They had dark hear and dark eyes.

They built barrows (mound groves) 313e48d and later henges (stone circles)

THE ROMAN INVASION (Iulius Caesar 55-56 BC) 

CAUSES:

The British Celts were aiding the Celts of Gaul against Rome.

Britain was a fertile land and produced corn.

Caesar's invasion wasn't a real colonisation but a military campaign.

THE ROMAN COLONISATION (Claudius 43-47 AD

Introduction of the Roman and of the Latin civilisation.

The Romans did not colonized the whole Britain Isles (only the southern part of the island) and Caledonia (Scotland)

Hadrian Wall

THE AND OF ROMAN RULE 409 AD

CAUSE DECADENCE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

The emperor Honorius needs soldiers to defend Rome against barbarian raiders.

Britain in 410 AD is left to itself.

THE ANGLO-SAXON INVASION (450 AD)

Anglo-Saxons were a series of tribes that shored (dondividere) a common German origin.

Angles   (from Denmark)

Saxons   (from Holland)

Jutes  (from Belgium)

They were farmers and fishermen.

They were mostly illiterate but they had an Alphabet (runes) and an oral literature.

They were pagan and adored gods of nature.

They were warlike people and valued courage and loyalty.

Two ancient historical works

"De excidio et conquistu Britanniae" by Gildas

« Historia ecclesiastica gentis anglorum » by Bede

THE VIKING INVASION

The Vikings come from Scandinavia and Denmark.

They were excellent shipbuilders.

They were pirated (8th and 9th century)

Their civilisation and culture were similar to the Anglo-Saxons one.

Illuminated manuscripts = codici miniati

THE WARS BETWEEN ANGLO-SAXONS AND VIKINGS

All first the Vikings raided the villages and monasteries near the coast.

Than they conquered the kingdoms near the coast.

When they tried to conquer Wessex they were stopped by the Saxon King Alfred the great.

THE AND OF ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND

The king of the Anglo-Saxons Ethelred tries to stop the Vikings by establishing an alliance with the duke of Normandy and by paying them (Danegeld).

When Ethelred died his son become the king but he died too.

Pretenders to the English throne were:

Harold, Anglo-Saxon

The Viking king of Norway

William duke of Normandy

In the battle of Hastings (1066) William won Harold and on Christmas day he was crowned king of England in Westmister Abbey

WHO WERE THE NORMANS

Normandy was a feud or France.

The Normans were descended from the Vikings but they were Christian and spoke French.

They were more civilized than the Anglo-Saxons on a military and political level.

THE CRISTIANISATION OF THE BRITISH ISLES.

The late Roman Empire introduces Christianity in the great Britain (3rd century)

During the pagan Anglo-Saxon's empire the Christianity survived in a monastic form in Wales Scotland and above all Ireland.

In the 5th and 6th century Christian missionaries continue to establish monasteries (St. Patrik)

At the and of 6th century Pope Gregory the Great sends the monk Augustine to convert the Anglo-Saxons, Augustine becomes the first Archbishop of Canterbury.

But ordinary people are converted by the Celtics monks of the monasteries who live a simple and ascetic life.

At the end of 8th century British and Irish Christianity is shattered by the arrival of Vikings.

During the wars between Anglo-Saxons and Vikings , England is divided between Christianity and Paganism.

Christianity in England is definitively restored in the 11th century by the Norman conquest.