1. The Anglo-Saxon Period

2. Historical Background
Original inhabitants were Iberians and then Celts
Celts divided into three groups: Britons, Gaels, and Picts
Religion = animism (spirits in all things)
Druids = priests who presided over religious rites & sacrifices, preserved Celtic history & legends

3. Celtic Legends King Arthur stories based on Celtic legends
K.A. = may have been a Celtic military leader or king
Include stories of strong women
Also include magic & imagination, romance & love affairs, heroic adventures

4. Roman Domination
Romans invaded in 55 B.C. under the leadership of Julius Caesar
Protected Britain from other major invasions for hundreds of years
Other Roman contributions included towns, roads, architecture, legal system
Romans and Celts intermarried

5. Angles, Saxons, & Jutes
After Romans leave (A.D. 409), Germanic conquerors take control.
449 = Arrival of Jutes
Angles and Saxons = larger tribes
From Denmark and Germany
Angle Land = Engla Land = England
Angle-ish = Engla-ish = English (Old English)

6. Anglo-Saxon Society Tribal military structure Regional kings
Warriors rewarded for loyalty and bravery with treasure

7. Anglo-Saxon Housing
Primitive housing - small huts with dirt floors and thatched roofs, caves, and old Roman dwellings
A-S kings = stone castles

8. Anglo-Saxon Literature
Most people were illiterate.
Limited number of hand-copied books
Priests mainly used scrolls
Legends preserved through oral tradition

9. Anglo-Saxon Literature
Focused (like religion) on values of bravery, loyalty, generosity, and friendship
Fame through literature = way to achieve immortality (no belief in after-life)
Bards as important and as honored as great warriors
Wyrd = ominous Fate that controls all
Only about 30,000 lines remain

10. Poetic Devices
No end rhyme and thought or main idea often runs over from line to line, not end-stopped
Lines contain caesuras, mid-line pauses
Poems use alliteration, the repetition of initial consonant sounds
Poems contain kennings, compound metaphorical phrases that rename concrete nouns, & epithets, descriptions used in place of a person’s name

11. Types of Poetry
Divided into two main categories – heroic and elegiac

12. Heroic Poetry
Heroic poem = narrative poem that recounts the achievements of warriors involved in great battles
Most important heroic Anglo-Saxon work = Beowulf

13. Beowulf Beowulf = national epic of England
Author = unknown = folk epic
Includes values of warrior society including dignity, bravery, and prowess in battle

14. Elegiac Poetry
Elegy = Lyric poem that mourns the loss of someone or something
Famous example of Anglo-Saxon elegiac poetry = “The Seafarer”

15. “The Seafarer” Author = unknown
Speaker = sailor reflecting on his life
Includes values of time period but also evidence of changing way of life (composed later in time period)

16. Links Reading of “The Funeral of Scyld Scefing” from Beowulf
The Beowulf Project
Reading of “Grendel’s Approach to Herot”

17. Anglo-Saxon Entertainment
Mead-hall = important social structure
King & warriors would meet to listen to scop’s entertainment
Scop accompanied by apprentice who played lyre/harp
Feasts = relief from fighting and poor living conditions
Mead = fermented drink made with honey

18. Anglo-Saxon Art & Crafts
Tapestries
Jewelry
Armor (helmets, shields, swords)

19. Anglo-Saxon Religion Pagan at first but converted to Christianity
Norse mythology & dragon
St. Augustine = Archbishop of Canterbury

20. Christianity Schools grew out of monasteries
A-S works recorded by monks in Latin (mix of pagan & Christian)
Church = center of cultural growth and unifying force

21. Danish Invasions Viking Danes invaded in the 8th century.
Violent and destructive raids
Pushed back by Alfred the Great
Descendents continued battle
Pictures Courtesy of Google Images

22. Norman Conquest
Battle between Anglo-Saxons and Danes continued until both defeated in Norman Conquest in 1066
William, Duke of Normandy (France) = William the Conqueror
Invasion = end of Anglo-Saxon period in England; brings changes in government, language, customs, etc.