The Magna Carta

Magna Carta

What is Magna Carta?

Magna Carta is an english document created in 1215 by King John of England.

Why was it created?

The taxes that King John imposed to his barons were heavy, and if they refused to pay he punished them. The barons didn't consider that fair, and forced King John to negotiate. The results of the negotiation was written down and that document is what we know todas as Magna Carta.

What does it say?

Magna Carta stablishes a lot of new rights for the freeman, for example: "no man should be arrested or imprisioned excepto by the judgement of their equals and by the law of the land". This includes the king.

How did Magna Carta influenced the world history?

Magna Carta was reissued several times duringthe 13th century until it was finally included in the English law. It echoed in the USA Declaration of Independency and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

https://www.bl.uk/magna-carta/videos/what-is-magna-carta

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Anglo-Saxon period.

The Anglo-Saxon period.

• The term Anglo-Saxon is a relatively modern one. It refers to settlers from the German regions of Angeln and Saxony, who made their way over to Britain after the fall of the Roman Empire around AD 410.

The Roman armies withdrew from Britain early in the fifth century because they were needed back home to defend the crumbling centre of the Empire. Britain was considered a far-flung outpost of little value.

At this time, the Jutes and the Frisians from Denmark were also settling in the British Isles, but the Anglo-Saxon settlers were effectively their own masters in a new land and they did little to keep the legacy of the Romans alive. They replaced the Roman stone buildings with their own wooden ones, and spoke their own language, which gave rise to the English spoken today.

The Anglo-Saxons also brought their own religious beliefs, but the arrival of Saint Augustine in 597 converted most of the country to Christianity.

The Anglo-Saxon period lasted for 600 years, from 410 to 1066, and in that time Britain's political landscape underwent many changes.

Wessex was the only one of these kingdoms to survive the Viking invasions. Eric Bloodaxe, the Viking ruler of York, was killed by the Wessex army in 954 and England was united under one king - Edred.The early settlers kept to small tribal groups, forming kingdoms and sub-kingdoms. By the ninth century, the country was divided into four kingdoms - Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia and Wessex.

Most of the information we have about the Anglo-Saxons comes from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a year-by-year account of all the major events of the time. Among other things it describes the rise and fall of the bishops and kings and the important battles of the period. It begins with the story of Hengist and Horsa in AD 449.

Anglo-Saxon rule came to an end in 1066, soon after the death of Edward the Confessor, who had no heir. He had supposedly willed the kingdom to William of Normandy, but also seemed to favour Harold Godwinson as his successor.

Harold was crowned king immediately after Edward died, but he failed in his attempt to defend his crown, when William and an invading army crossed the Channel from France to claim it for himself. Harold was defeated by the Normans at the Battle of Hastings in October 1066, and thus a new era was ushered in.

https://yalebooks.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/anglosaxonworldfeatured.jpg

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/anglo_saxons/saxons.shtml

The Vikings

The vikings.

• Who were the vikings?

A Viking is one of the Norse (Scandinavian) explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the late eighth to the early eleventh century. These Norsemen used their famed longships to travel as far east as Constantinople and the Volga River in Russia, and as far west as Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland. This period of Viking expansion is known as the Viking Age, and forms a major part of the medieval history of Scandinavia, the British Isles and Europe in general.

• How was the religion?

The Viking Age was a period of considerable religious change in Scandinavia. Part of the popular image of the Vikings is that they were all pagans, with a hatred of the Christian Church, but this view is very misleading. It is true that almost the entire population of Scandinavia was pagan at the beginning of the Viking Age, but the Vikings had many gods, and it was no problem for them to accept the Christian god alongside their own. Most scholars today believe that Viking attacks on Christian churches had nothing to do with religion, but more to do with the fact that monasteries were typically both wealthy and poorly defended, making them an easy target for plunder.

The Vikings came into contact with Christianity through their raids, and when they settled in lands with a Christian population, they adopted Christianity quite quickly. This was true in Normandy, Ireland, and throughout the British Isles. Although contemporary accounts say little about this, we can see it in the archaeological evidence. Pagans buried their dead with grave goods, but Christians normally didn't, and this makes it relatively easy to spot the change in religion.

http://historyrocket.com/images/Nordic-Religions-In-The-Viking-Age.jpg

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/religion_01.shtml

Social Medias.

Social Medias.

• What is a Social Media? 

Social media is a phrase that we throw around a lot these days, often to describe what we post on sites and apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and others.

But if we use the term to describe a site like Facebook, and also a site like Digg, plus a site like Wikipedia, and even a site like I Can Has Cheezburger, then it starts to get more confusing. Just what is social media anyway?

