The Anglo- Saxons Notes English IV Ms. McAlhany

English Legacies to the United States –English common law with its emphasis on personal rights and freedom. –English parliamentary government –English literature –The English language

English Invasions –Iberians –Celts –Romans –Angles and Saxons –Vikings –Normans

Celtic Religion –Believed in spirits who controlled all aspects of existence. –A form of animism (from the Latin word for “spirit”) –The Celts saw spirits everywhere. –Priests called Druids acted as intermediaries between the gods and the people. –Sometimes ritual dances were called for; sometimes even human sacrifices.

The Romans: The Great Administrators –The Romans provided armies and organization that prevented further serious invasions of Britain for several hundred years. –They built a network of roads and a great defensive wall seventy-three miles long. –Christianity gradually took hold under the leadership of European missionaries. –When the Romans left Britain they left roads, walls, villas, and great public baths, but no central government.

The Anglo-Saxons Sweep Ashore –King Alfred of Wessex helped unify Anglo-Saxon England. –Christianity provided a common faith and common system of morality and right conduct; it also culturally linked England to Europe.

Sutton Hoo burial treasure –Treasures had been buried with a great king or noble warrior. –Among the treasures of Sutton Hoo were coins, a sword, helmet, purse, buckle, serving vessels, and a harp.

The Sutton Hoo treasures tell us about the lives of the Anglo-Saxons. Warfare was the order of the day. Law and order was the responsibility of the leader. Fame and success were gained only through loyalty to the leader, especially during war, and success was measured in gifts from the leader. They lived by a pattern of loyal dependency. This dependence on a leader contributed to a sense of security and to the close relationship between leader and followers.

Anglo-Saxon Religion –Warrior gods (Odin/Woden-the god of death, poetry, and magic and Thunor/Thor-the god of thunder and lightening) –Dragons (the protector of a treasure/guardian of the grave mound) –Religion seemed to be more concerned with ethics/the earthly values of bravery, loyalty, generosity, and friendship.

The Bards –The Anglo-Saxon communal hall, besides offering shelter and a place for holding council meetings, also provided a space for storytellers and their audience. –To the Anglo-Saxons bards (scops) were held in high esteem. –For the non-Christian Anglo-Saxons, whose religion offered them no hope of an afterlife, only fame and its reverberation in poetry could provide a defense against death. –The Anglo-Saxon bards were able to preserve fame in the collective memory.

Christianity –Saint Patrick converted Celtic Ireland to Christianity. –Irish monks founded monasteries that became centers of learning and preserved literary works. –King Alfred promoted the use of the English language and used English, not the customary Latin, to educate his people.