The Anglo-SaxonsA.D. 449-1066

Historical Background

• The Celts invaded the British Isles between 800-600 B.C.

• There were 2 groups of Celts: the Brythons (Britons) who settled in Britain and the Gaels who settled in Ireland.

• Farmers and hunters, settled into tight klans, animistic relgion, looked to their priests, Druids, to settle any disputes

Fun Fact: Some believe that Stonehenge was used by the Druids for

religious rites having to do with the lunar and solar cycles.

Historical Background• The Romans conquered

Britain in 43 A.D. and ruled for more than 300 years

• They were much more sophisticated than the Celts establishing towns and roads

• Introduced Christianity to Britain in the 4th Century

• Left in 407A.D.

The Anglo-Saxons Invade Britain-449 A.D.

• Angles, Saxons, Jutes (similar cultures)• Came from what is now Germany (Jutes from

Denmark)• Deep-sea fisherman, farmers, and warriors• Pagan beliefs with emphasis on fate (wyrd) and

fame• Loyalty to kings through warfare was essential• Spoke Englisc, referred to as Old English • During 6th Century, Roman missionaries began to

convert Anglo-Saxons to Christians, struggle to embrace new beliefs and let go of old ones

What modern English word do

you think derives from the Old

English term for fate, “wyrd”?

Weird!

Alfred The Great

• Became king in 871 A.D.

• Why ”The Great”? Known for resisting complete Danish takeover

• Encouraged rebirth of learning and education

Anglo-Saxon Literature

• Riddles• Elegiac poem—lamenting the loss of someone or

something and longing for the past (The Seafarer, The Wife’s Lament)

• Epic poem—a long heroic poem which tells the story of a great warrior, renowned for courage, bravery, etc. (Beowulf)

• Prose—History of the English Church and People (written by Venerable Bede, England’s greatest Latin scholar) and The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles.

• **Often told orally by scops• **In 975 A.D., monks copy Old English poems into The

Exeter Book, preserving Anglo-Saxon culture

Fun Fact: J.R.R. Tolkien was heavily influenced by Beowulf and wrote a

paper about it (while at Oxford) which caused Beowulf to become considered

a work of art.

Important terms for analysis of Anglo-Saxon Literature:

• Personification

• Alliteration

• Kenning

• Caesura

The Beginning of the End….• The Danes (Denmark) and the

Norse (Norway) AKA Vikings invade Britain in the 8th century.

• Under a truce in 886 the Saxons and the Danes split Britain (Alfred the Great accomplished this)

• The Anglo-Saxons and the Danes were both defeated by William Duke of Normandy (AKA William the Conquerer) during a battle near Hastings, England. This signified the end of the Anglo-Saxon Period.

Trivia:

• Where is Normandy?

• Northwestern France

• What period follows the Anglo-Saxon period?

• The Middle Ages