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CELTIC AND ROMAN BRITAIN Thousand years before Christ the Celts spread across Europe. In many years they have turned coming in France and Belgium, and crossing to Britain. Northwest Europe was dominated by three main Celtic groups: the Gauls, the Britons and the Gaels. They spoke a common language which still survives today in parts of Scotland, Ireland, Wales. Celtic people of Britain lived in tribes, their religion was called Druidism and their most important divinity was the sun god. The ancient monument in Wiltshire in the southwest of England called Stonehenge. The Romans came to Britain nearly 2000 years ago. Julius Caesar raided Britain and hundred years later, the Romans conquered the island with Emperor Claudius. Roman Britain included England and Wales. The Romans, led by Emperar Hadrian, built a wall to defend the province of "Britannia'. Hadrian's Wall runs from coast to coast. The Romans built towns, roads, stone villas with central heating, thermal baths and aqueducts. The last Roman soldiers left Britain in 410 CE and then new people came in ships historians call them Anglo-Saxons.

ANGLO-SAXON BRITAIN These were Germanic tribes known as Angles, Saxons and Jutes. They spoke different dialects of 'Old English'. The final refuge for Roman Britons was Cornwall, Wales and Cumberland. In the course of centuries of struggle, greater kings absorbed the territories of lesser ones, until AngloSaxon England that was divided into seven states. This period is commonly called 'The Heptarchy'. The little we know about them is based more on legend than on written documents. They governed themselves by war councils when they were on the move and by village meetings when they came down. The king had around him his followers or thanes to whom he gave protection. In exchange, the thanes watched over the farmland, collected taxes and went to war when required. When they invaded Britain, the Anglo-Saxons were pagans. Pope Gregory the Great sent a mission under a monk named Augustine to convert the Anglo-Saxons. Augustine landed in Kent, and built a church in Canterbury, where he later became the first archbishop. The Anglo-Saxon invasions, had preserved the christian faith. One of them, St. Patrick, organised a Church among the Celts of Ireland. One of the monks, the Venerable Bede, wrote in Latin an Ecclesiastical Church History of the English People. Raids by Scandinavian Viking pirates on sites in Britain, began at the end of the eighth century. In 793 CE Viking raiders unexpectedly attacked the monastery of Lindisfarne, on the coast of Northumbria. After many monasteries in the North were destroyed so the remaining monks fled to Kells. In the 850s the Vikings began to settle in Britain and were ready to conquer all of the island. Alfred the Great of Wessex united the Anglo-Saxon people against these new invaders saving his kingdom from the Danes. Alfred now sought to civilise his people. He had Bede's an Ecclesiastical Church History of the English People translated into Old English to record English history. His son, Edward the Elder reconquered the Danelaw, and later King Edgar put laws for all the nations recognising the multi-ethnic character of England at the time. Harold, the last Anglo-Saxon king, defeated the Vikings in the north of England but was then forced to move his army in south to affront Norman invasion.

ANGLO-SAXON POETRY Anglo-Saxon poetry used some recurring stylistic and language effects that had a strong impact on

the development of English literature. the first formal aspect to be underlined was the importance of stress. The second important stylistic feature was the use of alliteration. Anglo-Saxon poetry made wide use of an important figure of speech called kenning. A kenning is the combination of two different words to create compound metaphors.

NORMAN ENGLAND William, Duke Normandy, was crowned king in Normandy and it became an English territory. The Normans introduced the feudal system and built castles to defend their conquest. The Normans also brought their language, Norman French, that togheter Latin were the languages of the Church and government. In 1085 William commissioned a detailed survey of the land and wealth in England and of all the nation's resources so that he could calculate how much money he could raise in taxes. The results of this survey were published one year later in a book called the Domesday Book.

The word feudalism comes from feud, the name of the land. William introduced the idea that all the land was king propriety and his followers promised him loyalty, and an amount of money. Nobles, knights and men of rank down divided the land to their followers. In the towns, the great centres of aggregation were the church and the marketplace.

