HIST 120 - History of the British Isles

CR: 3
The ancient Greeks and Romans considered the British Isles to be the very edge of the world. Britannia was the last western European region the Romans brought into their Empire and the very first they abandoned when the Visigoths “sacked” Rome in AD 410. This course surveys British history from antiquity to the seventeenth century. Topics include the early Celts; the Roman occupation; the Christianization of the British Isles; Anglo-Saxon Britain; the Norman Conquest; the development of the monarchy, Parliament, and the common law; the Tudors/Stuarts; and the English Civil War. We will also explore the historicity of such popular topics as the Druids, King Arthur, Robin Hood, William Wallace (“Braveheart”) and Anne Boleyn. Emphasis will be on either the earlier history of the Isles or the Tudor/Stuart period. May not be repeated for credit.