OriginoftheEnglishNation

1、Origin of the English NationThe first known settlers of Britain were the Iberians. More dramatic monuments were the henges （圆形石结构），the most important of which was Stonehenge in Wiltshire.? Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, One of the most famous prehist

2、oric sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones. Archaeologists believe that the standing stones were erected around 2200 BC and the surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, h

3、ave been dated to about 3100 BC.The Native CeltsThe Celts may originally have come from eastern and central Europe, they came to Britain in three main waves: the first wave was the Gaels, the second was Britons and the third was Belgae.? Celts （凯尔特人 ）,also called the Britons, are regarded as the nat

4、ives of Great Britain. They are believed to be ancestors of the Highland Scots, the Irish and the Welsh people.? They came from eastern and central Europe, （now called France, Belgium（比禾U时）and southern Germany）? Celts began to move into Great Britain in about 700 BC when the island was still covered

5、 with dense forests and swampsThe importance of the Celts:1）They were hunters as well as practiced farmers. They drained much of the marshlands（沼泽 地）for agricultural purposes. They built houses of wood and wickerwork（柳条制品）with a weather-proof coating of mud2） Some of the Celtic words or sounds were

6、later assimilated into the English languageRoman Conquest? In 55 BC, the great Roman general Julius Caesar sailed across the English Channel with 10,000 men after he had conquered Gaul 高卢（what is now France）. He wanted to see if England would make a good colony. He landed in Kent. Julius Caesar did

7、not stay long in England and soon went back to Rome.? He returned the next year with a large army and defeated some of the Celts. But he had no intention of staying there, and return to Rome before long. He returned the following year, but soon withdrew again.? About 90 years later, in 43AD, the Rom

8、an emperor Claudius invaded Britain again, and the Romans started their systematic occupation of England. Soon they occupied what is now called England by driving the native Celts into mountainous Scotland and Wales. In the next decades, the Romans defeated the Celtic tribes without great difficulty

9、, and completely conquered the southern part of the island of Great Britain, including present-day England and Wales. But they were never able to completely defeat or control what is now Scotland.For nearly 400 years, Britain was under roman occupation.The Importance of Roman Conquest? The diary Jul

10、ius Caesar wrote in England marked the beginning of the written history of England.B Besides their swords, Romans brought their Roman civilization.1 1.They built towns, temples, theaters, roads and fine buildings.2 . They drained the marshes, cleared away the forests.3 3. During the Roman period, Ch

11、ristianity came to England4 4. They taught the Britons to cultivate their land in a better way.in cities which usually took on皮克特人，古代部落，居住在英Carlisle to Newcastle, and the5 . They introduced a system of organized government names ending in "ster,”"cester,""or "shire”6 ） The r

12、oman built two great walls to keep the Picts （ 格兰）.There were the Hadrian' s wall running fromAntonine wall linking the estuaries of the Forth and the Clyde.罗马人修建了 2座长城以抵御皮特人。一条是哈德良长城，从卡莱尔到纽卡斯尔， 另一条是链接福斯河口和克莱德河口的安东尼长城。7) The Romans made use of Britain ' s natural resources, mining lead, iron

13、 and tin and manufacturing pottery.罗马人很好地利用了英国的自然资源，开采铅矿、铁矿和锡矿以及生产陶瓷。Anglo-Saxon ConquestIn the mid-5th century a new wave of invaders, Jutes, Saxons, and Angles came to Britain, they were three Teutonic tribes.五世纪中叶，朱特人，撒克逊人和安各鲁人不断入侵英国。这是三支日尔曼部落。The Influence of Anglo-Saxon Conquest? The Anglo-Saxo

14、ns mainly occupied the Lowland Zone. They brought along their language which was called Old English, the language of the Angles.? They established many kingdoms based on their tribes. The many small kingdoms gradually combined into 7 principal kingdoms Heptarchy（七国连盟）.? They brought their own teuton

15、ic（ 日耳曼人的 ）religion to Britain. In 597, Pope Gregory 1 sent St. Augustine to England to correct the heathen （异教徒） English to Christianity Alfred the Great? Alfred the Great was king of the southern Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex from 871 to 899. Alfred is noted for his defence of the kingdom against

16、the Danish Vikings, becoming the only English King to be awarded the epithet（称号）"the Great". Alfred was the firstKing of the West Saxons to style himself "King of the Anglo-Saxons ”? Alfred was a learned man, and encouraged education? He established many schools and invited learned ch

17、urchmen from Rome to teach at these schools. He himself learnt Latin.? Before he became the king, the Danes（丹麦人）had been coming to invade England.? Alfred, king of Wessex, began to fight against the Danish invaders. He founded a strong fleet which first defeated the Danes at sea and he became known

18、as father of Britain navy .? Defeated the Danes in the battle of Wedmore. Yet unable to drive them out of England, so made a treaty, allowing them to keep the northern and eastern parts of England which later became known as Danelaw（丹麦律法施行地区 ）? He improved his kingdom's law system as well as its

