United Kingdom
Prehistory to High Middle Ages
How can Antony Gormley’s landscape art and the rites of ‘modern paganism’ be linked
to the ‘cultural landscape’ created in prehistoric times?
Lots of historic monuments and landmarks built in prehistory: passage graves, standing
stones, henge monuments and chalk hill figures. Their original purposes were, amongst
others, centres of economic, religious and political power, places of pilgrimage or celebration,
connecting people from ancient civilisations and interactions of early human beings with the
land.
-> “a conscious attempt of early societies to create a cultural landscape of visible
human-made structures”
Link with modern paganism:
-> ritualistic landmarks and inspire people to come together and perform ceremonies
-> modern paganism and druids celebrate the summer and winter solstice at
Stonehenge for example, to express connection with nature
-> paganism is an official religion in UK
-> modern pagans: natural world is sacred and nature is divine
-> these ancient monuments are integrated into modern paganism as connection
with pre-Christian civilisation
Link with Antony Gormley:
-> modern landscape art
-> philosophical reflection of human life
-> Another place: (Liverpool)
people staring out over the sea in silent expectation: metaphor for island mentality;
man exploring relationship with himself and nature by harnessing ebb and flow
2) Discuss Celtic culture in the British Isles: what do we know of the culture and
how did Celtic identity come to be represented in later times?
The Celtic culture is the first culture that can be linked to the prehistoric period, but it isn’t
‘one culture’: Celts never formed one political union. They did share a culture, especially with
common artistic designs on armour, jewellery and tools.
Celtic peoples appeared to have a homogeneous social structure, political culture and
religious beliefs. They also spoke dialects of the same Celtic language.
Pytheas of Massalia (a greek explorer) called these native peoples ‘Pretanike’ or ‘the people
of the designs’ (because of patterns that warriors painted on their skins)
-> ‘Pretanike’ or ‘Pretani’ later became ‘Britannia’ by the Romans
-> this name is misleading, it suggests unity and it wasn’t the case, settled groups all
very independent and tribal
Historical image of Celts depended on how others represented them, since there were no
written Celtic testimonies or books. Over the centuries this representation would take on
many different forms, most of them more mythical than real. Here are some ways in which
the Celts have been represented over time:
Fierce independent fighters against foreign invaders (Boudicca, King Arthur)
The original sovereign British race (in Tudor times)
Disorderly, violent, filthy and unfit for self-rule (the Irish in the 18th and 19th centuries)
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Romanticised ‘noble savages’, barbaric but also wise because of their close affinity with the
natural world and pre-Christian beliefs (19th century and modern paganism)
3) Discuss the meanings and associations of ‘Britannia’. What was the legacy of
Roman Britain and how did the Roman period define the Isles?
There are three main associations with Pretanike or Britannia:
‘Pretanike’ already suggested a unity among the Celts, which was not true.
During Roman times, ‘Britannia’ was a symbol of power. Britannia came to be represented as a
goddess: trident, shield and Corinthian helmet -> symbols of power.
In the early 18th century (after the union of England and Scotland), the martial goddess
represented an emblem of British imperial power.
The legacy of the Romans was a lot, they introduced a lot of new things on the island which
helped them develop and become greater:
A unified culture across the southern half of the island (present-day England, Wales and
Southern Scotland
The introduction of a capital: Londinium
The fabrication of a network of straight roads and towns
Skills of reading and writing (yet many Celtics remained illiterate)
The splendour of roman culture and architecture can still be seen in a spa town such as
‘Bath’
4) How did Anglo-Saxon England develop and create an ‘English’ identity? What
is the role played by King Alfred?