The term is used so vaguely that it can basically be used to describe almost any website on the internet today.

Or maybe not. Some people have more of a restricted view of social media, often equating it to mean the same as social networking (a.k.a. Facebook, Twitter, etc.). Other people don't consider blogs to fall under the social media category.

Memes

Memes

• What is a meme? 

A meme is virally-transmited cultural symbol or social idea, meme are cultural symbol and social ideas that spread virally, primarily with the intent to either make people caugh or to make fun of others.

• What could be considered as meme? 

Memes can be videos and verbal expressions, some memes have heavier and more philosophical content.

• What kind of information contains a meme? 

The meme content itself is usually something of minor everyday ¿consequence: Jokes, urban legends, tv and movie refereneces. In rare cases, memes can be profound art and music curiosities. 

• Where you  can find memes? 

The internet is how we now spread modern memes to each other's inboxes specially using  social webs. 

Picture by; https://es.pinterest.com

The Roman invasion to Britain.

The invasion to Britain. 

Around 2,000 years ago, Britain was ruled by tribes of people called the Celts. But this was about to change. For around a century, the Roman army had been building an Empire across Europe. Now it was coming for Britain!

In AD43, the full might of the Roman army landed on the beaches in Kent. Over the next year it battled inland, storming through hillforts and chopping down anyone who stood in their way.

The Romans wanted Britain's precious metals. They called the land ‘Britannia’, which meant 'land of tin'. However, they weren't just a destructive force - they built new forts, new settlements and roads . They spread their culture, language and laws.  

When the Romans invaded, the Celtic tribes had to decide whether or not to fight back. If they made peace, they agreed to obey Roman laws and pay taxes. In return, they could keep their kingdoms. However, some Celtic leaders chose to fight. After years of heavy taxes and the Romans taking their land, some Celtic tribes were desperate for revenge. In AD60, one leader who chose to fight was Queen Boudicca of the Iceni tribe. She raised a huge army and went on a rampage, burning the Roman towns of Colchester and London, before heading north to St Albans.

When the Roman army heard about this, they turned back from their campaign in Wales to face Boudicca. Even though the Romans were outnumbered by Boudicca's 200,000 warriors, they were better trained and had better armour. Both sides clashed in a fierce battle, but the Romans won.

Picture and information by: https://upload.wikimedia.org

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/

• How was Britain like before Roman Invasion?

Before Roman times 'Britain' was just a geographical entity, and had no political meaning, and no single cultural identity. Arguably this remained generally true until the 17th century, when James I of England and VI of Scotland sought to establish a pan-British monarchy.

Throughout recorded history the island has consisted of multiple cultural groups and identities. Many of these groupings looked outwards, across the seas, for their closest connections - they did not necessarily connect naturally with their fellow islanders, many of whom were harder to reach than maritime neighbours in Ireland or continental Europe.

It therefore makes no sense to look at Britain in isolation; we have to consider it with Ireland as part of the wider 'Atlantic Archipelago', nearer to continental Europe and, like Scandinavia, part of the North Sea world.

• What was the main reason of the Roman Invasion to Britain? 

The Romans invaded Britain in order to gain access to its mineral wealth and agricultural fields, and to prevent a regrouping and counterattack by the recently-conquered Gauls who had escaped the Roman armies by fleeing to the island. Roman military leaders were often enthusiastic about conquering new territories because it provided them with wealth that could be used to pay for the loyalty of their troops and to bribe officials back in Rome to further their careers. Although Julius Caesar's first two invasions between 55 and 54 B.C. were primarily intended as a preemptive strike against a Gaulish stronghold on the inland, it was not until about 100 years later that a full-scale Roman invasion led to an occupation that lasted almost 400 years.

Roman Soldier

Information and picture by: http://unsworth-primary.co.uk/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/

The Celts

The Celts

The ancient celts  were various population groups living in several parts of Europe north of the Mediterranean region from the Late Bronze Age onwards. Given the name Celt by ancient writers, these tribes often migrated and so eventually occupied territories from Portugal to Turkey. Although diverse tribes the ancient Celts spoke the same language and maintained the same artistic tradition which is characterised by the use of idiosyncratic flowing lines and forms. Celtic languages are still spoken today in parts of the British Isles and northern France.

Picture by: https://chechar.wordpress.com/category/celts/

GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD

Ancient writers gave the name Celts to various population groups living across central Europe inland from the Mediterranean coastal areas. Most scholars agree that the Celtic culture first appeared in the Late Bronze Age in the area of the upper Danube sometime around the 13th century BCE.

