Who inhabited England in ancient times. Early history of the British Isles

Question 1. Settlement of the British Isles

Special geographical position Great Britain has always set it apart from others European countries.

Great Britain was not always an island. It became so only after the end of the last ice age, when the ice melted and flooded the low-lying lands that were on the site of today's English Channel and the North Sea.

Of course, the Ice Age was not one long, continuous winter. The ice either came to the islands or retreated to the north, giving the first man the opportunity to settle in new places. The earliest evidence of human presence in the British Isles - flint tools - dates back to approximately 250,000 BC. e. However, the noble endeavors of these people were interrupted by another cold snap, and were not resumed until approximately 50,000 BC. e., when the ice retreated and a new generation of people arrived on the islands, the ancestors of the modern inhabitants of Great Britain.

By 5000 BC. e. Britain finally turned into an island, inhabited by small tribes of hunters and fishermen.

Around 3000 BC e. The first wave of settlers arrived on the island, who grew grain, kept livestock and knew how to make pottery. Perhaps they came from Spain or even North Africa.

Following them around 2400 BC. e. other people arrived who spoke an Indo-European language and knew how to make tools from bronze.

Around 700 BC e. The Celts began to arrive on the islands, who were tall, blue-eyed people with blond or red hair. Perhaps they moved from central Europe or even from southern Russia. The Celts knew how to work iron and make better weapons, which convinced earlier inhabitants of the island to move further west to Wales, Scotland and Ireland. To consolidate their success, groups of Celts continued to move to the island in search of permanent residence over the next seven centuries.

The Celts lived in distinct tribes ruled by a warrior class. Of these warriors, the most powerful were priests, druids, who did not know how to read or write, and therefore memorized all the necessary knowledge of history, medicine, etc.

Around 400 BC e. Here came the Cymry, or Britons, related to the Gaul tribes living on the territory of modern France.

Two centuries later, another wave of Celtic settlers poured onto the island of Great Britain: the southern part of the island was occupied by the Belgae, who moved to it from Northern Gaul.

Question 2. Britain as part of the Roman Empire

In 55 BC. e. The troops of Julius Caesar landed on the shores of what is now England.

The first time the Romans stayed on the island for only about three weeks. The second invasion took place in the summer of 54 BC. e., this time with a powerful army.

The real conquest of Albion by the Romans began under Emperor Claudius in 43 AD. e., about 40 thousand Roman soldiers took part in it. One of the main leaders in the fight against the Romans was Caractacus.

Under the Romans, Britain began exporting food, hunting dogs and slaves to the continent. They also brought writing to the island. While Celtic peasants remained illiterate, educated city dwellers could easily communicate in Latin and Greek.

The Romans never conquered Scotland, although they tried for a good hundred years. They eventually built a wall along the northern border with unconquered lands, which later defined the border between England and Scotland. The wall was named after Emperor Hadrian, during whose reign it was erected.

With the collapse of the great Roman Empire came the end of Roman control over the British. In 409, the last Roman soldier left the island, leaving the "Romanized" Celts to be torn apart by the Scots, Irish and Saxons, who periodically raided from Germany.

The southeast of the island of Great Britain was most influenced by Roman culture. The main Roman settlements were located here: Camulodine (Colchester), Londinium (London) and Verulamium (St Albans).

Question 3. Early Middle Ages

Anglo-Saxons

The wealth of Britain by the fifth century, accumulated through years of peace and tranquility, haunted the hungry Germanic tribes. At first they raided the island, and after 430 they returned to Germany less and less, gradually settling in British lands. Illiterate and warlike people were representatives of three Germanic tribes - the Angles, Saxons and Jutes. The Angles captured the northern and eastern territories modern England, the Saxons are the southern territories, and the Jutes are the lands around Kent. However, the Jutes soon completely merged with the Angles and Saxons and ceased to be a separate tribe.

The British Celts were very reluctant to cede land to England, but under pressure from the better armed Anglo-Saxons they retreated to the mountains in the west, which the Saxons called "Wales" (land of strangers). Some Celts went to Scotland, while others became slaves of the Saxons.

The Anglo-Saxons created several kingdoms, the names of some of which still remain in the names of counties and districts, for example, Essex, Sussex, Wessex. A hundred years later, the king of one of the kingdoms proclaimed himself the ruler of England. King Offa was rich and powerful enough to dig a huge ditch along the entire length of the Welsh border. However, he did not control the lands of all of England and with his death his power came to an end.

