1.
Pictish stone
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A Pictish stone is a type of monumental stele, generally carved or incised with symbols or designs. The earlier stones have no parallels from the rest of the British Isles, in The Early Christian Monuments of Scotland J Romilly Allen and Joseph Anderson first classified Pictish stones into three groups. Critics have noted weaknesses in this system but it is widely known, in particular, the classification may be misleading for the many incomplete stones. Allen and Anderson regarded their classes as coming from distinct periods in sequence, Class 1 — unworked stones with symbols only incised. There is no cross on either side, Class 1 stones date back to the 6th, 7th and 8th century. Class 2 — stones of more or less rectangular shape with a large cross, the symbols, as well as Christian motifs, are carved in relief and the cross with its surroundings is filled with designs. Class 2 stones date from the 8th and 9th century, Class 3 — these stones feature no idiomatic Pictish symbols. The stones can be cross-slabs, recumbent gravemarkers, free-standing crosses and they originate in the 8th or 9th century. Historic Scotland describes this class as too simplistic and says Nowadays this is not considered a useful category, a surviving fragment may belong to a monument that did include Christian imagery. Later Scottish stones merge into wider medieval British and European traditions, many later Christian stones from Class II and Class III fall more easily into recognisable categories such as gravestones. A small number of Pictish stones have been associated with burials. Some later stones may also have marked tribal or lineage territories, some were re-used for other purposes, such as the two Congash Stones near Grantown-on-Spey, now placed as portal stones for an old graveyard. The shaft of an old cross is lying in the field, another Pictish stone, the Dunachton Stone near Kincraig, was later used as a door lintel in a barn. This was discovered when the building was dismantled in 1870, the stone was re-erected in the field. Recently it fell, after being photographed in 2007, but was re-erected again a few years later by the owner of Dunachton Lodge. Class I and II stones contain symbols from a set of standard ideograms, many unique to Pictish art. The exact number of distinct Pictish symbols is uncertain as there is debate as to what constitutes a Pictish symbol. The more inclusive estimates are in excess of sixty different symbols, there are also representations of everyday objects such as the mirror and comb, which could have been used by high-status Picts
2.
Dundee
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Dundee, officially the City of Dundee, is Scotlands fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2015 was 148,210 which gave Dundee a population density of 2, 477/km2 or 6, 420/sq mi and it lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea. Under the name of Dundee City, it one of the 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Historically part of Angus, the city developed into a burgh in the late 12th century, rapid expansion was brought on by the Industrial Revolution, particularly in the 19th century when Dundee was the centre of the global jute industry. This, along with its major industries gave Dundee its epithet as the city of jute, jam. Biomedical and technological industries have arrived since the 1980s, and the city now accounts for 10% of the United Kingdoms digital-entertainment industry, Dundee has two universities — the University of Dundee and the Abertay University. In 2014 Dundee was recognised by the United Nations as the UKs first UNESCO City of Design for its contributions to fields including medical research, comics. A unique feature of Dundee is that its two football clubs Dundee United and Dundee F. C. have stadiums all but adjacent to each other. With the decline of industry, the city has adopted a plan to regenerate. The name Dundee is made up of two parts, the common Celtic place-name element dun, meaning fort, and a part that may derive from a Celtic element, cognate with the Gaelic dè. The situation of the town and its promotion by Earl David as a trading centre led to a period of prosperity, the earldom was passed down to Davids descendants, amongst whom was John Balliol. The town became a Royal Burgh on Johns coronation as king in 1292, the town and its castle were occupied by English forces for several years during the First War of Independence and recaptured by Robert the Bruce in early 1312. The original Burghal charters were lost during the occupation and subsequently renewed by Bruce in 1327, the burgh suffered considerably during the conflict known as the Rough Wooing of 1543 to 1550, and was occupied by the English forces of Andrew Dudley from 1547. In 1548, unable to defend the town against an advancing Scottish force, in 1645, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, Dundee was again besieged, this time by the Royalist Marquess of Montrose. The town was destroyed by Parliamentarian forces led by George Monck in 1651. The town played a role in the establishment of the Jacobite cause when John Graham of Claverhouse. The town was held by the Jacobites in the 1715–16 rising, many in Scotland, including many in Dundee, regarded him as the rightful king. The economy of mediaeval Dundee centred on the export of raw wool, expansion of the whaling industry was triggered by the second Bounty Act, introduced in 1750 to increase Britains maritime and naval skill base
3.
