The British had a major influence on America Government Emphasizing personal rights and freedom Literature Language The British was influenced by many others Iberians Celts Romans Angles Saxons Vikings Normans

Celts Among the Celts were a group called the Brythons or the Britons Name later became the adopted name of England –Britain Language Dominant in Britain until the 5 th century A.D.

Religion Animism: Latin for “spirit” Everything contained a spirit; trees, plants, animals, weather, fire, etc. Druids Existed since the 3 rd century B.C. Served as communication between the gods and the people Name means “knowing the oak tree”

B.C. Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire Stones origins are from southwestern Wales, 240 miles away Each stone weighs 4 tons Purpose and Creation is unknown

Possible Answers Religious Gatherings Observation of astronomical events A place of healing A place of sacrifices (human possibly!) Or…..

ALIENS!!!

Celtic Mythology King Arthur The true embodiment of British values Unlike Anglo-Saxon stories, Celtic stories contained Female Oriented Tales Queen Maeve of Connacht Usually end in happiness Full of fantasy, animals, love affairs, and adventures

Between Julius Caesar in 55B.C. and Emperor Claudius around 155 B.C. the Celts were conquered. Christianity later became a unifying force as the old Celtic religion began to vanish.

To Prevent More Invasions Armies Roads Hadrian’s Wall 73 mile wall that linked the North Sea and the Atlantic

In 409 A.D. there was trouble brewing back in Italy and the Romans left. Everything was left behind except a central government This left Britain vulnerable and open to numerous invasions.

Mid 5 th century the Angles and Saxons from Germany and the Jutes from Denmark invaded Britain. The old Britons were driven out and the language of the Anglo- Saxons became the dominant language Eventually Britain's new name was adapted Engla land = England

King Alfred of Wessex (reigned ) Led the Anglo-Saxons against the invading Danes

Christianity Irish and Continental missionaries converted the Anglo- Saxon kings, whose subjects converted also Unity formed with a common faith and common system of morality Linked England to Europe There was a constant fight to protect that unity from the Danes

The Wessex kings The battle against the Danes was carried on by Alfred’s successors Ethelfleda (Alfred’s eldest daughter) Brilliant military leader and strategist Edward By the middle of the tenth century the Wessex kings had become the kings of all England

Sutton Hoo Discovered in 1939 in Sutton Hoo or present day Suffolk England An enormous ship grave There is no trace of who was buried in the ship The body probably dissolved Also contained gold, silver, and bronze

Among the ship burial was 20 earthen burial mounds Cremation graves A boy and his horse A woman Execution burials

The Anglo-Saxon Life Warfare was the most important aspect of their lives

Anglo-Saxon Women Inherited and held property Could join an abbey Upper class women Would supervise the weaving and dyeing of clothes, slaughter of livestock, and the brewing of mead

Fame and the success, was measured in gifts from the leader A loyal and communal clan Loyalty grew out of a need to protect the group from enemies Community was arranged around a warm, fire-lit chieftain’s hall

Odin Norse god; god of death, poetry, and magic Where we get “Wednesday” from “Woden Day” Helped humans communicate with spirits and was associated with burial rites ecstatic trances

Thunor (Thor) Norse god of Thunder and lightening Sign was the hammer and possibly the twisted cross Thursday (“Thor”day)

The Dragon The protector of treasure; embodiment of evil and death Associated with the Danes because of the shape of their ship A personification of “death the devourer” and the guardian of the grave mound

Communal halls served as a place for storytellers Bards or scops: skilled storytellers Sang of gods and heroes Were considered as important as warriors

Although most Anglo-Saxon literature contained a elegiac strain the bards gave their listeners hope. A literary work written in a elegiac strain has a mournful, lamenting tone Poets and bards provided one element of hope The possibility that heroic deed might be enshrined in the society’s memory

Ireland was not overrun by the Anglo-Saxons In 432 the Celtic Ireland was converted to Christianity by a Romanized Briton named Patricius (Patrick)

Saint Patrick Seized by Irish slave traders as a teenager Escaped and became a bishop and returned to convert his captors Explained the holy trinity (father, son, holy ghost) by the Shamrock

From Ireland experienced a golden age Sanctuaries were founded by Irish monks

Christianity also provided hope Monasteries served as centers of learning and helped preserve the oral tradition of the ancient people Preserved Latin and Greek classics

Monks copied manuscripts by hand Monks wrote in covered walkways called cloisters, these were open to the court Winters would freeze the ink but still monks would write Vellum: sheepskin “paper”

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Instituted by King Alfred A lengthy running history of England that covered the earliest days and continued until 1154 The first important prose work in English Written in Old English

William the Conqueror invaded England in Called the Norman Conquest is considered one of the pivotal events in world history