Emblems and Capitals of the British Isles
The prehistory of the country began 250 000 years ago with the first people appearing on the British territory.6000 years ago the Neolithic Age started. The main features of it were crop-growing and cattle-breeding. The new culture was brought by the so called Iberians, probably from Spain. The Neolithic people built huge stone monuments all over the world. The oldest known giant stone structures are in Britain. They are dolmens and henges. Stonehenge is not far from the city of Salisbury in the Southern England. It has a ditch and 3 circles of 4- to 50-tone stones. They were transported from 400 km away with sledges, rollers and ropes. By the legend he was Merlin who did it. There were several stages of building with the intervals of many centuries. The word “Stonehenge” might have derived from «hanging stones». The Phoenicians gave the first known name to Britain. They called it “Tin Islands”. The Celtic period is the epoch from VII till I BC. The Celtic tribes occupied the major part of modern Western Europe and were among the founders of the European civilization. Their craftsmen were highly skilled in using iron. They produced necklaces of twisted metal called “torques” The main personal virtues with the Celts were hospitality and splendid appearance. They waged, using chariots. Some tribes were led by women. The priests were called Druids. They used to gather on the Isle of Anglesey. They worshiped mistletoe. The Celts believed souls to revive in newborns of the same families. The holiday of Samhain (“end of summer”) was celebrated on the 31 of October. The 1-st of November was “All Hallows’ Day”, so Samhain was “All Hallows’ Even” = Halloween. The Celts believed that ghosts of people and spirits of eaten vegetables visit living people on this day. The Roman period lasted from I till IV AD. The first Roman invasion of Britain took place in 55 BC. The Romans were led by Caesar. The expedition wasn’t successful, it was only a probing. The name of Albion might have appeared then. But the Romans went on in their attempts to subdue the country as they needed grain and Britain could supply it. In the I AD the Southern Britain was subdued. The Celtic queen Boadicea raised a revolt. She was defeated and poisoned herself not to become a Roman captive. During this period many roads were built. Some of them have been used till nowadays. The Romans constructed two walls from sea to sea to protect the South from the tribes of Picts and Scots. The Hadrian wall has determined the border between England and Scotland. The Romans founded many cities. Their names end with “– chaster” (“fortress” in Latin). The Dark Ages and The Anglo-Saxon period have a very scarce evidence. The Dark Ages (V-VI) began after the Romans had left Britain. The Celtic life revived and the newcomers, Germanic tribes, started their permeation to Britain. They have been known in British history as the Anglo-Saxons. The Anglo-Saxon period (VII –VIII) is the time when the newcomers created the states. There are few written sources on the period. This is the reason why many controversial questions arise, for example: – Why did the newcomers invade Britain? – Did they bring calamity or prosperity? “The Loss of Britain” by Gildas and the work by Bede, known as “the father of English history», tell that the newcomers killed a lot of people in Britain. According to Gildas and Bede, the Celtic king Vortigern invited the Germanic tribes from the continent to fight against the Scots and the Picts. The first newcomes arrived by 3 ships, led by 3 brothers. They liked the country and called upon the tribes of the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes to Britain. They killed the Celts or drove them to the mountains. Then the Anglo – Saxons organized 7 states in England. Modern historians give a little bit another version. They say that the Germans came from the Jutland (modern Denmark). That area had been flooded and people had to leave it. Due to recent research the Saxons didn’t really exist; it was the Latin name of the Angles. The root “ang-” means “sharp item”, “The Angles” – “the sharp items” or “the fishing hooks”, England – “the country of fishmen”. The Anglo-Saxons conquered theRomanized regions of Britain. This land became England. The archeological evidence shows the Celtic population to remain in their lands but to change their traditions. The Anglo – Saxons divided lands into shires and drained the part of marshy areas for agriculture. The Anglo-Saxon (Old English) language appeared. The Vikings’ period was from the IX to the middle of the XI century. The Vikings came from Scandinavia. The word “Viking” literally means “turned” in Old Scandinavian. The Vikings were people who tried to get wealth and glory beyond Scandinavia. In Britain they were called the Danes. They seized the bigger part of England. In the end of the IX century the Danes were stopped by the king of Wessex Alfred the Great. He is the only English king accorded the epithet “the Great”. He is known as father of the English navy. He was the first king called “the English king”. He made a treaty with the Danes. Their part of England was called the Danelaw, it was three fourths of modern England. He is also known for the enlightenment: he founded the first schools for commoners and nobles. The most powerful king of the Danes was Cnut. His name meant “a knight”, the name of noble warriors. The Scandinavian influence on the British culture reflected in the names of the days: - Wednesday from Wodin (god of war and wisdom); - Thursday from Thor (of thunder); - Friday from Frej and Freja (of fertility). After the Danes the throne was given to Edward the Confessor. He spent 25 years in Normandy (France). He tried to establish churches in all the villages, enlarged