The Earliest Settlers of Britain Original Lecture 1
The Earliest Settlers of Britain Original Lecture 1
The Earliest Settlers of Britain Original Lecture 1
Section of English
First Year: 2013-14
Anglo-Saxon Culture and Civilization
Lecture Two (Beginning of the programme)
Homo Sapiens human beings: the species of modern human beings, the only extant species of the
Stone Age:
It extends from around 2.5 million years ago to around 2400 BC.
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.