Write a short summary of English history from Roman times to the present and present it in the class.

The history of England began with the arrival of humans thousands of years ago. What is now England, within the United Kingdom, was inhabited by Neanderthals 230, 000 years ago. However, continuous human habitation dates to around 12, 000 years ago, at the end of the last glacial period. The region has numerous remains from the Mesolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age, such as Stonehenge and Avebury. In the Iron Age, England, like all of Britain south of the Firth of Forth, was inhabited by the Celtic people known as the Britons, but also by some Belgae tribes (e.g. the Atrebates, the Catuvellauni and the Trinovantes).

In AD 43 the Roman conquest of Britain began; the Romans maintained control of their province of Britannia through to the 5th century. The Roman departure opened the door for the Anglo-Saxon invasion, which is often regarded as the origin of England and the English people. The Anglo-Saxons, a collection of various Germanic peoples, established several kingdoms that became the primary powers in what is now England and parts of southern Scotland. They introduced the Old English language, which displaced the previous British language.

The Anglo-Saxons warred with British successor states in Wales, Cornwall, and the Hen Ogledd (Old North; the Brythonic-speaking parts of northern England and southern Scotland), as well as with each other. Raids by the Vikings were frequent after about AD 800, and the Norsemen took control of large parts of what is now England. During this period several rulers attempted to unite the various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, an effort that led to the emergence of the Kingdom of England by the 10th century.

In 1066, the Normans invaded and conquered England. There was much civil war and battles with other nations throughout the Middle Ages. The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state until the reign of Richard I who made it a vassal of the Holy Roman Empire in 1194.

In 1212 during the reign of his brother John Lackland the Kingdom instead became a tribute-paying vassal of the Holy See until the 14th century when the Kingdom rejected the overlordship of the Holy See and re-established its sovereignty.

During the Renaissance, England was ruled by the Tudors. England had conquered Wales in the 12th century and was then united with Scotland in the early 18th century to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Following the Industrial Revolution, Great Britain ruled a worldwide Empire, the largest in the world. Following a process of decolonization in the 20th century the vast majority of the empire became independent; however, its cultural impact is widespread and deep in many other countries.

Wales

Exercises

2. Supply the word or phrase from the vocabulary list which correctly completes the sentence:

Snowdonia, Caradoc, Llewelyn the Last, Plaid Cymru, the University of Wales, Pan­cake Day, leeks, privateer, Cymru, Isca, Owen Glendower, The Royal National Eisteddfod, St. David, the Welsh Dragon

1. Cymru is the Welsh name for " Wales". 2. The highest mountain in Wales is located in Snowdonia National Park. 3. Under the leadership of Caradoc Britons defied the Romans after the Claudian invasion. 4. Isca is the name of the legendary Roman fortress on the Welsh territory and the best preserved amphitheatre in Britain. 5. St. David is the only Welsh saint to be canonized in the Western Church. 6. In the end of the 13^th century the English King Edward defeated Llewelyn the Last, Wale's last independent prince. 7. Owen Glendower is the anglicized version of a great Welsh fighter for
independence on the turn of the 14^th and 15^th centuries. 8. The most famous nationalist party in Wales is called Plaid Cymru. 9. In 1996 the University of Wales was reorganised into a federal university to absorb a larger number of colleges. 10. The Royal National Eisteddfod is the most prominent cultural annual event in Wales. 11. Pan­cake Day is the last day of hearty eating before Lent. 12. Many, if not most, national Welsh dishes contain leeks. 13. One of the most famous privateer in the Caribbean was Henry Morgan.
14. Many legends are associated wit the Welsh Dragon.

4. Write the letter of the best answer according to the information in the text:

a) Snowdon in the old Welsh means " the highest peak". +

b) Snowdon in the old Welsh means " the grave/tomb".

c) Snowdon in the old Welsh means " the deepest lake".

a) The capital city of Wales is Newport.

b) The capital city of Wales is Swansea.

c) The capital city of Wales is Cardiff. +

a) The Silures were the major tribe of south-east Wales. +

b) The Silures were the famous prehistoric megaliths.

c) The Silures were invaders of Wales in the Middle Ages.

a) A Dyke is a kind of agricultural instrument in Middle Ages.

b) A Dyke is a great earth wall, such as the one constructed by a Saxon king to mark off a large part of Powys conquered from the Welsh. +

c) A Dyke is a burial mound.

a) " Presbyter" originally meant a priest. +

b) " Presbyter" originally meant a bishop.

c) " Presbyter" originally meant a characteristic Welsh chapel.

a) Llywelyn the Great was the father of Llywelyn the Last.

b) Llywelyn the Great was the grandfather of Llywelyn the Last. +

c) Llywelyn the Great was no relation to Llywelyn the Last.

a) Owain Glyndwr headed the uprising for Welsh independence from England. +

b) Owain Glyndwr betrayed his people to the English.

c) Owain Glyndwr was a legendary Welsh hero under the Romans.

a) " Cymru am byth" means " Wales will win the Eurovision Song Contest".

b) " Cymru am byth" means " Wales for ever". +

c) " Cymru am byth" means " Wales is always right"

a) A Privateer is a licensed or " official" pirate. +

b) A Privateer is a private entrepreneur.

c) A Privateer is a land owner.

6. Match the events in the first column to the dates in the second column:

Wales lost its independence 1282

The title Prince of Wales was given to Llywelyn the Last 1258

The Welsh Dynasty, the House of Tudor, held the English throne 1485-1603

The Treaty of Aberconwy 1277

The Red Dragon Flag was granted official status 1959

Owain Glyndwr defeated an English force at Pumlumon 1401

St. David died 589 A.D.

The Act of Union 1536

The Wales and Berwick Act 1746

The National Assembly for Wales was established 1998

Plaid Cymru was founded 1925

The Welsh broadcasting channel started its operation 1982

Wales hosted the Rugby World Cup 1999

The university of Wales was chartered 1893

8. Tell the tale behind the flag named " the Red Dragon" and the prophecy related to it.

The origin of the adoption of the dragon symbol is now lost in history and myth. A plausible theory is that the Romans brought the emblem to what is now Wales during their occupation of Britain, but it could be even older. The green and white stripes of the flag were additions by the House of Tudor, the Welsh dynasty that held the English throne from 1485 to 1603.

The oldest recorded use of the dragon to symbolize Wales is from the Historia Brittonum, written around 820 AD, but it is popularly supposed to have been the battle standard of Arthur and other ancient Celtic leaders. Many legends are associated with the Welsh dragon. The most famous is the prophecy of Myrddin(or Merlin) of a long fight between a red dragon and a white dragon. According to the prophecy, the white dragon would at first dominate but eventually the red dragon would win. This is an allegory of the historical struggle between the Welsh and the English.