Storia dell'Inghilterra: dalla preistoria alla Magna Carta, Appunti di Inglese

Scarica Storia dell'Inghilterra: dalla preistoria alla Magna Carta e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! pre-celtic britain The earliest population six thousand years ago were farmers who cut down the forests, grew cereals and kept cattle, pigs and sheep. From about three thousand BC we have evidence of ritual sites, enclosed spaces used both for ceremonies and for defence, like Stonehenge in southwest England. the celts the first invaders from northwest Germany; they had particular attributes such as blue eyes, blond hair, fair skin and they were tall and strong. They were farmers, hunters, fishermen and metal workers. They brought the Celtic language, built hill forts and worshipped the natural elements with druids as their priests, they were important also in medicine, education and justice. In their society women were almost equal to men, they could choose their husbands and could take part in the war and lead the other warriors. to make cultivation easier they introduced the iron plough. In modern times remains the Celtic language in Welsh in Wales and Gaelic in Scotland and Ireland the romans Julius Caesar led a roman invasion of Britain, but the Romans conquered Britain in 43-47 AD under Emperor Claudius. reasons why the Romans conquered Britain: they were attracted by the rich agriculture of the South, the availability of slaves and Britain’s strategic importance as an offshore base. They built a complex road system, fortified towns and built Hadrian’s wall, as a defence against attacks from the north. They also brought their culture, the latin language and christianity to Britain. The most important town is Londinium, built around the lowest bridgeable point on the Thames. Roman control of Britain ended in 409 AD because soldiers had to return to Italy to defend Rome against the barbarians. Why did the Romans leave Britain? What were the consequences? The Romans left Britain in 409AD as soldiers were withdrawn to defend Rome against the Barbarian raiders. The Romanised Celts were left alone to fight against the Saxon invaders from the North Sea Region of Europe. the anglo-saxons Angles and Saxons from the north sea region of Europe invaded Britain in 5th and 6th centuries after the Romans had left. They settled south of Hadrian’s wall because they were lowland rather than upland people and were looking for farming land. Their society was founded on loyalty to the family, or clan, and the centre of communal life was the hall, where they gathered and swore loyalty to the chiefs in return for their protection. By the beginning of the 7th century there were seven Anglo-Saxons kingdoms known as the Heptarchy and Wessex became the most important. the danes In 793 the vikings, called Danes by the English, attacked the British coastal towns and islands destroying monasteries. They settled in an area known as Danelaw. King Ethelred and his brother ALfred of Wessex, stopped the vikings’ advance and created a new capital at Winchester When Ethelred died, Alfred became King of Wessex. He reorganised the army of Wessex by demanding one soldier from each freeman’s farm as a tribute. He built fortresses and planned a navy with longships. He invited scholars from the continent. Latin texts were translated into Anglo-Saxon. When Alfred died and his grandson Athelstan succeeded to the throne. He created a kingdom by establishing the idea of royal authority, law and coinage. What was Danegeld? Danegeld was a tribute paid to the Vikings by the Anglo-Saxons to be left alone. battle of hastings The last Anglo-Saxon king was Harold, who was defeated by the Normans at the famous battle of Hastings in 1066. William the conqueror was a duke of Normandy (north of France); the fight between Anglo-Saxon and Norman began when William gathered his barons to claim the English crown. The turning point of the battle came when Harold was killed by Normans knights; the Normans won and William was crowned king of England in Westminster Abbey on Christmas day. 1066 english culture changed definitively The conquest annihilated the english ruling class because many Anglo-Saxon noblemen died in battle, were exiled or dispossessed of their lands. ● William introduced a feudal system based on the ownership of land and homage to the king, so the land that the barons had received from the king, they rented to lesser tenants. The agricultural labour given by the peasants guaranteed security and food. ● He had the Domesday Book written as a record of his new conquest. It was also used for collecting the property tax. The english called Domesday book because from the « Doomsday » that is the day of judgment (judgement day), this because people felt judged and because they had to say all their information. For example, listed the different types of land and their use, the number of productive people. ● French replaced English as the language of government Latin remained the main language in legal, administrative, ecclesiastic and intellectual contexts. English survived in everyday speech Chaucher writes in these three languages. Henry Plantagenet -> plantagenet from 1154 to 1199 When William died there was no dynasty; there was a period of anarchy which only ended when his great-grandson Henry became king as Henry II. Henry’s kingdom stretched from the Scottish border to the south of France. He replaced the feudal duty of military service with a tax known as scutage. He also introduced the common law, a system of law based of custom, comparisons of previous cases and previous decisions. his quarrel with the churchover the independence of church from State led to the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. Henry was succeded by his son Richard the Lionheart. Richard I spent less than a year of his reign in England. He was a leader of the Third Crusade. When he died, his brother John became king; John’s abuse of power led to a rebellion by the barons, knights, clergy and townspeople; they asked the king to sign Magna Carta, a charter demanding specific liberties. The king signed it at Runnymede in 1215. Most of the 63 clauses granted by King John dealt with specific grievances relating to his rule; only three of those clauses remain part of English law. Although the original 1215 document had concerned the medieval relationship between the monarch and the barons, rather than the rights of ordinary people, the charter is often cited today by politicians and campaigners, and is held in great respect by the British and American legal communities. It is from principles laid out in Magna Carta that all later documents upholding human rights were derived. the epic poem 1. recollection of a glorious past 2. great deeds of heroes 3. military and aristocratic society 4. supernatural creatures 5. a long narrative poetical composition elevated style 6. rich, vivid language → type-scenes: banquets, battles, voyages, funerals the medieval ballad 1. A dramatic story with no moral aim 2. rapid flashes 3. very simple language 4. mixture of dialogue and third-person narration 5. fourline stanzas