University ofTlemcen

Section of English
First Year: 2013-14
Anglo-Saxon Culture and Civilization
Lecture Two (Beginning of the programme)

The Earliest Settlers of Britain

The soil of the British Isles had been populated by many races since the
dawn of humanity. Homo Sapiens1, Iberians, Celts, Romans, AngloSaxons, Scandinavians, Normans and others invaded the islands. Ice
retreated northwards. Later the sea pierced the Dover Straits and
Britain became an island. Many centuries after she had become an
island, most parts of her lands were covered with forests.
The Iberians
Hardly anything is known of the people who preceded the Celts,
though some were probably Iberians. They are thought to have migrated
from the Iberian Peninsula, a long time before the 7th century before
Christ. It was during the Bronze and Stone Ages2 that they lived and
traded with the Phoenicians on the British shores. They had a dark
complexion, and their blood is probably in the Scots, Irish and mostly in
the Welsh. This people lived on hunting and used the dog, the sheep, the
ox, the pig and the goat. Besides, the Iberians knew metals, weaving,
agriculture, crafts and the long ship.
The Celts
1

Homo Sapiens human beings: the species of modern human beings, the only extant species of the

family that also included other species named Homo.

2

Stone Age:

It extends from around 2.5 million years ago to around 2400 BC.

Bronze Age: approximately between 3500 and 1500 BC.

The Celts, who had originally occupied North-western Germany and

the Netherlands, were moving across Europe from the 7th to the 3rd
centuries BC. In the 5th century BC they invaded Britain and imposed
themselves as an aristocracy on the Iberians. They were tall, fair or red
haired skillful warriors. They had a fairly high level of civilization,
especially in the South of England. The Celts were skilled in ironworks,
arts and crafts. They were hostile warriors who came in successive
waves. When they invaded Britain they slaughtered, subdued3 and
chased the Iberians and settled their lands. They brought with them
different dialects. In the end, they mixed with the Iberians and
developed with them dialects of which some are still extant4 like Erse,
Gaelic and Welsh.

Roman Britain (43 AD 407 AD)

Julius Caesar made two expeditions to invade Britain in 55 and 54 BC.
These two expeditions were met by resistance and Caesar was forced to
retreat. However, the actual Roman conquest did not happen until 43
AD under Emperor Claudius. Not much national resistance was shown as
the chiefs were half Romanized. However, there was an initial resistance
by Queen Boadicea, which was quickly overcome. Immediately after, the
general Agricola (78 85 AD) subdued Britain as far north as the Clyde
(near Glasgow in Scotland). The real resistance was in Wales and
Scotland. The Romans could not invade her, and the Caledonian Picts in
Scotland continued to attack the cities and villas of the plains below
them where the Romans and Romanized Celts lived. To stop the raids, in
122 AD Hadrianus built a wall that ran from Solway to Tyne. Another
wall was erected further north by Antonine in 142.
Unlike the Saxons, Celts and Danes who came over to slaughter or
expel the inhabitants and settle in their place, the Romans came to
exploit and govern by right of superior civilization. The area of true
3

To subdue: to bring somebody under forcible control.

Extant: still in existence

Roman occupation was limited to present day England and Wales. The
British Isles had been divided between the Latinized South and East, and
the Barbarian North and West.
The Romans covered the land with wonderful roads and military forts
to control it. They built towns such as Bath, York, Cilchester, Lincoln, etc.
Though London had a Celtic name and origin, its Latinized name was
Londinium and it gained importance and became a centre of commerce
and communications, thanks to the River Thames. The countryside was
sprinkled with smart villas with gardens, baths, frescoes and coloni to
work the estates as slaves. Roman cities were surrounded by walls. They
began to exploit the mines of lead, iron, tin and gold. The Romans and
Romanized Celts lived happily and peacefully in those cities and villas,
but they were not trained to use arms as their protection was provided
by the Roman legions. It was real Pax Romana5. This would prove fatal
when the Romans retreated and the savage Anglo Saxons invaded
England.
The Romans left in 407, leaving the Latinized Celts behind them
unprotected and unable to defend themselves against the invaders.
These districts of villa and city life were the most overrun by the Saxon
destroyer. The Celtic regions survived the invasion, because they were
able to resist.
Rome failed to Latinize Britain as she had Latinized Gaul, because the
Roman civilization was Mediterranean. It was that of city life, different
from the Celtic one. The ancient world was a Mediterranean civilization;
whereas Britain was a distant and isolated outpost. It was the medieval
world that became truly European, by losing North Africa and the Levant
and by winning Germany for Christendom. Then Britain came nearer to
the heart of Christian and feudal civilization.

Pax Romana, literally Roman peace. It meant the peaceful relations between the countries that
were under Roman rule.