Anglo-Saxon Era:
Alison Barnette, Mollie Majcher, Ellie Purcell, Diana Reed
The Anglo-Saxons were Germanic tribes that started with the end of Roman occupation and ended with the reign of William the Conqueror. These land-hungry farmers, living between 550 and 1066 AD, were united by language and religion but vulnerable due to different kings for each tribe as well as numerous quarrels between kings to determine power. Within each village, homes were made of wood and everyone in a family from grandparents to babies lived under one roof. Women in the Anglo-Saxon culture possessed more rights than the native women. An Anglo-Saxon woman was able to own property and even rule a tribe after her husband died. Also, by the age of ten, females were considered old enough to marry and could not be forced into an arranged marriage.
The early Anglo-Saxons were Pagans which conflicted with the Catholic heritage of the natives. Eventually, Christianity was established in England by the natives and the Anglo-Saxons converted by the 7th century. Anglo-Saxons are notorious for the wars that they waged. Armies usually remained small with everyone fighting on foot. The weapon of choice for the Anglo-Saxons was the spear, typically 7 feet tall with an iron head.
We will have an opportunity to visit some Anglo-Saxon sites during our time in England. Westminster Abbey was originally built by an Anglo-Saxon by the name of Edward the Confessor. Later, Henry the III rebuilt the Abbey in honor of Edward replacing almost everything but leaving one oak door which can stoill be seen in use today. Additionally, the first crowning at Westminster Abbey was of William the Conqueror who was responsible for ending the Anglo-Saxon era. Also, at the British Museum, various artifacts are on display from the Anglo-Saxon time frame including helmets, jewelry, coins, and tools. Finally, while in England, we will be visiting Warwick Castle built in 914, over a former Anglo-Saxon Burh.
Elizabethan Era:
Nicole Putnam, Andrea Keil, Janet Dapo, Adrienne Novak
The Elizabethan Era was marked by Queen Elizabeth I reign as Queen from 1558 to 1603. At the beginning of her reign as Queen, the Catholics and Protestants were struggling for power. Queen Elizabeth aligned herself with the Protestants because the Roman Catholic view of her parent’s marriage threatened her claim to the throne. Queen Elizabeth was born to King Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boelyn. This Era was characterized by the flowering of music, art and literature. Art became very ornate and favored the wealth and power of the upper classes. Theatre became a crucial part of European life. And finally, music became more expressive and sophisticated and was characterized by the particular instruments used, such as the lute, viol, spinet, bagpipe, fife, and cornet. This Era was a very important time for science and technology. In 1577, Sir Francis Drake became the first Englishman to sail around the world. Medical advances also occurred during this time and there were many advances in the study of human anatomy and surgical operations.
During the Renaissance in Europe during this time, there was a return to science and learning, with an interest in the classics. The church lost power that it once had over Europe and people were now free to look back upon pagan scholars and writers of Greece and Rome. Also, cultural stories of the people were now being told in public, which was made to good use by William Shakespeare. An example of cultural influence on Shakespeare’s work during the Elizabethan times is his play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. In this play he used ancient Celtic and Greek mythological figures and placed them in a different time and place, but still used their ancient characteristics. Shakespeare is considered to be the greatest writer in the English language and is often called England’s national poet. Other famous works of his include: Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Julius Caesar.
William the Conqueror:
Seth, Sam, Heather, and Sarah
William the conqueror, known as William the bastard, was born in 1028. He was the Duke of Normandy before becoming the first Norman King of England in 1066. William was announced to be the successor of his cousin Edward the confessor who was King of England at the time. When Edward died, Harold, head of the leading noble family, took over the throne. William defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings and became king. As king of England, William increased the functions of the traditional English shires, built structures, such as the Tower of London, and led to French replacing English as the language of the ruling classes for nearly 300 years. The Bayeux Tapestry was made in William’s honor which tells the story of the Battle of Hastings. The tapestry is an embroidered cloth 20 inches high and 230 feet long and is currently in a museum in Normandy
World War I:
Alex Hildebrandt, Molly Sullivan, Maegan Starcher, Hailey Jones
World War I, also known as The Great War, lasted from 1914 to 1919. It was initiated with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo. It was believed that Serbia was behind the assassination. War broke out between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. Based on the treaties of Austria-Hungary and Serbia, the allied and central powers of World War I were formed. The allied powers included Serbia, Russia, France, Japan, Britain and the British Commonwealth. The central powers included Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Italy. Later, Italy switched to the allied side because the central powers were on the offensive side of the war which violated the treaty formed between Italy and the central powers. Up until 1917, the United States was neutral, but the unrestricted submarine warfare threatened their commercial trading. The United States entered the war on the side of the allies in 1917. In 1918, an armistice was declared between the two sides. On June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed during the Paris Peace Conference. The treaty declared that was to Germany face heavy economic penalties, decrease their troops to 100,000, and get rid of all tanks, warships, and submarines. Many technological advances were made during the war including trench warfare, machines guns, airplanes and bombers, armored tanks, flame throwers, and poison gas.
