This Is Great Britain

M.Y. Gazıyeva K.H. Jafarova S.S. Zeynalova THIS IS GREAT BRITAIN Азярбайъан Республикасы Тящсил Назилийи Елми-Методик Шурасы «Авропа Дилляри вя Ядябиййаты» бюлмясинин 02. 06. 2012-ъи ил тарихли, 05 сайлы ямри иля дярслик кими тясдиг едилмишдир. “Elm və təhsil” Baku -2016 1 Scientific editor: Yunusov D. Professor Reviewers: İsmayılova D. Professor Abbasova A. Professor Garasharlı Ch. Professor Huseynov H. Associate-professor Abbasov A. Associate-professor Masmaxanım Gazıyeva, Kamala Jafarova, Sevindj Zeynalova. This is Great Britain. Baku, “Elm və təhsil”, 2016, ------- səh. ISBN 978-9952-8024-1-2 © «Elm və təhsil», 2016 2 FOREWORD The present book gives to readers interested in regional ethnography an opportunity to expand their outlook and to enrich their knowledge of one of the most developed English- speaking countries of the world – the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Included are various texts about the geography, history, economy, science and culture of Britain, acquainting the reader with outstanding people, traditions, customs, modes of life, and national character traits of the nations settling in England. Articles contain information about specific historic events and interesting features of modern life in these countries. It is true that we are familiar with various language manuals and textbooks that look at certain periods of the history of Great Britain. But This is Great Britain is the first language textbook to completely cover the history of England. The book is intended for use in independent work by students at university, technical school, or vocational school. The purpose of the book is to develop reading skills in English with reference to ethnographical and cultural subjects, enlarge and enrich vocabulary, and to promote the ability to comprehend and express an opinion about the texts. At the end of each chapter questions are provided for review and a deeper understanding of the material. We hope that this book will stimulate your reading and thinking. We also hope that the questions for discussion will help develop your knowledge and opinions of the content covered. We will be grateful for any suggestions on improving the text. The authors 3 UNIT I Early Britain 4 Celtic Tribes The word Celt comes from the Greek word, Keltoi, which means barbarians and is properly pronounced as "Kelt". The Celts lived across most of Europe during the Iron Age. Several hundred years before Julius Caesar, they occupied many parts of central and western Europe, especially what are now Austria, Switzerland, southern France and Spain. Over several years, in wave after wave, they spread outwards, taking over France and Belgium, and crossing to Britain. From around 750 BC to 12 BC, the Celts were the most powerful people in central and northern Europe. There were many groups (tribes) of Celts, speaking a vaguely common language. No one called the people living in Britain during the Iron Age Celts until the eighteenth century. In fact, the Romans called these people Britons, not Celts. The name Celts is a 'modern' name and is used to collectively describe all the many tribes of people living during the Iron Age. The Iron Age Celts lived here 750 years before Jesus was born. The Iron Age ended in 43 AD when the Romans invaded Britain. The period of time in Britain immediately before the Roman period is known as the Iron Age. The name 'Iron Age' comes from the discovery of a new metal called iron. The Celts found out how to make iron tools and weapons. The Advent of Iron The use of iron had amazing consequences. First, it changed trade and fostered local independence. Trade was essential during the Bronze Age, for not every area was naturally endowed with the necessary ores to make bronze. Iron, on the other hand, was relatively cheap and available almost everywhere. Celtic Family Life 5 The basic unit of Celtic life was the clan, a sort of extended family. The term "family" is a bit misleading, for by all accounts the Celts practiced a peculiar form of child rearing; they didn't rear them, they farmed them out. Children were actually raised by foster parents. The foster father was often the brother of the birth-mother. Clans were bound together very loosely with other clans into tribes, each of which had its own social structure and customs, and possibly its own local gods. Housing The Celts lived in huts of arched timber with walls of wicker and roofs of thatch. The huts were generally gathered in loose hamlets. In several places each tribe had its own coinage system. Farming The Celts were farmers when they weren't fighting. One of the interesting innovations that they brought to Britain was the iron plough. Earlier ploughs had been awkward