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UNIT 1: CELTS AND ROMANS

1. Prehistoric Britain. Before the celts.

1.1. Ages.

Stone Age Paleolithic (before the end of Ice Ages)

Mesolithic (8000BC-3500BC)

Neolithic (3500BC-2400BC)

Bronze Age (2400BC-750BC)

Iron Age (750BC…)

1.2. Neolithic (main characteristics)

-The discovery of agriculture and farming.

-the construction of megalithic monuments made of big stones. Usually used as tombs:

 Cairns: Stones piled up (piles of stones)  Earthen barrows: “West Kennet Long Barrow”, a mound of earth with: 5 different chambers, human remains and objects.  Passage graves where can be found: stones put forming a line or stones put in circles (henges), most famous/ typical ones in the Isles.

“New Grange” (henge), a mound of earth with: a kidney shape, surrounded by 97 kerbstones (some of them decorated), an inner passage, a cruciform chamber and human remains.

There are different theories about the construction of these henges:

1. Places of worship.

2. Astronomical observatories.

3. Sacred sites where important people were buried.

“Stonehenge” (henge). This monument is surrounded by mystery, the stones weren’t originally from that area, they were probably brought from Wales to Salisbury, in Wiltshire, England.

1.3. Bronze Age (main characteristics)

Bronze (a new alloy made of tin and copper) began to be used.

Warfare began to be important and the first hillforts were built.

2. The iron age (the age of celts). CELTIC BRITAIN.

2.1. Where are the celts from?

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Their origin is not clear. It is believed they were from somewhere in the East along the rivers Danube and Rhine. They spread through Europe (specifically through “the area of Celtic influence”).

2.2. Main features.

 Celts weren’t a unified nation.  They had a hierarchical society.  They spoke different Celtic languages but they were able to understand each other.  They celebrated religious rituals most of the times led by the Druids.  They had rich artistic manifestations: music and oral literary tradition (Celts couldn’t read or write).  There are 2 periods of Celtic expansion: -Hallstatt (750BC-400BC): Known for the use of long swords. -La Téne (400BC-50BC): Famous for the use of circles and swirling lines as decorations.

2.3. Warrior people?

There’s a popular belief that says that Celts were warrior people:

 Archeological remains (weapons) were found.  Descriptions of Celtic people written by Greek historians (who called them “Keltoi”) and Roman historians (who called them “Celtae”).

In general, Celts were described as fierce warriors.

1. They often covered their bodies with tattoos made of a blue liquid extracted from a plant called woad. 2. They fought naked. 3. They went shouting and running into the battle. 4. They used a long trumpet with an animal head on top to fight called “Carnyx”. 5. They bleached their hair using lime water.

2.4. Celts in the British Isles?

There’s no evidence of Celtic migrants but Celtic languages were spoken by the 6th Century in the British Isles. To explain this, there are different theories:

1. A migratory movement and invasion: they invaded the British Isles and settled there.

2. Exportation of Celtic culture and languages: good/strong commercial relationship between the Celts and the British that help Celtic culture (including their language) spread through the British Isles.

2.5. Celtic languages spoken in the British Isles.

 Goidelic (spoken by the first wave of Celtic migration “Q-Celts” Spoken in Ireland: Irish, Isle of Man: Manx and Scotland: Scottish Gaelic.  Brythonic (spoken by the second wave of Celtic migration “P-Celts”. Spoken in: Wales (Welsh), Cornwall (Cornish) and Brittany (Breton).

2.6. The names of Celtic Britain.

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Ierne for Ireland. (Latin Hibernia)

Albion for Great Britain. (Latin Albionum)

“Albion” comes from the Celtic word “Alp” meaning “high”. But the Romans mistook the name and thought it came from the Latin word “album (which means white) because one of the first things they saw when they invaded Britain were “the White Cliffs of Dover”.

The names that Celts had given to the British Isles were discovered by Pythias (a Greek geographer) after a voyage to North-western Europe.

