ANGLO-SAXON LITERATURE & THE EPIC poem

TIMELINE 2000 B.C.—Invaders from Iberian peninsula invaded cave dwelling people Create a sophisticated society Stonehenge 600 B.C.—Celts reach the British Isles Built walled farms and hut villages Separate Celtic tribes each with own King fought each other 55 B.C.—Rome tries to conquer Britain Dominating Mediterranean world Julius Caesar 43 A.D—Rome conquers Britain Claudius 300 years Turned Britain into a prosperous colony Meeting Halls, law courts, amphitheaters

TIMELINE 449—invasion of Germanic Tribes: Angles, Saxons, Jutes take over southeastern part of England—call it “Angle-land” Tribal communities ruled by warrior Kings 596—missionaries attempt to convert Anglo-Saxons to Christianity 650—most of England is Christian 787—Danish invasion of England Danes and Norsemen try to win Britain By 800, most of England had fallen to invaders 878 Alfred, Saxon king of Wessex led warriors to victory over the Danes in Battle of Edington Son and grandson won back all of England from Danes

TIMELINE 1066—King Edward dies Duke of Normandy laid claim to English throne British council appoints Harold II as King Duke of Normandy attacks and defeats Anglo-Saxons (Battle of Hastings) Results in England’s first Norman King, William I (William the Conqueror) Results in influence of French culture Feudalism/Chivalry Feudalism—land was given to lords who supported the French king. These lords granted land to vassals in exchange for military duty Chivalry Knights strove to be honorable, generous, brave, skillful in battle, respectful to women, and helpful to the weak.

TIMELINE CONTINUED 1300s—Black death wipes out 1/3 of England’s population 1455—War of the Roses: civil wars between House of Lancaster and House of York in England

FOOD & FASHION 15th century noble women wore pointed headdresses Men wore hoods called liripipes with long pointed backs Rich people passed laws allowing common people and servants to only wear cheap cloth clothing Social status determined what food you ate Wealthy—richer, fattening foods: red meat, gravy Common People—veggies, high fiber products Everyone ate bread

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Manuscripts decorated in bright colors and real gold Knights provided sport and entertainment by performing in tournaments People enjoyed watching jugglers, storytellers, musicians

LITERATURE Songs and Poems Stained Glass Windows Theology 700 892 Few people could read Listed to songs, poems, stories, sermons Clergy and traveling minstrels created a great body of oral literature Stained Glass Windows In cathedrals—presented Bible stories and moral lessons to educate those who could not read Theology Schools spread across Europe along with interest in reason and Greek philosophy 700 Possible composition of Beowulf—oldest known epic poem in English 892 Year by year diary of important World events

LANGUAGE Early stages—mostly spoken rather than written Latin was eventually written 1066—French influence English people spoke and wrote in French 1476—William Caxton Sets up a wooden printing press after traveling to Germany to learn about printing process Many forms of English were being used in England He chose which form and began to print--STANDARDIZATION

LANGUAGE CONTINUED Old English (450-1150) Language of Celtic people and language of invading Germanic tribes Only a few words today are Anglo-Saxon: to, and, for French and Latin influence French was language of upper class: No king of England spoke Old English as his native language between 1066-1300s

LANGUAGE CONTINUED Middle English (1150-1500) During this time one part of England could not understand people in a different part Characterized by simple grammar Fixed word order developed Addition of new words Standardization of language

EPIC POEM Definition Long narrative poem on a great and serious subject and centered on a heroic or quasi-divine figure on whose actions depends the fate of a tribe, a nation, or the human race

EPIC CONVENTIONS Hero is of national importance; ideal man of culture Setting is a vast scope; great geographical distances Action consists of superhuman courage Supernatural forces intervene at times Style of writing is ceremonial Main characters have extended, formal speeches

Poetic/literary devices in Epic poetry Foil: someone or something that serves as a contrast to the other Batman and The Joker Alliteration: the repetition of an initial consonant sound in a poetic line “The sound of the harp, and the scop’s sweet song…” (line 60). Kenning: two words that employs figurative language in place of a concrete single noun Whale-road= ocean Epithet: a word or brief phrase often used to characterize a particular person, place, or thing Spear-Danes= Danish people Caesura: a break in the middle of a poetic line “Fierce and furious, launched attack” (Line 81).