English History

Class 2: Anglo-Saxon England

2

Roman ReligionWorldlyWorldly, practicalExternal/mechanical relation to

GodsProtection/obtention of powerMoral code = patriotism not

religion Deities Jupiter (Zeus):skyNeptune (Poseidon):seaMinerva (Athena):wisdomVenus (Aphrodite):love

Pontiffs: organized class/branch of government (religion subordinated to state)

Conquered territories: local local deities accepteddeities accepted

Cult of the Emperor

Octavian PrincepsPrinceps (primus inter pares):

first among equals

40BC Praenomen [1st of usual 3 names of Roman male] ImperatorImperator (victorius commander—imperium)

27 BC Praenomen Augustus [today: majestic dignity/ grandeur]: religious title, sacred character

12BC Pontifex maximusPontifex maximus = supreme pontiff

3

Rise of Christianity18. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rockthis rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.prevail against it.

19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the the keys of the kingdom of heavenkingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in bind on earth shall be bound in heavenheaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. earth shall be loosed in heaven. St Matthew 16:18-19

4

Christianity 306-337: Reign of

Constantine (baptized on deathbed)

313: Edict of Milan (Toleration)Toleration)

324: Foundation of Constantinople

Construction of Old Old St. Peter’sSt. Peter’s Basilica in Rome begins

392: Christianity official religion of Empire

5

Britannia & Barbaricum Caledonia: northern British

people= Picti(i) (painted people).

Hibernia: Scotti(i) North Sea Coast of

Holland: Saxones

6

British Isles: Relief divisions

7

Barbarian raidsraids 286: Seaborne raids (Saxons,

Picts, Scots) 360: Picts & Scots raid frontiers

(Salway:49/fortifications map top right).

364: Picts, Scots & Saxons/Germans: united attacks

367: large attacks, united barbarian strength/ almost overran Britannia

382: Britons’ victory over Picts (Arthur)

8

End of Roman Rule

409: Secession of Britannia 410: Sack of Rome by Goths 450s: “Saxons” come to

control southern Britannia 476: End of Western Roman

Empire

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End of Roman Rule

10

Roman Heritage in Britannia

1. Roads

2. Celtic Christianity (Ireland, Wales, Scotland)

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Invaders c. AD 360-c. AD 410 Picts from Scotland

Scots from Ireland

12

Germanic InvadersFrisians: N. Sea:

Nthrlnds,/Germ. /Denm.

Jutes: Jutland: N. Germ.-S Denm.

Danes & half Danes

Swedes

Saxons (NW Germany)

Angles (Angelm, S Jutland: % Denmark & Germany)

Wandering peoples

pushed by Huns

(434-53) &

other wandering/

roaming tribes.

13

Written sources: Gildas (c. 475-550; or c. 504-570) Concerning the Ruin of Britain / De Excidio Britanniae.

… alas! the subject of my complaint is the general destruction of every thing that is good, and the general growth of evil throughout the land… for it is my present purpose to relate the deeds of an indolent and slothful race, rather than the exploits of those who have been valiant in the field…

… No sooner were they [Romans] gone, than the Picts and Scots, like worms which in the heat of mid-day come forth from their holes, hastily land again from their canoes…Moreover, having heard of the departure of our friends, and their resolution never to return, they seized with greater boldness than before on all the country towards the extreme north as far as the wall…

14

Gildas Concerning the Ruin of Britain / De Excidio Britanniae. … Then all the councilors, together with… the British king, were so blinded,

that, as a protection to their country, they sealed its doom by inviting in among them (like wolves into the sheep-fold), the fierce and impious Saxons, a race hateful both to God and men, to repel the invasions of the northern nations. Nothing was ever so pernicious to our country; nothing was ever so unlucky… A multitude of whelps came forth from the lair of this barbaric lioness… in three ships of war… They first landed on the eastern side of the island, by the invitation of the unlucky king, and there fixed their sharp talons, apparently to fight in favour of the island, but alas! more truly against it. Their mother-land, finding her first brood thus successful, sends forth a larger company of her wolfish offspring, which sailing over, join themselves to their bastard-born comrades. From that time the germ of iniquity and the root of contention planted their poison amongst us, as we deserved…

Some, therefore, of the miserable remnant, being taken in the mountains, were murdered in great numbers; others, constrained by famine, came and yielded themselves to be slaves for ever to their foes, running the risk of being instantly slain, which truly was the greatest favour that could be offered them: some others passed beyond the seas… Others, committing the safeguard of their lives, which were in continual jeopardy, to the mountains, precipices, thickly wooded forests, and to the rocks of the seas… remained still in their country.After this, sometimes our countrymen, sometimes the enemy, won the field… And yet neither to this day are the cities of our country inhabited as before…

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“Anglo-Saxon” & “Celtic” British Isles: Lowland & Highland

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“Anglo-Saxon” & “Celtic” British Isles: Estuaries & Inland

17

Sources Bede. Ecclesiastical History of the English People, 731 1. c. 410: native rulers, like predecessors 4th c.,

struggled to stem tide of barbarian attacks/raids {later full scale invasions}.

