EXT8-OLD BRITAIN – THE THREE OLD NATIONAL SYSTEMS

 

BY    PRAGYANSHARMA POLAVARAPU 

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EXT8-OLD BRITAIN – THE THREE OLD NATIONAL SYSTEMS

December 29, 2025

 

BY   pragyan Sharma polavarapu

 In these essays we are interested only about  development of the beautiful and simple modern English  . This is not about the history of English people . We wish to know only how the old archaic English language developed through centuries into modern English . However for  people of  other countries where English is only a medium to read newspapers , novels, journals  etc , it would  be  interesting to know about  the country  which produced English .We may note that even in 9^th century AD ,English language  was still perhaps like a Germanic dialect   with German words and German phrases with only a few English-like words . A beautiful new English was perhaps evolving but it was  95%  clothed in German. The  warrior  king Alfred The Great ,king of Wessex  in southern  England (and later accepted as king of all England for his warrior qualities)  was  a poetic minded king---loving the words and phrases of the newly evolving English language. He was himself a scholar and translated some Latin classics  into “Old English” (still full with  German words). He had a plan to protect the new evolving English.

Even in  Chaucer’s works (1343-1400) it is still archaic English (though beautiful melodious ) . Only in times of Shakespeare (1564-1616) , John Milton (1608-1674), John Dryden(1631-1700) and such early writers  the aroma and taste of English was out. It is  beautiful  majestic English. Only at turn of 18th century  we start walking in the rose gardens  of Wordsworth(1770-1850),Shelley (1792-1822),Keats (1795-1821)and Byron(1788-1824) and apple orchards of  Dictionary Johnson(1709-1784), Joseph Addison(1672-1719),Richard steele(1672-1729),Oliver Goldsmith  (1728-1774) and other stalwarts. Thus it took 700-800 years for Germanic English to develop  to  Shakespearean English!

The “geographical” British Isles have three big cultural units –the Anglo-Saxon English people, the Scottish people and the Irish people. The history and development of each people took a different direction. Together they created the two modern countries(a)United Kingdom( Great Britain) consisting of England,Scotland and Northern Ireland and(b) Republic of Ireland .Recounting  a little of the  history of each cultural group helps in greater understanding  of  origins of English language .

( A )ENGLAND

In  5^th and 6^th centuries AD, in the Anglo-Saxon southern England(occupied by the three ancient  Germanic people, the  Angles, Saxons and Jutes) a  slow  cultural and political integration process started to appear ---perhaps a  deliberate move to develop a common  Anglo-Saxon language among the three groups.

But still the new dialect was Germanic. It was not  like the language we see in works of  Chaucer and Spencer. It was  not even like the “Old English” of King Arthur The Great.  It took   700-800 years for  an identifiable  English language to develop. There were said to be similar big developments  in other European languages like French.

 If we go back to  5th/6th century AD , we can see that there were several   Anglo-Saxon kingdoms like Northumbria,  Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex, and Wessex. The  people  followed  only their  ancient Germanic religion and not yet  come to religion of Lord Jesus Christ.  During the 7th century the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms became  Christian. Simple but beautiful churches and monasteries developed everywhere and they gave great spiritual joy to people. In the 8th century, Scandinavian pirates raided the English coasts and slowly in course of decades  they also started settling in eastern parts of England and were slowly getting assimilated in local culture.

The kingdom of  Wessex which  maintained big armies was  the strongest of  Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and fought with the Vikings and stopped  their expansion.   The kings of Wessex were recognized as  the kings of all  England. King Alfred the great was the most illustrious of the Wessex kings.  In 1017 strong Danish armies  defeated the English forces  and England became  part of the Danish empire. After death of the Danish  king ,the succession went to  the  English prince  Edward the Confessor who was  related to the Danish royal line .When he  died in 1066, one of the claimants to the throne was William, the Duke of Normandy. This was the reason behind the  Norman invasion of England  which   changed  course of  history of British  Isles.

William's 1066 invasion of England ended the Anglo-Saxon era. Norman noblemen and  French- oriented Norman  aristocracy replaced the Anglo-Saxon  ruling classes. However in course of centuries there was cultural integration  and the   Celts, Danes and Normans all accepted the Anglo-Saxon culture and  created the modern English nation.

