Anglo-Saxons Background Culture World View Pagan vs Christian Poetry Characteristics

Anglo Saxons …Who Were They? Great Britain – invaded and settled many times Ancient people called Iberians Celts (kelts) Romans Angles and Saxons Vikings Normans Today’s “English” comes from all these invasions

Old English The Old English Period began in 449AD. Marks the beginning of the ANGLO-SAXON INVASIONS and the “dark ages” of violent tribal wars.

Religion Brought to Britain their own PAGAN beliefs (polytheistic) Norse religion; Thunor (Thor), the God of Thunder, shown Christianity introduced by Celts earlier

Religious Conversion St. Patrick and St. Augustine are two famous missionaries who brought Christianity to Great Britain. Christianity offered a happy afterlife, a loving God, and ideas like forgiveness and hope that their religion had not. Celtic Cross = Pagan Celtic Sundial + Christian Cross

PAGAN CHRISTIAN Monsters and supernatural beings Lof (Fame) Warrior - Physical Strength Courage Pride (Heroic Boasts) Revenge (Weregild) Riches/Gold Loyalty Signs, Superstition, Wyrd (fate) Valhalla Sacrifice “The Almighty” Love Compassion Humility - “the meek shall inherit the earth” Forgiveness “love your enemies” Riches are in heaven, not on earth Sacrifice Heaven

Interesting Facts Tuesday: Tiw's Day. Tiw, or Tyr, was a Norse god known for his sense of justice. Wednesday: Woden's Day. Woden, or Odin, was a Norse god who was one of the most powerful of them all. Thursday: Thor's Day. Thor was a Norse god who wielded a giant hammer. Friday: Frigg's Day. Frigg was a Norse god equal in power to Odin.

Characteristics of AS Culture Bravery in battle Bards or scops (pronounced SHOPS) used to elevate heroes of the tribes; very important Faith in God to intervene positively with fate Influence of old pagan religion Warfare! Loyal dependency _

Mead Hall MEAD HALL - the king lived in a great hall where warriors would gather and tell stories and drink mead; a place of safety

Anglo-Saxon World View world view - how a person/group of people feels about and interacts with the world, nature, and God Anglo-Saxon world view: grim, negative- they lived harsh lives full of war and hard work Saw nature as the enemy; no concept of happy afterlife or loving God

WYRD Anglo-Saxon concept of FATE. They believed their lives were ruled by FATE (or wyrd).

LOF Because the Anglo-Saxons did not believe in an afterlife, they sought immortality through a concept called LOF (or FAME)

COMITATUS Again, because life was so harsh, Anglo- Saxons made life meaningful through relationships with one another and the king. Comitatus means COMPANIONSHIP- loyalty and love to your kinsmen, friends, and king

What made life worth living? LOF (FAME) - for the afterlife COMITATUS (COMPANIONSHIP) - for now

Characteristics of AS Poetry Kenning - a metaphorical two word compound Example: “whale-road”= the ocean “soul-house”= the body Epithet - replacing a character’s name with a descriptive phrase Example: Grendel=“The Shadow of Death” Caesura - a pause in the middle of a line indicated by a comma, semi-colon, or period Alliteration - repetition of initial consonant sounds Lines do not rhyme

Purpose for Characteristics Euphony = pleasing to the ear; it sounds good!! Memory = rhythm and repetition help it make things easier to remember- the scops had to tell all of their stories from memory so caesura and alliteration helped

Epics: The Basics Definition: a long narrative poem that recounts the deeds of a hero and/or the story of a nation THEME: Good vs. Evil SETTING: Vast- over many years and different landscapes HEROIC BOAST- when the hero brags to achieve fame and gain “Lof” TONE: formal and serious

Kennings Assignment A kenning is a literary device in which a poetic phrase substitutes for a noun. In the best kennings, one element of the phrase will create a striking, unexpected comparison. Typically use a combination of two nouns AS Examples: sky-candle (the sun) battle sweat (blood) helmet bearers (warriors) giver of gold (king) dwelling place (home) storm of swords (battle)

Kennings Assignment Listed below are some modern kennings. Can you find examples of striking imagery, alliteration, consonance, rhyme, and assonance among them? Can you identify the concept each kenning represents? 1. gas guzzler 2. muffin top 3. rug rat 4. land line 5. eye candy 6. cancer stick 7. couch potato

Kennings Assignment 1. gas guzzler – a vehicle that has poor gas mileage ( alliteration, striking imagery) 2. muffin top – extra skin at the top of a pair of too-tight jeans (striking imagery) 3. rug rat – a mischievous child (alliteration, striking imagery) 4. land line – a traditional telephone (alliteration) 5. eye candy – a person or thing with visual appeal but little substance (striking imagery) 6. cancer stick – a cigarette (striking imagery)) 7. couch potato – a person who gets little exercise (assonance and striking imagery)

Kennings Assignment With a partner (or alone), create five kennings. Be sure to include poetic qualities (alliteration, imagery). You must include what your kenning represents, as well. Typically uses a combination of two nouns Must be school appropriate!

Multiple Choice Questions In pairs (alone), create 5 multiple-choice questions from the notes you took today You must have 4 choices (A, B, C, D) Only one choice can be obviously wrong (funny) You can write these on the back on your kennings assignment. Circle the correct answer.