The Anglo-Saxons developed good system reign, under which the king had a council, then called Witan, which consisted of warriors and church ministers and made decisions on difficult issues. The king could ignore the advice, but it would be dangerous. The Saxons also divided the territory of England into districts and changed the way the land was plowed. Residents now plowed long, narrow strips of land with a heavier plow and used a three-field farming system, which, by the way, survived into the eighteenth century.

Christianity

It is not known how Christianity was brought to Great Britain, but it is known for certain that it happened before the beginning of the 4th century. n. e. In 597, the Pope sent the monk Augustine to officially bring Christianity to Britain. He went to Canterbury and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in 601. By the way, he converted only a few families of noble and wealthy people to Christianity, and Christianity was brought to the people by Celtic priests who went from village to village and taught the new faith. The two churches were very different, but the Celtic Church had to retreat when Rome began to control the lands of Britain. Also, the Saxon kings preferred the Roman church according to economic reasons: Villages and towns grew around the monasteries, trade and connections with continental Europe developed. Anglo-Saxon England became famous in Europe for its exports of wool, cheese, hunting dogs, tableware and metal products. She imported wine, fish, pepper and jewelry.

By the end of the eighth century, new hungry tribes began to arrive, driven by the hunt for Britain's wealth. They were Vikings, like the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, Germanic tribes, but they came from Norway and Denmark and spoke a North Germanic language. Like the Anglo-Saxons, they first visited the islands only briefly. In the end, they got tired of sea travel, and they decided to settle on the islands, having previously destroyed as many villages, churches and monasteries as possible.

In 865, the Vikings captured the north and east of the island and, having converted to Christianity, settled down and did not bother local residents. King Alfred fought them for more than ten years and only after he won a decisive battle in 878 and captured London eight years later did he make peace with them. The Vikings controlled the north and east of England, and King Alfred controlled the rest.

Dispute about the throne

By 590, England had regained the peaceful state it had enjoyed before the Viking invasion. Soon the Danish Vikings came to control western part England, and after the death of the next Saxon king, the Danish Vikings began to control most of England. After the death of the Viking king and his son, Edward, one of the sons of the Saxon king, ascended the throne. Edward devoted more time to the church than to government. By the time of his death, almost every village had a church, and a huge number of monasteries had been built. King Edward died without leaving an heir, so there was no one to lead the country. A dispute for the throne broke out between a representative of the powerful Saxon family, Harold Godwinson, and the Norman Duke William. In addition, the Danish Vikings also had their eyes on the tempting English throne. In 1066, Harold was forced to fight off persistent Vikings in north Yorkshire. As soon as Harold defeated the Danes, news arrived that William and his army had arrived in England. Harold's tired soldiers were unable to defeat William's fresh army, whose warriors were better armed and trained. Harold was killed in battle, and William marched with his army to London, where he was crowned on Christmas Day in 1066.

Question 4. Norman Conquest ()

Harthacnud had no sons, so the English throne was vacant after his death.

The son of Ethelred the Unreasonable, who lived in Normandy in those years, became the king of England. Edward. Godwin played a major role in this, having emerged during the reign of Canute I. Having become king of England, Edward surrounded himself with Norman friends, giving them the most important government posts. Many Normans became English bishops, including the Archbishop of Canterbury. He implanted Norman culture and language in England. Therefore, by the beginning of the 1050s. dissatisfaction with Edward reached its climax. The confrontation between the English and the Normans became open, but during the armed unrest that occurred in Dover, the advantage was on the side of the king and Edward continued to patronize the Normans.

After the death of Edward the Confessor, the English crown was supposed to pass to Edgar Aethling, but at that time there was no clear law of succession to the throne, and the council of state, the whitanagemot, elected Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, as king.

However, Harold's main enemy was in Normandy - it was Duke William, the son of Robert of Normandy. In addition, Tostig, Harold's brother, took the Duke's side.

In 1050, Edward the Confessor promised to appoint William as his heir, so when Harold Godwinson ascended the throne, William, not wanting to deviate from his goal, went to war against him.

Wanting to annex England to his possessions, William of Normandy decided to enlist the support of the Norwegian king Harald Garderada.