William was succeeded by his son William who was succeeded by his younger brother Henry upon his untimely death. Henry was the first Norman king born in England, and the first to speak English as well as French. Baron Simon de Montfort at the Battle of Lewes ordered that two knights should be elected in each county, and two citizens in each town, to meet as a parliament. His main objective was to call together representatives of the classes that were on his side. Elected knights and citizens had already come to court, but this was the first meeting of a body that included both the classes. Edward was a determined king, raised an army, defeated the disloyal barons at the Battle of Evesham and freed his father. Simon de Montfort was killed. He suppressed rebellion in Wales and subdued the Welsh to English domination. He also fought against the Scots in the first Scottish War of Independence. Edward finally overcame Scottish resistance. Wallace was captured and executed. Edward had the 'Stone of Destiny' removed from Scotland and taken to London. This large stone had been the symbol of Scottish kings for centuries and was used for coronations. It was then used for the coronation of English kings in Westminster until the British Parliament decided to hand it back to Scotland. The Hundred Years' War with France began to regain territories and to put a doubtful claim to the French throne. Under Edward III, the English won two important victories and during the reign of Henry V. Under Henry VI, things changed. Joan of Arc, the greatest heroine of French history led the French to victory. The next years, the French regained their territories and the only English possession left in France was the port at Calais.

A pestilence that run across Europe and arrived in England in 1348, was the worst thing that people of England lived. The Black Death had a major impact on England's social structure because the reduced number of serfs obliged the lords to pay free labourers. The last half of the 14th century saw the birth of the English language. The number of people who could speak both French and Anglo-Saxon increased. A new language came into existence and a great national poet appeared to help to mould it: Geoffrey Chaucer.

The Canterbury Tales were printed by William Caxton and written by Chaucer in the language of London, also called Middle English. (The next 30-year dynastic conflict was known as the War of the Roses because the white rose was the emblem of the House of York, and the red rose was the symbol of the House of Lancaster. The war was finally won by Henry Tudor of the House of Lancaster. The Tudor dynasty was born thanks to the union of the two families and brought a new period of strength and growth. When in 1485 Henry VII came to the throne there was the end of the medieval period.)

AFTER THE NORMAN CONQUEST From 10th until the 15th century French, Old English and Latin co-existed and mutually influenced one another in Britain. This led to the birth of Middle English, with Germanic roots but elements from Latin and French. The literature of the Middle Ages is characterised by many genres: Romances, poems and religious plays. The masterpiece of English Medieval poetry is Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, a collection of short stories written in verse which was considered the first poem in English. Chaucer's poem was written in Middle English and is a portrait of Medieval society, with all its typical characters, contradictions and peculiarities. The most popular poetic genre of the Middle Ages was Romance. Romance is a poetic composition with two main themes, love and chivalry, and it is characterised by adventures, supernatural encounters, exotic settings and magic objects. Medieval Romances can be divided into three main cycles: • the Matter of Rome, about Roman heroes; • the Matter of France, including stories of Charlemagne and Roland; • the Matter of Britain, including the stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

BEOWULF This is developed out of a Germanic tradition. The author of Beowulf was Christian and spoke Old English. The epic poem Beowulf is contained in a manuscript was written down by two scribes. The events narrated in the poem take place in Scandinavia. The poem talks about of the Scandinavian prince Beowulf. In the first part, Beowulf travels from the land of the Geats to the land of the Danes to free it from Grendel a man-eating monster. The second part of the poem presents the story of Beowulf as a king. After ruling for about 50 years in peace and prosperity, Beowulf is asked to fight another terrible dragon but during the fight he is mortally wounded. The poem ends with the description of Beowulf's funeral. Beowulf is represented in the poem as a perfect hero with all the virtues and the qualities of the perfect warrior. The fight with the monster Grendel is an essential episode in Beowulf's life as it shows he has all the attributes of the great king he would eventually become. The final part of the poem represents the moment when Beowulf encounters his implacable fate. His death represents the climax of his heroic life.

