The Anglo-Saxons and the Island of Britain: 449 – 1066 AD HONORS/AP*Ms. FB * aligned with CC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njJBw2KlIEo=history of English in 10 minutes

Who were the Celts ?until . Britain home to several Celtic tribes Settled in British Isles British Isles=Scotland, England, Wales BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Greek travelers to Britain in 4th century encountered tall, blond warriors who called themselves Celts. British Isles= England, Scotland, Wales

AD 43- Enter the Romans Romans force Celts to move north or become slaves Romans build walls, villas, baths, roads Introduce Christianity ROMANS CONQUER CELTS

Romans have trouble at home Romans leave Celts vulnerable to attack Rome is being destroyed, so the Roman troops are pulled out of the area. Romans evacuate troops Britain left vulnerable to attack Central government breaks down Celts/Britons are now alone and vulnerable to attack from Scottish and Irish tribes…so they ask for help

So, what happens when someone is vulnerable? Do they get some help? The Angles, Saxons and Jutes (on the next slide) see this as opportunity knocking---this is a chance to take over the Celtic land formerly occupied by the Romans…so they do….

The Anglo-Saxon Invasion Jutes Angles Saxons Celts/Romans QUESTIONS Which three tribes are known as the Anglo-Saxons? [Angles, Saxons, and Jutes] Where did they come from? [northern Germany, Denmark, and northern Holland] How did they get to Britain? [They rowed across the North Sea in wooden boats.] BACKGROUND The Angles, Saxons and Jutes were actually mercenaries hired to help protect a dude named Vortigern ( ruled the south) ‘s land. But, like a lot of mercenaries, the ASJ turn on him and decide to keep some towns for themselves, gradually pushing Britons to the Western part of the land. A.D. 449 The Anglo-Saxons push the Celts into the far west of the country

England= “land of the Angles”

Anglo-Saxon societal characteristics Small tribal kingdoms No written language Farming/hunting polytheistic

The Anglo-Saxons warfare! As a result, they value Strength Generosity Loyalty

COMITATUS Code of behavior in Anglo-Saxon society Young man attaches to strong leader Exchange companionship and military service for economic and legal protection READ: Throughout history rulers have always been protective of their kingdoms. In hopes of always being in control of their territory, rulers develop special relationships with the people to protect them. This relationship was usually achieved by of instilling fear into the minds of their warriors, or instilling respect between each other. In the story Beowulf the relationship between the ruler and his thanes is that of honor, friendship, and respect. In Anglo Saxon stories, the relationship between the ruler and his thanes is known as comitatus. The comitatus relationship requires that "the thane swear to defend a lord to their death, while he provides them with the protection and a share of his wealth and weapons." This sounds like a typical warrior defending master relationship, but the relationship between a lord and his thanes is far more complex than that. Along with the thane and lord each providing services for the other, there is also a great deal of comradery between the thanes and their lord: "Some of the native terms used for this group in Beowulf may suggest something of the nature of their relationship to each other and to their king or lord: Friends, kinsmen, table comrades, hearth comrades, hall-sitters, hand companions"(22). Similar in structure to many other protection relationships, the bond between the lord and his thanes was often family oriented. This always seems to be the case in a protective situation in which a lord's life depends upon the dependability of his/her warriors. Because Grendel is a descendent of Cain, and Cain being the most notorious brother slayer, shows that Anglo Saxon culture look very poorly upon a person going against his family. This social tie within the society makes the comitatus relationship even stronger. Furthermore, the lord and Thane relationship is represented well in Beowulf. In the first part of the story, the thane Beowulf protects the lord Hrothgar, Beowulf believes in what Hrothgar stands for and is willing to fight for him. Not only does Hrothgar give Beowulf treasures, but he also puts his trust into him: "Now Beowulf, best of men, I will love you in my heart like a son; keep to our new kinship from this day on"(Crossley,32). This is an excellent portrayal of the lord and thane relationship, and shows how much appreciation a lord has for his thanes. The lord and thane relationship is possibly one of the closest bonds in a protector/protectee relationship. The comitatus code not only sets standards for the actions of the lord and thane, but also turns a relationship of services into a bond of love and friendship. Anglo-Saxon king was an absolute ruler and mighty warrior. Warriors, called thanes, or followers of the king defended their leader at all costs COMITATUS binds a thane to his leader– mutual tie of faithfulness and loyalty. A warrior’s faithfulness, valor and bravery is rewarded with leader’s trust and treasure Earl’s relationship to his thanes -earl shared the booty of battle with his thanes equally and was known as a "giver of rings." The earl fought for victory; thanes fought for their earl. If a thane retreated from the battlefield before his leader or after his leader had been killed, he suffered shame and ridicule for the rest of his life. The obligation of every member of the group was to bear responsibility for any wrongs inflicted on the earl or other members of the comitatus band. The social unit was the clan, consisting of families interconnected by marriage and the comitatus relationship.