and gave the French name to Westminster Abby and promised the English throne to his nephew William of Normandy. The Norman invasion gave some original features to the development of Britain and set the feudal system. For the last time in its history England was conquered in 1066 by the Vikings’ descendants who were the French knights in their language and culture. They were led by William, the Duke of Normandy, who came to take what he had been promised. The last Anglo-Saxon king Harold perished at the battle of Hastings. William didn’t trust the Londoners and built a fortress, called the Tower. Both Westminster and Winchester were his capitals. William took lands from Saxon nobles and gave them to Norman barons in return for service (40 days a year). It was a feudal system taken from the continent. The lands were scattered to make the rebellions impossible. William decided to count the people and their property. The “Doomsday Book” was compiled – a unique historical source. There were 2 million people in Britain, 95 percent lived in rural areas, ¾ were serves. For 3 centuries two languages were spoken in the country. The common Anglo-Saxon people spoke Anglo-Saxon. The Norman rulers of the country spoke Norman (old French), the language of law and administration. That’s why English is rich with synonyms. In the High Middle Ages (mid XI – XIII) there were 80 towns in England with the population of 5%. The craftsmen were organized in guilds. Their charters forbade any advertisement and determined the common standard of quality. England was ruled by the Plantagenet dynasty, the most famous king of which was Richard the Lion Heart. He ruled the country for 10 years and spent there only 10 months. He acted as an ideal knight. His mother was Eleanor of Aquitaine, the wife of two kings and a poetess. Richard knew Latin and Italian, but didn’t know English Richard organized the Third Crusade to Holy Land. Each knight had to have three horses. To gather money for it he took the whole English treasury and raised the taxes. He told: “I would have sold London if there had been a purchaser”. His fiancée followed him to watch his feasts, but was captured at Cyprus. Richard released her and chained the Emperor in silver chains after he had asked Richard not to chain him with iron. The III Crusade wasn’t successful. Richard quarreled with many kings, was shipwrecked on his back way and had to steal to England through the lands of his enemies. He was disguised but still captured. Nobody in England knew where he was. Richard’s friend, the poet, walked through Europe with a song, which they had composed together. In Germany he was answered by Richard. The emperor had to release him, but he appointed a tremendous ransom. The Britons had to pay a large extra tax. Historians say that Richard was a good poet but a bad king for England. The next king, Richard’s junior brother, John the Lack Land was known for his greediness. He took the money of his nobles but couldn’t protect their lands. Normandy was lost. The barons raised a rebellion and made the king sign the document further called “The Great Charter of Freedoms”. It told that the freeman couldn’t be imprisoned without the trial of their peers. England was the first country in Europe that limited the power of the king. “The Charter” is still the acting law in Britain. In 1284 Edward I joined Wales. The Welsh chieftains had decided to play a trick and declared their wish to be ruled by the Prince of Wales. The prince had to be born in Wales, to be of royal blood, not to speak English and French. Edward I assigned his baby son to be the Prince of Wales. Since then all the heirs of the British throne have worn the title. During the Norman period it was prohibited for the commoners to hunt in the forests. The Robin Hood romances go back to that time. His prototype was Robert Hood of XIV century, outlawed for taking part in the rebellion. The tomb of Little John, excavated in the XVIII century, is considered to be the archeological evidence of historical foundation for the Robin Hood romances. The Late Middle Ages embarrass XIV and XV centuries. In 1348 the disease called the Black Death spread over Britain. The epidemic killed a half of Britain’s population. It had been believed for centuries to be a plague, but according to modern research it was a kind of a virus. The situation caused the decline of serfdom. Lack of working hands made the nobles pay a salary to their workers. The “Hundred Years’ War” lasted 116 years (1337 - 1453). It was the struggle of the 2 dynasties for the French throne. The Plantagenets claimed to be Kings of France and England. The war was started by Edward III of England. The king was known as “a perfect knight”. During the dancing party at Edward’s court a lady dropped her garter. The knights laughed at her. Edward picked up the garter and tied it on his own leg saying: “Let him be ashamed who sees wrong in it” (in French). These words have become the motto of the British royal family. Edward founded the Order of the Garter. Nowadays the people who had done much for Britain are rewarded with it. They may be 24 only. At the beginning of the “Hundred Years’ War” Britain had a success due to the new (paid) kind of army and better bowmen. At the end of the war the English behaved as looters, arose hatred and were defeated. The former noble commanders of the “Hundred years’ war” started private wars in England. The strongest clans were the Lancasters and the Yorks. Walter Scott called it “The War of the Red and White Roses”. By the end of the XIV century French had disappeared in England as the language of high strata. The decline of French was connected with the Black Death. The king needed servants. People from lower levels substituted the dead ones. They spoke English, not French. Besides, Edward