Britannia: One Hundred Documents That Shaped a Nation

543 Pages·2010·8.97 MB·English

by  Graham Stewart

BRITANNIA
Also by Graham Stewart
Burying Caesar: Churchill, Chamberlain and the Battle for the Tory Party His
Finest Hours: The War Speeches of Winston Churchill The History of The
Times: The Murdoch Years Friendship and Betrayal: Ambition and the Limits
of Loyalty
BRITANNIA
100 DOCUMENTS THAT SHAPED A
NATION
GRAHAM STEWART
First published in hardback in Great Britain in 2010 by Atlantic Books and Callisto, imprints of
Atlantic Books Ltd.
Copyright © Graham Stewart, 2010
The moral right of Graham Stewart to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by
him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this
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The picture acknowledgements constitute an extension of this copyright page.
Every effort has been made to trace or contact all copyright holders. The publishers will be pleased to
make good any omissions or rectify any mistakes brought to their attention at the earliest
opportunity.
Lines from Casino Royale by Ian Fleming © 1953 Gildrose Productions Ltd.
Extract from Life in the UK Test: Practice Questions used with permission.
© 2007 Red Squirrel Publishing www.redsquirrelbooks.com
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Callisto ISBN: 978 0 85740 022 2
Atlantic Export ISBN: 978 1 84887 945 4
eBook ISBN: 978 0 85789 136 5
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For my young nephew,
Rufus Stewart
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Introduction
I THE DARK AGES
The Vindolanda Tablets, 1st century AD
Roman experiences of life in Britannia
The Romans in Britain
The Lindisfarne Gospels, c.715
An illuminated masterpiece from the Dark Ages
Early Christianity in Britain
Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum, 731
The first great history of the English Church and people
Bede’s List of ‘Bretwaldas’
Beowulf, 8th–10th century
The greatest surviving work of Anglo-Saxon literature
The Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum, 878–890
Establishing the boundary between Anglo-Saxon and Viking-occupied England
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, c.890–1116
Shining light upon the Dark Ages
II THE MEDIEVAL AGE
The Bayeux Tapestry, late 11th century
The story of the Norman Conquest
The End of Anglo-Saxon England
The Domesday Book, 1086
William the Conqueror’s survey of the nation and the centralization of state power
The Assize of Clarendon, 1166
The development of criminal courts, the common law and trial by jury
Magna Carta, 1215
The ‘Great Charter’ limits arbitrary power and establishes an Englishman’s right to habeas corpus
The Chronicles of Matthew Paris, c.1250
A distinguished example of medieval cartography and illustration
Angevins and Plantagenets
Simon de Montfort’s summons for a parliament, 1265
The roots of a representative parliament
The Statute of Rhuddlan, 1284
Edward I’s Anglicization of the Principality of Wales
Medieval Wales
The Declaration of Arbroath, 1320
A statement of Scottish independence
Scottish Wars of Independence
Wyclif’s Bible, 1382–95
The translation of the Bible into English
Spreading God’s Word in English
Henry VI’s charters for Eton and King’s College, Cambridge, 1440–6
Educating the elite
The Growth of Universities
William Caxton’s publication of Malory’s Morte d’Arthur, 1485
The spread of printed books and the enduring appeal of the Arthurian Legend
In Search of Arthur
III RELIGION AND THE RENAISSANCE
Tyndale’s New Testament, 1525–6
The language of Protestant scripture
Parliament’s petition to the pope to annul Henry VIII’s marriage, 1530
The English Church splits from Rome
The Anglo-Welsh Act of Union, 1536
Wales enters into formal union with England
The Anthony Roll, 1546
The inventory and depiction of King Henry VIII’s Royal Navy
The Growth and Decline of the Royal Navy
The Book of Common Prayer, 1549
The liturgy of the Church of England
The royal charter of the Muscovy Company, 1555
The first joint-stock company, funding exploration and the expansion of trade
Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, 1563
Creating a narrative of English Protestant identity under threat from Catholicism
The Thirty-Nine Articles, 1563
The doctrine of the state Church
The Reign of Elizabeth I
The Casket Letters, 1566–7
‘Proof’ of Mary, Queen of Scots’ complicity in murdering her husband
My Ladye Nevells Booke, 1591
William Byrd’s works for keyboard
A Golden Age of Music
The royal charter of the East India Company, 1600
The growth of British trade and empire
The Origins of Empire
The Elizabethan Poor Law, 1601
A national system of poor relief
IV STUART BRITAIN
The ‘Monteagle Letter’ and Guy Fawkes’s signed confession, 1605
The exposure of the Gunpowder Plot
Union Jack designs, 1606
The union of the Scottish and English crowns and the symbol of a British identity
The King James Bible, 1611
The Authorized Version of the Bible in English
Shakespeare’s First Folio, 1623
The plays of William Shakespeare are saved for posterity
A Golden Age of English Drama
The Petition of Right, 1628
The common law versus royal absolutism
The Scottish National Covenant, 1638
Scotland’s pledge to defend Presbyterianism against Charles I’s efforts to Anglicize the Kirk
The record of the Putney Debates, 1647
The New Model Army debates universal manhood suffrage
The death warrant of King Charles I, 1649
The execution of the king
The Civil Wars
The Instrument of Government, 1653
Britain’s first – and short-lived – written constitution
Menasseh Ben Israel’s Humble Petition to the Lord Protector, 1656
The readmission of Jews to Britain
The Jewish Population in Britain 1070–1900
Memorandum for the Royal Society, 1660
The advancement of science in the age of Boyle, Hooke and Newton
The Scientific Revolution
The Clarendon Code, 1661–70
The penalties for dissenting from the Established Church
The Immortal Seven’s Invitation to William of Orange, 1688
The Glorious Revolution
Britain’s Last Successful Revolution
The Bill of Rights, 1689
The constitutional monarchy
John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government, 1689–90
The refutation of divine right and advocacy of government by popular consent
The royal charter of the Bank of England, 1694
Finance and the banker of last resort
A Short History of British Banking
The Act of Settlement, 1701
Establishing the royal succession
Royal Family Tree
The Act of Union, 1707
The United Kingdom of Great Britain
V HANOVERIAN BRITAIN
The music and lyrics of ‘God Save the King’, 1745
The origins of the national anthem
The Jacobite Risings
Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary, 1755
The celebrated English-language dictionary
A Short List of English Dictionaries
The Declaratory Act, 1766
Westminster asserts its rights to tax and legislate in the American colonies
The American Revolution
James Craig’s plan for Edinburgh’s New Town, 1767
Georgian urban planning and the ‘Scottish Enlightenment’
Arkwright’s water frame patent, 1769
Textiles and the Industrial Revolution
Driving Forces of the Industrial Revolution