After an unsuccessful attempt to make peace, with the condition of transferring half of the lands to England, both sides began to prepare for war. The opponents met in battle on the Yorkshire River Derwent. On September 25, 1066, a fierce battle took place - the Battle of Stamford Bridge. It ended with Harold's triumph - Tostig and Harald Garderada were killed.

Meanwhile, William landed near Hastings. Harold fought the Normans on October 14, 1066 - this was the famous Battle of Hastings, in which Harold was killed. Now William could declare himself king of England.

After the victory, he rushed to London, which surrendered to him without a fight, after which V. proclaimed himself king of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury and York swore the oath to him.

As a reward for the valor shown during the conquest of England, the Norman barons received generous gifts and huge lands from Britain. The well-born Anglo-Saxon thanes were expelled from their lands - discontent grew among the common population. To protect themselves from local residents, the Normans began to build castles. Under William, construction began on the Tower and Windsor Castle. The fight against the dominance of the Normans was led by Heriward, but this movement was suppressed by William.

Having broken the resistance of the conquered people, William conducted the first census of population and property in the history of England. The results were recorded in the Domesday Book. From this document it follows that at that time 2.5 million people lived in England. Of these, 9% are slaves, 32% are land-poor peasants who are unable to pay “geld” (property tax), 38% are villans, holders of large plots in communal fields, 12% are free landowners. The main population was rural. About 5% of the population lived in cities.

Henry tried to restore the good reputation of the English clergy. He wanted to somewhat limit the influence of the clergy, so he appointed his reliable friend Thomas Becket to the post of Archbishop of Canterbury.

Henry hoped that, having become the chief shepherd of England, his friend would pursue church policy in the interests of the king, but Thomas Becket did not live up to the king’s hopes.

The archbishop demanded that the church return lands seized or illegally transferred to secular feudal lords. Becket then declared that no secular ruler could interfere in the affairs of the church and appoint ecclesiastical offices to people at his discretion. The archbishop's inflexibility turned him into the king's enemy. In 1164, the king convened a council in Clarendon, which formulated the “Clarendon Code”, according to which a clergyman guilty of a crime was to be tried in a secular court. Becket did not like this, and then the king sends him into exile.

However, Henry soon allowed the archbishop to return to England. At the same time, Henry secretly crowned his son Henry, resorting to the help of the Archbishop of York. Becket was furious and demanded that the Pope excommunicate the Archbishop of York. The king took this as an insult and, being angry, cried out: “….. Will no one really save me from that poor ass!”

At first, the numerical superiority of the French army had an effect, but soon the French suffered a number of serious defeats.

On June 24, 1340, the main battle at sea during the entire Hundred Years' War took place - the Sluys naval battle, where the French fleet was completely defeated.

The British won their next victory at the Battle of Crecy on August 26, 1346 (One of the flanks was commanded by Prince Edward, who liked to fight in black armor - hence the Black Prince). About 30 thousand French died in this battle, Philip of France shamefully fled from the battlefield.

After this, the British besieged Calais and it surrendered after 5 days of siege.

After this defeat, the French were forced to ask for a truce, which lasted 7 years. After the loss of Calais to the French, the British took possession of Normandy.

Simultaneously with the war in France, Edward III had to wage fighting in Scotland.

In 1355, hostilities in France resumed. On September 19, 1356, near the city of Poitiers in western France, the largest battle in the history of the Hundred Years War took place, in which the army of the Black Prince completely defeated the French army, and John II himself, the king of France, was among those taken prisoner.

According to the new peace treaty of 1360, England received Calais, Agenois, Perigueux, Limousin, Angoulême, Saintonge and Poitou.

In 1369 the war resumed, and in 1377 Edward III himself died, and a year earlier his heir, Prince Edward, the Black Prince. With the death of the Black Prince, fortunes changed for the British, who were almost completely expelled from southwestern France.

The period of the reign of Edward III was a time of true flowering of knightly culture in England. In 1348 he founded the knightly Order of the Garter, becoming its first knight.

Richard II (grandson of Edward III) is the last of the Plantagenets.

Richard was only 9 years old. Government ended up in the hands of the regent John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. The matured Richard subsequently had to seriously fight for power with his powerful relative.