England (as distinct  from Scotland and Ireland)  was integrated into the continental European culture and   started to take active interest in continental politics.  However the  majority of Anglo-Saxon people living in small towns and villages continued to be  rural oriented and  agriculture oriented .English (Anglo-Saxon) princes and nobles were attracted  by the French culture and  continental fashions .French became the language of the rich and the language of the English royal court.

 In course of time England also  became one of the great centers of Protestant Christianity. The latter disturbed political history of old England is well known –the autocratic rule of Henry the Eighth and the rule of Catholic Queen Mary etc. The rule of Queen Elizabeth One was a golden era for English language. There were soon great English writers--Chaucer--Spencer--Shakespeare--John Milton--John Dryden  and so on .

( B ) IRELAND          

 

By  4th century AD Christianity  replaced the old  Celtic religion in  Ireland. During 8th century AD seafaring Scandinavian raiders   attacked the Irish coast and started to settle in coastal areas. Several towns were founded by the Viking people along the long coast line of Ireland.

 (2) The Norman rule in England greatly  affected Ireland . There was large scale English  military intervention but the  Celtic people of  Ireland could not be conquered . England did not interfere  for some period but again  started  to interfere  after the end of the violent wars among the different branches of British noble  families for the British crown  (the Wars of the Roses). The  attempts  of  English rulers to impose  Protestant Christianity in Ireland  failed .There were frequent wars   between Celtic Irish nobles  and  Protestant English nobles  for decades.

 Henry VIII proclaimed himself King of Ireland in 1541 . Thousands of English and Scottish Protestant were brought  and settled in Ireland . Lands of  Irish  Catholics  were given to them. Wars  between the Protestant  minority and the  Irish   catholic majority  became frequent . Political power was in the hands of the  minority Protestant groups . The Irish Parliament was abolished and Ireland was made part of a new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland .

The majority Catholics were not granted democratic rights.There was a terrible famine in 1845 and it is said that  a million people died. About a  million Irish people migrated to  America. In Ireland  attempts for independence were intensified. There was an  Irish War of Independence for two and half years and in 1922  the major part of  ireland declared itself as an independent republic called  Irish Free State.  Six  districts of Ireland with protestant populations  remained within kingdom of great Britain as Northern Ireland.

( C ) SCOTLAND

(1) the Romans withdrew from British isles  around 410AD.  Celtic kingdoms existed in  Scotland . In 7th century  AD Irish missionaries converted the Scottish people to  Celtic Christianity. The Kingdom of Scotland, fought in  8th century AD with the Norwegian  pirates who invaded Scotland . Christianity  unified all the Scottish people. A unified  Kingdom of Scotland  existed for three centuries ( 9th–11th centuries). Later clan-based kingdoms  existed in the 12th and 13th centuries  .

(2)In 13^th century  Edward I king of England demanded that Scotland should merge into the  English monarchy. As a result there were  several  Wars of Independence .The great European Renaissance  reached Scotland in  15th century. Great importance was given to education.  Universities were  founded in 15^th century. Before 16th century the country followed Roman Catholic christianity. Under influence of continental religious movements there was Scottish Reformation . Presbyterianism was established.

Finally in 1603 the kingdoms of England and Scotland were united but   separate parliaments continued for England and Scotland. Oliver Cromwell a militarist and a devout religious leader became the  dictator and ruler of England. He abolished  king’s rule in Great Britain and got the  British king Charles l executed . From 1654 to 1660  Oliver Cromwell established a republican form of government  called the British Commonwealth.The  kingdom was soon restored. The separate  Scottish Parliament  was dissolved.

 Scotland became one of the big industrial centres of  Europe .It also became famous as a great educational center. Scottish people  shone in English politics and English literary movements . In modern times millions of Scottish people migrated to English speaking countries like USA and Australia.

CONCLUSION

Internet tells us that  the  old Celtic languages of  British Isles are most lovingly protected and are still spoken in  homes by the celtic origin people .  Everywhere , in England and Scotland and even in  Republic of Ireland, English  is used for all purposes ---in homes ,in educational institutions , government work. The people of British isles realized that in modern world   English is among the few major  languages for  global business and global communication. In spite of the old bitter political quarrels and prejudices of  centuries back, modern  English is  used all over the British Isles.