Picts
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The Picts were a tribal confederation of peoples who lived in what is today eastern and northern Scotland during the Late Iron Age and Early Medieval periods. They are thought to have been ethnolinguistically Celtic, where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from the geographical distribution of brochs, Brittonic place name elements, and Pictish stones. Picts are attested to in records from before the Roman conquest of Britain to the 10th century. Picts are assumed to have been the descendants of the Caledonii, Pictland, also called Pictavia by some sources, gradually merged with the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata to form the Kingdom of Alba. Alba then expanded, absorbing the Brittonic kingdom of Strathclyde and Northumbrian Lothian, Pictish society was typical of many Iron Age societies in northern Europe, having wide connections and parallels with neighbouring groups. Archaeology gives some impression of the society of the Picts, what the Picts called themselves is unknown. The Latin word Picti first occurs in a written by Eumenius in AD297 and is taken to mean painted or tattooed people. Their Old English name gave the modern Scots form Pechts and the Welsh word Fichti and it is generally accepted that this is derived from *Qritani, which is the Goidelic/Q-Celtic version of the Britonnic/P-Celtic *Pritani. From this came Britanni, the Roman name for those now called the Britons and it has been suggested that Cruthin referred to all Britons not conquered by the Romans—those who lived outside Roman Britannia, north of Hadrians Wall. A Pictish confederation was formed in Late Antiquity from a number of tribes—how, some scholars have speculated that it was partly in response to the growth of the Roman Empire. Pictland had previously described by Roman writers and geographers as the home of the Caledonii. These Romans also used names to refer to tribes living in that area, including Verturiones, Taexali. But they may have heard these other names only second- or third-hand, from speakers of Brittonic or Gaulish languages, Pictish recorded history begins in the Dark Ages. It appears that Picts were not the dominant power in Northern Britain for that entire period, the Gaels of Dál Riata controlled what is present day Argyll for a time, although they suffered a series of defeats in the first third of the 7th century. The Angles of Bernicia overwhelmed the adjacent British kingdoms, one of which, the Picts were probably tributary to Northumbria until the reign of Bridei mac Beli, when, in 685, the Anglians suffered a defeat at the Battle of Dun Nechtain that halted their northward expansion. The Northumbrians continued to dominate southern Scotland for the remainder of the Pictish period, a later Pictish king, Caustantín mac Fergusa, placed his son Domnall on the throne of Dál Riata. Pictish attempts to achieve a dominance over the Britons of Alt Clut were not successful. The Viking Age brought great changes in Britain and Ireland, no less in Scotland than elsewhere, in a major battle in 839, the Vikings killed the king of Fortriu, Eógan mac Óengusa, the king of Dál Riata Áed mac Boanta, and many others
4.