The war with France continued, requiring more and more funds. King three times - 1377, 1379, 1381. – increased the size of the poll tax. The injustice and severity of the tax was the cause of the peasant revolt of 1381 under the leadership of Wat Tyler. The rebels entered London, where pogroms and fires began. Then the 14-year-old king went to the rebels and accepted a petition from them demanding the abolition of serfdom. Richard agreed to fulfill these and other demands, after which the rebels left the city. However, as soon as the danger had passed, Richard broke his promise and the rebels were attacked and sentenced to cruel execution. Richard married Anne of Bohemia, sent John of Gaunt into exile, and appointed new ministers from among his friends.

A powerful opposition to the king soon formed, led by the Duke of Gloucester and John's son.

In 1396, peace was signed with France; the war was resumed only in 1416 on the initiative of the English king Henry V.

While Richard was fighting the rebels in Ireland, Henry Bolingbroke managed to recruit an army and deposed Richard II, who upon his return agreed to abdicate the throne, and a few months later he was killed. At the same time, Parliament recognized Henry's claims to the crown of England.

Question 7. England under Lancaster and York. War of the Scarlet and White Roses ()

Lancastrian dynasty

Having ascended the throne, Henry IV first protected himself from attempts to enthronement Edmund, who was officially recognized by Richard II as heir to the throne. 9-year-old Edmund was placed under guard at Windsor Castle.

At this time, an uprising against the British began in Wales under the leadership of Owen Gladower.

The riots in Wales coincided with anti-English riots in Scotland.

The reign of Henry IV ended on March 20, 1413.

During his reign, the Anglo-French Hundred Years' War entered a new phase.

Early in his reign he made claims to the French crown, which were rejected, which were rejected. Then Henry V recalled the English embassy from France and soon the war broke out with renewed vigor.

The goal of Henry V was the conquest of Normandy, which completely passed into the hands of the British in 1419. The success of Henry V was facilitated by the alliance he concluded with Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. In 1420 a peace treaty was signed (“ eternal peace"), under the terms of which the king married Princess Catherine, and also Henry V became the legal heir to the French crown to the detriment of the rights of the Dauphin Charles.

Henry V came closer than any of his predecessors or descendants to solving the main task of the Hundred Years' War, the conquest of Normandy.

The death of Henry V dramatically changed the nature of the war. Gradually, the military initiative passed to the French.

Henry VI, who was 9 months old, becomes king. His regents were the Dukes of Bedford and Gloucester, who ruled on behalf of the king until 1437.

Of all the English monarchs, Henry V is the only one who was also crowned King of France, but it was during his reign that England lost the Hundred Years' War.

The reason for the resumption of the war was the claims of the French Dauphin, Charles, who declared himself King Charles VII.

In 1428, wanting to subjugate the south of France, the English army, in alliance with the Duke of Burgundy, besieged the fortress of Orleans. However, the British were forced to lift the siege due to the appearance of Joan of Arc in the ranks of the French. Thanks to her, the French were able to regain many cities, and in 1429 Charles VII was crowned. A conspiracy was hatched against Jeanne, after which she was captured by the British and burned at the stake in Rouen.

The last 4 years of the war were a period of military disasters for the British. In 1450, Henry VI's troops were defeated at the Battle of Formigny, thereby forever losing Normandy, the duchy from which the English kings descended.

In England itself, protest against the endless war and the taxes associated with it began to grow.

The unrest further undermined the kingdom's strength, hastening the inglorious end of the Hundred Years' War. Under Henry VI, England lost all territory on the continent except the city of Calais, which remained in English hands until 1558.

War of the Scarlet and White Roses

The weak-willed, soft King Henry VI constantly remained a toy in the hands of his relatives. The king was surrounded by aristocrats who pursued their own selfish interests. Many influential people were dissatisfied with the king and rallied around Richard, Duke of York, who, like Henry VI, belonged to the Plantagenet family. In 1453 - 1455 It was he who became the de facto ruler of the country during the period when Henry VI's mental illness worsened, but with the king's recovery, Richard and his supporters left London.

The confrontation between the two groups resulted in a dynastic feud - the War of the Scarlet and White Roses. A scarlet rose adorned the coat of arms of the House of Lancaster, and a white rose decorated the coat of arms of the House of York. The war began in 1455 and lasted three decades, ending with the ascension of the first Tudor king, Henry VII, to the throne.