2. c. 422: 20 conflict between British & barbarian mercenaries (permanent colonists/settlers)

3. 460s to 490s: new generation of British leaders waged long, stubborn & effective containment campaign against newcomers.

NB: Fall of Britannia not foregone conclusionNB: Fall of Britannia not foregone conclusion

18

Angles, Saxons, Jutes Bede´s threefold

division:

1. Angles from Angelm: East Anglia;

2. Jutes from Jutland: in Kent;

3. Saxons from Saxony: in Essex, Sussex, Wessex

19

Bede. Ecclesiastical History of the English People, 731

20

Other sources Beowulf (earliest surviving

manuscript 10th c;

8th c. Anglian poet)

Sutton Hoo Ship Burial (1939/Suffolk; king of Angles early 7th c.)

21

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (890s-early12th c) A.D. 443. This year sent the Britons over sea to Rome, and begged

assistance against the Picts; but they had none, for the Romans were at war with Attila, king of the Huns. Then sent them to the Angles, and requested the same from the nobles of that nation.

A.D. 449. In their days Hengest and Horsa, invited by [the] king of the Britons to his assistance, landed in Britain… first of all to support the Britons, but they afterwards fought against them. The king directed them to fight against the Picts; and they did so; and obtained the victory wheresoever they came. They then sent to the Angles, and desired them to send more assistance. They described the worthlessness of the Britons, and the richness of the land. They then sent them greater support. Then came the men from three powers of Germany; the Old Saxons, the Angles, and the Jutes. From the Jutes are descended the men of Kent… From the Old Saxons came the people of Essex and Sussex and Wessex. From Anglia, which has ever since remained waste between the Jutes and the Saxons, came the East Angles, the Middle Angles, the Mercians, and all of those north of the Humber…

22

Heptarchy late 6th c1. Northumbria

2. Mercia

3. East Anglia

4. Essex

5. Sussex

6. Wessex

7. Kent

23

Conversion to Christianity: 597: (St.) Augustine (of Canterbury)

Pope Gregory I (the Great)

St Augustine & his monks (Roman stream)—Kent, powerful kings

Celtic missionaries (Celtic Stream)—north—common people

Source: Bede

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Bede.Bede. CHAPTER XXV: HOW THE CONTROVERSY AROSE ABOUT THE DUE TIME OF KEEPING EASTER, WITH THOSE THAT

CAME OUT OF SCOTLAND. [Synod of Whitby A.D. 664.][Synod of Whitby A.D. 664.] … At this time, a great and frequent controversy happened about the

observance of EasterEaster; those that came from Kent or France {i.e Roman Stream} affirming, that the Scots {i.e. Celtic or “Irish” stream} kept Easter Easter Sunday contrary to the custom of the universal church…

But after {some time} a greater controversy arose about the observance of observance of EasterEaster, and the rules of ecclesiastical life.rules of ecclesiastical life. Whereupon this dispute began naturally to influence the thoughts and hearts of many, who feared, lest having received the name of Christians, they might happen to run, or to have run, in vain. This reached the ears of King Oswy {of Northumbria} and his son Alfrid; for Oswy, having been instructed and baptized by the Scots {i.e. Celtic or “Irish” stream} , and being very perfectly skilled in their language, thought nothing better than what they taught. But Alfrid, having been instructed in Christianity by Wilfrid {i.e Roman Stream} , a most learned man… rightly thought this man's doctrine ought to be preferred before all the traditions of the Scots…

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Bede.Bede. CH. XXV: … CONTROVERSY AROSE ABOUT… TIME OF KEEPING EASTER, WITH THOSE THAT CAME OUT OF

SCOTLAND. [Synod of Whitby A.D. 664.][Synod of Whitby A.D. 664.] …The controversy being there

started, concerning EasterEaster, or the tonsure tonsure {circular patch on the crown of the head from which the hair was kept cut or entire head shaved above

ears}, or other ecclesiastical ecclesiastical affairsaffairs, it was agreed, that a synod should be held in the monastery of {Whitby} and that there this controversy should be decided. The kings, both father and son {Oswy & Alfrid}, came thither, {as did representatives & spokesmen of the Celtic & Roman streams}

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Bede.Bede. XXV: … CONTROVERSY… ABOUT… EASTER, WITH THOSE THAT CAME OUT OF SCOTLAND. [Synod of Whitby, 664.][Synod of Whitby, 664.]