III forbade French in his army. The first English printer was William Caxton. He had lived abroad for 35 years and was a rich merchant. Collecting books was his hobby. He studied printing in Germany at the age of 50 and printed his first books abroad. He returned to England and started printing in English for common people, though it was accustomed to print in Latin in this period. Caxton printed 99 books, much more than any other of his contemporaries. He prepared the blossoming forth of the English culture in the XVI century. The Great Vowel Shift was a radical change in the English phonetics in XIV – XVI centuries. The Shift occurred during the time when printing had just appeared. Caxton fixed the obsolete norms of spelling and evoked the gap between spelling and oral speech. At XVI century the modern history has started. The rural society began to develop into urban one. Tea, coffee and sugar appeared in usage. The wool clothes trade became the most profitable branch of the British economy. Landlords occupied the lands of the peasants for sheep grasping. They fenced a farmland and burnt down peasant’s houses. This process was called Enclosures. It was told about driving peasants out: “Sheep devour people”. The situation was described in “Utopia” by Thomas More. The laws against the tramps were adopted. In the reign of Henry VIII 7000 people were executed for tramping. The Tudors dynasty (1485-1603) was started by Henry VII (1485-1509). He was against any wars, he collected taxes but never spent for wars. He built a fleet of merchant ships and gave an impulse to the English foreign trade. His wife is told to be depicted on cards. Henry VIII started Reformation and proclaimed himself head of the English church. One of the reasons was to divorce Catherine of Spain and to marry once more (on the total – 6). He took the lands of the Church to his treasury and turned out monks and nuns. Reformation is a process of transition from Catholicism to Protestantism. It took place in European countries in XVI and XVII centuries. The protestant doctrine has strongly influenced the British culture and society. According to the Catholic doctrine the person is free for his lifetime and could choose between virtue and sin. The church helps to avoid sins and to get rescue. According to protestant doctrine the god had predetermined the fate of each man. 1 – The fate can be learnt but not changed. The signs of good fate are the force of belief, diligence and business success. 2 – Person should communicate with god himself. To be available Bible should be translated from Latin in English. 3 – The church should be cheap: the priest can help, but not rescue. 4 – The person should be able to self-help. Henry’s successors were Bloody Mary and Elizabeth, the daughter of Anne Boleyn. Anne was executed and Henry renounced his daughter. She tried to be silent and stayed in her rooms learning. She knew 6 languages. She was hot-tempered and could throw her slippers at the diplomats. She could choose talented confidants; among them were philosopher Francis Bacon, seafarer and poet Walter Raleigh, who founded the first English colony in America and brought potatoes and tobacco back to Britain. He made smoking popular at court. Elizabeth was asked to marry by Russian, Spanish and French monarchs. They were rejected. Spanish king Phillip II supported the Scottish queen Mary Stuart in her claims for the British throne. She became Elisabeth’s captive and was executed. Phillip prepared for invasion into England. On the way from America Spanish ships were plundered by English pirates supported by the queen. Drake robbed the Spanish coast of America and was the first Englishman and the second world seafarer who bypassed around the globe. The legend connects the gesture of the salute with Drake’s attempt to show his blinding with the queen’s light. Phillip II sent “The Invincible Armada” to seize England. The lighter English fleet prevented it. Soon England was called “Ruler of the waves”. The Shakespeare authorship question is if the glover’s son of Stratford was the author of the plays attributed to Shakespeare. The reasons for the discussion are: 1 - only few documents survived; 2 – Shakespeare’s vocabulary includes about 20000 words in comparison with 8000 of Bacon and Milton, and 9000 of Dickens; 3 – His works show an excellent knowledge of politics, law, medicine, astronomy and court manners. There are quotations of books in Latin, Greek, French and Italian. It seams strange for the person who was never educated in University. Since the XVII century the cultural role of the country has radically changed. The British culture was mainly influenced before, since XVII ctntury it has begun to influence the European one. Major results have been achieved in science and social research. The symbol of it is the fact that England has more than 100 Noble Prize Winners, the biggest number in Europe. In 1707 Jacob I of Scotland ascended the English throne. The common name of Great Britain appeared. Jacob’s idea of divine right led to conflicts with Parliament and evidently Guy Fox’s plot. Puritans thought the reformed church should be still purred more of Catholic traditions. Some of the puritans went to America to build a new world, based on simplicity and indulgence. Charles I also had a conflict with Parliament. It made Parliament organize its own army, and in 1642 The Civil war began and the king was executed. The republic was established for 20 years with Oliver Cromwell as lord-protector. “The blue laws” forbade entertainment. It was flowered by the Restoration with “the glorious revolution” of William of Orange. The religious ideas were the key topics during public discussions. “The Paradise lost” by Milton and “The Pilgrim’s progress” by Bunyan were the best known books of