11/09/20151. Please take a

textbook! Write your name in the cover

2. Write the book name and number on your index card…

3. Journals! There should be 4! Please mark 2 with ** that you would like me to read.

4. How are the Papers going?

Turnitin ID: 10702504

 Password: Phelan

The Anglo-Saxon PeriodThe Beginning of the English Literary Tradition

The Fall of Rome, circa 450 A.D.

The island of Britannia was part of the Roman Empire

Celts were the indigenous tribal people of Britannia

In 449, Celts were invaded by Germanic tribes: Angles, Jutes, Saxons

Timeline

450 A.D. - Rome leaves Britain◦British king needs help against Picts (Romans left)

◦British king hires Anglo-Saxon mercenaries to help

Timeline (cont’d)

◦Anglo-Saxons take over BritainBring their stories with them from Germania to BritainBeowulfTold orally for hundreds of years

~900 A.D. Beowulf written down

Britain Germania

DenmarkGeatland

Rome

Angles / Saxons

Britons / Celts

Picts (Scots)

Danes

Geats

STORY: BEOWULF

ROMANS

450 A.D.900 A.D.

Angles / Saxons

The Anglo-Saxon Influence

Germanic invaders pushed the Celts north and west into the mountains

Germanic language and that of the Celts mixed together ◦first recognizable form of English: Old English

Boy it’s dark in here!

The Dark Ages“The Dark Age” = ◦constant warfare ◦uncertain peace

Anglo-Saxon Society

Lets go to

GEATLAND,

YAY!

Comitatus Bond

Social bond/relationship between a lord (king) and a warrior

Comitatus Bond

Code of heroic values:◦Loyalty to ruler◦Bravery◦Willingness to die in the pursuit of fame and glory

What’s the difference with Middle Ages?Middle Ages – King is at the top

Anglo-Saxon period – King (lord) is considered an EQUAL◦MUTUAL RESPECT

Anglo-Saxon King Raedwald

What’s in it for the warrior?

Warrior receives:◦Food ◦Clothing◦Housing ◦Weapons◦Treasure

Wergild

Translation: Man-price

WergildUnwritten law: If one man kills another, the killer is expected to pay money to the family members of the deceased.

◦helps to curb murder rate deterrent effect

Wergild

Every person is worth a certain amount based on their social class

E.G.:◦Farmer = $5◦Blacksmith = $10◦Warrior = $50

What’s all this for?

Wergild prevented (in theory) endless family feuds◦Only system in place to deal with murder

What was Anglo-Saxon Lit. like?Due to the prevalence of battle, much of the literature dealt with combat, death, heroic deeds, and honor

Oral tradition Much of the literature has not survived

Anglo-Saxon PoetryRARE!4 Surviving books (manuscripts)

1) Junius ManuscriptBodleian Library

◦ University of Oxford

2) Exeter Book

Exeter Cathedral

Contains: “The Seafarer”

3) Vercelli Book

Located: Capitulary Library◦ Vercelli, Italy

Contains “The Dream of the Rood”◦ One of the earliest

Christian poems in Old English

4) Nowell Codex (Beowulf MS)

Located: The British Library, London

Contains Beowulf

Religion

Anglo-Saxons were originally Germanic pagans◦Germanic/Norse pantheon

Religion (cont’d)

A.S. converted to Christianity around 600 AD

Irton Cross

Lamenting the past…300 years between Christian

conversion and the writing of Beowulf

Poet seems to lament the past

Beowulf – Epic tale of a cool guyFirst written down around 800 A.D.

Old English – one of the first pieces of literature

Combination of Christian and pagan elements – literature as historical marker

The History of English ( language)The first minute of this cartoon will reiterate in a fun way what we have just gone over…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3ZJuCbklqg

Old English

Beowulf in its original habitatBeowulf was an oral piece,

shared by a scop, or bard, in a mead hall…Popular entertainment…

Beowulf in its original habitatLet’s check out this nerd, Ben Bagby, performing Beowulf in its original West-Saxon (Old English)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E806VmFC8io

Beowulf – Important Literary DevicesAlliteration: the occurrence of the same

letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

Kenning: in which a poetic phrase substitutes for a noun.

Caesura: a break between words within a metrical foot. In Old English poetry, the caesura is an ever-present and necessary part of the verse form itself

Beowulf – HW

Read and outline “The Anglo Saxons” (pp 2-16)

Read Beowulf intro + first half of Beowulf+ annotate... ( 1 per page) pp 18-29)

Bring Textbook to Class 11/11DUE 11/11Paper Due 11/11!