Summary of Peter Ackroyd's Foundation

Everest Media

Description

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.
Sample Book Insights:
#1 The first sarsen stone was raised in the circle of Stonehenge, and the land we call England was already very ancient. The people who arrived from southern Europe and settled in places as diverse as the areas now known as Nottinghamshire, Norfolk, and Devon were the ancestors of the English.
#2 The study of prehistory must also be the study of geography. When the settlers arrived in England, 15,000 years ago, the North Sea was a great plain of lakes and woodland. It now lies submerged, rich in the unseen evidence of the past.
#3 The Mesolithic English lived in settlements such as the one found at Thatcham in Berkshire. The first English house was made of flexible saplings, bent over and covered with hides. It measured approximately 20 feet by 16 feet.
#4 The English had already begun to differ from each other 8,000 years ago. The Lowland Zone, which was built upon soft limestone, chalk and sandstone, was a place of low hills, plains, and river valleys. The Highland Zone in the north and west was made up of granite, slate, and ancient hard limestone.

Sujets

• Géographie
• Géographie
• Géographie
• Géographie
• Social History
• Histoire
• History

Informations

• Publié par: Everest Media LLC
• Date de parution: 14 mai 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9798822509368
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Insights on Peter Ackroyd's Foundation
Contents Insights from Chapter 1 Insights from Chapter 2 Insights from Chapter 3 Insights from Chapter 4 Insights from Chapter 5 Insights from Chapter 6 Insights from Chapter 7 Insights from Chapter 8 Insights from Chapter 9 Insights from Chapter 10 Insights from Chapter 11 Insights from Chapter 12 Insights from Chapter 13 Insights from Chapter 14 Insights from Chapter 15 Insights from Chapter 16 Insights from Chapter 17 Insights from Chapter 18 Insights from Chapter 19 Insights from Chapter 20 Insights from Chapter 21 Insights from Chapter 22 Insights from Chapter 23 Insights from Chapter 24 Insights from Chapter 25 Insights from Chapter 26 Insights from Chapter 27 Insights from Chapter 28 Insights from Chapter 29 Insights from Chapter 30 Insights from Chapter 31 Insights from Chapter 32 Insights from Chapter 33 Insights from Chapter 34 Insights from Chapter 35 Insights from Chapter 36 Insights from Chapter 37 Insights from Chapter 38 Insights from Chapter 39 Insights from Chapter 40 Insights from Chapter 41
Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The first sarsen stone was raised in the circle of Stonehenge, and the land we call England was already very ancient. The people who arrived from southern Europe and settled in places as diverse as the areas now known as Nottinghamshire, Norfolk, and Devon were the ancestors of the English.

#2

The study of prehistory must also be the study of geography. When the settlers arrived in England, 15,000 years ago, the North Sea was a great plain of lakes and woodland. It now lies submerged, rich in the unseen evidence of the past.

#3

The Mesolithic English lived in settlements such as the one found at Thatcham in Berkshire. The first English house was made of flexible saplings, bent over and covered with hides. It measured approximately 20 feet by 16 feet.

#4

The English had already begun to differ from each other 8,000 years ago. The Lowland Zone, which was built upon soft limestone, chalk and sandstone, was a place of low hills, plains, and river valleys. The Highland Zone in the north and west was made up of granite, slate, and ancient hard limestone.

#5

The transition from hunting to farming was a very gradual one, and it can be dated from 4000 BC. The woods and forests of the country were cleared, and the moors of northern and south-western England were created by human activity.

#6

The Neolithic period was when the English civilization began to develop. It was a time of rising temperature, and in the glowing sun the people expanded. They created a network of communication that extended throughout England.

#7

The English Neolithic age was marked by the construction of many sacred sites, such as Stonehenge. It began with a circle of fifty-six timbers, erected in approximately 2800 BC, and placed in a ritual landscape that had already been in existence for 500 years.

#8

The Stonehenge area was home to a large village that was built around the sarsen stones, and it was also the site of a henge and stone circle. The area was controlled by a hierarchical society with an elite that could organize and persuade many thousands of people into fulfilling their ritual will.

#9

The contours of the Bronze Age, which followed the Neolithic, can be seen everywhere in the English landscape. The uplands and downlands of southern Britain were laid out in fields with hedges and stone walls stretching for mile after mile.

#10

The Bronze Age, from approximately 1300 BC, is known as the urn field era, because their cemeteries were full of urns that contained the ashes of their loved ones. The people of this era ate soups and stews, and they imported beer, wine, and other alcoholic drinks.

