METROPOLIS PRESENTATION

THE development of the english nation

from the Celts to the Hundred years war

START

THE GREAT INVASIONS

THE CREATION OF A STATE

• The Celts
• The Romans
• The Anglo-Saxons

• From the Heptarchy to the Norman Conquest

CONTENTS

A NATIONAL EPIC

• Anglo-Saxon literature
• The epic poem
• Beowulf

THE CELTS

THE ANGLO-SAXONS

THE ROMANS

410 AD- 1066 AD

43 AD- 409 AD

ca 700 BC- 43 AD

In 55 Julius Caesar invaded Britain.but the real conquest of the country began in the years 43-47 AD under Emperor Claudius.

The Angles, Saxons and Jutes - known collectively as the Anglo-Saxons - were Germanic tribes who arrived over the course of the 5th and 6th centuries.

The Celts began to arrive from north-western Germany in the late Iron Age, around 700 BC.

FROM THE HEPTARCHY

TO THE NORMAN

CONQUEST

After the Anglo-Saxon invasion, Britain was divided into several local kingdoms, each with its own king.

TIME LINE

927

1012

8th-9th century

1066

990s

ca 879

7th century

Anglo-Saxon literature

Anglo-Saxon literature, or Old English literature, encompasses works from the second half of the gth century to the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066. It includes different genres, such as epic poetry, elegies, chronicles, riddles, translations of the Bible from Latin, stories about the lives of saints and sermons. Anglo-Saxon poetry was anonymous and oral. The poet, called a 'scop', entertained the noblemen in the halls of kings, often accompanied by a harp. The scop's social function was extremely important since he sang epics celebrating cultural values on occasions of great ceremonies and festivities. Anglo-Saxon poetry was formed in a long collective process of memorisation, passed on by word of mouth, from one period to the next until the 11 century, when church scribes wrote it down. The most important formal aspects of Anglo-Saxon poetry were stress and alliteration, that is, the repetition of the same initial consonant sound in consecutive words or words which are close together.

THE EPIC POEM

MEANING

The epic poem is a long narrative dealing with the recollection of a glorious past in the history of a nation. It depicts an aristocratic and military society and recounts the brave deeds and adventures of a hero.

The narrative of the epic poem consists of a series of vivid flashes. These are type-scenes, like the banquet, the battle, the voyage and the funeral. Another feature of the epic poem is its objective narration.

The main theme is the nature of heroic life and the function of leadership in heroic society. Its aim is to celebrate heroic values: all men should perform actions which lead to glory. The style is elevated and the vocabulary extremely rich and vivid.

Beowulf

ORIGINS

STYLE AND THEMES

PLOT

SETTINGS

CHARACTERS

GRENDEL'S MOTHER

THE HERO

GRENDEL

A DRAGON

Grendel's mother does not have a name. She looks like a woman but lives in a supernatural lake filled with sea-dragons. The poison in her and Grendel's blood can dissolve swords

Is a man-eating monster and a descendant of Cain. He is a being of the night and moves surrounded by darkness. His physical appearance is left to the reader's imagination.

A winged, fire-breathing, serpentine dragon is the last monstrous creature faced by an ageing Beowulf.

Beowulf is praised for his courage, strength and generosity. He seems to have supernatural powers: he is able to kill monsters that can fly, breathe fire or live under water.

NEW RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES

ORGANISING SOCIETY

• The Normans
• Medieval society

• The Plantagenets
• Human rights

CONTENTS

A TIME OF CHANGE

• Wars and social revolts
• The plague

the normans

The Norman Conquest brought about profound political, social and cultural changes. It annihilated the English ruling class because many Anglo-Saxon noblemen had died in battle, were exiled or lost their lands. The Normans also introduced the feudal system. Feudal society had a hierarchical structure based on a chain of loyalty agreements. All the land belonged to the king. The king portioned out the land to the barons in return for goods and services. The barons then portioned out the land to knights in exchange for military service. The peasants did all the agricultural work. They were mostly serfs who were bound to their lord and not allowed to leave the land where they had been born. This system enabled minority to dominate a majority. William mobilised the largest force ever seen in England, and in 1085 he sent his men all over England to carry out a survey. The results of the survey were recorded in the Domesday Book. This document also enabled the king to calculate how much money he could raise in taxes. The English called the book Domesday because they felt it was like having their souls weighed up on Judgement Day, or 'doomsday.

medieval society

In the Middle Ages, society was divided into three orders, or estates. These were: the nobles, those who fought; the clergy those who prayed; and the peasánts, those who worked. It was believed that none of them should attempt to fill the offices of the others. The nobles were at the top of the social order.