2.7. How was life in Celtic Britain?

 Celts were organized in small tribes/clans led by a chieftain.  Women had a more active role than in Rome: they could be warriors and chieftains.  There were bards or storytellers who learned stories and transmitted them orally (oral literary tradition).  There were craft workers or artisans who worked with metals for the making of weapons.  There were also slaves.  They lived in: -Hillforts: settlements on top of the hills for defensive reasons. Ex: “Maiden Castle” -Crannogs: fortified islands built in rivers, lakes. Ex: “The Crannog of Loch Tay”. -Broches: towers made of stones. “The Broch of Mousa”. -Farms and small villages: They used 2-oxen ploughs and they cultivated wheat (for bread), barley (for beer), flax (to make clothes), small beans and vetch. They also had animals (pigs, sheeps, cows, chickens, dogs (used to hunt).  Religious rituals: Celts were very religious. They believed in gods and spirits which were related with natural elements: water, oak and mistletoe were sacred objects for them. Celts believed these creatours should be honoured and worshipped because they could be dangerous. For that reason they made offerings to them. In the Celtic Communities, the priests were the Druids, an educated class of society. Women could be Druidesses. They had special powers: they could see the future.  Trade: Trade was also an important activity for them. There was an exchange of tin, metal and clay objects between the British Isles and the Continent. Some places of the coast like Dorset became international ports and trading areas.

3. ROMAN BRITAIN.

3.1. The Roman invasion of Britain.

In 55BC, Britain was invaded by Julius Caesar. He was the first on calling that land Britannia and the people who lived there Britons. (1st invasion-no permanent occupation of the land)

But the permanent occupation started in 43 AD when Claudius (Emperor of Rome) sent Aulus Plautius and an army of 40000 men with the intention of invading Britannia. (2nd invasion- permanent occupation of the land). It took them 40 years to conquer the region and they stayed there for around 400 years.

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3.2. Areas that were never completely romanized: the Highlands and the Moorlands.

The highlands in the North (Scoland) and the Moorlands in the West (Wales) were never completely romanized. They were harsh landscapes and agriculturally poor so they remained as frontier areas with military garrisons.

WALES: In Wales, there was a strong resistance of Celtic tribes against Romans. They had to built defensive works at Chester and Caerwent.

SCOTLAND: In Scotland, the battle of Mons Grapius took place in 84AD. It was won by the Romans led by Agricola against Calgacus. This victory was very important because it allowed the Romans to move further North. They arrived at Caledonia (Roman name to refer to the new conquered Northern territory; nowadays Scotland. But Caledonians (inhabitants of Caledonia) shown a strong resistance and the Romans built major defensive constructions to resist them:

 Hadrian’s Wall: built in 122 AD. It is a long wall between The Tyne and the Solway built by Emperor Hadrian. It was used as a frontier to divide Rome from the Barbarians (those living in the North).  Antonine’s Wall: built in 142 AD. It’s a long wall between the Firth of Forth and Clyde. It was used as a temporary Northern frontier to protect the Southern tribes from the wild Caledonians. But Caledonian’s guerrilla fighting forced the Romans to retreat to Hadrian’s Wall.

3.3.Resistance in Britannia: Caractacus and Boudicca.

There were two Celtic Briton kings (Celtic Kings of the Britons).

Caractacus was the son of Cunobelinus King (Roman -friendly King) and the King of Catuvellauni tribe after his father’s death. When Cunobelinus died, his sons: Caractacus and Togodumnus started attacking other tribes (like for example Atrebates) who was Roman- friendly. The King of Atrebates asked Emperor Claudius for help. Romans attacked and Togodumnus died (beginning of the Roman Invasion in 43AD).

