Unit 1 – Lesson 1 Introduction to the Early Middle Ages – The Anglo-Saxons Based on pages 9-15 of Elements of Literature by Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

The Anglo-Saxon Invasion In the fifth century, the Angles and Saxons invaded from Germany. The Jutes invaded from Denmark. The invaders drove the Britons further west into Wales and took over the majority of England. Their language, Anglo-Saxon or Old English, became the new primary language of the region. Most of what we will study from the Early Middle Ages, such as Beowulf, was originally written in Old English.

Map of the Anglo-Saxon Invasion

History is Cyclical Just as the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes came and conquered England, becoming its new inhabitants, the Anglo-Saxons, and the first speakers of English, their brother-tribes from the mainland, the Vikings, eventually invaded and attacked the Anglo-Saxons. As separate tribes, they could not defend against the Viking invasion. King Alfred the Great unified the Anglo-Saxon tribes under one common set of beliefs – Christianity. Unified, the Anglo-Saxons warred with the invading Vikings and held them off.

A Third Party In the midst of the struggle between Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, a third party intervenes. The Normans, from France, invade and conquer Britain. After the Norman conquest, British culture and literature is incredibly different – so different that the latter half of the middle-ages will be studied as a separate unit during the latter half of this nine-weeks.

Anglo-Saxon Culture - Religion Anglo-Saxon culture was very different from that of the Celts. They believed many things in common with the Vikings, though under different names: Anglo-Saxon Name Viking Name Role Woden Odin Top god, god of death, poetry, and magic. Thunor Thor God of thunder and lightning. Tiw Tyr God of single-combat, victory, and heroic glory.

Anglo-Saxon Culture - Burial Pyre Replica Ship Pyre - Joke

Anglo-Saxon Burial Barrows (Burial Mounds) Kingdom of East Anglia

Buried with Their Gold

Anglo-Saxon Life – Kings and Thanes Anglo-Saxon culture survived by observing a mutual bond of loyalty and protection between a king, his trusted warriors – thanes – and his people. A king had to protect his people from animals, other tribes/clans, invaders, etc. A king that could not protect his people, could not fulfill his duties as king. Thanes were given armor, weapons, land, and gold in exchange for undying loyalty to the king, to fight for him, and to never leave the field of battle before him. They were often given rings to signify this office. Thus, they are sometimes referred to as ring-bearers (and kings, givers of rings).

Anglo-Saxon Literature – The Chronicle King Alfred, aside from unifying the various Anglo-Saxon peoples under a banner of Christianity against the Viking invaders, formed a chronicle of his people’s writings and history so as to preserve them for future generations – The Anglo- Saxon Chronicle.

Anglo-Saxon Literature – The Bards Bards, or scops, were both story-tellers and keepers of the afterlife. As the Anglo-Saxons did not believe in an afterlife, warriors did great deeds so as to be remembered forever in song and tale. The bards sang these tales and thus, the warriors “lived on.” Fame became immortality. Bard-songs were more than just entertainment, but vital to many aspects of society.

Anglo-Saxon Lyre

Two Anglo-Saxon Poems Aside from Beowulf, there are a few smaller Anglo- Saxon poems that have survived. Two such poems are called The Seafarer and The Wanderer. We will examine them at the end of the next activity.

Annotation You’ll be receiving a handout on annotation – a valuable and important skill for getting more out of what you read and creating a resource for later study and paper-writing. Read the handout, then practice, in groups, on the sample writing (an example of a very bad essay). Next, we will practice annotation on The Seafarer and The Wanderer. Over the semester, whether we are reading from the textbook or from other sources, whether in class or at home, I’m requiring you to keep notes. Annotations must be part of these notes. They will be checked as part of the weekly note check, usually on Fridays unless otherwise notified.