The effects of World War I on Great Britain were seen long after the war. The war was a huge economic cost to Great Britain and caused many economic problems. The British pound fell 61.2% and 40% of their fleets were sunk by the Germans. Also, during the war, the influenza epidemic was brought to Europe by the Americans. One person in every four was affected by the flu. India, Nigeria, and other small colonies saw that Great Britain was fragile and fought against them. World War I affected not only the British, but many other countries as well. All countries were affected by famine, death, and economic turmoil that resulted from the Great War.
Victorian Era:
Katie Falter, Megan Foley, Gabbi Saraney, Jenna Tumbusch
The Victorian Era revolved around the reign of Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837-1901. Queen Victoria embodies the identity of the citizens of this era. The time frame focused on morality and modesty which defined marriage and daily life, which paralleled the life of the Queen and her family. Marriage was not seen as a romantic endeavor, but instead a business affair. This was due to the focus on financial stability for the future of the country. The monarchy put emphasis on civic conscience, social responsibility, gender and racial equality by the addition of new laws helping the development of public safety. Strangulation was a common cause of death, which created a sense of unrest and pandemonium (Godfrey). Furthermore, medical professionals aimed to see a decrease in the occurance of horrific crimes such as strangulations and therefore enacted measures to protect the population. Thus the Victorian Era saw a massive increase in insane asylums (Brimblecombe, 2005).
The lower class was the paramount focus of the Victorian Era which constituted the integration of humanitarianism and religious organizations. Growth was seen in the areas of science and industrial inventions, for example steel cables were used for building. Transportation advances included bicycles, steam boats, and railroads. While the industrial aspect of the monarchy grew, the arts were flourishing as well. The most influential individuals working in literature were Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, The Bronte Sisters (Wilson & Goldfarb, 2004). Artists of the era include Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Vincent Van Gogh (Barrow, 2007 p.530). Overall, Queen Victoria was a strong advocate of the arts, literature, scientific growth and most importantly, modesty and morality.
War of the Roses:
Alyssa Hale, Laura Contos, Lauren Miller, Meagan Navarre
The War of the Roses began with the death of Edward III. He left behind 4 sons. The oldest of his sons died, leaving Richard II in power with his uncle John of Gaunt also known as the Duke of Lancaster as the acting ruler (origins of conflict 2011). At the time Richard II was only 10 years old. “In 1399 John of Gaunt died and Richard II confiscated the land he had owned. John of Gaunt’s son Henry raised and army and when Richard surrendered took the thrown as Henry IV” (History on the net 2011). Henry VI proved to be an incapable leader and after social unrest, Richard Duke of York led the Yorkists against the Kings army at the battle of St. Albans on May 22nd, 1455. “This was the start of The War of the Roses. It was called the War of Roses because the symbol for the House of York was a white rose and the symbol for the House of Lancaster was a red rose”(Gormley 2010). For the next 32 years a series of battles took place as the Yorkists and the Lancastrians fought for power. The final victory ultimately went to a descendent of the House of Lancaster, Henry Tudor. Henry Tudor also known as Henry VII, married Elizabeth of York which united the two houses (Jokinen 2010). The symbol for the Tudors is a white and red rose. The War of the Roses lead to the rise of the Tudor family who ruled for the next century.
World War II:
Megan Asterino, Chas Baron, Hannah Fairbanks, Christine Kuester
World War Two was mostly the result of what was left unresolved in World War One. In the late 1930s Britain attempted to make peace with Germany by proposing Munich Pact to avoid yet another world war. However, when Hitler did not abide to the pact by invading Poland in 1939 it became clear that a war was inevitable. On September 3, 1939 Britain declared war on Germany which marked the beginning of WWII in Europe (Lukacs, 1989, p. 165-174). To help ensure more aggressive attack on this war, Britain appointed a new Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. He would lead the country to multiple victories and would gain much approval and respect from the people (Bell, 2011, p. 333-335). Instead of fleeing the country to save himself he stood with his people in battle and withstood the Blitz, Germany’s nightly armored attacks against Europe lasting seventy six days (Aceto, 2010, p. 28).His largest victory was the Battle of Britain which saved his country from German invasion. The Battle of Britain was the Germany Air force's attempt to invade Britain by way of air superiority (Cumming, 2007, p. 22). Winston’s victory would mark the “beginning of the end” of World War II.
After the devastation at Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the USA joined forces with Britain. Winston Churchill and Roosevelt agreed to establish a combined Chiefs of Staff and made defeating Germany their main objective. The victory in the Battle of Britain allowed many of the allied forces to gather in Britain and store supplies without the threat of invasion by Germany (Cumming, 2007, p. 11-26). After three long years of fighting the allies finally won the war in Europe when Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945.
