The history of the English language began when the Angles,Saxons and Jutes decided to settle in Britain where the Wessex dialect prevailed over the several other ones.

The Development of this very famous language can be split into three periods: Old English (ca 700-1100), Middle English (ca 1100-1450) and Modern English (ca 1450-present day).

Old English is known for its inflectional endings and for the stress of words generally as near the beginning as possible. Even if there are a lot of distinctions, someone who speaks modern English wouldn't have any difficulties in recognising the structure of a phrase.

The Norman Conquest was really important because, after that, there were three languages spoken in England: French, Old English and Latin. It was from the blend of them that Middle English originated.

The Normans also replaced English with French as the language of government, they used Latin as the main language in administrative and intellectual contents while English survived in everyday speech.

Middle English lost all of the Anglo-Saxon inflections even though the s-ending for the plural nouns remained unchanged.

Because,as we all know,the various origins of this language give it many synonyms; for example: “ask” (Saxon), “interrogate” (Latin) and “question”(French).

The Celts were tall and muscular, with fair skin,blue eyes and blonde hair. They worked like farmers,hunters,fishermen and metal workers. The particularity of this society was that they painted themselves with blue paint called"Woad".

The Triquetra
The Celts favoured the idea that everthing important in the world cames in threes; three stages of life, three elements, three domains: earth, sea and sky. The number three was very important for this society and this symbols described the origin of the word

Triskelion
This symbol represents continuous moveents. Everthing, in the human life, happened in three moments: past, present and future amd in three differetn way: mind,body and spirit

Before anarchy there were Plantagenets

At the beginning William first the Conqueror was king of England.

He died in 1087

He has three sons, the eldest, Robert, became Duke of Normandy, William second, the middle, succeded him on the thron and the last Henry has no lands.

William second died in 1100

After Wlliam second’s death, Henry became king of England and six years later after  defeated Robert he also became Duke of Normandy.

Eldest: older(il più vecchio) 

Defeated: win a victory over, beat(battere) 

He was Chancellor of the Kingdom of England and in  1152 was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Henry II.   
What did he do? Why is he so important?                                    Thomas restored order and monarchical authority, defending only the clergy. He opposed some of the laws imposed by the king, including the Clarendon Constitutions that would place the Church under King's authority. 
Who killed Thomas Becket?   
As a consequence, On 29th December 1170, Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by four knights claiming to have been sent by the king.  After this event, he became a martyr and a saint.                                                Why is the Canterbury Cathedral so important?              Pilgrims from all over England and Europe visited his shrine in Canterbury Cathedral . These pilgrimages also are described in the Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer.                           
What happened to Henry?         
Becket’s murder shocked all of Europe and Henry walked barefoot to Canterbury, where he was flogged by monks at the door of the cathedral to restore his reputation.                                     Who succeeded him?                    When the king died, he was succeeded by his son  Richard the Lionheart.

A news was the feudal system.

How did the feudal system work?

The king gave his lands to french barons but they had to pay their rent in military services.Then the barons lent their lands to knights in return for their services that guaranteed security and food, and so peace.

How can we describe the feudal pyramid?

Feudal system is represented by a pyramid:

-On the top there is the king. He gives fief and peasants to the lords

-Below the king there are French barons or lords, who are vassals to king. Their give loyalty and military aid to the king, and they give food, protection and shelter to the knights

-Below the lords there are knights, who are vassals to lords. They give homage and military service to the lords and they give food, protection and shelter to the peasants

-At the bottom of the pyramid there are the peasants, who are called serfs. They farm the land and pay rent to the knights.

In the 1160s Henry II introduced traveling royal judges, who were basically professional lawyers.

These lawyers administered a law , completely different to the Roman Empire’s civil law and the canon law of the Church and was known as “common law”. The common law was based on custom, comparisons* of previous cases and previous decisions.

This law was called “common law” because it was used everywhere and even today this mixture* of experience and custom is the basis of law in England.

 

In 1066

It was a deep political,social and cultural trasformation.

Many anglo-saxon died in Battle of Hastings.

In England

The Anarchy was a English civil war between Stephen and Matilda.

It began in 1135.

Henry I ruled peacefully.

His son died in shipwreck.

He nominated as heir his daughter Matilda. 

His nephew Stephen had himself crowned.

He nominated Matilda’s son, Henry, as his heir.
Word Bank:
Shipwreck: an accident in which a ship is destroyed or sunk at sea

Heir: a person who inherits or has a right of inheritance in the property of another following the latter's death.