This internal strife was not civil war, parties of feudal lords fought among themselves. During the battles, Richard of York himself died, after which his eldest son Edward stood at the head of the Yorkists. On the side of the Lancasters, Queen Margaret herself intervened in matters and freed her husband, Henry VI, who had been captured. The bloodiest battle during the War of the Roses took place in 1461 at Towton, when Edward won (up to 60 thousand people died). In the ensuing battles, Henry VI's heir, Prince Edward of Wales, died, Queen Margaret was captured, Henry VI himself died - the history of the House of Lancaster ended.

The British Isles were inhabited by humans long before the Germanic tribes invaded Britain in the 5th century AD. e. The first population of the British Isles was a non-Indo-European tribe of Iberians, whose level of material culture belongs to the Neolithic (late Stone Age - approximately 3 millennium BC). The next settlers were the Celts - Indo-European tribes who settled in Britain in the 8th-7th centuries. BC e.

The Gaels were the first to appear on the island of Britain - one of the many Celtic tribes that inhabited the vast expanses of central and western Europe. Around 5th century BC e. The island of Britain experienced another invasion of the Celtic tribes - the Britons, who were superior to the Gaels in their culture. They pushed the Gaels to the north and settled in the southern part of the island. In the 2nd century. BC e. Celtic tribes of the Belgae appear on the island of Britain and settle among the Britons.

The Celts had a tribal system, the basis of which was clan, but a transition to royal power was already planned. With the spread of land ownership in Celtic society, a division emerged into classes of landowners, free farmers and semi-slaves.

By this time, the Celts were at a fairly high level of culture - they already knew how to cultivate the land with a hoe and a plow. The Celts built the first cities of Britain, which were essentially fenced villages. The Celts of this period did not have writing.

Celtic languages ​​are divided into two main groups - Gallo-Breton and Gaelic. The Gaulish language was spoken by the population of Gaul (the territory of modern France); British languages ​​are divided into a) Breton (Bretonor Armorican), preserved to this day in Brittany (northern France); b) Cornish, now extinct - the language of the population of Cornwall, which was spoken until the end of the 18th century; c) Welsh (KymricorWelsh), spoken by residents of Wales. The Gaelic group includes a) the language of the Highlands of Scotland (Scotch-GaelicoftheHighlands), b) Irish (Erse) and c) the Manx language (theManxlanguage), which was spoken on the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea (extinct in the 20th century).

Roman conquest. In the 1st century BC Celtic Britain is invaded by Roman legions. In 55, Julius Caesar, who had by this time conquered Gaul, undertook a campaign against the British Isles, landing in the south of Britain. This first campaign was not successful. The next year - 54 BC. e. - Caesar landed in Britain for the second time, defeated the Britons and reached the Thames River, but this time the Romans’ stay in Britain was only short. The lasting conquest of Britain began in 43 AD. e. under the emperor Claudius, under whom the entire southern and central part of the island passed into the hands of the Romans.

The Romans colonized the country and created many military camps from which English cities later developed. These are all those cities that contain in their names an element derived from the Latin castra “military camp, fortification”: Lancaster, Manchester, Chester, Rochester, Leicester. Among the largest shopping centers was the city of London (Londinium), York (Eburacum), Colchester (Camulodunum). The cities were inhabited by Roman legionaries and common people of both Roman and Celtic origin. Urban population It was apparently largely Romanized, mainly its apical layers. The Celtic nobility, along with the Roman patricians, also became the owners of large land holdings, gradually adopted Roman morals and customs, losing their folk features, which cannot be said about rural population. History has not recorded any serious clashes between the local population and the Romans. The most serious known attempt at resistance by the Celts was the revolt led by Queen Boadice in 60 AD. e., which was suppressed by the Romans.

In the 80s, under Emperor Domitian, the Romans reached the rivers Glotta (now Clyde) and Bodotria (now Fort). Thus, the territory under their control included part of Scotland, including the areas of the modern cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. Britain became a Roman province during this era. This colonization had a profound impact on Britain. Roman civilization - paved military roads (stratavia) and powerful walls (vallum>weall) of military camps - completely transformed the face of the country. To protect the borders of their possessions from their warlike northern neighbors, the Romans built defensive structures - Hadrian's or Roman Wall, which stretched south of mountainous Scotland, and at a distance of more than a hundred kilometers north of Hadrian's Wall, Antony's Wall was built.