The clergy were below the nobles, but in many respects these strata of society overlapped, as members of the clergy often came from noble families.

Peasants were most likely born on the manor of a lord and were bound to him as serfs. In exchange for a place to live and the means to grow their own food, as well as protection in times of difficulty, they would provide the lord with a percentage of their harvest.

In the 14th century, when the bubonic plague, or Black Death, killed more than a third of the population, there began to be some real upward mobility in the third order.

HENRY II

After the Anarchy Henry II became the first Plantagenet king. He introduced the: -Military reform: the feudal dutv of military service was replaced with a tax. - Legal reforms: he introduced travelling royal judes, who were lawyers that administered the common law, a law used everywhere that paved the way fortoday English law. -Religious reform: Henry had the Constitution of Clarendon written, that stated that all people in England, including the clergy, were subject to the Crown. The Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket refused to accept it so he was murdered. When Henry died, his son Richard I known as Richard the Lionheart, succeded him

THE PLANTAGEnets

Richard I (1189-1199) - he rather had use the throne as a source of revenue to support his army (took part in the Third Crusade) -John Lackland, his brother, ambushed him John LackLand (1199-1216) -raised taxes (discontent), the barons compelled him to seal the Magna Carta (every one, also the king, was considered equal under the law) Henry III (1216-1272) -the government was placed under the joint control of the king and a council of 15 barons and "parliament" (England's first constitution) Edward I (1272-1307) -Model Parliament in order to decrease the power of the monarch

MAGNA CHARTA

It was in the 1215 that King John Lockland angrily signed the "Great Charter"

Then he promised not to tax without the consent of the Great Council and agreed that justice would not denied or delayed to anyone. That's why the Great Charter is considered a mile-stone of liberty in all democratic countries and American people - several countries later- took a hint from it in order to draw up the Bill Of Rights. There are still some articles resembling those of the time: for instance, an accused person has the right to a trial by jury.

-The Monarch doesn't have absolute power. -The Law is above all men and applies to everyone equally. -All free citizens can own and inherit property. -Widows who own property don't have to remarry.

wars and social revolts

Edward I fought France in order to recover his lands there.-Edward III claimed the crown of France because his mother was the French kings sister, this marked the beginning of the Hundred year's war. -There was also a commercial reason for the war: the French were threatening Elanders (the chief market for English wool) It was interrupted by the Black Death or Bubonic Plague in 1348 The last years of Edward HI's reign were marked by the rise of a religious reform movement called Lollardy -it criticised the corruption in monastic orders (simony and nicolaism)

Edward III was succeeded by Richard II his grandson introduced the 'poll tax' -1st Peasants Revolt led by Wat Tyler -the revolt was put down These civil wars became known as the war of the 2 roses due to the symbols of the contending house: York: WHITE rose Lancaster: RED rose It ended in 1485 when Richard In the last Yorkist king was defeated by the Lancastrian Henry Tudor. Henry VII became the first Tudor king and he married Elizabeth of York in order to merge the 2 rival houses

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the black death

In 1348, during the reign of Edward III England was hit by the bubonic plague known as the "Black death" because the body went dark-coloured after death. It was caused by fleas living on black rats which infested the ships trading with Europe and spread because in the medioval period living condition for rich and poor like were primitive, dirty and unhealthy. The mortality rate was very high, it is generally thought that the plague killed a third of England's population.

The economic and social effect were great. Labour was scarce, so wages increased, prices dropped, and the condition of those peasants who survived inproved since they were able to demand payment for work done on the lord's land.