Text 3 History. Invasions into Britain

Exercise 1 Read the text and get ready to do exercises

The people who now live in Britain are descended from various peoples who inhabited the British Isles many years ago. The first settlers on the British Isles were Iberians who came from the Iberian Peninsula (the area of Spain and Portugal) between 3000 and 2000 BC. The Iberians stayed comparatively long before they were attacked or driven away westwards by the numerous Celtic tribes (Picts, Scots and Britons), which came from Central Europe and the Rhine valley in the period between the 6^th and 3^rd centuries BC. Their culture goes back to about 1200 BC. Between 500 and 250 BC, they were the most powerful people north of the Alps. They were pagan, with priests known as Druids. They later converted to the Christianity. It was the Celtic missionaries who spread the Christian religion through Scotland and northern England. The Celts were famous artists, known for their sophisticated designs, which are found in their elaborate jewelry, decorated crosses and illuminated manuscripts.

I n the middle of the 1^st century AD Britain was successfully invaded by the Romans who stayed on the island for four centuries, living in the military camps, building towns, roads, walls and bridges. The Romans set up their capital in London (Londinium) and built major cities which contained beautiful buildings, squires and public baths. By AD 383 the Roman Empire was collapsing and Roman legions had left to fight the tribes on the continent.

After the Roman legions left Britain at the beginning of the 5^th century the British Isles were almost immediately attacked by numerous invaders from all sides. Germanic tribes – the Jutes, the Saxons and the Angles attacked Britain from the south and east, Danes and Norsemen from Scandinavia in the north-east. Again the native population was driven to the west (Wales) and north (Scotland). These tribes gave the name to the country, and their language formed the basis of the Old English language.

About AD 790, the Vikings started to invade England. The Norsemen, who came from Norway, mainly settled in Scotland and Ireland. The north and east of England were settled by Danes. The Vikings were excellent traders and navigators. In 1016, GB became part of the Scandinavian empire.

The last in the long succession of invaders on the British Isles were the Normans, the Norsemen who had assimilated in France. In 1066, led by Duke of Normandy (who went into history as William the Conqueror), they crossed the Channel and conquered England,. England became a strong centralized country under military rule. For almost two centuries there were two languages, two nations and two cultures in the country. The New English (Middle English) greatly enriched and changed under the influence of Norman-French.

The mixture of nations must not be overlooked. It is inaccurate to refer to the British as English. This mistake is made all over the world – when talking about English. Such reference may hurt the Welsh, the Scots, and the Irish. Thus everybody from the UK is British, but only people from England are English.

Exercise 2 Answer the questions

1. Where did the first settlers come from to Britain?

2. What were the names of the Celtic tribes?

3. What was the religion of the Celts?

4. When did the Roman invasion into Britain start?

5. What were the consequences of the Roman invasion?

6. What was the second important invasion into Britain? Name the tribes who made it.

7. What happened in 1066? How did it happen?

8. Who were the last invaders? How did they influence the British culture?

Exercise 3 Make a presentation or a report about the next periods of the UK history (consult the additional material):

1. The Middle Ages

2. The Tudor period

3. The Stuart Period

4. The Georgian period