The Latin language replaced the Celtic dialects in the cities and probably gained some popularity outside them. In any case, it was the language of administration and the army, and thus the language of communication of a very significant upper layer of society. In the 4th century, with the introduction of Christianity in the Roman Empire, it also spread among the Britons. However, Christian communities were apparently small in number.

The Romans ruled Britain for almost four centuries, until the beginning of the 5th century. In 410, under Emperor Constantine, the Roman legions were recalled from Britain to defend Rome from the advancing Germans (in this year Rome was taken by the Goths led by King Alaric). In addition to the endless attacks of barbarian tribes, including the Teutons, the empire was also threatened by the emergence of independent kingdoms in former Roman territories. Thus, the penetration of the Franks into Gaul finally cut off Britain from the Roman Empire.

After the Romans left, the Britons were left to their own forces. The richest and most economically developed part of the island - the southeast - was devastated, many cities were destroyed. From the north, the Britons were threatened by tribes of Picts and cattle, and the southern part was attacked by Germanic tribes living on the continent.

It should be noted that since the Romans left Britain some time before the invasion of the West Germanic tribes there, there could be no direct contact between them in Britain. It follows that elements of Roman culture and language were adopted by the invaders from the Romanized Celts. However, it should not be forgotten that the Germanic tribes had already come into contact with the Romans and the Romanized populations of the continental provinces before their invasion of Britain. They met the Romans in battle, were brought to Rome as prisoners of war and slaves, were recruited into Roman forces, and finally traded with the Romans or Romanized Celtic merchants. Thus, through different ways Germanic tribes became acquainted with Roman civilization and the Latin language.

As is known, the Teutons carried out their pirate raids on the shores of Britain even before the Romans were recalled in 410, but the situation escalated just after the departure of the Roman legions. The inhabitants of the British Isles began to fight with each other and were subjected to plunder by the Picts and Scots. Left without support, the British could not withstand attacks from literally all sides for long. In the 5th century AD The number of Germanic tribes begins to grow. Around the middle of the century, several West Germanic tribes invaded Britain and by the end of the century settled most of it.

According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle that has reached us, the resettlement of Germanic tribes began in 449 AD. led by two kings Hengist and Horsoy, who were invited by the British king Vortigern as allies to help in the local war. In gratitude, they were granted a number of privileges that placed them above the local population. Attracted by easy prey, other Germanic tribes began to move into Britain in increasing numbers and turned from allies into invaders. According to the chronicle, the foreigners were “from the three strongest Germanic tribes: the Angles, Saxons and Jutes.”

The Jutes were the first to invade and settled in the southeast - Kent and the Isle of Wight. The second wave consisted mostly of Saxons, who settled to the west of the Jutes. With the last wave they settled all over south coast and on both sides of the Thames. According to their locations they were called South Saxons, West Saxons and East Saxons (also known as Central). They formed several kingdoms, the strongest of which was Wessex (West Saxons).

The last to come to Britain were the Angles from the lower valley of the Elbe River and southern Denmark. They settled north of the mouth of the Humber River and, annexing weak neighbors, founded several large kingdoms: East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria. [Rastorgueva, 2003: 58]

The Celts resisted the invasion for a long time and stubbornly, but the Germans, having numerical superiority, turned out to be the winners. The Celts were defeated, partially destroyed and pushed back to the western and northwestern mountainous regions of the country: the Cornish peninsula, Wales and Cumberland.

Living conditions for the Celts turned out to be so difficult that some of them were forced to move from Britain to the Armorica peninsula (in France), which has since been called Brittany.

The migration of Germanic tribes to the British Isles was a decisive event in the linguistic history of the English language. Geographical division, the mixing and unification of people of different ethnic groups have become important factors in linguistic differentiation and the formation of languages. Having been separated from their related Old Germanic languages, a closely related group of West Germanic dialects developed into a separate Germanic language - English. That is why the population of the British Isles by Germanic tribes can be considered the beginning of an independent history of the English language.

By the end of the 6th century, seven tribal kingdoms emerged in the territory captured by the Germanic tribes. This period lasted about 200 years and was called the heptarchy, or seven-power.