affairs, basically a stick with a pointed end harnessed behind two oxen. They were suitable only for plowing the light upland soils. The heavier iron ploughs constituted an agricultural revolution all by themselves, for they made it possible for the first time to cultivate the rich valley and lowland soils. They came with a price though. It generally required a team of eight oxen to pull the plough, so to avoid the difficulty of turning that large a team, Celtic fields tended to be long and narrow, a pattern that can still be seen in some parts of the country today. Language There was a written Celtic language, but it developed well into Christian times, so for much of Celtic history they relied on oral transmission of culture, primarily through the efforts of bards and poets. These arts were tremendously important to the Celts, and much of what we know of their traditions comes to us today through the old tales and poems that were handed down for generations before eventually being written down. 6 Bracae Bracae were trousers worn underneath tunics. Tunics were mainly worn by men. They were a simple 'T' shape and worn at any length from the knee to the ankle. Men would wear a tunic with a belt, a cloak and trousers. Jewellery The Celts also loved to wear jewellery made from bronze, gold, tin, silver, coral and enamel. Important people like chieftains, nobles and warriors wore a Torc (neck ring), a circular twisted metal neckband. It was made from gold, silver, bronze and copper. Round Houses The Celtic tribes lived in scattered villages. They lived in round houses with thatched roofs of straw or heather. The walls of their houses were made from local material. Houses in the south tended to be made from wattle (woven wood) and daub (straw and mud) as there was an ample supply of wood from the forests. The houses had no windows. The roof was made from straw with mud placed on top to keep the warmth in. The houses in the north were made with large stones held together with clay. The Celts would light a fire in the middle of the roundhouse for cooking and heating. It must have been very smoky inside. The smoke from the fire escaped through a hole in the roof. Clothes The Celts loved bright dazzling colors. They dyed their woolen trousers and tops bright colors. Clothes were made from wool and dyed with natural vegetable dyes (plants and berries) and woven by hand on a vertical loom. The wool cloth material made on the loom would then have been sewn together using a bone or metal needle and wool thread. Before being woven the wool was spun using drop spindles. A drop spindle was a notched stick with a weight at the bottom to help 7 the spindle to turn when spun round. The weight is known as a spindle whorl. Hill Forts The time of the "Celtic conversion" of Britain saw a huge growth in the number of hill forts throughout the region. These were often small ditch and bank combinations encircling defensible hilltops. Some are small enough that they were of no practical use for more than an individual family, though over time many larger forts were built. The curious thing is that we don't know if the hill forts were built by the native Britons to defend themselves from the encroaching Celts, or by the Celts as they moved their way into hostile territory. Usually these forts contained no source of water, so their use as long term settlements is doubtful, though they may have been useful indeed for withstanding a short term siege. Many of the hill forts were built on top of earlier causewayed camps. Celtic Culture At the present time, every aspect of Celtic culture is a very visible part of a multicultural world. Everyone whose family roots lie in central, western and northwestern Europe has a Celtic connection of some sort. Celtic culture is very ancient. It goes back over 2,700 years, yet it is still a living force in the modern world, through Celtic art, Celtic music, Celtic writing, and Celtic spirituality. This is because the civilization of the Celts has continued without break over the centuries. This unbroken tradition can be experienced in the oldest literature from Northern Europe, that is, in the Welsh and Irish languages. The earliest Welsh and Irish writings preserve the ancient Celtic world-view that is nature-venerating and poetic, where the spiritual and the material worlds come together to enrich one another. Celtic Priests (Druids) Celtic priests, called Druids, were the link between the supernatural world and the ordinary human one. They were 8 able to predict what would happen in the future by interpreting nature. It is likely that they knew how to read and write, and they certainly had a good grasp of mathematics.

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