Prepared by
‫اللغوى‬
The Linguist
‫הבּלשׁן‬
Le linguiste
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Lecture 1
The Stonehenge
1-The archaeological findings are the only resources to identify the first human existence
during the Stonehenge.
2- The settlers during that time were sorts of hunters and food gatherers.
3-They used preservation techniques like freezing, drying and locking up.
4-Being in the Stonehenge, they used tools built of stones, wood, clay and animals bones.
5-The tools used in Stonehenge were axes, hummers, needles and knives.
6- The technologies of farming were premature.
7-The most common crops planted were barley and wheat.
8-When the community leaves the land often 10 or 20 years of farming the land becomes
barren.
9- The Stonehenge people learned to domesticate animals like pigs, cattle, and sheep.
10- Human (early settlers) set themselves apart from other creature when they learned to
control fire and pick up stones to use as weapons.
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Lecture 2
The Bronze Age
1-It is thought that the Bronze Age was brought to Britain by immigrants arriving from central
Europe.
2- The immigrants taught the Britons how to mix copper with tin to produce bronze.
3- The weapons made of bronze were arrows, swords, spikes and barrows.
4- Tools used during Bronze Age were jars made from pottery –buckles and brooches made
from gold—daggers and adornment made from stone – necklace made from precious
material.
5- The bronze was better than stone as stone is a soft material compared with copper and
bronze .During the stone age, the early settlers couldn’t plough the land. Now by mixing
copper and tin people got a harder material that can help them in farming.
6- The influence of discovering bronze; life changed and people learned to live with better
living standard in bronze age. The stone age became extinct as society became more modern .
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Lecture 3
The Iron Age
1- A new wave of people came from the east Europe. They found a harder material under
the ground; it was iron.
2- Those eastern people arrived in Britain in little boats cut hallow from trees.
3- They dug for iron and made iron swords and spears which pushed back the men with
bronze.
4- They became proper farmers, turning the earth instead of only scratching it.
5- In the same time people learned to make clothes of wool. they also made pot, plates
and bowls of clay.
6- There were also wooden carts pulled by oxen for farming and taking things to next
village to sell. Other carts, pulled by horses were used in wars.
7- The people of later Iron Age are called Celts.
8- The Celts had put up great stones to form circles. They used these stone circles which
were without roofs as temples to pray to the sun and stars. One of these stone circles
can still be seen today. It is called Stonehenge.
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Lecture 4
The Romans
1- Military Technology
When Romans invaded Britain, They brought with them civilization and technology to Britain.
They had many kinds of weapons which were far better;
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The manu ballista ( ‫ → ) منجنيق‬it could hurl a bolt with an iron tip.
The onager (‫→ ) منجنيق‬to hurl rocks which could destroy wooden buildings.
Armor ( ‫ →) درع‬it was made of overlapping iron plates.
Chain mail (‫→ )درع‬it might have been worn by auxiliaries.
Prefabricated forts (‫ →)الحصون سابقة التجهيز‬they allowed the Romans to erct their bases with
unbelievable speed.
2- Roads
The Romans built tremendous roads to move the army quickly across the country.
The groma (‫→)الجروما‬it was a standard Roman instrument which helped them to build roads in straight line.
3- Codes and Signal
The Romans had clever signaling system. It was based on tow groups of five flags and a coded book which
allowed them to send messages.
The coded system they had included a dozen of fixed messages written in a book. The book was used with a
water clock by both the sender and receiver.
4-The Romans Meal
The Romans technology wasn’t only concerned with military actions as the Romans brought with them a
whole way for life including food and bathing customs.
Celts cooking had been a one pot affair but the Romans introduced the three course meals.
5-Bathing
For Romans, bathing wasn’t only for cleaning but it was also for pleasure and recreation (relaxation).
The Strigil ( ‫ → )آلة تستخدم فى االغتسال‬The Romans didn’t have soap but they used olive oil instead. They would lie
on a marble slab in a warm room, then they ruubed oil on their skin.
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They used a curved metal scraper called strigil to scrape off the mucky mixture.
6- Other Instruments
1- Waterwheel (‫ → )الساقية‬it is a Roman invention which was used to pump up water out of
earth.
