Periods of the British History
I. Pre-historic Britain
a) the Iberians or Megalithic People (3000-2000 BC)
b) Beaker Folk (after 2000 BC)
II. Ancient Britain
a) the Celts:
2a) the Gaels (VII c. BC)
2b) the Britons (V c. BC)
2c) the Belgaels (I c. BC)
b) the Romans (43AD - 407AD)
III. The Middle Ages
a) the Anglo-Saxon period (the Angles, the Saxons, the Jutes) (V c.)
b) the Danes (IX c.)
c) the Normans (XI c.)
IV. British Reformation (XV - XVI c.)
V. Elizabethan Period (the Golden Age) (XVI c.)
VI. British Bourgeois Revolution (XVII c.)
VII. The Restoration Period (XVII-XVIII c.)
VIII. The Industrial Revolution (XVIII-XIX c.)
IX. Victorian Period (XIX-XX c.)
X. Modern Britain (XX-XXI c.)
Pre-historic Britain
Initially the British Isles were part of the continent, but then they separated. As the waters of the English Channel became calmer the first people came to the islands. They were mainly hunters.
a) Approximately 3000-2000BC, the Iberians (the Megalithic people) (иберы) came from the West. They are supposed to settle in west England, Wales, and north-west Scotland.
The name “Iberians” comes from the name of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain), in the Mediterranean, where the people originated.
b) After 2000BC another group of people entered Britain from the South. They came from the east of Europe and settled mainly in the southern part of the island. The tribe was called the Beaker Folk (народ чаш). This name comes from the word “beaker” that means “to drink”, and also a lot of remnants of pottery have been found in the place of their settlement.
Eventually the 2 peoples mixed up and shared common way of life. They mainly occupied open areas near the rivers.
Influence
a) A number of settlements on the east and south coasts, which represent a collection of chambers. They give the idea of how the peoples live.
b) Stonehenge and Avebury
The name “Stonehenge” comes from the OE “hen x an”= “to hang”, thus the meaning is “hanging stones”.
Stonehenge is a collection of stones laid in a form of circles and semi circles at an equal distance. The stones are »3000 years old and were cut in the mountains in Wales and transported to Salisbury Plain, where the Stonehenge stands.
But there exist several theories about who and for what purpose it was built.
First of all, who built it?
1) The Iberians.
This version is the most supported one by the scientific society, because the age of the stones coincides with the period when the Megalithic People lived. But still a question arises how they managed to transport the stones (each 25 tones) all the way from Wales to Salisbury Plain having no advanced technologies. It’s still an enigma.
2) The Celts (Druids)
This fact is unlikely to be true, as the Celts appeared in Britain much later that the age of the stones. Well, there are some theories that the Druids used Stonehenge to worship their gods.
3) Merlin
Some people attribute the building of this pre-historic monument to Merlin the Wizard even this first mention of this character appear only in the Middle Ages (VII-IX cc. AD). If such person existed it would be possible to build such a monument with the help of magical powers.
4) Aliens
Most unlikely, but many people believe in it. They say that the place is actually connected with some magnetic fields of the Earth and thus has some paranormal activities.
5) The Devil
The legend exists and explains why one of stones lays differently. The legend has it that the Stonehenge & Avebury were built overnight.
Once a monk or a friar was coming home when he suddenly heard a strange noise and laughter. He hid himself in the bush and saw a devil. He flew backwards and forwards between Ireland and Salisbury Plain caring huge stones one by one and putting them in place. When doing this he laughed because he knew that people would wonder about how the stone got there. Suddenly the devil saw the monk and threw a stone in anger. It hit the friar in the heel. This stone is standing apart from others and is known as “the heel stone”.
What did they build it for?(Purpose)
1) The Temple of the Sun
Scientists stated that the sun rises exactly over the Altar Stone
2) A calendar
Scientists proved that the construction was used to establish a fixed point of the year from which the annual calendar could be counted.
3) An observatory
It was proved that the monument contains astronomical measurements. The people were able to predict the exact time of the extreme midwinter & midsummer positions of the sun and the moon. Also the sun and the moon eclipses could be forecasted, which were very special events in the life of the ancient people.
4) The Druidic Temple
Some scientists presume that the Stonehenge was a Druids' place of worship (поклоняться).
Ancient Britain
The Celts
After 700BC the Celts came to GB from Central Europe (Austria) and moved in different directions, pushing the locals further into the country to Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
1 group – the Gaels (галлы)
They came from the west of France, which is known as Gaelia, in the 8-7cc. BC and settled in the central part of GB, but then changed their place.
2 group – the Britons/Brythons (бриты)
Approximately in the 5th c BC this group crossed the English Channel and settled in the South. They started o push the Gaels further to the North to Scotland, and occupied the central and southern part.
3 group – the Belgaels (белгаллы)
In the 1st c BC the tribe of Teutonic origin came from the territory of the present Belgium and occupied the south-eastern part of GB. Due to them this part became a well-developed one.
Influence
1) New way of life
a. Celtic Life
1. The Celts were successive farmers. They introduced more advanced ploughing methods that made it possible to farm on heavier (solid) soils.