UK CIVILISATION

UK CIVILISATION
CM1 - 17/01
How the UK constructed itself as a political entity.
CLASS QUESTIONS
● How was the UK built?
● How were the political institutions created?
● What liberties and rights does the legal system guarantee?
● How were they achieved?
● What are rights and liberties? What is the difference?
● What is the difference between resistance and revolution?
What elements from history are needed to understand the UK and its organisations
today?
What rights the UK population has gained + how the definition of rights has evolved.
Rights and liberties happen because of forces, resistance, revolution… What kind of
these happened to change the rights and liberties in the UK.
Need to understand how the democratic institutions were created and how they
work. They’re the result of evolution.
When you study history: understanding and creating meaning, not just learning
names, places and dates. Learning dates is important to create order and relation
between events.
BEFORE THE NORMANS: RESISTANCE TO INVASION?
Specific kind of organisation. Not a clean division from the past, a continuity. What
kind of political organisation before the Normans invaded.

PRE-ROMAN PERIOD
There were people in Britain before the Romans came. These people came on foot
before the Ice Age, afterwards they came by boat.
Settlements start with Celts from the 5th century BC.
Interesting because they are considered as this mythical ancestor (the reality is more
complex; they were not a uniform culture but a collection of people who shared some
common culture, but they were not a strong cultural or political entity).
Presented as being a form of resistance against Roman invasion, and considered as
the original British people.
The Roman conquest
We know about it mostly from Julius Caesar’s work, The Gallic Wars.
Permanent Roman occupation started in 43 AD and lasted until 410 AD (way after
Julius).
Romans were the first invading force. After fighting and losing, Celts either chose to
stay or flee to the north and the west.
RESISTANCE TO THE ROMANS
Queen Boudica (30 AD - 61 AD) → Celtic Queen who wasn’t against the Roman
Empire but realised she should be if she wanted her own power. Symbolic figure
because reps. resistance and because she’s a woman warrior.
ROMAN BRITAIN
Modernisation and urbanisation of the country, as well as means of transportation →
good for war + trade and exchanges (roads for military and economical reasons).
There were strong influences from Roman traditions over local culture. ie.
architectural pieces showing Roman culture, Roman baths…
There never was a permanent Roman settlement in Scotland. (Romans built a wall
to keep the Scottish away)
We generally date the arrival of Christianity in Britain around the 5th century.
During that period, the fall of the Roman Empire.
ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD
Resistance against the Saxons

Another mythical figure of resistance → Ambrosius (re-written as King Arthur)
Sites in England and Wales can be found that are supposed to be linked to Arthur,
but it is very much the stuff of legend (mediaeval myth taking on a lot of Christian
values)
Ultimately, the resistance of the Britons did not succeed and most of the South-West
became Anglo-Saxons territory.
ANGLO-SAXONS CUSTOMS (500-1060 CE)
- strong division of social ranks (people divided depending on what they owned)
earl, thane, churl (freeman), bondmand (servant or slave)
- administrative districts (shire) governed by an Ealdorman, later ‘shire reeve’
(chief magistrate)
- the Witenagemot (or Witan) = “meeting of wise men” and folkmoots (local
assemblies) → early form of government, of leaders getting together to
discuss
VIKING INVASIONS
Take lands from the Anglo-Saxons. Late 8th and early 9th century, strong resistance
from King Alfrid (?). York was the capital of the Vikings there.
Old Norse and Scandinavian language heritage.
DANELAW (860-1060 AD)
- one kingdom on both sides of the North Sea in the 11th century (1016-1035,
King Canute (Cnut), Danish King of England, Norway and Denmark
- both geographical and legal meaning
If you sum it up:
What we have is a number of resistance figures which are essential components of
what British people see as fundamental to this mythical British identity.
Can you see some elements of this history in Britain today? (culture, myths,
fiction, politics, administration, language, geography…)
- LOTR/High fantasy → good old English people (the Hobbits, in the Shire)
- Video games → Britain’s history is an easy background, especially if the
setting is during a war
FOR NEXT WEEK
- Research and learn about the Bayeux Tapestry (quick research and careful
analysis of the picture, answer questions 1 to 6)

- Summarise findings about the tapestry (q 7) (help on UPdago)
THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY
Who produced the tapestry?
The artist is actually unknown, as there are no documents concerning its
making or the first three centuries of its life. It seems, however, to have been
commissioned by the bishop Odo of Bayeux, half-brother to William the
Conqueror, to adorn his Bayeux cathedral.
What does this tell us about the point of view?
The point of view is going to favour the French side of the story.
What does the Tapestry relate overall?
It is renowned for relating the infamous Battle of Hastings, but the story
pictured actually starts much earlier, portraying the end of the reign of Edward the
Confessor, what led to the Battle, and, of course, the Battle itself.
Identify the specific action portrayed in the excerpt above.
It is the scene portraying the death of King Harold.
Distinguish the Normans and the Angles.
The Normans have lighter (in colour) shields than the Angles do.
Give information about the inscriptions.
The inscription reads “Here King Harold has been killed.
Summarise in a short paragraph what you have learnt.

CM2 - 24/01
NORMAN INVASIONS
● NORMAN INVASION
● NORMAN SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANISATION
● THE RIGHT TO PROPERTY
How does it happen that a Duke from Normandy came to be King of England?
A WAR OF SUCCESSION
Edward the Confessor = last Saxon king; died without an heir. Invaded and united
the kingdoms.
To succeed him:
- The Godwin family → Harold Godwin, whose sister was married to
Edward; chosen by the Witenagemot // Tostig (Harold’s brother;
estranged), who thought why should his brother succeed and not him
- Norway invaders Harald Hardraader; allies with Tostig
- Edgar the AEtheling → grandson of the step-brother of Edward the
Confessor
- William of Normandy → bastard’s son of the Duke of Normandy (ie.
cannot inherit much in France); descendant of Emma of Normandy,
herself a descendant of English and Danish kings
Witenagemot → council who gives approval on who becomes king
1066: A TURNING POINT
- Battle of Stamford Bridge
Armies of Harold Godwin fighting against the armies of Harald.
Harold’s armies win.
- Battle of Hastings
Armies of William coming up, armies of Harold coming down from
Norway, they fight. William’s armies win.
THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY
Not woven, but embroidered
Extract we study:
- “Here King Harold has been killed.”
- The Normans are on horseback, the Saxons on foot