2- The Odometer (‫→ )آالة لقياس المسافة‬Romans invented it to help them measure the distance
travelled along a road.
Lecture 5
The Anglo-Saxon
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The term Anglo –Saxon refers to the settlers from the German regions of Angela and Saxony.
The Anglo-Saxon ruled England for 600 years from 410 : 1066 forming its culture, language and borders.
The Anglo-Saxon era is called The Dark Age.
By the ninth century, the country was divided into four kingdoms; Northumberia, Mercia, East Anglia and
Wessex.
5- The Anglo-Saxon were pagan as they worshiped gods of nature.
6- The Romans armies withdrew from Britain in the fifth century to defend the crumbling center of the Empire.
Britain was outpost of little value.
7- At that time, Jutes and Frisians from Denmark were also settling in the British Isles.
8- The Anglo-Saxon influence ;
A) Building →they replaced the Romans stone building with wooden ones.
B) Language →they spoke their own language which gave rise the English spoken today.
C) Religion →they were pagan and they brought their religious beliefs but the arrival of Saint Augustine coverted
most the county to Christianity.
D) Political shape →during the rule of Anglo-Saxon, Britain under underwent many changes. by the ninth century,
the country was divided into four kingdoms; Northumberia, Mercia, East Anglia and Wessex.
E)
The Chronicle → it is a series of documents written in old English. Most of our information we have about AngloSaxon comes from Chronicle as it charted Anglo-Saxon history from mid fifth century until 1066. Chronicle recorded
the major events of that time. Among of them, it describes important battles and rise and fall kings and bishops. It
begins with the story of Hengist and Horsa in 449.It is worth noticing that these documents were ordered by king
Alfred the Great.
Anglo –Saxon Life
1-Religion
Anglo-Saxon were pagan. They worshiped gods of nature. Religion wasn’t a source of spiritual revelation, it was a
means of ensuring success in material things. For example, they might pray for a successful harvest or for a victory in
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a battle. The Anglo-Saxon gods were Tiw, Woden, Thor and Friya whose names remembered in our days of
the week.
Religion observance consisted of invocation and charms to ensure the gods help in the material world,
though the presence of grave goods indicates a belief in an afterlife.
2-Society
Society was divided into social classes as follow ;
1- The king; at the top. He was essentially a war leader.
2- The freemen; the upper class is Thanes; a man could be a Thane if he owned at least 5 hides of land.
The lower class is Ceorl ; a Ceorl could actually be richer than the Thane.
3- Slaves; they come at the bottom of social classes below the Thane and Ceorl.
Rich lords lived on estates with a main rectangular hall surrounded by buildings for various living, working
and storage purposes.
3- Slavery
Slavery was one of the commercial enterprises of the Dark Age life.
The way in; there were many sources of slaves
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One could have the bad luck to be born a slave.
Wars were the most frequent sources of slaves.
One could be a slave if he was unable to pay a fine ( debt)
In some cases, a family had to sell a child into slavery in time of fame to ensure the child survival.
The way out; slavery wasn’t necessarily a life time sentence. A slave could be freed in these cases;
1- A slave could be ransomed by his relatives.
2- A slave could be granted freedom in an owner will.
3- One who became a slave because of a debt might be freed when the value of his labour reached the value of
the debt.
4- Clothing
1- The robe or tunic was the common garment for men.
2- The robe or dress was the common garment for women.
3- The usual materials were linen and woolen.
5- Weapons
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Spears and shields were used by ordinary people.
Swords and hilts were used by nobility.
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6-Leisure
1- When they weren’t fighting, the Anglo –Saxon spent pastimes playing dice, board game like chess and
riddles.
2- Horse riding and hunting were also popular.
3-At feasts; the most common entertainment was harp, juggling balls and knives.
7-Food
1 -plants; the Anglo-Saxon grew wheat, oats, rye, barley, peas, beans, and lintels.
2-animals; Anglo-Saxon kept many kinds of animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs.
3- Horses and oxen were raised for heavy farm labour and transportation. Horses were also used in wars.
8-Pottery
Early Saxons pottery sees a return to pre-Roman technology for tow reasons;
1- The potters wheel is abandoned in favour of hand building techniques.