Development of Anglo-Saxon England:
Early 5th century: Romans pulled back to fight on mainland Europe and Roman influence
officially ended
Migrations of Germanic tribes:
-> Angles, Saxons and Jutes raided British coasts and began to settle
-> Moved further westwards and in 10th century gained the whole of England
-> British Celts who already lived there were pushed westwards or to the north (Scotland)
-> Anglicisation of Britannia (derived from ‘Angles’)
-> Anglo-Saxons called people living on the west ‘Welsh’ = ‘Foreigners’
Mid-7th century: Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy
-> 7 kingdoms, each with their own king -> no political unity
- Saxons in the south: Wessex, Sussex and Essex
- Angles in the north: East Anglia, Northumbria and Mercia
- Jutes: Kent
-> No political unity BUT cultural unity = Christianity
8th century: raided by Danes
-> Danes burnt and looted churches and monasteries, because they weren’t christian but
pagan
-> Anglo-Saxons were united against common enemy (Danes) -> political unity (pagans vs
christians)
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-> Danes settled from 9th century onwards in Mercia and East Anglia
-> lot of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms had fallen
=> cultural and political unity of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms created a national identity (= English
identity)
Role played by King Alfred and English identity
= Alfred the Great
He was the only king who held out against Scandinavian attacks. He was king of Wessex
and forced invaders to make peace
-> Peace of Wedmore divided country into Wessex and ‘Danelaw’
Alfred and his influence on English identity
-> unified Saxon kingdoms against their common enemy which created a national identity
-> was the figurehead of a new English church
-> First man to stress knowledge and language
! Had many Latin documents translated so normal people could read them
! Wanted young men to learn how to read English and made sure every man had
books of things he must be educated about
After Alfred’s death
-> his successors won back territory from the Danes and unified the kingdom
-> gave this kingdom a name: Engla land
5) Discuss the impact of Norman rule and of the empire of Henry II in the political
make-up of England.
The impact of Norman rule:
“Normanisation” (William The Conqueror)
When William arrived in England he did not retain any of the former Anglo-Saxon statesmen,
it was a real conquest by a foreign rule and not a gradual development but one of aggression
and cruelty.
William ruled strongly from London, with England becoming William’s personal property.
The Normans brought over their own ruling class and these feudal subjects were given land
in return for aid and military service.
These Norman lords: their vassals held their lands on the condition that they render military
service (service = rent), attend their courts, pay them dues and accept their judgement
over the succession to their lands.
Servant had to promise loyalty and services to his lord via homage (king > lord > freemen);
every man had a lord and every lord had land, and at the top of the hierarchy stood the king.
This promise was sealed with the ‘act of homage’: a vassal knelt before his lord, sitting on his
chair, and placed his hands between those of his lord. (acknowledgement of the bond that
existed between the two.
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England came to be the best organized monarchy in the whole of Europe. William wanted to
achieve control and keep control so he had to have detailed information on the lands of his
territory. He introduced the Domesday Book of 1086
The Domesday Book was the first ever ‘database’ campaign:
-> a nationwide survey,
-> held properties and their (former and present) owners in great detail
-> symbolic legacy of a cultural turnover from Anglo-Saxon bonds of kinship to
individual ownership
-> demonstrates the wealth of his kingdom
-> provided the king with a remarkable sweep of instruments of government to plan
his economy, find out how much was produced, and how much he could ask in tax
The impact of Henry II:
Henry II added countries down to the Pyrenees and was the first monarch to annex parts of
Ireland. In all these places there was a feudal system. The area that Henry II posessed was
larger than the territory of the king of France
The rule of Henry II was called the ‘Angevin’ rule and lasted more than 40 years, with great
benefits:
a cultural Renaissance
great economic power
monasteries were rich
wool and cloth were major export products
there were more schools
established great military power and lead a kind of European empire
he introduced a language of polite culture and administration: French
Because Henry’s empire was so big, he was in need for a better organised control and
justice system. He centralised the way justice was administered and introduced the
Common Law. Judges were appointed to administer the same legal rules and customs
everywhere in the ‘realm’. These judges were 12 locally picked people who travelled and
would hear trials and pronounce judgment on the basis of legal precedents (decisions
already made in previous situations.
6) Discuss the historical importance of Magna Carta. What instigated the creation
of the charter?
When king Richard died, his brother John became the new king of England. John was very
greedy which made him very unpopular. He asked the nobles for more money than ever
before and sometimes absurd requests such as a son having to pay the King in order to
inherit his father’s land. He also kept some land from a church so that he could benefit from
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