the Roman Empire.

The Roman occupation:

Londinium now became the new Roman capital. The Romans also created many other towns. The Romans improved the services in the country, and built straight roads such as Walting Street, which runs from Dover in the southeast of England to Wales.

But they didn’t control Scotland. The Picts were different Celtic groups who lived in Scotland.

The King Buried in a Ship:

In CE 410, the Romans left Britain. They went to defend Rome against the barbarians and left Britain without any protection. Invaders arrived from northwest Europe and took control of the country. These were the Anglo-Saxons and the Jutes.

The Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings:

The Anglo-Saxons had a big influence on England. They divided the country into five kingdoms: Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Kent and Anglia. Most of the basic words in the English language also come from the Anglo-Saxons, for example some of the days of the weeks.

From CE 800, Vikings from Denmark and Norway began to attack Britain. The most famous Saxon king was Alfred the Great; he fought against the Vikings. Although he won, he allowed them to live in the area around York. They also controlled the northwest of Scotland.

The Normans:

A duke from Normandy, on the north coast of France said that he was the real king of England and invaded it.

The Normans built many castles and cathedrals. French became the language of the rulers for about 300 years. They created a feudal system, with this system the lords owned the land, animals and buildings.

Middle Ages:

Both the king and the church had great power. This sometimes led to problems. For example the Archbishop of Canterbury.

There was also a fight for power between the kings and the rich men in England. The King wanted to collect money to pay his wars but the rich men didn’t like this. King John signs the Magna Carta, a document that limited the king’s power and created a strong parliament. The Magna Carta is very important because it introduced shared power between the king and the people.

Throughout the Middle Ages, there were important wars. In 1337 the “Hundred Years War” between England and France began when King Edward III of England said that he should also be King of France. He invaded France and for the following 116 years there were wars between England and France. At the end of the war, England had lost all its land in France except Calais.

Later, there was other war between the House of Lancaster and House of York. It was called the War of the Roses because the symbol of Lancaster was a red rose and the symbol of York was a white rose.

The Tudor period:

Henry Tudor became King Henry VII, the first Tudor king. He created the Tudor rose which joined the red and white rose. It was a symbol of peace between Lancaster and York.