2-The low density of population made the large manufacture of pottery uneconomic.
It is only in the later Saxon period with growth of monasteries and settlement, the pottery production
started to come – back.
The Vikings
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1-
The Great Army
After thirty years of Danish raids on the east coast of England, a Great Army which was equipped for
conquest rather than quick booty arrived in England in 865.
The Danish invader established a secure base from which they could continue a campaign of harassment
which ended with the settled English buying peace from the Danish.
The Vikings came from Denmark and Norway.
2- King Alfred the Great
In popular tradition, the story of England began with Alfred the Great. He was the first Anglo-Saxon ruler
to be accepted as a national leader. Therefore he gained the title ( Alfred the Great ).
Alfred was born in 849 and raised as a prince as he was the fifth child of Wessex king.
In 871 Alfred achieved a victory over the Danes at Ashdown battle. In that year, Alfred s elder brother died
and he became the king of Wessex.
In 875, Alfred could claim a small naval victory over Danes when he went to the sea with his new fleet and
captured one of the Danish ships. On land , he defeated the Danish armies and forced them to agree to
leave Wessex in peace
In 878 there was a surprise Danish attack that pushed Alfred west into the Somerest marshes but he
organized his armies forming a local resistance and within a few months he was strong enough to move
east again and defeated the Danes at Wiltshire
The conclusion of this campaign was a two-week siege of Guthrum, the king of Danes who secured his
freedom by promising to leave Wessex. He also agreed to be baptized as a Christine.
A Danish invasion of kent in 885 gave Alfred the pretext for expansion eastwards. He drove back the
invaders and in 886 occupied London. This success led to a new treaty with Guthrum. He and Alfred
agreed a basis for coexistence between Anglo-Saxon in the south and west and Danes in the north and
east of the country.
King Alfred achievements
1- He established the first English fleet as he noticed that England is surrounded with water and invaders
usually come across the sea. Second, the Danes drew most of their strength from their swift long ships.
It made sense for the Anglo- Saxon to reply in kind.
2- He had a quarter-century of struggle against the Danes that began with the victory of Ashdown in 871.
3- He successfully resisted the Danes in several battles
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He strengthened Wessex defenses and armied forces.
He was responsible for creation of Chronicle.
He introduced horse riding.
He encouraged the English to learn.
He had peace treaty with the Danes.
Lecture 6
Anglo-Saxon –Viking Age
1- Coinage ‫سك العملة‬
Some foreign coins entered the region as a result of trading contacts both with western Europe and Islamic world.
Coins were valued only for their weight in silver and gold
Precious metal were a symbol of wealth and power.
Viking demonstrated their wealth and status by wearing beautiful jewellery or by having expensively ornamented
weapons
The main Anglo- Saxon kingdom each had their own coinage. We can say the wealth of Anglo-Saxon was one of the
main causes of Viking expansion.
Traders carried small scales which could measure weight very accurately, so it was possible to have a very precise
system of trade and exchange even without a regular coinage.
2-The Bullion Economy ‫اقتصاد السبائك‬
The bullion economy is a system which the value of a bullion depends on the weight and purity of the
precious metal not on the form of it. The most common metal in the economy was silver, gold was also
used . Silver circulated in the form of bars, ingots, jewellery and ornaments. Large pieces of jewellery were
chopped up into small pieces known as hack silver to make up the exact weight of silver. Traders carried
small scales which could measure weight very accurately, so it was possible to have a very precise system
of trade and exchange even without a regular coinage.
3-The Dane Geld ( ‫) الجزية‬
Both in England and on the Continent, native rulers regularly paid Viking raiders to leave them in peace.
Hence, the idea of Dane Geld appeared. It was a land tax paid by landholders to the crown in late AngloSaxon and Normans time.
This idea (Dane Geld) is particularly related to the reign of Ethelred II whose policy was to pay off the
Viking rather than to fight them. However, this policy was unsuccessful and led to the conquest of England.
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Making peace was a polite expression for paying the Viking to go away. The Chronicles are full of
references to rulers who had that policy. Even Alfred the Great, who was famous for his military
resistance, was forced to make peace.
