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Anglo-Saxon Period (Middle Ages)

Anglo-Saxon Period (Middle Ages). A.D. 449-1066. Europe. Current world map United Kingdom . Major Event in Anglo-Saxon History. 800-600 B.C. Brythons and Gaels attack British Isles 55 B.C.-407 A.D. Romans occupy Britain Anglo-Saxons are the new intruders Goodbye animism

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Anglo-Saxon Period (Middle Ages)

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  1. Anglo-Saxon Period(Middle Ages) A.D. 449-1066

  2. Europe • Current world map • United Kingdom

  3. Major Event in Anglo-Saxon History • 800-600 B.C. Brythons and Gaels attack British Isles • 55 B.C.-407 A.D. Romans occupy Britain • Anglo-Saxons are the new intruders • Goodbye animism • Coming of Christianity: Celtic Christian Church • The Viking Era • 1066 A.D. The End of Anglo-Saxons • Norman Conquest and Then Some

  4. Anglo-Saxon Culture • Simple Architecture: small towns with meeting hall; Loyalty to clan • Language: Old English, Runic Alphabet • Religion: Pre-Christian, Norse Mythology • Ruled by fate=acceptance of death=bravery

  5. Anglo-Saxon Literature • Poetry: Heroic and Elegiac • Prose: History of the English Church and People Anglo-Saxon Chronicles • Ceedmon’s Hymn: oldest surviving written text

  6. Medieval Literature You will have to wait!!!!!!! We will cover this when we discuss Canterbury Tales

  7. ARE YOU EXCITED? • It’s Beowulf Time!

  8. Beowulf • Oral epic • Originating between 500 and 1100 A.D. • Written down in 11th century • Importance: • Creates foundation for British Hero • Anglo-Saxon culture and beliefs • History • Oldest surviving epic poem

  9. Beowulf Literary Terms Epic: long narrative poem, celebrates deed of heroic figure, hero battles outside forces, tone is serious Kenning: metaphorical phrase that replaces a concrete noun Caesura: natural pause in poetry

  10. Major Characters • Beowulf -  The protagonist of the epic, Beowulf is a Geatish hero who fights the monster Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a fire-breathing dragon. Beowulf’s boasts and encounters reveal him to be the strongest, ablest warrior around. In his youth, he personifies all of the best values of the heroic culture. In his old age, he proves a wise and effective ruler.

  11. Grendel Grendel is one of the three monsters that Beowulf battles. His nature is ambiguous. Though he has many animal attributes and a grotesque, monstrous appearance, he seems to be guided by vaguely human emotions and impulses, and he shows more of an interior life than one might expect. Exiled to the swamplands outside the boundaries of human society, Grendel is an outcast who seems to long to be reinstated. The poet hints that behind Grendel’s aggression against the Danes lies loneliness and jealousy. By lineage, Grendel is a member of “Cain’s clan, whom the creator had outlawed / and condemned as outcasts.” (106–107). He is thus descended from a figure who epitomizes resentment and malice. While the poet somewhat sympathetically suggests that Grendel’s deep bitterness about being excluded from the revelry in the mead-hall owes, in part, to his accursed status, he also points out that Grendel is “[m]alignant by nature” and that he has “never show[n] remorse” (137).

  12. Hrothgar • Hrothgar, the aged ruler of the Danes who accepts Beowulf’s help in the first part of the story, aids Beowulf’s development into maturity. Hrothgar is a relatively static character, a force of stability in the social realm. Although he is as solidly rooted in the heroic code as Beowulf is, his old age and his experience with both good and ill fortune have caused him to develop a more reflective attitude toward heroism than Beowulf possesses. He is aware of both the privileges and the dangers of power, and he warns his young protégé not to give in to pride and always to remember that blessings may turn to grief. Hrothgar’s meditations on heroism and leadership, which take into account a hero’s entire life span rather than just his valiant youth, reveal the contrast between youth and old age that forms the turning point in Beowulf’s own development.

  13. Unferth   A Danish warrior who is jealous of Beowulf, Unferth is unable or unwilling to fight Grendel, thus proving himself inferior to Beowulf

  14. Wiglaf   A young kinsman and retainer of Beowulf who helps him in the fight against the dragon while all of the other warriors run away. Wiglaf adheres to the heroic code better than Beowulf’s other retainers, thereby proving himself a suitable successor to Beowulf.

  15. WOOHOOO LET US BEGIN OUR JOURNEY

  16. Runic Alphabet

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