King Oswy first observed, that it behooved those who served one God to observe the same rule of life; and as they all expected the same kingdom in heaven, so they ought not to differ in the celebration of the Divine mysteries; but rather to inquire which was the truest tradition, that the same might be followed by all; he then commanded his {… Celtic} bishop first to declare what the custom was which he observed, and whence it derived its origin. {This Celtic bishop} said, "The Easter which I keep, I received from my elders, who sent me bishop hither; all our forefathers, men beloved of God, are known to have kept it after the same manner; and that the same may not seem to any contemptible or worthy to be rejected, it is the same which St. John the Evangelist, the disciple beloved of our Lord, with all the churches over which he presided, is recorded to have observed..."

27

Bede.Bede. CHAPTER XXV: HOW THE CONTROVERSY AROSE ABOUT THE DUE TIME OF KEEPING EASTER, WITH THOSE THAT CAME OUT OF SCOTLAND. [Synod of Whitby A.D. 664.][Synod of Whitby A.D. 664.]

Then {the Roman representative } being ordered by the king to speak, delivered himself thus: "The Easter which we observe, we saw celebrated by all at Rome, where the blessed apostles, Peter and Paul, lived, taught, suffered, and were buried; we saw the same done in Italy and in France, when we traveled through those countries for pilgrimage and prayer. We found the same practiced in Africa, Asia, Egypt, Greece, and all the world, wherever the church of Christ is spread abroad, through several nations and tongues, at one and the same time; except only these and their accomplices in obstinacy, I mean the Picts and the Britons, who foolishly, in these two remote islands of the world, and only in part even of them, oppose all the rest of the universe… it appears, that you {the Celtic stream} neither follow the example of John, as you imagine, nor that of Peter, whose traditions you knowingly contradict; and that you neither agree with the law nor the Gospel in the keeping of your Easter...

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Bede.Bede. XXV: … CONTROVERSY… ABOUT… EASTER [Synod of [Synod of Whitby, 664.]Whitby, 664.]

…"But as for you and your companions, you certainly sin, if, having heard the decrees of the Apostolic See, and of the universal church, and that the same is confirmed by holy writ, you refuse to follow them; for, though your fathers were holy, do you think that their small number, in a corner of the remotest island, is to be preferred before the universal church of Christ throughout the world? And if that Columba of yours (and, I may say, ours also, if he was Christ's servant), was a holy man and powerful in miracles, yet could he be preferred before the most blessed prince of the apostles, to whom our the most blessed prince of the apostles, to whom our Lord said, 'Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates Lord said, 'Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, and to thee I will give the keys of the kingdom of of hell shall not prevail against it, and to thee I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven?'"heaven?'"

When {the Roman representative} had spoken thus, the king {asked the Celtic representative} "Is it true, Colman, that these words were spoken to Peter by our Peter by our LordLord?" He answered, "It is true, O king " Then says he, "Can you show any such power given to your Columba?" {The Celtic representative} answered, "None." Then added the king, "Do you both agree that these words were principally directed to Peter, and that the keys of heaven were given to him by our Lordthe keys of heaven were given to him by our Lord?" They both answered, "We do." Then the king concluded, "And I also say unto you, that he is the door-keeper, whom I will not contradict, but will, as far as I know and am able, in all things obey his decrees, lest, when I come to the gates of the kingdom of heaven, there should be none to open them, he being my adversary who is proved to have the keys." The king having said this, all present, both great and small, gave their assent, and renouncing the more imperfect institution, resolved to conform to that which they found to be of better.

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Consequences: Religious unityConsequences: Religious unity

Ecclesiastical Ecclesiastical organization organization (hierarchical)(hierarchical)

Pope (Papacy): Rome—Christendom

Archbishop:Archbishop: archbishopric

Bishop:Bishop:

Diocese

Parish Parish

priest:priest:

parish

Monastic organization:Monastic organization: decentralized: each abbot in abbey

MMonasteonasteryry Eclessiastical Eclessiastical PyramidPyramidParishParish(base)(base)

PopePope

ArchArchbishopbishop

BishopBishop