4-Adopting Coinage )‫(تبنى العملة‬
The idea of coinage wasn’t a difficult one to grasp. When Viking began to settle in England, they began to
issue their own coinage. However, even a single silver penny was a valuable item and poorer people never
handled it at all. Coinage might be convenient than some other forms of silver, but payments continued to
be based on the total weight and quality of silver.
The reason for adopting coinage were political, cultural and economic. Like many barbarian invaders ,
Viking looked at the more civilized people they had invaded and wanted to be like them.
5-Issuing coins and Christian kingship ‫الملكية المسيحية واصدار العملة‬
Issuing coins was related to Christian kingship in Europe in the Middle Ages. The Anglo-Saxon themselves
had adopted coinage as soon as they converted to Christianity and Viking did the same. The link between
issuing coins and Christian kingship was clear in coinage of Viking rulers in Britain. It is noticed that AngloSaxon and Viking coinage carried Christian symbols. Many had Christian cross and others carried Christian
inscription. Moreover, some coins had both Christian and pagan symbols like St Peter penny which carried
the hammer of the pagan god Thor alongside the name of St Peter.
6-Viking women in England )‫(نساء الفايكنج فى انجلترا‬
It is noticed that Vikings weren’t just raiders but farmers, traders and settlers and they took their families
with them to British Isles. The Chronicle notes that a Viking army was accompanied by woman and children
who had to be put in a place of safety while the army fought.
7-Viking women weren’t dressed alike
It is obvious that Viking women weren’t dressed alike due to the various social classes ;
a) – the women of the slave-class wears old-fashioned clothes and serves bread that is heavy and thick
b) – the women of yeoman class wears a cap and blouse, has a kerchief around her neck and brooches at
he shoulders
c) –the aristocratic woman wears a blouse of smooth linen of a spreading skirt and appropriate jewellery ,
she serves silver dishes of pork and poultry.
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8-The Viking pagan graves are useful to archaeologists
‫فائدة مقابر الفايكنج الوثنيين بالنسبة لعلماء االثار‬
The Viking pagan graves are useful because the bodies were fully dressed and accompanied by personal
belongings which indicate important activities of the living. Pagan graves provide a lot of archaeological
evidence for early Scandinavian settlement in England and Scotland.
The standard Viking house was rectangular and had just one room in which everything took place around a
central hearth.
9-The Viking food preservation ‫طرق حفظ الفايكنج للطعام‬
The Viking family had many ways to stop their food going bad;
1- meat and fish can be smoked or rubbed with salt.
2– fruit can be dried.
3-grains are made into bread.
4-milk is made into cheese.
5-cooking the meat will make it last a little longer.
10-The Viking styles of settlement. ‫اساليب االستيطان عند الفايكنج‬
There were remarkable differences in the way that the newcomers lived. There is a contrast between the
essentially rural pattern of Norwegian settlement in Scotland, with its individual farms and family estates, and
the urban development of Dublin and later Waterford in Ireland. There the Vikings established trading centres
on the coastal fringe of a rural hinterland that was little affected by Scandinavian activities.
York was the northernmost of the Viking towns of England, and it seems possible that the Viking
takeover of rural estates may have stimulated urban growth in the sense that some of the dispossessed
English farmers sought a new life in trade or industry in towns.
Timber buildings set in plots of equal size suggest a degree of town planning, while the debris from workshops
tells of urban industries. Timber buildings set in plots of equal size suggest a degree of town planning, while
the debris from workshops tells of urban industries such as leather-working, bone comb-making, textiles and
metalworking. Crucial to urban development is the discovery of coin-making dies, for the Viking economy had
previously been based not on currency but on silver bullion and the exchange of goods.
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Lecture 7
The Middle Ages
1-Definitions ‫تعريفات‬
1-The Middle Ages are so called as the middle period between the decline of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance.
2-The Middle Ages are also referred to as the Medieval era. ‫القرون الوسطى‬
3-The Dark Ages preceded the Middle Ages
This includes events in England from the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and ending in the emergence of the English
Renaissance period with the Tudor dynasty in 1485.
2-Life in the Middle Ages
1-The life of all the classes was dominated by the feudal system.
2-The jobs and occupations dictated the quality of life during the Middle Ages.