In the north, between the mouth of the Humber River and the Firth of Forth, the kingdoms of Deira (the territory of modern Yorkshire) and Bernicia (between the River Tees and the Bay of Forth) arose. These two states later merged to form one, known as Northumbria. In the central part of England, the state of Mercia was formed, which in the northern part was inhabited mainly by the Angles, and in the southern part by the Saxons. Over time, the population of this state mixed and formed a new ethnic group called the Mercians, and the dialect they spoke was called Mercian. To the south of the Thames, three Saxon states were formed: in the east - Essex, in the southeast of Kent - Sussex, in the west of Sussex - Wessex, which was destined to play an important role in the history of England. On the Kent Peninsula, the state of Kent was formed, inhabited by Jutes. [Arakin, 2003: 29]

The period of existence of the seven-power system is characterized by the disintegration of the clan system and the transition to feudalism. During the period of resettlement, the Germanic tribes still retained the typical tribal system until the formation of the Anglo-Saxon states. But the growth of land ownership and the development of classes led to the decomposition of the tribal organization and the transition to a new structure of society. The previous division into tribes was replaced by division into territorial units, the inhabitants of which, although they were not connected in any way economically, nevertheless considered themselves integral part some kind of whole. From which we conclude that in the period from the 7th to the 10th centuries, a new community of people was emerging, which can be called a nationality. Characteristic feature nationality is the absence of an internal single market, since the economy is still subsistence in nature, and each region is weakly economically connected with any other. During the same period, the language of the English people, English, was formed.

The relative authority between the kingdoms changed periodically. At different times, four kingdoms acquired seniority (superiority) in the country: Kent, Northumbria and Mercia - in the early Old English, pre-literate period, and Wessex - throughout the written period in the Old English period.

Kent's supremacy in the south of the Humber lasted until the early 7th century. In the 7th - 8th centuries. comes the temporary rise of Northumbria and the dominance of Mercia, a large and prosperous kingdom in the rich Central Plains. While still under Mercian rule, Wessex gained control of Sussex and Kent and its influence continued to grow. The conquest of Mercia by Wessex at the beginning of the 9th century changed the position of these two states: Wessex seized primacy and gained unrivaled leadership until the end of the Old English period (11th century). He had extensive fertile lands in the Thames River valley. Control of London and the lower Thames Valley, as well as expanding contacts with the Frankish Empire, helped establish Wessex as a leading kingdom. In addition to the internal factors that contributed to the unity of England under the leadership of Wessex, a new, no less significant one appeared - the impact from a common enemy. [Rastorgueva, 2003: 59]

The English are a nation and ethnic group, making up the main population of England and part of the former colonies; speak English. The nation was formed in the Middle Ages on the island of Great Britain from the Germanic tribes of the Angles, Saxons, Frisians and Jutes, as well as the Celtic population of the island assimilated in the 5th and 6th centuries. ‎

The British ethnos has absorbed many features of the peoples who migrated from the European continent to the British Isles. However, scientists are still arguing about who is the main ancestor of the current inhabitants of the United Kingdom.

Settlement of the British Isles

For many years, a group of scientists led by Professor Chris Stringer, representing the Natural History Museum in London, studied the process of settlement of the British Isles. Scientists have brought together archaeological data over the past centuries, thanks to which the chronology of the settlement of the islands has been built most fully.

According to published data, people made at least 8 attempts to settle in what is now Great Britain, and only the last of them was successful.

Man first arrived on the islands about 700 thousand years ago, which is also confirmed by DNA analysis. However, after several hundred thousand years, due to cold weather, people left these places. It was not difficult to carry out the exodus, since the islands and the continent at that time were connected by a land isthmus, which went under water approximately 6500 BC. e.

12 thousand years ago the last conquest of Britain took place, after which people never left it. Subsequently, new waves of continental settlers found themselves in the British Isles, creating a motley picture of global migration. However, this picture is still not clear. “The pre-Celtic substrate remains to this day an elusive substance that no one has seen, but at the same time few would dispute its existence,” writes British scientist John Morris Jones.

From Celts to Normans

The Celts are perhaps the most ancient people whose influence can be seen in what is now Britain. They began to actively populate the British Isles from 500 to 100 BC. e. The Celts, who migrated from the territory of the French province of Brittany, being skilled shipbuilders, most likely instilled navigation skills on the islands.