After Togodumnus’s death, the Romans invaded Camulodunum (Colchester), Caractacus escaped West and then North where he led guerrilla fighting with the support of the Ordovices and the Silures but he was defeated. Caractacus took refuge with the Brigantes but he was betrayed by Queen Cartimandua (an ally of the Romans) who handed Caractacus to them. Finally, Caractacus was sent to Rome but he saved his life thanks to a powerful speech with the condition he would not return to Britannia.

Boudicca was the wife of Prasatagus’s King and the Queen of the Iceni after her husband’s death. The Iceni were Roman-friendly (they were friendly to the Romans) but after Prasatagus’s death, they began making strong demands (they wanted the possessions of the King that belonged to his family). There was a serious confrontation: Roman soldiers whipped Boudicca and rapped her daughters. The Iceni led by Boudicca started a revolt against Romans with the support of Trinovantes. They advanced to the Roman Towns of Camulodunum (Colchester), Londinium (London) and Verulanium (St. Albans) sacked them and set them fire.

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She was defeated in an open battle which took place in 61AD. Nobody knows what happened to her and her daughters because they disappeared. The legend says that they poisoned themselves.

4. ROMAN Britain.

4.1. Life in Roman Britain: towns.

 Roman lifestyle: essentially urban.  Town based governmental system.

Many towns were built:

 Some of them based on big tribal centers that already existed: (Colchester – Camulodunum).  Coloniae: fomer military garrisons (Glocester, Lincoln). Most important ones.  Municipia: less important than the Coloniae (St. Albans, Verulanium).  Civitates: Local government areas based on chiefdom boundaries where people who didn’t live in these towns (called peregrine) were organized.  Chartered towns: towns ruled by an Ordo run by magistrates who rotated annually. They were responsible for collecting taxes, undertaking public works, administrating justice.

They had the typical elements of a Roman town: forums, theatres, amphitheatres, bath houses, public buildings, shops.

4.2. Life in Roman Britain: Farms.

There were other people who lived in farms built following the model of Roman villas. They were a development of original Celtic farmsteads through the gradual addition of: stone walls, multiple rooms, hypocausts (heating systems) and elaborate mosaics.

In the 3rd and 4th Century there was a golden age of villa building with the addition of more rooms and central courtyards.

4.3 Life in Roman Britain: Roads

Romans also built a system of roads for military and commercial aids. Some of the roads were:

 Ermine Street: From London to Lincoln.  Fosse Way: From Exeter to Lincoln.  Watling Street: From London to Wales.

4.4. Life in Roman Britain: society.

Hierarchical society: People were divided in:

 Honestiores: privileged people.  Humiliores: non- privileged people.  Slaves: they could gain their freedom in different ways.

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In 212 AD, Caracalla (Roman Emperor) extended citizenship to all free-born inhabitants of the Empire, but social and legal distinctions between the honestiores and the humiliores remained.

 Women had limited property right and not allowed to hold public jobs.

4.5. Latin loanwords.

There are some Latin loanwords that have survived in present English:

 Usually related to war, trade…  But especially place-names containing:  Ceaster (meaning Camp).  port (harbour, gate, town)  Munt (mountain)  Wic (village)

4.6. The end of Roman Britain.

In 410AD, Emperor Honorius’s letter marked the final withdrawal of the Romans troops from Britain, connected probably to the Saxon raids they were suffering on the Eastern coast of Britain. Due to the difficulty of protecting the isle, they finally gave up. In this historical context, the figure of King Arthur appeared.

4.7. King Arhur.

Legendary figure maybe based on the historical figure of a Romano-Briton, descendant of a Sarmatian general commanding Roman auxiliary troops in Britain: Lucius Artorius Castus. There were many foreigners fighting for the Roman Empire whom the Romans called “auxiliary troops”. One of these groups were the Sarmatians from Russia.

Arthur was a dux bellorum: a professional soldier who fought first with the Romans and then with the British Kings to stop the Saxon invasion of Britain. He defeated the Saxons in the “battle of Mount Badon” (between 490-517AD) and Britain was victorious.

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