#11

The Bronze Age in England was characterized by the presence of a warrior aristocracy, defended settlements, and trade between the different regions. The trading advantage of the Thames Valley region with its access to the European mainland helped to eclipse the agricultural wealth of Salisbury Plain.

#12

The Bronze Age did not end, and the movement from bronze to iron reflects a change in technology that led to cultural change. The process took hundreds of years, and during this time, bronze and iron were used simultaneously.

#13

The Iron Age in England was marked by the development of hierarchical societies, with chieftains, sub-chieftains, warriors, priests, farmers, craftsmen, workers, and slaves. The graves of the elite were marked out with molten silver, cloth of gold, ivory, suits of iron chain mail, and precious cups and bowls.

#14

The Iron Age in England was characterized by the growth of small clans that were eventually integrated into larger tribes. The Romans eventually confronted these tribes, and the farmers continued to clear woodlands and fields without a break.

#15

The Iron Age was a time of religious worship in England. There were many sacred places, and the native beliefs were sustained by the Druids. Human sacrifice helped to sanctify the land.

#16

The Romans saw the English as a source of wealth and trade. They saw a land full of tribal kingdoms, large and small, that had kept to their old tribal boundaries. The Dumnonii lived in the south-west peninsula, while the Durotriges were the people of Dorset.

#17

The English population was thriving during the Roman period. However, the further north you traveled, the less evidence there was of these material benefits. This was because the southern tribes were engaged in extensive trade with Rome and Romanized Gaul long before Caesar’s invasion.

#18

Many villages, and towns, are built on the sites of prehistoric originals. The celebrations of the Iron Age were incorporated into the Christian calendar, and the midwinter solstice was celebrated as Christmas.
Insights from Chapter 2

#1

The Romans’ invasion of 55 BC was more of a preliminary patrol, but they still brought many things with them that would change the way of life in Britain. The tribes began to import wine and luxury goods from the Roman Empire.

#2

The Romans had become well aware of the material benefits to be found on the island. They simply needed the right moment to strike. In AD 43, under the leadership of Aulus Plautius, four legions comprising 20,000 men landed in two separate locations, confusing any English counter-attack.

#3

The Roman Empire was constantly expanding, and by AD 51, the queen of the great northern tribe of the Brigantes, Cartimandua, was receiving Roman wine in Roman vessels as well as building tiles. However, the process of colonization was not without its difficulties.

#4

Boudicca’s revolt was the last major rebellion against Roman rule in Britain. It was also the most bloodthirsty, with 80,000 of her forces dead by the end of the battle. The Romans then began to move forward with their shields and short swords. Their discipline held them steady, and slowly Boudicca’s men were turned.

#5

The Roman Empire expanded, and the territory just south of the wall was intensively cultivated. England was no longer a province easily shaken by tribal rebellion. It became prosperous once again.

#6

The process of Romanization was gradual and local. The conditions of the Iron Age still prevailed in the countryside, where the people largely remained faithful to old customs and habitual practice. The evidence of change comes from the towns, and from the administrative elite of English leaders who worked in them.

#7

The Roman Empire brought with it the first villas in England, which were essentially farming establishments that enjoyed surplus wealth to be spent on display and decoration. They copied the Roman style, with walls of stone and costly mosaics.

#8

As the country became a part of the empire, its role changed. The armies of occupation became armies of defence, and they became naturalized, with a self-conscious local or regional identity.

#9

England was a valuable asset to the Roman Empire. It was a source of metals, taxes, and ports that supported the empire’s vast commerce. However, the country was also rich due to its agriculture.

#10

Christianity was the sacerdotal face of the Roman Empire after Constantine the Great’s conversion in AD 312. It was a monotheistic faith that assumed a uniform set of values and beliefs that could be transmitted across the empire.

#11

The withdrawal of the Roman imperium in the fifth century led to the English being stripped of their military forces. The administrative machinery began to break apart. In 408, the northern tribes were emboldened to attack, and the Roman English had no choice but to defend themselves.

#12

The Roman cities decayed, but this did not mean that the cities were in decline. They remained centers of administration for the immediate area, and housed the local bishop and leader. The urban population remained, and there was evidence of rebuilding at York and Gloucester in the fifth century.

#13

The native English were called Britons by the Romans, but the term is only relevant to the Atlantic English of the western coasts. The Britons were also strong in the north, as a permanent reminder of old tribal groupings.
Insights from Chapter 3

#1

The climate of England has been characterized as generally damp and relatively sunless, but this was not always the case. In the period from 500 to 300 BC, there was a drop in temperature of two degrees, which would have severely affected the harvest.