"This fortress built by Nature for herself Against infection and the hand of ewar; This happy breed of men this little world, This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall, Or as a moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happier lands; This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England."                         Shakespeare, "Richard II" 1. The Earliest Inhabitants of England. England was inhabited for many centuries before its written history

"Father Neptune one day to Dame Freedom did say, `If ever I lived upon dry land, The spot I should hit on would be little Britain.' Says Freedom, `Why that's my own island.' O, 't is a snug little island, A right little, tight little island! Search the world round, none can be found So happy as this little island."                                         T. Dibdin 5. Geographical Names given by the Britons and the Romans The steps of English history may be traced to a considerable extent by geog

"Force and Right rule the world: Force, till Right is ready."                                                 Joubert 16. Europe shortly before Caesar's Invasion of Britain. Before considering the Roman invasion of Britain let us take a glance at the condition of Europe. We have seen that the tribes (S2) of Britain, like those of Gaul (France), were not mere savages. On the contrary, we know that they had taken more than one important step in the path of progress; still the advance should not be

"The happy ages of history are never the productive ones." — Hegel 36. The Britons beg for Help; Coming of the Jutes, 449 (?). The Britons were in perilous condition after the Romans had left the island (S33). They had lost their old spirit (SS2, 18).[2] They were no longer brave in war or faithful in peace. The Picts and Scots[3] attacked them on the northwest, and the Saxon pirates (S29) assailed them on the southeast. These terrible foes cut down the Britons, says an old writer, as "reapers c

"In other countries the struggle has been to gain liberty; in England, to preserve it." — Alison Building the Norman Superstructure — The Age of Feudalism Norman Sovereigns William I, 1066-1087 William II, 1087-1100 Henry I, 1100-1135 Stephen (House of Blois), 1135-1154 [1] Reference Books on this Period will be found in the Classified List of Books in the Appendix. The pronunciation will be found in the Index. The Leading Dates stand unenclosed; all others are in parentheses. 107. William march

"Man bears within him certain ideas of order, of justice, of reason, with a constant desire to bring them into play…; for this he labors unceasingly."—Guizot, "History of Civilization." Consolidation of Norman and Saxon Interests—Rise of the New English Nation Henry II, 1154-1189 Richard I, 1189-1199 John, 1199-1216 Henry III, 1216-1272 Edward I, 1272-1307 Edward II, 1307-1327 Edward III, 1327-1377 Richard II, 1377-1399 [1] Reference Books on this Period will be found in the Classified List of B