Which Gods and goddesses  did they believe in? 

They worshipped gods and goddesses about 400 in total. They had hundreds of deities, some of which were unknown; the most famous were; Sucellos, the sky god and Nodens, who made clouds and rain.

What did they believe in?
The Celts worshipped the natural elements such as the sun, the moon, trees and rivers. They considered the water a holy element since it  generated life.                                                                

They believed in immortality and in the transmigrations of the soul from one person to another.

In fact, when a person died, they buried them with many things, they would need for the after life; for example, warriors were often buried with a helmet, a sword or dagger…

Where were the shrines situated?
Celtic shrines were situated in hilltops, groves and lakes. 

source: pinterest                             Ilton Moor, Druids Temple

Word Bank

deity: god or goddess 

holy: religious

Buried: hidden

Shrines: sacred place 

Dagger: weapon (pugnale)

Sword: weapon (spada) 

Grove= trees

 The Battle of Hastings started  on the 14th October 1066 near Hastings.

 William, duke of Normandy, claimed the English Crown which belonged to  Harold, king of Anglo-Saxon

William,duke of Normandy                       fonte: Wikipedia

 Harold , king of Anglo-Saxon             fonte:Wikipedia

William’s army was formed of about 8000 warriors : a cavalry of 3000 men and some archers and infantry.

Harold’s soldiers, instead, fought on foot and formed a shell with their shields.
Who won the Battle?

 The battle had a turning point when Harold was hit in the eye, then he was killed by Norman warriors; so the Anglo-Saxons escaped and Normans declared victory .William became William 1st of England on Christmas Day 1066.

the representation  of the Harold’s  death.        fonte:Wikipedia

The Bayeux Tapestry is a tapestry where  the story of the Battle of Hastings is told.

It’s about 70 metres long.

 it is preserved at the Musée de la Tapisserie in Bayeux,France.

 It’s formed by 9 patches of linen embroidered with wool colour strings (about 9 colours).There are about 126 different characters , 626 people, 202 horses and mules , 505 animals,37 buildings ,49 trees .
Why is it important?

It’s a very important historical document because we can understand how people lived  in XI century ; for example they used  Scandinavian weapons or Viking sail .

Word bank 

 to claim= demand;

warrior= who fights;

cavalry= soldiers on horseback;

archer = person who uses bow and arrow;

infantry = regiment of foot soldiers;

shell = cover;

shield = an arm to protect themselves;

tapestry = wall hanging;

patch = piece ;

linen = fabric type ;

to embroidered  = decorated ;

wool = sheep coat ;

string = cord

These coins were similar at merovingian gold models called “thrymsas”.
When were they abolished ?
 In 675 the gold coins were abolished and substituted with silver coins.

The objects
What kind of materials did they work with?
 They worked with metals like gold, silver and iron. They were able metalworkers.
Where were the principal centres of miniature?
 The principal centres of miniature were in Winchester and Canterbury.
What objects did they make?

The objects were necklaces, pearls and receptacles. Lots of objects were made from whale’s bones and walruses’ tooth.
What is their most famous cross? How was it decorated?
 The most famous is the cross of Ruthwell. It is decorated with reliefs of New Testament with animal images.

The Manuscripts
What was the most important manuscript?
 The most important manuscript is that of saint Ethelwold’s.
 What were the manuscripts like?
Some manuscripts  included illustrations made with pen without colour  use. 

 

 

 

 

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Celtic knots are a variety of knots and stylized graphical representations used for decoration, used in the Celtic style of Insular art. These knots are mostly known for their adaptation in the ornamentation of Christian monuments and manuscripts, such as the 8th-century St. Teilo Gospels, the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels. Most are endless knots, and many are varieties of basket weave knots.

Word bank:

To burn: this verb is used when something or someone has fire on (bruciare)

To breed: when we educated an animal (allevare)

In 55-54 AD Julius Caesar led a Roman invasion of Britain, but the country wasn’t actually conquered until 43-47 under Emperor Claudius. 

It lasted for about fifteen generations and Britain was part of the Roman Empire. However it didn’t control the whole island.

tin:a material that is used to make can

lead:a type of gas without this material

map of England

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Britain.south.peoples.Ptolemy.jpg

Wich was the most important invention of the Romans?
The romans built over 9,600 kilometres of road system in Britain which remains in use now and has made commercial exchange easier.