Prehistory
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Prehistory means literally before history, from the Latin word for before, præ, and Greek ιστορία. Neighbouring civilisations were the first to follow, most other civilisations reached the end of prehistory during the Iron Age. The period when a culture is written about by others, but has not developed its own writing is known as the protohistory of the culture. By definition, there are no records from human prehistory. Clear techniques for dating were not well-developed until the 19th century and this article is concerned with human prehistory as defined here above. There are separate articles for the history of the Earth. However, for the race as a whole, prehistory ends when recorded history begins with the accounts of the ancient world around the 4th millennium BC. For example, in Egypt it is accepted that prehistory ended around 3200 BC, whereas in New Guinea the end of the prehistoric era is set much more recently. The three-age system is the periodization of prehistory into three consecutive time periods, named for their respective predominant tool-making technologies, Stone Age Bronze Age Iron Age. The notion of prehistory began to surface during the Enlightenment in the work of antiquarians who used the word primitive to describe societies that existed before written records, the first use of the word prehistory in English, however, occurred in the Foreign Quarterly Review in 1836. The main source for prehistory is archaeology, but some scholars are beginning to more use of evidence from the natural and social sciences. This view has been articulated by advocates of deep history, human population geneticists and historical linguists are also providing valuable insight for these questions. Human prehistory differs from history not only in terms of its chronology, restricted to material processes, remains and artifacts rather than written records, prehistory is anonymous. Because of this, reference terms that use, such as Neanderthal or Iron Age are modern labels with definitions sometimes subject to debate. Palaeolithic means Old Stone Age, and begins with the first use of stone tools, the Paleolithic is the earliest period of the Stone Age. The early part of the Palaeolithic is called the Lower Palaeolithic, evidence of control of fire by early humans during the Lower Palaeolithic Era is uncertain and has at best limited scholarly support. The most widely accepted claim is that H. erectus or H. ergaster made fires between 790,000 and 690,000 BP in a site at Bnot Yaakov Bridge, Israel. The use of fire enabled early humans to cook food, provide warmth, Early Homo sapiens originated some 200,000 years ago, ushering in the Middle Palaeolithic
5.
Cup and ring mark
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Similar forms are also found throughout the world including Australia, Gabon, Greece, Hawaii, India, Israel, Mexico and Mozambique. They consist of a depression, no more than a few centimetres across, pecked into a rock surface. Sometimes a linear channel called a gutter leads out from the middle, numerous cup-marked stones have been found in quite all the alpine valleys, comprising Val Camonica, associated with rock drawings. Regarding western alps, the best known are distributed along the Chisone, Susa and Viù valleys, strictly referring to cup-and-rings, it is possible to cite in the western Alps only the Novalesa stone, in the Cenischia Valley, near the Italian-French border. Found in 1988, it shows 4 concentric circles, with a central cup-mark, all around a network of 20 cup-marks, similar patterns are known in Galicia, which has given them the name of Galician style. Precisely dating megalithic art is difficult, even if the monument can be dated. Some cup marks have been found in Iron age contexts but these may represent re-used stones, where they are etched onto natural, flat stone it has been observed that they seem to incorporate the natural surface of the rock. Those at Hunterheugh are mostly connected to one another by gutters that can channel rainwater from one to the next, the markers of this second phase moved the art from natural stones to megaliths as its symbolism was reinterpreted by Later Neolithic and Early Bronze Age people. Their purpose is unknown although some may be connected with stone outcrops exploited by Neolithic peoples to make polished stone axes. A religious purpose has been suggested and we have seen the cup and ring markings on the stone at Temple Wood, and thats on the main stone but we cant interpret them. yet. He created diagrams and carried out analysis of over 50 of the cup and ring markings from which he determined a length he termed the Megalithic Inch. Davis made an effort to build on Thoms start, and to answer the question he posed. It would indeed be a breakthrough if someone could crack the code of the cups, subsequently, Davis investigated the idea that the prehistoric carvers used an elementary method of diameter-construction in laying out the carvings. Another particularly rich source of cup-marked boulders is the Derrynablaha townland on the Iveragh peninsula in County Kerry, one of the most interesting open air Rock Art sites in the Swiss Alps is situated at Carschenna, Rethic Alps, where Latin derived languages melt with German ones. The first engraved rocks were discovered in 1965, during the building of an iron electricity framework, Carschenna engravings are mainly characterized by concentric circles – from 1 to 9 – and cup-marks. Spirals, sun-like figures, riding scenes, and schematic horses are also present, cup-marks joined by long channels usually superimpose the cup-and-rings patterns. Prehistoric Rock Art of County Durham, Swaledale and Wensleydale, ancient Carvings in Britain, A Mystery. ISBN 0-85511-391-X Morris, Ronald W. B.1977, the Prehistoric Rock Art of Argyll
6.
