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4
The Angles lived in Southern Sleswick, north of the Schlei river;
the Saxons lived south of the Angles. The Jutes lived north of the Angles.
Closely connected with these tribes were the Frisians, who occupied the
coast of the German ocean between the Rhine and the Ems now part of the
Netherlands, and the Hauks, who lived between the Ems and the Elbe.
The earliest mention of the British Isles is in the 4th c. B.C., when
the Greek explorer Pytheas, sailing round Europe, landed in Kent.
(The students can easily see now, the meaning of the word
"northeastlang" in the text "The Description of Britain").
In 55 B.C. the Romans under Julius Caesar first landed in Britain. In
the year 54 Caesar landed in Britain for a second time. As far as we can
judge, it was his third invasion: "Heora Þridde gefeoht wæs neah thǣre ie
the mon hǣt Temes..." The Romans ruled Britain for almost 400 years,
up to the early 5th c. [7]
It was about mid-5th c., that Britain was conquered by the Germanic
tribes. The Britons fought against the enemies for about a century and a
half, till about the year 600. It is to this epoch that the legendary figure of
the British king Arthur belongs. We will analyze the text about
the king in the works of Caxton or Tennyson and other Arthurian writers
who introduced “the spirit, the romantic spirit of chivalry and courtly
manners, into European literature and King became the embodiment of the
ideal Christian Knight". (Evans I.H. London 1970, p.50).
The Germanic tribes, which conquered Britain, formed 7 kingdoms:
Kent, Sussex, Essex, Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia and Northumbria.
During 4 centuries they struggled with one another.
In 828 the struggle came to an end and since then kings of Wessex
became kings of England, and the capital of Wessex, Winchester, became
the capital of England (it is some 100 km south-west of' London) and
became the center of English culture during the reign of King Alfred
(849-899): learning and literature made much progress here.
The text "Pastoral Care" tells us much about King Alfred, "who
bids great bishop Wǣrferth with his words lovingly and with friendship;
and "I let it be known to thee that it has often come to my mind, what wise
men there formerly were throughout England, both of sacred and secular
orders, and how happy times there were then throughout England; and how
the kings who had power over the nation in those days, obeyed God and
his ministers; and they preserved peace, morality and order at home, and at
the same time enlarged their territory abroad, and how they prospered both
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