WE ARE ONE! Death before dishonor Wergild Loyalty, valor and bravery= trust and treasure   If a thane retreated from the battlefield before his leader or after his leader had been killed, he suffered shame and ridicule for the rest of his life. The obligation of every member of the group was to bear responsibility for any wrongs inflicted on the earl or other members of the comitatus band. The social unit was the clan, consisting of families interconnected by marriage and the comitatus relationship. Evil consisted in a) treating kin as enemies (inflicting wrongs) or b) failing to exact vengeance or wergild for inflicted wrongs (i.e. treating the enemy as kin). Ring-giving bound a thane to his earl, just as giving a bride bound a king to his enemy. Thus, potentially destructive relationships could be neutralized by the giving of gold or women. In the event of a king’s death, thanes were obligated to take revenge either in blood or in wergild a warrior must defend his lord to the death—a true thane would choose death over disloyalty: dishonor is a fate worse than death   Wergild – Literally translates to “man payment.” It was an institution meant to cut down on revenge killings – I kill your brother, you kill me, my brother kills you, your dad kills my brother, etc. Wergild was a sum of money you gave a family as consolation for killing a member of that family.

Wyrd to your mother! Wyrd=active fate “to become” active Fate to the Anglo-Saxons = Wyrd. Wyrd is an Old English noun from the verb weorthan “to become”. It is related to the Old Saxon wurd, Old High German wurt, Old Norse urür. Wyrd is the ancestor of the more modern weird, which before it meant odd or unusual in the pejorative sense carried connotations of the supernatural, as in Shakespeare’s weird sisters, the trio of witches in MacBeth. The original Wyrd Sisters were of course, the three Norns, the Norse Goddesses of destiny. Wyrd is not an end-point, but something continually happening around us at all times. One of the phrases used to describe this difficult term is “that which happens” Anglo-Saxon scholar Stephen Pollington describes it thus: “…It is worth stressing that the modern notion of linear time was still something of a scientific abstraction among even the Christian Anglo-Saxons, whose attitudes to life and death seem to have been governed by the world-view of their heathen forbears. They believed that at a given time some men…were doomed to die – a reaction to the uncertainties of warfare and accidents not unlike that of many modern soldiers who have faith in the idea that “if it’s got your name on it, there’s nothing you can do…” Tied in with this idea is the concept of wyrd ‘the course of events’ which is the underlying structure of time; it is this pattern which the Anglo-Saxons tried to read in the world about them… As the Beowulf poet observed: Wyrd often saves an undoomed hero as long as his courage is good (lines 572-3) The implication is that while a man’s courage holds out, he has a hope of winning through since wyrd ‘the way things happen’ will often work to help such a man, as long as he is not doomed; conversely if a man is doomed then not even his courage can help him stand against ‘the course of events’.” Just as the traveler affects the outcome of his journey by the path he chooses, so do we play an active role in facing what wyrd metes out to us. Wyrd can be “worked”. What you do as an individual can bend or change wyrd. Wyrd byð swyðost Wyrd is strongest

Deeds make you live forever! bravest strongest kindest most intelligent Immortality achieved through your actions in life

The Anglo-Saxon bards: Immortality through song Scops BACKGROUND Bard- poet Men called scops strummed harps as they sang songs of heroic deeds; were often old warriors The more courageous you were, the longer your song would be sung – the more famous it (and you) would be So immortality achieved through your deeds during your life. The literature of the Anglo-Saxons was handed down orally by scops who sang in the lords’ mead halls, where warriors gathered to celebrate the events of the day. The word wyrd was used by the Anglo-Saxons to represent one’s fate in life. The early Anglo-Saxons did not believe strongly in an afterlife; they believed that immortality, or lof—fame that survives death—could be earned through heroic action. Beowulf was one of these “songs” sung, and wasn’t written down until around 700 AD

Around A.D. 400: Christianity comes to town Christian monks settle in Britain Christianity and Anglo-Saxon culture co-exist By A.D. 699 Most religions replaced by Christianity Monasteries in England served as centers of learning just as they would in the Middle Ages. The monks preserved not only the Greek classics but also some of the great works of popular literature such as Beowulf, which was first written down around A.D. 700. Due to the Christian elements in the epic, scholars believe the poet who wrote down the version of Beowulf we have today was a monk. As the Anglo Saxons were happily battling among tribes away, The Pope sends missionaries to England to try to re-establish Christianity. By the end of the 7th century, most of the area had converted to Christianity. Latin became a common language.

English takes shape It’s around this time that English as a language is written down for the first time Old English is a combination of: Celtic Latin Angle Saxon Old English vs middle English vs. Modern English

1066- Battle of Hastings End of Anglo-Saxon period in literature  So you have several attacks by Vikings(also called Norse, Danes) . The English ask a nobleman named Edward for help; he is of both Anglo-Saxon and Norman descent. He says okay , they win and he becomes king. But in 1066, he dies. There’s a lot of hub-bub over who gets to be king (William as seen above) or Harold, both of whom we will talk about in the next unit of time. 1066- Battle of Hastings End of Anglo-Saxon period in literature 