the period. Hobbes was the first to explain the origin of the state by natural reasons. He presented the idea of “public contract”. It stated that if people had created the state themselves they could improve it. John Locke put forward another idea. People should control the state, or the majority should control the minority. If the state does not do its work, doesn’t worry about the majority, people have the right to revolt, to make another contract. The American constitution is based on Locke’s ideas. Bacon put forward the idea of experimental science as the way to change real life. To check up his idea a group of scientists founded the Royal Society which has become the British Academy of Science Newton’s book “The Principles” is said to have no equals in its influence on science. Newton was born in 1642 in the village of Woolsthorpe in the farmers’ family. After graduating from “Trinity College” he returned to the farm because of the coming Doomsday. It was there that he outlined the basic principles of his discoveries. Newton didn’t like to publish his works or speak, but just he has created the language of science. The main merit of Newton was the mathematical proof of the law of gravitation. Proving it, he created the methods of differential and integral calculation, which have become the new language of modern science. Halley could persuade Newton publishing the book. There were discussions with Hooke and Leibniz for the authorship of the discoveries. Voltaire was the first to tell the legend of the apple, and probably he had invented it. There existed a theory for almost 2000 years, according to which blood appeared of food, mixed with air in heart and disappeared in arms and legs. That theory caused the blood-letting as the way of treatment. Harvey proved: 1 – blood circulates in the closed cycle; 2 – there is no air in the heart, it is a pump for blood only. In the XVII century London was changed radically. The Great fire of 1666 destroyed the medieval city, Wren’s architecture organized the formation of new London. In the XVIII century a new type of society, an industrial civilization, was born in England. The country got the name of “the workshop of the world”. Anne Stuart gave the throne to a German dynasty. In the XVIII and XIX centuries there ruled 4 kings named Georges. After the “War of the Spanish Succession” England got a monopoly for exporting slaves from Africa to Spanish colonies in America, which gave capitals for industry. The Enclosures made people leave villages or stay in Workhouses cared by the Anglican parishes. In rural areas children had to earn from 4, in cities – from 10. The word “humour” in the modern sense was born in England. It has derived from Latin “liquid” and had a medical sense first. In London a circle of satirical writers included Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope. They called themselves The “Scriblerus Club”. The ideas of “Gulliver’s Travel” and “The Beggas’ Opera» appeared within it. In 1765 a weaver James Hargreaves invented the mechanical spinning “Jenny”, which was the first machine of the Industrial Revolution. The first engine of the industrial era was a steam machine, designed by Newcomen. James Watt developed it for the first universal engine. Besides, he invented steam heating. James Cook made two attempts to find an unknown southern continent. He investigated Australia. The idea to navigate in the opposite direction to Cook’s way led to the discovery of the Antarctic by the Russian expedition. Cook’s innovations with sauerkraut and washing hands saved sailors and made expeditions successful. ¾ of slaves were brought to America by English ships. From 15% to 75% of slaves perished during the way. In 1807 the abolitionists obtained “Slave Trade Act” prohibiting slave trade. The method of preventing smallpox was discovered by Jenner. He named it vaccination from Latin “cow”. The idea of Jenner was used to prevent some other dangerous diseases. In the XIX century Britain became the first industrial power of the world. In 1851 in London the first World Industrial Exhibition showed its industrial domination. British Empire covered ¼ of the world land. The standard of living was higher than anywhere, but the social contrasts were felt stronger. By the end of the century England was overtaken by Germany and the USA. After the victory over Napoleon England did not participate in big wars till the Boer war in Southern Africa. It was the war with Dutch farmers in the end of the century. In historical memory of the Englishmen the XIX century has remained an epoch of peace and well-being associated with queen Victoria, who ruled for 64 years (1837 - 1901). Victoria could find a new role for monarch: not to interfere with policy and to show a moral example. For the dynastic positions of her descendants she was named “the grandmother of Europe”. Self-help and pluralism got typical for the English world outlook and life-style. The example of self-help was the ever-first working class movement of Chartism. The “People’s Charter” was the document with the demands of the working people to Parliament, rejected by it. During the movement the Labour party or “the party of self-help” was formed, which together with Tory (Conservative) and Whigs (Liberal) has remained one of the main parties of the country. Another example of self-help was the Bell – Lancastrian system of mutual training, based on the Indian experience. It allowed spreading of literacy in the period when teachers were few and there were no state schools. Many foreign authors noted tolerance, respect for other’s opinion and trying to avoid categorical statements as distinctive English features. An example of careful utterance: «I think, the weather is fine today, isn’t it?”
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