LORD RANDAL Lord Randal is an anonymous Scottish ballad: it was originally transmissed through generations as a folk ballad. The poem is organised in ten stanzas of four lineas each, It is structured as a dialogue between a mother and her son.

The main theme of the poem is betrayal: Lord Randal has been poisoned by his false love and with drammatic irony recounts the datails of this episode. This is a typical trait of medieval culture, in which the preservation of property was one of the primary concerns of a dyìng person. Another important theme of the poem is death. Some critics have underlined that the repetition of the refrain pronounced by Lord Randal's mother may act as a magic formula she uses to try anda exorcise death. Lord Randal is a poem about love, death and betrayal. It is a deep and enchanting meditation on the mysteries of life, on its brevity and on its absurdity.

GROFFREY CHAUCER Geoffrey Chaucer is the author of The Canterbury Tales and is considered the father of English literature. Chaucer was born in London in 1340, where he received a good education and belonged to a wealthy family and this allowed him to find a place in the home of John of Gaunt, a wealthy man who was linked to the royal family. The Canterbury Tales was written in the last years of his life, between 1387 and 1400. The Canterbury Tales is an unfinished poem and is famous for being the first poem published in the English language. English was considered a low-class language. Chaucer therefore in his poem in English wants to show that English is a vehicle that can be used to express high literary content and makes poetry available to all. It is structured like a narrative poem and is in verse. It is one of the oldest forms of storytelling and has many traits of the oral tradition. Chaucer's literary production can be divided into three main periods: • the first period is called the "French period" because it includes a series of works for which Chaucer drew inspiration from French models. The works belonging to this phase are Il Romaunt della Rosa and Il Libro della Duchessa; • the second period is called the "Italian period" because it includes works inspired by Dante or Boccaccio; • finally, the third period corresponds to the "English period" and includes Chaucer's masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales. In Chaucer's masterpiece, pilgrimage is not only an act of religious devotion but also a life-changing experience.

THE PROLOGUE: THE CANTERBURY TALES. Chaucher’s prologue can be divided in 3 important points. In the first point the poet speaks about the weather of the season in which decided to set the pilgrimage: it’s April. April is a simbolic refriment, it rapresents the spring, so the rebirth of nature. In the second point, the poet gives us some informations about the settings (London, in a tabel whose name is “The Taband”), where he meet 29 pilgrims (+1 with him), who wanted to go to Canterbury. In the third point, the poet describes each pilgrim, all the 29 pilgrims. In the prologue he says “we are 30 pilgrims, including myself” and this is probably the real novelty of this poem. The poet describes each pilgrim according to how they dress, how the ride. This also beacuse for him is important that the reader knows which social status the pilgrim belongs to.

HENRY SECOND Henry II make the “legal reform” thanks to travelling judges collected the sentenced calling it “common law”. It should be used in all english legal matters. Deduce the temporal power of church so he appointed Thomas Backet and Archibishod of Canterbury. Thomas was a kings friends but he refused to sign the constitution of Clarendone. His refusal beud to a conflict between Henry anch Becket that endend with the murdering of Becket in Canterbury, then Becket was maid saint. When Henry died his son Richard Lion Heart was involved in the saintland. He spent a lot of time abroad so his brother was was in charge of power and asked barons to sove money but they refused so imposed an taxation system.

THE PILGRIMS: Pilgrims can be divided into 3 main groups: a first group connected with the feudal world in decline. A second group associated with religious life. A third, more heterogeneous group that includes a wife from Bath, a merchant, a lawyer, a plowman, a carpenter, a cook, a doctor, an Oxford student, etc. At the respective extremes of the social scale, there are a Knight and a Plowman, and between these two the bulk is made up of the bourgeoisie. At first, Chaucer seems to respect the hierarchy of time by introducing the Knight first; but the presentation of him then confuses the rest of the party without consideration of rank and dignity, as if to underline that the old feudal values are disappearing. While pilgrims all represent their social status, they are not limited to their traditional roles. The jourmey, in fact, dissolves their self-control and allows them greater freedom of language and behavior, so that they seem to share equal conditions and experiences....