Front Matter

Historical Note

IN prehistoric days people lived in Britain who used weapons of stone, and occasionally drew figures of animals upon bone or ivory. From the east, there came upon these primitive folk Celtic tribes. The first of these invaders are known as Goidel, or Gaels. They were the tribe that peopled Ireland and the highlands of Scotland. The later corners are distinguished as Brythons. From their name "Britain" is derived. Their descendants are the Welsh. There are somewhat vague stories of voyages to Britain by Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Greeks; but our first definite knowledge of the country comes from the account which Julius Caesar wrote of his landing on the British shores in 55 B.C.

The actual conquest of the land by the Romans was begun in 43 A.D., and by the year 84 they held all the territory south of the Firth of Forth. In A.D. 122, the Emperor Hadrian visited Britain and ordered the construction of a great wall seventy miles long, from the Tyne to the Solway, to ward off the attacks of the Picts, or painted folk, as the Romans called them, a primitive Celtic people inhabiting Scotland. As the Roman Empire slowly grew weaker, legion after legion of the soldiers was recalled from Britain. In the year 409, the last of the Roman troops withdrew from the island, leaving the prosperous and peace-loving natives an easy prey to the wild Celtic tribes of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.