ANGLO-SAXON ERA Roman evacuation and Anglo-Saxon invasion to the invasion by William the Conqueror and the Normans

SOCIAL LIFE AND TERMS  Angles and Saxons=organized tribal units.  Ruled by a king  Selected by a witan (council of elders)

FOUR DISTINCT SOCIAL CLASSES –Earls-hereditary class of ruling warlords –Freemen-allowed to own lands and engage in commerce Includes thanes-barons who were granted their status as a reward for military service=Beowulf and his men –Churls/serfs-bonded servants who worked the land in return for military protection –Thralls/slaves-usually military prisoners or people being punished

Alfred the Great  Throne in 871 (899)  Only ruler in England’s history to be honored with the epithet “the Great”  Resisted Danish encroachment in England  (Danish ruled the east & north, Saxon’s ruled the south)

Alfred the Great  Encouraged learning and education  He translated Bede’s History and other works from Latin (educated) to Anglo- Saxon (everyday language)  The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle-principal source of information about the time  Impetus for language evolving into what we now call Middle English.