1. Anglo-Saxon culture AD

2. Came to what we call Great Britain Area in 5th century AD (400s)
Invaders

3. Anglo-Saxon Culture
Germanic warrior society that emphasized bravery, honor, and glory in battle
Patriarchal (male-dominated) society based on kinship, comitatus, and fraternity (definitions to come)

4. Kinship
The relationship between an individual and other members of the tribe/family (especially the kind)
One’s ancestry through the father’s line
Basically, family ties were very important

5. Comitatus Germanic power arrangement
King had agreement with his thanes, or knights.
Thanes swore loyalty to the king
In exchange, the king would given them land, money, war gear, and other benefits

6. Fraternity
The close social bonds among the men of the tribe

7. Anglo-Saxon warrior’s motivation
Glory for one’s king
Glory for one’s ancestors
Glory for one’s tribe
Glory for one’s self

8. Violence and revenge killing
Violence: part of everyday life
The bonds of fraternity demanded that the death of a tribe member by an outsider by avenged
Revenge was a big part of life

9. Songs composed orally – for entertainment, but also kept history alive.
Kings would entertain friends in mead halls, named for the drink mead made from fermented honey.
Mead-hall symbol of king’s power, considered safest place in kingdom

10. Religion Polytheistic society (worshipped many gods)
Worshipers of pagan gods and goddesses
Wyrd: fate, or destiny as determined by the gods
But also among the earliest converts to Christianity

11. Christian Ethics meet Pagan Beliefs
Faithfulness
Generosity
Courage. . .
Pagan beliefs
Grim view of life (something bad is going to happen)
Fate (can’t stop what’s going to happen)

12. Lyric poem Express intense, personal emotions/feelings
Could be set to music

13. Caesura
Complete pause in the middle of a line of poetry

14. Enjambment The running together of two lines of poetry
You don’t pause at the end of the line; it keeps going

15. Kenning A form of compounding in Old English
New compound word or phrase to describe an object or activity
The result is something like a riddle because often the two words seem unlike
Whale-home
Bone-house
Battle-sweat
Sky-candle

16. Alliteration & Assonance
Alliteration: the repetition of initial consonant sounds in accented syllables
Assonance: the repetition of vowel sounds
SOUNDS, not necessarily letters