EXT6-OLD ENGLAND,OLD SCOTLAND AND OLD IRELAND

 By PragyanSharma Polavarapu

EXT6-OLD ENGLAND,OLD SCOTLAND AND OLD IRELAND

(1) Centuries before arrival of Anglo-Saxons in Britain , there lived all over the British isles the Celtic people . The Celtic people ,though entirely different in culture and customs from Anglo-Saxons ,were thousands of years ago of same European ethnic origin as the Anglo-Saxons. But the geographic conditions were such that for thousands of years they lived separately in widely separate geographic regions. History tells that the Celts lived in central Europe around 1300 BC and later spread to other parts of Europe . The people of European regional culture called “La Tène culture” --( of times when metal iron was not known)--were said to be celtic. The Celtic people spread into the British isles from about 500 BC.

(2) In course of time the majority of the Celtic people of Britain accepted Lord Jesus Christ’s message of love. It was the time when Romans ruled over southern England and were not interested in conquering Scotland and Ireland which were peopled by the rebellious and warlike Celtic tribes. The Anglo-Saxons started settling in Britain only around 510 AD i.e. about a century after Roman rule ended in south England and perhaps a thousand years after Celts were widely spread all over the British isles . The Romans ruled till 410AD and left Britain permanently . Historians say that due to changing weather conditions and frequent flooding etc Germanic communities called Angles, Saxons, Jutes (jointly called the Anglo-Saxons),started to settle in the eastern coastal regions of England and Scotland . First there were only probing attacks for years ,then the invaders came in large numbers . The war bands lead and whole families started to settle permanently.

(3) The most significant thing is that it was the Anglo-Saxons who brought English language to Britain ---the language now spoken by all people of British Isles as mother tongue and the language which is now treated as one of the two or three languages suitable for global communication. In a few centuries Anglo-Saxons became the majority people of south England and established large number of Anglo-Saxon towns and villages. (4) The Celts in course of time moved to Scotland . Ireland was since centuries before was already Celtic except in some coastal areas invaded and settled by Nordic people. The area known as Wales in western side of the main island also had Celtic people. Christianity was established in Celtic Britain by the 3rd and 4th centuries AD-- long before the Anglo-Saxons arrived and when the Celts were living all over the British Isles . Evidence from the early 4th century AD indicates that organized churches and monasteries existed in Celtic Britain . The Celtic Christian monks travelled widely in the British Isles to preach Lord Jesus Christ’s message. The Celtic Church had existed for a long period seperately. But after the Anglo-Saxons settled in large numbers in south England ,the entire church in British isles came under the Roman Catholic church organization. (5) The Anglo-Saxons started settling in southern and eastern Britain from 5th–7th centuries AD in large numbers . Only isolated groups of celtic people perhaps continued to live in Anglo-Saxon lands . (6) Celtic populations were in majority in Ireland and northern Scotland. The lands were mountainous and full of forests and geographically isolated . While in Scotland it is high mountainous land ,in Ireland there is a ring of high mountains and forests and low flat land inside. In ancient times before Roman soldiers came and before Christianity came Celtic priests called Druids dominated the Celtic society and helped both in religious duties and also worked as judges .

It is said that the lands in Scotland were not only mountainous and forested but also on many days cloudy, foggy and rainy. It is said that the weather remained very cold for many days at a stretch. However the Atlantic ocean spread for 3000 miles east of British Isles and modifies the weather throughout the year. It may be said that in spite of the weather, surely ancient Christianity brought great happiness to the mostly rural populations of both Celts and Anglo-Saxons.