19、 military structure. He also reorganized the land army （50%fought, 50% farm）.? He was also active in promoting the teaching of Christianity.? He set about repairing churches and monasteries（修道院）that had been damaged by Danes.? His contribution to literature was also great. His writings and translati

20、ons have been regarded as the beginning of prose literature in England.? Died in 901. buried in Winchester Cathedral in southern England.Viking Invasions? The Viking people came from three countries of Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway and Sweden. They were also known as the Norse people. They were mostl

21、y farmers, but some worked as craftsmen or traders.In the year 793 Vikings sailed across the North Sea to the north-east England. They stole its treasures, murdered the monks and terrified everyone. This was followed by other violent 'Viking raids' all over Britain In the end the Vikings con

22、quered all of northern, central and eastern England and seized much of the land for their own farms. This area was called 'The DanelawDuring the same period, Norwegian Vikings sailed to northern and western Scotland, and seized land for their farms around the coast and islands. They also settled

23、 in the Isle of Man（ 马恩岛, 位 于英国西北海岸的爱尔兰海域）and parts of Wales.In the 9th century, the Viking challenge grew to serious proportions. Alfred the Great's victory at sea in 878 brought intermittent （断断续续的）peace, but the Norsemen gained a permanent foothold in Britain.? An important development of the

24、 9th century was the rise of the Kingdom of Wessex, and by the end of his reign Alfred was recognized as overlord（最高统治者）by several southern kingdoms. Alfred was the first king to achieve direct rulership of what is considered "England."? In 980, Viking invasions renewed. The English king,

25、Ethelred the Unready, tried to pay the Viking invaders （the Danes） and ask them to withdraw, but failed.? In 1016, the Danish leader, Canute was put on the throne（克努特：英格兰（1016-1035 年）国王，其统治最初残暴，但后来因其睿智和宽容而出名。他是许多传奇故事的 主人公）He compelled the Scottish king Malcolm II to recognize him as overlord（ 最高统 治主

26、）.Influence of Viking settlement on the English language? The long-term linguistic effect of the Viking settlements in England was threefold: over a thousand words eventually became part of Standard English; a large number of places in the east and north-east of England have Danish names; and many E

27、nglish personal names are of Scandinavian origin.? There are over 1,500 Scandinavian place names in England, mainly in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire （within the former boundaries of the DanelawNormans（诺曼第人）? Northmen from the Scandinavian Peninsula（ 半岛）flooded to northern coast of France. Gradually the

28、se sea rovers（流浪者）became so strong that in 645 they sailed up the Seine River（塞纳河）and captured the city of Paris.? French king made a bargain with them, giving the Norse （North） leader a large tract ofland in the northern part of France (conditions: helped them in the war, accepted the Christian rel

29、igion)? Became prosperous, laid aside their barbarous ways , accepted the French language and culture.? Their country got the name Normandy and they themselves came to be called the Normans? King Edward died in 1066, recommended Harold as his successor. Yet three other men also laid claim to the Eng

30、lish throne. A dispute aroused.? William, Duke of Normandy, was Edward ' s cousin. He declared to measure swords with Harold.? William landed his army in England without opposition in September, 1066. Harold returned to fight. Two armies met in Southern England on Oct.14, 1066.? Normans used bow

31、s and arrows while the Anglo-Saxons used battle axes. Harold was killed by an arrow shot and his soldiers fled.? Finally, London was forced to give in and a big group of noblemen and churchmen came out of London to welcome William. He was made king and crowned in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day,

32、1066. C rowned King William I of England? The Norman kings began to rule England. William, known as William the Conqueror, was the first Anglo-Norman king.What was feudalism like in England under the rule of William the Conqueror? Under William , the feudal system in England was completely establish

33、ed. This system was based on the exchange of land (2)According to this system , the King owned all the land personally. William gave his barons large estates in England in return for a promise of military service and a proportion of the land's produce. These estates werescattered far and wide ov

34、er the country, so that those who held them could not easily combine to rebel the king. The barons, who had become William's tenants-in-chief 土 地承租人，parceled out land to the lesser nobles 小贵族 /gentry, knights and freemen ,also in return for goods and services. At the bottom of the feudal scale w

35、ere serfs. One peculiar feature of the feudal system of England was that all landowners must take the oath of allegiance not only to their immediate lord , but also to the king.Influence of the Norman Conquest1. Marked the formal establishment of feudalism in England (nobles, tenant-in-chief, land,

36、loyal to the king, subvassals 臣属)2. William gave the land to his followers.3. He made the administration of justice directly dependent on the crown.4. Replaced the English bishops with Normans, making himself head of the bishops, refusing to accept the Pope in Rome as overload of his kingdom.5. Buil

37、t the Tower of London as military fortress.6. Ordered his clerks to make a survey of the land in England (Domesday Book英格兰土 地清帐书册：威廉征服者在1085-1086年间下令进行对英国地主及其财产的普查和测量的书面记录)7. The general relationship of the Normans and the Anglo-Saxons was that of master and servant8. The servants imitated their masters in matters of custom and fashion. The Norman way of life, French civilization, had a great influence on the Anglo-Saxons9. Influence on the language: Normans spoke French while Anglo-Saxons spoke their English(Mid