Celtic cross
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The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland and Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A staple of Insular art, the Celtic cross is essentially a Latin cross with a nimbus surrounding the intersection of the arms, scholars have debated its exact origins, but it is related to earlier crosses featuring rings. The form gained new popularity during the Celtic Revival of the 19th century, the shape, usually decorated with interlace and other motifs from Insular art, became popular for funerary monuments and other uses, and has remained so, spreading well beyond Ireland. Ringed crosses similar to older Continental forms appeared in Ireland and Scotland in incised stone slab artwork, however, the shape achieved its greatest popularity by its use in the monumental stone high crosses, a distinctive and widespread form of Insular art. These monuments, which first appeared in the 9th century, usually take the form of a cross on a stepped or pyramidal base. The form has obvious advantages, reducing the length of unsupported side arms. There are a number of theories as to its origin in Ireland, some scholars consider the ring a holdover from earlier wooden crosses, which may have required struts to support the crossarm. Others have seen it as deriving from indigenous Bronze Age art featuring a wheel or disc around a head, however, Michael W. Herren, Shirley Ann Brown, and others believe it originates in earlier ringed crosses in Christian art. Crosses with a representing the celestial sphere developed from the writings of the Church Fathers. The cosmological cross is an important motif in Coelius Seduliuss poem Carmen Paschale and it is not clear where the first high crosses originated. The first examples date to the about the 9th century and occur in two groups, at Ahenny in Ireland, and at Iona, an Irish monastery off the Scottish coast, the Ahenny group is generally earlier. A variety of crosses bear inscriptions in ogham, an early medieval Irish alphabet, standing crosses in Ireland and areas under Irish influence tend to be shorter and more massive than their Anglo-Saxon equivalents, which have mostly lost their headpieces. Surviving, free-standing crosses are located in Cornwall, including St Pirans cross at Perranporth, Most examples in Britain were destroyed during the Protestant Reformation. By about A. D.1200 the initial wave of building came to an end in Ireland. Popular legend in Ireland says that the Christian cross was introduced by Saint Patrick or possibly Saint Declan and it has often been claimed that Patrick combined the symbol of Christianity with the sun cross to give pagan followers an idea of the importance of the cross. By linking it with the idea of the properties of the sun. Other interpretations claim that placing the cross on top of the circle represents Christs supremacy over the pagan sun, martins Cross at Iona Abbey The Celtic Revival of the mid-19th century led to an increased use and creation of Celtic crosses in Ireland. In 1853, casts of several high crosses were exhibited at the Dublin Industrial Exhibition
7.
Triskelion
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A triskelion or triskele is a motif consisting of a triple spiral exhibiting rotational symmetry. The spiral design can be based on interlocking Archimedean spirals, or represent three bent human legs, both terms are from Greek τρισκέλιον or τρισκελής, three-legged, from prefix τρι-, three times + σκέλος, leg. A triskelion is a symbol of Sicily, where it is called trinacria. It appears as an emblem on warriors shields depicted on Greek pottery. The triskelion is an ancient symbol of Sicily, with the head of the Gorgon, whose hair are snakes, the symbol dates back to when Sicily was part of Magna Graecia, the colonial extension of Greece beyond the Aegean. The Celtic symbol of three conjoined spirals may have had triple significance similar to the imagery that lies behind the triskelion, the triple spiral motif is a Neolithic symbol in Western Europe. Though popularly considered a Celtic symbol it is in fact a pre-Celtic symbol and it is carved into the rock of a stone lozenge near the main entrance of the prehistoric Newgrange monument in County Meath, Ireland. Newgrange, which was built around 3200 BC, predates the Celtic arrival in Ireland, the symbol is also found carved in rock in Castro Culture settlement in Galicia and Northern Portugal. Traditional Asian versions of the include the Japanese Mitsudomoe, the Tibetan Buddhist Gankyil. A triskelion is featured on the seal of the United States Department of Transportation, a triskelion shape is the basis for the roundel of the Irish Air Corps, and the logo for the Trisquel Linux distribution. A triskelion is used as a seal of Tau Gamma Phi fraternity, a member of the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity is called Triskelion and Lady Triskelion for the Tau Gamma Sigma sorority member. The design was practical, the three curved arms providing equal spring and thus keeping the hole centred, the iconic design of the Spider has led to its adoption as a popular symbol for record and music enthusiasts. One of the most commonly used symbols of the BDSM community is a derivation of a triskelion shape within a circle, the crest of the Breton football club En Avant de Guingamp combines the Flag of Brittany, the team colours and the triple spiral triskelion. The triskele, usually consisting of spirals, but also the horned triskelion, is used by some polytheistic reconstructionist and neopagan groups. As a Celtic symbol, it is used primarily by groups with a Celtic cultural orientation and, less frequently, the spiral triskele is one of the primary symbols of Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism. Celtic Reconstructionists use the symbol to represent a variety of triplicities in their cosmology and theology, the endocytic protein, clathrin, is triskelion-shaped
8.