CELTIC WARFARE

Celtic warriors were known for their long hair and imposing physique. They are depicted in Greek art with their distinctive long shields (wooden panels covered in decorated hide) and long swords. Such was the respect for Celtic warriors that Hellenistic kings who defeated Galatian armies were given the title of soter, meaning ‘saviour’. Although Galatian armies were almost always defeated by their more disciplined and better-equipped enemies in single battles, once conquered, they did fight successfully as mercenaries in many Hellenistic and Roman armies.

Picture by: http://www.craftycelts.com

CELTIC LANGUAGES

The Celtic language is a branch of the Indo-European language family. Scholars have divided Celtic languages into two groups: Insular Celtic and Continental Celtic. The latter group was no longer widely spoken after the Roman imperial period, and the only surviving examples of it are mentions in the works of Greek and Roman writers and some epigraphic remains such as pottery graffiti and votive and funerary stelae. The best documented of this group is Gaulish.  

The Insular Celtic group of languages are two: British or Brittonic (Breton, Cornish, and Welsh) and Goidelic (Irish and its medieval derivatives, Scots Gaelic and Manx). Brittonic was spoken in all of Britain in the Roman period. From it evolved Cumbrian (extinct since medieval times), Cornish (no longer spoken after the 18th century CE but recently revived), Breton (likely introduced by 5th-century CE British settlers and not connected directly to Gaulish), and Welsh, which is still spoken today. The earliest evidence of Goidelic-Irish dates to the 5th century CE, and it later evolved into Middle Irish (c. 950 – 1200 CE) and, thereafter, morphed again into Modern Irish, which is still spoken today.    

Information by: http://www.ancient.eu

Celtic Women 

Celtic women were distinct in the ancient world for the liberty and rights they

enjoyed and the position they held in society. Compared to their counterparts in Greek,

Roman, and other ancient societies, they were allowed much freedom of activity and

protection under the law. The Iron Age Celts were nevertheless a patriarchal people and for the most part men had the ultimate power in politics and the home. Despite this, ancient Celtic women remain an inspiring example of womanhood from the past.

Women's roles in public life.

Though public life among the Iron Age Celts was largely the domain of men,

women managed to play a prominent role as well. They seem not to have been

systematically excluded from any occupation. Women could become druids, including

priestesses, poets, and healers. They could conduct business without the consent or

involvement of their husbands. They could serve as diplomats; in fact, a woman acted as

ambassador in establishing the treaty between the Carthaginian general Hannibal and the 

Celtic ruler Volcae during a march against Rome. Plutarch wrote in the second century

that there was a long-standing tradition among the Celts of women acting as mediators or

judges in political and military disputes. They were also known to have played a similar

mediating role in their own tribal assemblies. 

Information by; http://www.celtlearn.org/pdfs/women.pdf

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Druids

Druids were people in ancient Britain and France who served a wide variety of roles — “philosophers, teachers, judges, the repository of communal wisdoms about the natural world and the traditions of the people, and the mediators between humans and the gods.”

They offered human sacrifices for those who were gravely sick or in danger of death in battle. Huge wickerwork images were filled with living men and then burned; although the Druids preferred to sacrifice criminals, they would choose innocent victims if necessary.

Druidic rites were held in clearings in the forest. Sacred buildings were used only later under Roman influence.

Picture and information by: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Druid  http://www.livescience.com/45727-druids.html

Caratacus

Caractacus was a king and tribal leader of the ancient Britons during the Iron Age and ruler of the Catuvellaunui, a powerful British tribe.  He was the son of a Celtic king named Cunobeline and ruled Briton from 43-50 AD.  Caractacus is associated with the expansion of his tribe’s territory with his apparent success being a catalyst for the Roman invasion of Britain.  When the Romans launched their invasion in the summer of 43 AD they attempted to absorb it into the Roman empire.  While other tribes in Britain, such as the Dobunni, submitted to the Romans, Caractacus fought fiercely for the independence of his people.

When the Emperor Claudius launched an invasion of Britain, it was a massive undertaking and intervention which would ultimately lead to more than 350 years of Roman control.  Four legions supported by auxiliary troops made up an invasion force of more than 40,000 men.  Despite what must have seemed like overwhelming Roman strength, there was strong native resistance.  The land that is now Britain wasn't fully conquered until nearly 40 years after the initial invasion and even then, Rome never fully succeeded in conquering and subduing all of the peoples.  There was always a need for a significant military presence to control the threat from unconquered tribes and the vast majority of the populace would remain relatively untouched by Roman civilization.  

Information and picture by: http://www.ancient-origins.net/