3-A troubadour‫ شاعر غنائى‬is a writer or singer of lyric verses about courtly love, especially in parts of
Europe between the 11th and 13th centuries
4-A minstrel ‫ منشد‬is a medieval singer, musician, or reciter of poetry who traveled around from place to
place giving performances.
5-- The crusades ‫الحمالت الصليبية‬
are journeys made by European leaders to save the sacred places in Jerusalem.
6-The Knights Templar, the Teutonic Knights and the Hospitallers emerged during the crusades and got
special training.
7-Two types of types of armed men appeared in Medieval times these are Knights and foot soldiers.
8- An Archer is someone who uses the bow and the arrow.
9-The Board Sword, Flachion, Great Sword, and Long Sword are types of Medieval weapons.
10-The Ballista, Catapult, Mangonel and Battering ram are types of Medieval machine weapons.
11-Architecture‫ العمارة‬- ‫ الهندسة المعمارية‬is about evolution not revolution.
12 -The Romano-British culture included Architecture, language, religion, political organization and arts.
13- The Anglo-Saxon buildings were made of wood.
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14-The underlying ethos ‫ السائدة‬-‫الصفة‬-‫ الروح‬of Medieval architecture was fitness for purpose.‫مناسبة للغرض‬
15- Castles were functional buildings rather than ornament.
16- Dressing indicated the status of the person wearing them
Middle Ages Religion
17-Christianity, religion and the church played an important role in life in the Middle Ages.
3- Crusade in the Middle Ages
Pilgrimages to Jerusalem were made by people in the Middle Ages who had been guaranteed their safety in the city.
In 1065 Jerusalem was taken by the Turks and Christians were treated so badly that throughout Christendom people
were stirred to fight in crusades.
The crusades saw the emergence of religious knights including the Knights Templar who are members of a Christian
military order that was founded in Jerusalem in 1119 to protect pilgrims after the First Crusade of 1096) and the
Hospitallers who are members of a military religious order, the Knights of the Hospital of St John, founded in the late
11th century by European crusaders to care for sick pilgrims in Jerusalem. The members of the orders of Religious
knights were both monks and knights; that is, to the monastic vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience they added a
fourth vow, which bound them to protect pilgrims and fight the infidels.
4- Knights Templar ‫فرسان المعبد‬
The crusades saw the emergence of religious knights including the Knights Templar. A Knights Templar is a member of a
Christian military order that was founded in Jerusalem in 1119 to protect pilgrims after the First Crusade of 1096.
The members of the orders of Religious knights were both monks and knights; that is, to the monastic vows of
chastity, poverty, and obedience they added a fourth vow, which bound them to protect pilgrims and fight the infidels.
5-Hospitallers ‫الهوسبتاليون‬
The Hospitaller is a member of a military religious order, the Knights of the Hospital of St John, founded in the late
11th century by European crusaders to care for sick pilgrims in Jerusalem/ also he is seen as a member of a religious
order or charitable institution involved in the care of the sick, especially in hospital.
The members of the orders of Religious knights were both monks and knights; that is, to the monastic vows of
chastity, poverty, and obedience they added a fourth vow, which bound them to protect pilgrims and fight the infidels.
6-The an Anglo-Saxon Building
The period between the Norman landing in 1066 and 1485 marks a rare flowering of British building. And it is all the
more remarkable because the underlying ethos of medieval architecture was 'fitness for purpose'.
The great cathedrals and parish churches that lifted up their towers to heaven were not only acts of devotion in
stone; they were also fiercely functional buildings. Castles served their particular purpose and their battlements
were for use rather than ornament. The rambling manor houses of the later Middle Ages, however, were primarily
homes, their owners achieving respect and maintaining status by their hospitality and good lordship rather than
the grandeur of their building. Fitness for purpose also characterised the homes of the poorer classes.
7-Society of the Middle Ages
The life of all the classes was dominated by the feudal system. It affected the general daily Life; the daily life of a noble
lord, a knight, a noblewoman, a peasant, a peasant woman, a monk and a nun
Middle Ages clothing and fashion like everything else was dictated by the Pyramid of Power which was the Middle
Ages Feudal System. Medieval clothes provided information about the status of the person wearing them.