Book of Kells
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The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created in a Columban monastery in Ireland or may have had contributions from various Columban institutions from both Britain and Ireland and it is believed to have been created c.800 AD. The text of the Gospels is largely drawn from the Vulgate and it is a masterwork of Western calligraphy and represents the pinnacle of Insular illumination. It is also regarded as Irelands finest national treasure. The illustrations and ornamentation of the Book of Kells surpass that of other Insular Gospel books in extravagance, the decoration combines traditional Christian iconography with the ornate swirling motifs typical of Insular art. Figures of humans, animals and mythical beasts, together with Celtic knots and interlacing patterns in vibrant colours, many of these minor decorative elements are imbued with Christian symbolism and so further emphasise the themes of the major illustrations. The manuscript today comprises 340 folios and, since 1953, has been bound in four volumes, the Insular majuscule script of the text itself appears to be the work of at least three different scribes. The lettering is in iron gall ink, and the colours used were derived from a range of substances. The manuscript takes its name from the Abbey of Kells, which was its home for centuries, today, it is on permanent display at Trinity College Library, Dublin. These manuscripts include the Cathach of St. Columba, the Ambrosiana Orosius, fragmentary Gospel in the Durham Dean and Chapter Library, from the early 8th century come the Durham Gospels, the Echternach Gospels, the Lindisfarne Gospels, and the Lichfield Gospels. Among others, the St. Gall Gospel Book belongs to the late 8th century, scholars place these manuscripts together based on similarities in artistic style, script, and textual traditions. The fully developed style of the ornamentation of the Book of Kells places it late in this series, the Book of Kells follows many of the iconographic and stylistic traditions found in these earlier manuscripts. For example, the form of the letters found in the incipit pages for the Gospels is surprisingly consistent in Insular Gospels. The name Book of Kells is derived from the Abbey of Kells in Kells, County Meath, the manuscripts date and place of production have been the subject of considerable debate. Traditionally, the book was thought to have created in the time of Columba. This tradition has long been discredited on paleographic and stylistic grounds,800, long after St. Columbas death in 597. The proposed dating in the 9th century coincides with Viking raids on Iona, there is another tradition, with some traction among Irish scholars, that suggests the manuscript was created for the 200th anniversary of the saints death. There are at least five competing theories about the place of origin
9.
