Greek Gods- Rome- Middle Ages- England
- Автор: Harding Samuel B.
- Год: 1909
- Язык: английский
- Год: Heritage History
- Жанр: История
Электронная книга - «Greek Gods- Rome- Middle Ages- England». Краткое содержание книги:
Greek Gods and Heroes
City of the Seven Hills
The Story of the Middle Ages
The Story of England
Moving forward, step by step, the Celts settled in western Europe, at some time before history began. The Gauls remained in the country we call France. Others of the Celts, chief among whom were the Britons, moved across the Channel and gave their name to the British Isles.
The Britons were tall and slender, with light complexions and blue eyes. Many of them had red hair. When they went to war they stained their faces and bodies with a bluish dye taken from one of their native herbs. They fought mostly on foot, using swords and spears. They were fierce and bold and ready to resist any invader; but they were not systematic in their fighting, and when steadily attacked would give way. Their bronze weapons and tools were harder and sharper than the stone implements of the earlier peoples. They made small round boats, of basket-work covered with skins. They plowed the land and raised wheat. They could spin and weave; they knew something of mining and metal-working; they could quarry great stones from the hills; and they exchanged their tin for the goods of Gaul and other countries.
Bronze Swords from Britain
Yet the Britons had no cities or towns, but lived in rude villages. Their huts were round, somewhat like Indian wigwams; they were built of sticks and reeds, though sometimes they had stone foundations.
The Britons believed in many gods. These included one who was supreme over all, besides a sun god, a god of thunder, and others. The worship of the Britons included bloody sacrifices of both animals and men. The human sacrifices were usually of criminals, or of captives taken in war; but sometimes innocent persons were sacrificed to their gods. The priests were called Druids, and they were the most learned men among the Britons. They were respected almost as much as the chiefs and kings, and were consulted on all questions of law and religion.
At several places in England there are still standing some peculiar stone structures, erected in these early days. The most famous of these is Stonehenge, near Salisbury. It is a circle of huge stones set on end, with great stones laid crosswise upon them. Smaller circles and ovals are arranged within the great circle. One of the stones at Stonehenge weighs nearly seventy tons. The whole circle stands in the midst of burial places, and it probably had something to do with the worship of these early peoples.
Stonehenge
No one knows how long the Britons were the ruling race in these islands. But whether it was many centuries, or only a few, they did not learn to unite under a single government. They had many chiefs, but none who was recognized throughout the country as supreme.
So, when the Romans made an invasion into their land, no united resistance was possible. The stricter discipline and firmer organization of the Romans won the victory, and Britain was added to the great Empire of Rome.
Topics for Thought and Search
Describe the position of the British Isles on the map.
Locate Calais, Dover, St. George's Channel; the rivers Thames, Seine, Mersey and Clyde; Wales, Scotland, Mt. Snowdon.
What advantages result from the fact that Great Britain is an island? What disadvantages?
What differences in race, customs, etc., were there between the "stone men" and the Britons?
Which were further advanced in civilization, the early Britons or the North American Indians? Why?
The Romans in Britain
When Christ was born, about nineteen hundred years ago, the Roman Empire was the greatest government in the world.
Through seven centuries of struggle the Romans had slowly increased their strength. In the early days, when Rome stood alone as a small city on the seven hills by the river Tiber, it had more than once been in danger of destruction, from civil war within or from enemies without. But gradually it extended in power, until all Italy was under Rome's rule. Then Sicily was gained; then Spain, Macedonia, Greece, and many other countries—until Roman governors and Roman armies were found in all the lands bordering on the Mediterranean Sea, and Rome was mistress of the civilized world.
Wherever the Roman power went, peace and good order went also, and for many years the Roman Empire remained a blessing to the world. But Rome was not able to stop her conquests. The barbarians of the north—the Germans and the Gauls—threatened her borders, and she defended herself by sending armies into their countries also.
The commander of one of these armies was Julius Caesar—the greatest of Roman generals and also a great statesman. He was in charge of the war against the Gauls. In three years he conquered their whole country, from the Pyrenees Mountains to the English Channel. In the next seven years he succeeded in bringing Gaul so thoroughly under Roman control, and making the Gallic people so well satisfied with their condition, that his province became in later days one of the most civilized and peaceful parts of the Empire.
During his work in Gaul, Caesar twice led an army into Britain. His object was to show to the Britons the Roman power, and to warn them not to help their kinsmen across the Channel.
Caesar's first visit was in the year 55 before Christ. On this occasion the Britons met the Romans at the shore, and tried to prevent their landing. Here a Roman soldier showed the value of Roman training. While the Romans were hesitating to leap into the sea, a standard bearer, who carried the brazen eagle, cried out:
Caesar Landing in Britain
"Follow me, fellow soldiers, unless you will betray the Roman eagle into the hands of the enemy. For my part, I am resolved to do my duty to Caesar and to the commonwealth."
He then leaped from the ship, and the other soldiers followed. The Britons were driven back, after a fierce conflict.
That year Caesar remained only a short time in Britain. Next summer he came again, remained a little longer, and made the Britons promise to pay tribute. He did not conquer any part of Britain, and the tribute was never paid. But he showed the Britons the power of Rome, and they did not afterward interfere with his work in Gaul. When Caesar wrote a history of his wars, a few years later, he gave the Romans their first real knowledge of Britain. From that time on, they looked upon it as a land worth having.
About a hundred years afterward, the Romans began their first conquest of the island. Large armies were sent over, and the conquest was made, little by little, from the south toward the north and west. In about forty years, all that we now know as England was conquered.
Map of Roman Britain
At one time Boadicea, the queen of a tribe in eastern Britain, led the people in a great revolt against the unjust and cruel acts of a Roman governor. For a time the British swept victoriously over the country. They captured and burned the Roman settlement where London now is and killed thousands of the Romans. But the Romans were better organized, and in the end they defeated the queen's army. Boadicea then took poison, and the revolt was over.
Some years later, the Roman governor Agricola came to Britain to finish the conquest. He was a man of energy and courage, and he extended the Roman power from the Humber river northward to the river Clyde. He built a line of forts across the country, to hold back the wild tribes of Picts, in the north. He was a just governor, and his fair treatment caused many of the Britons to like the Roman rule.