From the middle of the 1st century AD. e. The systematic expansion of Britain by Rome began. However, mainly the southern, eastern and partly central regions of the island underwent Romanization. The west and north, having put up fierce resistance, never submitted to the Romans.

Rome had a significant influence on the culture and organization of life in the British Isles.

The historian Tacitus describes the process of Romanization carried out by the Roman governor in Britain, Agricola: “He, privately and at the same time providing support from public funds, praising the diligent and condemning the sluggish, persistently encouraged the British to build temples, forums and houses.”

It was during Roman times that cities first appeared in Britain. The colonists also introduced the islanders to Roman law and the art of war. However, in Roman politics there was more coercion than voluntary motives.

The Anglo-Saxon conquest of Britain began in the 5th century. Warlike tribes from the banks of the Elbe quickly subjugated almost the entire territory of the present Kingdom. But along with belligerence, the Anglo-Saxon peoples, who had adopted Christianity by that time, brought a new religion to the islands and laid the foundations of statehood.

However, the Norman conquest of the second half of the 11th century radically influenced the political and state structure of Britain. A strong royal power appeared in the country, the foundations of continental feudalism were transferred here, but most importantly, the political orientations changed: from Scandinavia to central Europe.

Commonwealth of the Four Nations

The nations that form the basis of modern Britain - the English, Scots, Irish and Welsh - emerged in the last millennium, largely facilitated by the historical division of the state into four provinces. The unification of four distinctive ethnic groups into a single nation of the British became possible due to a number of reasons.

During the period of great geographical discoveries(XIV-XV centuries) a powerful unifying factor for the population of the British Isles was the reliance on the national economy. It helped in many ways to overcome the fragmentation of the state, such as, for example, in the lands of modern Germany.

Britain, unlike European countries, due to its geographical, economic and political isolation, found itself in a situation that contributed to the consolidation of society.

An important factor for the unity of the inhabitants of the British Isles was religion and the associated formation of a universal English language for all British people.

Another feature emerged during the period of British colonialism - this is the emphasized opposition between the population of the metropolis and the native peoples: “There are us, and there are them.”

Until the end of the Second World War, after which Britain ceased to exist as a colonial power, separatism in the Kingdom was not so clearly expressed. Everything changed when a stream of migrants - Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese, residents of the African continent and the Caribbean islands - poured into the British Isles from the former colonial possessions. It was at this time that the growth of national self-awareness intensified in the countries of the United Kingdom. Its apogee came in September 2014, when Scotland held its first independence referendum.

The trend towards national isolation is confirmed by recent sociological surveys, in which only a third of the population of Foggy Albion called themselves British.

British genetic code

Recent genetic research may provide new insights into both the ancestry of the British people and the uniqueness of the Kingdom's four main nations. Biologists from University College London examined a segment of the Y chromosome taken from ancient burials and concluded that more than 50% of the English genes contain chromosomes found in northern Germany and Denmark.

According to other genetic examinations, approximately 75% of the ancestors of modern Britons arrived on the islands more than 6 thousand years ago.

Thus, according to Oxford DNA genealogist Brian Sykes, in many ways the modern Celts' ancestry is not connected with the tribes of central Europe, but with more ancient settlers from Iberia who came to Britain at the beginning of the Neolithic.

Other data from genetic studies conducted in Foggy Albion literally shocked its inhabitants. The results show that the English, Welsh, Scots and Irish are largely identical in their genotype, which deals a serious blow to the pride of those who pride themselves on their national identity.

Medical geneticist Stephen Oppenheimer puts forward a very bold hypothesis, believing that the common ancestors of the British arrived from Spain about 16 thousand years ago and initially spoke a language close to Basque.

The genes of later occupiers (Celts, Vikings, Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Normans), according to the researcher, were adopted only to a small extent.

The results of Oppenheimer's research are as follows: the genotype of the Irish has only 12% uniqueness, the Welsh - 20%, and the Scots and English - 30%. The geneticist supports his theory with the works of the German archaeologist Heinrich Hörcke, who wrote that the Anglo-Saxon expansion added about 250 thousand people to the two million population of the British Isles, and the Norman conquest even less - 10 thousand. So, despite all the differences in habits, customs and culture, residents of the countries of the United Kingdom have much more in common than it seems at first glance.