National Museum of Scotland
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The two connected buildings stand beside each other on Chambers Street, by the intersection with the George IV Bridge, in central Edinburgh. The museum is part of National Museums Scotland, the National Museum incorporates the collections of the former National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland, and the Royal Museum. The 16 new galleries reopened in 2011 include 8,000 objects,80 per cent of which were not formerly on display, one of the more notable exhibits is the stuffed body of Dolly the sheep, the first successful clone of a mammal from an adult cell. Other highlights include Ancient Egyptian exhibitions, one of Elton Johns extravagant suits, a Scottish invention that is a perennial favourite with school parties is The Maiden, an early form of guillotine. In 2016, the museum had 1.81 million visitors over the year, the Victorian building, as reopened in 2011, contains four zones, covering natural history, world cultures, European art and design, and science & technology. Beyond the Grand Gallery at ground level is the Discoveries gallery, with objects connected to remarkable Scots. in the fields of invention, exploration, monymusk Reliquary St Ninians Isle Treasure 11 of the Lewis chessmen. The original extent of the building was completed in 1888 and it was designed by civil engineer Captain Francis Fowke of the Royal Engineers, who is also responsible for the Royal Albert Hall. The exterior, designed in a Venetian Renaissance style, contrasts sharply with the main hall or Grand Gallery. Numerous extensions at the rear of the building, particularly in the 1930s,1998 saw the opening of the Museum of Scotland, which is linked internally to the Royal Museum building. The major redevelopment completed in 2011 by Gareth Hoskins Architects uses former storage areas to form a vaulted Entrance Hall of 1400 sq M at street level with visitor facilities and this involved lowering the floor level by 1.2 metres. Despite being a Class A listed building, it was possible to add lifts, the buildings architecture was controversial from the start, and Prince Charles resigned as patron of the museum, in protest at the lack of consultation over its design. The building is made up of geometric, Corbusian forms, but also has references to Scotland, such as brochs and castellated. It is clad in golden Moray sandstone, which one of its architects, Gordon Benson, has called the oldest exhibit in the building, the building was a 1999 Stirling Prize nominee. In 1861 construction of the Industrial Museum of Scotland began, with Prince Albert laying the foundation stone, in 1866, renamed the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art, the eastern end and the Grand Gallery were opened by Prince Alfred. In 1888 the building was finished and in 1904 the institution was renamed the Royal Scottish Museum, in 1998 the new Museum of Scotland building opened, adjacent to the Royal Museum, and connected to it. The old Royal Museum building closed for redevelopment in 2008, before reopening in July 2011, initially, much of the Royal Museums collection came from the museum of Edinburgh University, and there is a bridge connecting the museum to the universitys Old College building. The students saw the collection as their own, and curators would often find the exhibits rearranged or even missing. The final straw came in the 1870s, when students who were holding a party found that the museum was also holding a reception for local dignitaries, when the museum found the refreshments missing, the bridge was bricked up the next day, and has remained so since
10.
Anglo-Saxons
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The Anglo-Saxons are a people who have inhabited Great Britain from the 5th century. Historically, the Anglo-Saxon period denotes the period in Britain between about 450 and 1066, after their settlement and up until the Norman conquest. The early Anglo-Saxon period includes the creation of an English nation, with many of the aspects that survive today, including government of shires. During this period, Christianity was re-established and there was a flowering of literature, charters and law were also established. The term Anglo-Saxon is popularly used for the language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons in England, in scholarly use, it is more commonly called Old English. The history of the Anglo-Saxons is the history of a cultural identity and it developed from divergent groups in association with the peoples adoption of Christianity, and was integral to the establishment of various kingdoms. Threatened by extended Danish invasions and occupation of eastern England, this identity was re-established, the visible Anglo-Saxon culture can be seen in the material culture of buildings, dress styles, illuminated texts and grave goods. Behind the symbolic nature of these emblems, there are strong elements of tribal. The elite declared themselves as kings who developed burhs, and identified their roles and peoples in Biblical terms, above all, as Helena Hamerow has observed, local and extended kin groups remained. the essential unit of production throughout the Anglo-Saxon period. Use of the term Anglo-Saxon assumes that the words Angles, Saxons or Anglo-Saxon have the meaning in all the sources. Assigning ethnic labels such as Anglo-Saxon is fraught with difficulties and this term began to be used only in the 8th century to distinguish the Germanic groups in Britain from those on the continent. The Old English ethnonym Angul-Seaxan comes from the Latin Angli-Saxones and became the name of the peoples Bede calls Anglorum, Anglo-Saxon is a term that was rarely used by Anglo-Saxons themselves, it is not an autonym. It is likely they identified as ængli, Seaxe or, more probably, also, the use of Anglo-Saxon disguises the extent to which people identified as Anglo-Scandinavian after the Viking age or the conquest of 1016, or as Anglo-Norman after the Norman conquest. The earliest historical references using this term are from outside Britain, referring to piratical Germanic raiders, Saxones who attacked the shores of Britain, procopius states that Britain was settled by three races, the Angiloi, Frisones, and Britons. The term Angli Saxones seems to have first been used in writing of the 8th century. The name therefore seemed to mean English Saxons, the Christian church seems to have used the word Angli, for example in the story of Pope Gregory I and his remark, Non Angli sed angeli. The terms ænglisc and Angelcynn were also used by West Saxon King Alfred to refer to the people, at other times he uses the term rex Anglorum, which presumably meant both Anglo-Saxons and Danes. Alfred the Great used Anglosaxonum Rex, the term Engla cyningc is used by Æthelred
11.
