Anglo Saxons & the History of the English Language

Cornell Notes

1.Who were the Celts?

Who were the Celts?• Greeks first visited Great Britain and found tall,

blonde warriors called Celts. Among these Celts were the Britons, which are Great Britain’s name sake.

2.Describe the Celtic religion.

Describe the Celtic religion.

• Celts practiced animism (the Latin word for “spirits”), a religious practice believing all things living and non-living had spirits. They believed the spirits controlled everyday life and their environment.

Describe the Celtic religion.• Priests called Druids acted as mediums

between the gods and spirits and the people. Celts also made shrines and sacrifices to the gods. It is believed the world famous Stonehenge is one of these shrines.

3.Who is Sir Thomas Malory?

3a.What Celtic hero did he help make famous?

Who was Malory? Who did he make famous?• While imprisoned, Sir Thomas

Malory gathered Celtic legends of a fierce warrior named Arthur and produced Le Morte Darthur in the 15th century. Mixing legends about a warrior named Arthur and legends about chivalry, Malory helped King Arthur a famous figure in British folklore.

4.How are Celtic stories different from Anglo Saxon tales?

DifferencesCelts

1. Strong female heroines

2. Bright, upbeat, & full of magic and imagination (fantastic animals, passionate love affairs, and fabulous adventures)

Queen Maeve led her troops into an epic battle.

Anglo Saxons

1. Male-dominated

2. Brooding, moody, pessimistic, dark, gloomy

5a.What contributions did the Romans make to Anglo-Saxon society?

5b.Why did they leave Great Britain?

5c.What happened when they left?

What contributions did the Romans make to Anglo-Saxon

culture?• Romans, great administrations, gave

England:– A standing army (Pax Romana for

several hundred years)– Roads– A defensive wall (73 miles long)– Christianity– Centralized government

Why did they leave? What happened when they

did?• In A.D. 409, the Romans left Britain with

the fall of the Roman Empire.• The Anglo Saxons reverted back to their

tribal ways; therefore, the centralized government was replaced with individual tribal leaders, the defensive wall and roads fell to ruin.

• The result? A country now left vulnerable once again to Viking attacks.

6.Describe the Anglo Saxon invasion.

Conquering Britain In the middle of the fifth century, the Angles and Saxons from Germany and Jutes from Denmark crossed the North Sea. They invaded and drove out, with resistance, the Britons (Celts) and eventually settled in the greater part of Britain.

7a.Who was Alfred the Great?

7b.What did he accomplish?

Why was Alfred so great?

King Alfred of Wessex (Alfred the Great), led the Anglo-Saxons against the Danes, unifying the individually-led tribes under one ruler. Essentially, England became a nation.

8.What impact did Christianity have on Anglo Saxon culture?

What was Christianity’s impact?

Through the work of Irish and Continental missionaries, Christianity provided—

-a common faith

-a common system of morality (right and wrong)

-a link to Europe

9.Who was Ethelfleda?

Ethelfleda ROCKED!Alfred’s decedents Ethelfleda, a brilliant, female military leader and strategist, and her brother Edward carried on his battle against the Danes.

10. What was discovered at Sutton Hoo in 1939?

Archeologists discovered a thirteen hundred year old buried treasure.

An enormous ship-grave revealed a king buried with his gold, silver and bronze sword, helmet, buckle, coins, serving vessels, and harp.

11. Describe Anglo Saxon life.

•Barbarians

•Luxurious

•Learned

•Warfare was the order of the day.

•The leader kept law and order.

•Fame, success, and survival came through loyalty to a leader.

• Comitatus—the sharing of “booty” between the king and his warriors.

• The warriors pledged loyalty to and protection for the king; in return, he rewarded them with treasures amassed in battle.

• Success was measured in gifts from the leader.

•Anglo Saxons always lived in fear of one thing or the other (invading Vikings, the wild, bitter winters).

Therefore, Anglo Saxons lived close together, family and animals, in houses that surrounded the communal hall (mead hall, chieftain’s hall). All were protected by a wooden fence. This fostered close relationships and community decisions decided by consensus.