units 1 - 12: main concepts Flashcards
(37 cards)
“barrows” (unit 1)
burial mounds made of each or stone, and they were airy woodlands that could easily be cleared for farming, and as a result were the most easily habitable part of the countryside.
“henges” (unit 1)
neolithic earthwork - centre of religious, political and economic power.
hill-forts (unit 1)
replaced henges as the centre of local power, and most of these were found in the southeast, suggesting that the land successfully supported more people here than elsewhere.
the hill-fort remained the centre for local groups, and the inside of these hill-forts were filled with houses, and they became the simple economic capitals and smaller “towns” of the different tribal areas into which britain was now divided. the empty hill-forts remained local economic centers long after the romans case to britain, and long after they went.
within living memory certain annual fairs were associated with hill-forts.
druids (unit 1)
priests of a warrior class who ruled the celtic tribes and seem to have been particularly important members.
these druids could not read or write, but they memorized all the religious teachings, the tribal laws, history, medicine and other knowledge necessary in celtic society.
the druids from different tribes all over britain probably met once a year and they had no temples, but they met in sacred groves of trees, on certain hills, by rivers or by river sources.
boadicea (unit 1)
a woman who had become queen of her tribe when her husband had died. in ad 61 she led her tribe against the romans, and nearly drove them from britain, and she also destroyed london, the roman capital, before she was defeated and killed.
hadrian’s wall (unit 1)
at the time, it was simply intended to keep out raiders from the north, but it also marked the border between the two later countries: england and scotland.
coloniae (unit 1)
towns peopled by roman settlers.
municipia (unit 1)
large cities in which the whole population was given roman citizenship.
civitas (unit 1)
included the old celtic tribal capitals, through which the romans administered the celtic population in the countryside.
london (unit 1)
london was possibly the most important trading centre of northern europe, because southeast britain produced so much corn for export.
villas (unit 1)
large farms whose growth was the biggest change during the roman occupation.
these belonged to the richer britons who were, like the townspeople, more roman than celt in their manners.
the villas were usually close to towns so that the crops could be sold easily.
bede (unit 2)
english monk who wrote his story of events in his “ecclesiastical history of the english people”, and tells us that the invaders of britain came from three powerful germanic tribes: the saxons, angles and jutes.
saxons (unit 2)
the saxons settled between the jutes and the angles in a band of land from the thames estuary westwards. they created institutions which made the english state strong for the next 500 years. one of these institutions was the king’s council, called the witan.
angles (unit 2)
the angles settled in the east, and also in the north midlands.
jutes (unit 2)
the jutes settled mainly in kent and along the south coast.
the witan (unit 2)
the witan is an institution created by the saxons: the king’s council. the witan grew out of informal groups of senior warriors and churchmen to whom kings like offa had turned for advice or support on difficult matters. by the tenth century, the witan was a formal body, issuing laws and charters.
it was not all democratic, and the king could decide to ignore the witan’s advice. for the witan’s authority was based on its right to choose kings, and to agree the sue of the king’s laws. without its support the king’s own authority was in danger. the witan established a system which remained an important part of the king’s method of government.
“shires” (unit 2)
shires, or counties, was the way the saxons based their division of the land into new administrative areas. these shires remained almost exactly the same for a thousand years.
shire reeve (unit 2)
over each shire was appointed a shire reeve, the king’s local administrator. in time his name became shortened to “sheriff”.
manor (unit 2)
large house that could be found in each district. this was a simple building where local villagers came to pay taxes, where justice was administered, and where men met together to join the anglo-saxon army, the “fyrd”. the lord of the manor had to organize all this, and make sure village land was properly shared.
“fyrd” (unit 2)
the “fyrd” was the anglo-saxon army.
aldermen (unit 2)
the lords, or aldermen, were simply local officials at first, but by the beginning of the eleventh century they were warlords, and were often called “earl”. aldermen are elected officers in lica government, and earls are high ranking nobles.
this was the beginning of a class system, made up of kings, lords, soldiers and workers on the land.
the men of learning (unit 2)
the men of learning were another important class developed during the saxon period, and these came from the christian church.
augustine (unit 2)
monk sent by pope gregory the great in 1597 to re-establish christianity in england. augustine became the first archbishop of canterbury in 601, and several families in england accepted christianity, but augustine and his group of monks made little progress with the ordinary people. this was partly because augustine was interested in establishing christian authority, and that meant bringing rulers to the new faith.
christian celtic church (unit 2)
the christian celtic church was most interested in the hearts of ordinary people.