Vikings
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The term is also commonly extended in modern English and other vernaculars to the inhabitants of Viking home communities during what has become known as the Viking Age. Facilitated by advanced seafaring skills, and characterised by the longship, Viking activities at times also extended into the Mediterranean littoral, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. A romanticized picture of Vikings as noble savages began to emerge in the 18th century, current popular representations of the Vikings are typically based on cultural clichés and stereotypes, complicating modern appreciation of the Viking legacy. One etymology derives víking from the feminine vík, meaning creek, inlet, various theories have been offered that the word viking may be derived from the name of the historical Norwegian district of Viken, meaning a person from Viken. According to this theory, the word simply described persons from this area, however, there are a few major problems with this theory. People from the Viken area were not called Viking in Old Norse manuscripts, in addition, that explanation could only explain the masculine and ignore the feminine, which is a serious problem because the masculine is easily derived from the feminine but hardly vice versa. The form also occurs as a name on some Swedish rune stones. There is little indication of any negative connotation in the term before the end of the Viking Age and this is found in the Proto-Nordic verb *wikan, ‘to turn’, similar to Old Icelandic víkja ‘to move, to turn’, with well-attested nautical usages. In that case, the idea behind it seems to be that the rower moves aside for the rested rower on the thwart when he relieves him. A víkingr would then originally have been a participant on a sea journey characterized by the shifting of rowers, in that case, the word Viking was not originally connected to Scandinavian seafarers but assumed this meaning when the Scandinavians begun to dominate the seas. In Old English, the word wicing appears first in the Anglo-Saxon poem, Widsith, in Old English, and in the history of the archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen written by Adam of Bremen in about 1070, the term generally referred to Scandinavian pirates or raiders. As in the Old Norse usages, the term is not employed as a name for any people or culture in general, the word does not occur in any preserved Middle English texts. The Vikings were known as Ascomanni ashmen by the Germans for the ash wood of their boats, Lochlannach by the Gaels, the modern day name for Sweden in several neighbouring countries is possibly derived from rōþs-, Ruotsi in Finnish and Rootsi in Estonian. The Slavs and the Byzantines also called them Varangians, Scandinavian bodyguards of the Byzantine emperors were known as the Varangian Guard. The Franks normally called them Northmen or Danes, while for the English they were known as Danes or heathen. It is used in distinction from Anglo-Saxon, similar terms exist for other areas, such as Hiberno-Norse for Ireland and Scotland. The period from the earliest recorded raids in the 790s until the Norman conquest of England in 1066 is commonly known as the Viking Age of Scandinavian history, Vikings used the Norwegian Sea and Baltic Sea for sea routes to the south. The Normans were descended from Vikings who were given feudal overlordship of areas in northern France—the Duchy of Normandy—in the 10th century, in that respect, descendants of the Vikings continued to have an influence in northern Europe
